Glogster

My main problem

We have a project now, it's exciting. It's about global issues, and we're supposed to pick something and then present it, - an oral presentation and an "academic" hand-in. I'm excited, looking forward to it! Because  I  chose the coolest topic:

overpopulation. It's the grounds to all our problems, if it were not for the huge amount of people on this planet, everything would be different. I'm supposed to tie other subjects into the project, so I'm also doing research on urbanization and why the consuming market will be of less current interest in the future. 

It think it'll be good!

Personal journal entry about my (bright) future...

"Writing a personal journal entry

Write a personal journal entry in which you reflect on your future career and life after upper secondary school. Some thoughts to include are:
a) worries or expectations about going into the 'real world'
b) the kind of job you see for yourself
c) the kind of further education you want to or have to take
d) any secret hopes, fears or desires you have relating to your future"

This task is fun. I get to do something I'm really good at: worrying about my future.
Okay, that was a joke. But there is some truth in it. When I saw the task I was assigned to do, I was relieved. "This is something I do every day," I thought. Because I do. I have a personal journal already. It's like a free place for all my stupid and weird thoughts, so my head won't explode. It's kind of a fusion between some stupid new age therapy and a serious log. I write down things so I some day can log on to livejournal.com (the host), and read my adventures.
  I looked up my most used "tags". Let me explain: a "tag" is a short description, often one word, who in some way says something about the blog post. I will for instance tag this post as "school", "English", "studying" and "future". As I said, I sorted my tags after usage. And what did I see? Some tags were not a surprise, they were called things like "thoughts" and "music" and "school". But there was one more tag that appeared frequently. "Future".
  Why am I so engaged in my future? Well, of course, I should be, but I am more than average interested in it. If a teacher would grade me by how much I think about my future, I would definitely get a "high achievement". I think it's pretty simple, actually: I know what I want. I know what I want to do, I have high expectations about it, and my passion is burning like an eternal flame. 
  If you've read my last post, you know what I want to do. I want to be a journalist. It's in the cards, it's my destiny, my "call" in life. I know it sounds silly, but I'm starting to believe it's true. My dad worked in a newspaper, as an editor and journalist. I grew up with all the newspapers on the breakfast table. I started to make newspaper when I was 10. Back then, the front page was about a lost duckling. Today I sometimes write a column for Aftenposten, a national newspaper in Norway. They have this popular youth section, where teenagers can post their opinions. I get good grades in both Norwegian writing and in the media subject, and I really enjoy having projects about communication, journalism and the media in general.

  I've been thinking a lot about study opportunities. Thanks to my dad and some of his journalist friends, I get to learn about their experiences about the job and the business. I have some thoughts about becoming a journalist, and I will now present them.

First of all, the profession journalist is not uncommon. There are, especially in comparison with earlier, a lot of journalists. And because of the financial crisis, getting jobs will be a lot harder. Media agencies all over the world have had to cut down on employees, including journalists, but also graphic designers and Proof readers. I think and hope that this problem will be settled when I'm finished with my education, and my father says that "the best will always make it, no matter the profession" (okay, now it seems like I have this strict and narrow-minded dad; I don't).

Over to another thing about being a journalist. If you read the newspapers today, a lot, maybe even the majority, of journalists have a "field of expertise". They're not just journalists, many of them don't even have an education as a journalist! They have studied other things, and write about news and issues in their "area". They hold Bachelor's or master's degrees in, for instance, science, social studies, politics, culture, sports etcetera.. This gives the newspaper a depth in their sections. A problem with an "expert" newspaper is that these "experts" aren't journalists, so therefore they can lack a language that's easy to understand, the skill of handling deadlines or to be critical towards their sources.

To be a journalist is a lot of work. There are deadlines, late hours and extra time. It's a demanding job, and a lot of prestige. I know how I work as a person, and being a journalist won't be a problem. I can handle deadlines, I work best under pressure and I don't need much sleep. But I also know that some day, I want to settle down. I want to buy a house, have kids and establish a family. I know what it's like to have a father or mother that's often away. Not that it was any problem, I'm not bitter or sad about it. My dad kind of "gave up" his job because of me and my brother, so he could be more home. Being a journalist is, in the long run, tiring. Therefore, I need a wide education, so that when I calm down, I can do something else.

About my education, there is one thing I know: at some point, I will get my Bachelor's degree in journalism. I want to be the best, so I'll need to study where they offer the best education. There is an urban saying among journalists, that the University of Oslo is the best place to study if you want to work in a newspaper, and Volda College is the best for a future in television and radio. I'm not sure if I want to work in television or in newspaper, but I still have a year to think about that. I've checked the requirements for attending Volda College, and I hope that I will be accepted.

