On top of the ski jump

Untitled, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Wonderful view to all directions from the Holmenkollen ski tower. I had a really happy Christmas with my son and his wife from Australia sharing it with me, joining me and my daughter. It is so good to show sights to people who appreciate them.
As one can see, we had a white Christmas, with almost too much snow (and snowing of course!), but also some beautiful sunny days.

Miss Myanmar

There's a competition, Miss International, taking part in Japan each year. This time for some reason, they decided to send the photos to Flickr. The photo getting most votes, which in this context meant 'views', would be the winner. Myanmar (Burma) has not taken part in anything like this for 50 years, so many are eager for her to win. It was not  just one vote per person, these people sat for hours at their computers clicking away until they got to 16.777.612, when the numbers stopped growing. Consternation! They came on Flickr Help Forum to ask what is going on. Flickr is not a voting machine and views have never reached such high numbers, so the servers probably would not work after that. So they put in another photo hoping they would be counted together.
This was a draft, but I want to publish it too, with some different information.

Miss Myanmar in Miss International pageant.

nankhinzayyar, a photo by bluesky@ on Flickr.

These are some competitors of c. 40 beautiful ladies taking part in Miss International competition in Japan, this year in Okinawa. I do not know how official it was to use Flickr as a ’voting’ site. It is a photo sharing site and not equipped for voting . Myanmar people have the first chance for doing anything like that for 50 years. They stayed at their computers and internet cafes clicking away. When the count reached 4.777.126, the Flickr servers could not manage any more. That caused consternation and questions: Why? So they added a copy of the photo and started ’voting’ on that. The closest competitor was Miss Macau who in the end also reached the limit of 4.777.126. People also wrote comments, mostly :We love you, Miss Myanmar, also : fighting!
” no matter how we face bully and unfair condition, we are bad up giving up… non sleep tonight for miss myanmar,
sleeping can get the next day,
voting only tonight”
Now at last the voting finished, the result: Internet view count poll for Miss International Internet poll award is officially over. Myanmar stands first at 16,777,216 +4,852,624 view counts vs Miss Macau at 16,777,216 view counts. The Flickr poll had to add a second picture of Miss Myanmar as the view counts reached over the maximum number of clicks.Waiting for the official announcement of the winner.
I do not know what effect this 'voting' has on who is going to win, anyway, as it seems that the final of the competition will be on Sunday with judges and all.
missinternational-okinawa.com/final/  Bluesky@ called Miss Finland "doll face". I hope that means a positive thing in Myanmar culture.

Berkheya cirsifolia White Surprise

Berkheya cirsifolia White Surprise, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Even this late in the autumn, the Oslo Botanical Gardens present some wonderful flowers, as this one from South Africa. I had taken some photos a couple of months ago and went there to find a nametag for a flower and stayed to take a few other photos seeing new flowers.

Punting on Cam

Punting on Cam, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Newspapers and magizines have decided that the world is interested in the Duchess of Cambridge’s breasts.
”We have intellectual freedom” says the Italian magazine editor Alfonso Signorini when confronted by criticism. . What have Kate’s boobs got to do with brains ? He thinks that the photos will boost her image as a moderen day royal.
According to French editor Laurence Pieau they were visible from the road. ”They are a beautiful couple in love, he’s putting cream on her. The photos are full of joy, they are not degrading.” She also defends her magazine with that they had much more intimate photos they decided not to publish.
Of course they are not degrading, but intimate is intimate, why would anyone want to share such moments with the whole world? They are for her husband to enjoy. Why should her breasts be of more interest to the world than anybody else’s? Irish Daily Star editor Michael O’Kane has been suspended. According to him, the photos were very tasteful . ”It is incredible that Kate Middleton would think, being one of the most famous people in the world, that she can expose herself topless outdoors and expect that the world would not take notice of it.”
So it is her fault!? Also the French editor explains that they were visible from the road. Lawyer Aurélian Hamelle, their lawyer tells they were in a private house and could not be seen by the naked eye, only by a powerful camera lens.
According to Pieau, the editor of the Closer who first had the photos also makes it their fault: ”It is because of the couple that the journalists are here.”
Would you like to be famous?

A heavy joke

A heavy joke, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Fest konsert

Opera at night, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Today was the open day at Bjørvika and at the opera, of course. There was a festival concert inthe evening, we could get free tickets to it from 10 in the morning. One was allowed four tickets and I was able to get two friends take two of the tickets. Lots of people watched and listened on the opera roof.
The concert presented excerps from future programs. The conductor was Fiore, the opera director, most of the vocal soloist were Norwegian, except for Olga Guryakova. Everyone performed wonderfully, one could feel with Olga's Madam Butterfly, for example. The last piece, Salome's dance, by Richard Strauss, was exciting, the orchestra exceeded themselves. And Fiore is so funny.

Meow. Now you know how to speak "Cat".

P1100653, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

When you start Flickr, you get a greeting in a different language. As a joke, they also use "cat" as a language. I just do not think it works very well, the title tells you what a cat says in English, Finnish cats say "miau".

A year later

A year later, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

They brought flowers to lay under the big heart on the Cathedral lawn again also. There was also the great idea to put roses that had the little water container attached, to stand in the flowerbed, that was beautiful. I only have a video of those.

National Remembrance Concert

National Remembrance Concert, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

On July 22nd, a year after the terror, there was a concert . People came from two directions to the City Hall. It was raining, so there were many umbrellas, though they tried to advice people in the TV and newspapers to take raincoats. But raincoats were only important to use in the area in front of the stage. I did not even try to get there. There were huge screens for people to see. Lots of people though not as many as in the first gathering on 25th of July 20011.
Many people brought roses again.

