Random But Gay

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T21:15:00.003+01:00

Trying to figure out whether or not to come up with a few New Year’s resolutions I found myself looking at my post from last New Year. Although at that point all my resolutions seemed pretty huge and I didn’t expect to follow them all through (after all that is what happens to a lot of resolutions…) I accomplished to follow through on them all. Yay me! :-)

The most significant of them all was my second resolution: Go for it! And this resolution wasn’t just about me being a gay it was a general thing. And I did it. For every major decision in my life (and some not so big) I tried to figure out what was the best thing for me. What would make me happy?

And 2009 was a year of many changes in my life. Some pretty big, some small and some reeeaaalllllly huge :-)

I didn’t pass my final exam, so I won’t graduate until this summer. But that also gives me time to finish all my classes at the same time, and I won’t have to deal with a job along side of my Science class.*

I came out to my extended family. And although for some of them it was difficult seeing me as a lesbian they all were more concerned about my happiness than anything else.

But the biggest and most important change in my life in 2009 happened gradually from April/May. I found myself spending a whole lot more time at the computer. And for once I didn’t mind having a bit of insomnia. It actually came in handy when speaking to a person who used to live in a time zone that’s 9 hours behind yours. Which means that the couple of hours you may sleep is equivalent to some of the hours she might sleep too. And the time difference won’t interfere with the hours you are able to speak with each other.

The observant reader of course noticed that I wrote “used to” ;-)

We now live not only in the same time zone but also the same house and have been for almost 4 months :-)

Sometimes I wonder how I got to be so lucky. I mean, what are the odds of two people living on different continents finding each other over the internet, fall in love and get to build a life together?

But it is nice for once to be able to say that I’m not the only gay in the village anymore ;-)

This year I’ve decided not to press my luck as far as the resolutions goes.
But I’ve decided that as long as I follow my heart I can’t be all wrong. Sure I might hit a few bumps in the road along the way but as long as I stay true to myself it’s got to be worth it.

Hope you all have the most excellent 2010!

*I’m studying to be a teacher (for kids aged 7 – 17) and I really wanted to teach Science as well as History but it was not possible at the same time so I postponed Science a year.

Christmas - all about traditions.

2009-12-23T23:14:00.005+01:00

We celebrate Christmas Eve more that Christmas Day.
At Christmas Eve we have a family dinner, consisting of roast duck with boiled potatoes, caramelled potatoes, red cabbage and gravy. For dessert we have rice pudding with a cherry sauce and in the pudding an almond is hidden. The lucky finder of this almond gets a small gift. After dinner we gather around the Christmas tree to sing Christmas carols and dance hand in hand around the tree - well I suppose it's more a very, very slow walk than a dance due to all the food. And then we open presents.

Christmas Day we use to gather strength. And relax in general.

And then there is the Julefrokost on Boxing Day. More eating - a lot of fish dishes. Most of them cold. Like pickled herring. But we also have hot dishes like kale stew and cabbage stew with ham and/or meatballs (frikadeller). We also have spiced meat roll and leverpostej and finish the meal of with a lot of different cheeses. More singing - although this is highly connected to the drinking. We sing drinking songs like: "We toast with our friends and those we know. And those we do not know, we'll toast with them as well!" (Okay it rhymes a bit better in Danish...)
It's not all just eating, singing and drinking. We also make room for a walk - which is as needed as the 'dance' around the Christmas tree.

After Boxing Day we may or may not have a few more Julefrokoster before New Year. But otherwise we just relax. And make sure to exercise plenty!

Happy holidays.
Merry Christmas.
Glædelig jul.

Winter solstice

2009-12-20T21:14:00.005+01:00

Tomorrow is Winter solstice.
For us - way up North...;-) - it means that it's the shortest day of the year. So after tomorrow we can look forward to more sunlight during the day. Which would be nice.

In the paradox that is Global Warming we have had some pretty chilly nights here in Denmark. At the island of Bornholm they experienced the coldest night temperature in December since before 1874 (and in general not since 1987) so it's been rather cold.
But that also means that the snow we had a couple days ago still is here. And it looks like it will still be here for Christmas Day.
I for one am still dreaming of a White Christmas ;-)

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-16T13:31:00.003+01:00

Finally the snow came...

It's not really December - or winter - without it.
Childhood memories of me and my sister playing in the snow, making snowmen, sledding, engaging in snowball fights... Good times :-)

Nowadays it's more about candle lights, fires in the wooden stove, coffee (although in December a little gløgg might probably be consumed as well... ☺) - and of course shoveling the sidewalks and winter tires ☺.

No no... I'm still here....

2009-10-06T09:40:00.004+02:00

...just still busy with life :-)

But I will return. Next time with more...content. I promise ;-)

I've been busy...

2009-09-08T08:00:00.001+02:00

..which means I haven't had time to post anything here...but I guess you've already figured that one out.

Well I suppose the truth is that I haven't been able to concentrate on much else than what's going on in my own life, so I haven't really been paying attention to what's out there in the world - whether it's the online or the 'real' one.

For starters I've had my exams. Which for the most part went okay. But were pretty time consuming.

But futhermore - and more importantly - I've been busy with cleaning up my life. Litterally.

See the thing is that I'm a collector. And I collect a lot of things. Some more valueable than others. Like for instance my books, my music intruments, my CD's or my DVD's (and a few cassete and VHS tapes - I might actually have a BETA tape too...not sure why I kept that one. It's not like I can play it....)

But I've also kept a lot of other stuff that's not really valueable. Like my sketches or magazines that I wanted to re-read but never got around to it or papers I should have gotten rid of ages ago or... Well the list goes on and on.

But I think I never had a good enough reason to actually get the things thrown out.
And with me being a procrastinator....well let's just say that that's not something that goes well with being a collector. At least not for me... :-)

But when you've only got yourself to worry about it doesn't matter if the office is untidy. You just close the door so no one can see it. Although I have to say that even if I am untidy I do know where my things are...sometimes it's the tidying up that messes things up for me...it ruins my system ;-)

But from tomorrow I'm sharing my house with someone and that means that I needed to get rid of a lot of things. So that's what I've been busy with lately.
It's the first time in my life I've been happy about throwing things out.

But I will get back on track with this blog.

Until then...
Have fun.

Memory Monday:

2009-08-31T08:07:00.001+02:00

Recently there was an interview on Danish television with Sannie Carlson.

In 1994 she was the first artist ever to be number 1 in the UK singles chart with a debut single. That achievement gave her a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Most of you probably know her better under the name Whigfield.

And all though she made a lot of music back in the 90s I have to say I only remember two of her songs:

Whigfield – Saturday Night (1994)

Whigfield – Think of You (1995)

Now there’s been a lot of remixes of her songs lately, and in the interview I mentioned earlier she said that she was working on some songs that she will perform herself. She’s been living in Italy for quite a lot of years where she’s writing and composing music for others.

Sannie Carlson anno 2009:

Photo from her MySpace page

But I need to honest. I’m not equally as thrilled about her (possible) upcoming album as I was to hear that The Cranberries are reuniting :-)

Have a great Monday!

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-08-30T09:49:00.003+02:00

If you find yourself not knowing what to do on a cold and rainy Sunday (or any other day of the week…) then watching movies or television series and/or web series is an excellent choice – unless of course you want to take care of the dishes or do some cleaning or maybe the laundry….

Right… So back to the entertainment :-)

What do you do when you figure out that you don’t want to see another mainstream movie or series because you haven’t had time to catch up on all the stories you wanted to that have lesbian content?
If you realize that you’ve not watched the latest in the development of the Otalia storyline or maybe haven’t watched the entire Pepsi storyline or haven’t even started on the Starla storyline yet, then there’s hope my friend.
The same goes if there are certain movies you might have heard of, but are not sure if you actually want to see them.
Or if you just want to see some fan made tribute videos to the above mentioned stories.
Or vlogs or commercials or...

Well obviously it takes time to search the Internet for all that information. So it’s a really good thing that someone already came up with the idea to gather all these videos at one place:

One More Lesbian

So if you didn’t already know about this website then you really need to go and check it out.
And enjoy your Sunday :-)

Thunderbolts of lightning...

2009-08-26T09:08:00.015+02:00

...very very frightning... :-)

So last night there was yet again another thunderstorm.

There have been a lot of those this summer - which really is unusual.

I don't mind thunderstorms. In fact I love them. But when some of the trees next to (or actually in) my hedge shows evidence of being struck by lightning (not last night’s storm though) I tend to get a bit...nervous. Mostly because I live in a wooden house :-)

And last night there was a lot of lightning going on. It was beautiful. But when the thunder is so loud it even makes your house tremble and the lightning appears at the same time...you know it’s close :-)

Still there's something very soothing about sitting in the dark listening to the thunder and the heavy rain and just watch how the lightnings are racing across the sky.

Not my picture.

The only downside to the thunderstorms is that they appear to be the cause of some of my headaches.

On a side note Denmark will get a visit from what's left of hurricane Bill on Thursday, but so far it's not gonna do much other than maybe increase the wind a bit and give us perhaps a bit extra rain... :-)

And earlier this month there was a tornado* that hit a city about 40 kilometers from where I live. It damaged a few houses, cars and trees.

This is not a picture of the actual tornado* forming - but it's a picture of another one forming the same day about 5 kilometers from where I live. Again not my picture.

So the weather has been acting up this summer. But now that summer is almost gone (at least that's what the calender says...) next we have autumn...and winter.
Which means I can't help wondering if I should purchase a pair of skis...just in case :-)

* = We do get tornados on a regular basis but on the Fujita scale they barely hit F0. They usually form over the ocean which means they never really touch ground. This particularly tornado was a F1. It's only happened once before in Denmark. In 1962.

Memory Monday:

2009-08-24T14:58:00.006+02:00

Like I told you last Monday I blamed myself for my grandmothers death. Which was silly. But that didn't change the fact that I did.

But why did I?

Now here is where it stops making sense (well...)

My one year younger cousin (the one I mentioned racing prior to my accidental swim in the pond...) was at my house. (She and her younger sister were staying with us for the weekend.) Now we were 11 and 10 so we figured that we could easily ride our bicycles to our grandparent’s house. Cause it wasn't more than 15 kilometers. So what would be the problem in that? Well according to my parents the problem was that we would have to drive along a road with a lot of cars. And I do mean a lot of cars. And trucks. So they told us no.

After making up an incredible fool proof plan (we were just 11 and 10....) we decided to go anyway.
So we told my sister (who is 3 years younger than I and therefore definitely not old enough to join us on our adventure....and we remembered to tell her exactly that...HUGE mistake...) that she was to give our parents a note after we left. (How very responsible of us). But not immediately after we left. She should count to 100 at least 50 times.

So off we went. And we did get as far as almost to the next town which was 7 kilometers away when my dad showed up in the car with the trailer. But since we didn't exactly look like we were exhausted we had to drive home on the bicycles ourselves while he followed us in the car. (Not sure that would work today. A man following two young girls on bicycles...).
But we were very exhausted when we got home. And although we didn't admit it (at least not at first) there were a lot of times on the way out where the cars didn't care about the two of us on bicycles so we had to drive off the road.

