Just another GOOOOOOD MORNING thread

[trigz]

Went to a job interview for a vacancy at a newspaper last night and will be writing extensively on a jazz concert this evening, which should be good fun.

Norway is full of snow all over the place with there falling close to 25 centimetres the night before last, and we're all cold and miserable ;)

Good morning America! How are we today?

[Insider]

1. yawning in the morning

hello norway. had to finish some work online. ready for bed just now.

who performed(s) at that jazz concert?

[trigz]

2. Good morning Yanks!

Well, a magnificent jazz concert last night with the group "Moment's Notice", featuring the meanest tuba-player I have absolutely ever seen. I talked to him afterwards, and he told me that music-wise, his biggest influence was Frank Zappa. That was no surprise, and me and the wife really had a great night out.

Today - well, it's finally Friday here at the Italian embassy, and we're all longing for the weekend to arrive. Temperature's around zero degrees, and I'm going to spend the morning translating our inexplicably boring insurance documents for my saggy cow of a boss. Very well, let's get it on :)

Good morning Americans!

[scarlet_owl]

3. Good morning, I guess.

It's 2:26 am and I can't sleep because I'm sick. No snow here, thankfully. Good luck with the job!

[trigz]

4. Good morning!

On a cold Saturday such as this, I'm looking forward to celebrating my brother's wife-to-be's 31st birthday in style. First up, it's the last of the Lord of the Rings films, after which we'll go out and have the odd drink or two.

Good morning on this wonderful Saturday, dear Yanks! How are we today?

[WindRavenX]

5. morning and goodnight!

It's 3 AM here on the west coast.
Time to go to bed :)

[KCDem]

6. good morning!

Where in Norway do you live? I'm part Norwegian (that's where I get my intelligence ;) ). A few years back, I visited Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim. Beautiful country--you are lucky!

[trigz]

9. Ah, one of them famous American-Norwegians!

Hello there, or hallå, as I would say ;)

I hail from Lørenskog, immidiately to the east of Oslo (I actually grew up about 200 metres from the city limits). I now reside in the beautiful Oslo district of Bøler, a lower-middle class area half-enclosed by a forest, with a football ground (division 3) and a fantastic lake just 150 metres from my house. Splendid :)

I take it you must be from Minnesota! :D Which part of Norway were your ancestors from and, not at least, do you speak any of the old language?

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

7. well, who is performing?

don't just leave us hanging?

[trigz]

8. Morning!

The worst day of them all brings me back to my day job after some fun had over the weekend. Yesterday, I spent four hours in a ski jump hill watching 11-year old kids go at it. They really are some tough little bastards: One of them, an 11 year old boy, fell badly in his first jump yesterday in the K30 (possible to jump up to and around thirty meters, which, believe me, is quite a lot even for me, not to say for these kids). Where anyone else would've called it a day and gone home to lick his wounds, this kid jumped up again, got his skies and headed straight back up for his second jump. Damn, I have some real respect for that!

On other fronts there was another round of virtual football played in the internet game I'm a part of at http://www.hattrick.org (check it out, it's great fun) and I watched, of course, the last film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

So it's been an eventful weekend! Good morning my dear Yanks! How are we all today?

[JanMichael]

10. Good morning to you too. Good luck with the job!

I'm just peachy, thanks for asking!

[jpgray]

11. What does Norwegian scat singing sound like?

:D

I may be studying abroad there after this semester. I begin learning the language of Hakon the Good on the 20th of February.

[trigz]

12. You're coming over here?! Great!

But what's a scat, mate...?

Anyhow, are you going to Oslo? Let me know, I'll tell you where the best pubs are.

Our language really isn't that difficult. Actually it's a very logical language with grammar close to the English language, and living here, I'm convinced you'll pick it up in no time.

[jpgray]

25. Probably in the summertime

Scat singing is a form of jazz singing made up of nonsense syllables. Scooby-de-doo-dop-baw, and that sort of thing. :)

[trigz]

13. 'morning all from an aching Norwegian body...

