Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Reality, balance - a random stream of thoughts

The ocean, rolling in a steady, salty beat, a tree, its soft lullaby of leaves, carrying me in its branches, the feeling of just being. The moment where suddenly everything meets. Nothing is different, yet everything is. You stand still in life, you just are, exsist. But its not a "just". This pure exisitence is more, it is a moment that seems like a lifetime. A moment where you find a total peace, an end to the restless search that always pushes you on.
This search that I both love and hate at the same time. That makes me explore, discover, learn and live, but that also makes me homless, left without roots, a home or a harbour.
But in this split second everything seems to make sense, everything is clear and simple.
It is the moment your soul rests with everything around you.
This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experinced.

The direct opposite are the moments of enless questions.
When the world is to close to me, when the meaningless words that sourrounds me everytwhere, sting me profoundly.
When the ugliness of unseeing eyes makes me want to escape, somewhere, away, from all this fragility of the flesh.
Away from our patterns of behavior that is so easy seen through. And that look so utterly pittiful when you do.
Away from the predictable ways of thinking, from settlement into habit,
and the souls afraid of dieing, that never learns to live.
Away from the illusions we create in the name of love, truth and society, from the lies we take as our lives, and the patterns we build as our personalities and so steadily believe in.

Did you know that it is possible for a szicofrenic with a split personality to have one personality with remarkable physical differences to the others? I have read about a case where a woman had 12 different personalities and ONE of them had cancer.
So what is consciousness? What is your reality? Your truth?
Do you know who you are?
Do you?
Or do you just think so?

This world scares me and amazes me at the same time,
All this life swarming around me, everywhere, knitted together with so much death.
It is beautifully morbid.
And as far as I know, I never even asked for it. That's the paradox of it all. I never recall asking for this.
I am just here, and now I am forced to question my own existence, and not just mine, but everything.

What is this we call reality?
The Buddhists claim that there is a veil of illusion in front of our eyes, and to see behind it is pain. So, we illusion ourselves. Or if we dont, our lives will be suffering and knowledge.
The Taoist claim that knowledge is pain and a step away from life, and that the natural, unforzed stream of life is the key to true happyness. "There is no road to happyness, happyness is the road."

I often feel both these views so close on my body. In the times where I see the clearest, it is like I get separated from the rest of the world. I have never felt more alone than in the moments where I feel a breakthrough where I can see deeper.
And I have never felt closer to life, love, everything, like in the moments where I just let go and am totally in the present.
But maybe I never can escape the rise and fall of these two extremes.
Nature strives for balance in this world, and evidently so do we.

These where just some thoughts on a rainy day that I felt like sharing.

**Aasa**

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Social sexuality

Based on erroneous theories about embryonic hermaphroditism, Freud proposed that all human beings were born with an unconscious bisexual disposition. Through the course of normal childhood development, individuals repressed their "homosexual side," thereby assuming a heterosexual identity and achieving psychological "maturity." Thus, while Freud recognized the potential to be attracted to both women and men, he maintained that actually being bisexual was a neurosis.

Freud influenced popular understandings of bisexuality for much of the first half of the twentieth century, but his was not the only voice on the topic. Freud's associate Wilhelm Stekel agreed that everyone had an innate bisexual predisposition. However, diverging from his mentor, Stekel contended that this initial bisexual potential led naturally to having relationships with women and men. He felt that both homosexuality and heterosexuality were symptoms of a neurosis, since being exclusively attracted to one sex required sublimating a basic part of oneself. "There are no monosexual persons!," he emphatically argued.


The KSOG measures sexual attraction, sexual behavior, sexual fantasies, emotional preference, social preference, heterosexual/homosexual lifestyle, and self-identification. Individuals rate themselves on each variable for their past, present, and ideal futures using the Kinsey scale, resulting in a twenty-one category profile of sexual orientation.

The Klein grid has been popular among bisexual activists, as well as sex educators and therapists, because it recognizes the complexity of sexuality, including the fact that aspects of sexual orientation can change over time and that sexual self-identification is not necessarily reflected in current sexual experience.

Despite the attention given to bisexuality in the work of Freud, Stekel, and a number of other psychoanalysts, scientific research on sexuality largely ignored the issue. Historically, most researchers failed to consider bisexuality a specific sexual identity. They combined the responses of individuals who expressed a desire for both women and men with the data from those who were exclusively attracted to others of the same sex or excluded bisexuals from their studies altogether.

The research of Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues in the late 1940s and early 1950s was groundbreaking for its recognition of the inadequacy of reducing the diversity of human sexual experience to a heterosexual/homosexual binary.

Finding that 28% of women and 46% of men had responded erotically or were sexually active with both women and men, Kinsey's studies awakened other researchers and the American public to the prevalence of bisexuality and challenged the distinction psychoanalysts made between the normal and the pathological.

Kinsey, however, was reluctant to use the word "bisexuality" to describe this behavior because of the term's historical usage to refer to the physical or psychological combination of the feminine and masculine. But as a result of Kinsey's research, the earlier senses of bisexuality were largely displaced by the modern meaning of being attracted to both women and men.

Some scholars have since challenged Kinsey's methodology and data (while he interviewed more than 11,000 women and men, he limited his samples to caucasian). But his conception of human sexual behavior as a continuum from heterosexuality to homosexuality, rather than a dichotomy--what has become known as the Kinsey scale--has had a lasting influence on how sexuality is perceived.

Building on Kinsey's attempt to qualify sexual experience, other researchers have devised instruments for assessing sexual orientation that rely on multiple factors. The best known of these scientific tools, the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG), was developed by psychiatrist Fritz Klein in 1978.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

This is a very good meditation, that works very deeply if you follow it right. I have used it many ties, and find it to be quite poerful. Hope you will enjoy :-)

Jeru Kabbal - Quantum Light Breath .mp3
Found at bee mp3 search engine

The World Spins

I LOVE the soundtrack from Twin Peaks. The music is composed by the genius Angelo Badalamenti. Many of the songs, sung by Angel voice, Julee Cruise.
It is a mix of darkness, sensuality, innocence and light, that to me is just pure maigic. And after having heard the story behind the music, and the genuinity is was preformed with, it just touches me even deeper. Julee Cruise confessed that she sometimes might sing slightly off key, basically because she was so moved and touched by the music that she was close to bursting out in tears while singing.
Here is one of the songs. Enjoy! :-)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Love

- A repost from 2007

I started to think about my last post a lot.
I have always been in the opinion that an emptiness inside comes from not loving oneself completely and that the only solution is acceptance and love towards oneself. (it cannot be filled up from the outside)
I am still in that opinion but I think I forgot some very simple things in that conclution.
(I know this is also me starting to (over-) analyze things again, but I have been in that habit for more that over 15 years so what can I say, ha ha)
I forgot the simple fact that we are social creatures who I think have are naturally drawn to love, both the need for expressing and wanting love back.
(So a longing for something and an emptiness does not necessarily come from deeper wounds, but also from a natural drive in the human mind that is going unfulfilled.)

But since the society we have built up have lured us into so many traps we forget the simple gift of love in its pure form.
We see movie love and happy ever after love. Money love and love for things. We are chasing substitutions for love because we have not been taught have to go for the real thing, or maybe we are just to scared.
We go for an eternal chase for what we think are happiness and love and forget that it is right at the spot where we are.
Happiness is not in the end of the road it is the journey itself.

