OK, so the video is out, on limited release.
Due to the, ah, sensitive nature of the content: send us a mail - use the envelope link below, or email us directly- and we'll send you the link to a restricted webalbum which should provide some entertainment...
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Trip to the Aquarium
My boys checking out the sharks
Cecilie found Nemo!
The best dolphin trick of the day
Nilsen kids hanging out at Chipotle (our most favorite Mexican)
Lars got hungry whilst we were upstairs getting aquarium-ready. Points for initiative, more points for looking so cute that you convince your sister to clean up for you. You can see the void in the sea of Rice Krispies where his bowl was - he was ultimately successful in securing his snack, and when we discovered him he was calmly spooning up the good stuff.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Chipped Beef - in the canon
I have spent what amounts to an unhealthily large amount of time lately, on trying to remember the details of what, in my mind, is simply astounding craftsmanship: the number one top passage from any book ever written.Last night I dug it out and here I am, sharing it with you:
"...the reverend insists that we occupy the first pew. He rang us up not long ago, tipsy -he's a tippler - saying that our faces brought him closer to God. And is it's true, we're terribly good-looking people. They are using my mother's profile on the new monorail token, and as for my father and me, the people at NASA want to design a lunar module based on the shape of our skulls. Our cheekbones are aeronautic and the clefts of our chins can hold up to three dozen BBs at a time. When asked, most people say that my greatest asset is my skin, which glows -it really does! I have to tie a sock over my eyes in order to fall asleep at night. Others like my eyes or my perfect, gleaming teeth, my thick head of hair or my imposing stature, but if you want my opinion, I think my most outstanding feature is my ability to accept a compliment."
I can remember not being able to sleep the first time I read it, it was Christmas '98 and Uncle John Who Plays the Organ had given me a book called "Naked", by David Sedaris. Little did I know that I had been touched by greatness by this simple gift and I didn't open it for a few days (having more important things to do...). Then, when I was prompted to read it, this is what met my eyes on the very first page; move over Beethoven and Shakespeare too.
So yes, thinking of what book to buy next? - think no further!
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Potty Time
Lars has been standing naked in front of the grownup toilet purposefully, yelling 'me Daddy! me Daddy!' So we dragged the little potty down from the attic, just to sort of humor him.
Well lo & behold, Lars has mastery of the old 'stop n' start' method, and his greatest joy before bathtime is to pee 3 drops, look down to check it out, and then run circles around the bathroom proudly whilst we all cheer for him. He then runs back to pee another 3 drops, and do the whole victory dance again. We do this about 6 times in a row before we all get bored and throw him in the tub.
Cecilie is SO encouraging - she gives him huge hugs every time he does his 3 drops and brought a GIANT stack of books into the bathroom for him to peruse while he practices sitting. (This was all that was required for our book worm to potty train: 26 books later, she was bound to produce something!) So far, Lars won't stay on the potty long enough to get through one page, much less one book.
So I am quite convinced that this is a fleeting novelty, and if we got serious about it he'd lose all interest. So we'll let the potty sit there, and let him do his victory dance when he feels like it. But he IS hilarious.
Well lo & behold, Lars has mastery of the old 'stop n' start' method, and his greatest joy before bathtime is to pee 3 drops, look down to check it out, and then run circles around the bathroom proudly whilst we all cheer for him. He then runs back to pee another 3 drops, and do the whole victory dance again. We do this about 6 times in a row before we all get bored and throw him in the tub.
Cecilie is SO encouraging - she gives him huge hugs every time he does his 3 drops and brought a GIANT stack of books into the bathroom for him to peruse while he practices sitting. (This was all that was required for our book worm to potty train: 26 books later, she was bound to produce something!) So far, Lars won't stay on the potty long enough to get through one page, much less one book.
So I am quite convinced that this is a fleeting novelty, and if we got serious about it he'd lose all interest. So we'll let the potty sit there, and let him do his victory dance when he feels like it. But he IS hilarious.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
New Years Resolutions
What was yours?
Calling home is my big one. But one that I think is more worth sharing is to start giving to charity again. Due to financial constraints I am going to start carefully but I have found my first project: The Delmarva Photo Big Year
Jim Brighton is going to try to take photographs of 700 species of birds, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies found on the Delmarva Peninsula (that would be the peninsula DELaware MARyland and VirginiA share between them; a place Jim calls home, and the rest of us call the Eastern Shore, or just "The Beach").