I had my first ju-jitsu training session in two years last night, and as expected my trainer took about five seconds to realise that I have a surprisingly good fall technique. My jitsu trainers have, without fail, all discovered this fact. I have a very flexible body.

Anyway, the consequence of this was that I have been immediately adopted as the group's test dummy when demonstrating new moves. It's good fun, but my body is killing me today. In a nice way, mind, it's good to keep fit you know :)


Good morning to you all! How are we today?

[trigz]

14. Stupid Tuesday mornings...wait, it's Wednesday. All right then!

Going in for the 2nd round of the process of trying to get a foot inside a newspaper tonight - the other day I learned that there are 80 daily newspapers in Norway. With 60 journalists graduating from the College of Journalism every year and myself merely relying on my experience in reporting from my seven years' work as a freelance reporter, you can imagine how difficult it is becoming a journalist in this country. Yikes!

Anyhoo, my grumpy, sour-pooped boss has called in sick today with a flu which hopefully will keep her in bed for the next three weeks, so all is not bad. Oh, and we're beyond the half-way mark for the weekend, yahoo!

Good morning chaps & chapettes! How is life today? :)

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Well, today in the North Country we are at 11 below and falling

By this, I mean in the Northeastern US, which is in the midst of a real cold wave. I hate to go out, and it's supposed to get worse. If you think that Norway is the coldest place on the planet, just imagine those of us in Northern New York State. We have trouble starting our cars and journeying anywhere, because of the snow. They could put a man on the moon in 1969, but we are still at the mercy of this $!$%!$ weather! LOL! Great to see you, trigz! I hope so much that all is well with you and yours!:pals:

[trigz]

16. Hello dear, how nice to hear from you :)

Damn, 11 F below must be something like....lots of centigrades. You poor sods. We've been relatively lucky this year, for a change, in that the freeze has been periodical. Right now we are in the beginning of what looks like a bloody cold period. And lest we forget, there's about 80 cm of snow which, in the zone where I live, means that finding a parking spot becomes a game of Musical Chairs, since the stupid snow mowers leave their loads in the spots where I'm supposed to be parking, dammit!

Oh never mind, it'll pass in a few...months. Damn :( Gotta keep smiling ;)

[trigz]

17. Good morning...actually it's a crap morning, but nonetheless

Found out, yesterday, that a promotion in the TV channel where I do some work has been given to one of my colleagues, who has been there a lot shorter than I have and whose work isn't yet of a good enough quality. He's been around for four months, and I've worked the sports section for two years, so imagine for yourself. The argument in his favour is that he lives closer to the premises, and has contacts inside the local football club (who plays in the top division in Norway). "He lives closer?!" I *do* have a car, you know.

So -- I'm quite pissed off and have sent an angry e-mail to the sports editor (who made the appointment) in question telling him in no uncertain terms that he's a prick who does an excellent job at removing any sense of loyalty towards the workplace on my part.

It's been a real bad start to the day, that's for sure. Hope yours is better.

[trigz]

19. In a slightly better mood now, thankfully

Ah. There's nothing to cheer me up like watching the seeding of the groups for the Swedish Championship in table hockey, which will be played this weekend. I'll be there, and I have been drawn with America's finest player in the preliminary group. Kenny Dubois of Boston, Mass. is coming over for the biggest table hockey tournament in the world. Some 160 players, I think, are coming. For myself I'll be happy finishing around 35th place. It's difficult to explain, but this is the most fun anyone can ever have.

Anyone woken up yet then? ;)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. Best wishes with the job

I always enjoy reading your posts :D

PS..post the jazz review when it's done..let us see it.

[trigz]

22. Jazz Review (hastily translated)

Thanks for the interest! (For the original in Norwegian, see below.)
This is a hasty and extremely poor translation, but you may get the gist of it...

<h>Jazz season gets off to a bubbly start</h>

<i>Lars Andreas Haug sings to me through his saxophone. Lillestrøm's jazz season is underway.</i>

<text>
"Moments Notice" was the main attraction as the new jazz season begun with Thursday's UngJazz arrangement in Lillestrøm.

