Protesting vs Rioting

Here is another subject to be answered - since it's running late, I'm running sick, and I'm supposed to go put up a tent in one of the camps surrounding the Roskilde Festival in the morning. I just thought I'd remind myself of this video, since there are a couple of points I'd like to respond to!

Subject: Girlfriends

I was just looking through a magazine a little earlier, and on their debate/feedback page, they were requesting the opinion of the readers on a few facets of girlfriends:

• Is it okay to be with a friend's ex-boyfriend?
• Have you tried, and how did it happen?
• What characterizes a good friend?
• Have you ever been dumped by a really good friend - how did it feel?
• Why is your friend the best friend in the world?

This could be interesting to answer - not only to the magazine, but also here on the blog.

Subject: Love

So I asked a friend from high school, Simone, what would be interesting to blog about. She answered, "Love and its many facets." Immediately, I went for the Bible (as it's a biblical subject I've been concentrating a lot about lately after my trip to Israel/Palestine) - to which she answered: "I just meant generally that love has many sides." Then she also suggested: "Or [you could write about] violence in relationships." And that had me thinking...

As you can see, I already started brainstorming as I spoke with her. I thought out loud, sent her a link to the Bible online and gave her the quotes I found. Even as I write this, I have started to part and dissecate the subject as it is such a big subject.

So, instead of doing one blog entry, I'm taking it in smaller bites. This is both inspired by the two different approaches Simone and I have to the subject, and by the list of studies I applied to when I applied for the university - especially theatre studies and theology.

What I'm planning to write about is:

• Love in the Bible
  - which could include something about the situation in Israel/Palestine
  - and could be a good one for theology.
• Love between human beings (regardless of ... well, anything).
• Love on stage
  - including Shakespeare (remind me to quote Jonatan Spang on this!)
  - could also include love in the media
  - and you might have quessed it, this one is attached to theatre studies.
• Love for your roots - your identity
  - could be an entry in true Paul Auster-style!
  - and is attached to Dutch
  - or now that I mentioned Paul Auster, it can be hooked on English.
• Violence in relationships.

So, now I have yet another list for times with a writer's block - and I didn't even need LiveJournal for this one. Hooray!

If I could be any character from children's litterature...

So, since I have now applied for the university, and just about all of them had me mentioning blogging on the side of just about any profession, I thought I might just do more frequently, just for the heck of it. So I thought I'd start by reaching for the entries I did on ideas for writer's block from LJ...

"A lot of characters in kids' books have it pretty good, from calling the start of the wild rumpus to ordering room service from their hotel suite. If you could be any character from children's literature, who would you be?"

I have two different characters:

1. Neville Longbottom of the Harry Potter series
I've always been utterly fascinated of the existance of an alternate universe - thus the fantasy and sci-fi genres as wholes, mainly stuff like Harry Potter, X-Men, and The Matrix, and I think it's exactly because the alternate universe is so closely connected to the real world as it is. Granted, I'm also in love with the Tolkien universe. In my head, we should be living as hobbits with a trip to the Elven world every so often.

But the reason why I picked Neville Longbottom is because, yes, I do love still being connected to real life - and yes, I'd love to be able to do magic just with the swing of the wand!
I feel that Neville has a shyness and yet is brave enough to surprise all of us when trying to stop Harry and Hermione from doing mischief, or actually somehow becomes the hero, the man of the hour, by getting in the middle of everything by accident or coincidence at some point. He has that perfect blend of shyness - or groundedness, humbleness - and bravery that I would love to possess; it's a freakin' fine line here. I don't think I'm the hero half the time that Neville is - and that's because I don't want to meddle. That's where Neville's clumpsyness does him well; I'm not even clumpsy enough to get into the middle of everything to become the hero.
And I also believe that he's an excellent wizard, regardless of being clumpsy and shy.