So we did learn a lesson.
Well two actually.

- Listen to your parents when they inform you about the dangers of riding a bicycle in the countryside.

- And don't tell your little sister that she can't join you because she's not old enough - she will rat you out! ;-)

But the short story long...

Because we never made it to our grandparents house - and because my grandmother had the stroke not long after our adventure - I blamed myself for years. Had I only made it to their house then maybe she would have lived. Or even better. She would never have had the stroke in the first place. As if my visit days prior to the stroke would have made a difference.

As I grew older I figured out that nothing could have changed the outcome of my grandmother’s stroke. I'm not even sure that it would have made a difference if it had happened today.

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-08-23T08:11:00.004+02:00

Since I've been really idle lately (okay maybe not idle anywhere else except for this blog) I haven't had time to really think about what I wanted to post for this Sunday.

I haven't been spending a whole lot of time on the websites I usually spent my time before; like YouTube or AfterEllen.

Instead I go through kind of a schedule while I'm online. And besides websites like Twitter (which I usually read just not at the same time as everybody else...or so it seems at times), icanhascheezburger and Cake Wrecks (more about that one later...) I go to a specific website:

eurOut.

Let me give you a few quotes:

"eurOut: Visibility of lesbian and bisexual women in Europe".

"Whether with humour or seriousness, Europe’s only website of its kind, is not afraid to pay attention to injustice and to openly criticize it, but it doesn’t forget the fun of being gay either."

“Europe is very gay!” the eurOut team says, “It’s time for people to realize that.”

So what I'm aiming at is that if you aren't already paying attention to this website...then you need to go and check it out!

Happy Sunday.

Release Me by Agnes

2009-08-19T11:27:00.004+02:00

One of my current obsessions favorite tunes.

One down...two to go...

2009-08-18T18:09:00.003+02:00

Just finished one exam, which means I have two more to go. Both for next week.

I wrote the papers a while ago for the final two exams, but I still need to study for my presentation. Which basically means that I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks, but hopefully I'll still have time to post something here...and I know I haven't done a very good job at that lately...

But I'll try :-)

Memory Monday:

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000+02:00

I hope you all had a great weekend!

And I'm giving you more – if only a few – song from the 80s.

The first song is special to me in a way that’s difficult to explain, but I’m gonna give it a try…
After my paternal grandmother died (when I was about 11) my dad told me that it was her favorite song. Or at least one of them. I liked it before she died but that piece of information just made me like it even more. I don’t know why but I got the idea that it probably meant that my grandmother was my guardian angel! In my young mind that made totally sense at the time :-) (Well considering I thought that it was my fault she died (which it wasn’t - she died from a stroke – but that’s a totally different story) then maybe it’s not that weird at all….and then again…) Anyway. The song.

Guardian Angel – Masquerade (1984):

Back when lyrics were easy to remember…

Words Don’t Come Easy – F.R. David (1987):

This is one of those songs I remember but I don’t really remember the lyrics after all… At least not all of them.

Don’t You Want Me – Human League (1982):

I still like this one.

Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Tears For Fears (1985):

And they are still going strong :-)

And finally a song where the lyrics makes no sense at all :-)
This one is made by a Swedish band.

Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot – Caramba (1981):

In case you want to know the actual lyrics to this one… :-)
Hubba hubba zoot-zoot
Nam!
Ebba obba zat-zat
Nam!
Pa huvee, pa huvee. paa
Pahab huvee paa
A nam nam?
A nam!

Have a great Monday :-)

Sapphic Sunday

2009-08-16T07:43:00.000+02:00

This Just Out with Liz Feldman.

Funny. Adorable. And very very gay :-).

A lot of guests have visited Liz Feldman in ‘her’ kitchen. Like:

Emily Deschanel Season 1, episode 5:

More Lesbian Entertainment & Video

Clementine Ford Season 2, episode 4:

More Lesbian Entertainment & Video

Bridget McManus Season 2, episode 5 (season finale):

More Lesbian Entertainment & Video

Tegan and Sara Part 1. Season 3, episode 4:

More Lesbian Entertainment & Video

Part 2

See I was gonna say that Tegan made the most appearances in TJO (one by herself, and two with Sara), but that only makes 3.

Someone else made 4.

Kate Moennig:
The very first episode, the 6th episode of the first season, the 1st episode of the third season and the grand finale - the final episode of TJO.

But also Clea Duvall, Erin Daniels, Rose Rollins, Uh Huh Her (anybody see a patern here...?), Erin Foley and Rachel Cantu…..and a few others….have visited the kitchen.

For more Liz Feldman you could always watch Shack Talk.

Happy Sunday.

Holy Grail!

2009-08-05T08:27:00.000+02:00

Just for fun.

Monty Python:

(These are from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail")

The Annoying Peasant:

French Taunting:

If you have a lot of time on your hands and you don't know what to do about it, you could go visit Monty Python's Completely Useless Web Site...

Did someone say sleep...?

2009-08-04T06:10:00.000+02:00

Sometimes you do need more sleep than other times...

...and if all else fails...

From icanhascheezburger.com.

Memory Monday:

2009-08-03T06:14:00.001+02:00

Memory Monday:

Growing up I watched A LOT of Eddie Murphy movies.

The Golden Child (1986):

Trailer:

One of my favorite scenes from the movie:

The Dancing Can:

The bowl of oatmeal with blood in it and the scary looking guy (that never spoke a word, but wore some kind of a shade hat I think… Fu maybe? ) those were some of the things that were the worst of the movie when I saw it the first time)

Coming to America (1988):

Trailer:

Eddie Murphy playing multiple roles:

(This was actually on the television Friday or Saturday evening. I didn’t see it though.)

Beverly Hills Cop (1984):

Trailer:

I’ve always preferred the second movie. When I was younger it was mainly because Brigitte Nielsen played the ‘bad guys sidekick’ – and she’s Danish… - but today it’s because I like the whole dynamics between the characters.

(I found a “Behind the Scenes” video too…)

And then there’s Shrek (2001):

I’m not sure that Shrek would be as funny if the characters had been any different. I mean the voices of Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona and last but not least (even though it’s not before the second movie) Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots. They are just a funny bunch.

(Btw. Shrek 2 also has the voice of Julie Andrews as Queen. I'd say that it doesn't get any better than that, but now I'm sidetracking myself from what I really intended to write about. I might have to address the issue of Shrek - and other animated movies - in a later blog post...)

As far as Eddie Murphy’s newer movies go…I haven’t really watched any of them (except for the Shrek movies and Dr. Doolittle…) or maybe it’s more true to say that I haven’t attempted to watch any of them. Perhaps I will some day.

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-08-02T08:52:00.000+02:00

Dara & Karman’s Hitlist

I used to spend a lot of time at AfterEllen but lately I’ve been a bit more preoccupied and as a result of that I don’t have time to watch more than a few vlog’s at the site.

One of them is Dara & Karman’s Hitlist.

I love the chemistry that’s between these two and my sense of humor is a lot like theirs, so I enjoy watching the vlog.

Here’s their take on “Lesbian Hangouts” (eps. 15)

More Lesbian Entertainment & Video

“Lesbian Sterotypes” (eps. 11)

More Lesbian Entertainment & Video

You can also watch Things Every Lesbian Should Know or how about Girls With Guns or Characters We Wish Were Real or a lot of other episodes (currrently it's 28 episodes).

Enjoy your Sunday.

Sorry for the lack of content lately...

2009-08-02T08:18:00.000+02:00

...but I've been a little preoccupied. Among other things (some way more fun than others… ;-) ) I’ve been studying for exams. And they are not done yet, but at least I get the time to breathe a little before I have to finish them. So hopefully I get time to be a bit more on schedule with my blog posts.

Memory Monday:

2009-07-27T09:34:00.001+02:00

Television that made me laugh:

ALF.
What do you call a creature from outer space? You know - an Alien Life Form...

I thought this guy was hilarious.

He always had an appetite for the cat… ;-)

Dining

More hilarious moments.

And then the song:

Also: Intro for season 1 - 2 and Intro for season 3 - 4.

Isn’t it funny that sometimes when you hear a tune you know exactly what show it was from? Even if you haven’t heard it in ages.

Brødrene Bisp – Voldsom Volvo

This song is one of the songs I still know the lyrics for - even though I may not have heard it in more than 15 years. It was part of a show. I couldn't tell you what that show was about if my life depended on it but I do remember the song...

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-07-26T08:17:00.002+02:00

Nikki and Nora.

Starring Liz Vassey and Christina Cox

Nikki and Nora part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

It’s one of those shows I would have loved to see more of. Unfortunately it never got past the pilot.

In 3way there was a little spoof of the show-that-was-nearly-there called LadyCops. Spoofs are often funny, but when the actors that do the spoof are the ones that did the original show it’s hilarious. And both actresses do a very good job. But it was a part of the ongoing storyline in 3way and never a standalone episode, so I was pleased when I saw this tweet:

And here’s the full episode (of course it’s divided in two….)

LadyCops part 1

LadyCops part 2

(But it's still part of 3way ;-) )

Vacation...

2009-07-24T08:23:00.000+02:00

Back home from vacation (I stayed in Denmark) and eventhough the weather for the most part consisted of rain, rain, a bit of thunder - and rain ;-) there were a few moments where it didn't rain. And where the weather was beautiful.

When I get the time to go through all my pictures I'll probably post a few pictures of the more cloudy skies. :-)

Harry Potter is back...

2009-07-21T00:53:00.003+02:00

And there's no end to what people would do to get other people to notice their 'investment' in the Potter-mania.

I saw this while I was on vacation at my parents holiday home.

Not sure who made this...

But it's made in LEGO©. That had to take some time...

I haven't watched the movie yet. But I will. Eventually. :-)

Memory Monday:

2009-07-20T02:15:00.001+02:00

More movies I watched in the 80s....

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Nine to Five (1980)

This trailer is WAY better. I thought the scenes like the ones from 1.51 were hilarious...

Private Benjamin (1980)

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

Blue Lagoon (1980)

Der Alte

Okay technically it's not a movie. It's a series. But I'm pretty sure that this series is the reason why I love crime series today...

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-07-19T01:41:00.001+02:00

Jill Bennett

She was in a vlog with Karman Kregloe at AfterEllen called We’re Getting Nowhere that began as re-caps of South of Nowhere. The first episode was without Dara Nai (I think Jill Bennett initially filled in for Dara Nai), but she joined them for the next episode. But they also re-capped The L Word, ANT and vlogged about some other things. They had guest appearances by different people like Sarah Warn, Bridget McManus, Liz Feldman, Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Keener and others

She played Andrea in 3way - the hottest lesbian comedy NOT on TV. 3way also stars Maeve Quinlan, Cathy Shim and Maile Flanagan.

She also writes and makes video blogs for SheWired.

