Ỳ̵̷̗̗͖͙̰̠ͅơ͉̼̮̰̭̠̮̳͖u̼̠̼̰̦͈̥͘’͔͙̤̘͈͍r͙͉͕̹͝e̘̫̞͕͓͜ ̥̹̼͓̜͈̣͝ͅw̭͍͠a̘̗̼̻̤͟ì̴̬͢t̪͖̬̪i͚̱̕n̢̯̹͘ͅg̨̥̱͍ ̴̼͖̖͉̞͈͉͜f̧̝̥̮̤̠͖̗̮o̴̸͏̝͇̻̰r̼̤̻̮̥̕ ̺͖͙̟̀͢á̶̠̮̱̖͙ ҉̯͙͙ṭ̹͍͕ŕ̯̻̣̜͎̫̪̣à̞̺̫̝͝i̶̦̺̻͙̯̼͟n̦͕̘͙̰̪.̷̸͙̬͚͎̪͈͇̲ ҉̴͔̹̳̻ ̧̬̺̦͉̭
̰̘̣̼̞̻͔ͅA̷̷̯̦͖͓̯ ̸̰̬̭̙́͟t̛̻͟r̶̶̝͈̣̠͕͚̗͚͡a̪̗i͙̮̕͡n̷͍̰̪ ̹͕͙̀́͠t̵̴̞̗̼̤̟̙̩͡h̘͍͚͠a̠̼̰̬̬͍t̸҉̞͉͕ ̤̭w͏̳̳́ị̧̛͎͈̙̘l̖̦͓l̹̲ ͍̘̣̗͇̝t̶̢̝͖̙̺̦̕a̮̭̥͔͎̦̪̼͜͟k̨̘͈̥̣̀è̪̜̱͍͉͠͠ ̧̢̲̝̼̪͈̩͙̞ͅy̙̦͙̘͔͘͝o̢̥̹̼u̧̦̞̤̘͕̻̣͟ ̷̟̹͙̱̖f̢͜͏̰̬̫̤ͅa҉̧̮͓̗̮̳r̵̷͍̭̹̯̫͇͢ ͏̷͉̮a̴̰̘͎̣͞w̘̘͢a̴̧̹͚͕̘̠͓y̖̲̪̲.͟͜ͅͅ ̳́ ̨̞͓̯
̜̺͖͖̘Y͜҉͈̱̬͎̭̮̟o̧̨̞͈̣̩͉̖̕u͓̹͚̻͙͍͞ ̟͕̮͉̥̻̩͓k̡̛̲̞͜n̴̵͍̜o̠͕̜͍̮̪̜w̭͙̖͖̙̲ ͏̝͎͘w̶̨̟̝̼̱̝̤h̵̞̰̙̗͇̲͠͝ͅe̶̤̬̫̹r̨̜̮͡e̷̛̬̫̻̹̫̙ ̴͍̻̗̱̪͇͓̪͝͞y͏̞̱̮̬͓͙̞͝o̝̺̘̙̲͉͞u̴͖͚ ̭͉͉̯̰̠̫͖̥h̵̺̥̦̻̳̱̪͡o̶̸̺͓̲̣ͅp̬͓̱̦̮̹̪̻͚̀͜e͉͙̣͓͈͓̠̩͙ ̛͉͈̪͙̕t̢̠͉͕̬̟̩̞̗͇h̷̜̼̞ͅe̵̹̤̕̕ ͈̣̲͉͈̪̮̤̺͝t̢͎̠̩͙̟͖͡r̘̗̱̣͢ạ̶̟̙͚́̕i̴̧̻̗͈̕n҉̠̗͙̖ ͔͇̦̗̣̙̕͝w͏̠͇i̡̗l͡͞҉̮̪l̹͚ͅ ̡̱̗̮̱̮̜̀͡t̸̴̖̳̪̕ạ̦̜̼̱̻͞ͅk̡̦̭̺͠e̸̛̥̠͚̹ ̡̹̖̦͞y̢̭͈̗̣̕ơ͇̠͟u̗̣̙͎̯͎͓̞̦͝͠,̛̙̳͓̕͞ ̲͞b̼u̩̪̖̕ͅt͖͙͔̼̩ͅ ̢̝͓̫̳̪̀y̺̫̼̖̰͎o̵̱̙̕u̱͔̭̻̩̦̥̗̩͜ ̧̢͖̗̝̺ͅc̴͇̩̺͇̯̼̝̝͚a̶̶̹̖͎̹͇ͅn҉̳͙͜’̛̯͎t͇̜͇ ̛̟͍͞b̷̨̙͉̬ẹ̜̰͉̰͞ͅ ̵̟̣͎̖̳͚͎͞ͅs̢̖̦̳̣̪͠ư̷̻͖̦̖̞r͏̰̗̼̰͕̠͟e̷̯̥͜.̸͉̫̪̼̰͙̻̟̕͢ ̮͚͔́ͅ ̵̴̧̠͖̠̳
҉̬̮͚͙͍̫̥̘͞ͅB̘̻͔̙͢͜ú̢̧̩̙̦̤̯t͖͔̹͝ ̩̟̠̯̟͠i͓t̗̼͙̰̪̞͟ ̵͖̙̩͝d̴̠̝o̞̟ͅe̥̰͈͚̹͜͟͟s̴̟͇̦̱̯n̡̺͇̗͝’̧̻̜̥̪͓̠̟t̶̲͈̪͡ ̸̫̹̥͇̩̹̜ͅm̛̪͉͍͎͠à̤̭͈͖̀t̜̳̕͟͝ţ̸̖̦͟e̡̼̯͔͚̲r̴̯͕͓̼̲͖͓͈͇͘ ̤̦̜́b̸̯e͖͙͔̰͡c̸̡̩͖̤̱̜̕ͅá͍͚͝u̧̮̮͓ś̢̬̼̳͚̘e̷̗̩̳͕ ̶͔͓w̲̻͢͡͡ȩ̴̨̙̺͔͉͕’̢̬̝͍̺͖̩͈̳͞l̟̪͍͇̰l̬͓̰̖͉̝̤̤ ̶̗̤͔͙̻̺͠͠b̸̪̺́e͠҉̟̰̗͝ ͘͟҉̬̬̯͚͖͙̩͙t̬̦̳̕͞ó̳͜͞ǵ̹̞̮̤͓̝́e̵͞͏̫͇̮t̳́͢h͚ͅͅe͉͙̦͞r҉̷̫͉̜͞

