Easter Crime, Holocaust, Games, Mrs. Fields Peanut Butter Oatmeal Ranch Cookies
Something Awful thread link for my own reference later. It's a follow-up to this thread. Do NOT look if you don't want to hear about secretions and such! :P
Today's Norwegian Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
It's murder in Norway at Easter. Rushing off to their mountain cabins for one last ski before the snow melts, Norwegians are also stocking up on thrillers for a national tradition known as "Easter Crime." Sales of crime books jump around 500 percent in the week leading up to Easter, estimates bookshop chain Tanum. Television and radio programmers schedule back-to-back thrillers over the Easter break, which in Norway lasts 5-1/2 days. "People sit inside their cabins, watch crime on television, and then read crime books at night," said book reviewer Ane Farsethaas, who prefers 19th-century British detective Sherlock Holmes to the modern thrillers most of her compatriots devour. "It's a very Norwegian thing to do," she said. Nobody knows when the Norwegian tradition of crime telling at Easter began, but their warrior ancestors -- the Vikings -- were renowned for raiding trips to the British Isles.
On their return, the Vikings would settle down with flasks of mead (an alcoholic drink made from honey), and recount tales of murder and pillage to their women and children. This April, Tanum's top 10 bestsellers are all crime novels, headed by Swede Stieg Larsson's new book Men Who Hate Women. "I think it's something to do with being in your cabin," Lars Slethov, a 28-year-old student, said. "You come back from a day's skiing, relax in your cabin by watching crime on television, and then reading it later." Log cabins dot Norway's rugged countryside -- covered by forests, mountains, and deep fjords -- and are used by Norwegians to escape from the towns on weekends and holidays. The United Nations has rated Norway the best place to live in the world for the last five years. Oil revenues ensure its people are among the richest in the world and they enjoy one of the lowest crime rates. Hanne Roer, 30, was heading off to a library to pick up a handful of crime novels before leaving Oslo for Easter. "I really don't ever normally read crime novels," she said. "It's just at Easter, it's a sort of tradition."
Culled from: Yahoo News
Generously submitted by: Bruce Townley
**********************************************************************
Need I mention that my paternal grandparents were both from Norway? :-)
Sorry about missing a newsletter yesterday - I quite simply lost track of time. Last night, I went with some friends (yes, surprisingly enough, I do have them) to a fantastic theater called Hollywood Blvd in Woodridge, Illinois where you sit in comfortable high-backed chairs and can order food (real food) and drinks (real drinks) during the movie. Those of you in the Chicagoland area should really check it out!
We saw Grindhouse - the new Tarantino / Rodriguez film. The movie replicates the experience of watching a G-movie double feature in a rundown theater (a "grindhouse") in the 70's, and it's absolutely brilliant. The first feature, by Rodriguez, is a funny, chaotic take on the zombie movie genre. The second feature, by Tarantino, stars Kurt Russell as a psycho who uses his car to kill women... until he messes with the wrong group of women. I preferred the second film, myself, but my girlfriend (who is much more of a horror movie buff than me) LOVED the first one.
Probably the best part of the experience is that the films contain missing reels and abundant scratches and missing frames to give it that vintage grindhouse theater look. Also, the intermission is filled with funny fake trailers for such would-be movies (would B-movies?) as Don't, Werewolf Women of the S.S. and Thanksgiving. Such great fun.
If you've seen the trailer for this one and thought, "That looks dumb" (as I did), give this one a chance. I doubt you'll be disappointed. And definitely try to see it in the theater. You'll lose the Grindhouse effects on the small screen.
Grindhouse Official Website
*******
Morbid Sightseeing!
K. has a sightseeing suggestion for Berlin:
"I don't know I would strictly say this is a morbid sightseeing example, although if you include the museum underneath, it might qualify. Regardless, it certainly is worth a wander through, if you are in that part of the world.
"In 2005, I was backpacking through Europe, and made a point of getting to Berlin to do a tour of the city. On the tour, we stopped at many places... including the remaining sections of the wall, Hitler's hiding place, and the Holocaust Memorial. It was the memorial that intrigued me the most. It is made up of hundreds of pillars all of differing heights, and placed on the ground which was a series of dips and rises. Our guide explained that part of the reason for the design was to show how you might meet up with people for a while, but then turn off and only see people for a second before they disappear behind another pillar, which was an effort to show how people passed each other in the death camps during the Holocaust as they were shifted around.