That's why its so common to some day wake up with a big questionmark and feel that a lot of ones lives have been wasted, I think... Or going around with an empty feeling inside, longing for something that one just doesn't quite know what is.
Cause we are always chasing something in the far distance when our treasures is to be found in the very moment we are right now.

It seems we humans come back to this again and again. We can fill our lives up with distractions that will keep us from feeling the emptiness a life without a centered and loving self brings.
We can have jobs, goals, lovers, money, things, activities, excitement and thrills, but when all these areas are "used up" we are back to where we started or what we fled from. The emptiness that we ran from will not go away just because we run.

Also we have all these things in our society today that contributes to making this void larger. All the propaganda and brainwash that damages us daily. Its so sad how we have built up our lives.
We are trapped in living-ways maybe 70% of us don't want and long out of.
What have we done with nature and our connection to it?
Just the simple way of being in the moment and enjoying life for what it is.
Loving, freedom , connections to others and to nature
........Just being.
We are forced into roles and lives we choose only 50% (no less than 50%) ourselves and the brainwash in being convinced that we choose it 100%. (Do you really think you choose it yourself?)
This is the cruel rule of survival today.
In our lives, when we are born, we are given an ocean of freedom.
In our society today and out of what we have created we have freedom too, more freedom than ever in history........
but yet so little - compared to what life gave us from birth.
We forget true freedom, believing we have to live like we do, and we forget the pure selfless love.

I want to put a Shakespeare sonnet here that I have posted in my blog before.
I think it is beautiful because it shows a different side of love that we are not used to think about these days. The love that is selfless and doesn't change because of outer happenings.
Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
To me love is somethingn selfless that wants the best and that is truly open.
I am not a Christiann, but I think in the teachings of Jesus there is a lot to be learned that we should try to remind ourselves in these times we have now. (And then don'tnt mean Christianity and what it has been made into through the years. I mean the teachings and words claimed to be of Jesus)
We se terrorism and cruelty striking upon innocents. And we see the victims of these terrorist acts reacting to this cruelty with revenge and behaving just like terrorists themselves.
We see nations that still have death-penalty, which is just an other form of revenge and murder, only in that setting the state is the assassin.

I only whish that some day we all humans will learn to love selfless and reach out for those who need it. That we will see beyond just our own horizon and understand how much this also wil benefit ourselves and how much we actually need it too.
Selfless love gives back to you 10 fold. Selfless love brings us out of the emptiness...
Just because of the simple fact that you become a part of love and in loves nature. And because love makes more love to grow in its path.
(Now I am not talking about the "love" that wants, but the love that is without desire of wanting or earning a gain)

With selfless love you make the world go one step forward and the human you touch with it, will reach out to receive this gift and give it on even further.
That is how love in its pure form works, and its just as "easy" as to open up your heart.
Both love and hate spreads with a huge speed and blossoms when we send it out.
(being in the danger of sounding like a silly beauty-queen with her final appeal in front of the judges here : )
It is our choice if we want to make this world a little better or a little worse.
If we want to take it a step forward or a step back.

I want to use an old hippi-clicheee as I am a true hippie of heart:

:)
Aasa
The only certain is uncertainty

















The only constant is change

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Phantom of the opera

For those dark and hopeless roantic souls (Including myself) Enjoy! :-)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A tribute

Venninde, vi skal alle dø engang
Men noe lever alltid, den røde , røde smerten i din sang
Har gjort ditt hjerte sterkere enn døden

~ Inger Hagerup


I am the poem

I am the poem never born
I am the letter someone's torn

a path that no one walks along
a melody without a song.

I am a prayer that's heard by none
I am a childless woman's son

a string no hand has drawn up tight,
a fire that will not ignite

Leave me! Release me! Let me flee
from soul and body, rock and tree!

But nothing answers when i plead.
I am those things that don't succeed.


Jeg er det dikt

Jeg er det dikt som ingen skrev.
Jeg er det alltid brente brev.

Jeg er den ubetrådte sti
og tonen uten melodi.

Jeg er det stumme leppes bønn.
Jeg er en ufødt kvinnes sønn,

en streng som ingen hånd has spent,
et bål som aldri er blitt tent.

Vekk meg! Forløs meg! Løft meg opp
av jord og berg, av ånd og kropp!

Men intet svarer når jeg ber.
Jeg er de ting som aldri skjer.


To Tunger

To tunger har mitt hjerte.
To viljer har mitt sinn.
Jeg elsker deg bestandig,
og jeg blir aldri din.

Dypt i det røde mørket
fikk livet dobbelt form.
Der kurrer det en due.
Der hvisler det en orm.

To tunger har mitt hjerte.
Hør på det likevel.
Bli hos meg og gå fra meg
og frels meg fra meg selv.


Two tongues

Two tongues are in my heart
with two wills speaks my mind.
I love thee forever
and I am never thine.

Deep in the red darkness
life took a twofold form.
There is a dove a-cooing,
there is a hissing worm.

Two tongues are in my heart,
do listen all the same
Stay with me, leave me forever
- save me from who I am

You are like nobody since I love you.
Let me spread you out among yellow garlands.
Who writes your name in letters of smoke among the stars of the south?
Oh let me remember you as you were before you existed.

You are here. Oh, you do not run away.
You will answer me to the last cry.
Cling to me as though you were frightened.
Even so, at one time a strange shadow ran through your eyes.

Now, now too, little one, you bring me honeysuckle,
and even your breasts smell of it.
While the sad wind goes slaughtering butterflies
I love you, and my happiness bites the plum of your mouth.

How you must have suffered getting accustomed to me,
my savage, solitary soul, my name that sends them all running.
So many times we have seen the morning star burn, kissing our eyes,
and over our heads the gray light unwind in turning fans.

My words rained over you, stroking you.
A long time I have loved the sunned mother-of-pearl of your body.
I go so far as to think that you own the universe.
I will bring you happy flowers from the mountains, bluebells,
dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses.

I want
to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.

~ Pablo Neruda

Saturday, October 09, 2010

What is real???

Not what you wish for
Not what you want
Not how your loved ones describes it
Or how the world proclaims it
Not how your heroes speak of it
or how you dreamed of it as a child
Not how your parents told you it was
Or how your daydreams made it look like

Reality can come in many shapes
That makes your mind belive them
Cutting through it all
can be the task of a lifetime
Sometimes you want something so much
that you are unable to see the truth
To tell yourself a "truth" is easier
than to realize what really is

Its so hard to be human sometimes
Its so hard to stay true
But I must, how can I not try? To not try would be to live a lie

Use your eyes and see behind the veil
Let go and posess what is real

Friday, October 08, 2010

Shit hap...

