Taken from an e-mail I wrote earlier this month:
I have faith in no deity nor any other form of divine structure. Rather, I have faith in mundaneity, in the accidental, and in hope as a source of comfort (though not necessarily as something with actual effect, other than personal comfort). I also have faith in that karma does not exist; I believe that there is no universal balance structure of good v. bad.
I do not necessarily see theistic faith as a "daddy in the sky" phenomenon. I suspect that it comes from the social construction where we receive external input on the existence of the divine and learn how to look for evidence of the divine. This construction, beyond setting a foundation for our interpretation of the world (and establishing our sense of faith), establishes a dependency on there being something divine; without that divinity, our foundation for meaning crumbles.
For my part, it took many steps to eventually reconstruct my faith from theist to atheist. Because I have actual faith in atheism (including going through the difficulty of realizing that I will not see my adored dead in some afterlife) rather than mere profession to it, I consider myself a true atheist; I differentiate between myself and those "atheists" who are actually temporary agnostics going through some crisis-of-faith period. I have also learned to supplicate myself to hope rather than divinity in times of personal crisis.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Bush and Sid Meier's Civilization
Does anyone else here suspect that if and when US President Bush played Sid Meier's Civilization he "forgot" to change his government type from Despotism to Democracy (or even Republic) and thereby missed out on learning about war fatigue?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A query
How is it in the United States that we can verbally grill foreign theocratic heads of state (who willingly subject themselves to it), yet our own public officials are to remain shielded from ever facing the public?
Monday, September 24, 2007
What frustrates me
What frustrates me is that this world can be so much better.
We can have greater egalitarianism.
We can have greater equity of resources.
We can have sustainable and comfortable development.
Yet, we move toward those three goals with a snail's pace, continually hindered and tossed backward.
Edit:
Blogspot's formatting frustrates me as well :-P
We can have greater egalitarianism.
We can have greater equity of resources.
We can have sustainable and comfortable development.
Yet, we move toward those three goals with a snail's pace, continually hindered and tossed backward.
Edit:
Blogspot's formatting frustrates me as well :-P
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The beginning of winter?
On my way to work today, I saw frost-rimmed grass. The temperature was the coldest it has been this Autumn. I look forward to part-time work and being able to work at home most of the time...come on October!
This evening I'm starting in the drawing and paint course I signed up for :-)
This evening I'm starting in the drawing and paint course I signed up for :-)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Explanation...
As you may have noticed, I've posted the text from some of my other Internet-based profiles.
I want to bring my various Internet identities together in order to give myself a better overview of them and how their updates are coming along. I have also gradually worn out my interest to separate and compartmentalize myself. I also want to archive my texts and render my texts open to whoever may be interested.
I want to bring my various Internet identities together in order to give myself a better overview of them and how their updates are coming along. I have also gradually worn out my interest to separate and compartmentalize myself. I also want to archive my texts and render my texts open to whoever may be interested.
Old (yet newer) Gaysir profile
allo everyone!
News:
I have set up a RealJock profile: http://www.realjock.com/NickoftheNorth
As of testing on May 16, 2007, I have a clean bill of health in terms of STDs :-D I took all of the tests Brynsenglegene offer, and thus have none of them.
As of June 13, I have taken two out of the three parts of the Hepatitis B vaccination, which I will finish in October.
*gives a pat on his own back for being such a responsible fellow*
Summertime greetings to all, and to all some fair nights (and knights, if that's what you wish for)!
My name's Nick, my demographics are listed above along with my searches, and I am aiming at having a wonderful Norwegian summer. As the days grow longer, I look forward to enjoying some cool summer evenings with late late sunset and a strawberry daiquiri at hand.
Note to everyone: a strawberry daiquiri should always be at hand...a piña colada if times are desperate and the strawberry mix is low.
For those of you wondering why I write in English (or presuming that I am merely being pretentious...which I often am, but not in this case), it is because I am more fluent in it and can be so much, much more teh gay in it. I speak Norwegian fluently and write in it pretty darn well, so feel free to message in whichever language you prefer.
I want to get to know more people, from anything from casual messaging to offline friendships.
For the record, I am HIV-negative as of my last test in the fall of 2005. I intend on taking a new test within the coming weeks given the lengthy timespan (I first re-started being sexually active around December 2006, so the testing was not particularly relevant until then).
And for those who find it off-putting or who are puzzled by inclusion of "sex-treff" in my interests portion: yes, I am interested in meeting with some guys for sexual encounters and experiencing different approaches to and with sex. I prefer also having some conversation with them, learn who they are and what their lives are about (in their words. Good conversation plus good sex (not necessarily intercourse) is delightful.
And the accusations of sexual encounters being immature or showing a lack of seriousness and concern for other people...sweetie, you leave those at the door before messaging me. You're not going to convince me, and at best I will aggravate you by responding to you in an up-front, honest, and calm demeanor.
Yes, I am that kind of a bitch ;-)
Oh, and if you want to have a prolonged message-conversation or if you are going to immediately proposition a sexual encounter, either have a picture of yourself in your profile or send one with your first message. I am not going to even begin to consider an in-person meeting before I receive a self-picture (which I will not ask for; this is your responsibility, and not some repetitive task I'm going to go through on Gaysir!).
Interests (listed keywords)
anime, PC- and videogames (adventure, RPG, some horror, some action, strategy), manga, graphic novels, photography, movies (non-purile comedy, non-standard romance, adventure, off-the-walls action, twisted characters), the "nature" of evil, humans, human perspectives, studies of criminality
Sexual interests (listed keywords)
muscle, masculinity, consensual submission (on my part), safety, good kissing, prolonged cuddling, massage, safe domination, room for experimentation
STOPP BARNEPORNO PÅ NETT!
Ser du noe så anmeld det her:
http://www.rb.se/hotline/
News:
I have set up a RealJock profile: http://www.realjock.com/NickoftheNorth
As of testing on May 16, 2007, I have a clean bill of health in terms of STDs :-D I took all of the tests Brynsenglegene offer, and thus have none of them.
As of June 13, I have taken two out of the three parts of the Hepatitis B vaccination, which I will finish in October.
*gives a pat on his own back for being such a responsible fellow*
Summertime greetings to all, and to all some fair nights (and knights, if that's what you wish for)!
My name's Nick, my demographics are listed above along with my searches, and I am aiming at having a wonderful Norwegian summer. As the days grow longer, I look forward to enjoying some cool summer evenings with late late sunset and a strawberry daiquiri at hand.
Note to everyone: a strawberry daiquiri should always be at hand...a piña colada if times are desperate and the strawberry mix is low.
For those of you wondering why I write in English (or presuming that I am merely being pretentious...which I often am, but not in this case), it is because I am more fluent in it and can be so much, much more teh gay in it. I speak Norwegian fluently and write in it pretty darn well, so feel free to message in whichever language you prefer.
I want to get to know more people, from anything from casual messaging to offline friendships.
For the record, I am HIV-negative as of my last test in the fall of 2005. I intend on taking a new test within the coming weeks given the lengthy timespan (I first re-started being sexually active around December 2006, so the testing was not particularly relevant until then).
And for those who find it off-putting or who are puzzled by inclusion of "sex-treff" in my interests portion: yes, I am interested in meeting with some guys for sexual encounters and experiencing different approaches to and with sex. I prefer also having some conversation with them, learn who they are and what their lives are about (in their words. Good conversation plus good sex (not necessarily intercourse) is delightful.
And the accusations of sexual encounters being immature or showing a lack of seriousness and concern for other people...sweetie, you leave those at the door before messaging me. You're not going to convince me, and at best I will aggravate you by responding to you in an up-front, honest, and calm demeanor.
Yes, I am that kind of a bitch ;-)
Oh, and if you want to have a prolonged message-conversation or if you are going to immediately proposition a sexual encounter, either have a picture of yourself in your profile or send one with your first message. I am not going to even begin to consider an in-person meeting before I receive a self-picture (which I will not ask for; this is your responsibility, and not some repetitive task I'm going to go through on Gaysir!).
