#Tromsø recommendations

[superlinguo]

Himalayan Linguistics, Linguistics Vanguard and the Australian Journal of Linguistics

In 2024 I have returned to my role as an editor of Himalayan Linguistics, and have joined the editorial boards of two other journals; Linguistics Vanguard and the Australian Journal of Linguistics. I've published in each of these journals before joining the editorial boards, and it's lovely to be involved in three journals across three different areas of interest.

Himalayan Linguistics is a fully Open Access journal, while Linguistics Vanguard and the Australian Journal of Linguistics have a mix of open access and licensed content. If you are an academic and your work is relevant to any of these three journals, please consider them for your next research paper!

Himalayan Linguistics

One of my first academic publications was with Himalayan Linguistics in 2013. I've been so grateful for all the work of the editorial team over the years that I joined the board, and then stepped up as editor in 2022. My co-editors are Gregory Anderson and You-Jing Lin.

Himalayan Linguistics costs nothing to read, and charges no fees for publishing. We're lucky to have the University of California eScholarship infrastructure for publishing. It's my favourite model for academic research.

From the website:

Himalayan Linguistics is an online peer-reviewed journal specializing in languages of the Himalayan region. We publish articles, book reviews, book notices and field reports in the semi-annual issues of the journals. We also publish grammars, dictionaries, and text collections as free-standing publications in our “Archive” series. Himalayan Linguistics is free; that is, there is no subscription fee, and there is no fee charged to authors who publish their papers in HL.

My publications in HL, Superlinguo summary posts:

The relationship between Yolmo and Kagate: Article in Himalayan Linguistics

Reported evidentiality in Tibeto-Burman languages

Linguistics Vanguard

Linguistics Vanguard launched in 2015 and I was eyeing it off for years before being delighted to have a chance to submit a paper for the 2023 Special Issue on scifi corpus methods. Yup, it's the kind of journal that's cool enough to have a whole special issue on using corpora to do linguistics on scifi. I have another paper in the revisions process with LV on lingcomm. I can attest to the speedy process and focus on conciseness. I'm delighted to join as an area manager for gesture and multimodal submissions.

Linguistics Vanguard is a new channel for high quality articles and innovative approaches in all major fields of linguistics. This multimodal journal is published solely online and provides an accessible platform supporting both traditional and new kinds of publications. Linguistics Vanguard seeks to publish concise and up-to-date reports on the state of the art in linguistics as well as cutting-edge research papers. With its topical breadth of coverage and anticipated quick rate of production, it is one of the leading platforms for scientific exchange in linguistics. Its broad theoretical range, international scope, and diversity of article formats engage students and scholars alike.

My publications in LV, Superlinguo summary posts:

From Star Trek to The Hunger Games: Emblem gestures in science fiction and their uptake in popular culture

Australian Journal of Linguistics

The Australian Linguistic Society is my local linguistics org, and I'm delighted to join an editorial board full of people whose work I deeply respect. I'm also happy to report the AJL recently adopted the Tromsø Recommendations for data citation.

The Australian Journal of Linguistics is the official journal of the Australian Linguistic Society and the premier international journal on language in Australia and the region. The focus of the journal is research on Australian Indigenous languages, Australian Englishes, community languages in Australia, language in Australian society, and languages of the Australian-Pacific region. The journal publishes papers that make a significant theoretical, methodological and/or practical contribution to the field and are accessible to a broad audience.

My publications in AJL, Superlinguo summary posts:

Ten years of Linguistics in the Pub (Australian Journal of Linguistics)

Revisiting Significant Action and Gesture Categorization

[hoe4sports]

The first meeting | Caroline Graham Hansen

AN: No trigger warning. You are a girl from Norway, Benedicte. I had to chose a random Norwegian name. This will be a storyline in forms of imagines, so I recommend reading chronologically.