While he spend his (NOT YOUR) money on getting around to the bird watching sites, he has asked
that you make a pledge to the American Bird Conservancy to save the Junin Grebe from extinction. Big industry, government and meaner (not to mention FLYING) birds are out to put an end to this bird that only can be found on one lake in Peru, for more details on the bird and its plight, check this site out...
$20, even $30 I can find, I think, and you can once more call me good ol' philanthrope.
The sweet thing is of course if all of us does that we can build them Grebe lake front condos and maybe even arm them to to blow their enemies to smithereens. (I think what they are planning is to buy the lake and protect it from development...)
Calling home is my big one. But one that I think is more worth sharing is to start giving to charity again. Due to financial constraints I am going to start carefully but I have found my first project: The Delmarva Photo Big Year
Jim Brighton is going to try to take photographs of 700 species of birds, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies found on the Delmarva Peninsula (that would be the peninsula DELaware MARyland and VirginiA share between them; a place Jim calls home, and the rest of us call the Eastern Shore, or just "The Beach").
While he spend his (NOT YOUR) money on getting around to the bird watching sites, he has asked
that you make a pledge to the American Bird Conservancy to save the Junin Grebe from extinction. Big industry, government and meaner (not to mention FLYING) birds are out to put an end to this bird that only can be found on one lake in Peru, for more details on the bird and its plight, check this site out...$20, even $30 I can find, I think, and you can once more call me good ol' philanthrope.
The sweet thing is of course if all of us does that we can build them Grebe lake front condos and maybe even arm them to to blow their enemies to smithereens. (I think what they are planning is to buy the lake and protect it from development...)
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Present time
Never did a tea set seem so mighty fine...
Dump truck for the dump truck hero
...but best of all: TOOOLS
Snow white couldn't find a better home... "How did Santa know exactly what I wanted for Christmas?"
Stockings and waiting at Grandma and Grandpa's
Inspection of stocking content
Sugar cereals is the way to go to keep children's minds off the gifts under the tree
Early morning nosh with auntie Chichin
The pastoral scene as the children gracefully lets the adults get their sleep
Christmas Prep
Trouble is my middle name...
Cecilie's first proper stage production (the angel on the right). Her line "Don't be afraid" was mercilessly drowned out by enthusiastic actors and spectators alike, which left us all a little bit exhausted, and daddy slightly insane looking
Striking a pose with a Christmas project, later eaten (the marshmallow rim, that is...) by an undisclosed (out of concern for his life) treat-loving elf. [See first photo.]
A Sugarplum Fairy and The Smallest Reindeer
Mr Lars shaking his tail feather...
National and Natural Costumes
As God intended it
My favorite ornament
Bringing Norwegian Yule Cheer to the neighbors
The angry elf
What happens when you give your children too many sweets prior to attempting to take christmas pictures
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Odds on
This list is from Amazon, with sources and all, odds that...
Your letter to The New York Times will be published 20 to 1
You'll get hemorrhoids 25 to 1
You'll hunt small game next year 54 to 1
You'll seek hypnotic therapy 79 to 1
You'll get Botox next year 102 to 1
Your tax return will be audited by the IRS 175 to 1
The person you're dating is a millionaire 215 to 1
Your book will be a New York Times bestseller 220 to 1
You go to a tractor pull or mud racing every month 311 to 1
You'll catch a baseball at a Major League Baseball game 563 to 1
You'll get botulism next year 2,300 to 1
You happen to be a private investigator 3,700 to 1
You'll pick a four-leaf clover on the first try 10,000 to 1
You'll die as a result of a major asteroid hitting Earth 20,000 to 1
You'll ever be a pro athlete 22,000 to 1
You'll ever date a supermodel (if you're a man) 88,000 to 1
Despite your efforts to avoid it, you'll actually get the plague next year 299,999 to 1
You'll be hit by lightning 576,000 to 1
You'll get bit by a shark 6,000,000 to 1
You'll win a Power Ball lottery with just one ticket 105,938,000 to 1
Your letter to The New York Times will be published 20 to 1
You'll get hemorrhoids 25 to 1
You'll hunt small game next year 54 to 1
You'll seek hypnotic therapy 79 to 1
You'll get Botox next year 102 to 1
Your tax return will be audited by the IRS 175 to 1
The person you're dating is a millionaire 215 to 1
Your book will be a New York Times bestseller 220 to 1
You go to a tractor pull or mud racing every month 311 to 1
You'll catch a baseball at a Major League Baseball game 563 to 1
You'll get botulism next year 2,300 to 1
You happen to be a private investigator 3,700 to 1
You'll pick a four-leaf clover on the first try 10,000 to 1
You'll die as a result of a major asteroid hitting Earth 20,000 to 1
You'll ever be a pro athlete 22,000 to 1
You'll ever date a supermodel (if you're a man) 88,000 to 1
Despite your efforts to avoid it, you'll actually get the plague next year 299,999 to 1
You'll be hit by lightning 576,000 to 1
You'll get bit by a shark 6,000,000 to 1
You'll win a Power Ball lottery with just one ticket 105,938,000 to 1
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
This the season...
