Havoygavlen Wind Farm, Norway

Havøygavlen Wind Farm – Norway

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Hi Folks!

There’s something quite peculiar in Norway. Norwegians are ancestors of the most brutal Vikings tribes. They’ve settled the most remote places in northern Scandinavia, even fjords and mountains that are unlivable and commonly known to be terrorized by trolls and other nasty, little creatures. Norwegian toddlers are only fed with cod and seal’s eyeballs until they turn five. Arguments in primary school are settled with swords. By the time children reach 16, they are cast out from their families to survive on their own with nothing else with them than the clothing they wear (normally made from wolf fur), a fish hook and a war hammer. I guess rough measures are a necessity in tough environment such as Norway. Norwegians are warlike people, wild by their nature and tough as Mjölnir (JFGI). In fact, I’m quite convinced that Thor himself may have been the first Norwegian.

Although the youth in Norway live in inhumane conditions and one could argue that children’s rights are breached constantly, it gets better for them when they get older. The government of Norway rewards every Norwegian teenager who survives the first 18 years of their lives by providing them with Tesla Model S (full-sized plug-in electric five-door, luxury liftback, produced by Tesla Motors). Some of you could wonder: how could this be, how does the government afford it. Well guess what, affording the cars is not a problem. Due to the high rate of infant and child mortality, not that many children reach the required age of 18. And the populations is only about 5 million. Besides, Norway is one of the world’s ten largest oil and natural gas exporters. Imagine all the dough they are making!!

Energy needs and Havøygavlen Wind Farm

The problem the Norwegians are currently dealing with is to generate electricity enough for all the Teslas cruising up and down the freeways of Norway. Norway is now trying to harness all the electricity sources one could think of. Norway generates nearly 5 percent of the worldwide generated hydropower and they even have solar power plants although the sun rarely shines in Norway. Norway was also the first country to generate electricity commercially using sea-bed tidal power. When the listed energy sources were not enough, dozens of wind farms were built along the coast of Norway. So, because of the government’s Tesla-For-All –policy the world’s most northerly windmill park (Havøygavlen Wind Farm) is located close to a small Norwegian village Havøysund by Barents Sea.

-Gart

 

Havøygavlen Wind Farm, Norway

Gart at Havøygavlen Wind Farm

Colosseum - Rome

Colosseum – Rome

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Hi Folks,

This is Colosseum, or more formally the Flavian Amphitheatre. I didn’t know men could build such things. After it was completed in 80 AD, it was included in different versions of the list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The poet Martial (40-102 AD) went even a little bit further. He instructed to lose the whole list of Seven Wonders as, “Rome’s Colosseum is the world’s one and only truly amazing building”.

Some blood has bled on the arena’s dirt, and Maximus, the gladiator best known to the modern world, totally nailed it: “What we do in life echoes in eternity”. The amphitheater served as a venue for gladiator fights, animal hunts, executions and re-enactments of famous battles for nearly 5 centuries. The events were enormous: In 107 contests involved 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators during the 123 days. At least 50,000 spectators could fit into the arena to chant Life! in support to their favorite gladiators. And sometimes the crowd convinced the emperor to save their favorite’s life.

Regardless of earthquakes, stone-robbers, tourists and the amount of water flown under the bridge, the Colosseum still stands. And that is good news to all of us. Namely, already the ancient Romans knew the following:

          “As long as the Colosseum stands, so shall Rome; when the Colosseum falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world.”

-Gart

 

Colosseum from inside - Rome

LEGO Modulex M20 Gart the Gnome

Lego Modulex M20 – Gart

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Hi Folks!

There’s this Magnus G. from Denmark who keeps sending me photos of awesome Lego creations he’s made. The bricks used for this piece are Lego-collectors wet dream, at least according to Magnus. Let me brake this for you… The bricks are from Lego Modulex M20 series (I have no idea what it means). But the thing is that Lego Modulex M20 -bricks were manufactured only in 1963-1965 and they were intended for architects. Ok, so the bricks are rare, I get that. But what I do not get is that you can learn more about Lego Modulex M20 and other Lego bricks on this webpage: www.brickfetish.com. I guess, there is a nerd of every kind in the Interweb! But do not get me wrong, I admire the Lego-enthusiast. After all, I was a certified Lego engineer in the 1950’s, only a few years after Lego was invented. For showing respect to Magnus and his odd hobby, I will set as my goal to visit Legoland.

