"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea" - Eric Cantona

Second battle, Wilkinson vs Jones

I got an idea from the previous post. Each of them has a song on their CD that is not a Broadway song or a typical pop song. Wilkinson sings the Irish song "Danny Boi" while Jones sings the Welsh song Myfanwy. This is a tough call since Jones sings in Welsh and I am quite fond of traditional songs in their original languages. A language, after all, is a part of your history and who you are. So listen to the two songs and see if you can favor one before the other. It is almost impossible.



Lyrics, original and translated:

Verse 1
Paham mae dicter, O Myfanwy,
Yn llenwi'th lygaid duon di?
A'th ruddiau tirion, O Myfanwy,
Heb wrido wrth fy ngweled i?
Pa le mae'r wên oedd ar dy wefus
Fu'n cynnau 'nghariad ffyddlon ffôl?
Pa le mae sain dy eiriau melys,
Fu'n denu'n nghalon ar dy ôl?

Why is it anger, O Myfanwy,
That fills your eyes so dark and clear?
Your gentle cheeks, O sweet Myfanwy,
Why blush they not when I draw near?
Where is the smile that once most tender
Kindled my love so fond, so true?
Where is the sound of your sweet words,
That drew my heart to follow you?

Verse 2
Pa beth a wneuthum, O Myfanwy
I haeddu gwg dy ddwyrudd hardd?
Ai chwarae oeddit, O Myfanwy
 thanau euraidd serch dy fardd?
Wyt eiddo im drwy gywir amod
Ai gormod cadw'th air i mi?
Ni cheisiaf fyth mo'th law, Myfanwy,
Heb gael dy galon gyda hi.

What have I done, O my Myfanwy,
To earn your frown? What is my blame?
Was it just play, my sweet Myfanwy,
To set your poet's love aflame?
You truly once to me were promised,
Is it too much to keep your part?
I wish no more your hand, Myfanwy,
If I no longer have your heart.

Verse 3
Myfanwy boed yr holl o'th fywyd
Dan heulwen ddisglair canol dydd.
A boed i rosyn gwridog iechyd
I ddawnsio ganmlwydd ar dy rudd.
Anghofia'r oll o'th addewidion
A wnest i rywun, 'ngeneth ddel,
A dyro'th law, Myfanwy dirion
I ddim ond dweud y gair "Ffarwél".

Myfanwy, may you spend your lifetime
Beneath the midday sunshine's glow,
And on your cheeks O may the roses
Dance for a hundred years or so.
Forget now all the words of promise
You made to one who loved you well,
Give me your hand, my sweet Myfanwy,
But one last time, to say "farewell".

Colm Wilkinson "Danny Boy"

Which one?

A strange thought crossed my mind the other day. Why do I not have John Owen Jones' CD in my library? Well, he is on the CD with the touring cast of Les Miserables, as Valjean. You can buy it on iTunes, which I do recommend you do. http://itunes.apple.com/no/artist/les-miserables-live-cast/id390322614. Therefore it was about time to buy his solo album, where he sings a lot of different songs. One song is of course Music of the Night, since he has played in Phantom and is currently in that show. There is another singer, Colm Wilkinson, that has been in the role of the Phantom and released a CD. He too has Music of the Night on his CD. Wilkinson his regarded as one of the best and would have been the first to play in Phantom if he did not play in Les Miserables at the time Phantom had its premiere. It is impossible to choose one or the other as the favorite since "Jojo" and Colm sing the song so differently. Where as Colm sounds a bit rough, ruthless and violent, Jones sings the song as the Phantom would be a romantic and misunderstood person. So who do you favor?



I could not find Colm's CD version, so this will have to do:


Wilkinson's CD: http://itunes.apple.com/no/album/broadway-and-beyond-the-concert/id353808313
Jones' CD: http://itunes.apple.com/no/album/john-owen-jones/id343389277

Book of the day

Probably an inside joke among students that study history.

Do you stumble?

I often stumble, both in real life and on the Internet. If you stumble on the internet, you use a web page or application. For me it is hard to decide what it is out of those two. Anyway, you register a profile and you can choose which topics you are interested in. When you "stumble", you are directed to a random page within the topics you have decided. It is possible to find quite som decent pages out there. Today, I found this one: http://www.amazing-planet.com. What you find there is stunning photographs from all over the world. I highly recommend it.

Today . . .

Second round of winter

Random book at the library

This book was placed in the shelves for books that have recently been added to the library. I do not think I will be reading it, though.

Prayer of Saint Francis

My religious beliefs shall stay in secresy since that does not really matter here. I just like this prayer quite a lot.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Hurray!

My page has passed 1300 visitors. That does not seem a lot but it is to me. The person who was the number 1300 currently resides in York, the English York and not New york. I am sorry but do not have the funds to send a prize.

It's a revelation!

What today has offered

Yes, venting of frustration!

Okay, I have a list of things which makes me rather frustrated. The list might be better in Norwegian. If there are any foreign people who wants to understand it, give me a heads up.

