Monday, January 25, 2010

Radio Interview FM4

I was interviewed regarding Icesave and its referendum in beginning March on the Austrian radio station FM4 (in English) by Steven Crilley.

Listen:

http://sites.google.com/site/annaclaessen/radio-interviews


Note: i also talked about what would happen, why people would choose each one

YES: To get this Icesave over with, get loans so we can focus on rebuilding our economy. Avoid financial isolation.

NO: It´s not fair, UK and The Netherlands get 1.5/2.0 percent profit out of this deal and control over our natural resources. And as Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson (Iceland Ambassador in Washington) said: "saying yes to icesave is like a victim saying it was ok that they did this to us."

If the Icelanders say no, a referendum from August 2009 will take place (apparently better than the one we are voting for now).

We, the Icelandic people, will pay, its just a matter of how.

I also mentioned that the Icelandic government should take responsibility, move forward and act in the best interest of the people.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Golden Globes




So let´s talk about the Golden Globes. I was so happy when I saw the live broadcast on Prosieben…in ENGLISH!!!! (that´s a record, because the TV is always in German). Needless to say, I pulled an all nighter and watched both on Tv as well as the internet. Yeah, that´s right.

On the Facebook site of the Golden globes you had a video of a couple of interviewers live on the red carpet as well as the hotel of where the ceremony took place and you could on your facebook ask the reporters to ask the stars some of your questions. So it was very interactive. The same was shown on the Golden Globe site, Nbc.com and then there were two other sites live only on the red carpet (e-online and tvguide)

Ricky Gervais opened the ceremony. I´m a big Gervais fan but I have seen him better, which I think is his point. He´s not into the whole black&white gala, big ceremonies type of thing, he mocks them, so if you know ricky, you know he was mocking the whole thing. Talking constantly about the actors being most important (mock), before introducing the actors he mocked them and of course he mocked himself. People loved when he mocked Mel Gibson


http://www.youtube.com/v/X8mmrMIDrhE&hl=en_US&fs=1&



But my favourite was the Angelina Jolie one
“You could be in the third world and you get a glimpse of a Hollywood star and it makes you feel better. You could be a child, a little Asian Child with no possessions and no money, you see a picture of Angelina Jolie and you think …. Mommy”
and referencing NBC quarrel with Conan O´Brian

“let´s get on with it, before they replace me with Leno.

and the interaction between Steve Carrell and Ricky. Steve signaling “I´ll kill you”. They´re hilarious.

Ricky then showed off all his products The Office, Intervention of lying and site, saying  “I don’t care, I wouldn´t do this again anyway.”  So funny.


Below are the lists of movies/TV series that won and for which category.

MOVIES

Avatar 2
Best motion picture
Best director

Precious 1
Monique (Best supporting actress)

UP 2
Best motion picture: animation
Best original Score

The Weary Kind 1
Original song motion picture

Julie & Julia 1
Meryl Streep (best actress in a movie, comedy/musical)
-was also nominated for  It´s Complicated in the same category

Up in the air 1
best screenplay motion picture

Inglorious Basterds 1
Christoph Waltz (best supporting actor)

Hangover 1
Best Picture Comedy

Sherlock Holmes 1
Robert Downey Jr.

The Blind Side 1
Sandra Bullock

Hurt Locker 1
Jeff Bridges (best actor-drama)

The White Ribbon (Germany) 1
Best foreign Film

TV

United States of Tara 1
Toni Collette (Best Actress TV Series Comedy/musical)

Dexter 2
John Lithgow (Best supporting actor in TV series)
Michael C. Hall (Best Actor in TV series-Drama)

Glee 1
Best Television Series

30 Rock
Alec Baldwin (Best Actor in TV series-comedy)

Mad Men

Best TV series Drama

The Good Wife 1
Julianna Margulies (Best Actress in a TV series Drama)


Grey Gardens 11
Best miniseries
Drew Barrymore (Best Actress in a TV miniseries/movie)

Second Chance 1
Kevin Bacon (Best Actor TV miniserie/movies)

Big love
Chloë Sevigny (Best Supporting Actress)

Cecil B. DeMille Award 2010
Martin Scorsese



Best speeches


“Avatar asks us to see everything is connected, all human beings to each other and us to the earth and if you have to go 4 and a half light years to another made up planet to appreciate this miracle of a world we have right here , well you know what,  that´s the wonder of cinema right there. That´s the magic” James Cameron

“Thank you God for this amazing ride that you´re allowing me to go in” Monique

They didn´t however show this (my favourite part of Monique´s speech)

”i´m in the mist of my dream and when I look into the eyes of the man that I stood next to at 14 years old and I said to him one day we are going to be stars, he said you first. And we walked this red carpet tonight."