Thank you Magnus!

-Gart

LEGO Modulex M20

Work in progress. Size is 56 * 38 = 2128 studs.

Bonifacio - Corsica, France

Bonifacio – Corsica, France

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Hi Folks!

France is the most visited country in the world ranked by the number of international tourist arrivals. That’s an impressive achievement considering that the Corsican nationalist movement has campaigned for the limiting of tourist infrastructure since the 1960’s. And by campaigning I mean harsh measures: bombings, assaults and robberies. Luckily Corsica is only one of the 27 régions of France, so there are plenty of opportunities even for the most sensitive tourist to enjoy the well distinguished French hospitality. I guess there is only one thing that the Corsican’s hate more than tourists and that is the French. Confusing enough, huh? I will try not to get into politics too much, but there’s one thing that should be mentioned: Corsica is the gem of the Mediterranean Sea and Corsicans would be nuts if they were not a little bit protective of it.

In addition to National Liberation Front of Corsica, Corsica Libera and other militant and/or peaceful groups that advocate the independence and isolation of Corsica, the costal line of the island for its part ensures that intruders will have difficulties to sneak in. Bonifacio, on the south coast of Corsica, is protected by 70 meters tall limestone cliffs that rise directly from the sea. The limestone has been undercut by the rough waters below so that the buildings are literally overhanging the cliffs. The restaurants in Bonifacio serve French cuisine to die for and that may also be the result if you book a table with a view.

-Gart

Bosa - Sardinia, Italy

Bosa – Sardinia, Italy

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Hi Folks!

Bosa is a picturesque town on the west coast of Sardinia. Bosa’s landmark Serravalle’s Castle is further up on the hill guarding the medieval town. Do not be fooled by the bright lights of Bosa; you will have difficulties to find any night time action around there. If you are into relaxing and getting to know yourself a bit better, this may just be the perfect place to spend your holiday. I think I have had enough of the rural countryside for now, it is time to seek new adventures. I read somewhere that France is the most popular country to visit. And France’s island Corsica is pretty close. I believe my next stop will be there; hopefully Corsica is something close to Ibiza, because my dancing feet are getting restless again! Stay tuned. Or better yet, let’s meet on Corsica.

– Gart

Nuraghe Santu Antine - Sardinia, Italy

Nuraghe Santu Antine – Sardinia, Italy

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Hi Folks!

This, my friends, is a nuraghe. Nuraghes were built by Nuragic people; I do not think the similarity in the name of the people and the construction is a coincidence. Nuragic people inhabited Sardinia some 3000 years ago up to the second century AD. There are over 7 thousand nuraghes in Sardinia. I have heard that nuraghes are not very popular these days, and I guess it is understandable. For instance in Costa Smeralda (a very posh area in Sardinia) some houses cost over 300.000 EUR per square meter (I know, sounds unbelievable but Costa Smeralda is the priciest place in Europe). Imagine owning a house over there and then your kids start begging: “daddy, mommy please buy us a trampoline”. Now you already paid a few millions for the house and the backyard, but just cannot fit a trampoline on your yard when there’s already a patio, possibly a pool and definitely a barbeque and then! An ancient nuraghe takes most of the space. In those moments you might begin to wonder how on earth could I get rid of the nuraghe or would it just be easier to buy a bigger lot. After all, the nuraghe has been sitting there for couple of thousand years before You.

Santu Antine is one of the largest nuraghes in Sardinia. It used to be some kind of a fortress. I guess there isn’t a clear consensus on the function of the nuraghes – we know quite little of the people who built them. I would be surprised if Nuragic had been that much different from you and me. And that’s why I am quite confident assuming that Nuragic lived in Nuraghes. I mean it would have kind of been non-intelligent to build a nuraghe and then sleep next to it in a hole in the ground.

– Gart

Mount Altura Fort - Sardinia, Italy

Mount Altura Fort – Sardinia, Italy

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Hi Folks!