1. Punkt en på lista er noe som egentlig ikke er noe å frustrere meg over, men jeg gjør det allikevel. Folk som trykker på "stopp-knappen" på bussen like før siste holdeplass skjønner jeg lite av. Tror de at de er dømt til evig liv på rute fem om de ikke trykker?
2. Folk på bussen som skal betale kontant og sperrer veien for dem som har slikt et fancy kort. Come on, effektivitet!
3. Effektivitet, ja. Vær da litt proaktiv og røys deg før døra har rukket å åpne seg, så fremt du har helse til det.
4. For all del, om du ser at det er fullt på gulvet, trekk lenger bak i bussen! Det skal ikke være nødvendig av sjåføren å be om det når det står 20 mennesker og venter ute i regnet.
5. Dette kan være et hovedpunkt, nemlig plasser som ikke egner seg for å ha en konversasjon:
a) i ei døråpning. Ja, det skjer og det er teit!
b) i smale trapper. Man går på høyre side. Står det noen og prater i trappa ødelegges rytmen. Gå opp eller ned slik at alle blir fornøyde
6) Igjen, proaktiv er stikkordet. Hvorfor vente med å lete frem bankkortet til personen i kassa har sagt hva det koster? Dette gjelder for øvrig og med busskort.
7) Hold kjeft under forelesning! Føler det er greit og presist. Om du har lyst til å være stille på lesesaler, så skal du få lov til det. Her blir undertegnede også frustrert av folk som ypper seg med pc-bruk på saler som kun er til lesing, spising av diverse ting, høy musikk, folk som holder har pause i evigheter
8) Bibliotekarer som prater høyt inne på et bibliotek, et paradoks?


Og slik går dagene. Om jeg husker mer blir det lagt til på listen.

Here is the answer

The blurry picture was a picture of my brand new HTC Desire HD, which was actually taken with my new lense for the camera. First impression is that is great. I would expect nothing less. I have a bit experience of the iOS from my Ipod and the Android OS is just different. There are quite a number of usefull apps for the HTC, not just for the iPhone, like a "flashlight" if you need some light, maps if you are lost and if you need something there is always an option to download it. Apps that are available for both the Android and the iOS might be free for the Andriod where as it costs money for the iOS. One feature I really found usefull is that you can synchronize your friend list from Facebook to your phone so the list of your friends numbers are complete at all time, given that they have their number listed on their FB profile. One disadvantage is the location of the buttons below the screen. While you are browsing the list of phone numbers the button for going back to the previous menu is right below the button on screen for dial. I guess that is something you get used too.

What is this?

Wonder what I found on my desk today . . . Got a clue?

The box

There is a box made of cardboard in my room. Well, actually there are two but that is not the point here. I picked up this box at the post office the other day, Thursday I think. The measurements of the box are 33x23x23 cm, which is more or less the size of a shoe box. I have not bought shoes online, that is something I do not think I will even try to do. The thing inside was a new pair of earplugs because my previous ones had taken some damage. Maybe it is not that funny but I think it is. The size of the box compared to the content is ridiculous. I had expected at least something that would fit in my mailbox, but no. Is this a rant? Probably not, but yours truly is rather in the dark here.

Just an old photo while waiting for the new lense to arrive.

Saturday, hey hey

As always on a Saturday morning, the first thought in my head was the lines from the Queen song Stone Cold Crazy. It is a tradition almost, just as laying in bed for several hours watching TV is. I do not know why but Saturdays are days where you do not do a thing. Get up late from bed, long shower, watch TV before shopping for groceries and then straight back to the TV. It might have been a different story today since pretty much every store in the city had a major sale. I have been there the previous times. This time nothing caught my eye in the paper. Even though it is kind of boring to do nothing and be by yourself, I find it quite relaxing. The football match has been the highlight of the day by far. Finding a good stream online to the game, nachos made before kick off and a cold beer was something I really needed.

The thing I have thought over and over today and yesterday is that I am really happy for living where I do. Reading and watching all the news from Japan is rather scary. The media of today brings all the catastrophes right into our livingrooms. Is that a good thing? I mean, pretend this was 70 years ago. A disaster like the one in Japan right now might have been in the news a month from now due to the lack of the Internet. Without any references to the country and topography I think people would have been less frightened. This brings me to another thing that puzzles my mind these days; political correctness. After a catastrophy a support group pops right up on Facebook. I am not saying that it is bad that people care, but it easier to click on "join group" just because you want to show that you are up to date on current events and forget about it. It takes less than a second to click on that button and forget about it. But hey, if I am wrong, I will admit it.

Waking up in the morning

People can be categorized as an "A-person" or "B-person" when it comes to getting up in the morning. I proudly proclaim that I do not like getting up in the morning. It has always been like that. Eventhough I probably looke miserable and what not I do it. Still, the problem is the part where the alarm starts. I need something that is not too soft so I fall asleep. That brings me to the video above, you just need to listen to the intro. Hear the bagpipes? That is right. That will be my alarm from now on. Previous melodies include the overture from Phantom of the Opera and O Fortuna from Carmina Burana among. Having melodies that might be on the soundtrack for the Apocolypse help me out of bed and get going. It is easier, for me at least, to wake up with a flash so to speak, get dressed and out the door. Less time to fall asleep when I just might be on my way out.