In The Valley Of Elah

War veteran Hank Deerfield, gets a phone call from the military saying that his son Mike, who only recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, has gone AWOL (Absent Without Leave). He travels to the military base to see if he can find out of his son's disappearance. Hank is a retired military investigator and is frustrated by both the military and the civilian police's apparent lack of interest in the case. However, Detective Emily Sanders decides to help him out and figure out what really happened to his son. Together they complete the missing pieces, and get the truth about the events that led to Mike's disappearance. All in all, this is a story of how war dehumanizes individuals to the point where the taking of a life makes no sense and where there are no rules.

Oscar nominee Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon star in this excellent film from 2007. It is directed by the amazing writer Paul Haggis, who also made the film "Crash". The story is based on actual events, which makes it even more powerful. The film’s title refers to the Bible, and the valley where the battle between David and Goliath is said to have taken place.

I've seen this movie loads of times and I think it is a great movie which focus on some important issues concering war and the effects it inflicts on a person. It also reflects on how the truth is sometimes difficult to face, because it can be brutal, and you don't want to believe it even though the facts are right in front of you. I like the ending of the movie, where Hank is raising the flag upside down, which is ment to be a message on how the country is in need of help.

An American Visitor In Class

Last week, in class, we got a visitor; Lee Ann Potter from America. She had recently moved from America, after taking a leave of absence from her job in Washington D.C, so that she could visit students here in Norway and have lectures. She told us about the US system of government and some stories of her own, which was truly interesting. One of the topics she talked about was the constitution. She had also brought fascinating hand-outs to look at. She even showed us a film clip from the 1970’s which was made by the network channel ABC to learn kids about the government and the constitution. I found this lesson very interesting and she was a great speaker and lecturer, which helped me to understand the US system of government a little bit better. I think we should have more foreign lecturers in class because it is very educational.

Here is the clip from the  Schoolhouse Rock program about the Preamble

Milk

Last Tuesday we saw the movie "Milk" in class. In this American biographical film from 2008, Sean Penn potraits politician and LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) activist Harvey Milk. The story covers how he became the first openly gay man to be elected into the public office in California. In addition to showing us his upsides and downsides in his career as well as his personal life. Harvey Milk was of great importance to gay people all across America. He fought for their rights all through his life until he was killed by another politician in 1978.

The movie is directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black. Actors starring is Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch. It received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, winning two for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Sean Penn and Best Original Screenplay for Dustin Lance Black.

My impression of the movie is divided. I think the story is very powerful and a huge part of American history that has to be told. The actors do an excellent job playing these characters and the movie surely deserve the prizes it has been awarded. However, to be completely honest, the movie is not really the type of genre that I usually prefer. I didn't find it very exciting.

On the other hand, all in all, it is a quite brilliant movie which I actually would recommend to others. Because of the important story on how the gay people carried out the fight for their rights. It was the beginning to where we are today, and this movie gives us the journey on how we got there.

The Winner Takes All

"Politics is about power, about winning power and using it to do what you think is right."
Britain is ruled by a democracy. In other words, the people decide who wins the power and who gets to be in charge. They arrange their democracy through representative government. The representatives sit in parliament. They make all the decisions that have to be made, and change the things that needs to be changed. How the representatives are chosen is through an election, where the people of Britain casts their vote on who they believe should run the country.

So, on Election Day, which is always on a Thursday, the polling stations are open all day. In the UK, it is a "first-past-the-post" system, this means that only one candidate is elected, and that is the candidate witht the most votes. There are no extra seats in the House of Commons, it is the winner who takes all.

The British system of government consists of the prime minister, who is the leader of the strongest party, a parliament, which makes the law in addition to passing the budget and watching over the goverment, the house of commons, that  includes 646 representatives who are called Members of Parliament (MP), and last but not least; the house of lords.

Norwegian Sports

Biathlon is the English term used for the Norwegian winter sport "skiskyting". It combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Another variant of biathlon is during the summer, where it is combined cross-country running with riflery. The sport is quite popular and has many fans all over the country. Our most famous biathlon athlete here in Norway is Ole Einar Bjørndalen, who has won championships loads of times.

The competition consists of a race in which contestants ski around a cross-country track. The contestants must ski as fast as they can, in addition to hitting a target while standing and in prone position. The contestant's totalt running distance/time will change and extra distance or time will be added depending on the shooting performance. And as in most competitions, the winner is the contestant with the shortest total time.

Lions For Lambs

The film is about how an American senator, a reporter and a college professor are all connected. The senator is meeting up with Janine, a reporter, to cover a story of what is happening in Afghanistan and what the plans are for the future by presenting a new war stragety. This plan may risk the fates of the two soldiers Arian and Ernest, who are stuck in the field on Taliban ground, wounded and alone. The two were students of Professor Malley at the college. Now the professor is reaching out for another student, a very bright student, who has becomed absent in his class. He wants to encourage the student to get more involved in the American society, and change the situations without joining the army.

To Our Korean Friends

On my way to school today I was really freezing, even though I got my jacket on.. The snow has not yet arrived, but it is still quite cold outside. This is the beginning of Winter, the last season of the year. We have four seasons in Norway; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. During the winter we have low temperatures, hence the warm clothes. Meaning because of the weahter you have to dress properly. However, the sun tends to shine sometimes, and when it does, it gets quite hot outside. The worst thing to happen is rain. If it snows and rains at the same time, it is horrible. It melts together and forms a thing we call "sludd", this is an awful and very gravy-like mixture of the two, it is called "sleet" in English.

So how is your weather in Korea? Do you ever experience a cold day on your way to school? :)

Chasing Pavements

In class, we read an excerpt from the novel "Down and out in Paris and London" written by George Orwell.The plot is mainly about poverty and how the life of a tramp is like. Orwell's description and the way he portraits it, is very thorough. We are led into a world where people treat you quite horrible. However, Orwell writes that it as not so bad as he thought it would be.The surroundings and thoughts are well described and it gives you a inside look of what it is like being a poor man trying to earn his money and make it through the day.

Here is a link to The New Yorker, where you can read some other comments about the book.

World War 1

The character of warfare was transformed during the WW1. There was a new way of fighting and new weapons used, such as artillery and tanks. The manpower was over a million, and this kind of war was a whole new experience for the majority. This war was more of an horror for the soldiers, in contrast to WW2, where the civilians were involved as well.

The soldiers certainly did not expect what they were about to enter. Therefore the soldiers started to write poems, which were mainly about how they felt and what they experienced during the war. They focused on the hope for life and the fear for death, instead of love and romance.

My Hometown

My hometown is a place called Hosle, which is located not far from Bekkestua and Østerås. The few attractions you can experience is our local store Kiwi, the famous Sauejordet, where there are a lot of animals such as cows, horses and sheeps, wandering around. Our stadium Nadderud Stadion, which was the former soccerstadium of Stabæk. Now the stadium is used by different athletics. Hosle has a population of 7 650 people, and whenever you take the bus or go for a walk you rarely meet an unfamilier face.

Also, did you know that the famous rap duo Erik & Kriss is from Hosle?

I have lived there for about 8 years now, and I attended the elementary school and middle school. There is also a high school placed nearby, only 10 minutes from my house, which is called Eikeli. However, I decided to attend Sandvika VGS.