Sigh...I suck at this

So another month without a blog. I am absolutely terrible at this, and I apologize to the five or so people out there who are actually reading this. I was never one for keeping a journal or a diary, and I guess that translates to my abilities as a blogger.

Anyway, let's see...what can I tell you about today. Well, I suppose I should start out with the comic book convention that CarrieLynn and I attended in Copenhagen a couple weeks ago. The Danish Comics Council (seriously!) sponsored a convention that took place in an old converted abattoir (again, seriously), and they brought a lot of American and English speaking comics creators over for the event. We attended the con on Saturday, and the first thing we did was check out an interview with Chris Ware, creator of the great graphic novel, Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. During the Q&A at the end, I got to asking a question, and Ware, who hails from Chicago, was quite surprised to hear from a couple of fellow Midwesterners. Afterward, CarrieLynn and I went over and introduced ourselves to Mr. Ware, and he was just the nicest, most cordial man you could meet. So that was a bit of thrill.

After that, we strolled around the convention for a bit, and picked up a few books. I grabbed the first volume of Vertigo's Northlanders, a series about Vikings in ancient Scandinavia, and a western anthology book from Accent UK, a British comics label. Both books were quite great, and totally worth the rather reasonable price tags. CarrieLynn grabbed a couple more anthologies from the Accent table, and then we tried to sneak into the Kevin O'Neill panel. There was enough room for us to stand in the back, but as they didn't have any microphones set up, we couldn't hear a word he was saying. So we walked around a bit more, checking out all the cosplayers (pretty much all women). We saw Rogue, Jean Grey, and Harley Quinn hanging out with Asterix. Then we attended a panel on "The Great American Graphic Novel" featuring Chris Ware, Charles Burns, and Daniel Clowes, and the discussion was fascinating and illuminating. The same could be said for the entire convention, and it was especially interesting to see how Danish comic book fans are both similar and different from their American counterparts.

That was on Saturday. On Sunday, we went back into Copenhagen with the intention of attending the Robin Hood event sponsored by the Danish Film Institute. Sadly, tickets should have been purchased by the previous Thursday, so we were not able to get in. So we ended up just strolling around the city in the afternoon, which is fine, as that is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite past times. Copenhagen is such an amazing metropolitan city, and I love walking down the street and catching snippets of languages from all over the world. During the walk, we stumbled upon a huge marathon that was snaking its way through the city, and the sheer amount of people participating in the event was breathtaking. After that, we walked down to the Copenhagen Carnival, and spent some time wandering around there, checking out all the different booths and culture that was on display.

As evening descended, we decided to see what was playing down at the Palads theater, and we settled on I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. I'm not going to go into an extensive review of the film here, but I will say that it was pretty hysterical, and Carrey has delivered the fourth great performance of his career. I hear it's getting a theatrical run in the US starting later this month, but that it's going to be heavily edited. In that case, I would suggest that anyone who wants to see it wait until the unrated international cut hits DVD. That way you'll get to see the entire movie.

Yesterday was the 31st, which means that CarrieLynn and I have been a couple for a year now. We celebrated by going into Copenhagen to hit the comic book shops (we are such nerds), and then going out for lunch (Mexican food followed up by some delicious milkshakes from Paradis). Then we stopped at the Ikea store in Høje Taastrup to pick up a few things for the apartment, and then went home to relax. All in all, it was a nice, low-key way to celebrate our first milestone.

This post is getting pretty long, but before I go, I want to mention that we celebrated the birthday of our dear friend, Odul Gursimsek, this past weekend. She and her husband, Ates, came over, and we drank copious amounts of mead, rum, and wine, all while engaging in some highly enjoyable and stimulating conversation. We also had to spend some time consoling Odul after we watched the latest episode of Doctor Who, but a little rum goes a long way toward banishing sadness. As the evening wore on, we decided to fire up something to watch, and everyone settled on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Ates and Odul had never even heard of it, so I was a little nervous introducing it to them, but thankfully it was a hit, and now I think it's safe to say that they are converts to the church of MST3K. We've decided that watching the show now has to be a regular occurrence from here on out, and frankly, I'm fine with that.

Anyway, that's pretty much everything exciting that's happened since the last time I wrote. The next few weeks are going to be very busy, so if I don't write for a while, at least this time I have an excuse. Until then, I will bid you all adieu, and hope you will forgive me for not writing more.