Hello all of you out there
I mark today as a lovely day to laugh of ourselves and everything we take so serious.
Life is a weird, little lump of meanings and strange fuzz. We run around being upset, sad, happy, puzzled and caught up in our own silly little problems. But maybe all this silliness, is just exactly that; silliness. Understanding the absurdity of our little lives, sometimes then best thing to do is to just laugh.
Here is a silly, little list for starters (my personal fav is the Surrealism one, he he!)
Hope you`ll enjoy!
~ Aasa











Shit happens
Taoism - if you understand shit, it isn't shit
Hinduism - this shit happened before
Confucianism - Confucius say "shit happens"
Buddhism - shit will happen to you again
Zen - what is the sound of shit happening?
Islam - if shit happens it is the will of Allah
Sikhism - leave our shit alone
Jehova's Witness - knock knock shit happens
Atheism - i don't believe this shit
Agnosticism - can you prove that shit happens?
Catholicism - if shit happens, you deserve it
Protestantism -shit happens, amen to that
Judaism - why does shit always happen to us?
Televangelism - send money or shit will happen to you
Rastafarianism - let's smoke this shit
Nation of Islam - don't take no shit
New Age - visualize shit happening
Shintoism - you inherit the shit of your ancestors
Hedonism - i love it when shit happens
Satanism - sneppah tihs
Capitalism - this is MY shit
Existentialism - what is shit, anyway?
Scientology - if shit happens see Dianetics p.137
Mormonism - excrement happens (don't say shit)
Baptism - we'll wash the shit right off you
Mysticism - this is really weird shit
Voodoo - shit doesn't just happen, we made it happen
Disneyism - bad shit doesn't happen here
Communism - let's share the shit
Conspiracy theorism - THEY shit on us
Psycho-analysis - tell me about your shit
Amish - modern shit is useless
Trekism - to boldly shit where no-one has shit before
Descartes - i shit therefore i am
Freud - shit is a phallic symbol
Acupuncturist - hold still or this will hurt like shit
Politically correct - internally processed, nutritionally-drained biological output happens
Einstein - shit is relative
Materialism - whoever dies with the most shit wins
Vegetarianism - if it happens to shit, don't eat it
Environmentalism - shit is biodegradable
Americanism - who gives a shit?
Wicca - you can make shit happen but shit will happen to you back threefold
Surrealism - fish happens

Thursday, October 07, 2010

This is one of my favorite poems. I ma sorry to say the English translations sucks camel balls. So if somebody else wanna give it a go, feel very free to do so :-)

- Aasa

Amor Fati

Not like a Caesar did,
shall you arm yourself with sword
to defend yourself against the world
instead these words, amor fati, love thy fate.

get hold of this formula
as your strongest liberator.
You have chosen your path in the wilderness
let others paths go their ways

Even your pain will serve you
Broken, crushed and miserable
you can see that it reunites you
with what is necessary.

Also the fall , also the betrayal
serve you as your friends.
Your defeats are rich gifts
laid into your hands.

At the end of your road you will satisfied
of being worthy of your fate
know that this is what I wanted
All that happened to me is fair

Then, when the green valley of life
walked through
Say, nothing I will change.
Everything I receive as it is.


Original:

Ikke som en cæsar gjorde,
skal du med et sverd bevæbne
deg mot verden, men med ordet;
Amor Fati – elsk din skjebne.

Denne formel skal du fatte
som din sterkeste befrier:
Du har valgt din sti i krattet.
Ikke skjel mot andre stier!

Også smerten er din tjener.
Lammet, sønderknust, elendig
ser du at den gjenforener
deg med det som er nødvendig.

Også fallet, også sviket
hjelper deg som dine venner.
Dine nederlag er rike
gaver, lagt i dine hender.

Engang skal du, tilfredsstillet
av å bli din skjebne verdig
vite: Dette har jeg villet.
Alt som skjer meg skjer rettferdig.

Si da, når din levegledes
grønne skog er gjennomvandret:
Intet vil jeg anderledes.
Intet ønsker jeg forandret.

- André Bjerke

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Text and photo by Luca Pagliari
b/w silver fiber print


I am losing you, i feel you slightly sliding away, suspended by a frail thin thread
and you swing, and wait, expecting me to begin weaving again
but i’m old and tired and i can’t make it anymore

i struggled all the way down, and learned the impossible, i learned to unlearn

----------------------------

Sunday, September 26, 2010

HUNA

An old re-post from 2007:

Before I was only flying. Now I am finding natural borders.
Borders can be beautiful

-----------------------------

I saw these basic "rules" of the Huna philosophy some years ago. I was struck by the thoughts expressed in such a simple and free way, that had been through my mind many times already.

To see how much you influence your life, sometimes even unaware of it, is really powerful. I think we often see life as something "coming to us" or something "happening to us".
How often we give all of our "power"up to the world and exist as mere reactions to others.
We forget how much we create of our lives through our own perceptions and our ways to deal with things.
Just some thoughts on a rainy day
~ Aasa

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE HUNA PHILOSOPHY:

IKE (ee-kay) - The world is what you think it is.
MAKIA (mah-kee-ah) - Energy flows where attention goes.
MANAWA (man-ah-wah) - Now is the moment of power.
MANA - All power comes from within.

HUNA PHILOSOPHY

Huna is an old shamanic tradition. It can be thought of as a non – exclusive spiritual teaching based on human psychology in Hawaii. The engine that drives Huna energy is one we all possess, our own breath. Through use of breath, the Huna philosophy says that we can clear blockages and release fear. Huna is an ancient teaching that offers a philosophy of life with simple but strong techniques of manifestation. Archaeological research traces Huna back to the earliest reaches of civilization, with the first historical presence traced through hieroglyphic images to ancient Egypt.

"Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing."
~ From "The prophet" by Kahil Gibran

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Without words...

...we understand no-mind;
without shape, we understand true nature.

With relaxed mind, we grasp the meaning of Tao;
with the boundless Way, we understand truth.

The Great Way shines in our heart;
with wisdom we may understand its nature.

Comprehending the diverse keys of the profound and glorious Tao,
we are as buddhas and will come to know the abode of the immortals.

Tao is within us all...

With many voices it has but one beautiful song;
many aspects but only one essence.

Though we are not bound, we are always connected.

Buddhahood is meditation;
with constant attentiveness our mind travels far;
into the highest hills and all over the world.

Elusive, delicate - we see the cosmos is empty as well as full.
Nothing beyond, Nothing in hand,
Beauty, Spirit, Tao - all one...

~The Book of the Heart: Embracing the Tao

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Stars

Look at the stars...









How small our lives seems then





Our troubles






We can just laugh, and not take it all so seriously





Life is funny...

Veg(etari)anism vs. eating animals?

Now, I have always been asked, when telling people I am vegetarian, my reasons WHY? I normally resond: "ooh, well, it is a lot of blah, I will tell you later" I figured after 17 years, later has finally come ;-)
So, let me first get this streight. I hate preachy moralism. I am not presenting this to change you. I am presenting this to give out some information that changed me. And that I found very valuable and important enough to make some life changes on my own. We all contribute to things in our own way and make our own choices. But they are better made if we are informed. From that point we can make the conscious choices that are the best for our lives. So this is my strongest reason for making this post.
I will mostly present most of this straight out in facts and research, which I find to be explanatory enough themselves, and which I also generally prefer to read in case like this myself.

- Aasa

First of all, before you read my list, I want you to try a thought experiment. Imagine first your favourite kind of animal, an animal you know that you like, or your own pet, whichever is closets to you. Then apply the treatments discribed belove to this creature. Then after you have read this list, answer this question; Would you object to these procedures if they were done to the animal you had in mind? Is there any good founded reasons to give one species a different treatement than an other? What justifies this difference?*


Contributing to climate change
According to the UN, the livestock sector (animal farming) is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, around 40 percent more than the entire transport sector—cars, trucks, planes, trains, and ships—combined.

