Fjords

Fjords are really big. Not just the size above the boat we were in, but below as well. Like about 300 meters deep. At first I took a lot of pictures. It's really beautiful and green, but after about 30 minutes you begin to slow down. I guess I got a little jaded.

Wow. Beautiful. Wow. Still beautiful. Look, another waterfall. I started taking picutes of only the really impressive waterfalls. Which is unfair to the multitude of trickling waterfalls, but I only have so much memory on my card, and I've only been here a week. (feels like I have been out forever.)

I think the slower pace is maybe better than the rush to get all of New Zealand in, but it's odd to have time to think...

Whale Sashimi

Norway is one of the few (2 or 3) countries that still has whaling. The Japanese do it for "Scientific Research" which is bullshit. So I was walking at the seaside in Oslo and there was a sign that said Sashimi. I like sushi and sashimi, so I tried some. It was a very red color. I asked what it was, "whale". Okay. When in Rome... It tasted not that much different from other sashimi, but it just was a mammal with a brain the size of, well, me.

Oops. A vegatarian ex of mine would be very disappointed.
hee, hee, hee.

Oslo

Holy crap, 21 hours of sunlight is alot. Its dark only from midnight until 3 am. I sleep with a eye mask, just to keep things dark.

The city is really beautiful. The women are too. Very blond. Remember the Star Trek episode when Kirk goes to a planet where theres a God called Vaal? How the primitive inhabitants were naive, and very blonde? So blonde their eyelashes were blonde? Thats the kind of blonde I am talking about. Then Kirk kills the God machine and sets them free from being slaves to Vaal. Hello? Prime Directive?

Anyway, I went and saw the Scream By Munch. Probably the definitive one. It was amazing to see in person. He did about 100 of them. Thats a lot of screaming. A lot of Angst and Pertubation. The colors you see in the pictures are not as vivid as in person, also you can see what was used to create it. Paint and pastels as well. Theres also a dripping or 3 of candle wax on the painting. Apparently he would leave the paintings out in the elements and snow. He didn,t consider them to be fragile or masterpieces.

I also went to the very large impressive Vigeland park. I has sculptures from Gustave Vigeland. Large sculptures, bronze, cement, etc. I,ll have picture to show. It is impossible to describe without pictures.

More later.

Odd Coincidence

Whenver I leave the country, some famous actor dies. Last year it was Heath Ledger, this year it is David Carradine. Now both died under mysterious or rather stupid circumstances. Heath ledger from a pharmacy of drugs, and Carradine from, most likely, Auto Erotic Asphyxiation. Which is not just a stupid way to die, but really embarassing. Honestly. You are found dead, hanging naked. Thats never a good thing.

I liked David. He was Kwai Chang Caine. It was fun to watch as a kid. And though he later became a raging alcoholic, it didnt... No wait, it did screw up his career.

RIP Kwai Chang Caine.

Stockholm

I just flew into Stockholm, and boy am I tired.
Planes were not meant to be slept on by someone my height. I should have claimed a middle row for myself so I could stretch out. Didn,t think of it until they were all gone.
So far... everyone looks like all the Scandinavian people I know. Bo, Kari, Gus, and others of viking decent. Kinda funny. I see what could be their cousins.
The automatic door at the Coop grocery has a motor that sounds like a Wookie when it opens and closes. I,m a geek, what can I say?
Keyboards in other countries are weird. Which is why this is going to be oddly punctuated. And I,m leaving it that way.
I get on a train to Oslo tomorrow. And I need more than 4 hours sleep...

Hmmmm... Things are going to get...

Interesting.

My apartment building is being looked at by some real estate agents while I am out of the country. So this might be a precursor my building being sold and me being homeless... It kinda sucks that I don't have any control or say over this. In my neighborhood, apartments are sold, and then torn down to make way for ugly cheaply built condos. So, wahoo.

I'm gone for 20 days. Will I have a place to come home to? Or will I come home and have to find a new place to live immediately? Lame.

Or the deal could fall thru. I'm kinda hoping for that. Or maybe I need this kind of shake up.

Don't know. It's gonna be interesting.

Secret Singer

I am one of the millions, maybe billions of secret singers on planet Earth. Which for me is all the more subtle because as an actor I don't have singing listed on my resume. We sing in the car. In the shower. In a parking garage when you don't think anyone is listening. And you get embarrassed when you are caught.

I would be blackmailed at Kareoke years ago when dragged there by my friend Terry. "We don't leave until you sing." He would say. "Get me more alcohol," would be my reply. It wasn't like I could leave. I was in Colorado or Vegas or some such. Can't really walk or catch a cab home. So I would drink a bit and get an Elvis song out.

I love Elvis. I know 90% of his songs by heart. But I only sang them in the car. And for Kareoke purposes, they are brilliant. Most are under 3 minutes long. Have a few beers or tequilas, and you get to go home after a rendition of Blue Suede Shoes.

I got over my fear of singing in public because I was doing a play. My friend Di called up, and knowing I was a big Elvis geek, and asked me to play Elvis. YES! was my answer. But all the lines were from his songs and had to be sung. Oh crap. So to purge the fear I dragged a bunch of people to kareoke bars in Burbank and sang. Wasn't going to go alone.

For my last 2 birthdays I have had kareoke parties. The best places to go are in Koreatown. They have private rooms. So you only have to hear the bad singing from you and your drunken friends, not complete strangers in between when we get to sing.

Now I like to sing. I have a list of songs in my car. When I hear something on the radio that might be cool to try, I write it down. Journey, The Who, The Doors, Nine Inch Nails... It's along way from where Ii used to be as a secret singer...

So this summer I'm going to audition for my first musical at the Knightsbridge. I'm told I would be a great sadistic dentist for Little Shop of Horrors. I'll keep you posted.