Keihäs

Untitled, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Only the semi-finals, and already Thorkildsen is so good that he might win the javelin competition. It is funny that while I live in Norway, I hate it when a Norwegian beats a Finn. But it is so sad about Finland, they have now one silver only. There expectations are just 3 medals!
There was one runner, and he did not finish, actually was carried from the stadium, his leg hurt so much.
I have just seen Mannio throw, 81.99 when 82 m is the limit. Does it mean he did not get into the finals?
Later: Mannio got into finals, as 12 people are allowed in the finals and only eight reached the limit of 82 meters. Both of the other 2 Finns got to the finals also. The finals were on Saturday and I started to watch 'A few good men' on the TV, even if I had already seen it.
I only remembered on the way to church on Sunday. I got the news in my phone and the first I saw was an interview with Thorkildsen's father where he said he did not think any one was as likely to get the gold metal as Andreas. He had won the gold in the two previous Olympics, so it would have been wonderful to get a third gold. My heart sank. But then I noticed the date was Saturday and found an article below the first one where it came out that the gold was won by a surprise winner , Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad & Tobego, only 19 years of age.  Ruuskanen was third, Thorkildsen but the sixth! So it wasn't so bad I had not watched, I will probably find a video on YouTube.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

31st May. She came to Oslo 20 years later to give her Nobel Peace Prize speech. Her sons had collected the prize 20 years ago.  After she had delivered her lecture, a platform had been erected in front of the Peace Prize Centre. There were many music performances and then she spoke. It was difficult to get a good photo. I was against the railing but Burmese were let into the area between the railing and the platform. It was wonderful that the sun came out when the program started.

Church boat

Church boat, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

Bonfire on a float

Bonfire on a float, a photo by ausfi on Flickr.

This bonfire on Seurasaari was the one that the wedding couple selected to be married on this special day, with a huge audience following the event in the centre of the island, came to light later. The vehicle for reaching this float was a long church boat with 11 pairs of oars.

Small thing

It is interesting how small things can bring pleasure to people. Yesterday night I  took a bus from the city after 10. The bus was almost full. Next to me coming in were two African-American ladies, could have been British.  The first one got a seat next to a guy, facing the back. I took a seat behind her, facing front, as I was older than the other one coming in after me. After a few stops the man next to me left. So I got up and said: Would you like to sit next to each other? Of course they did. When we were seated, I heard one say: Was it not nice of the lady to change seats? Yes, answered the other and they thanked me. So a small thing gave pleasure to three people. And probably to an African guy unconnected to us, because he was smiling.

A funny thing happened a bit later. Next to me on the window side was a young man listening to music through headphones. He was also very tired. So gradually his head got lower and lower, in the end resting more or less on my shoulder. When that happened the second time, a young couple started laughing and said: Så koselig! (So cosy!) I smiled too. He changed his position so it did not happen again.

Below is a bus just leaving my busstop in Linderud.

Spring or summer?

 

I remember the beginning of one June long ago, I do not know why I think it was 7th of June. I cannot have been much over 10. I was running to a shop, the first time without a coat. I was thinking how wonderful it was that it was summer at last.

Nowadays, like this year, it is often warm halfway to May. This year it got really warm, 23 to 24 degrees Celsius. on 25th of May. On Friday, after two days, it will be June. It is already much colder,the night two days ago, it was 0 degrees.

The spring was ery early this year, the leaves started to grow in the birches a couple of weeks earlier than usual. I love so much the gentle green of the young leaves.

 

about:Tabs

Eurovision

Watching the giving of points. I love Estonia and Malta and of course they are not getting much points at all. Sweden is still on top but Azerbaijan get so many again. Serbia is second when half of the countries have voted. Again Slavic countries are giving most points to Slavic countries. Serbia at least has a good melody.
Later. Sweden the great winner more than 80 points over the Russians. Good but more because of the performance than the music. It is often said: 'The melody is soon forgotten'. I cannot remember Sweden's, would never had happened with ABBA's songs.
Poor England and Norway are the last with 8 and 7 points. But then Finland did not even reach the finals.

Misleading advertizing

Outside a petrol station there was an advertisement showing four different kinds of Royal Ice cream. There were quite  large letters saying "Royal-is, halv pris,  11 kroner". There was some text underneath and on top, with much smallet letters and not as clearly written. On top I read something about  a coffee provider.

So I went in, took an icecream from the box and gave it to the cashier, who said : 22 kroner.

But it says: half price, said I. Yes, if you buy a X coffee, it's an offer by them. Well, I paid and took it, as it was my own fault, not reading the small letters. I should have read everything. And now I noticed behind the colourful icecreams a white paper coffee mug partly hidden. 

I took a photo of the advertisement, so I could read it later, and noticed at home I had moved the camera so the white text could not be read.  When I went to take another photo later, they had just changed the advertisement! Was it deliberate, was their purpose to mislead the customer?

TV writers

I sometimes wonder about TV writers. I was watching "Numbers". An ambulance driver is suspected driving patients who are receiving illegal donor parts. The agents go to the ambulance garage to ask after the driver. They are told that he is just driving the ambulance in. So the agents turn and start gesticulating towards the driver. Of course he turns the ambulance and tries to escape. Would the agents really be so stupid as not to wait until he has left the ambulance and has perhaps come to them?