your fortnightly boat.

this is the norwegian spy vessel, marjata (III)! her wedge shape was a revolutionary maritime advancement back in 1992, designed to stalk the russian military in the roughest of northern seas. needless to say, the russians can't stand her, and often try to run her off. just like whale wars but for people. read this, it's chock-full of drama, as well as  a sneak peek at the marjata IV!

marjata, i can see your halo lifeboat.

NFC

This is what a Norwegian Forest Cat looks like pic.twitter.com/7wUAIKb3Mv

— Animal Life (@fabulousanimals) September 30, 2014

nErD aLeRt!

Designed by a Swedish artist named Jonas Dahlberg, the plan is more land art than architecture. On the island of Utøya, where the gunman gained access to a summer camp by dressing in a police uniform and showing a fake ID on July 22, 2011, Dahlberg proposes creating a massive gap of water and air. By slicing a huge section of the island's landmass away, he would create a steep fjord through the site where the shooting occurred—a void that he describes as "a wound or a cut within nature itself." (via)

remember when her shoelace broke right before her go at the olympics!

this is an interview with the director of an ESPN documentary about tonya harding and the you-know-what with nancy kerrigan.  im going to watch that

 

keekerz speakerz

i just love this new ylvis song. the video is a little silly, but it's worth it.

thx jenny!

ctmol

Norwegian scaredy cat Basse Andersen has such a hair-trigger panic button that he's become something of a media sensation in his homeland. (via)

nErD aLeRt!

beautiful library ribbons by norwegian firm, helen & hard.

spotifriday

I made my first spotify playlist!  Come on over and listen to Nordic Tracks, a tastefully crafted assortment of artisanal music petifores from those ice covered tall and blonde countries.  Special thanks to Kiki for helping me remember so many different artists.

You know, I heard joe paterno picked up nordic tracking once he put on a wig and stopped covering up child rape.

nErD aLeRt!

coolest memorial project ever.

Architect Peter Zumthor designed this memorial on an island in Norway to commemorate suspected witches who were burned at the stake there in the seventeenth century.

The Steilneset Memorial in Vardø comprises two structures, one conceived entirely by Zumthor and a second housing an installation by the late Louise Bourgeois. (via)

The installation by Bourgeois, entitled The Damned, The Possessed and The Beloved, occupies the smoked-glass-clad second structure.

what jail looks like in norway.

this is kind of old news, but i took a took a vacay from the news while in portland, so i'm just getting caught up. what a nicely designed and pleasant space!

If a prisoner should grow tired of such depressing confines, he can always head out to the climbing wall, the recording studio, or the communal kitchen. "In the Norwegian prison system, there's a focus on human rights and respect," prison governor Are Hoida explained last May. "We don't see any of this as unusual." (via)

side note on norway:

Countries track recidivism rates differently, but even an imperfect comparison suggests the Norwegian model works. Within two years of their release, 20% of Norway's prisoners end up back in jail. In the U.K. and the U.S., the figure hovers between 50% and 60%. (via)

oh yeah, congrats!

our president, Barack Obama, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. congrats barry.

wtf?

UPDATE:
The magazine quotes Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who identifies it as the failure-prone Bulava ballistic missile, launched from a submarine. McDowell said the Russian Navy is in the right geographical position to launch it. He added that Russia has denied that it was their missile, but "this could be because another Bulava failure is a huge and embarrassing setback for their programme." (via)

thx g!


does anyone want to explain this?

this is a picture of what the sky looked like wednesday morning in norway. not cool.

2 things i liked from this week's snl