Dusting off the blog

27 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by Unna in Follow Friday, Media, Music Monday, Photos, Uncategorized, Weekly (-ish) Tags: , , , , , , ,

As you can see, a little bit has happened here and there.

I’ve changed the theme (=Wordpress-lingo for look or skin) of the blog a couple of times, and now I have found something I think will last for a long time to come: a theme both pretty and random enough for what I intend with the blog (…the wonder that is an organized mess).

Besides that, I’ve been organizing the links of my Follow Fridays, so in addition to the usual Blogroll (which also includes a couple of blogs I need to introduce to you in a following Follow Friday or two), I added a Twitterroll (with all the people I believe you should be keeping an eye on on Twitter) and a Podroll (with all the podcasts I believe you should know so far – of which one link, De Sorte Spejdere, leads to a 404/Not Found, but I would find it odd NOT to have it there. It can be found through iTunes, though – plus one that I will have to introduce later).

Something else I need to do is to make a menu (OH YES! The new theme is custom-menu compatible! Yay!) – something with the links/categories I find to be important and odd enough NOT to be left in one of the boxes in the sidebar. So far there’s only “Home” (directing you to the blog) and “About…” (leading you to the page about me). It’s gonna be good!

Besides that, I need to

  • fix a better way of making a gallery (flickr sucks, I couldn’t get all of the pics from the Brocktour up), and speaking of which…
  • finish off the last part of the Brocktour (there are a couple of bits and pieces in my mind I want up here).
  • dust off some of the drafts I’ve got lying around here… Somewhere… Where’s the damn hatbox?!

Did I miss anything??…
Ah, well. I’ll think of it if I did. Though I do know that I got a bit of inspiration for a following Follow Friday (besides whatever is on the blogroll)!

Oh – and I might have to mention to you that due to skipping a Monday, the theme I was teasing for recently isn’t up for Music Monday tomorrow, but next week instead.

Follow Friday #2: Comic Strips and Music!

11 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by Unna in Follow Friday, Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

On Follow Friday this week:
1. Introduction
2. Podcast: Best of MySpace
3. Twitter: Comic Strips
4. Blog: Michael Fry
5. Next Week/Drop Me a Line.

I thought I’d try to pick up on Follow Friday again, since I’ve been trying to pick up on Music Monday – and let’s face it, I could use something steady to keep up the blog. And not to worry, I’ll try to simplify it a bit so I won’t give away as much info/take so much confusing space as I did on the first Follow Friday.

Since the last time we spoke, I have finished listening to all of the podcasts of De Sorte Spejdere – so although I might just be thrown into fits of laughter once more if listening to them again, there is nothing new – only repeats. So I have been jumping the internet source of my podcast software – plus re-visiting DR.dk to download the podcasts of a few more programs after listening to the radio. I have also been adding a few individuals to my list on Twitter. Hopefully you’ll like the ones I picked!

The podcast I would like to introduce to you is Best of MySpace, a show made as a podcast by iCast and hosted by Gill Mills.
It’s made to make the way through the MySpace jungle easier to get through, as you don’t have to stop and smell all the flowers on the way. Gill has, with the help of the listeners, picked the most colorful and less smelly of them for you (which does ends up, as she admits, as a very subjective list of artists and songs – but what the heck, so do my Follow Fridays and Music Mondays).
As a last note, I might add that this podcast might speak more to the rockfans in the audience – although she does throw in a bit of hip-hop and R’n'B now and then – but give it a chance anyway. You may be surprised.

(And no, I can’t promise I won’t be using this podcast as a part of Music Monday in the future! But let me just get properly into it, and then see.)

In the Twitterverse, I have come across Hammy the Squirrel (@Hammyhimself). You probably remember him from Over the Hedge (there’s a Hammys through History-thing going on right now – you can go subscribe to Over the Hedge as a daily comic). “Hammy” sends out cute, funny, and at times philosophical statements – like one of my favorites so far:

Today is the the beginning of the ending of the start of the finish of the opening of the closing of forgetting what I was remembering.

“Over the Hedge” is made by Michael Fry, who I’m also following on Twitter (@_MichaelFry) where he is sending out comments and updates on blogposts, and T Lewis.

Plus, of course, the two of them have a tendency to retweet each other.

The blog I’m mentioning today is actually that very blog of Michael Fry. The blogposts with the Over the Hedge-strips aside, I remember one specific blogpost in particular – How to Lose Weight – where he describes the Mike Fry diet and concludes:

Eat less. Exercise more. Listen to your wife. Savor your treats.