If you want more information go to her webpage where you also can see episodes of the webseries We Have To Stop Now with Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono or read about the movie And Then Came Lola

And Then Came Lola

And Then Came Lola-Trailer from fastgirlfilms on Vimeo.

Gay or Straight?

2009-07-18T00:44:00.006+02:00

Stockholm Pride made a Twitter Quiz. By entering your Twitter account name it will sort out how hetero you are.

My score...

How about you?
See for yourself.

Drama Queen:

2009-07-17T02:50:00.002+02:00

Okay. So I'm having a bit of a ESC moment again...

Danish entry for the ESC 2007. But we never made it past the semi-finals...

DQ - Drama Queen

The happiest place on Earth...

2009-07-16T01:11:00.000+02:00

How do you measure happiness?

Although I like their interpretation of The Jante Law, it's not quite what it states. However most Danes live by the reverse - or positive - Jante Law.

Come on over

2009-07-15T01:54:00.001+02:00

A song that entered the Danish ESC but didn't win (2008)

Hassing & Hassing - Come on over

Here’s a link to their performance. There is sound. You just have to turn the volume way up...

Photos

2009-07-14T03:23:00.004+02:00

I always hope that whenever I take a picture of somthing I can capture the beauty I see. It never really happens...

But I still try and I just wanted to share these with you:

Memory Monday:

2009-07-13T02:14:00.000+02:00

Some songs from the 90s:

Army of Lovers - Crucified

Army of Lovers - Obsession

And some ‘crazy’ Danes making cover versions of different songs :-)

Diskofil – Da Jonny Ble’ til Conni

Diskofil – Dinge Dong

Aqua – Medley of songs – and they had a little help from Safri Duo too (Live at the Eurovision in Denmark 2001)

And one of the songs from their new album

Aqua – Back to the 80s

Memory Monday:

2009-07-06T05:16:00.005+02:00

One show I loved when I was younger, was ’Allo ‘Allo! The story takes place during WWII, but the show’s premise was not to make fun of the war. It was meant to spoof war-based film and TV dramas.

I still sometimes say Listen very carefully. I shall say this only once… and Good Moaning.
And I also refer to The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies from time to time.

3.41 – 3.56 and 5.56 (or 6.35) – 7.00

And I love how they play with the words

If you want to watch episodes from the 9 seasons, you should check out this channel.

And if you want the complete (fan made) guide to the show you should go here.

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-07-05T13:42:00.007+02:00

Law & Order:

Yes I'm sticking to my crime shows.

The only series of Law & Order that actually airs in Denmark is Law & Order: Criminal Intent. But although I like Goren and Eames as a team none of them are Detective Olivia Benson. Alright it's a totally different series of Law & Order. Law & Order: SVU - or Special Victims Unit.

Olivia Benson is portrayed by Mariska Hargitay:

I've currently only seen most of season 1, which means so far no Alex Cabot, but I've had the pleasure of watching Angie Harmon (who I told you about a few Sundays ago). She played ADA Abbie Carmichael.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T06:59:00.002+02:00

It’s Independence Day in the United States of America and although it’s celebrated mostly in America other countries celebrate it too.

Like Denmark.

Not far from where I live an annual celebration takes place. In the Rebild Hills – or Rebild Bakker (in the Danish version
they boldly claim it to be ‘the world’s largest 4th of July celebration outside the United States of America…')

And a lot of people do participate in this celebration that has taken place since 1912

The day is among other things celebrated with speeches from both Danes and Americans. This year’s main speakers are Niels Arden Oplev (best known outside Denmark for being the director of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Janet Borge Crowle (daughter of Victor Borge).

There are a lot of activities through out the day. Both for kids and grown ups. And in the days prior to July 4th the surrounding cities celebrate 'American Days'.

Happy 4th of July

Memory Monday:

2009-06-29T03:57:00.001+02:00

Fishing, ponds and streams.

Where my paternal grandmother and her husband lived there was a small stream in the backyard. And across the street there was a fairly large pond, and there were a lot of ducks and swans living there. Also there were a lot of fish. So my cousins, my sister and I spend a lot of time fishing. Or running around in the stream. The only time I recall us ever catching anything in the stream it wasn’t even on purpose. My sister was just fetching some water in a bucket and she caught an eel.

But there were a lot of fish in the pond. Unfortunately they weren’t that easy to catch. But we tried. Every now and then we would bring our fishing poles and stand around the pond, each at our favorite spot, and wait for the fish to bite. I don’t remember ever catching any fish, but I do remember that one of my cousins won a fishing contest that was held at the pond once. And my sister won second or third place.

Another thing I remember was the time I fell in the pond.

And I’m pretty sure it was right after the fishing contest. My dad and my uncles and all of us children were on our way home to my grandparent’s house. I was racing my cousin and she said something to me, so naturally I turned and looked at her. Unfortunately that was when the pond took a turn too, so I ran into it instead of around it. It wasn’t very deep. But I was embarrassed and the water was cold, and the ducks and the swans were swimming towards me (I guess they thought I brought bread by special delivery…), so I really didn’t feel like swimming around in there. And the swans were pretty big to a 10 year old.

After that it took a while before I ran my way around the pond again. I preferred walking :-)

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-06-28T04:26:00.000+02:00

She has played a number of roles. Like Gwen DeMarco, Dana Barrett, Ripley...

I am talking about Sigourney Weaver.

Need I say more?

Aliens (the second movie)

Galaxy Quest

____________________________________

Last night Ghostbusters was on television. I always liked Ghostbusters 2 the best. But that was mostly because of this scene:

Ghostbusters II (Statue of Liberty scene)

Enjoy your Sunday :-)

Just for fun: Yes more Otalia

2009-06-24T15:36:00.004+02:00

Okay. This is original...and funny :-)

And the music... :-)
Anyone remember Benny Hill?

Midsummer: We still burn witches….

2009-06-23T04:07:00.001+02:00

It’s the annual celebration of midsummer or solstice. In Danish: Skt. Hans aften.

Every year on June 23rd we gather around a huge bonfire….and burn a witch.
She may not be an actual woman (but one made of straw) but none the less we celebrate Skt. Hans aften by burning of a witch. And we do that to send her of to Bloksbjerg (which is the German mountain Blocksberg or Brocken).

The tradition however is not connected to the actual witch burnings we had between the 15th and the 17th century. Initially we made bonfires to scare off the witches and evil spirits but the tradition with a witch on the fire was brought to us from some German workers who came to Denmark in the 1860s.
But we have celebrated midsummer at least since the days of the Vikings. At that time this night was believed to be magical and filled with magical powers – both good and evil. Also the herbs and the springs were believed to be especially magical this night.

When I was a kid, we used to celebrate Skt. Hans at my (paternal) grandparents’ house. We started in the afternoon by making a witch out of straw and/or newspapers (and some of my grandmother’s old clothes…). And sometimes there were firecrackers inside the witch as well, so she would really make some noise when she flew off for Bloksbjerg.
After dinner we gathered around the bonfire, where we kids ran around playing. And the evening usually ended with us making snobrød* over the fire.
After my grandmother died in 1988 the tradition ended (because the land we used to build the bonfire on was sold).

Nowadays we usually go to a public bonfire. We listen to speeches made by a public figure from the community, we sing the Midsummer Hymn (there are two versions: the original and the the more modern one) and then we drink beer, eat hotdogs (or similar) and hang out with friends and family. And celebrate that the days will be longer and the nights will be brighter.

*Snobrød are just small breads on a stick that are baked over the fire.

Memory Monday:

2009-06-22T05:28:00.001+02:00

Childhood games.

We played a lot of the games at school (between classes – and sometimes during).

I had 2 favorites:

Rundbold and Antonius

Now rundbold is similar to baseball or softball – and yet totally different I guess.

Equipment:

Here are the rules for rundbold
There’s only one thing I’d like to add. We did have someone to throw or bounce the ball for us when we were to hit it.

Like this:

I think I liked this game so much because I was pretty good at it. It was one of those games where I was actually in the top half of the class when teams were made. And it was not because I was a very good runner. But I could hit the ball far out of the field and I could throw it pretty far as well. And I was a fairly decent catcher too.
__________

Antonius is also a game that calls for ‘throwers’ and ‘catchers’. Mostly it’s played around a house - or something similar.

All you need is one of these - and a house:

There are two teams. The teams stand on each side of the house.
How to play:
Team A has the ball, and someone from the team throws the ball across the roof while the rest of the team yells “Antonius”.
The other team attempts to catch the ball before it hits ground. If caught it means point for the team. Team B throws the ball back. Same procedure. When a team’s got 3 points they are allowed to sneak around the building and when they yell “Antonius” the members of the opposite team have to maintain whatever spot they are in.
The person that caught the ball last, can after have taken three steps (and after having spat at the ground and going to wherever that landed….) try and hit one from the other team with the ball and if succeeded that person will have to join the other team. And the game continues.

But those were not the only games we played. And we didn’t just play games at school. More about that later.
I have been sick, so today’s post is rather short. There was more, but it will be posted later.
Have a great first day of the week.

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-06-21T05:17:00.002+02:00

From another great show with a catchy theme (although you might know this version better), which has expanded into spin-offs, novels, comics and video games I give you...
The lovely ladies of CSI (Las Vegas) - well some of them:

She also plays Nikki in Nikki and Nora. That's a show I would have liked to see more of. A parody called Lady Cops was made in 3way starring Liz Vassey as Mikki.

Lauren Lee Smith

And just because I think she's done a pretty amazing job as Lady Heather

Melinda Clarke:

She also plays Julie Cooper in O.C.

Enjoy your Sunday :-)

Sometimes English can be tricky....

2009-06-18T15:20:00.004+02:00

Sometimes it's a matter of grammar. Or spelling.

Sometimes it's because you use words or expressions in your native language that you simply translate into what you think it should be in English (...and Danes do that a lot...

You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid (Information to the guests at a Danish Hotel - pretty sure they meant something different...like 'ask the chambermaid for help'...)

Dane in an English pub: "Can I borrow the toilet?" (the word for 'borrow' and 'use' is the same in Danish: 'låne' - at least in this case)

The prick over the I (said by Jytte Hilden - she meant the 'dot over the i', but dot is 'prik' in Danish)

Screw down your expectations (Richard Møller Nielsen, former coach of the Danish national soccer team to the world press - he meant 'tone down' or 'lower' but the Danish word is 'skru' eller 'skrue') )

And sometimes it's just a matter of typos.

But they can give the words a total different meaning than intended:

New style

It's amazing what you can buy...

Just in case...

There are more pictures at Engrish.com
It's nice to know that the Danes are not the only ones having problems with the English language :o)

I'm back again

2009-06-16T14:55:00.001+02:00

I've been having a lot of trouble with my Internet connection lately.

But it finally seems that it will get fixed - at some point this week - so I should be back in business.

It hasn't only messed with my blog posts.

It's also giving me problems with my schoolwork, so now that it's up and running (at least for now) I was trying to find some music to help me get in the mood for writing.

I did find some songs.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

Scott McKenzie - San Francisco

Hermes House Band - I Will Survive (Live)

ABBA - Mamma Mia

Rollo og King - I'll Never Ever Let You Go

I still prefer the Danish version.

