Conscious graffitti

As soon as I saw this bit of wisdom in Tou Scene I had to capture it & broadcast it to the world!

Small World

Now, as we all know, 10 hours is a long time to fill so the right seatmate is crucial to maintaining sanity. Fortunately I had great seatmates, one of whom slept most of the way to Houston and the other who was from Aberdeen & had been allowed on the plane with his family, a plastic baggie with keys & IDs and his sense of humor intact. No pens, carry-on luggage or anything else that might have given him a dangerous advantage on the 10 hour flight. As he saw every other person enter the plane with a reasonable amount of their worldly possessions--and booze from the duty free shop--he laughed & said 'my wife is going to kill me, we're like refugees from Scotland with our little plastic bags!'

We continued our conversation and soon discovered that both of our fathers were in the British Army in Egypt in the mid-1950s. He gave me his father's info and I promised to check with my dad when I got back to Texas. I spoke with my father that evening and he not only remembered this other guy, but actually found a photo he was in. I talked my dad through the scanning process and am now awaiting the CD with the photo so I can email it to my seatmate and reconnect the two Army buddies...50 years and 1000s of miles later.

rg

Out of the Bubble....

While I was in the lovely Norwegian bubble, it seems that the world went a bit wacky.

Due to the news out of the UK, there was a bit of concern about international flights back to the US. The only indication of anything amiss was a small sign at the KLM counter in Stavanger advising that each passenger could only carry one bag onto the flight. I happily checked my 2 packed bags, however I also had a purse and a computer, neither of which I wanted to trust to the great black hole of airline baggage. The woman behind the counter said I could take both on the flight with me to Amsterdam but she couldn't promise anything past that. I had to go through the duty free shop to reach the gate and found it amusing that passengers were purchasing all the items they had not brought to the ticket counter. Especially amusing to me were the folks loading up on duty free liquor since I tried to imagine what they would do should they have to consume their purchases before boarding the plane...quite a feat at 6 in the morning, lol.

Got into Amsterdam, one of the best airports in the world...no doubt Netherlands residents on a budget just hang out at the airport for their vacation since it seems to have everything you could ever imagine. Getting through passport check and onto the plane was simpler than I expected...and I didn't have to give up the computer to the great gaping maw of the baggage world!

rg

'Home' to Stavanger

Another relaxing train ride and back to Stavanger. We decided to take it easy for my last night in Norway since the flight to Amsterdam was at 6:50a. We had an amazing dinner at a great restaurant called Tango and then headed out for a last look at the moon over the fjord before I bid a fond farewell to a lovely town.

rg

Grimstad

From the harbor in Grimstad we left on another bus ride to Fjæreheia where an amazing cultural evening at the Agder Theatre awaited us. We were fortunate to have Joen, Henrik Ibsen's great grandson read anAft epic poem and Helene Boksle performed traditional Norwegian songs with modern pop arrangements. The drama of the evening was heightened by the backdrop of the old quarry and the incredible energy of the musicians that reverberated off the ancient mountains.

The juxtaposition of the ancient with the modern is one of the elements of my Norwegian adventure that struck me quite often because it's absolutely necessary for these towns to honor their history while engaging the future. Here in Texas we have modern cities and rural towns and I have rarely found places that strike an equitable balance between the two. As we develop the cultural relationship between Austin & Kristiansand, I'm excited to learn how to create and sustain this balance so that we can develop deeper connections between the urban & rural communities here in Texas, thereby strengthening the economic viability of entire areas, which is one of the goals of Envision Central Texas here in Texas.

After the concert, we headed back down the mountain to Grimstad and to an incredible evening under the tent at the harbor which was a testament to the engaging hospitality of the Norwegian people. We were greeted by the same performance artists who had enlived the bus trip, though this time some were on stilts and others were closer to the ground. Upon entering the tent we were each given a small brown bottle labeled APOTEKERLAERLINGENS URTEDRAM which contained a special brew of bitters with herbs from the Grimstad area. This JubileumsBitter was specially created to honor Henrik Ibsen and is 35% Alcohol by volume...perhaps Agder Brenneri is just continuing the artist/alcohol tradition I first noted in Stavanger, lol. The next sight to see was a Hulde in full vibrant green splendor. She apparently had already tempted enough men that night as she was well apart from her temptress identity.

