The Pulse, week of 9.5.10

On Monday the 10th fans of cinema can enjoy two short films at the Ringen Kino. The showing is part of Kort på Ringne, a series allowing audiences to watch new, relevant short films and give short film directors an opportunity to show their latest production. The first film, Konto og Gitar, tells the story of a teenage boy as he opens a bank account to save for the guitar of his dreams and the bank teller in charge of his account. In the second film, Annika, a daughter travels to Poland to find her missing father. The past soon begins to haunt her and she starts to realize why her father left in the first place. Both films are in Norwegian and start playing at 17:30, free tickets can be picked up at the kiosk.


If you’re looking for more time outdoors, stop by the Oslo Opera House on Tuesday. Koro, the professional body for art in public spaces is revealing a new work by Monica Bonvicini entitled She Lies. Constructed of stainless steel and semi-transparent glass the sculpture is 12 meters high and weighs over 300 tons. Modeled after the painting Das Eismeer, depiciting a shipwreck in an ice field, the sculpture is designed to withstand its location in the harbor. 18:00 marks the beginning of the thirty-minute ceremony at the Opera House, where a percussion orchestra and synchronized swimmers will perform. Attendance is open to the public on the roof of the Opera House.


Wanting something to do during the weekend for free? Dubious is a small club concept at Sound of Mu with a focus on experimental electronic music. This week they're hosting the Oslo based electronic based artist and DJ, Sharku. A wide range of inspirations from instrumental hip hop, modern bass music, and South Korean films characterize his style of music. Also performing is another local artist of a similar, DJ Indiana Ross. The show starts at 21:30 at the Sound of Mu and goes until 1:00. Check out their myspace page for a better idea on how they sound.

Apologies, Pulse

Hello loyal listeners and blog-followers!

First, an apology. You may have noticed that the show from last Sunday (April 18) sounded suspiciously similar to the show from the week before. In fact, it was the same show. Now, we were completely prepared for a new show this week. However,

due to circumstances out of our control, we when showed up at the radio Sunday morning we were locked out of all the recording studios and the key was nowhere to be found. So we did the only thing we could do--put on a re-run, then went to a coffee shop and mourned the fact that we couldn't put on a new show. Oh well. We've now made sure that this will never happen again, and now we have more time to perfect our show for next week--about creativity and inspiration. So you can look forward to that, and in the meantime, here's the Pulse for this week, straight from me to you:

--Emily

The Pulse, 19.4 – 26.4
Monday through Thursday--Norwegian National Ballet: Streetcar Named Desire
Stellaaaa!! The Norwegian National Ballet is performing a dance version of Tennessee Williams' celebrated play A Streetcar Named Desire, choreographed by American ballet dancer, choreographer and director John Neumeier. Neumeier has become something of a choreography legend with his sense of drama and ability to tell a story through dance. Accompanied by music from Prokofiev and Schnittke, come watch this famous story of fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her difficult meeting with the steamy, urban ambience of 1940s New Orleans and her sister’s raw yet attractive husband Stanley Kowalski. This is also a great opportunity to visit the inside of the opera building, whose main stage lies 16 meters under sea level. The cheapest seats cost only 100 crowns, and a student discount is offered for more expensive seating. A Streetcar Named Desire is showing at the opera house this week on Monday through Thursday at 7pm, and several more time in the coming weeks. Order tickets online at www.operaen.no.

Wednesday--Debate: International students vs. Norwegian students: isolation and integration
International students, how many Norwegian friends do you currently have? Do you feel like you’re a part of Norwegian society, or are you isolated from it all? This is one of our favorite discussion topics here at Snakker Ikke Norsk, and we don’t want to miss the hot debate that will take place this Wednesday on integration of international students into Norwegian college life, brought to you by the Kulturutvalget. Participating in the debate will be representatives from SiO, International Student Union, the Buddy System and the Norweigan Student Society. This is a chance to hear what the people who are in charge of introducing internationals to Norwegians have to say, as well as get your own questions answered. The debate will take place this Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the library of Chateau Neuf. Entrance is free.