“I´ve in my long career ,played so many extraordinary women that basically I´m getting mistaken for one. No really, I´m very clear about that I´m the vessel for  other people´s stories and other women´s life." Meryl Streep


But they missed a few:


“Animation is not only for children, its also for adults who take drugs”
Paul Mccarthy

“I like Ricky Gervais, will not be asked to do this again” Felicity Huffman
(jokes after having screwed up the text twice)

“what was I suppose to say? Yeah I love Nora”
(Meryl streep when winning for Julie&Julia)

“I once was in this ballroom room when I was younger… it was a Bar Mitzwah”
(Mad men winner mocking Drew Barrymore speech)

"If I may steal from Michael Oher, I may not be the most talented, but I've been given opportunity," Sandra Bullock

“Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press And miss Barbara Streisand”
Said Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee and concluded: “this is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school”

So the winners…. I was not surprised but I wanted Neil Patrick Harris and Matthew Morrison to win. And I´m sure the actress from Precious will win the Oscars, Sandra Bullock won this time. I was so happy that Glee, The Hangover  and Christopher Waltz (he stole the show in Inglorious Basterds) won. I thought though that the movie Nine was screwed at this ceremony (ok I haven’t seen it but to have so many award winning actresses and not win. Scandal).  I was a bit upset with the golden globes for leaving Grey´s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and The Big Bang Theory out of the running. I would love to see behind the scenes, who actually vote for it.

Anyhow, congratulations to the winners, to the losers=there´s always next year :P


My favourite icelandic commercial

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sick

I´m sick... yes the typical flu, throat ache, coughing and stuffy nose.

10 things I hate about being sick:

1) you look and feel dreadful.
2) medicine tastes horrible
3) food doesn´t taste good
4) only drink allowed is tea (too bad i don´t like it)
5) can´t see other people (they don´t want to get sick too)
6) can´t talk or sing (if you have a throat ache )
7) ache all over
8) can´t sleep
9) chills (and not the good kind :P)
10) can´t really do anything

The only thing i like is that my boyfriend takes good care of me and i have excuse to stay inside and lie in bed all day :P

When I was younger there was a plus side to it. I didn´t have to go to school or do other activities and could lie in bed, watch tv and eat candy. Plus my parents would take extra good care of me. However, as adult, you have a lot of responsibilities and you can´t do them while you´re sick.

The only medicine I actually liked was the cough medicine in Iceland. Unfortunately, they don´t have that in Austria. The cough medicine tastes horrible.


Not the most fun way to start the new year. But then again, what goes down most come up again, so there must be something good in store for me.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Brighten your day

Bored at work or at school?

I just created a new webpage to brighten your day.... links, fun, quotes, vidoes and even a blog with information as well as other things i decide to post instead of putting it up as a link. 

www.brighten-your-day.com


I´d love to hear what you think of it. Suggestions are welcome.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Ice Ice baby

As usual, I went back home to Iceland for the holidays.I flew to from Vienna (Austria) to Copenhagen (Denmark) and then there to Keflavik (Iceland). Always great to see a member of my family at the airport. I spent the first days getting things done, went to the hairdresser (dyed my hair black and got bangs) and had a checkup at the dentist. It was alright. I can´t remember what I did next, i believe my mom made me some icelandic treat (fiskibollur) and I relaxed for the rest of the day.



On Dec. 19 I went to my best friend Frikki (he studies in Milan), his mom had a welcome home party so i joined him and his friends. I had promised to meet another friend of mine, so I said my goodbyes and drove two of his friend, since it was on my way, we chatted the whole way, so nice to get to know people sometimes. I went to Guðrún, who I talked to for many many hours, we watched TV, she showed me pictures of the house she and her boyfriend were buying and her new cat. Before I realised it, it was after midnight which meant it was my birthday.