Do you like Glee?
Do you like bands such as Blind Guardian, Manowar, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Nightwish?
Then there’s a good chance you’ll like Van Canto too.

I discovered Van Canto randomly on YouTube, and their music is so fascinating, not to mention awesomely good, that I felt like sharing it with you on my blog.

No guitars

The guys (and girl) of Van Canto are from Germany, and play what they call “a cappella hero metal”. In stead of using real guitars, they try to emulate the sound with their voices. The band is signed to Napalm Records and are going on tour with Blind Guardian in Germany in November.

Van Canto is:

• Dennis Schunke – lead vocals
• Inga Scharf – lead vocals
• Stefan Schmidt – lower “rakkatakka” vocals and “wahwah solo guitar” vocals
• Ross Thompson – higher “rakkatakka” vocals
• Ingo Sterzinger – bass vocals
• Bastian Emig – drums

In case you’re curious about how they do it, here’s a video of Stefan explaining it:

See more?

You can find more videos on their official YouTube channel.

Listen to Van Canto in Spotify.

If you like their music, you should go “like” their Facebook fanpage.

You can buy their cd’s or mp3′s at  Play.com and Amazon.com.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

Next Wednesday (US time) will be a sad day for fans of web television, as Smooth Few Films’ Web Zeroes comes to an end.

In 2009 the show was picked up for distribution by Revision3 for its second season, becoming the first fictional show on the network, and increasing their viewership drastically. However, with today’s (Wednesday US time) release of episode 24: “Adverse Effects”, Smooth Few Films announced that the series will end after it’s 25th episode.

According to Eddy Rivas at Smooth Few Films, it was entirely their own decision:

“We’ve known that’s how it was going to be for a month or so now, but couldn’t really talk about it until the release of this episode. I wish we could have told you guys sooner, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. I think it’s important to note that ending the show is our decision, mostly because it has just been too exhausting to do the show as a part time job in addition to our day jobs.”

Already somewhat known among gamers for their machinima series about counter-terrorists, Leet World, Smooth Few Films made Web Zeroes a believable, and genuinely funny show.

A must-see for gamers and nerds who also happen to like comedy.

I’m sure going to miss the show.

[source: SmoothFewFilms.com]

If you enjoy steampunk inspired, sexualish imagery featuring Lady Gaga in a latex nun uniform and a bunch of half naked, nazi guys with bowl cuts, in high heels, this video is for you. …and the other 31,592,147* people who saw it on YouTube.