Health
Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folae, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals. Vegetarian diets are often associated with a number of health advantages, including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels, and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and lower overall cancer rates.
Despite some persistant confusion, it is clear that vegetarians and vegans tend to have more optimal protein consumption than omnivores. Studies also show that in parts of the world where milk is not a staple of the diet, people often have less osteoporosis and fewer bone fractures. The highest rates of osteoporosis are seen in countries where people consume the most dairy foods. (Be aware that the food industry often give other information for the benifit of distrubuting their products)
Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for all individuals during all stages of life cycle, including pregnancy, latactation, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.

Destroying of species
Fish: Modern industrian fishing lines can be as long aas 75 miles - the same distance as from sea level to space. These fishing lines does not only take in the fish they are aimed for but also many other species.
The average (shrimp) thrawling operation sweep up fish, sharks, rays, crabs, squid, scallops. They throw 80 - 90 % of the sea animals it captures overboard, dead or dieing, as bycatch: typically about a hundred different types of fish and other species.
For every ten tuna. sharks and other predetory large fish that was in our oceans fifty to a houndred years ago, only one is left.
Many scientists predict the total collapse of all fished species in less than fifty years.

When it comes to meat it is an other issue, where species are drastically altered into creatures that cannot live a natural life, for the benift of consumerism. They normally also loose the ability to walk, even stand upright and reproduce. (In factory farming animals are reproduced through artificial insamination.)

Pollution
Farmed animals in the United States produce 130 times as much waste as the human population—roughly 87,000 pounds of shit per second. The polluting strength of this shit is 160 times greater than raw municipal sewage. And yet there is almost no waste-treatment infrastructure for farmed animals.
Conservative estimates by the EPA indicate that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement has already polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in twenty-two states.


Factory farms

- Of the meat on the market "99.9 percent of chickens raised for meat, 97 percent of laying hens, 99 percent of turkeys, 95 percent of pigs, and 78 percent of cattle come from factory farms. (Not family driven farms)”

1. produce highly infected animals
Scientific studies and government records suggest that virtually all (upwards of 95 percent of) chickens become infected with E. coli (an indicator of fecal contamination) and between 39 and 75 percent of chickens in retail stores are still infected. Around 8 percent of birds become infected with salmonella.... Seventy to 90 percent are infected with another potentially deadly pathogen, campylobacter.
Chlorine baths are commonly used to remove slime, odor, and bacteria. This clorine baths also stay in the meat. It is allowed for up to 11% of the meats full weitgh to be the substance of clorin bath.

2. Has as a main goal is to keep profits up and costs down. Ethic considerations are not part of this equation.
Animals are bled, skinned, and dismembered while conscious. (As an example: In America, where the USDA’s interpretation of the Human Methods of Slaughter Act exempts chicken slaughter, the voltage is kept low–about one-tenth the level necessary to rend the animals unconscious.) This is common presedure and only one example out of many on unethical treatment of living creatures in factory farming. (And not as many would think, exceptions)

3. use antibiotics to raise sick genetic mutants in crowded, filthy conditions
In the typical cage for egg-laying hens, each bird has 67 square inches of [floor] space [or less than ¾ the size of a sheet of typing paper]. Nearly all cage-free birds have approximately the same amount of space.

4. contribute to the creation and spread of new viruses (influenza)
Breeding genetically uniform and sickness-prone birds in the overcrowded, stressful, feces-infested, and artificially lit conditions of factory farms promotes the growth and mutation of pathogens. The “cost of increased efficiency,” the report [by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, which brought together industry experts and experts from the WHO, OIE, and USDA] concludes, is increased global risk for diseases.

5. contribute to antibiotic resistance (MRSA)
In the United States, about 3 million pounds of antibiotics are given to humans each year, but a whopping 17.8 million pounds are fed to livestock—at least that is what the industry claims. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has shown that the industry underreported its antibiotic use by at least 40 percent.... Study after study has shown that antimicrobial resistance follows quickly on the heels of the introduction of new drugs on factory farms.

6. violate the human rights of their employees
Illegal aliens are often preferred, but poor recent immigrants who do not speak English are also desirable employees. By the standards of the international human rights community, the typical working conditions in America’s slaughterhouses constitute human rights violations.

7. change or ignore regulations in order to make more money
High-speed machines commonly rip open intestines, releasing feces into the birds’ body cavities. Once upon a time, USDA inspectors had to condemn any bird with such fecal contamination. But about thirty years ago, the poultry industry convinced the USDA to reclassify feces so that it could continue to use these automatic eviscerators. Once a dangerous contaminant, feces are now classified as a “cosmetic blemish.” As a result inspectors condemn half the number of birds.

Animal intelligence:
*Now, if you followed my advice above you have thought about your favourite pet/an animal species you like put into these situations. Did you feel it would ahve been different if it was your pet in these situations? If yes, what makes this difference? Is it because the pet is known to you? Is this reason good enough? So, does your cat or dog deserve higher moral treatment than any other species? At least if you willingly eat a chicken there could be no objection to eat a cat or a dog, by logical sense. Or do you think your pet is more intelligent than the animals that we use for food?
In this light I would like to give a few fact about animal intelligence:
Generations of farmers have know that clever pigs will learn to undo the latches of their pens. Gilbert White, the British naturalist, wrote of one such pig, a female, who, after undoing her own latch, "used to open all the intervening gates, and martch, by herself, up to a distant farm where a male was kept; and when her purpose was served" - a great way of putting it - "would return home by the same means."
Sceintist have documented a pig language of sorts, and pigs will come when called (to humans or one another), will play with toys (and have favourites), and have been observed coming to the aid of other pigs in distress. Dr.Stanley Curtis, an animal scinetist, empirically evaluated the cognotive abilities of pigs by training them to play a video game with a joystick modified for snouts. They not only learned the game, but did so as fast as chimpanzees, demonstrating a surprsing capacity for abstract representation. And the legend of pigs undoing their latches continues. Dr.Ken Kephart, a colleage of Curtis`s, not only confirms the ability of pigs to do this, but adds that pigs often work in pairs, are usually repeat offenders, and in some cases undo the latches of fellow pigs.
Did you know that fish build complex nests, form monogameous relationships, hunt cooperatively with other species, and use tools? They recognice one an other as individuals (and keep track of who is to be trusted and who is not) They make decisions individually, monitor social prestige and vie for better posistion (to quote from the the peer review journal Fish and Fisheries: "They use Machiavellian strategies of manipulation, punsihment and reconciliation") They have significant long term memories, are skilled in passing knowledge to one generation through social networks, and also pass information generatinally. They even have what the scientific literature calls "long-standing "cultural traditions" for particular pathways to feeding, schooling, resting or mating sites."
This are just a few examples.


I will contontinue to update this list as I gather more facts.
Thank you for taking interest

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Much of the information is taken from the book "Eating animals", by Jonathan Safran Foer. A book that is really worth the read. And if you thoguht you knew a lot about the food you are eating, it might surpirse you on many accounts.
:-) Aasa

LINKS:

(If you have any good link suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments section)

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer's Controversial New Book, Eating Animals
Avoiding Factory Farm Foods: An Eater's Guid

Meet your meat, documentary on facory farming
Clinical research articles
Vegan Helath study, by Michael Klaper MD
Cancer and the vegetarian diet, by William Harris MD
Vegan health study/Institute of Nutrition Education and Research

Saturday, September 18, 2010

WORDS

Words are lumpy, little things that crowd and control our lives.
Its is strange how much we let them pull us in different directions. Can words really cover what we want to express?
So often I have seen words create barriers, in an attempt to get them to bring somebody closer to each other. And how often is not a word for me, something totally different for you?
Have you ever felt trapped behind words? Or just not found the right words to express yourself, maybe because it just didn't exist or cover what you felt? Of course there are other methods than words to express those thing, but that is not my point :-)

We live in different meanings and carry different encyclopedias in our minds. My "independence" might have all different feelings stuck to it and mean something totally different than yours.
Maybe we all should be born with a manual and a dictionary for each person?