Interests (listed keywords)
anime, PC- and videogames (adventure, RPG, some horror, some action, strategy), manga, graphic novels, photography, movies (non-purile comedy, non-standard romance, adventure, off-the-walls action, twisted characters), the "nature" of evil, humans, human perspectives, studies of criminality
Sexual interests (listed keywords)
muscle, masculinity, consensual submission (on my part), safety, good kissing, prolonged cuddling, massage, safe domination, room for experimentation
STOPP BARNEPORNO PÅ NETT!
Ser du noe så anmeld det her:
http://www.rb.se/hotline/
Old Gaysir profile
This is the old profile-text I had for my profile on Gaysir, a Norwegian gay networking site.
"For English-only readers
I speak, write, and read English fluently. I will try to include more English-language information in my profile as I continue to update it.
Basic info: seeking friends and fun, am Norwegian & American, bottom-oriented, just came back from living in Miami for seven years, and wish you a Merry December!
Hei og hå!
Om aktiv / passiv
Jeg ble litt forvirra av "aktiv / passiv" inndelingen aller først, men har fått med meg at det er tilsvarende "top / bottom" inndelingen i USA. Jeg anser meg selv som en bottom ("passiv"), men som også er aktiv og engasjert i evt. kos og samleie
Besides, å virkelig suge kuk bra er ikke noe "passivt"...det krever arbeid og god forståelse på hva kuk-eieren reagerer på
Quick tidbits om meg:
*jeg er 43% Gay ifølge den beryktede Channel 4 testen
*har bodd i Miami i syv år og flyttet tilbake til hjemlandet (Norge) i august, 2006
*jobber for tiden som konsulent, og ser fram til nye muligheter i løpet av neste år
*har BA i statsvitenskap (tatt i USA, hvilket betyr at jeg tok mange fag som ikke hadde noe direkte med statsvitenskap å gjøre)
*fullførte (men ennå ikke fått diplom) semesteremne i kjønnsstudier
*tok Master klasser og siden tatt en pause ifra det
er både norsk og amerikansk
*ønsker å iallfall jobbe et år som assisterende engelsk-språklig lærer i Japan gjennom JET programmet
*jeg bruker norsk og engelsk om og over hverandre på nettsider som denne, pga bedre kjennskap til engelske uttrykk
*lider av den arvelige (men ikke smittsomme) hudsykdommen psoriasis på baksiden av hendene mine (hvilket betyr at huden blir tørr til punket hvor den sprekker og blodet kommer frem; jeg er morbid a la Addams Family og synes at det er stas Nei, det er ikke konstant...kommer frem i kaldt vær og kan fikses med fuktighetskrem.
*begynte å trene 9. okt. 2006
*elsker butikker med kontorutstyr (a la Office Depot / Max...go Andvord!)
*er katte- / Batmanmenneske (istedenfor hund- / Supermanmenneske)
Sex interesser
Har noen fetisher
- baseball caps
- belching (just to clarify for English readers; the Norwegian word for burping / belching is raping, which makes for an unfortunate misreading)
- å løfte og bli løftet
- folk som er lavere eller høyere enn meg
- over- og underbitt
Identifiserer meg som
- size-queen: jeg verdsetter en stor kuk og blir fascinert når jeg ser en (spesielt in-person)
- muscle-queen: jeg tiltrekkes av muskler, visuellt og følelsesmessig
- neanderthal-queen: jeg elsker menn med litt neandertalerutseende, med grove maskuline trekk og kroppslinjer (tydelig kjevelinje, tykkere-enn-vanlige lepper, et standard-ansiktsuttrykk hvor munnen er litt åpen)
Søker:
Jeg leter etter kjekke karer for vennskap, samvær, og moro Når det gjelder fysisk tiltrekkelse, så er jeg temmelig overfladisk; jeg liker menn som er slanke til menn som er muskuløse (foretrekker muskel-delen av skalaen...liker å føle trygghet i noen andre sin styrke).
Jeg vil også stå frem som en fyr med mindre-enn-vanlig utstyr, på 10.5 - 11cm. Dette er til dels grunnlag for hvorfor jeg liker harde og lange kuker så godt !
Til gjengjeld så har jeg en råfin rumpe da...kanskje en natural born bottom?
Når det gjelder personlighet så skal jeg legge korta på bordet og si nei takk til folk som serverer mer drama enn jeg selv gjør. Jeg er noe dramatisk pga nedarvede depresjoner (noe jeg har hjulpet meg selv igjennom) og min sans for kreativitet; til gjengjeld har jeg sterkt utviklet empati og god omtanke for andre (drømte om å bli hotelleier da jeg var betydelig yngre...ville varte opp for folk og skape hygge).
Ellers...
Jeg sliter fortsatt med noe selvsikkehet issues; ellers har jeg store vanskeligheter for å forklare mine Espen Askeladd tendenser (hvor jeg samler på alskens ting). Skjønt, selv om jeg er god pengebruker, så er jeg også god pengersparer
Jeg oppdaterer denne senere
I mellomtiden ønsker jeg alle en god desember og god jul / chanukah / kwanzaa / vintersolverv til de som feirer det!
- Nick
STOPP BARNEPORNO PÅ NETT!
Ser du noe så anmeld det her:
http://www.rb.se/hotline/"
"For English-only readers
I speak, write, and read English fluently. I will try to include more English-language information in my profile as I continue to update it.
Basic info: seeking friends and fun, am Norwegian & American, bottom-oriented, just came back from living in Miami for seven years, and wish you a Merry December!
Hei og hå!
Om aktiv / passiv
Jeg ble litt forvirra av "aktiv / passiv" inndelingen aller først, men har fått med meg at det er tilsvarende "top / bottom" inndelingen i USA. Jeg anser meg selv som en bottom ("passiv"), men som også er aktiv og engasjert i evt. kos og samleie
Besides, å virkelig suge kuk bra er ikke noe "passivt"...det krever arbeid og god forståelse på hva kuk-eieren reagerer på
Quick tidbits om meg:
*jeg er 43% Gay ifølge den beryktede Channel 4 testen
*har bodd i Miami i syv år og flyttet tilbake til hjemlandet (Norge) i august, 2006
*jobber for tiden som konsulent, og ser fram til nye muligheter i løpet av neste år
*har BA i statsvitenskap (tatt i USA, hvilket betyr at jeg tok mange fag som ikke hadde noe direkte med statsvitenskap å gjøre)
*fullførte (men ennå ikke fått diplom) semesteremne i kjønnsstudier
*tok Master klasser og siden tatt en pause ifra det
er både norsk og amerikansk
*ønsker å iallfall jobbe et år som assisterende engelsk-språklig lærer i Japan gjennom JET programmet
*jeg bruker norsk og engelsk om og over hverandre på nettsider som denne, pga bedre kjennskap til engelske uttrykk
*lider av den arvelige (men ikke smittsomme) hudsykdommen psoriasis på baksiden av hendene mine (hvilket betyr at huden blir tørr til punket hvor den sprekker og blodet kommer frem; jeg er morbid a la Addams Family og synes at det er stas Nei, det er ikke konstant...kommer frem i kaldt vær og kan fikses med fuktighetskrem.
*begynte å trene 9. okt. 2006
*elsker butikker med kontorutstyr (a la Office Depot / Max...go Andvord!)
