This is some of what I did on my summer vacation. My wife and I traveled to Bergen. It is a beautiful city on the west coast of Norway.
Speedboating over the Lofoten Maelstrom (360 video)
The wife and kid took me out on the open water to explore the waters surrounding Lofoten, Norway. The speedboat (rip) that we traveled on was an interesting way to see the fish and wildlife in the area. Our guide Theresia said that the waters on this day were fairly calm and peaceful. If that is the case it must be crazy out here when the sea is rougher.
New York Cine Radio: Dawg Fight and the Wave
This week the New York Cine gang and I talk about the documentary, Dawg Fight, which looks at the world of unsanctioned backyard boxing matches. We also discuss the Norwegian disaster movie, The Wave, and Continue reading “New York Cine Radio: Dawg Fight and the Wave”
Down to the wire
Don’t worry, baby girl. I got this!
I saw my girl off to the airport today as she heads to Norway for a few weeks to catch up with family and friends. We are gonna miss her. The upside, the kids and I are planning a series of wild parties. She said that she would be checking in to see if I can handle two weeks alone with the kids. Oh I can handle it. The DJ booth and the full bar should be installed by tomorrow afternoon, just in time for the weekend! Let the debauchery begin! I just have to make sure that the kids don’t starve–or worse: have a steady diet of pizza and McD’s burgers & fries! But that might be so bad. I heard that the tomatoes in Pizza counts as vegetables. The same goes for the lettuce on top of a Big Mac.
I am wondering if I can get something like this completely done to the house before she returns.
http://thechive.com/…/girl-drops-30k-converting-house…/
No Sleep ’til Brooklyn part deux
This was my first bike ride since returning home from Oslo. I have been getting over a cold for the past week or so. I think my body has been rebelling against the NYC air quality and humidity. I had trouble getting to sleep because my legendary insomnia was in full effect as a result of the new job. Since I was wide awake I decided to go for a little late night ride. I was still missing Oslo but I felt pretty good all things considered.
I had forgotten how much I love NYC at night. I stopped biking in the city more than a year ago after being Continue reading “No Sleep ’til Brooklyn part deux”
Really dumb stuff I did over my summer vacation
Bicycling in Norway is very different from the riding that I familiar with in NYC. The bike routes in Oslo are particularly spectacular. You can go from the suburbs to the city and then to the country within the space of an hour. The trails are rarely flat because much of the Norwegian terrain is made up of hills. So you generally find yourself struggling up steep hills or flying down sharp mountain trails. With that said, I decided to go for a fairly challenging and long bike ride this afternoon.
I had recently purchased a ContourROAM Hands-free HD Camcorder
Here we go again
It is a damn shame that we are having this discussion yet again today. The murder of 27 people in Connecticut, 20 of them small children between the ages of 5 and 10, once again highlights a unique problem with American society. I have been watching the television coverage for most of the day with a mixture of sadness and calm acceptance of the reality of the world we live in today. I wasn’t sure of whether or not to add my two cents since I have recently become NRA certified with a pistol and have taken up range shooting as a hobby. As a child of the 70’s and a a resident of NYC, where we have some of the most strict gun laws in the country, I would be a Continue reading “Here we go again”
The Land of Fire and Ice
I was very sad when our last day in Oslo came around. We had a great time in Norway and I was not looking forward to going back to NYC, or more specifically, going back to work. The only upside to leaving Norway was that the wife had planned a little side trip for the family a few months back. She had always wanted to visit Iceland and thus set up a stop off for us in Reykjavik before heading home. I had never been spent anytime in Iceland beyond having a short layover in the Reykjavik airport so I was anxious to finally experience another Nordic country.
We we first arrived I have to admit that I wasn’t really impressed with Iceland. The trip in from the airport had us traveling past a rocky and barren landscape that went on for miles. It reminded me of the pictures that we got back from the Mars rover. As we got closer to the city the terrain began to soften somewhat. What shocked me was that it was still August and the locals were already wearing down coats. We stayed at what I was told was the tallest building in Iceland, the Grand Hotel. The fact that the hotel was only about 15 stories tall gave me a genuine chuckle. We then checked into our hotel and went for an early dinner.
The restaurant that we ate at, Veitingahusio Italia, had some of the best Italian food I had eaten in years believe it or not. Luckily had the early meal because by 11pm everything was pretty much closed down. And this was on a Friday night. I cannot imagine how it must be in the winter.
Day two in Iceland was much better, but it was still pretty cold. The wife took us to the Blue Lagoon outdoor hot springs to combat the chill in the air. I am not kidding when I say that is was the hot springs were the most relaxing experience that I can remember. I went in thinking I would stay for about 30 mins to get my money’s worth and I ended up staying in the warm mineral water for close to six hours. I looked like one of the California raisin
If I can’t be famous, I’ll be infamous!
The martial artist in me is conflicted by the recent turn of events in Colorado, and the anniversary the mass murder in Oslo, Norway. The Norwegian gunman had more than an hour to hunt down and attack his victims. More than an hour, which means that he had to stop and reload at multiple points. As a person that trains in self defense based arts, I can’t help but think about what I would do if faced by such a threat. Would my training make a difference? Would I freeze or rise to the challenge? Are the arts that I am studying really effective in real combat situation? In truth, I don’t have any answers. I would hope that be able to protect myself and my loved ones. Or at the very least make the son of a bitch regret picking me or mine as a target.
My father was gunned down when I was fourteen as he was closing down his candy shop for the evening. The murderer was never found. Even as a young man I often Continue reading “If I can’t be famous, I’ll be infamous!”