There is also some other interesting phenomenas about words. If you have friends who tell you how good friends you two are. Have you ever noticed that they often behave like less friends, that the ones that actually don't tell you this so often. Maybe sometimes words can function as band-aid for bruised friendships. At least it seems that it can be an expresison for a wish about how things could be.
I think this is very often the way words are used. As expressions for wishes, or hopes for how things should be. We affirmate, compliment, and dream.
Words can unite, make love and wars
I guess it is important to not forget that words are just sounds, and the people behind them don't always mean exactly what you make out of those sounds.

Well, I am wishing all of my readers a splufigially, smengastic day in the sun.
Lots of warm thoughts from Norway
xxx
Aasa

Friday, September 17, 2010

Elephant art
Hoax or truth?
Judge for yourself

Not many poeple know that elephants can be quite the artists.


Pictures which were are claimed to be painted by elephants have gone on display at an Edinburgh gallery.

An art
graduate brought the paintings from Thailand to the Gallery They include "self-portraits" by Paya, who is said to be the only elephant to have acomplished paintings with his own likeness.

Paya is one of six elephants whose keepers have taught them how to hold a paintbrush in their trunks. They drop the brush when they want a new colour.
Mrs Khunapramot, from Newington, said: "Many people cannot believe that an elephant is capable of producing any kind of artwork, never mind a self-portrait.
"But they are very intelligent animals and create the entire paintings with great gusto and concentration within just five or 10 minutes - the only thing they cannot do on their own is pick up a paintbrush, so it gets handed to them.
"They are trained by artists who fine-tune their skills, and they paint in front of an audience in their conservation village, leaving no one in any doubt that they are authentic elephant creations."

Elephant painting

Mrs Khunapramot reveals that it took about a month to train the animals to paint. Elephant expert Dr Joyce Poole, who has studied the animals for 30 years, said she owned an elephant painting but had not come across animals painting their own images.

The Oslo-based scientist said: "I have seen elephants painting, but it was very free-flow.

"It's certainly capable of drawing an elephant, and could be trained, but might not really understand what it was doing."

Saturday, September 11, 2010

I think I am in love with The Muppets

What Muppet are you?

Animal
You are Animal.
You are completely nuts, but fun to be around.
SPECIAL TALENTS:
Drums, Women, Food.
HOBBIES:
Drums, Women, Food.
FAVORITE EXPRESSIONS:
"Louder!", "Food now!" and "Want Woman!"
LAST BOOK EATEN:
"The Musicians' Guide to Drums, Women & Food"
NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT:
An appetite.


You are Gonzo the Great
You love everyone, and still you get shot out of a cannon on a regular basis. Oh, and you are completely insane and have a strange fascination for chickens.
ALSO KNOWN AS:
The Great Gonzo, Gonzo the Great, Just Plain Weird
SPECIES:
Whatever
HOBBIES:
Tapdancing blindfolded on tapioca while balancing a piano on his nose, backwards, five times fast.
FAVORITE MOVIE:
"From Here to Eternity...with no brakes."
FAVORITE TV SHOW:
"Touched By An Anvil"
QUOTE:
- "No parachute? Wow! This is so cool!"
- "But you act ludicrous.
Gonzo; Of course I do, I am an artist"


Take this quiz!


Friday, September 10, 2010

Book recommendation

I want to make a book recommendation. I don`t do it often...only if I have read a book I find truly amazing, that abselutely aught to be shared with others. While reading this book I was actually looking forward to go to bed at night, just to continue reading.

The book is taking place in New York, brilliantly told in the voice of a nine year old boy, who has lost his father in a tragidy, and is in his own way trying to find him again.
It is written very much like a thought pattern, where we meet more than one person. Following these people we are lead deep into their world, maybe even deeper than they even can see themselves. It tells of the fragility of being human, of being alive, of relating to each other and to our own self and our pain. And it also tells of love. Not a clichee love or a fairt tale love, but the love between different people, a mother and a son, a grandmother and her grandchild, of siblings and of lovers and the very human and difficult way we handle our love with.
This book feels most of all honest and deep in its reality, and that is what touched me most of all. A peculiar and different voice that finds its way in to you.
The book has a title that discribes it very well;"extremely loud and incredibly close" and that is exactly what it is. You will never forget this read!
Enjoy!
- Aasa
Link: Buy it.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A post to longing
To my beloved

En liten vise

Om kvelden når det mørkner, og alle går til ro,
da stenger jeg for stall og for låve.
Og spurvene, de netter seg i hver sitt lille bo,
da går vel også du til din kove.
Men siden vet jeg ikke å få tiden til å gå,
for i de lange netter, da lenges jeg så,
da har jeg ikke sinn til å sove.
..................................................................

En vise til
....
mellom oss to var det inga bru
men eg var hjå deg det må du tru
i kvar liten blund
i kvar vaken stund
den eg drøymde om
var alltid du

dikt

Yes, do that, moon wanderer
take your heart like a big wet rock
and throw it into the sea of clouds
I will not stand in your way
if our love scares you so

I can even stand next to you
watching it slowly sink to its black, hidden bottom
saying "Yeah, let's shock it"
I have done it so many times now
It doesnt even hurt anymore

although i used to hope you were different

Saturday, August 21, 2010

More Tao

A few thoughts of lately:
Sometimes, if you watch and observe your toughts and your mind, staying aware and without any identification or roles in it, it can be quite funny.

It is like watching a stubborn and persistent child saying things and wanting things that are, you find in the end, actually quite absurd. In knowing that there is a difference to your ego desires and you, to your thoughts and you - it actually is comical to listen to your own mind. Thoughts that before maybe even made you suffer and cry. I figure this is the secret into understanding Buddhas wonderful and simple smile. Don´t misunderstand - I am not putting myself next to him, I am putting us all next to him :-)
Here are two little stories that made me laugh and that illustrates this point very well:

"...After two ducks get into a fight, which never lasts long, they will separate and float off in opposite directions. Then each duck will flap its wings vigorously a few times thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened. If the duck had a human mind it would keep the fight alive by thinking, by story making. This would probably be the ducks' story:

I don't believe what he just did! He came to within 5 inches of me. He thinks he owns this pond! He has no consideration for my private space. I'll never trust him again. Next time he'll try something else just to annoy me. I'm sure he's plotting something already but I'm not going to stand for this! I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget.

An other story with the same topic:
Two Buddhist monks, Tanzan and Ekido, were once traveling together down a muddy road.
A heavy rain was still falling.
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection and in tears.