Lars Andreas Haug (28) of Frogner is the local representative in the trio. Tuba player Haug contributes to the group's energetic and playful sound with tuba skills rarely seen on these shores. His group - whose members all are recent graduates from the National Music College - released their first CD last year with flying colours and rapturous critical reviews, and already have a name on the Norwegian jazz scene.

-The CD opened more than a few doors for us. Among other projects we'll be performing at "Vossajazz"* this spring, percussionist Knut Aalefjær (29) said.

Using largely their own material the group won over the audience last night with their intense, highly rhythmicly impulsive themes. Lars Andreas Haug demonstrated yet again his capability to do more with his brass than most others - such as singing through his instrument, or a thematic imitation of a wasp in flight.

-The way Frank Zappa composed and experimented with sound continues to be a heavy influence for me, he tells me. The unorthodox and searching sound which is a hallmark of the group undoubtedly carries Zappa's influence. "Moments Notice" pick up impulses and themes from all manner of diverse musical styles and branches, mixing it all exquisitely together to produce a unique brand of jazz. The end result is an exotic combination of elaborate improvisation and seemingly limitless creativity.

Lillestrøm Jazz club arranges Ungjazz together with affiliated musicians at Lillestrøm secondary school as a project aimed at interesting young musicians in the local jazz scene. The jazz community in the district can look forward to the weekly jazz cafè at Fagerborg hotel each Saturday, starting this weekend.

-

Sprudlende start på jazzåret

Lars Andreas Haug synger til meg gjennom tubaen sin. Jazzsesongen er i gang i Lillestrøm.

Moments Notice var hovedattraksjonen da årets jazzsesong tyvstartet med UngJazz på Lillestrøm kultursenter sist torsdag.

Lars Andreas Haug (28) fra Frogner er romeriksinnslaget i trioen. Tubaisten bidrar til gruppas energiske og lekne lydbilde med tubaspill som er sjelden vare i norsk jazz. Gruppa, med bakgrunn fra Musikkhøyskolen ga ut sin første CD i fjor til strålende kritikk, og er allerede veletablerte innen norsk jazz.

-Utgivelsen åpnet mange dører for oss. Blant annet skal vi spille på Vossajazz senere i år, og vi satser på utenlandsreising til neste år, forteller perkusjonist Knut Aalefjær (29).

Gruppa lager stort sett alt materialet sitt selv, og overbeviste med sine intense, høyrytmiske og impulsive låter. Lars Andreas Haug viste at han kan gjøre mer med hornet sitt enn de fleste, gjennom blant annet synge gjennom instrumentet og imitere en veps i flukt.

–Frank Zappas måte å komponere og eksperimentere med lyd på er en stor inspirasjon for meg, forteller Haug, noe som gjenspeiles i gruppas søkende og uortodokse lydbilde. Moments Notice henter impulser og temaer fra mange forskjellige stilarter og blander dem fortreffelig til sin egen musikk. Resultatet er en spenstig, eksotisk potpurri med stor improvisasjon og boblende kreativitet.

UngJazz arrangeres av Lillestrøm Jazzklubb i samarbeid med musikklinja på Lillestrøm videregående skole. Jazzklubben sto i fjor bak ikke mindre enn 50
arrangementer, og har et tett program for Romerikes jazzentusiaster. Hver lørdag ettermiddag fremover er det blant annet jazzkafè på Fagerborg hotell å se frem til.

[trigz]

20. Good morning! I'm off to Sweden soon

for what I mentioned yesterday, namely the Swedish Championships in table hockey, to be played in Jönköping, some five hours' driving from Oslo.

But before that I'll have to get through another boring day here - wish me well, and good morning to you, wherever you are!