But I didn't get much writing done... I was too busy singing :o)

Anyway.

Hope you have a great day :o)

Memory Monday:

2009-06-08T08:12:00.001+02:00

Toys I used to play with as a kid.

Most of them were simple, didn't require any batteries or other source of power - only a great deal of imagination :o)

Like:

The Slinky

As I recall it only came in two versions.
The plain

And the rainbow

The Footbag or the Hacky Sack

The yo-yo

There were a lot of tricks to those.
We used hours and hours to perfect the tricks, and only by watching and learning from each other.
Today you can learn all the cool tricks by watching a video

The Frisbee

The Roller skates - quad skates, not inliners.

The Rubik’s cube

And the Rubik’s snake

And finally the Hula hoop

I never could swirl more than 3 at a time.

But some are much more talented.

Many of these seem to have had their revivals. Some more than once.

The only difference between now and then seems to be the layouts.

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-06-07T06:38:00.005+02:00

I appreciate strong female characters in books/movies/series…..
And I especially like strong female detectives/cops/PI’s/investigators/reporters…erhm…whoever solves the crime…

Some books turn into great television series or movies. Others don’t and should probably just stay as books *cough* Camilla Läckberg *cough*.

Somehow when I read James Patterson’s books about Lindsay Boxer I could easily imagine Angie Harmon in the leading role.

I like the character of Lindsay Boxer, but I also like that the books (and the show) are about all the women in the Womens Murder Club.

I haven’t watched more than 3 episode of the first (and only) season, but so far I like it.

But this wasn’t the first time I adored Angie Harmon as a detective. I sure didn’t watch Baywatch Nights because of David Hasselhoff…

And finally: Here picture from Allure Magazine May 2008

Enjoy your Sunday :o)

Constitution Day and Father’s Day:

2009-06-05T01:08:00.001+02:00

Today it’s both the Danish Constitution Day and it is Father’s Day.

The constituion was signed in 1849 (after we gave up on depotism) and was last modified in 1953 (among other things with the whole male-preference primogeniture thing...).

Denmark does not have a National Day – per se – but Constitution Day is pretty close.
Most people have half a day off, but it’s not something you are ‘entitled’ to - unless you have an agreement with your work place. The day is usually celebrated with political speeches (if celebrated) and many doesn’t think any difference between Constitution Day and May 1st - which is not a Danish holiday either but it’s celebrated by a lot more people anyway.

A thing we do celebrate June 5th is Father’s Day.

European Election and what else to vote for.

2009-06-02T07:52:00.002+02:00

Between June 4th and 7th it’s time to vote for the new parliament of the European Union.
Ever since I was able to vote the first time (when I turned 18) I have voted at every election there has been. And I finally got the voter's cards (is that the term?) in the mail (I didn’t get it before this weekend and I was beginning to think they had forgotten all about me…) so I’m almost set.

This time however I’m having some trouble figuring out who to vote for. Mostly because there are 3 candidates there are suitable (IMO) in each their own way. But I guess I’m voting for whomever I least disagree with. Just have to sort out which candidate that is….

But that’s not all we are voting for in Denmark (on June 7th).

We also have to vote for whether or not to change our succession laws so it will institute absolute primogeniture.
It’s all part of the fun being a (constitutional) monarchy…

Now why this hasn’t been up for vote before, I don’t understand. Sure, our Queen was able to become the Queen due to a change to the succession laws in 1953 (which made it male-preference primogeniture) and she only had sons herself and our Crown Prince’s first child was a son, so it hasn’t exactly been an urgent matter, but it’s 2009…! Even within the monarchy one could hope for equal rights.

Apparently we don’t do fast, but at least we don’t do despotism anymore*…. so yay for progress however slow it may be…

* (…and haven’t since 1848…)

Two Short Films About Protecting "Traditional Marriage" in Response to Prop 8

2009-06-01T16:21:00.001+02:00

The Defenders

The License

Memory Monday: Bedtime stories, fairytales and childhood books.

2009-06-01T04:23:00.003+02:00

Yes. More books.

I don’t remember if we (my sister and I) were ever read that many bedtime stories. At least not on a regularly basis. Most of the time I think we read to ourselves. Comics to begin with – mostly Anders And (Donald Duck) - then books later on. But when we did get a bedtime story, it was either a fairytale or something by Astrid Lindgren.

The first book I ever was given as a present was Ronja the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. The next I got was The Brothers Lionheart. And I loved them. I can’t even remember how often I read them during the first years I had them.
It’s the only books I ever practically wore out as a child. (Those - and my copy of The Children of the New Forest by F. Marryat.)

Besides Ronja the Robber’s Daughter and The Brothers Lionheart I read pretty much every book Astrid Lindgren ever wrote and/or I watched the movies/series made of the books. Like Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga and Madicken.

[Madicken often makes me think about Anne of Green Gables as well - but that’s probably because they both went up - and fell down from - a roof to prove a point…

Couldn’t find a picture but I found this clip where Anne falls down from the roof – and later she get’s Diane drunk ;o) ]

Now, where was I? Bedtime stories, childhood books and…oh yes…fairytales…

At school we read a lot of fairytales. Mostly by H.C. Andersen or the Brothers Grimm.

But when we had to tear the stories apart to find the deeper meaning/the theme/the lesson to be learned in the stories, they lost their magic. And I really hated that. I liked the stories but at the age of 10 that’s what I really cared about. The stories. And even though most of the fairytales were also written with grown-ups in mind, my 10 year old brain didn’t want to dissect them and discover the underlying story. I just wanted to be entertained. Although I didn’t find most of H.C. Andersen’s work that entertaining – actually I found it rather depressing.

(I’ve learned to appreciate both the writing of H.C. Andersen and the ‘necessity’ to dissect stories/fairytales since then, but I still like to be entertained when I read.)

But all in all I read a lot as a kid.

I still do.

Enjoy your day :o)

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-05-31T13:22:00.007+02:00

It's no secret that I like Julie Andrews.

The woman has had an amazing career as an actress, a singer and an author.

And she's a Dame.

Just some highlights:

The Hills are alive...

...with the...

...Sound of Music

Mary Poppins

At the Oscars with Audrey Hepburn

In Camelot

Victor/Victoria

The Princess Diaries

Shrek

She may have begun her career in 1945 but she's still going strong.

And she still looks amazing.

Have a great Sunday :o)

Just for fun:

2009-05-26T12:50:00.001+02:00

Now I know not everyone share my...investment...in these two characters, but this is one funny fan video:

Memory Monday:

2009-05-25T06:43:00.002+02:00

I stumbled across the first video in this post by accident (don't even remember what I was searching for at YouTube at that time...) but suddenly I found myself searching for other videos like it. Intros for television for kids.

Every time I hear these intros they throw me right back to when I was a kid waiting impatiently for my favorite tv shows to begin...

Legestue:

Kikkassen:

Intro for Anna & Lotte

Intro for Bamses Billedbog

Did you have any favorite tv shows as a kid?

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-05-24T03:09:00.008+02:00

I like crime. Well, the fictional kind anyway. Or rather I like the crime solvers. In the books, the movies or the TV shows. It really doesn’t matter whether it’s a male or a female lead in the story as long as it’s well written and somewhat realistic. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate when the women ‘step up to the plate’.
Like the women of NCIS.

Kate - Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander):

Jenny Shepard aka the Director (Lauren Holly)

Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette):

I want to be Abby. The brains. The skills. The gadgets! [Have I ever told you how much I love gadgets? Plus I have a 'thing' for forensic science as well. And history - but that doesn't really seem to fit in here ;o)]

And Ziva David (Cote de Pablo).

I <3 Ziva. Really! That girl can kick some a**!

And she sings too ;o)

And this is a song performed (and written) by Pauley Perrette

Both songs are (exclusively) on the official NCIS soundtrack.

Do you watch NCIS?

Clearly I need to stay at home on Fridays.

2009-05-23T20:13:00.005+02:00

Too many things happen on Fridays ;o)

I miss out on #followfriday (thanks for the #follows!), in fact I miss out on most at Twitter.
I get way behind on reading blog posts and articles (and on watching YouTube videos).

But I usually enjoy myself in the real world ;o)

So while I was away (Friday and most of Saturday) and the real life got in the way of my somewhat more interesting life on the Internet (which, come to think about it, seems a bit depressing...) I took some pictures:

Look at that sky

Horses

Sunset

I apologize for the lack of quality in the pictures. I usually use the camera in my phone and I am most certainly not a photographer ;o)

I love thunderstorms.

2009-05-21T18:37:00.002+02:00

This was intentionally not going to be up before next week but due to the weather right now, you might say I was inspired ;o)

Being Danish and not wanting to discuss the weather would probably be like….being American and not wanting to discuss baseball or being Dutch and not wanting to discuss....tulips. (Okay strike the last one. I don’t know anything about what the Dutch like to discuss.)

What I’m saying is that conversations about the weather is what the Danes do the most. That and conversations about sports (football/soccer and handball in particular).

Part of the reason why we [constantly] talk about the weather could be that we once depended a lot on being an agricultural country. So if the weather was bad (we don’t like too much water and we don’t like too much sun either) the harvest would fail.
Not being solely dependent on the harvest anymore I’m sure it’s just because ‘the weather talk’ have been passed on from generation to generation, but it’s probably fading more and more. Not a lot of the kids these days know much about agriculture (nor do I, but I did spend a lot of my childhood on a farm. What?) so it’s not a necessity anymore. But it still makes great small talk ;o)

Alright back to the thunderstorms.

On a stormy day there’s nothing better than to get a blanket, a book (and a lot of candles in case the power goes out) and a lot of coffee/soda/water/alcohol/whatever beverage you choose and get all comfy on the couch or in your favorite chair. And do nothing but read, listen to the thunders and the rain, and look out the window from time to time. And when you are all at peace and really enjoying yourself you’ve reached a state of mind that (apparently) only have a description in Danish (and Norwegian). We call it hygge. And it’s something we do all the time - hygger - either alone or with others. (Basically when something is nice and comfy and you’re enjoying yourself – that’s hygge…)

I love the heavy rain and the thunder. I’m fascinated by lightning. It always amazes me how the lightning is able to light up the sky at night. And the paths it might take.
It’s probably because the weather in Denmark is pretty boring. It consists for the most part of average amount of sun, rain and snow. It rarely acts out.

I like when the weather is acting out. But at the same time it scares me a bit. Because I know it can be lethal.

I was reminded of that 3 days ago, when a Dane was killed by lightning. (Last time someone was killed by lightning in Denmark was in 2006, so thankfully it’s not a common thing. But that doesn’t make it any less dangerous.)

I'm so slow...

2009-05-20T18:56:00.000+02:00

When I'm at eurOut I usually go straight to the articles to catch up on things. And I will eventually get to figure out who's the website of the week - and since it's a Sunday to Sunday thing I always figure I have plenty of time to discover a new site.

Yeah...