It should only take another ten years to lose the other twenty pounds.

I have no idea what will come up next week. Yet again, I can imagine it having something to do with music, languages, and travelling. Maybe even photography. I have no idea!

Suggestions? Reactions? Comments?

Follow Friday #1!

16 Jan 2010 Leave a Comment

by Unna in Follow Friday Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

On Follow Friday this week:
1. Introduction
2. Podcasts: Danish version (one in English) (feat. Rosenkjær-foredrag, De Sorte Spejdere and Det Nye Talkshow, Clement Kjersgaard).
3. Twitter
4. Next week on Follow Friday
5. Drop me a line.

Yeah, I know, I know. Late again. Forgive me for posting this on a young Saturday!

I think I already introduced the concept back when introducing the Music Monday this week. Anyway, here’s a quick intro again:

Twitter have tags on basically anything – mainly, I believe, because the users of Twitter are able to create them themselves – and two of these tags are #musicmonday and #followfriday. This has inspired me to blog on who and what I listen to and follow online; be it music, blogs, podcasts, RSS, Twitter…

First of all, I’ll take a look at podcasts. I know a couple of missionaries, of which I’m sure at least one of them want to keep up their Danish after they return to the US – and since I have a few favorite podcasts in Danish, I think it’s a good place to start! I know that there is a good bunch of excellent podcasts at the website of Denmark’s national broadcasting corporation/public service radio and TV, Danmarks Radio – you can find them right here.

I think I should start with introducing the first podcast I remember subscribing to (at least in Danish, since Jamie Oliver could have beat it to it): the Rosenkjær lectures with Dr.Med. Peter Lund Madsen.

The Rosenkjær lectures are the consequence of receiving the Rosenkjær award. The Rosenkjær award is given to an individual (scientist or cultural personality) being able to communicate difficult and heavy stuff to the public. The award is named after Danmark Radio’s first chief of lectures, Jens Rosenkjær. The position of chief of lectures was founded to have someone to keep track of the lectures being aired; not only when and where, but also who and what. The lectures were often of heavy scientific matter which can’t be made understandable by just anyone – let alone being understood through the radio, ie. with the listeners not having the ability to SEE exactly what was going on.
The recipant of the award holds the right (or rather: duty) to perform a number of lectures, which are then recorded and aired on the radio. You can also check out the rest of the Rosenkjær lectures.

I think that part of the reason why Peter Lund Madsen got the award is the first show he made with his younger brother, Anders Lund Madsen (they made three shows in total up until as I write). They’re both extremely entertaining. While Peter is highly academically educated (dr.med., scientist, professor (I believe, don’t hang me up on it) within the brain, and now educating himself within psychiatry – oh yeah, he’s as much a braniac as unhumanly possible. Litterally!), Anders is quite the unconventional journalist. He DOES have formal training, but he’s unconventional. If you want to check Anders out, take a chance on De Sorte Spejdere (The Black Scouts – Peter has had a couple of appearances through the ages) and the video podcast Det Nye Talkshow (The New Talkshow – which is the only show so far which hasn’t finished yet. Peter has had an appearance on here, too, on the New Year’s special).

Another journalist worth mentioning is Clement Kjersgaard. He may not have the same appearance as Anders Lund Madsen, but is equally entertaining. Kjersgaard has academic degrees from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Oxford, and United World College of Hong Kong. He is critical to just about every single one of his guests, no matter who they are, whether he likes them or not, etc. – one podcast worth checking out is Ugen med Clement (The Week with Clement), another one (which is predominantly in English) is Clement i Amerika (Clement in America).

Receiving the news of Stephen Gately’s death, all media mentioning his last Tweet, I quickly got on to following @theREALboyzone, @ronanofficial, @stephenofficial, and @MRMIKEYGRAHAM. Of course, I DO realize there’s not much point in following Stephen Gately nowadays, but still.

Anyhow, to mention some constructive following (yeah, so sue me for being eclectic enough to like some of the boyband music out there!), I believe that we should keep an eye on the country leaders around the World is doing. Now, I only have a minor handful of them on my following list, but here are some:
@BarackObama
@DowningStreet (the office, not a specific Prime Minister)
@LarsLoekke (the Danish prime minister)
@SFpolitik (my party)
@Christiansborg/politikere (a list of Danish MPs).

I’m not too sure of what I’ll be rambling about next week, but I’m thinking music, languages, or travelling. Whaddyathink?

Suggestions? Reactions? Comments?

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