I was fresh out of University, and for sure done with anything related to lectures, studying and assignments. I grew up in this silly little Norwegian town, Tromsø. You know, a place where you can see the northern lights, reindeers and polar bears! Well, the latter is not entirely true. It is just a dead polar bear stuffed for tourists to see and take pictures of. Regardless, I grew up here with my grandparents. My father left when I was a baby, and my mother? I went no contact a few years ago as she put me through a lifetime of trauma. That is exactly why I decided that when I was finished with my bachelors degree in sports leadership, I needed to get out of this sad little town. It is always cold, and we have winter for 9 months a year. Three of them are in complete dqrkness, no sun or no daylight. It’s just as bad as it sounds. That’s why I applied for jobs pretty much anywhere but here. Towns like Oslo, London, Australia (hello Sam Kerr) and even the us. I however ended up getting a job offer from the women’s department in the club known as Barcelona. It was just what I needed; Sun, beaches and Spanish women.

I decided to go to Barcelona a week early, I had to take advantage of checking out the city and the nightlife! Barcelona had arranged this beautiful apartment for me downtown. It was a decent sized apartment in a new building with spectacular views from my  bedroom window in the 23rd floor. I have never seen anything like this as I grew up very poor, and only lived in an apartment with my grandparents. I spent the first week checking out bars, restaurants and beaches. I also found a huge mall with all of my favourite stores! Naturally, I had to purchase new clothes as I was told that there would be an athletic dress code. Lululemon for the win!

I didn’t really meet a lot of hot Spanish women during my first week, but I made a few friends in the building. One of my closest neighbours, Ingrid Engen lived two doors away from me. I recognised her from a talent camp for 13 year olds in Norway. And somehow she recognised me! We had spent the first week getting to know each other, and when she found out I was going to be working for Barcelona; she was beyond excited. We clicked naturally, and we went out to all her favourite bars, restaurants and shops. She really gave me the full experience! 

Fast forward to today, Monday morning. The first of August. At 5.30. Let’s just say that I regretted the last bottle of wine from last night. But today was the day! The day were I finally start my first “big girl job” and you bet I was feeling excited. I got my tired body out of bed and opened up the blinds in my apartment. The views just took my breath away. It was stunning! A beautiful sunrise with the most beautiful colors that I’ve ever seen. I made myself a black coffee, and wrapped my robe around me so i could sit outside on my private balcony. It felt relaxing. The air was crisp, I could hear the ocean and I could smell the salty beach. It was like a dream come true.

My daydreaming soon became interrupted as I knocked myself intro reality. First day of my first job, right. I quickly made it to the bathroom and had a steaming shower. The smells of my floral soap felt like a full on aroma therapy session. I quickly got out of the shower and patted myself dry. My blonde long hair dried and put in a half up half down bun and I did light makeup as my skin was tanned from the week in the sun. I always used some mascara, it really made my icy blue eyes pop. I got dressed up in what I was asked to wear; Black athletic shorts, a black tank top, my trusty black hokas and a hot pink lululemon jacket. It felt wrong, but my new boss had insured me that any athletic wear was good.  I grabbed my bag and took a deep breath. I took a look in the mirror, and I added some fruity chapstick. This was going to be the first day of the rest of my life. 

*fast forward to being with your boss*

“Ah, and this office is where you will be working from! Feel free to decorate however you like.” The Spanish woman said. I nodded and listened as active as I could. “Here is your work phone, your laptop and your camera. If there is anything you need, you let me know.” she said as she handed me what looked like a tower of apple and canon products. I was stunned. “Wow, this is amazing, thank you so much! I’m so excited to get to know the team, and I’m eager to get to work.” I replied as I sat down my new work gear and followed the tall woman as she talked enthusiastically about Barcelona and their work culture. 

*Caroline POV*

Jonathan was going on, and on and on and on about what this season was gonna look like. I was tying up my white Nike cleats, they were brand new as the team wanted us to start fresh. I however, hated fresh and new and change. I liked stability, routine and same old. Why change something that isn’t broken?

The door to the hallway suddenly swung open. There was the head of staff, Maria. She was always so bright and shiny and talkative. Not really my way of life. “Ah, Maria, just in time!” Jonathan called out. “Come, come!” He urged and a blonde petite woman popped up from behind Maria. “This, ladies, this is Benedicte. She is one of the new assistant coaches, and she will be primarily working with the wingers. With her, we will be unstoppable!” Jonathan said enthusiastically. The girl blushed, and smiled. “Hi squad, Im looking forward to kicking your asses on a daily basis”  she said with a cheeky grin. I was staring at her as I couldn’t remember why she seemed so familiar. “Caro, stop staring!” Mapi hissed at me. I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t staring” I hushed, but with no luck as the team was already making their way onto the pitch.