So I'm actually a bit (read: extremely) embarrassed today. I just found out that this week’s website is actually my blog. *blushes*. [I believe my reaction was: Oh.. Wait? What?]
And it’s kind of weird seeing your header on an international website.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: I’m honored. Thank you :o)

Total randomness - or the mysterious ways of my brain.

2009-05-20T07:12:00.002+02:00

My mind is filled with a huge amount of random knowledge (not necessarily useful - however it does come in handy while playing Trivial Pursuit or other similar games) and numbers. I’ve always been able to remember phone numbers, anniversaries, passwords, PIN codes, and so forth. Or maybe I should say I’ve always been unable not to remember.
If you ask me what my grandparent’s phone number was (and they’ve been dead for 15+ years) or the phone number for my best friend in Kindergarten I could tell you in a heartbeat. Old regional codes and all. But I don’t know why. It’s not that it’s useful in any way. And sometimes I wonder if I stops me from learning new things. I mean it’s my brain. Surely there’s a limit to just how much knowledge it can contain ;o)
Besides in the world of modern technology I really don’t need to remember phone numbers. They are on my cell phone. So cut it out brain!

I usually think in English (or at least partially in English – I’m not so good with the grammar…). This makes things difficult sometimes because I tend to forget the Danish words to describe things/emotions/etc.
And when I curse it’s in a blend of Danish, German and English. I have no idea why.

I have a thing about language in general. I have favorite phrases or words in different languages, mainly because I like the sound of them because the translation usually butchers the beauty of the words.

And I love quotes.

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."
Winnie the Pooh

So I’ll just leave you all by saying:

“I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”
Dr. Seuss

Weekend view:

2009-05-19T10:07:00.002+02:00

This weekend I was at my parent's holiday home (well at least I was from Friday to Saturday) with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law and my nephew. As always we went for a walk at the beach.

It was beautiful.

Low tide...at sunset

Memory Monday:

2009-05-18T02:36:00.001+02:00

Also known as: ”even more bad music” *lol*.
I’m pretty sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with my taste in music when I was a teenager ;o)

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy - Silverflame

Danish band in the 90’s. The lead singer Tim Christensen has his own career, and Celine Dion seems to like his music

Kim Larsen – This is My Life

Kim Larsen’s made a whole lot of music throughout the years (and even if I didn’t like his music – which I do – I would probably know the lyrics just as well). I have a lot of favorites but Flyvere I Natten [Airplanes in the Night] is in my top 3.

Richard Marx – Hazard

Although I think I listened to Right Here Waiting equally as much.

Guns’n’Roses – Knocking On Heavens Door

Bon Jovi – Bed of Roses

Bryan Adams – Summer of ‘69

It's funny, though. I always seem to remember that the pace in the music was way faster when I first heard the songs.

International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO):

2009-05-17T11:28:00.002+02:00

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-05-17T05:00:00.004+02:00

Brinck was the Danish contestant for the ESC. And even if he didn’t get very far – congratulations Norway! – I would like to mention him in this Sapphic Sunday.
Not because of his participation in the ESC, but because he’s done other things – within the music.

Another thing he did was to write - and sing (along with Maria Marcus) - the theme song for the Danish television series called Anna Pihl.

The trailer

The entire song:

There are some clips from the series in this video - a few hot ones as well ;o)

Anna Pihl is a single mom - and a cop.
Recently moved to Copenhagen and in need for a place to stay.
Her new roommate – Jan - is gay. He may not be one of the leading characters but he’s the primary supporting actor (IMO). And there’s a storyline in it for him as well.

During the 3 seasons we follow Jan in different relationships. (Not a lot of graphic gay action, but hints…). And one of his major issues is to start a family. Not being a lesbian he doesn’t get pregnant by accident – or otherwise – but he advertises for a lesbian (or a lesbian couple) who wants to start a family with him. And succeeds in finding one. There’s some issues regarding custody, but if you plan on watching the show I won’t spoil it for you.

As I recall one of Anna Pihl’s colleagues is a lesbian as well.
Anyway.

If you like crime solving series (albeit in a rather slow tempo – and solely revolving around Danish/Scandinavian issues) and gorgeous women (including prison scenes) then it’s a must see.
Otherwise… Never mind this post :o)

Charlotte Munch (who plays Anna Pihl) ‘dabbled’ with dating girls in her younger days. Although she’s currently living in a ‘heterosexual’ relationship she fondly remembers her girlfriends.

Also she played the straight girl in the Danish gay comedy Shake It All About who falls in love (and bed) with the lead gay guy.

Iben Hjejle plays Mikala (Anna’s friend and fellow cop – who gets herself in trouble…and jail…)

Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis plays the lesbian Therese with whom Jan get’s a kid.
And Anne-Grethe is not afraid about publicity: Warning! Nudity.

ESC: We qualified...

2009-05-15T02:20:00.003+02:00

The Eurovision Song Contest...

Somehow I think the entire thing has gotten to big. 2 rounds of semi-finals..? Really?

What ever happend to: "If you don't finish in the top...say 25...you don't qualify next year. Then those who didn't qualify last year will have their chance..."

Anyway. Denmark did get through the semi-finals and is a contestant in the final. Much to my surprise actually. I thought the ESC countries would have found it a bit too 'Ronan Keating' (and as he co-wrote the song I can't really blame anyone).

ESC: Brinck - Believe again (Denmark)

I like the song. I'm just not sure it's an 'ESC-song' (if that makes any sense at all...).

The final's tomorrow.

Do you have a favorite?

Are you even going to watch?

My answers would be: "No - I haven't watched the semi-finals so I really haven't heard that many of the other songs" and "Yes!"
And if I can multitask I will be following the event at eurOut as well.

Cybill Shepherd receives the "National Ally for Equality" award at the 2009 HRC Atlanta dinner

2009-05-14T01:01:00.000+02:00

She talks about Martin Luther King, segregation, The L Word, her daughter Clementine Ford and her coming out but above all she's talking about equality and making a difference.

Music on a Wednesday:

2009-05-13T06:44:00.000+02:00

According to my sister I have two problems when it comes to music (well more than two but those are the major ones in her opinion).

One is that I'm usually weeks, months or even years behind the rest of the world in discovering new songs/singers. (Probably because I don't listen to the radio that often.) So when I finally hear the song, everybody else is already growing tired of it.

The other is that whenever a song is a hit, the chances are that I won't like it - at first. But the more I hear the song, the better it sounds to me. So when I finally like the song, everybody else is already growing tired of it...

I guess I'm not good at doing things the way they are 'supposed' to be done ;o)

Anyway.
Just wanted to share a bit of Danish music with you.

Tina Dico - In The Red

Tina Dico - No Time To Sleep

I'm not religious. I'm not even sure I'm spiritual. But for some reason I love this song:

Tina Dickow - Hallelujah (Danish lyrics)

As for the English lyrics I prefer KD Lang’s version. (And I would love to hear Vonda Shepard give it a try.)

In case you were wondering; Tina Dickow is her real name. She performs under her real name in Denmark, abroad she is known as Tina Dico (in order to avoid mispronunciation by American English speakers - hear her explanation)

Tina Dico on MySpace

Lists, notebooks and other random things.

2009-05-12T03:05:00.003+02:00

Although I thrive in chaos (which is visible if you’d seen my house…*sigh*) I can’t help but organizing my thoughts (sort of).

I have a thing for notebooks. Paper notebooks. And preferably hardcover ones. (Which by the way is called kinabog (– or kinabøger if there’s more than one) in Danish [roughly translated to Chinabook – Chinabooks – ] probably because they are made in China?)

Next to the library, bookstores are my favorites. I love the atmosphere there. All kinds of books, pens, paper, notebooks, folders, calendars, computer games, bags... All in one place. Yeah, I could go on and on about this. But I won’t. I promise.

Back to the notebooks.

I write a lot.

Short stories, scribbles, words, phrases. Whatever. [My secret dream is that I one day will actually be able to put all these things together and write a novel. But I also know that I’m nowhere near good enough to pull it off. That’s why it’s called a dream ;o) ]

But mostly I write lists to organize myself. (Someone once said that making lists was just an act of procrastination… I don’t know…)

I don’t think my world would function without my notebooks (Yes I have more than one. What? They are sorted by content…). I just didn’t know notebooks came as an app for computers as well.

Thanks to tedoe and eurOut I might just have to download Evernote (being a non-Mac’er and all that’s what I have to settle for. Maybe I should get a Mac next time? There seems to be a lot more apps for Mac.).

I was familiar with mind-maps, though. I use free mind or cmap tools for school stuff. [I work wonders when you have to sort out things in History… Or Science…]

But still. I don’t think I would ever forsake my paper notebooks. There’s just something compelling about writing by hand.

Memory Monday – of a sort.

2009-05-11T01:19:00.005+02:00

AfterEllen.com Hot 100 2009

Last year I was all new to this site – and furthermore new to the community. And as for the video countdowns – I didn’t know half of the people presenting the hotness of the Hot 100.
But after a whole year of watching vlogs and reading blogs (and not only on AfterEllen.com) I’ve gotten a hold on myself. And it’s kinda nice.

In the beginning I didn’t have a clue on what to do or what to say – or how to say it. Truth be told, I still don’t most of the time, but at least it’s not unfamiliar territory anymore.
Besides the confusion I felt (re-realizing I was gay – and probably more interested in women [if not solely interested in women] than men) it was also very difficult to seize the whole LGBT community at once. Actually I felt like I had moved to a foreign country where I didn’t know the language or the customs. It’s kind of difficult to describe. I guess it was more a question of fitting in. I’ve never quite fit into ‘the straight world’. But because it took me so long to address my ‘identity-problem’ I felt like I had no chance of fitting into ‘the gay world’.

I’m getting there, though.

Also I’m a very shy and very private person (at least in person…) around strangers. It’s usually mistaken for arrogance (and I totally get it because I’ve made the same mistake a few times). So I don’t easily make friends. [Fortunately I don’t blush as often as I did when I was younger. Shy and embarrassed doesn’t make a very good combination.]. But I enjoy my own company. It’s not like I’m antisocial or asocial. I like being around other people. Just not 20 people all the time. Being home is nice too.

Where am I going with this?
I have no idea.

But what I meant to say all along.

The AfterEllen Hot 100 2009 list is up sometime today.

And I’m all kinds of excited about it.
First of all, duh, 100 hot women!
But it’ll be fun to see which 100 hot women made the list this year. From what I read there seems to be a lot of new faces…

Alexandra Hedison (TLW)

Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck)

and

Laura Sanchez (Los Hombres De Paco)

Can't wait!

EDIT: The list is up - and even though 5 of the women I voted for (in all 4 categories, that is) didn't make the list that still makes 20 of my votes on on the list. So I'm good ;o)
Now go check out the Hot 100 of 2009. It's a pretty impressive list!

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-05-10T02:30:00.000+02:00

It's Mother's Day (Did you remember to get something for your mother?) so I figured I would post a few pictures of...well mother's... In all their hotness.