*er katte- / Batmanmenneske (istedenfor hund- / Supermanmenneske)
Sex interesser
Har noen fetisher
- baseball caps
- belching (just to clarify for English readers; the Norwegian word for burping / belching is raping, which makes for an unfortunate misreading)
- å løfte og bli løftet
- folk som er lavere eller høyere enn meg
- over- og underbitt
Identifiserer meg som
- size-queen: jeg verdsetter en stor kuk og blir fascinert når jeg ser en (spesielt in-person)
- muscle-queen: jeg tiltrekkes av muskler, visuellt og følelsesmessig
- neanderthal-queen: jeg elsker menn med litt neandertalerutseende, med grove maskuline trekk og kroppslinjer (tydelig kjevelinje, tykkere-enn-vanlige lepper, et standard-ansiktsuttrykk hvor munnen er litt åpen)
Søker:
Jeg leter etter kjekke karer for vennskap, samvær, og moro Når det gjelder fysisk tiltrekkelse, så er jeg temmelig overfladisk; jeg liker menn som er slanke til menn som er muskuløse (foretrekker muskel-delen av skalaen...liker å føle trygghet i noen andre sin styrke).
Jeg vil også stå frem som en fyr med mindre-enn-vanlig utstyr, på 10.5 - 11cm. Dette er til dels grunnlag for hvorfor jeg liker harde og lange kuker så godt !
Til gjengjeld så har jeg en råfin rumpe da...kanskje en natural born bottom?
Når det gjelder personlighet så skal jeg legge korta på bordet og si nei takk til folk som serverer mer drama enn jeg selv gjør. Jeg er noe dramatisk pga nedarvede depresjoner (noe jeg har hjulpet meg selv igjennom) og min sans for kreativitet; til gjengjeld har jeg sterkt utviklet empati og god omtanke for andre (drømte om å bli hotelleier da jeg var betydelig yngre...ville varte opp for folk og skape hygge).
Ellers...
Jeg sliter fortsatt med noe selvsikkehet issues; ellers har jeg store vanskeligheter for å forklare mine Espen Askeladd tendenser (hvor jeg samler på alskens ting). Skjønt, selv om jeg er god pengebruker, så er jeg også god pengersparer
Jeg oppdaterer denne senere
I mellomtiden ønsker jeg alle en god desember og god jul / chanukah / kwanzaa / vintersolverv til de som feirer det!
- Nick
STOPP BARNEPORNO PÅ NETT!
Ser du noe så anmeld det her:
http://www.rb.se/hotline/"
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Old NormalGay profile
February 15, 2006
Hey y'all! How was your Valentine's Day?
My V-Day was...well, a day :-P I prefer my own concoction of Happy Appreciation Week to this one, overly red day. HAW consists of doing something nice for multiple people during this particular week. My tendency is toward buying some chocolate chip cookie dough and baking cookies for groups of friends and acquaintances. This approach is both nice and homey (freshly baked cookies!) and kind on the wallet (cookie dough provides more happy bang for your buck than individually-wrapped confectionary).
The most significant thing I did yesterday was going to a lecture/town hall meeting held by Democratic Party hopeful Howard Dean. It was largely a standard hope-for-the-Democratic-Party event, without much in terms of innovation. I regret not asking Dean (during the town hall question session) when the Democratic Party is going to stop being the Republican Party's whipping post. I just do not care for the Democratic Party, which still fails to present a dichotomous world-view where it can show how it is a better alternative than the Republican Party.
Dean ended the talk on a note regarding Cain's reference (in the Abrahamic Bible's Genesis) to not being his brother's keeper, and how Cain's position reflects the Republican Party's way-of-thinking while the Democratic Party IS its "brother's" keeper. My sentiment on this: Eh, I get where you are going with it, but think you could do much better in selecting quotes from such as lengthy book. The quotation was part of Dean's effort toward linking Democratic Party values with US Evangelical Christian values, which he sees as crucial in assuring Democratic Party victories in the USA.
The most striking part of the event was actually being so physically close to a figure I have only seen on television thus far. It was surreal to be only a few yards away from someone who ran as a primary candidate for the US President. It made the idea of presidential candidates as being actual human beings (as opposed to being robots from the planet Xorgon) hit home in my cynical, jaded head.
I wanted to note a website that I have used these last few weeks that I think people here might enjoy. The site is Public Domain Torrents, which lists torrents (which I will briefly describe in a moment) for older movies that (according to the site) MAY be within the public domain (I would wager that they are not, yet that they are nonetheless inaccessible through the contemporary market). This site will likely appeal to both movie buffs out here on NG as well as casual movie watchers. The films also include old serial films, such as the Undersea Kingdom (which has lots of, possibly unintentional, gay innuendo in IMO). The URL is http://publicdomaintorrents.com
Briefly explained, a torrent is an information file that you can use with a Torrent program (such as BitTorrent or BitLord), which then sets up a peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading of the relevant files (in this case, a movie file). This means that as you are downloading the file(s) from peers, you are simultaneously uploading what you have of the file(s) to other peers. For a more in-depth description, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent#Terminology or e-mail me. Keep in mind, because this is peer-to-peer downloading, you may be unable to get the file(s) you want; you are relying on there being someone out on the same program that is currently sharing the file ("seeding"). As such, it is polite to permit your program to upload to other peers and let others also enjoy the file(s).
I also recommend YouTube, which is a site where people share Flash versions of videoclips (which are publicly viewable). One of the my favorites is http://youtube.com/watch?v=pB2tdo0I7FQ&search=Urban%20Ninja . The URL for the general site is: http://youtube.com/
That's it for me for now! Hope everyone had a good yesterday and that you are taking care of yourselves and each other.
----------------------------------------
November 25, 2005
Weeeeeell, after a three-month absence in updating this profile (yet agonizing over my failure to do so during that time), I guess I'm here with a little blog/update.
In these past few months, I have gained some weight (some muscle as well...I think and hope! that weight training better count for something!) and learned some nifty pieces of information regarding the civil rights movement in the USA and interpretations of what is Beauty and what is Sublime (learning in the process that I am a bit of a exclusivist when it comes to both...a topic for another blog ;-) ). I have also established new friendships with nice people (largely through common interests for Dungeons & Dragons), and "missed" out on lots of TV :-D I also read Jarhead as a personal interest read, and found it a bit frightening in terms of human perspectives and of some of the people who represent the US abroad (if you, dear reader, consider yourself a jarhead and are intrigued/offended by this notion, please let me know and I will happily elaborate myself on this).
My current semester of Fall 2005 is coming to an end within the next three weeks, which means that final papers are getting due! The two major papers I have are: 1) uncovering my social location through analyzing the social locations of family members three generations prior to mine; and, 2) Terrorism and Beauty and the Sublime. I much prefer the latter paper, which is a more clear-cut research/thesis essay, while the former consists of actually writing down and contextualizing information I kind of know already (which I can gab about for hours, yet fail to write a word on in weeks). Yes, I do hope to discuss the current murders taking place in Iraq in the latter paper, particularly as a contrast (the way I see it) to the "Beauty" and the "Sublime" within terrorist rhetoric and "specialized" terrorist acts.
Reading about the numerous assaults and murders taking place in Iraq gets my blood boiling in a web of directions...again, something for a future blog.
That's it for me tonight. Hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) and have a delightful pre-December weekend :-D
Regards,
Nick
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hey! I am back in Miami, observing Katrina (our local hurricane, a moist and windfull beast), and kicking my Operation Re-Organization and Sanity Re-Creation ;-) into gear. First off is tackling some e-mailing that I've neglected for the past year :-O and then starting on this semester's reading list. Currently, I am reading Justice in the Making: Feminist Social Ethics by Beverly Wildung Harrison for my Theology and Liberation Movements class. Yes, I am a feminist and love exploring feminist critiques and establishing my own feminist understanding of gender- and sex-relations :-D (as for the feminine-masculine issue, I consider myself androgynous)
My other classes are Beauty and the Sublime (for which I have possibly too high expectations; it's a topic I feel like I could explode over with ideas and thoughts), Qualitative Research Methods (being highly distrustful of statistics and their misuse, I want to get a better grasp of alternative "proving" methods that we use to establish our fictions as dominant fictions), and Weight Training (I will finally get into a regular work-out program!). In terms of my earlier parentheses comment on reality, I am currently working on the idea of reality as a series of fictions into my world-view :-) I am working toward a Liberal Studies Master's Degree, where I will combine women's studies, political science, and religious studies.