[cowboysimmer]

New World for TS3: Welcome to Älskar  

Download link is under the cut!

Hi simmers!

First, I want to say that this is quite an important journey for me, because after years I have dared to use the CAW tool, and im happy with the results. Please, keep in mind that it is still under development.

Aurora Skies is one of my favorite TS3 store worlds and has a lot of potential, so I decided to make a world based on a fictional island, named Älskar (which means "to love" in Swedish). The idea came to me when I returned back from the arctic, specifically Tromsø, where I went to see the Northern Lights and was lucky enough to appreciate them in the starry sky of the Arctic Circle.

(づ ◕‿◕ )づ

Technical stuff:

Small world

+ Than 40 lots (residential and community)

Requires all EPs and SPs (SPs is something I'm not sure about because I used what I liked, but it is recommended to have everything)

Requires certain sets, venues, store items from the Store (I'll list which ones below)

It is very smooth, too much, which I like. I have also added events generators to make the experience more dynamic.

Aurora Skies is required for rooftops (but this can be skipped)

Store Sets:

Bohemian Garden

Cow Corral

More Magic!

Killer Classics

Up the Ante Compilation

Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes

The Now and Then House (placed in the world)

Grandpa's Grove (placed in the world)

Skylight Studio (placed in the world as a gym)

Tiny Prodigies Early Learning (placed in the world)

Ultra Lounge

May 2011 Compilation

Lots from other creators:

Planet Wobbit by Napoleon Frost

Joe's Corner by Everlasting-Garden

Some houses by Pixelbots

The Craftsman House by the lovely Theplumdot

Disclaimer: Other sets were used but not as widely used as other sets. I will provide you the link so that you can obtain the store in .package so that you have the complete experience, but even without having some sets this experience would be perfect.

Now, if you want to sail the seven seas (this was possible thanks to bl00diedhell) like I did back then... here you go!! 🏴‍☠️

Please, do not hesitate to provide me with your feedback, that would be amazing!

♡♥💙

Download the World (Mediafire) here:

Älskar (V1) welcomes you.

xoxo,

Stuart!

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

PS: As a simmer, I hate having to go through the launcher in order to install Worlds, so... the file is in .world, so in order to install it without using the launcher you have to follow this path:

– C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\GameData\Shared\NonPackaged\Worlds. -- Origin version

or

 – C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\GameData\Shared\NonPackaged\Worlds -- Disc Version

[imminentinertia]

In which I keep a promise to a bunch of people who read a fic five years ago and try to explain why I'm doing that now

In 2018, @vesperthine and I collaborated on run down till the rain delights you and when some people asked for more, we promised a sequel. That didn't happen.

Until now.

Now it's snaking its way to AO3 like an aging Toyota on cold Tromsø roads (I'm really sorry for this silliness but one of the inspo photos we used did this to me).

There's a bit of a backstory:

First of all, you have @nofeartina to blame for run down in the first place and @peacestew to blame for me sliding into the SKAM fandom in 2023 going "hiiii I haven't been in this fandom for years but here's a fic".

In 2018, Tina wanted fisherman!Isak in a knit woolen jumper* and somehow roped V into writing it, and then V somehow roped me into a collab (I'm still entirely unsure how I ended up saying yes), we brainstormed and looked for inspo and wrote some scenes** to see how it went. Fisherman!Isak turned into marine!biologist!Isak with an old fishing boat and a cabin, Even pretended to be suave, the Tromsø area piped up about wanting to be more of a character than a location and there we were:

Gif by @peacestew

It was so much fun writing with V, and we got along so well, so we wrote a short sequel quite soon after. It just needed a few final tweaks.

Then life happened.

Long story short, I haven't heard from Vesperthine since summer 2019. I hope she's happy and well, and I hope she's writing original fiction because she's seriously gifted, and I miss her because she's a very sweet and smart and lovely person. I was left with a nearly finished draft and a hope she'd turn up again. Since then I've turned down requests to translate and podfic run down, and disappointed a few people asking about the promised sequel, because it didn't feel at all right to make those decisions without V's input.