The Young Conservatives of Texas - University of Texas Chapter showed tremendous initiative and put up an ACLU Alternative Nativity Scene on campus earlier this month:
"Solstice barn" is very clever, baby Jesus is of course offered up for stem cell research, Gary and Joseph are quite touching, but my favorite is the terrorist shepherd - reminding us how all encompassing Christmas really is supposed to be...
On a separate, yet connected, note the BBC reports that smart children become vegetarians, which is all well and good (but they don't make more money than their carnivore counterparts, must be the altruism...), just a shame they run the risk of being gay too...
"Solstice barn" is very clever, baby Jesus is of course offered up for stem cell research, Gary and Joseph are quite touching, but my favorite is the terrorist shepherd - reminding us how all encompassing Christmas really is supposed to be...
On a separate, yet connected, note the BBC reports that smart children become vegetarians, which is all well and good (but they don't make more money than their carnivore counterparts, must be the altruism...), just a shame they run the risk of being gay too...
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Cecilieisms for today
Cheerfully kissing Lars goodnight: "Night night Lars, and make sure you don't throw up in the night!"
After a hectic weekend that ended up with Cecilie feeling a bit 'tired & emotional', I promised her at bedtime that tomorrow we would have a quiet day, just going to school, having lunch, the usual. She listened carefully, and then just before she nodded off, she mumbled "Are we going to have to whisper tomorrow?"
Even with a sugar overload and a sleep deficit, she's a special one.
After a hectic weekend that ended up with Cecilie feeling a bit 'tired & emotional', I promised her at bedtime that tomorrow we would have a quiet day, just going to school, having lunch, the usual. She listened carefully, and then just before she nodded off, she mumbled "Are we going to have to whisper tomorrow?"
Even with a sugar overload and a sleep deficit, she's a special one.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Christmas prep and St Lucia
Cousin Jack and auntie Chichin came over for some baking
Food coloring is declicious
Starboy
St Lucia, with matching Kirsten doll, sweet sweetness...Christmas prep
The crazy gang ready for baking
Lars, the explorer, at the mall - the day Santa was rejected (for emotional reasons)
Cecilie in a thoughtful moment
The family at the train displays at the local firestaionTuesday, December 12, 2006
Lists galore
So yes, Atlantic Monthly has tried the impossible: OK, top ten only below, but check it out on their website about the Top 100 most influential Americans of all time...
Enough or too many contemporaries, abolitionists, women (why isn't Oprah there...?), philosophers and authors (where is Jack Kerouac or T.S. Elliott)? Did they miss someone out completely: Joseph Smith (and Brigham Young...) and Mary Baker Eddy made it, but where is E.G. White?
I would of course be interested in your reading of this list (they are a bunch of liberals at the mag, but Reagan made it pretty high up...); they are happy to take your feedback too.
1 Abraham Lincoln
He saved the Union, freed the slaves, and presided over America’s second founding.
2 George Washington
He made the United States possible—not only by defeating a king, but by declining to become one himself.
3 Thomas Jefferson
The author of the five most important words in American history: “All men are created equal.”
4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and then he proved it.