I have started blogging toward the end of the Comments section, after my list of turn-ons (!) :-)
Thanks for the ”I Likes”! :-D
LISTS:
I guess some lists are in order (particularly for those who like to write something the Comments section while searching)
I. Hobbies
- Roleplaying (Dungeons & Dragons)
- Videogames (most except sports games and overly realistic shooting games)
- Photography (nature and people)
- Reading
- Chatting with friends and new people
- Walking and biking (need to get a new bike though)
- Listening to music (particularly songs in languages I don’t fully understand; vocal chords achieve an instrumental quality when you are unable to disassemble and interpret the words and phrases)
II. Interests
- Politics (I currently identify myself a democratic socialist, though I consider myself a composite of different and sometimes seemingly contradictory positions)
- Religion (I consider myself an atheist)
- Gender and sexuality issues (I highly recommend Leila J. Rupp’s A Desired Past)
- Amateur philosophy and psychology
- Nature walks (through forests, plains, and on beaches)
- Non-Manichean (non-dualistic) viewpoints; one of my greatest regrets is growing up within and instinctualizing the basic two-sided viewpoint that creates trite phrases such as ”either/or” and ”on the other hand”; there are essentially infinite amounts of possible viewpoints (and viewpoint combinations) and none oppose any other, though they may conflict
III. Turn-ons
- Most guys; unfortunately I have not become as open-minded as to physically enjoy men who are overweight or men who have an (IMO) overwhelming flamboyancy. While I socialize with men who fit in as either, I am not physically (or mentally) attracted to them :-/
- I like guys who do not share my height and who are either taller or shorter than myself
- I like guys who run the gambit from slim to muscular
- Tattoos or piercings are powerful visual distractions to me and usually distract me from the guy :-(
- I enjoy having a conversation with other guys, before and after anything else that may come up ;-)
- I am single and enjoying it! I am NOT looking for an exclusive relationship (such as boyfriendhood), while also NOT wanting anonymous hook-ups; I want to forge friendships, preferably with mutual physical enjoyment of each other (depending on the distance and time concerns).
- I like to have conversations with the guys I meet, before and after any carnal activity, so that I can get a better sense and appreciation of the guy :-)
- Age is usually not an issue, though wrinkles and balding feel odd when touching them; in terms of a non-physical friendship, all ages apply :-)
- Men carrying men! I love to lift and carry guys and be lifted and carried by other guys :-)
- Baseball caps! I do not really know why as of yet, but I have found that guys wearing baseball caps significantly increase my sexual interest in them :-D
- Belching *buuuuurpppp*; as with the baseball caps, for a reason I do not know I am turned on by good-looking guys belching :-)
That is it for me now. Hope you enjoyed this little tidbit! Have a great day and enjoy your life!
Nick :-D
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Blog # 1 - August 27, 2005 - Reality and fiction
I am believer in the understanding that our realities are largely based on the fictions we interact with (I first really heard this phrased in my International Organizations class last Spring). When we interact with our bodies and everything "external" to our bodies, we use different fictions to describes ourselves and that which is "outside" of ourselves. Initial fictions (especially for the trusting), repeated fictions, and consistent fictions have the greatest opportunity of dominating any person's world-view, determining how they will interpret some aspect of being and relate it to their other aspects of being.
Beyond this fairly brief overview, I am currently working on how to incorporate a "real" reality into my developing world-view. At the moment, I think there is an external real reality "outside" of us that we interact with. This reality only exists however, and may only have value as we assert value to it. Reality does not know colors, mathematical values, or faith. Reality knows nothing; it is.
Sidenote on mathematics: I have heard several times from persons who have claimed that math is the one true, constant, and consistent language and that it is the closest we can get to truth (thus, statistics hold great proof-value within Greco-Roman Europe and North America); to me, mathematics works as such as consistent-constant language because it is false and artificial. One plus one ONLY equals two within a mathematical paradigm, as does one equals one. The mathematical language depends on reduction, reducing and separating elements into factors that fit into math equations and formulas. When EXISTENCE contains as many possibilities for mathematical values as it does, math's reductionism fails to uphold the ever-changing and all-influencing factors that affect and are affected by each other.
Hey y'all! How was your Valentine's Day?
My V-Day was...well, a day :-P I prefer my own concoction of Happy Appreciation Week to this one, overly red day. HAW consists of doing something nice for multiple people during this particular week. My tendency is toward buying some chocolate chip cookie dough and baking cookies for groups of friends and acquaintances. This approach is both nice and homey (freshly baked cookies!) and kind on the wallet (cookie dough provides more happy bang for your buck than individually-wrapped confectionary).
The most significant thing I did yesterday was going to a lecture/town hall meeting held by Democratic Party hopeful Howard Dean. It was largely a standard hope-for-the-Democratic-Party event, without much in terms of innovation. I regret not asking Dean (during the town hall question session) when the Democratic Party is going to stop being the Republican Party's whipping post. I just do not care for the Democratic Party, which still fails to present a dichotomous world-view where it can show how it is a better alternative than the Republican Party.
Dean ended the talk on a note regarding Cain's reference (in the Abrahamic Bible's Genesis) to not being his brother's keeper, and how Cain's position reflects the Republican Party's way-of-thinking while the Democratic Party IS its "brother's" keeper. My sentiment on this: Eh, I get where you are going with it, but think you could do much better in selecting quotes from such as lengthy book. The quotation was part of Dean's effort toward linking Democratic Party values with US Evangelical Christian values, which he sees as crucial in assuring Democratic Party victories in the USA.
The most striking part of the event was actually being so physically close to a figure I have only seen on television thus far. It was surreal to be only a few yards away from someone who ran as a primary candidate for the US President. It made the idea of presidential candidates as being actual human beings (as opposed to being robots from the planet Xorgon) hit home in my cynical, jaded head.
I wanted to note a website that I have used these last few weeks that I think people here might enjoy. The site is Public Domain Torrents, which lists torrents (which I will briefly describe in a moment) for older movies that (according to the site) MAY be within the public domain (I would wager that they are not, yet that they are nonetheless inaccessible through the contemporary market). This site will likely appeal to both movie buffs out here on NG as well as casual movie watchers. The films also include old serial films, such as the Undersea Kingdom (which has lots of, possibly unintentional, gay innuendo in IMO). The URL is http://publicdomaintorrents.com
Briefly explained, a torrent is an information file that you can use with a Torrent program (such as BitTorrent or BitLord), which then sets up a peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading of the relevant files (in this case, a movie file). This means that as you are downloading the file(s) from peers, you are simultaneously uploading what you have of the file(s) to other peers. For a more in-depth description, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent#Terminology or e-mail me. Keep in mind, because this is peer-to-peer downloading, you may be unable to get the file(s) you want; you are relying on there being someone out on the same program that is currently sharing the file ("seeding"). As such, it is polite to permit your program to upload to other peers and let others also enjoy the file(s).
I also recommend YouTube, which is a site where people share Flash versions of videoclips (which are publicly viewable). One of the my favorites is http://youtube.com/watch?v=pB2tdo0I7FQ&search=Urban%20Ninja . The URL for the general site is: http://youtube.com/
That's it for me for now! Hope everyone had a good yesterday and that you are taking care of yourselves and each other.
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November 25, 2005
Weeeeeell, after a three-month absence in updating this profile (yet agonizing over my failure to do so during that time), I guess I'm here with a little blog/update.
In these past few months, I have gained some weight (some muscle as well...I think and hope! that weight training better count for something!) and learned some nifty pieces of information regarding the civil rights movement in the USA and interpretations of what is Beauty and what is Sublime (learning in the process that I am a bit of a exclusivist when it comes to both...a topic for another blog ;-) ). I have also established new friendships with nice people (largely through common interests for Dungeons & Dragons), and "missed" out on lots of TV :-D I also read Jarhead as a personal interest read, and found it a bit frightening in terms of human perspectives and of some of the people who represent the US abroad (if you, dear reader, consider yourself a jarhead and are intrigued/offended by this notion, please let me know and I will happily elaborate myself on this).