But it's been five years (!!!), I doubt I'll ever hear from her again, that draft is sitting there on my drive, and... so earlier this year I started thinking about just going ahead and posting it. I went through all our notes and figured out what remained to be done (not much, we even had the title ready), and decided to do those tweaks at some point.

Then Peace slid into my notes a while ago (it had been a few years since we were in touch, I love it when old mates show up), we chatted quite a bit and somehow mentioned run down, and I'm entirely unsure how this snowball started rolling but now we're doing an art + fic collab with that sequel. She's been terribly enabling, and dangling pretty gifs in front of me, how could I resist? She even made a gorgeous title gif for run down. V would have been just as happy with this, I'm sure.

Considering that the sequel was just about finished, and V and I never had any actual disagreements while writing (one tiny scuffle about adjectives, we compromised), I think she'd be okay having her name put on the sequel. And I am okay with making that decision, since it's been so long. I've done the final editing, Peace has added her lovely gifs and now I'm just going to work up the courage to post it.

As stupid as I feel giving directions for fic reading I recommend you read (or re-read, bless everyone who has read it) run down till the rain delights you first, I'm not sure the sequel will make much sense otherwise.

the roll of the harbour wake is coming soon to a fic archive near you. Peace and I hope you will enjoy it.

Gif by @peacestew

*the fic was almost immediately nicknamed The sweater fetish fic. Drooling over the guys in knit woolen jumpers kept happening for ages.

**the first scene we wrote didn't actually make it to run down, but we put it in harbour wake, and it goes to show that sometimes a fic takes a very different direction from where you start it.

[naomitours]

Tromsø, Norway: The North Above the North

I am not a "cold-weather" person, both in personality and in personal inclination. So you might wonder why someone like me would go to Norway in December. And if you asked me this after I actually got there, it would've been a damn good question! But I had a single reason, and a good one:

That's right, I went to see the northern lights. The green lady. "A-AURORA BOREALIS??", in the words of Superintendent Chalmers. People much smarter than me say this is caused by the sun's upper atmosphere emanating a solar wind that reaches *our* upper atmosphere. While not the most consistent place in the world to see it, Tromsø is one of the easiest and largest to try your luck.

Disclaimers from the Top of the World

The first thing you should know about Tromsø is that the sun doesn't come up for most of winter. You'll have light for a few hours, sure, but it's not the same. The meaning of darkness is different when it's ever-present, and those brief few hours of light mean everything. I found myself wanting to shed my coat and soak the light in through every pore of my body.¹ Depression is a real problem here, so is alcoholism. (I was even told by a local that they track alcohol purchases via card, to make sure nobody is drinking too much in the dark months!)²

The "sunset" over the Tromsø harbor, 1:35 PM.

The second thing you should know is that you need traction on your footwear. Pack your snow boots, or buy some shoe spikes because otherwise you'll be spending a good chunk of your time here on the ground, cursing the ice. My dumb-ass had decided to come to Norway on a whim, without thinking or preparing, so I showed up in my Doc Martens slipping and sliding. I almost couldn't make it to my Airbnb, my host having to come down and help me up the hills!! Thankfully I was able to borrow boots from my, again, incredibly lovely host³, but my god you've never appreciated gravel so much!

The Tromsø Troll Museum

That's right, the main attraction in the city, the reason you flew hundreds, perhaps even thousands of miles! This tiny museum with a bunch of trolls scattered all around!

It's a cozy space, and if you're as fascinated as mythology as I am, it's really a must-see if you're in town. Also, there's a replica of a hulder. According to local lore, these were beautiful women who would often try to lure men away from their human homes, to live in otherworldly pleasure with them⁴, or they would marry human men and join our world, retaining their otherworldly strength⁵!