Jennifer Beals

Jodie Foster

Salma Hayek

Halle Berry

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Angelina Jolie

And just because I've been a little obsessed invested with these two lately:

Crystal Chappell

Jessica Leccia

OK maybe she's not techinally a mother - yet (I think she's due in June). But she is hot.

Enjoy you Sunday ;o)

Do you suck at small talk?

2009-05-08T07:43:00.002+02:00

Straight Talk w/Carson Kressley from Carson_Kressley

Love. Bicycles and helmets:

2009-05-06T07:28:00.002+02:00

The police in Denmark (or at least the North Jutland Police) have taken new measures to get cyclists to take care of themselves in traffic:

It's a campaign. To get people to wear helmets. In Denmark bicycle helmets are not required by law.

Actually I don't think it's a national campaign - yet. It was made for the Municipal District of Aalborg (Aalborg = the home of the (in)famous Jomfru Ane Gade).

And as the people behind the film state:
And just to make things clear – the film was made with real people, real cops and real love.

Beaver Bunch: Week topics

2009-05-05T13:57:00.000+02:00

Straight week - sort of.

There isn't a week that goes by where we don't get a handful of questions regarding "straight" women...so this week is an ode to the straight girl...can't live with them and you can't live without them :)

- When you came out, did any of your straight female friends automatically assume you were telling them because you were attracted to them? How did you handle that?

- I'm in love with my straight BEST FRIEND, now what?

- What do you do when you have a major crush on a straight women that you absolutely, 100%, definitely and surely cannot have.

Go watch

The big fat gay anti-hate collab

2009-05-05T05:33:00.002+02:00

Memory Monday:

2009-05-04T01:18:00.001+02:00

When I think back on my childhood summers it seems like the sun was always shining. Or maybe I just didn’t care about the rain.

I loved the 6 ½ weeks absence from school. But even though I never (not in a million years) admitted it to anyone I was always longing to get back to school. At least during the last week of the summer break.

I usually spend my summers playing with friends or cousins.

What I enjoyed the most was when it was time to harvest.
My grandparents (my mother’s parents) lived on a farm. We’d spend time there during the year but the favorite time was during harvest.
Oh those summer days spend in the field. Running around in the crops, waiting for the machines (i.e. the combine harvester and the grain cart) to start cutting down the hay, so it could be formed into bales for us kids to play in.

I’ve build numerous of forts out of hay bales. Good times!

Then it was time to gather all the hay bales and put them on the hay wagon. Back then it seemed safe enough for us kids to ride on top of the hay. Pretty sure our parents wouldn’t do that if it was today. But we did then.

When we got to the barn we either went straight to the hayloft trying to get all the cats and kittens out of the way for all the bales to fit in or we helped with the hay elevator. Actually we did a lot of work but it always seemed like more of a game.

At the end of the day we were always dirty and itchy from all the hay and we were hungry and tired as hell, but still we could barely wait to get started the next day. Doing all of it all over again.

No wonder I don't have much energy left ;o)

Also.
It's May 4th.

Today 64 years ago WWII ended - at least the occupation of Denmark did (- along with the occupation of Netherlands and North West Germany).

Some still light candles and place them in the windows to honor freedom and those who lost their lives during the war.

I don't get the point of war. At the end of it everybody has lost something and nobody really seems to have won.

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-05-03T04:22:00.000+02:00

I was driving in my car and listening to the radio. Two things which rarely happens at the same time because I usually make mixed CD's of the songs I like to listen to at the moment – you know, for when I’m driving in my car? It has to be something with a strong beat and something I can sing along to and… Never mind…
The Danish-Greenlandic singer Julie Berthelsen apparently made a new CD. (From which I heard a song – obviously – while driving. And then I wondered why I haven’t posted anything about her… See. I finally got to the point!)
In 2002 Julie was studying to become a doctor but then she entered the show Popstars (the Danish version) and even if she only finished in second place she’s the one with the career (- and the talent…).

That woman is breathtaking.
Not only does she have a great voice but she’s gorgeous as well.

Julie Berthelsen - Every Little Part Of Me

Julie Berthelsen - Lige nu (Right Now)

Julie Berthelsen - Moments' Bliss (There’s a Danish version as well)

Some other songs: Home, Completely Fallen and Time Traveler – though this is not one of the best videos music wise - you can’t hear the song very well, but you can watch her move around on stage ;o)

For more information go to Julie’s MySpace Page.

Have a great Sunday!

I'm good at it:

2009-05-02T14:43:00.007+02:00

Quotes:

"I Will Conquer My Procrastination Problem… You Just Wait!"

"I’m Not Wasting Time… I’m A Structured Procrastinator."

Memory Monday:

2009-04-27T03:55:00.002+02:00

Growing up I didn’t just listen to music in English. We do have quite a few amazing singers/bands in Denmark as well. Most of them perform(ed) in both English and Danish.
These are some of the Danish songs I listened to during the 80's and 90's…

Anne Linnet – Glor På Vinduer (Looking at Windows)

Marquis De Sade is the name of her band. (Nothing to do with the actual Marquis himself.)

Halberg Larsen – Magi I Luften (Magic In the Air)

Rocazino – All My Love

Tøsedrengene – Indianer (Indian (as in Native American)

Ray Dee Ohh – Mandagsstævnemøde (Monday assignation)

One Two – Hvide Løgne (White Lies)

Sanne Salomonsen – Uden Dig (Without You – however I think this was actually recorded in English at some point titled Without Love)

Anne Linnet and Sanne Salomonsen are 'still going strong', Rocazino is on a Revival Tour at the moment, but the rest of the bands split up pursuing either a personal music career for some of them or simply pursuing other dreams - like it happens with most bands.

Sanne Salomonsen is often referred to (by the Danes...) as 'the Danish Tina Turner' or simply 'Rock Mama'.
Anne Linnet is a Danish lesbian icon (I'll probably elaborate on that in a later post).

Have a nice day!

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-04-26T01:45:00.007+02:00

Sometimes a picture can say more than a 1000 words.

Or at least that's what I've heard.

I just found out that I'm missing a crucial woman/couple for my Sapphic Sundays (I don't know what I was thinking. Geez!)

Xena!
(In case you don't know who this is...)

Or Xena/Gabrielle!

Xena obviously have a HUGE (massive/gigantic/substantial/etc.) fan base.
And it's all there. Fan fiction, wallpapers, posters, art and of course the fan videos:

Or watch this one (can't be embedded): A day in the life of Xena and Gabrielle – with bath scene…

And the Xena Quotes ;o)
Part I:

Also watch Part II, Part III and Gabrielle Quotes Part I.

And you can always read up on the series at Wikipedia or IMDb.
Or learn more about Xena.

Or go get the DVD's....

Now, does a picture (several pictures) say more than a 1000 words?

Did anyone say subtext?

WARNING!! Randomness ahead:

Top 10 reasons why to watch Xena, Warrior Princess instead of Lord of the Rings:

3: When the heroes take a bath in LotR, they sing. When the heroes take a bath in XWP, we sing.
2: Frodo’s sidekick is a gardener. Xena’s sidekick is an Amazon queen.
1: Xena’s ring is larger and she’s not afraid to use it.

(The 7 other reasons are here). I just found the Top 3 most amusing.

Enjoy your Sunday.

A Gaythering Storm

2009-04-22T07:21:00.001+02:00

A great new spoof of The Gathering Storm from Funny or Die, with an all star cast including Sarah Chalke, Jason Lewis, Lynne Stewart, Alicia Silverstone, Lance Bass, Liz Feldman, Sophia Bush, Drew Droege, Mike Hitchcock, Daniele Gathier, Jay Lay, Erin Foley, George Takei and Jane Lynch.
Written by Liz Feldman and Mike Rose

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Take up the IDAHO Challenge

2009-04-21T21:59:00.005+02:00

GAYS.COM announces worldwide video project to raise awareness for the sixth annual International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO) taking place may 17, 2009

This is what gays.com say:

What's this all about?
The Idaho Challenge is a community project by Gays.com to produce a user-generated video to be released 17 May 2009, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). While 67 countries have signed the new United Nations statement to decriminalise homosexuality worldwide, anti-gay discrimination remains a reality in many parts of the world. This year, with your help, we want to create a video that sends out the message that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people are just like everyone else. We come from all over the world and we come in all shapes and sizes and colours. And we want to send this message to the people of the world in every language that's out there!

TAKE UP THE IDAHO CHALLENGE!
Simply log on to http://gays.com/IDAHO to upload your video or record your message instantly by means of your computer's webcam.
Videos may also be emailed directly to idaho@gays.com.
DEADLINE FOR VIDEO SUBMISSIONS: May 10, 2009.

Memory Monday:

2009-04-20T08:00:00.003+02:00

The wonderful world of books.
I love books.

I've always read a lot of books.
And my two favorite places on the Earth (as far as buildings goes) are the/a bookshop and the/a library.

When I was 11-12 years old I had two favorite authors:
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

I got caught up in the amazing worlds of Narnia and Arda.

I used to sit in my room or in the living room and read all the time (when I wasn’t hanging out with friends – I did have a few of those too). And when I was reading I was lost to the world. People could have thrown a party right beside me or dropped a bomb or set the chair on fire and I wouldn’t have noticed. (Occasionally it’s still that way today when I read.)
And I’m a somewhat fast reader. Even then. It took me almost a week to read “The Lord of The Rings” (all three books). But that was because I was busy playing football (soccer) and tennis, and trying to figure out how to play the guitar. So I didn’t have that much spare time ;o)
It bothered me that I wasn’t allowed to take more than 3 books from the school library at a time because we only went there once a week. And the city library had the strangest hours back then. So I couldn’t go there either. (That has changed. Thankfully!)

When I was 13 we had a new English teacher (previously mentioned as it was her I had the ... erhm huge crush on) who let us watch the Hallmark edition of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” (witch – in retrospect – was actually quite horrible. And not just in comparison to the recent edition. But for educational purposes I guess it wasn’t that bad. The actors were v-e-r-y____a-r-t-i-c-u-l-a-t-e… ). Of course we had to watch without the subtitles – it was after all for educational reasons – and how she made that happen was, well, hilarious. It contained duct tape and long pieces of paper (carefully measured out as to the length of the television) – this was long before the DVD-player. (Actually I think we still had a Betamax at home at that time).

She also ‘made’ us read books in English. Like whole books. Not just passages. It was a nice change. I still remember the storyline of one of them, but unfortunately not the title and I haven’t been able to find it since.

Also at 13 I read a book by a Danish author called Kirsten Holst (Her husband Knud Holst was an author too as is their daughter Hanne-Vibeke Holst ). It’s called “Min ven Thomas” (“My friend Thomas”) and was about a teenage (High School age) boy who discovers that his friend Thomas is gay. And not only is he gay. He’s got AIDS as well. And needless to say the story hasn’t got a happy ending. It’s not a story about gay love, as Claus (the main character) and Thomas are just friends. (And Claus is hopelessly in love with a girl). But it’s a story about growing up. And sex. Safe sex. And love. And fitting in. And a lot of other teenage angst issues.