My current semester of Fall 2005 is coming to an end within the next three weeks, which means that final papers are getting due! The two major papers I have are: 1) uncovering my social location through analyzing the social locations of family members three generations prior to mine; and, 2) Terrorism and Beauty and the Sublime. I much prefer the latter paper, which is a more clear-cut research/thesis essay, while the former consists of actually writing down and contextualizing information I kind of know already (which I can gab about for hours, yet fail to write a word on in weeks). Yes, I do hope to discuss the current murders taking place in Iraq in the latter paper, particularly as a contrast (the way I see it) to the "Beauty" and the "Sublime" within terrorist rhetoric and "specialized" terrorist acts.
Reading about the numerous assaults and murders taking place in Iraq gets my blood boiling in a web of directions...again, something for a future blog.
That's it for me tonight. Hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) and have a delightful pre-December weekend :-D
Regards,
Nick
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hey! I am back in Miami, observing Katrina (our local hurricane, a moist and windfull beast), and kicking my Operation Re-Organization and Sanity Re-Creation ;-) into gear. First off is tackling some e-mailing that I've neglected for the past year :-O and then starting on this semester's reading list. Currently, I am reading Justice in the Making: Feminist Social Ethics by Beverly Wildung Harrison for my Theology and Liberation Movements class. Yes, I am a feminist and love exploring feminist critiques and establishing my own feminist understanding of gender- and sex-relations :-D (as for the feminine-masculine issue, I consider myself androgynous)
My other classes are Beauty and the Sublime (for which I have possibly too high expectations; it's a topic I feel like I could explode over with ideas and thoughts), Qualitative Research Methods (being highly distrustful of statistics and their misuse, I want to get a better grasp of alternative "proving" methods that we use to establish our fictions as dominant fictions), and Weight Training (I will finally get into a regular work-out program!). In terms of my earlier parentheses comment on reality, I am currently working on the idea of reality as a series of fictions into my world-view :-) I am working toward a Liberal Studies Master's Degree, where I will combine women's studies, political science, and religious studies.
I have started blogging toward the end of the Comments section, after my list of turn-ons (!) :-)
Thanks for the ”I Likes”! :-D
LISTS:
I guess some lists are in order (particularly for those who like to write something the Comments section while searching)
I. Hobbies
- Roleplaying (Dungeons & Dragons)
- Videogames (most except sports games and overly realistic shooting games)
- Photography (nature and people)
- Reading
- Chatting with friends and new people
- Walking and biking (need to get a new bike though)
- Listening to music (particularly songs in languages I don’t fully understand; vocal chords achieve an instrumental quality when you are unable to disassemble and interpret the words and phrases)
II. Interests
- Politics (I currently identify myself a democratic socialist, though I consider myself a composite of different and sometimes seemingly contradictory positions)
- Religion (I consider myself an atheist)
- Gender and sexuality issues (I highly recommend Leila J. Rupp’s A Desired Past)
- Amateur philosophy and psychology
- Nature walks (through forests, plains, and on beaches)
- Non-Manichean (non-dualistic) viewpoints; one of my greatest regrets is growing up within and instinctualizing the basic two-sided viewpoint that creates trite phrases such as ”either/or” and ”on the other hand”; there are essentially infinite amounts of possible viewpoints (and viewpoint combinations) and none oppose any other, though they may conflict
III. Turn-ons
- Most guys; unfortunately I have not become as open-minded as to physically enjoy men who are overweight or men who have an (IMO) overwhelming flamboyancy. While I socialize with men who fit in as either, I am not physically (or mentally) attracted to them :-/
- I like guys who do not share my height and who are either taller or shorter than myself
- I like guys who run the gambit from slim to muscular
- Tattoos or piercings are powerful visual distractions to me and usually distract me from the guy :-(
- I enjoy having a conversation with other guys, before and after anything else that may come up ;-)
- I am single and enjoying it! I am NOT looking for an exclusive relationship (such as boyfriendhood), while also NOT wanting anonymous hook-ups; I want to forge friendships, preferably with mutual physical enjoyment of each other (depending on the distance and time concerns).
- I like to have conversations with the guys I meet, before and after any carnal activity, so that I can get a better sense and appreciation of the guy :-)
- Age is usually not an issue, though wrinkles and balding feel odd when touching them; in terms of a non-physical friendship, all ages apply :-)
- Men carrying men! I love to lift and carry guys and be lifted and carried by other guys :-)
- Baseball caps! I do not really know why as of yet, but I have found that guys wearing baseball caps significantly increase my sexual interest in them :-D
- Belching *buuuuurpppp*; as with the baseball caps, for a reason I do not know I am turned on by good-looking guys belching :-)
That is it for me now. Hope you enjoyed this little tidbit! Have a great day and enjoy your life!
Nick :-D
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Blog # 1 - August 27, 2005 - Reality and fiction
I am believer in the understanding that our realities are largely based on the fictions we interact with (I first really heard this phrased in my International Organizations class last Spring). When we interact with our bodies and everything "external" to our bodies, we use different fictions to describes ourselves and that which is "outside" of ourselves. Initial fictions (especially for the trusting), repeated fictions, and consistent fictions have the greatest opportunity of dominating any person's world-view, determining how they will interpret some aspect of being and relate it to their other aspects of being.
Beyond this fairly brief overview, I am currently working on how to incorporate a "real" reality into my developing world-view. At the moment, I think there is an external real reality "outside" of us that we interact with. This reality only exists however, and may only have value as we assert value to it. Reality does not know colors, mathematical values, or faith. Reality knows nothing; it is.
Sidenote on mathematics: I have heard several times from persons who have claimed that math is the one true, constant, and consistent language and that it is the closest we can get to truth (thus, statistics hold great proof-value within Greco-Roman Europe and North America); to me, mathematics works as such as consistent-constant language because it is false and artificial. One plus one ONLY equals two within a mathematical paradigm, as does one equals one. The mathematical language depends on reduction, reducing and separating elements into factors that fit into math equations and formulas. When EXISTENCE contains as many possibilities for mathematical values as it does, math's reductionism fails to uphold the ever-changing and all-influencing factors that affect and are affected by each other.
Side-note on getting back to exercising
On Monday, as part of my current "Dammit! I am going to take more control of my life" way-of-thinking, I decided to bring my Body Solid bench home from the office.
Not long after that decision, I received a call from my mother requesting that I buy groceries for her "Sewing" club meeting.
So, on my way home from the office, I am carrying groceries in two bags and a backpack and dragging (semi-rolling; the wheels on Body Solid benches are not optimal for asphalt, cobblestone, and pavement...imagine that) a bench through downtown Oslo to the ferry.
I now have my bench at home though. Yay me!
Not long after that decision, I received a call from my mother requesting that I buy groceries for her "Sewing" club meeting.
So, on my way home from the office, I am carrying groceries in two bags and a backpack and dragging (semi-rolling; the wheels on Body Solid benches are not optimal for asphalt, cobblestone, and pavement...imagine that) a bench through downtown Oslo to the ferry.
I now have my bench at home though. Yay me!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Old RealJock profile
*currently under re-development; my current profile is a series of chocolates thrown onto a silver platter; I now need to arrange them in a way I enjoy*
For help with HTML codes: http://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm
I recently (in the past couple of years) realized that I had missed out on years of opportunities to get in better shape. While it's been a rocky start, I am working toward greater intensity and consistency.
Key motivations: vanity (I want to be able to turn myself on), fear of obesity (my dad is overweight, as is a paternal aunt), and regret over missing out on many past opportunities. Oh, and I also want to know what it feels like to be in great shape and look droolalicious :-)
My current exercise regime is on pause as I work on a new plan for the time to come.