"The thing that really intrigued me was part of the controversy of the memorial. Each pillar is covered with what they call an 'anti-graffiti agent,' made by a company called Degussa, making it possible for any graffiti to be easily washed off. Yet Degussa also makes Zyklon B Gas, which was used by the Germans in their gas chambers during the Holocaust.
"A lot of people on the tour thought this was appalling; however, I thought it to be quite fitting. Sure, it could more than likely come down to their bottom line and how much profit / publicity they could get from it. Hell, that is what business is about, after all. But I prefer to think that they saw how they had contributed in such a horrific way, and this is some small way of saying sorry.
"There are heaps of articles about it on the Internet, and here are just a couple of them where I checked information.
"I have attached a photo I took while in the middle of the memorial. You can see how the ground looks like a wave, and how high the pillars get. It really is quite unnerving being in there after hearing all the tales of what happened."
There are some more photos that show the full memorial here.
*******
Wretched Recommendations!
Katie has a vintage gaming recommendation for us:
The Residents: Bad Day on the Midway (PC / Mac)
"I used to have this, and I am going to buy it again. It's a great game that fits well into our morbid interests."
Here's the description:
"A twisted 3-D graphical adventure from the minds of the Residents, the infamous and anonymous rock and roll band / performance art troupe. The player explores the world of a demented carnival midway by inhabiting (possessing) its freakish denizens. Events appear differently when viewed through the eyes of different characters. Each time the player leaps into a new character, his or her story is told via a graphic novel drawn by a well-known comic artist. Visit the 'Kill a Commie' shooting gallery as Oscar the Racing Rat, or watch a sperm whale give birth to an electric eel as Dagmar the Tattooed Dog woman. Strangeness abounds when you have a bad day on the midway."
Mrs. Fields Peanut Butter Oatmeal Ranch Cookies
Categories: Cookies
Yield: 42 servings
3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1 cup Oats: old-fashioned or quick
1 cup Light brown sugar
1/2 cup Butter; softened
1/2 cup Creamy peanut butter
1/4 cups Honey
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl... combine flours, baking powder, and oats. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed to form a grainy paste. Blend together the peanut butter, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the flour mixture, raisins, and sunflower seeds. Blend at low speed just until combined. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 23-25 minutes until bottoms turn golden brown. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool, flat surface.
Today's Norwegian Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
It's murder in Norway at Easter. Rushing off to their mountain cabins for one last ski before the snow melts, Norwegians are also stocking up on thrillers for a national tradition known as "Easter Crime." Sales of crime books jump around 500 percent in the week leading up to Easter, estimates bookshop chain Tanum. Television and radio programmers schedule back-to-back thrillers over the Easter break, which in Norway lasts 5-1/2 days. "People sit inside their cabins, watch crime on television, and then read crime books at night," said book reviewer Ane Farsethaas, who prefers 19th-century British detective Sherlock Holmes to the modern thrillers most of her compatriots devour. "It's a very Norwegian thing to do," she said. Nobody knows when the Norwegian tradition of crime telling at Easter began, but their warrior ancestors -- the Vikings -- were renowned for raiding trips to the British Isles.
On their return, the Vikings would settle down with flasks of mead (an alcoholic drink made from honey), and recount tales of murder and pillage to their women and children. This April, Tanum's top 10 bestsellers are all crime novels, headed by Swede Stieg Larsson's new book Men Who Hate Women. "I think it's something to do with being in your cabin," Lars Slethov, a 28-year-old student, said. "You come back from a day's skiing, relax in your cabin by watching crime on television, and then reading it later." Log cabins dot Norway's rugged countryside -- covered by forests, mountains, and deep fjords -- and are used by Norwegians to escape from the towns on weekends and holidays. The United Nations has rated Norway the best place to live in the world for the last five years. Oil revenues ensure its people are among the richest in the world and they enjoy one of the lowest crime rates. Hanne Roer, 30, was heading off to a library to pick up a handful of crime novels before leaving Oslo for Easter. "I really don't ever normally read crime novels," she said. "It's just at Easter, it's a sort of tradition."
Culled from: Yahoo News
Generously submitted by: Bruce Townley
**********************************************************************
Need I mention that my paternal grandparents were both from Norway? :-)
Sorry about missing a newsletter yesterday - I quite simply lost track of time. Last night, I went with some friends (yes, surprisingly enough, I do have them) to a fantastic theater called Hollywood Blvd in Woodridge, Illinois where you sit in comfortable high-backed chairs and can order food (real food) and drinks (real drinks) during the movie. Those of you in the Chicagoland area should really check it out!
