Month: January 2006

Jamie Cullum meltet the ice in Århus

thegirlinthecafe 8 Comments

Jamie Cullum
I have been to quite some concerts, but this definetely was one of the best ever, if not the best. I once saw a concert with Jamie Cullum on tv, and I admit, that you quickly can get the impression that he is one spoiled brat. The way he is moving around stage, his jumping from his piano, his dancing around on stage and all that. But giving the guy a second chance – this is not a spoiled boy. This is an extraordinary musician with the passion for his music running through his veins. And I happen to like people with passion.

All the fine people of Århus came to this concert, in their nice clothes. The musichall was sold out, and I was curious about where this was going. After half an hour, the men had taken of their jackets, all women were screaming and everybody was standing and dancing and clapping. There was this rare connection between the artist and his audience, and I am sure that everybody could sense that, both on and in front of the stage. There was truly magic in the air.

Yes Jamie is a Londoner. And yes I would have bought a t-shirt, if they had accepted credit cards, but they did not. And no this wasn’t the last time I have seen him live, that’s for sure.

A 10/10 for this concert.

If you can’t get to London yet

thegirlinthecafe 6 Comments


let London come to you.

I know that several people are going to puke (again) because of my music taste, I couldn’t care less. Thing is that this Brit (and Londoner too if I’m not completely mistaken) has been entertaining my ears for quite a while now, and I would glady let him romantisize, the beauty of their London skies . Especially live.

And when you make an album called “Catching Tales” you can’t do any wrong with me, that’s what I do for a living. I look forward to see and hear him in Musikhuset tonight. Probably the last concert in that beautiful place (very good sound, and very nicely designed), for a long time (never say never).

Nothing is certain except everything you know can change,
you worship the sun but now,
can you fall for the rain…

Munich

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Munich (2005)

To be honest, I don’t really know how to rate Steven Spielbergs Munich. It was gripping, and shocking, and long but not boring. Eric Bana (Troy) does very well, playing the main character. But while watching the film, I felt like I was missing a lot of background information. And did this story really happen like this, or is this how Spielberg thinks it happens. I guess you have to watch it and judge for yourself. You won’t get bored.

Bonus:
Daniel Craig is in it. The new Blueeyed Blond Bond Brit (you might also have seen him in The Road to Perdition or in Enduring Love) is becoming one of my favorites. He is a very interesting actor.

Tagline: The world was watching in 1972 as 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics. This is the story of what happened next.

Director Steven Spielberg
Cast Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ayelet Zorer, Geoffrey Rush, Gila Almagor, Michael Lonsdale, Mathieu Amalric, Moritz Bleibtreu, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Meret Becker, Marie-Jose Croze, Yvan Attal

Why I love London, truly, deeply, madly

thegirlinthecafe 5 Comments

I joined a theatre group in London (just got the confirmation today), and while I could use some more than 32 days to get all the practicals things in place here in Denmark, I wish I was in London tomorrow to get started with this group.

This is what “we” are going to do:

Initially we’ll be doing various confidence and ice breaking games and adding in improvisation, script reading and then working towards rehearsing a script. With a potentially large group we’ll be breaking up in to smaller groups on the night to allow more experienced people to work together or to lead smaller groups of less experienced people and this will help us integrate people as they join us.

The intention of this group is to provide a fun, sociable outlet for people with an interest in drama and to make it comfortable for those with no experience in drama to find out what it’s like whilst also giving some great opportunities to those with more experience. The plan is to consider a number of opportunities including producing an internet film, a stage show in a Notting Hill theatre (there are a couple) and also starting a group for those wanting more serious amateur dramatics activity.

Outside of the normal drama group nights we’re looking at organising going to see a BBC production being filmed as part of the audience, theatre previews and once we’re established I’ll be inviting experienced directors, actors and other talent to come and talk to the group.

I simply can’t wait to get to London, and I will join the group on the 14th February (which is becoming an even more important day now). After that 2 weeks back to Denmark, to definetely join them the beginning of March.

I pressed play and am currently, well you know what I am doing. And the smile on my face is huge.