Tanzan, feeling compassion for her, at once picked her up and carried her to the other side over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again five hours later, when they reached their lodging temple.
Then he no longer could restrain himself.
"Why did you carry that girl across the road?" he asked Tanzan, "We monks are not supposed to do things like that"

"I put the girl down hours ago," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I post for the emo souls ;-) from an other

"...I want
to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees."
~ Pablo Neruda

"Det var en fest kun før natten den sorte;
Hun var en gæst kun, -- og nu er hun borte."
~ Henrik Ibsen

I have written a poem in norwegian and the english translation is kinda bad. So, if anybody have any suggestions about improvemnt, feel very free to come with them :-)
~ Aasa

Silent knowing
I whish to speak to you through words without
letters whish to reach you there behind
everything that whiz through me in
the moment you take my hand and
softly brush my skin It opens up
to you, reach for you, nearly
pulls against you like close is not even
close enough my skin whispers stories, it
sighs in simple enjoyment over
your warm hand I see
your eyes your words the hours but
they do not really know yet only
my skin reaches behind it all
it knows
the wordless
it knows more
than both you and I


Stille viten
Jeg ønsker å snakke til
deg gjennom ord
uten ord jeg ønsker å nå det
bakenfor som suser gjennom meg i
øyeblikket du tar
min hånd og stryker sakte over
huden min den åpner seg for
deg strekker seg mot deg nesten
stritter etter deg som om
nærme ikke er nær nok
huden min hvisker historier og
sukker i en simpel fornøyelse over din
varme hånd jeg ser øynene dine, ordene,
øyeblikkene men de vet ikke, skjønner ikke
riktig enda kun huden min kommer bakenfor
den vet
det ordløse
den vet mer
enn både du og jeg

~ A rainy afternoon in Oslo, 2010

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

A caffee shop, a rainy day in Oslo

I whish to speak to you through words without
letters inbetween sentences
I whish to reach you there behind
everything which whiz through me in
the moment you take my hand and
softly brush my skin
It opens up to you, reach for you,
nearly pulls against you
like
close is not even close enough
my skin whispers stories, it
sighs in simple enjoyment over
your warm hand I see
your eyes your words the hours but
they do not really know only
my skin reaches behind it all
it knows
the wordless
it knows more
than both you and I



jeg ønsker å snakke til
deg gjennom ord
uten ord jeg ønsker å nå
det bakenfor som suser gjennom meg i
det øyeblikket da du
tar min hånd og stryker
sakte over huden min og
den åpner seg for deg strekker
seg mot deg nesten
stritter etter deg som i
lengsel som om nærme ikke er nær nok
huden min hvisker
historier og sukker i en simpel
fornøyelse over din varme
hånd jeg ser øynene dine, ordene, øyeblikkene men
de vet at de skjønner ikke riktig
kun huden min kommer bakenfor
den vet
det ordløse
den vet mer
enn både du og jeg


On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 2:04 AM, Chris Bellovary wrote:
> Åsa -
>
> I know you already believed me, but I wanted to send you those photos (that I sent yesterday) for my own comfort of mind.
>
> I know you won't get this until after I get to the U.S., but I really enjoyed our conversation today. I hope that by the time you receive this, you are feeling better. Keep up on the iron and vitamin B-12! : )
>
> - Chris
>
>
> ------ Addendum 1, over Greenland -------
>
> Hi Åsa -
>
> I realized that I left out a significant aspect of my relationship with Jillian. Jillian likes both men and women, and I've given her permission to kiss whichever women she wants, with or without telling me later. That in itself doesn't change anything, but if I had had an inkling that this might end up as more than a visit between friends, I would have spoken to her beforehand. Again, that doesn't change anything, but it is probably something I should have mentioned during our talk.
>
> I hope you are well, and enjoying your evening!
>
>
> ------ Addendum 2, between Greenland and Canada -------
>
> Åsa -
>
> I thought I should provide a clarification about the last statement you asked me to say aloud, about everything going back to how it was.
>
> If you had asked me that in Oslo, I am not certain I could have done so. Far more likely, my answer would have simply been "I have no idea". By the time you asked me in the airport though, I was able to honestly give you the answer you wanted to hear simply because - without understanding why things unfolded as they did, how could it be otherwise?
>
> I spent a lot of time in Edinburg, staring out at where the Firth of Forth empties into the North Sea. You were not the only one longing.
>
> That said, to be able to face myself in the mirror in any other outcome, I would need to know so much more than I do today.
>
> Although the uncertainty of what this all meant has strained our friendship, and neither of us like the confusion it caused, I also believe it will make sense later. I believe our time in Norway strengthened the connection we have, and our friendship. I thank the world for the opportunity for getting to know you better, and all the things you were able to show me, and shared experiences. I hope you feel similarly.
>
>
> (I hope this doesn't sound like distant-Chris - I don't seem to put introspection down in words very well.)
>
>
> Mmmmmm.... Åsa.
>
> Right now, I am thinking about our day on the 29th, spinning around with you while walking, playing in the trees, and it makes me very happy. The rest of it as well - climbing trees outside the old fort, drinking wine at that picnic table in Drobak, sitting next to the pond and talking about poor Daniel - it was all wonderful. I love that you are in my life and that you are in this world. I send both my love and warm thoughts for a healthy Åsa.
>
> As always,
>
> - Chris
>
>
>
>>
>
>



--
Aasa Bergem
Sverdrupsgate 9A
0559 Oslo, Norway
+47 40455770


Monday, August 02, 2010

Because poetry...
whispers between the lines, directly to your soul


English translation will follow

Enojy! :-)
~Aasa

"
Drømmer og utopier sier de kloke menn,
de som er kalde av hjertet. Hør ikke på dem lenger
Livet er ikke bare hus og penger
Vi er bestandig på vei
Bestanding et stykke lenger
På vei mot seier eller nederlag
Det haster - Det haster i dag!

Vær utålomodig menneske
Sett dine egne spor
Det gjelder vårt evige korte liv
Det gjelder vår jord"
~Fra "Vær utålmodig menneske" av Inger Hagerup

Fra en annen virkelighet

Syk blir en av ropet om virkelighet.
Altfor nær var jeg tingene,
slik at jeg brant meg igjennom
og står på den andre siden av dem,
der lyset ikke er skilt fra mørket,
der ingen grenser er satt,
bare en stillhet som kaster meg ut i universet av ensomhet,
og av uhelbredelig ensomhet.

Se, jeg svaler min hånd i kjølig gress:
Det er vel virkelighet,
det er vel virkelighet nok for dine øyne,
men jeg er på den andre siden
hvor gresstrå er kimende klokker av sorg og bitter forventning.
Jeg holder et menneskes hånd,
ser inn i et menneskes øyne,
men jeg er på den andre siden
der mennesket er en tåke av ensomhet og angst.

Å, om jeg var en sten
som kunne rumme denne tomhetens tyngde,
om jeg var en stjerne
som kunne drikke denne tomhetens smerte,
men jeg er et menneske kastet ut i grenselandet,
og stillheten hører jeg bruse,
stillheten hører jeg rope
fra dypere verdner enn denne.
~Gunvor Hofmo


Ja visst gjør det ondt
Av Karin Boye

Ja visst gör det ondt när knoppar brister.
Varför skulle annars våren tveka?
Varför skulle all vår heta längtan
bindas i det frusna bitterbleka?
Höljet var ju knoppen hela vintern.
Vad är det för nytt, som tär och spränger?
Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister,
ont för det som växer
och det som stänger.

Ja nog är det svårt när droppar faller.
Skälvande av ängslan tungt de hänger,
klamrar sig vid kvisten, sväller, glider -
tyngden drar dem neråt, hur de klänger.
Svårt at vara ovuss, rädd och delad,
svårt at känna djupet dra och kalla,
ändå sitta kvar och bara darra -
svårt at vilja stanna
och vilja falla.