But mostly I read crime novels (not like the ones I read today. Not quite as messy and violent.) and detective novels (I was a private detective once… When I was 13-14 years old. But that’s another post… If ever…) like Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators.

A series about three boys who solve impossible-to-solve crimes and worships Alfred Hitchcock. (And in some odd way Alfred Hitchcock is ‘Charlie’).
They were a lot of fun to read.
And apparently they seem to be rather rare today, so I suppose I’ll have a hard time trying to dig them up if I ever were to re-read them.

However I have a sudden urge to go to the library.

Have a nice day ;o)

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-04-19T06:17:00.001+02:00

I just discovered a site on the Internet. It’s probably not new: Chickipedia.

In their own words: Chickipedia is the world’s largest web-based, women-based, wiki-based database of hot chicks on the planet. It is entirely user generated, making it the first female-only encyclopedia of the people, by the people, and for the people.

It’s got categories like: TV, Film, Music, Sports, Fashion, Politics, Business and Misc.

They do feature body measures (on some women – not all – and I wonder where they did get most of the measures…). But it’s not a site that’s all about porn stars (- and I would know…. I know the names of at least….1 – maybe 2 – porn star(s). And then I’m not even counting the 1 (or is it 2?) Danish porn star(s) I know the name(s) of…).

There are a number of women featured on this site (8,658 when I last visited).

Including (…just throwing in some random names…) :

Rachel Maddow,
Angela Merkel (the Chancellor of Germany)
Michelle Obama (as well as Hillary and Chelsea Clinton)
Sarah Palin (and Tina Fey)
Connie Nielsen
Caroline Wozniacki
Lucy Lawless
Jodie Foster
Jessica Landström - but no Katja Nyberg or Gro Hammerseng (I actually thought handball was more famous than football/soccer).
Katee Sackhoff (In her descibsion it states : …she has earned a legion of fans and has become somewhat of an icon for both geeks and lesbians alike. To geeky lesbians she is God.)

And it may be worth noticing that when you search you have to write the first name first.

Just in case you wanted to find any one.

You get the picture! (Or at least you will if you go there and click on photos...)

Oh all right, then. Just a few...

Have a nice Sunday :o)

The week of absence:

2009-04-18T23:48:00.000+02:00

So I've been ill....

And it has been really frustrating.
Apparently I'm allergic to....some pollen. I don't know. But it makes sense somehow. The weather has been great - no wonderful, actually - and every tree, flower or any other plant in my garden is blooming right now. So I guess there's pollen everywhere.

On top of that I'm in desperate need of vitamin D. (But with all that sun... I don't really get why...) I lack 7/8 of the vitamin D I should have in my body - so it's pretty low I guess. And I get a really, really, really bad headache from all the extra vitamin D's I'm taking.

But it gets worse.

My Internet has been acting weird as well. (It's the ISP - and all my neighbors have received a letter stating, that there were problems but that they would fix it as soon as possible. I didn't get a letter. And since my Internet, television and phone are all connected to the same line, I've had a very silent week. (Couldn't really read that much either, due to the headache...)

Okay. I'll stop whining now.

Memory Monday:

2009-04-13T16:46:00.007+02:00

If you haven't yet heard of Amazon's 'glitch' about removing sales ranking from LGBT books go to eurOut or go to AfterEllen to read about it.

__________________________________________________________

Easter is really screwing with my time line. I didn’t realize it was Monday (so I also totally forgot that yesterday was Sunday – as in Sapphic Sunday. Sorry about that.). Being on Easter Break has been nice – especially due to the lovely weather – but it’s time to get back on track.

This Monday I would like to honor my scars, cuts and bruises. Or maybe just my clumsiness.

I have a (very) bad habit of falling over my own feet. Or just being unlucky in the presence of pebbles, branches, slippery floors, water puddles or couches. And bicycles. But I always seem to remember which caused what scar.

When I was about a year my father dropped me on the kitchen floor (by accident – I was wearing nylon pants and so was he (it was the 70s!?!) and I slid down of his knee while he was trying to put me in my jacket). I still have a bump on my forehead.

When I was 2 ½ years old I fell of the couch (while jumping on it) and hit my head on the coffee table. That gave me a scar above my left eye.

At the age of 5 I fell and landed on a stone (which lay on a dust road behind my parents’ house) and cut a hole in my right knee. Scar.

At 11 I crashed with a classmates BMX bicycle and scraped my entire left side while sliding across the asphalt. And I had a concussion. Small, but still. That hurt like hell!

When I was 12 I wanted to jump across a water puddle. That didn’t turn out pretty either. I landed on the side of my left foot, and sprained it. Not enough for me to use crutches, but it was painful. And the beginning to my three-legged years. From the age of 13 to 16 I spend more than half of my life walking with help from crutches. My left foot barely heeled before I sprained it again. (And often just by stepping on the tiniest, littlest stone – or even looking at one). Those were the days…

I had my drivers license when I was 19. The same year I bought my motorcycle. And in the summer of that year I thought it was a brilliant idea to ride said motorcycle wearing nothing but shorts and T-shirt (and my helmet of course). And it all went well. Right up till the time I wanted to park the motorcycle. For some odd reason I had to slide down the wrong way (on the right side of the motorcycle) which caused a sever burn of my right calve muscle. The exhaust pipe was pretty damn hot even if I hadn’t been on a very long ride. Surprisingly the scar is not as visible as I would have thought it to be today, but then again it has been a few years since the accident.

I have had numerous cuts and burns on my hands. (I am clumsy and should probably not be trusted with a knife, but I really enjoy cooking, so… And my oven and/or stove seem to have a grudge against me. At least they keep burning me…)

But not all my scars are self-inflicted. I actually have two scars on my right hand from where my ex-husband cut my fingers with a handsaw (unintentional).

When I was 6 I had chickenpox. Multiple scars. (They were very itchy)

When I was 11 I had my appendix removed. It was kind of an emergency operation, so apparently there wasn’t much time to cut it out neatly. [My sister’s scar from when she had a c-section is smaller. But then again, there isn’t much difference between a child and an appendix, right?]

I have had surgery a few times (besides the appendix). Mostly in my knees. More specifically my meniscus – in both my knees.

I have broken my right wrist once (by slipping on some ice). And sprained it as well.

And I have broken my left wrist, by slipping on the kitchen floor.

It’s true. Most accidents happen in the kitchen ;o)

Have a nice day.

Otalia

2009-04-10T18:23:00.005+02:00

Yeah, so I'm slightly obsessed with these two characters...

And there has been so much...tension lately. Not in the videos (but that's just because there hasn't been any episodes since 4/6..). It's mainly due to the gap between the 4/6 video and the upcomming episode 4/14 mentioned in the spoilers. (Gawd I never thought I would get hooked on a soap opera couple. I never thouht I would write gawd either...)

So the 4/6 video (which by the way is very beautiful in acting as well as writing)

I'm beginning to understand why some call Crystal Chappell "the Goddess of Daytime".

Crystal Chappell:

Jessica Leccia:

And a 'not so serious' video (*lol*). (Click on the red button. When it turns green. Click again. Or watch it here and imagine the dueling banjos.)

Have a nice weekend.

Fagget Fairys:

2009-04-09T18:21:00.004+02:00

I’m not trying to be rude or anything.

It’s the name of a Danish group.

Which I just discovered *blushes*(. I should be more up to speed on these things. But I’m terrible at keeping myself updated on anything within the gay community. [I blame the fact that I’m ‘new at this’ – and by ‘this’ I mean (acting on) being gay.])

Anyway.

These two girls (who are partners at work as well as private) have been making music [] since 2007. And I guess it’s the kind of music that you either hate or love. And given my taste in music you probably shouldn’t take my advice, but I’m leaning towards love. ;o)

This is how they describe themselves: Fagget Fairys are an explosive cocktail of Islam, lesbianism, true love, and relentless beats.

This is one of their songs. It’s called “Feed the Horse”.

With that in mind... Enjoy:

Given both the song and the music video I had some idea of what the title meant, but (just in case I was way off) I looked it up…

Moving on:

For more information visit their MySpace.

More Easter:

2009-04-09T18:19:00.002+02:00

Speaking of Easter. And of eggs.

Did you know that sometimes writers, programmers, movie makers etc. put in little programs or other hidden things into your computer, your music, your books, your DVD’s etc. …?

And it’s all good. As in ‘not a virus’!

Just to mention a few:

Go to Google. Type in Find Chuck Norris. Click on the I’m Feeling Lucky button. And then read the answer. It’s sort of funny – if you now who Chuck Norris is…

Or go to Yahoo! and click on the ! [I know it’s old news, but humor me – I just found out…]

There are lots of these. And they are all pointless. But if you need to kill some time...

Try for yourself. Go here: Easter Eggs

Easter:

2009-04-08T15:47:00.004+02:00

Like I've said before (or at least I think I have mentioned it) I'm not that into holidays. But I guess what I meant was that I'm not into the religious parts of some holidays. Like Christmas - and now Easter.
I know the stories. But that's not why I celebrate - in fact I don't celebrate. But I do spend time with my family. And that's what matters - in my opinion.
Like this Easter. Usually we go about Easter in one of three ways. Either my dad’s birthday collides with Easter, or mine do or neither.
This Easter it's my father’s birthday. So we spend 3 days celebrating his birthday (tonight: my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and my nephew - and probably some of my parents neighbors; tomorrow: my mothers siblings + families for coffee, cakes etc in the afternoon; and Friday my fathers siblings + families for brunch).
And after three days with the entire family I'm actually quite pleased with living on my own. I'm pretty sure I need some me-time.

The Easters where there are no birthdays involved we usually spend with relatives anyway eating numerous Easter-meals. Which is quite cozy, but again... It's nice when it's over as well... (It's not that I don't like my family. It's just so damn big and loud that it should only be taken in very small doses. Hence the me-time. You head is all buzzing when you get home like if you went to a concert...)

One thing I enjoy about Easter is that everything seems to be 'rainbow-colored':

We used to paint eggs when I was little. But that's the only Easter tradition we really had (except for the family meals of course).

So what are you doing this Easter? Any traditions?

Memory Monday:

2009-04-06T07:10:00.000+02:00

I’ve dwelled at the 80s for quite some time when it comes to the music part.
After you have read/watched this I’m sure you’ll understand why ;o) It was not my finest decade music wise (or otherwise for that matter…)

So what did I listen to? Mostly music like this:

Snap – Rhythm is a Dancer (1992)

2 Unlimited – No Limit (1993)

Reel 2 Real – I like to move it (1994)

But also some Nirvana, Aerosmith, Guns’N’Roses, Jon Bon Jovi, Metallica…. But mostly the ballads.

And a lot of Danish artists you’ve probably never heard of. But also some you may have heard of. One of which made quite an impression all around the world especially when Martel sued them for the use of the name Barbie.

Aqua – Barbie Girl (1997)

We also have Cartoons

Cartoons – Doodah

What else did I listen to?

