h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

bu now, you're back! How are you, my dear?

I've been rather busy with local body elections and politico-medical machinations sending me all around the region.

Hm, 'local body elections' gives me assosiations that's probably not apropriate..
The government election up here went just according to my worst fears and predictions. But, as I'm slowly moving up towards upper middle class, I really have got the government I deserve..
I've been rather busy myself, M. The punishment for going on holiday was a middle-sized mountain of RL backlog.
This weekend I've spent with friends, eating good food and watching bad videos, and family dinner at Mom's getting stuffed with cakes.

I don't have to go away for paperwork mountains to build up on my desk.

The weekend's elections quickly faded into a distant memory with a "Anthrax" scare in a Taranaki town today. I have a feeling that by tomorrow it will blow over into a "Cornmeal" scare...

Forgot to tell you that I won't be in so much this week. I'm doing jury duty at the court of law. The case will take four days, they said.
It's a boring drug case, complete with extremely stupid youngsters... Though I must say I prefere this to murder cases and child abuse..
Anthrax, eh! I heard there was a couple of scares in Australia. I though maybe you went clear of it in NZ. I gues the next will be gas attacks... (Careful, don't fart in the subway..!)

*Gives in to urge to knock on wood.*
Brrr!

And that was that. Two kids are going to waist a year in prison, and the money-men goes free..

I wonder when they are going to realize that the drug-policy they've been practising the last three or four decades aren't working one bit! Instead of recognising the futility of it, they are just pouring on more of the same stuff...

...in the hopes that something different will happen next time.

Why, my dear Bumblebee, what's so wrong about that?

Appearently nothing, in this conservative world... I wont say that I have the Answer, but I think It's time to take a step back and review the results so far. A lot of resourses could be free'd with some regrouping.

How's the spring coming along down under? This have been a beautiful fall, with very little rain and warm breezes. The trees are all yellow and red, and the nights have been clear and starlit. Yesterday we had great Northern lights, covering the whole sky with deep reds and cool greens. Quite a sight!

Current local meteorological phenomena tends towards sunny days with lots of wind. It's a pity I don't have a digital camera because the mountain looks very good these days.

The best I can do is give you a glimpse of the spirit and essence of the NZ landscape, So I'll direct you to a painting by celebrated NZ artist Colin McCahon via my links page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A534700

Softly rounded mountains, dressed in green, all the sharp edges long since filed down by ice and water, breathing slowly, waiting.

That's what the painting gives me...

There's also the feeling of being 'hugged' by the hills, as opposed to being enveloped by them. There's enough sky to enable you to 'breathe', so you're not too trapped.

There are very few places in NZ where you can go and not see any mountains or hills in any direction. Some people have said that when you go from NZ somewhere like the Australian Outback, there's a sense of almost agoraphobia, where there's nothing but open sky all around you.

In the Tnk the mountain dominates the landscape, and here in NP which is a seaside town, it's like we have this reassuring wall against our backs. South Tnk you don't notice the mountain as much but it's always there in the distance.

Some of the small towns in the bottom of the Norwegian fjords are outright claustrophobic! I don't understand how people can live there without going crazy! (Maybe they are crazy, some of them that I've met are very odd at times...) Having lived almost all my life between Bergen's seven mountains, (or hills as some would call them, the tallest only 660 m high) I know the strong feeling of space and exposure you get when you enter the flat land. I love it, but after a while I long for the secure bosom of my mountains...
From one thing to another...
We are about to start a Dinner Club, here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A538779
If you are interested. Keep an eye on this spot, it can be fun..!

Well, comments like "I long for the secure bosom of my mountains..." should liven things up.

I knew you'd like that one...

I'd hate to think I was becoming predictable...

On a wholly different subject, how is the Norwegian Film Industry? Does Norway make a lot of movies and what sort of movies are they?

I ask because I saw a NZ flick last night and it was kind of disappointing. There's such a struggle in NZ to find its own identity on screen, preferably one that doesn't make me cringe or want to emigrate.

Funny you should ask me that...! I sat last night and discussed the Norwegian / Nordic filmindustry with a couple of friends!
Norwegian filmindustry is very small, without money and I can't remember more than a handfull of films I liked. The most active period was somewhere in the 70's with a lot of drab social-realism.. Where the most excitement is now is in Denmark. The "Dogma" films is... really something else!
But by all means, we do find a little gem here and there in Norway too. If you're looking for the Norwegian identity, I recommend the film "Heftig og begeistret" or "Cool and Crazy" as the English title is called... It's about a mens choire in a little place called Berlevåg.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A626050

Looks good, looks interesting, looks light-hearted. Most NZ films tend to be very dark, in fact, the last real comedy was in 1985.

Just looking through the Internet Movie Database, I see that a number of films considered Kiwi classics have made it to Norway: Goodbye Pork Pie, Once Were Warriors, and Heavenly Creatures.

*Rummages through her memory..*
Hmm, I seem to have managed to miss out on all three of them..
Should I put them on the video-to-rent-next list?

I've been listening to a CD that my Irish pub bartender friend got for me. It's a group called Starsailor, title "love is here" and I absolutely hate it! (Sorry Jon!) Should I lie or should I put it to him nicely...? He's worried that I'm working to much, so he keeps getting me CD's and buys tickets for the cinema for me... He's very sweet.
But I like the new album from Savoy, "Reasons to stay indoors" that he also got for me, ....so I think I'll lie about the other one.... Maybe I'll learn to like it later. (Not likely B, and you know it..)
Anyway:
Happy weekend to you!

I'm certain you can properly sugarcoat a review, highlighting the album's good points ("I liked the ending -- and the fact that it wasn't too long!").

If it makes him feel good to give you stuff, then you wouldn't want to ruin that for him, would you?

Yes, that's sort of how I did it..
I think he sees me as part of his surrogate family, with me as a sister and hubby and brat as b'in law and niece...
That's ok by me,- he's far away from home (Birmingham, England) and single (divorced). If you don't have a family, then create one!
This is going to be a week.You know we're fixing the floors at the office? We emptied a couple of offices, including mine this weekend, and now the man with the sanding machine is slowly driving us crazy... Two days of this racket followed by three days with intense laquer fumes, is what we're up against. The "good" thing about all this is that the corner I've been placed in have a much better light than the one I usually sit in. I didn't realize how bad it was before I moved in here! I'll have to do something about that!

Funny, but I thought the smell of sawdust and lacquer would've been like some sort of stimulant for you.

Your thoughts on office space reminded me of the film Office Space. This guy constantly gets the size of his office downgraded till he's working in a broom closet (they haven't even told him he was made redundant several months ago).

Which brings me back to Kiwi flicks on video - if they're available on video, there's no reason why you shouldn't check them out. Once Were Warriors is probably the most brutal, it has some prettty nasty scenes of domestic violence.