Brits you got to love them

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Taking into account factors such as foul weather, Christmas debts, the lingering effects of seasonal overindulgence, failed New Year’s resolutions and generally reduced motivation, Arnall’s worst day “formula” is ([W + (D-d)] x TQ) ? (M x NA). (W: weather, D: debt, d: money due in January pay, T: time elapsed since Christmas, Q: time since failed New Year’s resolutions to quit smoking, drinking etc, M: general motivational levels, NA: the need to take action.)

This formula (made by psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning) actually resulting in the fact that the 23rd of January has been the most depressing day of 2006.

The good thing is, this day has already passed, and things will only get better from now on.

If you want to read the whole article, go for the Scotsman.

And do they have nice accents too, the Scots.

Pardon me for breathing, which I never do anyway so I don’t know why I bother to say it, oh God I’m so depressed.” – Marvin, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

1 down, 7 to go

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tv-2 - Filmbyen, ?rhus
Steffen Brandt, smiling on stage in Aarhus, actually.

Oh I am so going to miss watching this man on stage. And hearing him and his band live. Good to know they play London every second year. And good to know London has some other interesting men running around to compensate …

for i = 1 to 8

remember to put on black t-shirt in the morning
go to work
try to work
answer all kind of mails from fans through the day (what time does it start, how to find the venue, what merchandise can we buy etc.)
go early from work
if i = 1 then
meetup in the cafe to socialize with other fans
dance and sing and enjoy exclusive fan sneak preview concert

else
take the train to other city
live on fastfood like MacD and Burger K.
work hard and try to enjoy some of the concert while selling t-shirts and stuff
count all the stuff sold and the money and check if numbers match
take train home
end if

find bike and bike home
freeze your *ss off because it is still very cold in Denmark
come home very late
crash in your bed

next i

4 things

thegirlinthecafe 6 Comments

Memes are just a way to get out of your writersblog. And while you might think that all is fun and all is good, there are days where I am worried. Worried if everything will fall in place, if I can find a job, if I get my flat sold. And worried about a 100 other things. And all this with only 37 days left. On those days, memes are the easy way out. SO – here you go. The 4 things meme.

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Grrrrravatars

thegirlinthecafe 16 Comments

Cup of coffee anyone ?I will never grow up, I admit it, so I like the small Messenger like pictures, also called (gr)avatars. So I implemented the Gravatar plugin, and now you people out there – sign up for your own gravatar. Because there are way too many coffee cups floating around on this site at the moment.

The picture will be connected to your email address (which will never be shown!), and will be available on all weblogs, forums, whatever using a gravatar implementation. (You don’t need to have a weblog yourself!)

You can find a lot of them (for free) her.

Rumor Has It… (5/10)

thegirlinthecafe 3 Comments

Rumor Has It... (2005)Trust me, Rumor Has It, doesn’t have it – at all.

Jennifer Aniston, well, as David Brent would say – Next ! And Kevin Costner is ok, but the script is far from interesting enough to hold my attention for longer than 5 minutes. I normally would have skipped this film, but sometimes you just need to get out, and do something that can tame the bouncing balls a bit. With this film though, it didn’t help.

Don’t waste your time on this one, I already did that for you.

Plot: Jennifer Aniston plays a woman who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film The Graduate — and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.

Directed by Rob Reiner
Cast Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo

Isn’t that the day of …

thegirlinthecafe 12 Comments

Last.fm chart
No I cannot say that it came completely unexpected, this call. It was B.
What was going on, he asked.
And I said, B. !, long time no hear.
And he said, well, you know, Pirates, Vampires, I’ve been busy. But what’s going on ? I just checked your stats, and while I was under the impression that I was on a secure 5th place, I suddenly see I got overhauled by some-other-actor.
And I said, *cough*, uhm, well, *cough*, uhm, I got carried away a bit.
But you know you are number one, always, don’t doubt that.

He mumbled a bit. And asked me if I knew that, although living in London, mr. Spacey wasn’t even an englishman ?
And I said yes, I know that, don’t worry about it, it doesn’t mean anything!