I used to have a jealous and envious streak when I saw guys who were more built than I was; I wished that I could magically exchange my body with theirs (a la an episode of [i]Angel[/i], where an old man takes over and wears out the bodies of buff guys at the local gym), and experience what I believed they experienced in terms of attention and presumed self-esteem. I envied and was intimidated by "them."
Seeing buff, good-looking guys who nonetheless express immaturity, inconsideration for others, and display all-around jerkishness still annoys me though; I want for there to be an admirable mind with that admirable body.
As I have taken more responsibility for my own fitness and body, however, I now admire guys who have worked their bodies to impressive results; from my own basic experiences with working out, I have more (not full, but more) insight into the hurdles such guys have crossed and the dedication they have put into the projects that are their physical selves. The amount of physical pain they go through is noteworthy, and I am angered when I read baseless accusations of steroid use by people who most likely envy all those who work out.
I am gay, and homosexual homophilic; I have a Bachelor's in Political Science and a Certificate in Women's Studies; I work as an editor for a government website and as a general information adviser; I intend on getting a Master's degree within the next few years.
As for who I am, I have the following and a list of some aspects of myself below:
* I am the bitch, currently known as Payback
Yes yes, it is silly, but I like the phrase :-)
* Currently reading: Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality: An Introduction.
[paragraph removed on basis of content]
* I lost seven pounds during my vacation in August.
* I wish to momentarily drown in the rising falls of Hollow Bastion, to fall off a highrise and be caught by the Caped Crusader, to dine in the upper reaches of Sharn, to in-person experience the awe of the Thousand Year Door, and to explore Brinstar before it dies.
*Aspects of moi:
I can spend five words describing a lot, or I can spend two-hundred-and-fifty words describing something specific; I prefer the latter.
politics - humanist conservative (by US standards, I am a raving, frothing-at-the-mouth socialist)
religion & faith - atheist (I believe in the accidental and mundane)
social issues - gender & race identities and discrimination, LGBT identities, correlation between preaching and practice
video games - Mario series, Zelda series, Metroid series, Bully, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, SNES RPGs
computer games - The Longest Journey series, the Sierra adventure series (King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Phantasmagoria), story-based (as opposed to backstory-based) RPGs
STDs - as of testing May 16 2007, I have no known sexually transmitted diseases; as of June 13 2007, I have completed the second portion of the Hepatitis B vaccine
PS: I hate, hate, hate tortured logic; bad logic enrages me, gets my blood a'boiling, and makes me want to slap the source with a twenty-pound trout!
PPS: I HATE bad statistics! F*ck the misuse of statistics!
Personal note: I currently support the struggle of gays and lesbians for same-sex marriage because of the legal rights that are attached to marriage; my ideal would be to end governmental sanctioning of the marriage institution and instead codify the rights within marriage as bundles of legal contracts that people can enter into regards of sex or gender (with a possibility for numerical limitations in terms of how many an individual person can establish a contract with).
I consider the boundary of not outing someone as a privilege of respect and not as a sacred right of being gay; if someone threatens others or the community at large and their homo- / bisexual identity is material to this threat, then I aspire to be of the moral fortitude to out that person and act toward ending that threat. It is what I would call just outing.
Another note-dump: LGBT possibilities are somewhat different in Norway though (with an exception in terms of marriage; a gender-neutral marriage law is currently on the government's docket); our most visible, and possibly out gay politicians tend to be from the Conservative Party, gays serve openly in the military...
test
Making the text color blue
For help with HTML codes: http://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm
I recently (in the past couple of years) realized that I had missed out on years of opportunities to get in better shape. While it's been a rocky start, I am working toward greater intensity and consistency.
Key motivations: vanity (I want to be able to turn myself on), fear of obesity (my dad is overweight, as is a paternal aunt), and regret over missing out on many past opportunities. Oh, and I also want to know what it feels like to be in great shape and look droolalicious :-)
My current exercise regime is on pause as I work on a new plan for the time to come.
I used to have a jealous and envious streak when I saw guys who were more built than I was; I wished that I could magically exchange my body with theirs (a la an episode of [i]Angel[/i], where an old man takes over and wears out the bodies of buff guys at the local gym), and experience what I believed they experienced in terms of attention and presumed self-esteem. I envied and was intimidated by "them."
Seeing buff, good-looking guys who nonetheless express immaturity, inconsideration for others, and display all-around jerkishness still annoys me though; I want for there to be an admirable mind with that admirable body.
As I have taken more responsibility for my own fitness and body, however, I now admire guys who have worked their bodies to impressive results; from my own basic experiences with working out, I have more (not full, but more) insight into the hurdles such guys have crossed and the dedication they have put into the projects that are their physical selves. The amount of physical pain they go through is noteworthy, and I am angered when I read baseless accusations of steroid use by people who most likely envy all those who work out.
I am gay, and homosexual homophilic; I have a Bachelor's in Political Science and a Certificate in Women's Studies; I work as an editor for a government website and as a general information adviser; I intend on getting a Master's degree within the next few years.
As for who I am, I have the following and a list of some aspects of myself below:
* I am the bitch, currently known as Payback
Yes yes, it is silly, but I like the phrase :-)
* Currently reading: Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality: An Introduction.
[paragraph removed on basis of content]
* I lost seven pounds during my vacation in August.
* I wish to momentarily drown in the rising falls of Hollow Bastion, to fall off a highrise and be caught by the Caped Crusader, to dine in the upper reaches of Sharn, to in-person experience the awe of the Thousand Year Door, and to explore Brinstar before it dies.
*Aspects of moi:
I can spend five words describing a lot, or I can spend two-hundred-and-fifty words describing something specific; I prefer the latter.
politics - humanist conservative (by US standards, I am a raving, frothing-at-the-mouth socialist)
religion & faith - atheist (I believe in the accidental and mundane)
social issues - gender & race identities and discrimination, LGBT identities, correlation between preaching and practice
video games - Mario series, Zelda series, Metroid series, Bully, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, SNES RPGs
computer games - The Longest Journey series, the Sierra adventure series (King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Phantasmagoria), story-based (as opposed to backstory-based) RPGs
STDs - as of testing May 16 2007, I have no known sexually transmitted diseases; as of June 13 2007, I have completed the second portion of the Hepatitis B vaccine
PS: I hate, hate, hate tortured logic; bad logic enrages me, gets my blood a'boiling, and makes me want to slap the source with a twenty-pound trout!
PPS: I HATE bad statistics! F*ck the misuse of statistics!
Personal note: I currently support the struggle of gays and lesbians for same-sex marriage because of the legal rights that are attached to marriage; my ideal would be to end governmental sanctioning of the marriage institution and instead codify the rights within marriage as bundles of legal contracts that people can enter into regards of sex or gender (with a possibility for numerical limitations in terms of how many an individual person can establish a contract with).
I consider the boundary of not outing someone as a privilege of respect and not as a sacred right of being gay; if someone threatens others or the community at large and their homo- / bisexual identity is material to this threat, then I aspire to be of the moral fortitude to out that person and act toward ending that threat. It is what I would call just outing.
Another note-dump: LGBT possibilities are somewhat different in Norway though (with an exception in terms of marriage; a gender-neutral marriage law is currently on the government's docket); our most visible, and possibly out gay politicians tend to be from the Conservative Party, gays serve openly in the military...
test
Making the text color blue
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Facebooking...
I have finally given in and am now part of the community that is facebook ^_^
I have too many topics that I want to discuss and speculate on; thus far the topics include: a critique of Creationism, a general response to Keen's Cult of the Amateur, commentary on the currently developing presidential race in the USA, an English-language description of the proposed equitable marriage act in Norway (which will open for same-sex / same-gender marriages), and more.
Fun in the upcoming weeks? I hope so!
I have too many topics that I want to discuss and speculate on; thus far the topics include: a critique of Creationism, a general response to Keen's Cult of the Amateur, commentary on the currently developing presidential race in the USA, an English-language description of the proposed equitable marriage act in Norway (which will open for same-sex / same-gender marriages), and more.