On times like these it is fantastic to see a military base that has been turned into a recreational area. There are no firearms in the legendary Mount Altura Fort (Fortezza Monte Altura). Hopefully this trend will become popular. I guess a fortress like Mount Altura Fort had to be built to protect the peace of Palau (the town you may see in the photo). And it’s a valid question: why would anyone intend to invade Palau? But wait until you get to taste La Gelateria Dell`angolo´s gelatos. I mean *whoah* and *whou*, they have the best gelatos in Sardinia and possibly in the whole of Italy. If you get to visit this gelateria I encourage you to taste as many flavors as you can, but my favorite is mascarpone!

-Gart

MAMAN - Louise Bourgeois

MAMAN – Louise Bourgeois

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Hi Folks!

Louise Bourgeois’s monumental spider sculpture MAMAN (1999) is a sight. This brown, furry, 9.2 meters tall, motherly figure with eight legs carries it’s unborn youngs with her in an egg sac. MAMAN brings to my mind my own mother who used to say: “If you have nothing nice to say, just zip it!” She was also furry with her dark leg hairs. But, Bourgeois claimed that contrary to the common interpretations the spider was a creature with positive connotations, and perhaps she was sincere. Or perhaps she was trying to tell us something about spiders.

-Gart

Self-Portrait - Robert Mapplethorpe

Self-Portrait – Robert Mapplethorpe

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Hi Folks!

Robert Mapplethorpe said what I thought: “I want to see something I’ve never seen before.” And when I saw some of Mapplethorpe’s art, I also saw things that I had never seen before. And what you have seen, cannot be unseen. I guess that’s what bothers some uptight puritans in Robert Mapplethorpe’s art. But please, grow up. There’s nothing wrong in a bit of naked male skin. If you open your mind you may actually like it, or is that what you are afraid of. …Seriously speaking, Mapplethorpe broke taboos with his attitude and art in the 60’s and 70’s and for that I thank him. He is probably most known for his controversial photographs of naked men and male genitals with a S&M twist.  Homoeroticism in art causes seldom scandals anymore, but Mapplethorpe can still raise a few eyebrows by the cigarette in his mouth. True rebel!

-Gart

Times Square - New York City

Times Square – New York City

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Hi Folks,

I teamed up with these guys to fight the first world problems, and there wouldn’t be a more appropriate place to start the fight than the Center of the Universe, namely Times Square in New York City. Our motto is: Worst things first! In the shift briefing the following tasks were assigned.

  1. Iron Man shall be in charge of investigating why on earth 4G service is quite poor in some parts of Manhattan. It’s 2015 and still at times we may find problems in status-updating, tweeting, tindering and what not when there is no 4G service and barely any 3G or even 2G service. Once the cause for the poor coverage is discovered, Iron Man will eliminate it. I know he will, his reputation is on line.
  2. Some ignorant dimwits upstream cabs. But Hulk will put an end to that epitome of selfishness. If you do not know the etiquette for taxi-traveling, stay home! And if you do leave your house and you walk against the flow of traffic to gain an advantage against your fellow citizens, you may have to face with the consequences. Hulk is known for his subtle technique in dealing with matters that require certain firmness.
  3. Do you know the feeling when there are dozens of flavors on serve but you just cannot find your favorite ice cream. Man landed on the Moon in 1969 but fails to manage the logistics from an ice cream factory to the café closest to you. Cookie Monster is just the right person to find out why we are tortured at the counter with replies like: “I’m so sorry but at the moment we do not have chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.” And you would like to say bite me, but that’s not an ice cream -flavor, is it!
  4. At times it’s almost impossible to get tickets to Broadway musicals. As you may remember, I visited Mormons’ head quarters called Salt Lake Temple some time ago and I wanted to learn more about Joseph Smith. Now when I’m here I wanted to educate myself by seeing the musical Book of Mormon but is was sold out. Sheriff Woody Pride shall be in charge of forming a task force which will not rest until there are either more musicals or less viewers.

I trust that Iron Man, Hulk, Cookie Monster and Sheriff Woody are up to their tasks, and I may continue my journey by knowing that even while I type this post, there are every-day-super-heroes doing their best to make the world a better place for all of us – even people with really small problems.

-Gart