Då, när det är värst och inget hjälper,
brister som i jubel trädets knoppar,
då, när ingen rädsle längre håller,
faller i ett glitter kvistens droppar,
glömmer at de skrämdes av det nya,
glömmer at de ängslades för färden -
känner en sekund sin största trygghet,
vilar i den tillit
som skapar världen.


I kväll har himlen ingen skrud
By Karin Boye

I kväll har himlen ingen skrud.
Han huttrar naken.
Och aldrig såg jag förr hans blick
så alltför vaken.

Säg, när du somnar in i kväll:
En dag är vunnen.
På vägen där man mister allt
en rast är hunnen.

Så skall du leva dag för dag
och ständigt mista,
och ändå vilja vara kvar
in i det sista.

Så skall du finna livet starkt,
som orkar brinna.
Så skall vart miste bli en vinst --
ty du skall hinna

allt längre mot den livets grund,
som fött dig naken
och bortom alla drömmars svek
är själva saken --

tills i ditt största mistes stund
din själ förbrunnen
går till de släckta ljusens stad.
En dag är vunnen.


You shall thank
By Karin Boye

You shall thank your gods,
if they force you to go
where you have no footprints
to trust to.

You shall thank your gods,
if all shame on you they pin.
You must seek refuge
a little further in.

What the whole world condemns
sometimes manages quite well.
Outlaws were many
who gained their own soul.

He who is forced to wild wood
looks on all with new sight,
and he tastes with gratitude
life's bread and salt.

You shall thank your gods,
when your shell they break.
Reality and kernel
the sole choice you can make.



Tonight the heavens have no garb
By Karin Boye

Tonight the heaven has no garb.
He shivers naked.
And never saw I yet his gaze
so all-too waking.

Say, when you fall asleep tonight:
A day is won.
On the road where one loses all
a rest's begun.

Then you will live from day to day
and lose, lose fast,
and yet desire still to remain
until the last.

Then you will find life strong,
if you can burn.
Then will each loss become a gain -
for you shall turn

ever further towards that ground of life
that gave you birth,
and beyond all dreams' deceit
the cause is there -

until in the hour of your greatest loss
your soul, burned down,
goes to the place of extinguished lights.
A day is won.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Do we want to repeat history?

A re-post from 05.11.10 after request from a reader. Enjoy!
~ Aasa


The American president Barack Obama
receives the Nobel peace price of 2009.


"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."
~George W. Bush (From a speech at the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development in Wash. DC, 6/18/02.)


"The instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace"
~ Barack Obama (10/11/09)

"You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war."
~ Albert Einstein

According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded to the person who:
"shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."


The Nobel committees choice for this years peace price is again making a ridicule of the symbolism of the price itself, when president Barack Obama entered the pantheon of Nobel Peace Prize winners. Just nine days after ordering 30,000 more U.S. troops into battle in Afghanistan, Obama delivered a Nobel acceptance speech that he saw as a treatise on war’s use and prevention. In his speeches, Obama refused to renounce war for his nation or under his leadership, saying defiantly that “I face the world as it is” and that he is obliged to protect and defend the United States. “To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history,” he claims. And continues; “The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it.”
The speeches held by Obama concerning the war in Afghanistan is strangely alike those held of Bush to justify the war in Iraq. Back then the general crowd was cheering and agreeing the logic of war being necessary for the means of peace. We see the exact same thing happening now - Obama was in mostly welcomed and celebrated in the streets of Oslo. It took most people several years with casualties and damages before turning and going against Bush and the war in Iraq. Do we really need to go through all that one more time to open up our eyes? An other interesting thing about Obamas Nobel peace price speech is that it is not about peace, but it is more or less a defense speech for the war he is leading now. By sending another 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan – on top of the 21,000 he dispatched last spring – this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate will have tripled the American military presence there by the time the last of the reinforcements arrive in mid-2010.

While he has made some strides for international diplomacy, Obama was given the prize only a few weeks after his election. In awarding the prize to Obama, the Nobel panel cited his call for a world free of nuclear weapons, for a more engaged U.S. role in combating global warming, for his support of the United Nations and multilateral diplomacy, and for broadly capturing the attention of the world and giving its people “hope.” But the Nobel committee made its announcement in October when he wasn’t even nine months on the job, recognizing his aspirations more than some of the achievements he has done alter on.

So, maybe Barack Obama has a few achievements to show for so far, but if the price was presented to him after these deeds as well, would they be enough to overshadow two other important factors. One - the fact that Obama is in all his speeches justifying and now also escanning the war in Afghanistan with sending 30,000 more U.S. troops into battle.
And two - if we consider how many people who are working hard and has done so much for peace, it is an offense to give it to Barack Obama at this point. Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest symbol of peace and non-violence in the 20-th century, was carefully kept away from the Nobel Peace Prize till he died, despite decades of selfless hard work. In view of the length of time, the degree of suffering and the sheer bravery of the previous winners of this award, this is a terrible mistake. There are thousands of more worthy candidates out there, actually doing stuff, putting their life and well-being on the line. And they are also so much more needing of the attention the Nobels peace prize can give them to continue and uphold the efforts they are doing for peace. Obama is in no need of such attention, and it is very unlikely it will change his politics in any direction. The trouble is they're not a famous president.

What Obama gave to the world when he entered into office was hope. Hope for change in a world filled with war and injustice. He gave hope through words and speeches. To give promises of hope is all good and can give inspiration to many. But it does not qualify for a peace making politician. It is important to see the difference between words and action. Especially if the actions show themselves to be the opposite of some of these words. And so far, Obamas actions are not deserving of what this price symbolizes. So far it rather screams loud of clever propaganda.
So, one can then wonder what the foundation of a Nobel peace price now is grounded upon. Has the true symbolism of the Nobel Peace Prize lost it´s value?

Prior leaders that has been given the Nobel peace price:
Mother Teresa (1979)
14th Dalai Lama (1989)
Aung San Suu Kyi (1991)
Nelson Mandela (1993)

Obama

A re-post from 05.11.10 after request from a reader. Enjoy!
~ Aasa

A tiny kick to the rejoice of the world

I have for a while thought about the matter that it seems most people who are so-called "liberal" wants Obama to win and now celebrates like it is the the revolution of the decade.
But do we, so far, know much about his actual plans and what politics he will really aim for? Yes, he is certainly not Republican, so he is by far (In my opinion) the better choice of two, but is he really as amazing as everybody now seems to think? Is he 'the new political messiah' as people think him to be? Or is he getting a free ticket to this label simply because of his skin color and clever propaganda?
(Now I think it is wonderful that the man will actually fight against racism and for gay rights ).... But look now anyway here on a few of the cases the man actually aims for:

-Unconditional support for Israel
-Escalation of the War in Afghanistan
-Continued military rearmament in the U.S.
-An emergency package that is a pure gift to the richest, and a fraud against the American people

Judge for yourself
But personally I do not believe the promise of greener pastures in the US yet.
If Obama was in Norwegian politics, he had not been labelled "radical" but "very conservative"

~ Åsa

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Norwegian poetry I

As always, I am no fan of translations, because so much is normally lost in them. I don't like the English version of this that much, but I want the people who don't read Norwegian to read it as well, so I post both. The Norwegian version is in nynorsk, which has a very beautiful way of it that is melodious and perfect for poetry.
This poem is truly beautiful and one of my favourites

Hope you´ll enjoy

~ Aasa

º°¨°ºº©©º°°º©©º°¨°º©©ºº°¨°ºº°¨°ºº©©º°°º©©º°¨°º©©ºº°¨°º

It's the Dream

It's the dream we carry in secret
that something miraculous will happen
that it must happen --
that time will open
that the heart will open
that doors will open
that the mountains will open
that springs will gush --
that the dream will open
that one morning we will glide into
some harbor we didn't know was there..