We made our way to an empty table and proceeded to enjoy an awesome evening of great company, delicious food and the warmth that comes from shared experiences. The time flew by and soon it was time to head back to Kristiansand and rest up before the train ride back to Stavanger the next day.

rg

KjøleFolken, part 2

The panel discussion after the showing of BTMD featured Larry B, Hilde Hefte and Kjetil Nordhus who confirmed that independent musicians face similar challenges all over the world. Larry did point out that there are 1,000+ independent music labels in Norway which is pretty significant for a country of only 4.5 million people. One of them is Little Label which was begun by my host Daniel Norgard as a way to promote NUD and has evolved into both a home for other other up & coming bands and a model for other music entrepreneurs.

The next part of the conference required a short bus ride. We all loaded onto the travelbus and set off for Grimstad, the home of Henrik Ibsen Norway's most globally recognized dramatist...his are the plays that actors the world over aspire to perfom, including Peer Gynt, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, An Enemy of the People and many others. On the way to Grimstad, the tourbus took an unexpected turn into an apparently abandoned warehouse district & pulled into one of the warehouses. The doors were swiftly closed behind us and we were in complete darkness. Suddenly Devo-like music sounded and eerie lights appeared and we could see that there were strangely garbed aliens slowly moving down the length of the bus holding red lights. The doors of the bus swooshed open and a couple of people entered, one holding a light, the other holding a clipboard. They peered into each set of seats as if looking for an escapee, the lead investigator [who had dreadlocks to add to the mystery, lol] leaned close to me as if to take me out of my seat but was stopped by a firm 'Nein!' of his investigative partner. They then went back to the front of the bus, grabbed a man out of the front seat and left the vehicle. The doors to the hanger opened and we quickly got back on the road to Grimstad & the rest of that day's adventure.

rg

KjøleFolken

I met some superkjølefolken at the konferanse. I've already told you about Daniel and, just like it is everywhere, fugler av en fjær samler sammen so he connected me to some pretty interesting folks over there.

I had a long conversation with Larry Bringsjord who, among many other things, is the CEO of FONO. As we chatted we talked a lot about the importance of having a bit of creative/cultural chaos in any project to shake up the status quo and break loose any stagnation that might be impeding creative flow. As an example, he told me of a project he's putting together with a Lakota Indian poet in South Dakota which will include singers from Senegal & well-known Norwegian musicians. However, as soon as he said the words 'South Dakota', I stopped him and said "you're kidding!" and went on to explain that I was also in the process of developing a project with the Lakotas in South Dakota using the iCREATE model of economic development through the cultural legacy arts. We were both a bit taken aback that Larry from Oslo and Ruth from Austin came to the same moment in Kristiansand to compare notes on future work with the Lakota tribe in South Dakota. Maybe that's just another day at the office for some of you, but for me this type of unexpected cultural collision is one of the greatest pleasures of my job!

We then went into the auditorium to see a great film created by two men here in Austin called Before The Music Dies. Andrew Shapter & Joel Rasmussen are two talented filmmakers who worked together to create a film that "...takes a critical and comedic look at the faceless machinery of the American music industry and the increasingly bland mediocrity it produces." The film debuted at SXSW 2006 and has received critical acclaim & enthusiastic audience support. Joel is sheperding the film during its European vacation and is in Edinburgh today hosting its international debut. Once Joel & his family return to Austin, we're going to work on deepening the connection between Austin & Kristiansand through music & film exchanges and, eventually, create a Sister City connection to expand the cultural, economic and creative channels between the two municipalities.

The day didn't end there, I'll be back with more.

rg

Skandinavisk Opplevelseskonferanse 2006

According to one of my new favorite websites TriTrans, 'opplevelses' roughly translates to 'adventures' or 'experiences' in English. Which makes the name of the conference I attended in Kristiansand Scandinavian Adventures Conference...well, at least in my version of Norglish. The conference brought together participants from Norway, Sweden & Denmark to 'avrunder en trilogi some har generert og stimulert viktige relasjoner. Initiative, vilje, kunnskap og fellesskap kan and bor level sidere.'