I’m not going to lie. I sometimes like a little sexualish imagery. And Lady Gaga. And steampunk nazis can be interesting. But I usually view such things separately. I liked the video. Don’t get me wrong, but I don’t really feel this video fits the music or the lyrics all too well.

What do you think?

I kind of liked it. And it’s weird enough for me to share it with you on the blog, so that means something meaningful, I guess. Or not.
Oh, and I only saw it today, thanks to this GradualReport video. You should go watch it. It’s sort of fun. But mostly weird.

(*Current number at the time of writing this post.)

-Do you like ginger ale?

I usually have some kind of facial hair. Lately, it’s been a goatee, and that then grew into an entire beard. An ENTIRE BEARD!
Anyway, on Friday I shaved for the first time in a while, because I was going to a job interview, and for some reason, instead of shaving everything, I kept the mustache.
So now I look slightly ridiculous, in my opinion at least, and I don’t really know what I want to do about it.

This is the face your voting will affect.

Now, this got me thinking, and I decided I want you to decide for me!
Below is a poll I created for the sole purpose of finding out what I should do with my face.
Whether you want me to grow a beard, or some goofy sideburns, let me know by voting for whatever you feel would look better on me. (Or whatever looks more ridiculous. It’s up to you.)
I’ve also included a recent picture of me, (from earlier today) for reference.

PS: I’ve set the poll to block multiple votes, so don’t bother.

I’ve decided to share with you the first fantasy fiction I ever wrote, which I did as part of an English exam, on the 4th of May, 2005.
Bear in mind, I was 16 at the time, I’m not a native English speaker, and I interpreted the task in a somewhat “wrong” way. I think I was meant to base my story on or interpret a painting by Salvador Dali, called Persistence of Time.
Also, if you know me personally, and if you know your fantasy fiction, you might find some cheesy easter eggs hidden in the names of places and people.
Anyway, here it is, with no alteration whatsoever, (except the odd typo) complete with redundant and ridiculous phrasing. (there is a  John Freeman element to the way I wrote this short story, but it was hurled together last minute.

The Lake in the Desert

John was only 15 years old when he accidentally discovered another world in a parallel universe. This is his story.
“What is this place?” John said to himself. He had been walking for two hours in this strange ‘desert’. Walking since he had come out of the lake.
He had no clue as to where he was or exactly how he had got there, but he was determined to find help.
The strange thing about this ‘desert’ was that it wasn’t hot, in fact; it was actually quite chill. Not that he was cold or anything, he had enough clothes.
It was getting dark when John heard a galloping horse behind him. He turned around and saw a man with a medieval looking armour, riding a black horse. The man on the horse slowed down to a halt, and spoke: “Who are you, and what is your business in these lands?” John was too terrified to answer. “Speak, stranger, or you shall taste steel!” said the man, drawing his sword.”M-m-my name is John,” said John. “And I’m lost.” “Very well, John,” said the horseman, sheathing his sword. “If I can, I shall help you. For I am Algirk, son of Thalbirk, royal knight of the kingdom of Ekirdron. But where is your homeland? I take it you are not from here,” said Algirk. “That’s right. I’m from Michigan, but I don’t know how to get there from here,” said John. “Hmm… I have not heard of this place. Maybe we should find shelter for the night, and you can tell me how you came here,” said Algirk. Algirk helped John up on his horse, and they set off for the town of Neggesyl. When they arrived, they found an inn, and since John had no money, Algirk paid for the rooms.

Next morning, during breakfast, John explained how he had run away from home in Michigan, and how he had fallen into a lake, and was sucked down: “And I couldn’t get to the surface, but suddenly, I was loose again and I swam to the surface. But I came up from that lake in the desert.” “Strange, ” said Algirk. “But stranger things have happened in these lands. I know a wise wizard, who lives two days’ ride north of here. Garion is his name, and he will know what to do.”

They went to get some food and clothes, before setting off to Garion’s.

Two days later, they arrived at the wizard’s house. He welcomed them, and made some tea while John and Algirk told him what had happened. “The logical choice would be to go back through the lake, but…” Garion was interrupted by John: “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” “As I was saying when you interrupted me; that would be the logical choice, but I am afraid it is impossible. I know, for I have tried it myself.” “That’s just great! How will I get home now?” said John, angered. “There is a cave. A cave with strange runes carved around its entrance: Paros visstu Mor-Tarri.”