And he said, well all right then.
So – I got you a jobinterview.
And I nearly choked in my tea. Jobinterview I stumbled, what do you mean ? I …
Yes, 14th of February, in North London. Be there.
And I said – oh – I don’t know what to say. Thank …
And he said – don’t mention it.

And I said the 14th of February. Isn’t. That. The. Day. Of. Love. Actually.

But he was already gone.

Memoirs of a Geisha (8/10)

thegirlinthecafe 6 Comments

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)Memoirs of a Geisha tells the story of, Nitta Sayuri, who transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha.

Well this film has been nominated for both Bafta’s Golden Globes and will probably also be nominated for Oscars. It’s a big production, but I have to say it is so beautifully shot. There are some really fantastic shots and the colours are amazing, it’s like watching a beautiful photograph exhibition. So for me, if someone should win an Oscar for this film, it should be the director of photography. You could actually watch this film for it’s pictures, it’s a joy for the eyes, and walk completely satisfied out of the cinema. But there is also a story, a story about this somewhat hidden and secret world of the Japanes Geisha culture, and that story is interesting enough to make this a film worth watching too.

Yes, go see it. It might be a girl film though.

Directed by: Rob Marshall (Chicago)
Cast : Ziyi Zhang (disappointing to see that her blue eyes in the film actually were contactlenses!), Ken Watanabe

Talking about cheating. I am a regular customer of Cinemaxx in ?rhus, it’s my second home and I would nearly say that I have been there so many times, that I have paid for one of their screens. They have this silly system that they only check your ticket when you come into the building. After that you are yourself responsible for finding the right film and screen (they have 8). That has made me think before. So yesterday I saw the Geisha film at 12.30. That’s early, but I needed to leave my appartment because people came looking at it. And after the Geisha, I thought – what if. What if I just stay, and watch another movie, for free. After a short discussion with my conscience – I stayed, and watched Narnia again. This time with excellent sound, and on the biggest screen they have in Cinemaxx, which is huge. It certainly was cool to see James McAvoy this size, but despite a much better film experience, Narnia did not score any more points than last time, 7/10.

How bad a person am I really ?

The Icestorm

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The Icestorm
The trees wrapped in ice (Click for larger version)

I know that the trees don’t like it, but it is such a beautiful sight. And apart from that, it makes such a nice sound too, the clickering of the branches when the wind gently rocks them.

I have been walking to work since I kissed my friend goodbye, but this kind of weather makes that pure pleasure. This morning I passed a lot of people who were trying to remove the thick layer of ice that had wrapped their cars at night. They were annoyed and angry, and stressed. I passed them with a smile on my face. In this weather everybody is late for work, so why not relax and enjoy it in stead.

It’s cold in Denmark, below zero in the daytime, and there is still a lot of snow laying around. I love a real winter like this.

They now are officially looking for a replacement for me (at work that is), and it is somehow a weird feeling to see the job being posted on websites. As if I suddenly realize that there now really isn’t any way back. Not that I want a way back, I can’t wait to get to London, but still, it feels like losing ground a bit.

So if you want my job, I can send you a link :-).

And 43 days …

Funky Kevin – let’s dance

thegirlinthecafe 3 Comments

Now, I know that you want to know what music I am dancing on all the time right ?
And thanks to this genius of a WordPress plugin, which looks fantastic too, you can now dance along. Press play and get moving ! And if this song doesn’t make you happy, I don’t know which one will.

[audio:thatsall.mp3]

If you’re wonderin’ what I’m askin’ in return, dear
You’ll be glad to know that my demands are small
Say it’s me that you’ll adore
For now and evermore
That’s all – that’s all.

Bouncing balls !

thegirlinthecafe 2 Comments

Organizing a concert for 150 crazy tv-2 fans in Århus (next week) – that’s nearly a fulltime job at the moment I can tell you.

Got a phonecall from the man with the nice London accent again this morning (I am still in the run – but I don’t count on anything!)

And the best thing : the soundtrack arrived today and my god Kevin Spacey is sooooo goooood. Listening to him singing gives me a big smile on my face, and I can’t sit still either. (This really annoying my colleagues).

But all this in my head and my ears, the balls still bouncing like crazy, makes it impossible to write a “normal” piece of text that would make sense to you. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not.