Thursday--Museum Lecture: Marimekko designer Erja Hirvi
The National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design is currently exhibiting a retrospective of textiles, fashion and accessories from the Finnish brand Marimekko. Marimekko was established in 1951 and its clothing has since been admired and worn by many famous women, including Jackie Kennedy. After a sharp downturn in the early 90s, the brand was saved from bankruptcy and made a comeback in the late 90s, where its designs were worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. Come see the exhibition for free, and then attend a lecture by Erja Hirvi, one of Marimekko's foremost young designers. In the lecture she will talk about her work as a textile designer for Marimekko, and about what inspires her as a designer. The lecture will be given in English and will take place on Thursday (April 22) at 5:30 pm in the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (Kunstindustrimuseet), located at St. Olavs gate 1. There will be musical entertainment in the form of Finnish folk songs performed on clarinet and cello, and refreshments will be served. Entrance is free.

Pulse, 11.4.2010

1. We cannot have this weeks edition of the Pulse without talking about Novafest, Radio Novas annual culture and music festival. This year it takes place next week, on friday April 16th and saturday April 17th at Blå. Novafest is much more than music, although the festival sports bands such as Casiokids, Mount Erie, No Kids and Megaphonic Thrift. Especially the saturday offers debates, interviews, art installations, food and a market. For more information, see www.novafest.no. Day passes are 150 NOK, festival passes are 250 NOK - a little more than our usual limit of 100 NOK per event, but this is one is worth it!

2. If rock music is too loud for you, perhaps the fairy tales and romances of classical composer Robert Schumann are more down your alley. Schumann is a representative of German romanticism and famous for ruining his career as a solo pianist by experimenting with mechanical contraptions that were supposed to improve his finger strength and instead crippled him. He switched to composing and his vast talent is reflected in the more than hundred compositions he produced in his lifetime. On monday, Students from the Norwegian Academy of music will perform several of Schmumanns magical compositions. The venue is the Norwegian Academy of Music right next to Chateau Neuf, the time is 7PM and the entrance is free.

3. Somewhat more traditional, but still free of charge, is the performance of Norwegian singer-songwriter Thomas Dybdal next tuesday, 7PM, in Internasjonalen. The bar Internasjonalen on Youngstorget is itself one of Oslo's hippes venues, but the concert is made even more special by the fact that it is recorded and broadcast live on NRKs acclaimed show "Lydverket". Tickets are free, but are distributed on first come - first save basis, so send an email to lydverketpublikum@nrk.no to sign up. And it pays to hurry up, there are only 100 tickets available!

4. Spring is here and you cannot dive head first into the Norwegian outdoor lifestyle too soon. If skiing hasn't been your cup of tea, outdoor barbecueing just might. It is sedentary, social, if weather permits: sunny, and you can have a beer while admiring one of Oslo's many beautiful parks. So round up your friends, buy an engangsgrill and supplies and find your spot in the sun. This "event", the coming of springtime, is, for all we know, free of charge.

Snakker ikke Norsk, sunday 21st of March

We are off to a long Easter break, but we are going to keep you entertained with the best from our archives. Our last show before the break was filled to the brim:



Aneta reported on the Thriller dance record that takes place in Prague, Czech Republic, later this year. For more information, join the facebook group.



Maya invited two members from the Norwegian Azerbaijani Youth Organization, who arranged a special spring equinox concert in Oslo this week. Here, we also heard a piece of Norwegian music, Anitra's dance from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite, performed on a tradtional Azerbaijani instrument, the tar.



Ioana went to Blå to dig into the illustrious history of Oslo's biggest quartet, Frank Znort Quartet. Every sunday Frank Znort Quartet puts their very special spell on Blå and its audience with their mix of jazz, swing, blues and world music. But there is far more to the band than meets the eye.