“Do you know what it means?” John asked. “Yes, it means: ‘to visit Shadow-World.’ It could be ‘Greed-World’ for the runes for shadow and greed are one and the same. Anyway. This is the entrance to your world.” said Garion. “Are you sure?” asked John. “I have seen it my self. I came up from a lake, and on my left, I saw another. The other lake leads to the one in the desert, outside Neggesyl.” “Well, then. What are we waiting for? Let us get this young lad home to his family!” said Algirk. Garion showed them the way to the cave entrance, and John said goodbye: “I’ll come back and visit you from time to time, if that’s all right with you guys?” “Of course,” said Garion. “You are always welcome here.” Algirk said: “I shall look forward to seeing you again, John.” John stepped into the cave and vanished from sight. John soon realised that he was back in the lake, swimming toward the surface. He ran home to his parents, who were worried sick.
John never told anyone, except for his wife and children, about the parallel world he had visited, and the friends he had made there.

I really don’t know what that was. A very rough sketch of some bad Narnia fan fiction, without the Narnia name?
I.. Yeah. It was my first time writing fantasy fiction, and I think I did a pretty decent job, if you ignore Christopher Paolini, who wrote Eragon around the same age as the me who wrote this piece of crap.
I’m not going to analyze my 16 year old self, but I’ve learned a great deal since I was that boy.
I was a strange boy. A quiet loner.
I’m still the same person, only different.

UV26UZGZP4HE

I registered at Technorati because I notice several bloggers have profiles there.

I recently tried to update my profile info there, but it wouldn’t let me. I was allowed to “claim a blog” though, which is why I’m posting this here.

The registration process could’ve been made easier, and I didn’t get it at first. But here’s the token: UV26UZGZP4HE

Apparently they only scanned the short version of my RSS feed, so it didn’t work until I put the token in the very beginning of the post.
Weird, huh…

Anyone else have any experience with Technorati?

Is it worth my time?

Why won’t they let me update my profile info?

“Is there anything you can’t do with Lego?”

That’s what @hmork asked the Twitterverse, with a link to this video:

This awesome band from Sweden is called Rymdlegage.

You can listen to their music on Spotify, and watch their videos on YouTube. Or go to their website to read more about them, and see all the places you can get their music.

What is #MusicFriday?

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I’m starting a new weekly “thing” on my blog. I called it #MusicFriday, and as you might have guessed, it’s a play on #musicmonday and #followfriday.
In case you are unfamiliar with these concepts, I’ll explain briefly. A hashtag is a searchable tag used on Twitter, and somehow these two hashtags grew into worldwide, weekly trends.
#MusicMonday is, as the name suggests, to promote music you like. #FollowFriday is for promoting the people you follow on Twitter.

With #MusicFriday, I plan to share some of the music I discover, and music I’ve loved for years.

If you want to suggest some music, you can leave a comment here, or my Twitter: @nannirk

So, as I’m sitting here, on a friday saturday night, with a glass of brown liquid in my hand, I have but one question for you.

Do YOU like ginger ale?

***

Mr Troll: “But it’s not friday, in fact, today is saturday!”

Well mr Troll, I totally made this mistake on purpose. Of course I didn’t REALLY think this was friday… What, you don’t believe me? It was intentional, I tell ya! Intentional!

As some of you know, I’ve been blogging in Norwegian for a while, but recently I decided to switch back to English.

So for any new non-Norwegian readers out there, I’m sorry about all the posts you won’t be able to read, and to my Norwegian readers, tough luck. Most of you speak and read English quite well.

To mark the transition, I’ve started a new weekly “thing” on the blog. First one is going up tonight.

Hope you like it.

~ Marius.

Jeg har tenkt litt i det siste, og lurer på om denne bloggen kanskje hadde egnet seg bedre på engelsk. Det er langt flere  i “målgruppen” min som leser engelsk enn de som (kun) leser norsk.
Det betyr ikke at jeg slutter helt med å skrive på norsk. Det vil nok komme et innlegg på norsk nå og da, ettersom særnorske emner ofte er mer interessant for nordmenn. (No shit, Sherlock?!)
Så neste innlegg kommer altså på engelsk. Med mindre det er noe spesielt vinklet for Norge, da.

Er det noen meninger eller tanker der ute, er det bare å si ifra. Det vil uansett fortsatt være lov å kommentere på norsk.

PS: Shit. Da må jeg oversette og endre navn på absolutt alt av tags og kategorier.. Lame.