5 Alexander Hamilton
Soldier, banker, and political scientist, he set in motion an agrarian nation’s transformation into an industrial power.
6 Benjamin Franklin
The Founder-of-all-trades— scientist, printer, writer, diplomat, inventor, and more; like his country, he contained multitudes.
7 John Marshall
The defining chief justice, he established the Supreme Court as the equal of the other two federal branches.
8 Martin Luther King Jr.
His dream of racial equality is still elusive, but no one did more to make it real.
9 Thomas Edison
It wasn’t just the lightbulb; the Wizard of Menlo Park was the most prolific inventor in American history.
10 Woodrow Wilson
He made the world safe for U.S. interventionism, if not for democracy.
Enough or too many contemporaries, abolitionists, women (why isn't Oprah there...?), philosophers and authors (where is Jack Kerouac or T.S. Elliott)? Did they miss someone out completely: Joseph Smith (and Brigham Young...) and Mary Baker Eddy made it, but where is E.G. White?
I would of course be interested in your reading of this list (they are a bunch of liberals at the mag, but Reagan made it pretty high up...); they are happy to take your feedback too.
1 Abraham Lincoln
He saved the Union, freed the slaves, and presided over America’s second founding.
2 George Washington
He made the United States possible—not only by defeating a king, but by declining to become one himself.
3 Thomas Jefferson
The author of the five most important words in American history: “All men are created equal.”
4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and then he proved it.
5 Alexander Hamilton
Soldier, banker, and political scientist, he set in motion an agrarian nation’s transformation into an industrial power.
6 Benjamin Franklin
The Founder-of-all-trades— scientist, printer, writer, diplomat, inventor, and more; like his country, he contained multitudes.
7 John Marshall
The defining chief justice, he established the Supreme Court as the equal of the other two federal branches.
8 Martin Luther King Jr.
His dream of racial equality is still elusive, but no one did more to make it real.
9 Thomas Edison
It wasn’t just the lightbulb; the Wizard of Menlo Park was the most prolific inventor in American history.
10 Woodrow Wilson
He made the world safe for U.S. interventionism, if not for democracy.
Friday, December 8, 2006
More movies than you can shake a stick at...
I realize it is a little bit risky, but you can see my ratings of most of the movies I have ever seen here.Risky for a number of reasons, like:
1. How much time did he spend putting this list together? (try more than 10 years, I have been a member longer at IMDB than at Amazon or Hotmail)
2. How much time has he spent watching these movies? (someone else needs to figure THAT out)
3. His top rated movies suck! (well, that one has been up for discussion a number of times, so maybe not that risky, but 1118 movies -that's like bearing your soul completely...)
As always I am up for corrections, both taking into consideration my change in taste over time and user error, it has been a while since I have reviewed the whole list, so your input would be appreciated!My only beef with IMDB is that it shows a movie's original title,
which makes foreign titles hard to give a quick once over (but I have come to accept that this is the best way to do it); apart from that I find it an invaluable resource for movie watching past and future.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
The last of the Nilsen Pettersen pictures
The only picture we got of Thomas and Lady Cecilie together (with August taking the picture)
Cecilie and August in that pile of leafs 
Captain Victor
Mexican Thanksgiving
What happens to your fingers when you eat too many olives
Captain VictorMexican Thanksgiving
What happens to your fingers when you eat too many olives
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Ca'ching...
According to an English survey detailed in the Daily Mail today women spend an average of eight and a half years of their life shopping - which is good to know...
And here is the break down of the largest categories:
And here is the break down of the largest categories:
| Trips per year | Average time spent per trip in minutes | |||
| Clothes | 30 | 202 | ||
| Shoes | 15 | 162 | ||
| Gifts | 19 | 115 | ||
| Accessories | 18 | 98 | ||
| Food | 84 | 68 | ||
| Window shopping | 51 | 57 | ||
| Toiletries | 27 | 39 |
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Things to do in Oslo
The Norwegian press is all aflush today, with reports on this travel report about Oslo from LA Times.Having not spent any considerable time in Oslo for well over 5 years I was interested to read details of the new Nobel Peace Center and Villa Grande with its Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities, which both sounds like interesting additions to my travel itinerary for my next visit.
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