Obdormio.com

Not too long ago, I bought myself a poster.

I’m not really a poster person, with this purchase my total number of posters reached two. I don’t know what the average is, I can only compare myself to my brother, and I don’t think anybody remembers what colour the walls of his room are. But until recently, I had only one, which I bought under peer pressure when my brother visited before Christmas. I’m just not bothered by bare walls, I guess.

But then I saw this V for Vendetta-poster, and I bought it. I really liked it, it wasn’t too showy, had a bit of a retro-look, clear colours, stuff like that. So I bought it, and put it on the wall.

And then I spot the problem.

Underneath the V for Vendetta-title, in smaller letters I had completely missed on the miniature preview in the store, over two lines, it says “An uncompromising vision of the future from the creators of the Matrix trilogy”.

I hate those two lines. They take away all the class I thought the poster had, pollutes it with an attempt to sell the movie. I have no idea why, it doesn’t look like a movie poster. There is no info about who’s in it and when or where it can be seen. It might as well have been a poster based on the comic (which is part of the reason why I bought it), if not for those two lines of text.

It just spoils the thing completely. Now, whenever I look at it, my eyes are invariably drawn to that blight. It seems to grow bigger and more vivid every time I look. Why, oh why, would somebody ruin a great poster with that crappy line?

I’ve contemplated trying to paint over it, but I suspect the blot of paint would stand horribly out from the rest of the poster, and look just as bad.

I like the movie. I like the comic. I’m growing to hate that poster.

- 3rd Rock From the Sun is several times better than I remember, and I remembered it as being pretty good. I should perhaps spend less time watching it and more time studying, but that doesn’t seem right somehow.
- The Order of the Stick is even better in book form, what with the bonus comics and commentary.
- Robert Llewellyn has a YouTube channel. In a perfect world this would be cause for public celebrations and national holidays, but I guess we can all celebrate by watching his videos instead.
- The Checkerboard Nightmare book is even better the second time around.
- I should write more. I’m far to lazy for my own good.
- I really need to find a new Red Dwarf RPG group.
- Prim is tasty. I should buy some.

You know, for a city famous for its rain, and pretty much naught else, Bergen has surprisingly few safeguards in place too keep the sidewalks from becoming rivers. My soaked socks are prepared to testify to this.

I have lost weight. I know this, because my belt no longer properly holds my trousers up. This means I have to stop and pull them up every thirty seconds or so, and that I still end up with thoroughly wet cuffs.

What really cinched the morning though, was the bus driver, who was standing at the bus stop, only a meter or so ahead of the shed, waiting for a light which had just turned red, and still refused to open the door and let me in.

Oh what a glorious day.

Shut up.

Well, November has officially begun, and we all know what month that is, don’t we?

I’m not doing it this year. I did it last year, finished it too. It was fun, it was stressing, it was exhausting and in the end I had some stuff I actually feel pretty good about. Y’know, in the midst of loads and loads of crap.

But I’m not doing it this year. At least, I don’t think I am. I just don’t feel I have the time, what with school and all. See also the part about how it was stressing and exhausting. I have done no planning, have no Idea what I would write if I were to change my mind right now, so I consider it unlikely that I will. Even if I do find time to write, I would rather spend it working on what I made last year, making that better.

Though it would be somewhat fun to just start where I ended last time and see if I could get some plot out of it. What I have so far is essentially a 50000 word introduction.

…

Damn, in the course of writing this post I’ve gone from “not this year” to “Well, we’ll see if there’s time.” This can’t be healthy.

Loki’s timing is a bit off here, as I actually set aside time today to write here. Unless of course he used “currently” to mean “at this precise moment, 1:11 AM, September 16th” or a similarly narrow definition. Knowing him, he probably did.

Anyways, over a month has passed since the post where I said I was leaving for Bergen. Wow, where on earth did all the time go?

Actually, I have a good idea where all that time went. A good portion of it went to Babylon 5, which I’m fortunately almost finished with now. Very good show, that.

Another sizable chunk went to schoolwork. The intensive class Academic Writing has consumed many a night lately. When you cram a ten point subject into five weeks, it figures that it’ll take a lot of time. (For comparison, the other two subjects I’m taking this year, each also worth ten points, last at least fifteen weeks each.) Academic Writing, too, is almost over now.