Culture Beat – Mr. Vain,
Dr. Alban – It’s My Life,
Cut’N’Move – Get Serious,
Hampenberg – Grab That Thing
- (yeah so I didn’t give the lyrics much thought back then…)

And any variation of Britpop.

Now you know.
Be kind.

Sapphic Sunday: Otalia

2009-04-05T09:20:00.003+02:00

I never understood why on earth people would want to watch soaps. All these ongoing storylines where everybody at one point had been married to everybody they weren’t related to by blood.

But then I stumbled upon several mentions of Guiding Light. Prior I had heard of All My Children and the Bianca/Reese storyline through AfterEllen but never really wanted to pursue it – even after watching a few videos.

Guiding Light’s new – possible – couple would be Olivia and Natalia. They were to share a ‘kiss’. Giving the fact that this was a soap, and that even though two women share a ‘kiss’ it didn’t necessarily mean that there would be an actual storyline from this.

Let’s just say that my expectations weren’t that high.

But I gave it a try. I shouldn’t have. I really shouldn’t have.

Otalia is the name given for Olivia and Natalia (as a couple) in Guiding Light. Here’s their story. Don't you just love Wikipedia? ;o)

Goddess and Dimples are also names I have stumbled upon in the Otalia world. Goddess is Crystal Chappell (who plays Olivia Spencer) and Dimples is Jessica Leccia (who plays Natalia Rivera).

Considering that I a) can’t watch CBS or b) really don’t want to get involved with the rest of the merry soap-family I get my fix at YouTube.
I really appreciate that others take their time to adjust every episode (I’m not sure that’s what they call it in soaps…) so that the videos I watch only concern Otalia. Like Otaliafan or Charleyfan do.

Just to show you why I like this storyline:

"My two Mommies":

And Olivia trying to explain to Natalia what the other parents thought of them:

The kiss stirs up a lot of things. Olivia starts questioning her feelings for Natalia and Natalia has her doubts as well, but she reacts by dating Frank. [A lot of soap drama….]
Then Philip (Olivia’s ex-husband and father of her/their daughter Emma) shows up in town again:

Continued:

I think the story is really well-written. It portrays a beautiful friendship (and perhaps more than that – you’ve got to love subtext…) and the actresses are really doing a great job. And I admit it. I’m totally involved in this storyline. (Granted. Had it not been a storyline with a homosexual subtext I’m not sure I would have even bothered to watch…)

Another thing I would like to add is that there’s a massive fan base out there. Not only in the video making. Also in the “video watching” department.
When I watch a video I always read the comments. And some of them are really, really funny. I mean R-E-A-L-L-Y funny. I've had a few LMFAO and ROFL and ROFLMFAO moments - but hey, that's just me ;o)

I picked out a few from this preview which is for 4/1 2009 episode:

And these are some of the comments for the preview (mostly regarding the relationship and the tension between Olivia and Natalia).
There are a lot of really dedicated fans out there!

Penske037
your problems are of your own making natalia. and stop wishing olivia and start doing.

really you two. i'm gonna bonk your heads together like the numskulls you are if you don't get your stuff together!
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ceh2m
Olivia is straight drunk in that clip

Solari111
I think straight was a poor choice of words here ;)
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diamondbed86
Why is the priest wearing a trenchcoat?

Penske037
maybe he's blessing the union but wants to be prepared for the frogs falling from the sky that is to come. that is one of the signs of the apocalypse, right?
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SubtextRules
Am I the only one who wants to lock Goddess and Dimples in a room together, away from the rest of the world, so they'll be forced to face the fact they are meant to be? I say we unite all Otalia fans and march down to Springfield for a good old fashion kidnapping. Yeah, I know it's been over done but hey...

scratrat
potential-lesbian-couple kidnapping though? Am i the only one attempting to sway the writers with my as yet unproven Jedi mind trick powers?
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wicked7grrl
I heard Reva say 'I'm in labor' about 50 times, because I couldn't get my mouse just right to start with Natalia's line. And good gravy that woman is gorgeous. I'm going to be thudding all over the place tomorrow.
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Stephanieml33
You know what I realized today? I need a F****** lobotomy to watch this soap! Then I need to hire a nurse to come in, so if I nod off, I don't ruin a nice comforter. Okay, so it isn't that nice. I watch this show with the volume turned down and peeking to see Otalia again...I don't know how much more I can tolerate the crap/filler (watching hetro couples fly kites, kissing under houses and burping babies!) DEAR GOD, MORE, MORE, MORE OLIVIA AND NATALIA PLEASE!! Thanks Otaliafan, I think. :-))
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Enjoy your day.

¿ʎɐpoʇ pǝlooɟ noʎ ǝɹǝʍ

2009-04-01T18:27:00.004+02:00

Memory Monday:

2009-03-30T07:35:00.003+02:00

It's the short version...
And without a whole lot of pictures....

When I got my first job, all I cared about was the paycheck…
And what did I do with my first paycheck?
I bought a pair of Doc Martens boots!

So what was my first job? (And by ‘first job’ I mean anything that wasn’t babysitting… - and in which I got an actual paper telling me that I was hired, and how many hours I'd worked...)
I worked as a maid at the local hotel… Meeting a lot of..uhm..interesting people.
But it was fun. And educating. And most of all I earned some money. Not a lot really.

Actually I spend my entire first paycheck on that pair of Doc Martens. But they were so worth it!

(I still have them…)

But that was also when I wore braided bracelets.

And the leather necklace with the peace sign.

It's weird how many memories that come to mind when you find a pair of old boots...
I might actually still have some of those bracelets somewhere... Hmmm...

Not that keen on throwing anything out - as you might be able to tell...

Enjoy your Monday :o)

Sapphic Sunday:

2009-03-29T07:23:00.007+02:00

Today it’s all about food porn.

I’m sure you’ve already heard of the ad. (If not – please go watch in HQ!).

And that made me wonder:

Nigella Lawson (the Queen of food porn - allegedly):
Official website, wikipedia.

Might not be an ad - but it's an interview

or

Padma Lakshmi:
Official website, wikipedia and Top Chef

Uhm...yeah...?
Who would you choose? (If you had to...)

And just for the record... Insomnia sucks! (Unless you have great pictures and YouTube videos to watch...)

The Italian Dream:

2009-03-28T17:24:00.006+01:00

It’s not that I dream of Italy (although I would love to go someday – I’ve travelled in Europe but never to Italy).
What I’m referring to is a television show that’s currently airing in Denmark. And since it’s kind of a reality show I didn’t pay much attention to it at first. But then the couples [looking for the Italian Dream] were to study Italian (when in Rome… - and all that).

I have to say. With a teacher like that I would either:

A: Study my a** off to impress her or

B: Not learn a single word of Italian just because I would be too busy looking at her.

Or possibly

C: Study as hell when I was alone and then not being able to impress her at all because I wouldn’t be able to form a sentence (even in Danish) in her presence…

It'll probably be the latter... I'm such or dork ;o)

She’s just…well… HOT!

This picture does not do her justice. At all! And if there were any way that I could posibly show you a video of here I so would. She's just gorgeous, funny, charming... oh my.

If you speak any Dutch or German (or similar) you'll be able to read about her here. (If not there’s always Google translate - although it’s not quite accurate at times).

But here are the basics (I won't promise I did better than Google translate, though):

She’s 28 and is a major in Italian language and literature. She lives with her parents and she’s 'got a friend’ (or at least that’s what I make of it – don’t dare asking Google translate…). She’s currently teaching a 12 year-old girl with autism (1 on 1 lessons) but hopes to teach a ‘real’(?) class some day. (And apparently she’s known to be a strict teacher [OMG. Is it hot in here...?]). And at night she teaches aerobic and dancing.

I am so going to Italy! ;o)

Excuse me while I'll track down my passport....

This is the one where I answer the questions from my last post myself:

2009-03-25T16:35:00.008+01:00

I realize that my question in my last post could offend people, but that was not my intention.

I'm a plus size myself.

So why do we need to discuss weight? Or dating women who are overweight?
[Why do we have to apologize for being attracted to anything 'not normal'?]*

It's all about the attraction. Why should it matter if you are attracted to skinny, overweight, black, white, red, yellow, tall, short, femme, butch, androgyne, etc?
And you can't control who you are attracted to (you can however control whether or not to act on the attraction - but that's different story).

Being overweight it's all about confidence I guess. And being comfortable with who you are. If you don't like yourself, how can you expect others to like you?

In my case my overweight has something to do with 3 (main) things:
- Laziness
- Love of food
- Being insecure about who I was.

The first two things is something that's easily fixed, but the last one took quite some time. [I think I had this idea, that if no one was attracted to me, then I wouldn't have to worry about dating - and in my case which gender to date. Stupid, right? You can't put your life on hold. Sometimes it would be relly nice to have a remote like in Click, though.]

So I'm dealing with my weight right now. I'll never be a size zero. Probably never a size 4 either, but that's fine by me. I'm not going for 'a size'. I just want to be happy with who I am. (And it's not that I'm unhappy right now. I'm just not happy. Apparently I'm not making any sense either.)
But that doesn't mean I don't have to eat healthy or live healthy (this April it's been a year since my last cigarette and I'm quite proud of that one!) and get my lazy a** into the gym - or at least exercising.

As for the obsession af the perfect body...
Perfect is actually Latin for "finished"

Aristotle said “That is perfect:
1. which is complete — which contains all the requisite parts;
2. which is so good that nothing of the kind could be better;
3. which has attained its purpose”

Defining perfection isn't that easy. What's perfect for me is - most likely - not perfect for you. And isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? Would we really want the same ideal?
But in a world where we are encouraged to ‘fit in’ at an early age, it sometimes can be difficult to stand out and dare to be different.

* In this case I'm talking about weight. And by 'not normal', I refer to society's standards set by models, designers and/or actors/actresses (which basically doesn't mean that it's normal - it's just how the trend is right now). And I'm not saying it's the right standard. Just the current.

Beaver Bunch: This weeks topics.

2009-03-23T23:36:00.003+01:00

So I've been skipping the topics lately - which by the way doesn't mean I've been skipping the videos ;o)

This weeks topics:

We get a handful of questions regarding body image in the LGBTQ community, so this week the Beavs are going to tackle the one topic no one likes to talk about...weight!

1) I am plus size and that makes it harder for me to find a woman. I was wondering if any of you have any advice for me on how to meet woman who are willing to look past what is on the outside and see the inner beauty?

2) Would you ever date a bigger woman?

3) Why the obsession with weight and the perfect body in the LGBTQ community?

Can you honestly say, that you've never thought about it?

Memory Monday:

2009-03-23T19:16:00.000+01:00

Today is a special edition ;o) It’s a bit short, but that’s because I have tons of things to do before dinner. And my weekend was kinda swamped too…

We have to go back to 1977… (Thats the year Elvis died - but this has nothing to do with that). Loooong ago I know, but this is where it all began (actually it probably began around June 23 1976, but let’s not get into all the details… Please?).

I’ll give you a hint:

No? That didn’t help?

Here’s another ;o)

All right….

Have a great day!

I know I will!