But, as said, I want to be the best. I'm not satisfied with a Bachelor's degree alone. I want something else too, an education that I can use when I settle down, and work as a teacher or something similar. I have thought of three possibilities.

First, there is a Bachelor's programme called North American Studies, at the University of Oslo. I love America, and to learn about pop culture and the influence USA has on the world would be very interesting. Though it is not so relevant to my career in journalism, it would be a good idea to have it if I were to teach. I could be a Social Studies and English teacher.

I am also thinking a lot about studying Criminology, although that is a secret.. I'm a huge fan of crime fiction and whodunnits, and I find crime.. kind of interesting. I would like to learn about criminal behavior, the reason behind crime and such. It could be useful if I were to be a crime journalist. In Norway, we read a lot about crimes in the newspapers, maybe even more than in other European countries. 

The last and most useful and also the most current programme is Media Science (I think it's mostly called "Mass Communication" in USA). I'm a huge fan of the media: I love newspapers and the news, television, commercials, blogs.. When we started blogging in Media, I found out that I loved it. I like having my own place or column where I can comment on happenings, articles and news, so people can read me. I want to influence the daily life of people.

I now realize I had a LOT on my heart. But it's because I look forward to studying and getting a job, that I think so much about it. To tell you a secret; sometimes when I'm supposed to sleep I get so excited thinking about studies and the future that I can't sleep, so I have to play some Nintendo or read some stupid book. Seriously. I look forward to move out, live for myself, get new friends, study things I'm REALLY passionate about and get a job that I enjoy.

My student profile, 5 years from now

Task 1.29, p 49

(a possible student profile for myself,)
five years from now

2015


I knew very early that I wanted to be a journalist. I think it’s my destiny. I worked hard through high school, and got good enough grades to be accepted at Volda College in Norway, right from high school. I got my Bachelor’s degree in journalism, but I was not satisfied. I know that none of today’s best journalists have only one Bachelor’s degree. They all have their own “field of expertise”. I was hungry for more, and I really wanted to study in an Englisk-speaking country. I googled and searched the internet for good universities for hours because of an English task. And I finally found the perfect match.
The University of Brighton offers a master’s degree in “Creative Media”. It’s exactly what I needed and wanted. When I’m finished, I can say I hold a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and have a Master of Arts in Creative Media!
We, the students, have much of the responsibility for how our course will be. UB (University of Brighton) believes in flexibility. There are two core modules for me, since I’m taking a Master’s. They are “Practising Media Research” and “Creative Media Dissertation/Creative Media Project”. Besides the two core modules, I have picked five other options: Media Literacies, Media Ethics, Mediating the Environment, Developing Community Media and Sonic Media. It’s such fun! I’m thrilled that I got to choose what I find the most interesting. The assignments are interesting and exciting, I’m not bored one second!
The tuition fees are not that high, considering the fact that I’m taking an MA in UK. Luckily, the Norwegian Financial Aid for Education, “Lånekassen”, support my degree, since I take it full time, and it’s officially “accepted” as a course in UK. That helps a lot. But that said, UK is not the cheapest country. Though, some things can be bought a lot cheaper than in Norway, for instance salad. In general, the University is so nice and meeting! They have huge resources of advice to students, it’s wonderful! The transition went so easy!
To be accepted, I had to fill out an application form. It was not that hard, as UB are pretty “nice” on international students. The fact that I’m from Norway and took my Bachelor’s at Volda College probably helped. They know Norway’s a rich and well educated country, and Volda College is a public college. There was a language barrier at first, but after some weeks, my American accent got destroyed, and I now talk fluently British.. “Would you like a cup of tea, darling? Splendid!”
One of the main reasons I chose BU, is the location! I’ve been to Brighton before, and I actually lived nearby for a whole summer. It is lovely. It’s almost like I don’t want to finish my degree.. I live in the “halls of residence”. I pay about 50 000 Norwegian kroner, and stay with 5 other people. We all have our own bed room, but we share kitchen and living room, bathroom, shower room and two toilets. It’s kind of fun actually, because the others attend totally different courses than I. We have discussions and watch football and have become good friends. We don’t live far away from Brighton, and in summer and weekends, we go to the beach. I also get to play tennis sometimes, which is lovely.

Studying here has been one of my best decisions ever! I will always remember this time, and man, I have a lot of stories to tell..

Dear diary...

this is a role blog post. I am this writer, director and produced called Bradford Wainwright,  and I'm marrying an actress called Lisa Thomlinson. We had a press conference concerning our marriage.