I'm not a very good blogger, am I?

So once again, I've allowed too many weeks to pass between posts. I apologize once again, and will try to be better. Let's see...what can I tell you about this time. Well, last night, Ates and Odul came over and we all pigged out on shepherd's pie and bulgur in tomato sauce. That was quite delicious. After that we watched a goofy but compelling documentary called The Dungeon Masters, which was all about D&D culture. It was funny and sort of sad all at the same time. However, we all had a great time speculating about whether or not the one guy who was in the Air National Guard was actually gay, or if anyone in the film (especially him) would realize it. Then we proceeded to drink copious amounts of mead, giggle over Youtube videos, and play frisbee golf on the Wii. It was all good fun.

Prior to that, on Thursday the four of us went into Copenhagen to take in an English language comedy show at an Irish pub. The line-up of comics consisted of folks from Sweden, Norway, Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. In other words, many of them went for the easy U.S. jokes. I can't say I blame them, as I most likely would have fallen back on the same material. So many people back home are just making it so easy. Really, it's like they want to make us look bad to the rest of the world (and for those who are curious, I'm mostly referring to the Teabaggers here, but not exclusively).

At any rate, things are still going well, and my employers have asked me if I'd be interested in extending my contract until December. I'm thinking about, but I haven't made a firm decision yet. It would mean that I would have a job through the end of the year, which would in turn mean that I would have some good money coming in, but I'm still not sure if I want to be away from home that long. I'm still mulling it over, but I'll be sure to update everyone when I come to a decision (or whenever I update this infrequently updated blog...whichever comes first).

I'm going to sign off for now, but I'll leave you with my review of Iron Man 2 which was published in my hometown paper, the Green Bay Press Gazette. It's a short piece in which I review the film (spoiler! I liked it, but not as much as the first), as well as my experience of seeing it in another country. It can be found here. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to write again. Bye for now! Or as they say in Denmark, hi hi!

Happy Birthday To Me

So I celebrated my birthday in style this weekend, starting on Friday when CarrieLynn and I went out with Ates and Odul to a club called Gimle to catch a performance by Danish electronic band When Saints Go Machine. I'd never heard of the band before last week, but I have to say that they were fantastic, and they put on one hell of a show. The music was excellent, and sort of had a bit of a 1980s feel to it, sort of a cross between White Lies and Haircut 100. At any rate, it was a great show, and everyone seemed to have fun, so the evening was a total success.

Then on Saturday, CarrieLynn and I spent the day walking around Roskilde, eventually making our way to the mall where we pigged out on delicious sushi. After that, we wandered back toward Paradis for ice cream, and then back to our apartment to watch a double feature of Plastic Bag and Crazy Heart. Both movies are quite excellent, and if you haven't seen them, I highly recommend you check them out as soon as possible.

Then today, we went in to Copenhagen to see Solomon Kane, which was pretty good overall, but could have been better. It's a solid genre effort anchored by a really good lead performance from James Purefoy. I would have preferred the film makers eschewed the standard origin story, and rather just have them drop us right into the world of Solomon Kane and fill us in on his back story as we go along. As it is, this is still a decent enough vehicle for the character, and I would recommend it for fans of both horror and fantasy. After that, we walked down the street to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then strolled around the city for a little while before catching the train home.

Overall, it was a lovely weekend, and a wonderful birthday. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would actually get to celebrate my birthday in another country, but I am so glad I got the opportunity to do just that. I'll try to update this post with some pictures later on in the week, but until next time, thanks again for reading!

Christiania, You Have My Heart. Now Give it Back!

Just popping in for a quick update. A couple weeks back, I visited Christiania, which is a very interesting place. It's this free society/hippie commune located in the heart of Copenhagen, and kind of a fascinating case study in communal living. I don't think I would ever want to live there, but it is a pretty cool place to visit. There's a laid back vibe that I really like, and I admire what they're trying to do. If my American friends are interested in learning more about the place, they can check out this hour-long documentary that was released in the early 1990s, and presents a rather compelling look at the history of Christiania.

Other than that, we have a busy weekend planned, with several of CarrieLynn's friends coming over for supper on Saturday, and then going out to see Kick-Ass and eat kebabs with Ates and Odul. I'll try to hop online on Sunday and give you all an update as to how things went. Until then, I hope you enjoy the doc.

I...Live...AGAIN!

