Alternativmessen = Alternative Fair

Palm readers, clairvoyants, Native Americans, UFO seekers, and...climate change? I just spent the weekend at Alternativmessen, the largest alternative living fair in Oslo and, as you can see from the list, "alternative" has a fairly broad meaning in Norway.

From the table where I was volunteering with a environmental organization (Framtiden i våre hender) it was like watching a circus go by. On one side we had a HARD CORE animal rights group handing out pamplets and across the way was a stall filled with crystals, dream catchers, raw hide, and fox tails that you could clip on the back of your pants to look like Daniel Boone. I was surpised that the two groups didn't confront eachother at some point.

But really, the most intriguing thing about the event was the diversity. Out of the woodwork came the "alternative" community of Norway. People in handmade costumes, crazy hippies with dreds, importers of peruvian shawls, and row upon row of tarot card readers and reike practioners. A real live Indian from South Dakota was offering autographs. A few tents where offering "scientifically" produced photos of people with their "auras" for just 200 kroner. (Geeze!) And then the best one was a station where you could get an "ionizing" foot bath and watch the water turn black and brown until it looked like tar. There must have been a little something extra in the bubbling pump to add to the drama of it all.

At our table we offered free buttons, fair-trade coffee, magazines, and a carnival game where you could knock down cans representing CO2 emissions to win a documentary film called the 11th hour, with Leonardo DeCaprio. Seems a little ironic that we had to compete for attention with crystal worshipers and believers in extraterrestrials.

Weekend in London

Snø = Snow

Bilder/photos: (http://picasaweb.google.com/roaring.tree/First_Snow#)

Første Snø = First Snow
Jeg var veldig overrask at vi hadde snø ønsdag. Det var bare 29 Oktober, to dag før Halloween. Min kollegaer sa at vi skal ha snø, men jeg trodde at de snakket om fjellene i Nordmarka og ikke sentrum av byen.

I was very surpirsed that we had snow on Wednesday. It was just October 29th, two day before Halloween. My coworkers said that we would have snow, but I thought they were talking about the mountains in the Nordmarka and not the center of the city.

Jeg sto ved vindu og kikket og kikket i morgenen. Jeg kunne ikke tro at der var sant. Men gaten var ful ny, hvite snø. Jeg gikk på kontor langsome. Jeg gikk på veier og i den graveplass og ned trapper og langs Akerselva. Det var så pent, vakker, og kaldt. Over natten, byen har forandret til en eventyr land.

I stood by the window and looked and looked in the morning. I couldn't belive that it was true. But the street was ful of new, white snow. I walked slowly to work. I walked in the streets, in the graveyard, down stairways, and along the Akerselva river. I was so attractive, beautify, and cold. Overnight, the city had changed into a wonderland.