[Rhiannon12866]

24. Good morning to you, and you know where I am

I am in Northern New York where there have been record cold temperatures for a record-long period. People's pipes are bursting and schools have been closed due to the danger of having kids walk to school in this dangerously cold weather. For the children who take buses to school, some of them won't even start. My dogs hate to go out and I hate to take them. The little one finishes ASAP and hides behind me.:scared:

Have a great time in Sweden, another place I have yet to visit. My parents visited Norway and Sweden and Denmark. I should take a new look at their photos. As you know, I have been to Finland, and also Russia, but that is the closest I've come. Stay warm.:hi:

[trigz]

21. Just upping this for my afternoon audience ;-) (nt)

[Haviland_42]

23. Just dandy and....

thank you for asking. *yawn* :-)

[Rhiannon12866]

26. Welcome to DU, Haviland_42!!!

We are so glad to have you with us. In case you're not truly awake yet, my good friend is writing from Norway and I am in Northern New York State, two of the coldest places on earth. I hope that you are in a better climate!:shrug:

[trigz]

27. Morning!

Just a very short message today - the Swedish Masters was great, although my finish in 46th place was below my expectations. On the way back, there was first a blizzard and then terribly icey on the road. We got stuck in a queue for four hours on the highway back towards Oslo, I got back home at 1.28 am, and am 100% wasted today.

And tonight, I'm going to play some more table hockey. I must be crazy. Okeydoke, no matter - have a nice one, all! :)

[trigz]

28. Good morning, Yanks!

I'm dead tired, I hate my job and it's fucking freezing outside. How was your morning?

[trigz]

29. 'morning!

-15 centigrade sees the coldest day of the winter so far in beautiful Oslo, Norway. I had a bit of a bad 'un yesterday - things are slightly better today, even though this weather gets under my skin.

Today, the heiress to the throne was born at about 10am. Yes, Princess Mette-Marit gave birth to a baby daughter, and the succession of our monarchy is thus ensured. That might comfort those royalists among us - I'm in favour of the Republic myself so it's no biggie for me, even though I'm happy for the Prince and the Princess. Well, never mind. GOOD MORNING, AMERICA! How are we today?

[Rhiannon12866]

30. Thanks for the happy news, trigz !

Glad to hear all is well in Norway and that the future of the monarchy is ensured. I'm sure it is a cute baby. How is your little one?:shrug:

It is 8 degrees F here in Northern New York. Too cold for man or beast and I am sure that my little beasts are ready to go out. Damn. I should have stuck to cats, since they use a box and stay inside, but am pretty attached to my little guys. They give me a reason to get up each day. This hasn't been my best week on record, but it always helps to hear from you.:-)

[trigz]

31. A Royal good morning!

Well, our heiress to the throne has got a name: It's Her Royal Highness Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

That's the big news here today - oh, and the national football team beat Sweden 3-0 this morning in the first match for our new coach. With only home players on the field and none of our professionals that probably doesn't say too much, but it's a long time since we scored three goals in one game, so we're cautiously optimistic.

Good morning USA!

[Rhiannon12866]

32. Good morning, Norway!!!

And a huge USA welcome to tiny Princess Ingrid!:hi:

Good news on the sports front. Will you be watching the Super Bowl, LOL!:D

[trigz]

34. Super Bowl?! I'm on about "soccer", not steroidised rugby! (nt)

[trigz]

33. A snotty, sneezing good morning from a tired Norwegian...

Damn, the winter flu has gotten hold of me. I felt shabby as early as yesterday lunchtime, and yesterday evening I completely fell to pieces. Am going to the doc later on, not a very comforting prospect, given the blizzard outside my window and the -14 degrees but hey!

Good morning to the rest of you - I certainly hope yours was in better health than me!

[Rhiannon12866]

35. Sorry to hear about the ill health, trigz!

Especially with having to face such bad weather. Stay home, if you can, and out of the cold. Drink plenty of hot liquids and follow doctor's orders. It is sunny here, at the moment, but last night I faced a journey home in the dark, with snow falling and blowing like mad. I just couldn't see, which scares me witless. I wish for better weather and for you to make a speedy recovery.:-)