Category Archives: A Moistening of the Eyes

Stranger than Fiction

By terje | Published: March 30, 2009
Watched Stranger than Fiction again tonight, and I was happy to discover that it was as good on the second viewing and in company as it was on the first and alone. The plot is a bit hard to describe without ruining it all, as discovering what the hell is going on is one of the [...]
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Art, Awe, Bliss, Glee, Goosebumps!, Love, Movies, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Recommendations, Review, Speculative fiction, Television stuff, Yay! | 9 Comments

Fight Club

By terje | Published: December 30, 2008
I watched Fight Club again, a couple of weeks ago. It’s been a few years since the last time I watched it, but I still clearly remembered the plot. What struck me this time was how well the movie has kept; for a movie with such a major plot twist, it is remarkable how great [...]
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Art, Awe, Bliss, Goosebumps!, Irony, Love, Movies, Music, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Recommendations, Revelations, Review, Whoa | 5 Comments

YES! (And a call for assistance)

By terje | Published: December 4, 2008
Yesterday, I got got an e-mail notifying me that I have been accepted as a student at the Norwegian Institutes at Athens and Rome next semester! Along with about 20 other students from various Norwegian universities, I’ll be spending first six weeks, from January 26 to March 6, in Athens, followed by six weeks, [...]
Also posted in Bliss, Dumb luck, Education, Glee, Gloating, Goosebumps!, Gratitude, Great Expectations, Greek stuff, Help!, History, Hodge-podge rambling, Hope, Lists, My microcosmos, Optimism, Pride, Roman stuff, Strategy/Plans, Whoa, Yay! | 24 Comments

When I first read this, I imagined for a moment that 1204 and 1453 had been nothing but bad dreams. Reality dawing on me felt like a fist in my guts

By terje | Published: November 21, 2008
“Constantinople was an impregnable city …” — Robert B. Kebric, Roman People (4th edition), epilogue.
Also posted in Greek stuff, Grief, Hallucinations, Hist2125, History, Hope, Irony, Language, Literature, Love, Medieval stuff, Misery, Nostalgia, Oh noes!, Pain, Quote of the day, Regret, Roman stuff, Wistfulness | 3 Comments

An English villager’s complaint

By terje | Published: October 15, 2008
Ye friends to truth, ye statesman who survey The rich man’s joys increase, the poor’s decay, ‘T is yours to judge how wide the limits stand Between a splendid and an happy land. Proud swells the tide with loads of freighted ore, And shouting Folly hails them from her shore; Hoards e’en beyond the miser’s wish abound, And rich men flock from [...]
Also posted in Art, Awe, Education, English, Goosebumps!, History, Language, Literature, Nostalgia, Poetry, Politics, Quote of the day, Wistfulness | 4 Comments

WALL-E

By terje | Published: September 20, 2008
As I went to see WALL-E (from now on Wall-E, as Nature abhors a shout, even though it’s supposed to be an acronym) last a couple of days ago, I was feeling highly ambiguous and thus also a bit scared. You see, my hopes for this movie were nothing short of astronomic, as just about [...]
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Ambiguity, Art, Awe, Bliss, Glee, Goosebumps!, Great Expectations, Hodge-podge rambling, Hope, Impressions, Irony, Love, Movies, My microcosmos, Optimism, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Potential, Rant, Recommendations, Relief, Review, Speculations, Wistfulness, Yay! | 11 Comments

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

By terje | Published: July 17, 2008
2008. 536 pages (Gollancz Fantasy trade paperback). “Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.” — Paul Gaugin. This being the opening quote of Last Argument of Kings, the concluding volume in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law series, one can perhaps perceive that this is a bleak affair. As I remarked in my reviews of the first [...]
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Ambiguity, Art, Awe, Conflicting emotions, Death, Discomfort, Evilness, Goosebumps!, History, Literature, Misery, Oh noes!, Pain, Panic, Paranoia, Pessimism, Recommendations, Regret, Review, Speculative fiction, Whoa, Wistfulness | 13 Comments

Amadeus

By terje | Published: May 12, 2008
Had quite the movie-athon yesterday. Here’s part two, Amadeus, with three and four coming as soon as I can find the time to read them. Amadeus is often portrayed as the lifestory of one of if not the best musical composer in the history of mankind. (Disagree? Go listen to his Requiem while you wait for [...]
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Art, Awe, Bliss, Goosebumps!, Love, Megalomania, Misery, Movies, Music, Opinions, Recommendations, Revelations, Review | 6 Comments

A Message from the Lost Son: Why I Love Heraclius

By terje | Published: February 21, 2008
“The Persians were applying inexorable pressure on what remained of the empire. Heraclius was faced with a stark choice: he could either wait for the Persian grip to tighten, fighting a series of rearguard actions which offered little chance for ultimate success, or he could throw caution to the wind and take battle to the [...]
Also posted in Awe, Bliss, Byzantium, Conflicting emotions, Education, Goosebumps!, History, Links, Literature, Love, Misery, My microcosmos, Nostalgia, Quote of the day, Recommendations, Wistfulness | Leave a comment

Veronica Mars, season 3 ep. 9…

By terje | Published: December 5, 2007
Spoilers inside.
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Awe, Goosebumps!, Impressions, Love, Ms. Mars, Television stuff, Whoa, Yay! | Leave a comment