2. Pippi Longstocking of the Pippi Longstocking series
She's strong, she's young, she's independent, she's got her own horse (that she can carry around in one hand because she's so strong), she's got a chest of drawers with fun things, she's got a bag full of golden coins, she's got an entire house to herself in a small, Swedish town, and she's got the coolest hair!

I'd love to be able to do what I wanted like that. One thing I remember worrying her was not getting holidays off because she didn't attend school - but when she tried attending school, she got bored and preferred having time off all the time. I might just be attending school anyways - just to be extra-extra social...

And I just loveloveadore the scenery in the TV-series with Inger Nilsson as Pippi. In this case, I'll have to admit that there is no place like home - the road between Jerusalem and Jericho may be amazing, and the scenery in UK and Ireland may be breathtaking, but I don't think I'd trade any of them for the nature and scenery of Scandinavia. Ever.

I have spoken.

Ideas for new blogs #2

Again, I've been on LJ.

"Whether you call it Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day, today is going to be a long day for those who work in retail. The customer might always be right in the store, but here on LJ let's hear some stories about times when the customer was wrongedy wrong wrong."

"Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., one of the few American holidays where the only things you're expected to buy are groceries. Some cooks like to go all out (see: turducken), others prefer to just go out. What kind of cook are you?"

"Thanksgiving is almost here in the U.S., heralding the start of the holiday season and the first of many meals where you might be confronted with a traditional dish that you happen to find disgusting. What holiday food do you hate to see on the table?"

"Beer and cigarettes once went together like bread and butter, but now smoking in bars is banned in many cities. When you see smokers standing outside bars in the cold and rain, what is your first reaction? Walk on by, join them, or scorn them?"

"Goooooooooaaaaaaaaalllllll! Today marks the anniversary of football (soccer) star Pele's 1000th goal. Why has professional footie never caught on in the United States?"

"Hospital dramas are a time-honored staple of television, from General Hospital to County General to Seattle Grace. Which TV hospital would you most want to check in to? And who would be your doctor?"

Ideas for new blogs

I got the idea of writing them down as they come - for example: I just ran into LJ's front page, where they have a bubble, suggesting ideas for people with a writer's block. the most recent was:

"Today is the anniversary of Tricky Dick Nixon's famous "I am not a crook" statement. Let's take a moment to ponder the many politicians caught being naughty. What's your favorite political scandal?"

Although - I'll have to wait to answer that, since I'm in the middle of something else right now.

//EDIT// They keep on coming as I flip through their ideas!
"A lot of characters in kids' books have it pretty good, from calling the start of the wild rumpus to ordering room service from their hotel suite. If you could be any character from children's literature, who would you be?"

"Field mice always sleep facing northwest. Kangaroos can't walk backwards. Female hyenas have penises. Let's face it, nature is weird. What's the strangest thing you know about the animal kingdom?"

"Some people spend their whole lives preparing the answer to this question: What albums are on your personal all-time Top 10 list?" -- I have always dreamt of doing like the characters Rob, Barry, and Dick in the movie "High Fidelity"; doing top 5s.

Speaking of "High Fidelity", I came up with a new one: Naming the Danish actors/actresses you might know through Hollywood (in this case: Iben Hjejle, who portrays Laura), naming movie, actor/actress, and character.

"Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, and Vlad the Impaler, the original Dracula, have the same birthday. Coincidence?"

"It's the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, marking the Marxist overthrow of the Russian government. Karl Marx once wrote that "religion is the opium of the people." What is the new opium of the people?" (Oooh, this is a good one!)

"One of the highlights of going to a literary festival is hearing authors read from their own works. What author, living or dead, would you most like to hear read?"

"Now that the election is over, we can get to the important stuff. Why is there a light in the refrigerator but not in the freezer?"

"As the Northern hemisphere spins toward the shortest day of the year, it's getting dark earlier and earlier. What comforts do you fall back on when the days are short and the nights are long?"

"NaNoWriMo starts today. Give us a one-sentence description of the novel you plan to write."

Anyway. Not supposed to be doing this right now. See ya!