No doubt you had already suspected as much.

rg

Kristiansand

Upon my arrival in Kristiansand, I was met by Daniel Norgard...a whirlwind of creative energy who is industriously working to expand the cultural energy of Norway. In addition to being an accomplished musician [check out his music: Nud Music] who is ground zero for all kinds of cultural waves flowing through southern Norway. He's come up with some creative ways to promote his own music [partnering with a local bakery to sell the 'NUD' sandwich] as well as as other bands in the area. In his role with Cultiva he has developed a very cool creative incubator in old military housing at the harbor end of the city. Some of the tenants are Green Carnation who in turn developed Sublife Productions a production & booking agency to help nascent bands develop. One of the truly original residents of the incubator is CrapTV. The founder reminded me of Iggy Pop and the stories told by others later that night of some of his better known events as the Punk Prince of Norway confirmed that, lol.

When Daniel & Terje were here in Austin for SXSW last March, I took them to Lockhart Texas for BBQ. To return the favor, they had a Norwegian BBQ at the creative incubator which featured delicious grilled laks [salmon]. After the meal, we took a short* walk to the summit of the hill where there were old German bunkers left over from WWII. We looked out over the harbor and, since it was approaching 10p, saw the beginning of the sunset over Kristiansand. [For any of you considering travel to Norway, one of the most enjoyable aspects of being there in the summer is experiencing the extended hours of daylight, the sun begins to rise about 4:30a and doesn't fully set till 11p!]. After the BBQ, we walked back to town to Charlie's Bar which is where all the musicians go to drink when they're not playing and play when they're not drinking...most can multi-task and do both, lol. One of the features of the bar is that all the framed photos are of famous Charlies...Charles de Gaulle, Charlie Parker, Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Brown...you know, all the big ones ;-)

rg

The Train to Kristiansand

One of the great things about Europe is that you can get just about anywhere comfortably and affordably on the trains. The journey from Stavanger to Kristiansand took about 3 hours and, when I wasn't napping peacefully, I was struck yet again with the amazing beauty of the Norwegian countryside. It's lush & green with cute Nordic style cottages against a striking background of sheer rock mountains that drop off into deep blue fjords & lakes. I do have to say that opening your eyes after a relaxing nap and noticing the sheer drop to your left is better than coffee to get the adrenaline flowing. I arrived without incident and was met by Daniel, a familiar face from Austin via Norway which once again proved to me that although we enjoy exploring the new, there's nothing more comforting than something or someone familiar to make us feel at home no matter where we are in the world.

rg

Tou Scene

We spent Monday morning with Line Roreng the director of a very cool creative space called Tou Scene, which is an arts space that is in an emerging neighborhood in Stavanger. It is located in an old beer factory and they're in the process of developing a thriving arts collaboration with participants in all the performance arts. Like many central city neighborhoods in the US, the older communities near the shore in Stavanger are ready for a new infusion of creative energy. There are many high-cost apartments being planned which are leveraging the creative energy inherent in Tou Scene to draw future residents. The neighborhood committee is working closely with Line to create a coalition of support that will work to ensure that the creatives that are reinvigorating the place will still be able to afford to live there. I directed her to ArtSpace in Minneapolis a city in which, coincidentally, her sister will be studying this fall... gotta love how the Universe connects the dots!

rg

they were right....

As promised, it has begun to rain in Stavanger

We had a long fun day today exploring the mountains and trying to solve the mystery of the 100s of piles of neatly stacked rocks. There is a legend that the mountains are actually either sleeping trolls or those trolls who were turned to stone when they ventured into the sunlight so one theory we're working on is that the little stacks of rocks are incubating trolls.

I'll keep you informed as our research continues.

rg

Warning: It may rain tomorrow!

One of the funniest--and most consistent--phrases I've heard from everyone here in Norway comes about when I express delight at the great weather here. Each person, regardless of the situation, smiles, agrees and ominously says....'yes, but this is not typical...it may rain tomorrow!' In so many ways this typifies the Norwegian need to keep happiness contained, to keep the beauty in a box so you can always admire it safely. They are some of the most fun-loving people I have ever had the pleasure to meet, however they are very clear that you enjoy the good while it's here because it may disappear tomorrow.