Dec. 20.... i love birthdays, especially on facebook, i got 60 something birthday wishes there. I loved it! As usual my family woke me up early in the morning and sang happy birthday song and gave me presents. I feel like a kid when they do it, such a nice family tradition. I talked to my boyfriend on Skype and then my mom and I went to the shopping mall to exchange a dress I got and spend some quality time. In the evening me, my mom, dad, brother and his girlfriend celebrated my birthday at Caruso, a very cosy Italian place. A quality time with my family and tons of wishes from friends and acquaintances, it was a great day.

Next day I celebrated my birthday. I hung out with my best friend Frikki until the party started (a tradition of ours). It was really nice, we were few but it was better that way. My mom had been so great to make us a marenskökur (icelandic cookie type of thing) and bought tons of sweets so we pretty much hung around the table and talked and laughed the whole night. We didnt do anything but that, no sing star, no board games. That´s what makes good friends. All they need is each other.




When I´m on a holiday I honestly cant tell the days apart so all I know is that I met a couple of friends, relaxed and bought christmas presents for my family. I couldn´t sleep three nights in a row because of my arm, i had an ache in my right arm. I went to my aunt and she told me it was because of stiffness in my neck and i should stop sleeping on my stomach (touche because i love it).

I also watched Dagvaktin and Fangavaktin, which is popular icelandic series, so popular that they made a movie Bjarnfreðarson, which me, my sister and my brother and his girfriend saw later together. Great series=great movie.



Dec. 24 is always the same. Me and my brother are working santas, bringing presents to friends and family and this time we were quite late which meant we had dinner at 7, normally we have it at 6 when we wish each other merry Christmas. My dad cooked a great pork and we ate that with brown sauce, yellow beans and red cabbage. My favourite is through the appertiser which is tartlet. We put then an almond in one of them and the person that gets that receives a price, a board game which we later play. I got great presents as always. The most personal was from Frikki, who made me a cd, and a brochure which explained why he picked each song, describing a memory of us, so sweet. My family also gave me awesome clothes. Funny moment: when my brother looked at our nieces presents and said "I´m not the youngest anymore"..... he was always the youngest and got the most presents, touche.

Dec. 25 is always a lazyday, where we lie in our pajamas and mom and dad finish off reading the christmas cards and we play a board game or watch series.

My sister, her fiance and the babies arrived on Dec. 26 (they live in Denmark) and stayed at our apartment, yes 8 people (my mom, dad, brother, me and my sister, her fiance and the 5 month old twin girls)..... it was really crowded but cozy.




On Dec. 26 Me and Frikki went to a party of former dancers. It was great to catch up with some people I hadn´t seen in years but otherwise I was one of the oldest there. It was full of youngsters and i was too sober for that. We then picked up Solla and her friend and then went downtown, oh we weren´t the only ones. It was sooooo busy. We went to Dillon, Oliver and in the end we split up and me and Frikki went to the gay bar Barbarella. I love gay bars, because there is great girly music, enough space to dance, no judgment and nobody is bugging you (guys, sorry but no means no).


Next couple of days I saw more friends (even went out for a walk...it was great walking in the snow), had second christmas for the Danes, it was great, babies first Icelandic Christmas. I loved hanging out with my nieces and playing with them, the only problem was i didn´t sleep well for the rest of my stay because i didn´t have a proper bed, i gave mine up to my sister and her family. It´s hard to go from bed to bed and i often waited until my parents went to work and then took a nap. My uncle who lives in the State also stayed with us and brought two guests with him and we talked for a long time. I love having discussion with Americans about the things going on around the world. These were Americans that have travelled a lot and had a lot of stories. Nice to get to know them and their views. 

New years eve, my family always goes to my aunt and we celebrate with my mom´s side of the family, have dinner, watch the news from the year that is passing and then the sketch show (clip Island er í lagi, on my blog). It was so great this year, really coming hard down on all the politicians playing the blaming game, banking crisis ("all the money is gone, puff, but we managed to save your debt"), then met Frikki, his boyfriend Davíð and Solla, we drank more at his place and then went downtown to a ball and had a great time. Great girly music, including the Spice Girls....loved it. There I also met a schoolmate I haven´t met since I was 12. Wow how much has happened since then. If somebody would have told me I would live in Vienna with my boyfriend from Kosovo, finished with BA in Media Communications and writing articles in newspapers and online news, I would have never believed it.