Fun in the upcoming weeks? I hope so!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The Election: Introductory comment
The election is over, the Democrats “won,” and Rumsfeld’s gone. Please, oh pretty please, do not let the newly elected Democrats rest on their non-existent laurels. For the past few years, the Democratic Party has taken beating after beating without much protest. The Daily Show provided a good analogy through Vance DeGeneres, who compared the Democratic strategy for victory to waiting for a drunken assailant to hit himself with his own bottle (the “victor” eventually falls unconscious due to the continuous beatings). Nancy Pelosi’s call for the Democratic “mandate” is reminiscent of Bush’s “mandate” in the 2000 elections; some of the differences are that Bush’s “mandate” came through a skewed perspective on the US voting system, the indifference of the US voting population at large, and the administration’s penchant for providing alternative perspectives on reality, while the current Democratic mandate comes from the US population’s distaste for the war, recent scandals that exposed some of the excesses within the Republican Party and “conservatives” that brought about massive resentment, and the Democratic adaptation of the administration’s “spin alley.”
The Republican Party lost, which can hardly be counted as surprise. The Democratic Party was merely there to pick up the spoils.
The Republican Party lost, which can hardly be counted as surprise. The Democratic Party was merely there to pick up the spoils.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
One month into the life of the working person...
I have now worked in a non-student capacity for approximately a month. It is a change in terms of work hours and in terms of the severe reduction of my spare time. Beyond the three hours I have at home after work each weekday (I get home at approximately 18:00-18:30 and aim at going to bed close to 21:00), I have only got the weekends for good ol' relaxation. Oh woes!
Granted, I spend about an hour working out after work each day! It is quite nice as I have my own office and the structure of working for seven and a half hours helps me with maintaining discipline for keeping it up. The progress is coming on gradually, and I look forward to seeing the change come Christmas-time. I have attained the habit of eating three meals per day, along with two snacks (usually fruit, soup, and a protein shake).
Hmm...must find something more...interesting...for the next post :-D
Granted, I spend about an hour working out after work each day! It is quite nice as I have my own office and the structure of working for seven and a half hours helps me with maintaining discipline for keeping it up. The progress is coming on gradually, and I look forward to seeing the change come Christmas-time. I have attained the habit of eating three meals per day, along with two snacks (usually fruit, soup, and a protein shake).
Hmm...must find something more...interesting...for the next post :-D
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Nick Vikør Green working? Say it ain't so!
Yes, I have now started my first actual outside-of-the-home-and-school job :-)
I began this past Monday (yesterday) and am now working for KILDEN, a sub-section of Forskningsrådet ("Research Advisory") that focuses on women and gender studies. It is a temporary position that lasts from (and including) October to the end of January (a four-month position, or, as I like to think of it, a semester-long position). My work primarily consists of maintaining a national database for candidates for corporate boards of directors and assisting the customers registered within the database. Beyond this I will also participate in and assist various projects within KILDEN as best as I can. Unofficially, my work includes odd-jobs such as watering the plants, maintaining the copy machine, etc (menial work that just doesn't cross anyone else's minds).
It's a full-time job (or close to) at 37.5 hours a week (which include a paid half-hour for lunch each day). I've got a few holidays in December (Christmas Eve, First and Second Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and one day of my choosing), and the work is thankfully the kind that gets done at the office (meaning that I won't have to take any projects home or work overtime). The pay is the nicest part though, which is (I believe) approximately $4,500.00 (prior to income taxes, 30% in Norway) per month. I look forward to my first paycheck :-D
That's it for me! My spare time has been drastically reduced by this development, so I must make the most of it :-)
- Nick
I began this past Monday (yesterday) and am now working for KILDEN, a sub-section of Forskningsrådet ("Research Advisory") that focuses on women and gender studies. It is a temporary position that lasts from (and including) October to the end of January (a four-month position, or, as I like to think of it, a semester-long position). My work primarily consists of maintaining a national database for candidates for corporate boards of directors and assisting the customers registered within the database. Beyond this I will also participate in and assist various projects within KILDEN as best as I can. Unofficially, my work includes odd-jobs such as watering the plants, maintaining the copy machine, etc (menial work that just doesn't cross anyone else's minds).
It's a full-time job (or close to) at 37.5 hours a week (which include a paid half-hour for lunch each day). I've got a few holidays in December (Christmas Eve, First and Second Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and one day of my choosing), and the work is thankfully the kind that gets done at the office (meaning that I won't have to take any projects home or work overtime). The pay is the nicest part though, which is (I believe) approximately $4,500.00 (prior to income taxes, 30% in Norway) per month. I look forward to my first paycheck :-D
That's it for me! My spare time has been drastically reduced by this development, so I must make the most of it :-)
- Nick
Monday, September 25, 2006
My Return?
Greetings Whoever-May-Be-Reading-This!
I have had a long hiatus from my Blogspot and am now returning to write about current events, thoughts, and rants (primarily focused on or based off of yours truly; other people can start their own blogs if they want :-) ). I recently moved back to Norway and am enjoying the post-Miami-conclusion period. I spent seven years in Florida and have much to make up for this side of the Atlantic Ridge.
I currently have three blog and blog-esque spots that I use/want to use. Hence, I will split my information along three lines: first, there is Blogger/Blogspot where I will blog and talk about my general life and all things PG-rated; second, there is LiveJournal where I will post pictures that I deem to be fit for mass-consumption; third, there is NormalGay (Warning! NG contains information and pictures not suitable for minors and contains a warning page to that effect) where I will blog on the more risque :-)
My LiveJournal - http://potentialhope.livejournal.com/
My NormalGay - if you want a link to my NG blog, you can e-mail me for it. Please make sure that you are of majority age (whatever age you are considered an adult; commonly 18) before asking. If "younglings" are looking for risque and naughty stuff on Net, they can find it without my help.
I don't intend on using Yahoo! 360 (Xanga) for either of my Y! accounts, and the MySpace tick has yet to infest itself in my scalp.
Beyond this general update, today I have discovered that I will not finish watching Serial Experiments Lain (the story and action move far too slow for my tastes and I am irretrivably bored by abstract discussions of reality and what reality consists of) and that I am keen on the comic-made-comic-video-with-voiceover Broken Saints. To summarize it from what I've seen thus far: picture a Terminator-style apocalypse guided by a Christian Satan (who is, in this case, cold nothingness instead of pride-before-fall) with the Christian God's seemingly unorthodox candidates for sainthood gathering to prevent this end-of-the-world; all of it takes place in a contemporary setting, invoking the current US occupation of Iraq and other current events. The art is attractive, the music is effective, and the story is right up the alley of things I like.
Hope all is well with everyone and people are taking care of themselves and theirs.
- Nick
I have had a long hiatus from my Blogspot and am now returning to write about current events, thoughts, and rants (primarily focused on or based off of yours truly; other people can start their own blogs if they want :-) ). I recently moved back to Norway and am enjoying the post-Miami-conclusion period. I spent seven years in Florida and have much to make up for this side of the Atlantic Ridge.
I currently have three blog and blog-esque spots that I use/want to use. Hence, I will split my information along three lines: first, there is Blogger/Blogspot where I will blog and talk about my general life and all things PG-rated; second, there is LiveJournal where I will post pictures that I deem to be fit for mass-consumption; third, there is NormalGay (Warning! NG contains information and pictures not suitable for minors and contains a warning page to that effect) where I will blog on the more risque :-)
My LiveJournal - http://potentialhope.livejournal.com/
My NormalGay - if you want a link to my NG blog, you can e-mail me for it. Please make sure that you are of majority age (whatever age you are considered an adult; commonly 18) before asking. If "younglings" are looking for risque and naughty stuff on Net, they can find it without my help.
I don't intend on using Yahoo! 360 (Xanga) for either of my Y! accounts, and the MySpace tick has yet to infest itself in my scalp.