This is a country whose original 'ambassadors' were the Vikings who went out in the world and, um, strongly encouraged the parts of other cultures that interested in them to come back to Norway. The citizenry was rewarded for this extended reach by the the arrival of the Black Death on a ship from England in 1349 that wiped out 2/3 of the population and cast the future of the country in grave doubt. Needless to say, Norwegians kept a low profile and limited their interaction with foreign elements after that. They may have stayed in that mode were it not for the discovery of North Sea oil in 1968 which brought them to the attention of the larger world once again. As oil becomes ever more important in the modern world, Norway is at a crossroads as to how to interact with the world. There is great joy that they have the security of financial strength, however they are cautious about spending that wealth on anything frivolous beyond governmentally-endorsed initiatives which would make them appear to be gloating about their fortune...especially since the last time they flexed their power in the world they were gifted with the Black Death, lol.

Given the history, their caution is understood...however, a bit of risk is called for to reinvent the Norwegians role in the world. Towards that end, part of the discussion that Elin & I are undertaking during my visit here is the need for a new generation of Cultural Vikings who will take up where Erik Blodøks (a/k/a Erik the Red or Erik Bloodax) left off. We'll trade the blood for paint, the axe for the stone carver's chisel and the fear of destruction for the joy of creation.

And we'll press on even if it rains tomorrow!

rg

Amor Fati: Love Your Destiny

Denne formel skal du fatte
This formula you should understand
som din sterkeste befrier:
Understand it as the greatest liberator:
Du har valgt din sti i krattet.
You have chosen your path through the bush.
Ikke skjel mot andre stier!
Don't worry about other paths!

Elin shared this poem by Andre Bjerke as we were discussing the rather amazing workings of destiny that connected us in Austin in January 2004 and led to me being in Stavanger just over 2 years later. With the amazing opportunities & people who have shown up to help the iCREATE vision along, we have to believe that all is well because we have each embraced our destiny and accepted the path that we're walking... following the bees & the butterflies, lol.

rg

Flykten av Honningbien

An interesting phenomenon since I've been here is that I have been followed by honeybees everywhere we go. I used to have an aversion to the little creatures due to a childhood experience in which I stepped on one and got stung badly. However, now that I have learned that they are divine messengers that symbolize love, service, gathering and community--and also portend prosperity--my fear has magically disappeared! Bees show us there is success and satisfaction in working together harmoniously while still enjoying the sweetness of life.

So, go forth today, welcome bees into your life and share the honey of the divine with those you meet.

rg

Nøkken, Draugen & Hulder, Oh My!

After what is becoming my afternoon routine of a nap, Elin & I took a walk by the fjord and watched the moon rise in all its pink-tinted glory. We sat on a rock by the shore and admired the mirrored quality of the water while she told me of all the monsters of Norse mythology, some who live in the fjord, others come out in the fog after moonrise and still others live in the waterfalls. As the sky grew darker, she suggested that we make our way back to her house just in case the local monsters had heard us talking and were planning on welcoming me to Norway. Happily, they continued sleeping and we made it home just fine. We head to the mountains tomorrow so perhaps we'll see some there!

rg

Gro Persson

Before I left Austin, Elin wrote & told me that we were going to meet with Gro Persson, I laughingly told Keith that it seemed that fate was bringing me to exactly the right person to promote the GroHome. As we chatted last night with Elin's friends they asked me what my plans were for today and I said, 'We are meeting with Grow Person' and everyone began laughing. Naturally I was curious as to why so they told me that the correct pronounciation was Grew Peerson (like Drew Pearson). I laughed along with them and said, I prefer my fantasy that she was an original force of nature inspiring people to grow, lol. I shared that with her as we met today and she also laughed & said she liked that concept too. Gro is an architect who has been tapped to create a Knowledge Center on a historic city block in Sandnes, which is about 20 minutes from Stavanger by auto. Elin made the connection between us since they are creating a planetarium in the project that is similar in scope to what the Friends of the Austin Planetarium are developing in Texas Austin Planetarium.

We spent a few hours with Gro talking about the Knowledge Center and the iCREATE project & the ways that we could work together going forward. She asked how long I would be in Norway to see if I could stay till the end of August & attend some meetings with her with potential supporters...Keith will be very happy to know that I firmly declared that I'll be heading home on the 12th, LOL.