Det er den draumen

Det er den draumen me ber på
at noko vidunderlig skal skje,
at det må skje -
at tidi skal opna seg,
at hjarta skal opna seg,
at dører skal opna seg,
at berget skal opna seg
at kjeldor skal springa -
at draumen skal opna seg,
at me ei morgonstund skal glida inn
på ein våg me ikkje har visst um.

~ Olav H Hauge

º°¨°ºº©©º°°º©©º°¨°º©©ºº°¨°ºº°¨°ºº©©º°°º©©º°¨°º©©ºº°¨°º

I am also a big fan of this Norwegian poet.


I hold your head

~ Stein Mehren

I hold your head
in my hands, as you hold
my heart in your affection
as everything holds and is
held by something other than itself
As the sea lifts a stone
to its strands, as the tree
holds the ripe fruit of autumn, as
the world is lifted through worlds and space
So are we both held by something and lifted
to where mystery holds mystery in its hand

Jeg holder ditt hode

Jeg holder ditt hode
i mine hender, som du holder
mitt hjerte i din ømhet
slik allting holder og blir
holdt av noe annet enn seg selv
Slik havet løfter en sten
til sine strender, slik treet
holder høstens modne frukter, slik
kloden løftes gjennom kloders rom
Slik holdes vi begge av noe
og løftes
dit gåte holder gåte i sin hånd

º°¨°ºº©©º°°º©©º°¨°º©©ºº°¨°ºº°¨°ºº©©º°°º©©º°¨°º©©ºº°¨°º

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Fatherfucker

A re-post from 2006

I have discovered an artist which I really enjoy, for several reasons. I have always liked several kinds of music, everything from metal, rock, jazz to electropunk.

This time it is Peaches. A woman who a first glance just seem to be a singer getting famous through sexually provocative lyrics and shows. And this is a quite popular opionion. here has been many quotes about her, like "The title Impeach my Bush, may suggest otherwise but Merrill Nisker (known as Peaches) is concerned with sex and little else. Which is no bad thing, to Dan Martin's mind"
- Dan Martin, The Observer

But looking a little closer, this woman is truly great and has, in my opinion, a lot to offer more than catchy tunes and sex.

Peaches is provocative, but not mindlessly and manipulative to get fame and attention.
One of the reasons she is provocative is because the mainstream dictates that women be the objects of desire, not the agents of it. And Peaches reaches out and grabs us by the balls.

-"Well, I'll be happy when it's not provocative." she says
But still society seems to react strongly to her messages.
"If I'm saying two boys for every girl, it's like Jan and Dean saying 'two girls for every boy'. I don't really understand why it's normal and accepted when it's said in that context, just because it's something we're used to." she says

She takes the things we are used to for women and take for granted, and switch it around to count for men as well. One example is one her albums called Fatherfucker. The title alone seemed to indicate her move towards more actively subverting the standard gender norms and double-standards. A kind of Regender exercise for sex. As she says:

"Why do we stub our toe and say, ‘Aww motherfucker!’? What is a motherfucker? … We use it in our everyday language, and it’s such an insanely intense word. I’m not one to shy away from these obscene terms that we actually have in our mainstream. Motherfucker is a very mainstream word. But if we’re going to use motherfucker, why don’t we use fatherfucker? I’m just trying to be even.

This girl has an uncompromising attitude towards women’s sexuality, and is not afrad to show it
She also scores points for not fitting in with the glamour model standards of beauty which demands of women before they can have an opinion on sex. One of her tracks has referenced her cup size of AA, she’s donned a beard for the cover of one album, and photos of her regularly show pubic hair protuding unapologetically from her bright pink shiny pants. Wow.

Hit it Hard, includes the line “make a woman a man and a man can-can”. Boys Wanna Be Her describes some rockin’ female star who inspires the admiration of boys and girls alike, in fact “the boys wanna be her” (as we all know, for a boy to want to associate with anything female is A Very Bad Thing).

This track can remind of something sais by Abby Lee, who wrote recently:

"It’s 2007 and when it comes to sexual material for the heterosexual women, I’m bored of only being offered female imagery - as if everyone, men and women included, should find that stimulating…. I’m all for a more open and uncensored sexually liberated society, but if women are still going to be marginalied purely as objects for men’s pleasure and not as the subjects seeking and obtaining pleasure in their own right, then I’m destined to be a moody fucking bitch who will not shut up about it."

And in my opinion it’s not good enough to simply have things for women that are the same as they are for men now. There needs to be an emphasis on freedom, fairness, equality, consent and respect for both/all genders and importantly, not intruding on anyone’s preference to be free of sexual imagery imposed on them in their daily life.

But I don’t believe that Peaches messages are about switching things around to the extent that women are as objectifying or disrespectful towards men as some men are towards women. Equality, fairness and consent are indeed features. In Get It, there’s a simple message: “you wanna get it/give it/got it? well it may sound like a simple idea but/to get it gotta give it”

Two Guys (For Every Girl) is a track that’s had a lot of attention. At a time when in practically every music video you see sexy ‘babes’ groping each other, the cover of every lad mag magazine has two nude girls, breasts pressing together pouting, the UK’s most successful sex magazine aimed at heterosexual women (Scarlet) always has a woman on the cover and regularly includes pseudo-lesbian imagery, simply reversing the genders in this track actually IS subversive.

"Come over here hot boys don’t you worry I’m nice…
i got a lusty proposition that I know will suffice
let me lay out this condition that I know will entice
i wanna take you home and get you satisfied…
just one thing i can’t compromise
i wanna see you work it guy on guy
i wanna see you boys get down with each other
i wanna see you do you’re lil nasty brother"

This is taken from her interview in the February/March 2006 issue of Bust:

Interviewer: Do you think it was at all empowering for girls to see Madonna and Britney kiss?

Peaches: It was good for publicity. I’d like to see Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams make out on stage; that’s way more subversive to me than seeing Madonna and Britney Spears. I think girls are so ahead. That’s what Fatherfucker was all about. It’s like, ‘boys, shake your dicks.’ How many songs tell women to ‘shake your ass’? Or, I’m watching those VH1 specials on ass and every time they mention a guy’s ass they’re like, ‘I don’t wanna see that, ehhh!’ But every time they mention a girl’s ass they’re like, ‘She’s got a great ass!’ It’s about time Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake or Snoop Dogg and fuckin’ Ludacris suck each others dicks for everybody to see, and release a video… I want every girl to go home with two guys if they want to. And I want two guys to impress the girl by making out in front of her.

But if you have been all shocked by her lyrics, then take a look again. She often says and makes things that reminds us to not take it too seriously.
With lyrics like: “Slippery dick? It’s just a fish in the Atlantic (note:and it is true)… fist fuck cock suck/what’s the diff?” she says innocently, like, what’s all the fuss about anyway? I like to think this is a comment on double-standards and how different sexual practices are viewed and treated. Does it matter what you do and who you do it with, as long as it’s consensual? No. It shouldn’t matter.

And anyway....I think she is HOT! Attitude yeah!