We saw Grindhouse - the new Tarantino / Rodriguez film. The movie replicates the experience of watching a G-movie double feature in a rundown theater (a "grindhouse") in the 70's, and it's absolutely brilliant. The first feature, by Rodriguez, is a funny, chaotic take on the zombie movie genre. The second feature, by Tarantino, stars Kurt Russell as a psycho who uses his car to kill women... until he messes with the wrong group of women. I preferred the second film, myself, but my girlfriend (who is much more of a horror movie buff than me) LOVED the first one.
Probably the best part of the experience is that the films contain missing reels and abundant scratches and missing frames to give it that vintage grindhouse theater look. Also, the intermission is filled with funny fake trailers for such would-be movies (would B-movies?) as Don't, Werewolf Women of the S.S. and Thanksgiving. Such great fun.
If you've seen the trailer for this one and thought, "That looks dumb" (as I did), give this one a chance. I doubt you'll be disappointed. And definitely try to see it in the theater. You'll lose the Grindhouse effects on the small screen.
Grindhouse Official Website
*******
Morbid Sightseeing!
K. has a sightseeing suggestion for Berlin:
"I don't know I would strictly say this is a morbid sightseeing example, although if you include the museum underneath, it might qualify. Regardless, it certainly is worth a wander through, if you are in that part of the world.
"In 2005, I was backpacking through Europe, and made a point of getting to Berlin to do a tour of the city. On the tour, we stopped at many places... including the remaining sections of the wall, Hitler's hiding place, and the Holocaust Memorial. It was the memorial that intrigued me the most. It is made up of hundreds of pillars all of differing heights, and placed on the ground which was a series of dips and rises. Our guide explained that part of the reason for the design was to show how you might meet up with people for a while, but then turn off and only see people for a second before they disappear behind another pillar, which was an effort to show how people passed each other in the death camps during the Holocaust as they were shifted around.
"The thing that really intrigued me was part of the controversy of the memorial. Each pillar is covered with what they call an 'anti-graffiti agent,' made by a company called Degussa, making it possible for any graffiti to be easily washed off. Yet Degussa also makes Zyklon B Gas, which was used by the Germans in their gas chambers during the Holocaust.
"A lot of people on the tour thought this was appalling; however, I thought it to be quite fitting. Sure, it could more than likely come down to their bottom line and how much profit / publicity they could get from it. Hell, that is what business is about, after all. But I prefer to think that they saw how they had contributed in such a horrific way, and this is some small way of saying sorry.
"There are heaps of articles about it on the Internet, and here are just a couple of them where I checked information.
"I have attached a photo I took while in the middle of the memorial. You can see how the ground looks like a wave, and how high the pillars get. It really is quite unnerving being in there after hearing all the tales of what happened."
There are some more photos that show the full memorial here.
*******
Wretched Recommendations!
Katie has a vintage gaming recommendation for us:
The Residents: Bad Day on the Midway (PC / Mac)
"I used to have this, and I am going to buy it again. It's a great game that fits well into our morbid interests."
Here's the description:
"A twisted 3-D graphical adventure from the minds of the Residents, the infamous and anonymous rock and roll band / performance art troupe. The player explores the world of a demented carnival midway by inhabiting (possessing) its freakish denizens. Events appear differently when viewed through the eyes of different characters. Each time the player leaps into a new character, his or her story is told via a graphic novel drawn by a well-known comic artist. Visit the 'Kill a Commie' shooting gallery as Oscar the Racing Rat, or watch a sperm whale give birth to an electric eel as Dagmar the Tattooed Dog woman. Strangeness abounds when you have a bad day on the midway."
Mrs. Fields Peanut Butter Oatmeal Ranch Cookies
Categories: Cookies
Yield: 42 servings
3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1 cup Oats: old-fashioned or quick
1 cup Light brown sugar
1/2 cup Butter; softened
1/2 cup Creamy peanut butter
1/4 cups Honey
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl... combine flours, baking powder, and oats. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed to form a grainy paste. Blend together the peanut butter, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the flour mixture, raisins, and sunflower seeds. Blend at low speed just until combined. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 23-25 minutes until bottoms turn golden brown. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool, flat surface.
Labels: 2005, alcoholic drinks, books, comics, easter, golden, holidays, katie, kids, morbid, murder, reading, recipes, snow, something awful, true crime, tv shows
posted by Flami at 2:52:00 AM
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