2010... a new year. Met more friends and then my aunt taught me how to knit so I knitted a piece for my neck. Intensive, 5 hours the first day which made me want to quit but i kept going and spent more time with my aunt, which was great because I seldom get time with her. Me and Frikki celebrated 10 years of friendship, by eating taco bells and watching Friends series (typical of us). It was great. I also helped my mom at an event "the 3 Tenors", I seated people and then helped with the champagne. I went swimming with my sister, her fiance, my parents and the twins. It was a great family moment.  Me and my friends had a theme party, ugly ducking to beautiful swan. We dressed ugly, played games and then dressed in our party clothes and went downtown and danced at B5. Funny evening. I had a great time but in the end I had enough and couldnt wait to go back to normal life with my love.



New article: Ísland er í lagi?

Wrote an article about the situation in Iceland compared to the end of our end of the year sketch show Áramótaskaup. The article was good enough to be posted on Pressan facebook site.


Below is my article:

I received an e-mail from one reader who pointed out a great site that explains Icesave to the public as well as the deal itself.

www.island.is/endurreisn



 I encourage all Icelanders to really read about this subject since you are the ones to choose. 

I know it´s annoying to hear this subject and you would like it to go away but we want a fair deal, as Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson points out in his article SOS.

http://www.pressan.is/pressupennar/LesaJonBaldvin/sos


Sunday, January 10, 2010

Two different worlds

"Vienna waits for you"


I´m an Icelander that lives in Vienna, Austria. It´s like two different worlds because when I go on holidays to Iceland I stay with my parents and fall back into the pattern like when I was younger, leave the laundry, cooking and other stuff to my parents. It´s not fair since i am 24 but old habits die hard, plus its nice to be a kid again.


Then i spend my time trying to meet as much of my friends, who never really ask me about my life in vienna. Which is better because where do i begin. A lot can happen in a year. It´s also good because then we dont waste time catching up, we enjoy our time together doing stuff or talking about things that are happening now, not things that are done. If they want to follow what I´ve been up to they can read my facebook, blog or other things. It helps. Like with my dad, since he started a blog, I know more about him and can talk to him more because of it, ask him about things he wrote in his blog.


In Vienna, I take care of everything, I work, pay bills, do my laundry and shop for groceries or in other words, act like a grown up (at least in that perspective :P). I take care of me and my wonderful boyfriend. We have our lives there where we are in charge.

The interesting thing is that I don´t know anything else. This is how it´s been since I´ve moved to Vienna. It´s a good thing really, to spend your holiday in your hometown with your family and friends and stay at hotel mom and dad and then you come back to your normal life in Vienna.

These may be two different worlds but its better because I know my part in each of them ;)

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Inspirational Story

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert lost his voice. He suffers from a rare condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia. He wrote amazing article about his experiences and how he never gave up trying to get his voice back

http://ocaoimh.ie/brighten-your-day/

Iceland are you ok


At the end of the year they show a comedy sketch making fun of the year and this time it was politics all the way. In the beginning of the video they show different politicians playing the blaming game. Then Páll Óskar (our pop star) sings the Icelandic version of Smooth Criminal, talking about all the mess this year. Icelanders thought this show was the best ever, especially the end, with the new vikings going to prison, thanks to Eva Joly (in the front of the car). A hollywood ending.

"iceland are you ok,
iceland are you ok
are you ok iceland"

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Where do I begin...

I always wonder how people introduce themselves, we´re so used to saying our names, age, nationality and perhaps job. Then again, it depends on where you are and who you are talking to.


Then what about blogs....since you don´t know the audience, do people write about their lifes, achievements or opinion and views about things that are going on in the world or perhaps all of the above.


Should I assume that since you stumbled upon my page that you know me... should i write the blog as a diary entrance, news paper article, ramble or to you as a friend. You say more to a friend than acquantance so...


I will probably do all of the above, sometimes something personal, some views, complains and definately post something fun :)


If you have any topic you would like me to write about, feel free to comment.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

New Year = New blog

Happy New Year
and in celebration of the new year i will have my blog in English
yes, you heard me right.

I can hear random cheers of former co-workers and friends around the world as i write these sentences.

This blog was mostly for my family and friends in Iceland so thats why I wrote in Icelandic, but thanks to Facebook and great english knowledge of Icelanders I decided to have the blog in English from now on so more people can read it.

On the right site of this page you can see other pages by me as well as articles and other interesting things that I like (me in a nutshell).

ENJOY :)




Ps. please comment, because I would love to see who is reading this blog.
If you were me, wouldnt you want that too?