So I've sort of been neglecting the blog as of late, and to those who actually follow it, I truly apologize. I figured I'd better pop in and write a quick update of all the things that have been going on since the last entry.

Let's see...a couple weeks back, CarrieLynn and I had our first traditional date in Copenhagen. We went to the National Museum and saw all sorts of great stuff, including Viking antiquities and some Greek historical artifacts. It was very fascinating and exciting, and best of all it was free (Yay Socialism!). After that we walked around the city for a while, stopping off at this little hole-in-the-wall Sushi joint where we had some rather delicious California rolls (CarrieLynn had Philadelphia rolls, and she said they were quite good, as well). Then we headed over to the Danish Film Institute where we saw a beautifully restored 35 mm print of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, which is one of my all time favorite movies. Finally getting to see it on the big screen was an incredible experience for me, made better by the fact that CarrieLynn enjoyed it as well (it was her first time seeing it). All in all, it was a lovely day, and I'm glad we were able to do it.

We've been spending a lot of time with our friends, Ates and Odul, which is very nice. We started out by getting them started on Starfarers of Catan, which they seem to really love, but then last week we went into Copenhagen with them to see Vahalla Rising. Everybody really enjoyed the movie, and then we went out for lunch (I had a pretty tasty chicken taco; you know, I never thought I'd be eating Mexican food in Denmark, but here I am) and spent the rest of the day just strolling around the city. Copenhagen is a truly beautiful place, and it's quickly become one of my favorite cities in the world. Love it.

Ates and Odul also joined us for an Easter dinner, though none of us are really what you could call religious people. We just thought it would be a good excuse for a get together where we could spend time with good people, and pig out on lots of delicious food. CarrieLynn made a delicious ham slathered in a tasty honey mustard glaze (and for her first time cooking ham, she knocked it out of the park), while Ates and Odul brought over Turkish lasagna and potato salad. It was my first experience with Turkish food, and I have to say that I hope it is not my last, as it was quite delicious. After eating way too much (not to mention getting a bit tipsy), we watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's show in which he visits Turkey and samples the local cuisine. That was followed up by some drunken Wii Fit, and then we called it a night.

All in all, I've been having a lot of fun over here, despite the fact that I'm still struggling with the language. It's not proved to be too much of a barrier, though, and has not prevented me from having a lovely time. That's about it, really, and I can't think of any more really significant events that I need to touch on at the moment. I'll try to update the blog on a more regular basis from now, and keep everyone updated on my travels. Bye for now!

Starfarers of Copenhagen

This weekend was quite enjoyable, thanks in no small part to the gorgeous weather and our lovely friends, Ates and Odul.

On Friday night, CarrieLynn and I noshed on some pizza and watched Paranormal Activity, which is pretty much every bit as creepy as advertised. It's been a long time since a movie managed to get under my skin like that, and while it's not without its flaws, I still enjoyed it quite a bit (despite the fact that it made sleeping a bit difficult that night).

Then on Saturday, we had Ates and Odul over to play Starfarers of Catan, which is probably my favorite board game. I was a little nervous about what everyone would think of it, but I needn't have worried. After some initial hesitation, the gang ended up really getting into it, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. The copious amounts of wine and mead may have had something to do with that, though.

Today, CarrieLynn and I took the train into Copenhagen. It was my first time visiting the city, and while the weather was a bit cold and the sky somewhat gray and overcast, I still found Copenhagen to be a lovely and rather exciting place. Since I'm a giant movie nerd, I made sure that our first stop was the Danish Film Institute, where I picked up a couple of posters and a book on Neo-Noir Cinema. After that, we spent the next three and a half hours wandering around the city and taking in the sights. The architecture is amazing, as is the metropolitan nature of the populace. As we walked down the street, we were greeted by a multitude of different languages and accents. While there, I got CarrieLynn a belated birthday present; a pair of amber earrings that she fell in love with when we visited the Amber Museum. We were also going to visit the big comic book shop in town, but it was closed, so we'll have to wait until next time.

For those who are interested, we took lots of pics, all of which can be found here. I'm also hoping that there isn't so much time between blog posts, as now that the weather is starting to get better, we should be able to get out and do more things.

Anyway, until next time, faithful readers!

From Antichrist to the Danish Tourism Board

This was just too funny not to share, and it hits pretty close to home for me right now. The Onion offers up this look at what it might be like if the Danish Tourism Board were to utilize the talents of Lars Von Trier.