The Girl In The Cafe Movie – soundtrack

thegirlinthecafe 37 Comments

The Girl In The CafeThis post is mainly for all the people who come here looking for information about the soundtrack from The Girl In The Cafe.

The bad news is, there isn’t any official soundtrack available. But the good news is that you can find the 2 songs that make up 90% of the soundtrack of this film.

2 songs from the soundtrack of the Girl of the Cafe that made an everlasting impression:

Sigur Ros – Starálfur (islandic for Staring Elf) from the album ágætis byrjun (”an alright start”). (Download Starálfur free and legal from Sigur Ros’ website : click here).

Damien Rice – Cold Water from his album O. You can watch a videoclip of a live version of this song here.

The song that’s playing as they walk down the corridor to the hotel room on their first night in Reykjavik is ‘Somewhere there’s an Island’ by Seaman Dan. You can hear a sample of it here.

The beautiful movie soundtrack is composed by Nicholas Hooper, who also will compose music for the upcoming Harry Potter movie : Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Nicholas Hooper has also composed music for other Nighy delights like State of Play and The Young Visiters.

Nicholas Hooper won a BAFTA Award in 2006 for Best Original Music for The Girl In The Cafe.

Hope this helps.

If you want to get the DVD, you can find it here on Amazon.

Jobhunting II

thegirlinthecafe 8 Comments

And so my phone rang. And I picked it up and said hello. And he said hello Ingrid. And he had a London accent. And my heart started beating a bit faster. And he had gotten my application and CV. And he said that he had 2 potential jobs. And he asked if he could send my cv on to those companies. And I said yes please do – I never can refuse anything to people talking british anyway – and he said ok then. And that he would get back to me. And I asked him what my chances were for finding a job in London. And he said –

no
problem
at
all

And the girl is extremely relieved, very happy and is doing a very stupid dance in her livingroom as we speak.

Job hunting

thegirlinthecafe 6 Comments

I want youIn between chatting with some really nice people yesterday, I also managed to send off about 20 job applications. This sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it is not as hard as I thought. It’s like job shopping. You add jobs to your shopping cart, and then you can apply for all of them at once, because the job world in the UK is ruled by recruitment agencies, and many applications are send to the same agencies. I learned that yesterday. I haven’t really heard anything yet, but look at it positively as there are really many jobs to apply for. There must be a job out there for me too somewhere. That thought keeps me going right now.

And it’s first now that I am ready to throw myself into jobhunting, I needed to gather some positivity and faith and good spirit, to be able to handle the high amount of rejections I, without a doubt, am going to get. I am ready.

So 20 applications. 18 of them are jobs which are ok, maybe a bit more exiting than my current job, but not where I want to be in the end really. But it will be quite allright to start with. The other 2 jobs I applied for are in the category “You got to be kidding – you are applying for this job – are you mad” ? This being said by the people getting my application. As in – I have no chance whatsoever in getting these jobs. They are not IT jobs.

But one of those two – if I (completely hypothetically speaking, ’cause it is not going to happen) should ever get a job like that (it has a very lousy payment but I don’t care) – I would be the second happiest girl in the Galaxy. The best job ever imagineable would be becoming some particular Brit’s assistent. The other job however, is, compared to that ridiculous idea, more likely, with an ImprobaBILLity factor of only about 99.999%.

Fact is though – that London has job openings like this. I didn’t just pick London out of the blue you know, I have actually thought about it. And you never know, one day I just might be lucky.

47 days. Goodness …

So long and …

thegirlinthecafe 11 Comments

And so we split up. We talked about it a lot, and we agreed that it would be best for both of us to go seperate ways. Because he didn’t really feel like going to London with me.
And he didn’t want to stay in Denmark either, where he always felt like an outsider between all those Centurions. He wanted to go back to his roots for a while, and think about what he wanted with his life. So I told him that if that was what he really wanted, that I could live with it. That I would miss him a lot, but that eventually we both would be happier.

I followed him to the car, gave him a kiss on the cheek, wished him a safe trip back to Holland. So long and … he was gone.
Tomorrow I have to walk to work.