Beyond this general update, today I have discovered that I will not finish watching Serial Experiments Lain (the story and action move far too slow for my tastes and I am irretrivably bored by abstract discussions of reality and what reality consists of) and that I am keen on the comic-made-comic-video-with-voiceover Broken Saints. To summarize it from what I've seen thus far: picture a Terminator-style apocalypse guided by a Christian Satan (who is, in this case, cold nothingness instead of pride-before-fall) with the Christian God's seemingly unorthodox candidates for sainthood gathering to prevent this end-of-the-world; all of it takes place in a contemporary setting, invoking the current US occupation of Iraq and other current events. The art is attractive, the music is effective, and the story is right up the alley of things I like.
Hope all is well with everyone and people are taking care of themselves and theirs.
- Nick
Saturday, July 23, 2005
I have been on that ship!
Good afternoon!
Just wanted to post a picture of a ship I've traveled with (along with family and friends). Back in July '00, a group of us went on the cross-Atlantic voyage with the Queen Elizabeth II. It is a beautiful ship on the outside, and even better looking on the inside :-) The picture is from Oslo on July 11, '05, taken on the way back from summer school.
[Ed. I am so far unable to successfully post the picture :-( ]
Just wanted to post a picture of a ship I've traveled with (along with family and friends). Back in July '00, a group of us went on the cross-Atlantic voyage with the Queen Elizabeth II. It is a beautiful ship on the outside, and even better looking on the inside :-) The picture is from Oslo on July 11, '05, taken on the way back from summer school.
[Ed. I am so far unable to successfully post the picture :-( ]
Friday, July 22, 2005
Finished Super Mario Sunshine!
Hey there!
At last, I have completed Super Mario Sunshine (the Super Mario game for the Nintendo Gamecube)!!! Unfortunately, it was more of a project than a bit of fun as I find SMS to be too difficult to be fun. I have wanted to finish it for a longer time, and used more game solutions and tips than I care for when it comes to games I actually enjoy.
Unless you are big time fan of Mario and have a desire to complete all Mario games, I recommend not buying Super Mario Sunshine. Though it has nice graphics, cool music, and an upbeat setting (a sunny tropical resort where the framed Mario has to clean the area and clear his name), the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive and complex. I first quit the game (in terms of not playing for several months) during an amusement park level, where Mario has to jump into the ferris wheel ride. After failing to do so multiple times, I gave up and put the game on the shelf.
Now that it is done, I feel somewhat relieved :-)
At last, I have completed Super Mario Sunshine (the Super Mario game for the Nintendo Gamecube)!!! Unfortunately, it was more of a project than a bit of fun as I find SMS to be too difficult to be fun. I have wanted to finish it for a longer time, and used more game solutions and tips than I care for when it comes to games I actually enjoy.
Unless you are big time fan of Mario and have a desire to complete all Mario games, I recommend not buying Super Mario Sunshine. Though it has nice graphics, cool music, and an upbeat setting (a sunny tropical resort where the framed Mario has to clean the area and clear his name), the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive and complex. I first quit the game (in terms of not playing for several months) during an amusement park level, where Mario has to jump into the ferris wheel ride. After failing to do so multiple times, I gave up and put the game on the shelf.
Now that it is done, I feel somewhat relieved :-)
Re: Crazy Frog ringtone hops over from U.K.
Re: http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050722/en_usatoday/crazyfrogringtonehopsoverfromuk
Good morning to all!
With this good morning, I'd like to warn all readers in the United States against something so terrible, so grating that it is likely to destroy any potential you have toward enjoying good techno music. This terror is none other than Axel F's Crazy Frog (cue the dramatic banging of pots and pans, given that my musical know-how only stretches to the recorder and minor knowledge about pianos)!!! From my current stay in Norway, I feel obligated to warn you that this is, in my opinion, truly terrible music. This is my Wolverine's-claws-scratching-the-blackboard!
Please protect yourself and any family and friends you have from this ring tone and its mind-numbing effects!
Holding his ear and closing his eyes,
Nick :-)
Good morning to all!
With this good morning, I'd like to warn all readers in the United States against something so terrible, so grating that it is likely to destroy any potential you have toward enjoying good techno music. This terror is none other than Axel F's Crazy Frog (cue the dramatic banging of pots and pans, given that my musical know-how only stretches to the recorder and minor knowledge about pianos)!!! From my current stay in Norway, I feel obligated to warn you that this is, in my opinion, truly terrible music. This is my Wolverine's-claws-scratching-the-blackboard!
Please protect yourself and any family and friends you have from this ring tone and its mind-numbing effects!
Holding his ear and closing his eyes,
Nick :-)
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Return after extended hiatus!
Hello there!!!
It has been quite a while since my last posting; since then I have finished my first semester as a graduate student (in International Relations), begun summer school at the University of Oslo’s International Summer School (taking Norwegian Literature and Newer Norwegian Literature along with Johnny), and been addicted to World of Warcraft for the second time. I am in Norway at the moment (as you may have guessed with the UoO mentioning above) and am doing my darndest to enjoy my time here (which is difficult when going off to summer school at the wee hours of the morning). I have not seen as much of my friends as I would like to, partially due to our different day schedules and partly due to my gidda-laus-ness (being routinely tired takes its toll).
These days I am working on the latter half of my school semester, getting back in touch with friends, family, and new people online, and watching through The 10th Kingdom. It is a fantasy miniseries featuring a fairy tale world (based on the Grimm brothers’ collection of folk tales) that exists parallel to Earth and connects with Central Park through magic traveling mirrors. The series is fun in itself, though the concept is much more interesting than the actual execution. The screenwriting and the direction are the two most disappointing facets, unfortunately. I often found myself questioning how the story and characters developed, as both often took sudden turns (that were expected to come through more gradual changes) and contained unsound occurrences (how would three trolls from a fantasy world be able to comprehend a New York – Manhattan street address from an Earth-based wallet during their first visit to Earth?). There are some pieces of dialogue that fall pancake flat and some failed comic delivery. Ahhh, the things I would have loved to do with it (may share some ideas on here as I develop them; first to go would be the visibly breathing corpses).
From semi-disappointing series to imminent bedtimes; to get enough sleep before I go to school, I have to get to bed at around 21:00 (9:00 PM). This means that I will end it for this time. I hope you all are doing well and taking care of yourself and yours.
Regards,
Nick :-)
It has been quite a while since my last posting; since then I have finished my first semester as a graduate student (in International Relations), begun summer school at the University of Oslo’s International Summer School (taking Norwegian Literature and Newer Norwegian Literature along with Johnny), and been addicted to World of Warcraft for the second time. I am in Norway at the moment (as you may have guessed with the UoO mentioning above) and am doing my darndest to enjoy my time here (which is difficult when going off to summer school at the wee hours of the morning). I have not seen as much of my friends as I would like to, partially due to our different day schedules and partly due to my gidda-laus-ness (being routinely tired takes its toll).
These days I am working on the latter half of my school semester, getting back in touch with friends, family, and new people online, and watching through The 10th Kingdom. It is a fantasy miniseries featuring a fairy tale world (based on the Grimm brothers’ collection of folk tales) that exists parallel to Earth and connects with Central Park through magic traveling mirrors. The series is fun in itself, though the concept is much more interesting than the actual execution. The screenwriting and the direction are the two most disappointing facets, unfortunately. I often found myself questioning how the story and characters developed, as both often took sudden turns (that were expected to come through more gradual changes) and contained unsound occurrences (how would three trolls from a fantasy world be able to comprehend a New York – Manhattan street address from an Earth-based wallet during their first visit to Earth?). There are some pieces of dialogue that fall pancake flat and some failed comic delivery. Ahhh, the things I would have loved to do with it (may share some ideas on here as I develop them; first to go would be the visibly breathing corpses).
From semi-disappointing series to imminent bedtimes; to get enough sleep before I go to school, I have to get to bed at around 21:00 (9:00 PM). This means that I will end it for this time. I hope you all are doing well and taking care of yourself and yours.
Regards,
Nick :-)
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