Finally, Nurallah sought out an academic perspective on Norwegian society and sat down to talk to UiO researcher Thomas Hylland Eriksen about some hard questions: Norwegians oil - blessing or curse? Are immigrants a problem? And what exactly are the Norwegian core values?

If you missed our show today, catch the rerun on monday 12-13, or listen to our show as often as you want at www.radionova.no.


HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Celebration of nerdy-ness

I forgot to mention on the show that today is Pi Day! March 14, 3.14—get it? I guess it only works in America because we write the date with the month first and the day second. In my high school Calculus class we celebrated by bringing various kinds of pies to class and chowing down. My favorite is apple, but there are so many other possibilities: blueberry pie, blackberry pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie... Mmm. Happy Pi Day everyone! Five years until the mathematical celebration of the century...March 14, 2016. 3.1416. It will be madness!

--Emily

Pulse, 14.3.2010

The big day in Oslo's cultural life next week is wednesday. Three worthwile events take place on this day alone.

1. In Parkteatret on Grünerløkka you can watch the American Oscar-winning documentary "Hearts and Minds". Released in 1974, the movie takes its title from a quote by former US president Lyndon B. Johnson who said that the outcome of the Vietnam War would depend on winning the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. Since the Vietnam War is long over, the movie may now be watched in the context of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Hearts and Minds" screens at Parkteatret on wednesday the 17th at 6.45PM and tickets cost 80 NOK.

2. The second event taking place that wednesday is a debate titled "Iran and the West at a Crossroad". The debate is arranged by the "Culture and Debate Society" at Chateau Neuf who also are in the process of establishing an all English section. This debate, although arranged by the Norwegian branch, is in English as well and sports a five man panel consisting of journalists, researchers, an Iranian human rights activist and the Israelian ambassador to Norway. The debate takes place at Chateau Neuf on wednesday the 17th at 7PM. The entrance is free.

3. The third event to kick off on wednesday is the "Eurodok" film festival which takes place at Cinemateket the movie theatre of the Norwegian Film Institute in Dronningensgate. And if you already decided on one of the other wednesday events - don't worry: The "Eurodok" film festival lasts for five days, from wednesday the 17th until sunday the 21st. Topics range from Iceland to pianos to homeless people to homosexuality to Burma to -- well, check out the full program at eurodok.no.
There are more than 6 hours of movies every day, tickets for individual movies are 80NOK -- 50 if you buy a membership for Cinemateket -- or 200 NOK for the entire festival.

4. Finally, already on tuesday you can watch a movie which not only is pure fiction but is firmly rooted in a genre that could not be more rich in cliches: The Western. Chateau Neuf's own filmclub, Cinema Neuf, screens the Italo Western classic "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly". Director Sergio Leone redefined the visual style of westerns, Clint Eastwood plays the nameless, squinting hero and Ennio Morricone wrote the unforgettable soundtrack. "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly" is a tale about gold, war, betrayals, big explosions and one of the most memorable showdowns in western history. The movie screens at Chateau Neuf tuesday the 16th at 7PM and tickets cost 60NOK, 40NOK if you are a member of the student society.

International branch of the Culture and Debate Society

In last Sunday's show, we talked with Dunja Cetkovic and Janet Holdcroft who are CEO and press officer of the new international branch of the culture and debate society at Chateau Neuf (CEO and press officer is exaggeratedly formal, they're both down to earth people really).

As mentioned, everything is still in a start-up phase. A facebook group is coming soon; a first event on international criminal law on April 11 is already in the works. Members of the International Students' Union will be invited to the new group as soon as it established. To join ISU on facebook go here.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian branch of the culture and debate society, simply called Kulturutvalget, already offers some lectures and debates in English. To read more, visit their webpage or join them on facebook. The first upcoming events in English are a debate on Mexico 100 years after the revolution (Wednesday, March 3) and a debate on Iran and the West at a crossroad (Wednesday, March 17).