One of the many interesting stations in Abel's Attic--which is the pilot version of the Knowledge Center--is a camera that measures your body's hot spots. The hottest areas show white on the screen and as I was standing in front of the camera Gro asked me if I was a healer. I asked why and she told me to look at the screen where I saw that the palms of my hands were pure white. I told her that, yes, I practiced Reiki and that led to an interesting discussion about Austin & the many kinds of healers who are drawn there. She was very interested and I have no doubt that we'll be seeing her in Austin one of these days!

rg

Stavanger City Limits

My first day in Stavanger was spent exploring the town a bit. We walked down cobblestone streets in 'Old Stavanger' which is where the alcoholics & artists used to live but is now filled with the moneyed crowd...guess some things are the same the world over, lol. Old Stavanger comprises 173 wooden buildings from the turn of the 18th century. Most of them are small, white cottages. Stavanger has received several awards for its efforts to preserve Old Stavanger. This was one of three pilot projects carried out in Norway during the United Nations' Architectural Heritage Year in 1975. Many galleries and handicrafts' boutiques are located in this section of town. And even a few artists!

They're having a warm summer this year, it was about 80 yesterday and everyone was out enjoying the sun. August is the time of year that most of the country goes on holiday so there was a lot of activity & great people watching at the harbor, quite a mix of Europeans but lots of Americans too because of the oil industry. Stavanger is the sister city to Houston so, as always, there is quite a connection to Texas no matter where you go.

The whole city of Stavanger is being prepared for the big events of 2008 when it will be recognized as the European Capital of Culture in partnership with Liverpool England. As many of you know, in 2004 I was on the committee to promote Austin as the first American Capital of Culture but the City decided not to pursue that opportunity, so seeing it all come to fruition here is of particular interest to me. You can keep track of the exciting projects celebrating Stavanger 2008; their 'sister city' for the year is Liverpool '08.

After spending some time in a cafe, we walked to the oldest church in Norway which is called 'Stavekirke'. According to tradition the cathedral was built in the year 1125, after Sigurd Jorsalfarer named Stavanger as a cathedral city. Bishop Reinald of Winchester was responsible for its construction. The church was built in Anglo-Norman style, probably by English craftsmen. The church' patron saint is St. Svithun, and it is reputed that his arm was one of the church' original relics. In 1272 the cathedral was damaged by fire, after which it received a new chancel built in the Gothic style. Stavanger Cathedral is the only Norwegian cathedral from the Middle Ages that has retained its original appearance and been in constant use. Elin told me that Sigurd's last name means 'Jerusalem traveler' and the common belief is that Bishop Winchester didn't exactly volunteer to come and build the church...which is probably why they have St. Svithun's arm as a relic since it all came about because Sigurd literally twisted the Bishop's arm as he forced him on the ship to Norway!

We then met Elin's friend Mine near the city center and went to a new cafe called 'Bøker og Børst' which translates to 'Books & Booze'. It's located in a newly revitalized part of the city and reminded me of Abbot Kinney in Venice CA. One of Mina's acquaintances joined us and when he heard I was from Austin was excited to tell me that he had just bought a few of the Austin City Limits' new DVDs. That led to a thought that perhaps they should start a show called 'Stavanger City Limits' highlighting the local music here...hence the name of today's report!

We're off to a bit more touring today...and I promise to have photos tomorrow! I hope you're enjoying this peek at Norway as much as I am :-)

rg

90 Minutes to Norway...

I've arrived safely in Amsterdam after a quiet flight...I'll board the flight to Stavanger in about 30 minutes to get this adventure kicked off.

We arrived as the sun was rising over the clouds and saw a plane pass underneath us which was kinda trippy ....haven't actually seen one quite that close. But I felt confident in our captain since I saw him in the lobby at the hotel in Houston and he assured me that he would get us all here safely, and he did, lol.

I'm still kinda amazed that I'm here and that all the planning for the last 4+ years is becoming real thanks to Elin & Daniel who have become the Norwegian angels I couldn't have begun to imagine way back on April 17, 2002 when the first inkling of the iCREATE vision began to emerge.

That's all for now. I am a bit tired since I haven't slept since yesterday and we have a 7 hour time difference, but It's exciting to be traveling again & that you're joining me on this Norwegian journey!

rg