And I’m not dead! I’m living and breathing and learning in Bergen, the city of rain, the Seattle of Europe. (Actually, I’m fairly sure Bergen was there first, so it should be that Seattle is the Bergen of America.) The city from whence the Black Death spread across Norway and killed off half the population. A city that, like Trondheim, is a much better choice for capital than Oslo. A city I could easily see myself living in, if not for the terrible lack of diverse products in grocery stores.

In my last post I said that Raptus was about to start. It is now over, leaving me with much less money than before, but also a nice little collection of comics containing stories by Carl Barks and Don Rosa. I also got hold of Rosa’s “Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion” yesterday, so I have plenty and plenty of reading material. Especially if you factor in “A Game of Thrones”, “Eye of the Labyrinth” and “Deadhouse Gates” as well.

Hm, I foresee much more time vanishing in the near future.

So, what else has happened the last month?

Andy Weir has put Casey and Andy on indefinite hiatus, in order to focus his efforts on Cheshire Crossing. While I’m sad that we have to wait for the grand finale of C&A, I’m also excited that this probably means less waiting for the next issue of Cheshire Crossing. Weir reports that he is sick of C&A, which is extremely sad, and that he might not finish the arc at all, which is nothing short of tragic. I certainly hope that he feels better about it when the CC-issue is finished, it would be a crying shame for a great comic like Casey and Andy to end in the middle of its final arc.

Sluggy Freelance has started a new Oasis-story. Pardon me while I squee. It even looks like we’ll get some actual, definite answers in this one, though I’m not taking anything for granted when it comes to Sluggy. I’ll hold my tongue until it is over, I think, though I have to say that I love the new supporting characters. The setup has all the markings of a truly great sitcom, and it’s a shame there isn’t one like it on TV already.

The Gods of Arr-Kelaan have lost Ronson! Eeek! Well, no, not really eeek, we all know he’ll be back, as we have seen him appear in stories set at after the current one, but this should still be a very interesting story.

No doubt a lot of other stuff has happened as well, but this is all I can think of at the moment. Any omissions will have to get separate posts later, an arrangement nobody should be angry about.

Now I have to go fill the fridge.

It isn’t easy, especially when you have friends clearly set out to sabotage your academic development in any way possible - by, say, lending you five seasons of quality television-series mere days before you need to really start writing your assignment. Or lending you even better books, mere days before that. Or nagging you into joining a board game taking up one of your precious set-off-for-writing-afternoons. Get the picture? ‘Cause Obdormio sure has.

That’s right folks, your one and only beloved GUEST-BLOGGER is back, and I’m here to tell you, our gracious host simply doesn’t have the time to stop by and complain about how he doesn’t have time to stop by and complain.

Thus, I’ll do it for him, despite having tons of stuff to do myself, because that’s just how nice a guy I am.

WAAAAH, I DON’T HAVE TIIIIIME!

There, now that that’s over and done with, what has Obdormiboy been up to lately? Well, aside from his compulsive just-one-more-episode-habit of watching ”Babylon 5″, he’s been writing his assignment in ”Academic Writing”,
a compulsory introductory-course in Norwegian universities. Booh-yeah, right? No problem for good ol’ Dormie?

WROOOONG!

He’s struggling, people! Struggling! He needs all the help he can get, and that’s not all - he needs MORE help than he can get, which might be the problem.

You see, he can’t get his summary summarized enough. Mind-shattering, I know, but the man turns out not to be perfect after all. While the rest of us are now no doubt sighing as one in unison relief, we have to be understanding if Obdormio doesn’t join in. He is, after all, way too busy with shortening down his summary. Something which presents quite the challange, considering his working-schedule opens for maximum four minutes work per episode of B5, and that DOES include mentally preparing oneself for working, a ritual which has been known to take at least five minutes.

In other words, our boy is in a dire mess. We should help him out. I should help him out. I don’t have time, though, because the only spare time I had today has been used up writing this post. But at least I got his weblog active again. I’m sure he’ll be ever so pleased. :D

Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

What? So I’m taking Roman History this term. Sheeesh.

… and rarely has it been more anticipated. This summer has really helped convince me that the job I’m aiming for (teacher) is the right one for me. The hellish graveyard job in particular has made me eagerly await the beginning of fall.

It wasn’t so much the mowing itself, as the lack of equipment, communication and understanding. This job will not be applied for next year.

Tonight, I am leaving for Bergen, and on Monday, I will begin my studies at the university there. I do not know how long it will take to get set up and online again once I arrive, so bear with me if I disappear completely for a few days.

That is all.