Dear diary

The press conference went okay. Lisa and I did really well. The journalists were of course a pain in the.. and they were nasty-mean. They had all kinds of questions, and they tried hard to grill us. Luckily, we were both prepared for it.
"How does Lisa feel about you, doing...." must be the line of the day. All the reporters targeted the questions about me TO Lisa. She had to answer how she felt about me doing prostitutes, me having 14 cats (!) and so on. As I said to the reporters: in Hollywood, about 80 percent of everything you hear are just rumors. 

This keeps haunting me. The prostitutes. That was a long time ago, I was another person. It's not like me at all. I'm not that person. I'm not that person who does prostitutes.
I believe God put me on the right track again. I found my goal in life: being a good father and being Lisa's husband. There's nothing more in the world I want.

The press conference was like taking a bullet. But hey, I'm here. I endured it, and now all that's left is the good parts. 

Thank God for Lisa, thank God for my second chance.

The Kite Runner - the book versus the movie

First day back from Christmas holidays. 
just have to say this: our bus doesn't know what time is and it's illegally cold everywhere and when we meet up in our usual class room and there's no one there... my first thought: "what the -swearing censor-, you're kidding me". But then someone whispered "movie in the cinema, the kite runner" and then everything was okay.

OKAY back on track.. my train of thought went off the rail (nice expression, yes, Ellen??)

I admit it, my expectations were high. The Kite Runner was really good. And by that I mean the book. I was looking forward to how they cut cut the book to the bone and make a movie out of it. It was a good movie, really. But I'm thinking it's better for people who haven't read the book. Because I've read the book before seeing the movie and now judging the movie to death, - I'm unofficially a die hard fan. And as much as I get annoyed when other people brag about a book being better than the movie, (people: «the new harry potter sucked!! the book was way better,» me: «shut your pie hole») I'm in that position myself.
Where did the childhood go? That was my first thought. My best reading experience from the book was to read about a childhood in Afghanistan. How they ate pomegrenate and read stories, how the weather was and the market and the kites and everything. So different from my own, so exotic and distant. I thought the childhood part was important in the book. Many pages were used to describe climate and atmosphere and people, but in the movie.. Where did it go? I missed it.
Guilt and jealousy as themes were almost invisible! In the book there were a lot of moments where Amir expressed jealousy, about how his father appreciated the Hazara servant boy as much as his own son (though it's later revealed that Hassan actually is his son). After the rape, Amir is clearly feeling guilt, - he doesn't sleep at night, he cannot look Hassan in the eyes and so on. The movie kind of forgot this.
Where did the harelip go? One of the most remarkable characteristics about Hassan is his harelip. And as a birthday gift, Baba gives him a surgery. I understand that this would be a little difficult to include in the movie, what would they do, operate on the little kid actor?
  How easy can it possibly be to “import” an Afghan child (Sohrab) with no paper records into USA? This struck me as odd. The movie makes it look so easy: you just get the child to the airport and ta-da! He's on a flight to America! It's not like that in the book, as it would be very difficult to get Sohrab out of the country at all, without mentioning USA! The US is known for strict foreign policy when it comes to immigration. And Afghanistan, the country they travel from, didn't exactly have the nicest government at that time.

  I know I sound like chef Gordon Ramsay when he's screaming for risottos, so I'll tell you something I very much DID like. I enjoyed the scene where Amir tells his father- and mother-in-law to sod off. Okay that's not what he does, but Amir stands up for Sohrab. It's a powerful moment. Amir has been a bit apathic about his life, he doesn't take much action. But after he decides to go get Sohrab, he seems to have changed. Because when his father-in-law refers to Sohrab as a Hazara boy, Amir stands up and almost yell that "you shall not not call that boy a Hazara in my presence ever again. He has a name. And it's Sohrab". We've seen that Amir has had difficulties with Soroya's father, because he's very sceptical to Amir and what he wants to do for a living. Though, in the book, he says something like he's proud to have him as his son-in-law when Amir marries. That seems to have disappeared.

There are also some other small things that I heard some of my friends mention, like how Amir doesn't go to the hospital after being beat up by Assef. 

We who read the book could sit on our high horses all day, but truth be told - I think they adapted the book pretty well. The essence is there, and the most important lines ("there is a way to be good again," "for you a thousand times over") aren't let out. And I know that if I hadn't read the book first, I would never have been so critical. Just saying. 

So just to conclude the book and the movie, since this is the last I'll write about it: great book. Good movie. I absolutely recommend the book. It's so well written. It's so warm you can put your hands on the atmosphere that's describe and actually feel it. Really. As I think I have mentioned before, I did not like the ending. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm seeing it through, perceiving it, unraveling the cheap ending. The line that's used through the book, it's just a bit too easy. As I would say it in daily speak, "it's so American". But look past that and the fact that the whole story is just not realistic,  and you have one superb book. Really. Loved it.