Aurora Borealis

The biggest disclaimer I'd offer for the northern lights is this, you are never guaranteed to see them, even if you do everything "right". This was such a huge source of anxiety for me until I finally had a good sighting, then I was able to relax. I recommend doing some guided tours, these are not necessary (I saw them once right outside my Airbnb!) but it's going to maximize your chances by getting you away from the city's light pollution. There's many different modes of transportation for this, I myself took a bus and a boat, but I saw advertisements for planes, helicopters and even dog sleds*. The first time I ever witnessed the northern lights was on a sleepy little boat tour, New Year's Eve 2023.⁶

The interior was very cozy, more importantly it was warm, essential on a night with subzero wind chill. I enjoyed cookies and coffee and hot chocolate with marshmallows!

The lights don't look like the pictures, that should be stressed. The vast majority of aurora borealis photos are taken via long-exposure, and our eyes just don't work the same way. But on a good night you can see a faint green distortion in the sky, as if a riff into another dimension. It's like you expect an alien spaceship, or the giant hand of a monster to come ripping out of it, changing our world forever.⁷ But for the natives of Tromsø, it's just a day like any other.

View of the Aurora Borealis, from my Airbnb the next day.

I also recommend booking a few different tours, if you're like me and only really need to see it once, many will let you cancel on 24hrs notice if you pay extra. I recommend this as a good way to save money, but I'm kinda a cheapskate, so what do I know?

Also, please don't be discouraged if you don't see the lights on any given tour, you still do get some really beautiful photographs. It's important to keep a sense of relativity about you, you are standing at the top of the world, in the freezing cold. And in this moment you are having a novel human experience, regardless of whether or not you see some pretty lights on top of it.

What I Ate

Now, you might think the food is very bare-necessities in this sleepy arctic city, but you'd be surprised! One of the first things I had was something I had actually failed to find in Oslo, a delicious Norwegian donut called a skolebolle:

With a custard center and coconut flakes trimming the top, it's a deliciously sweet treat that I found in a Eurospar for the equivalent of a dollar. I recommend enjoying it with black coffee! Not pictured are the other things I got from the store, including paprika-flavored potato chips (highly recommended) and a large bar of Freia milk chocolate, which you'll not be disappointed by.

There's also an abundance of little convenience stores that will get you hot meals for relatively cheap (Northern Europe is expensive!) On the right you'll see a pepperoni calzone that was pretty good, along with a Norwegian soda that was less so. But if you're looking for a finer taste of Tromsø, stay with me:

This is a sampling I did of Aquavit, the signature liquor of Scandinavia. All of it was made right here in Tromsø, and I had a lovely guide for this tasting. To name a few, lingonberries and reindeer meat, not to mention a small slice of grapefruit.⁸ It's a little skimpy, however the point isn't to eat, but to taste!⁹

Conclusion/Takeaways

It can be a very scary thing, to be so far away from home. In all my years of travel, though that uncertainty has diminished, it never truly goes away. Maybe travel is just like any other experience, your tolerance to it builds until you only feel the original high when you get even further out of the world as you've known it. In this way, travel is much like a drug. But what moves me most about travel is its capacity to help us understand not just the planet we live on, but our own place within it. And if you ever feel lost for purpose, I might recommend standing on top of the world, hunting for otherworldly apparitions in the sky //

Footnotes:

¹ Of course, if you actually try to walk around in Tromsø without a coat, you will a)freeze to death and b)look stupid

² LITERALLY 1984

³ Of course, I had to return the boots when I left for the airport, meaning I fell not once, not twice, but THREE times trying to get down the hills to the bus stop. Seriously, you can't wear your Docs, no matter how fashionable and punk rock they are!

⁴ But why would you want to do that, when society is sooooooo good?? Like, who wants to live in a fantasy world where there is no suffering or want when we have Pizza Hut here, right now?

⁵ A hulder also features prominently on the cover of that one metal album by the murderous Nazi that your friend still listens to, despite knowing he's, you know, a MURDEROUS NAZI.

⁶ I would later go on to watch a man in lederhosen play The Weeknd, Cher, and at midnight ABBA's "Happy New Year", all on a keyboard. Dude was a one-man entertainment MACHINE, the vibe was immaculate.

⁷ As seen in Avengers 17: We Saved the World Again, in theaters this summer! Go watch it. Right now. The corporations demand it. DO IT. CONSUME.

⁸ Make sure your meds don't interact with grapefruit. Grapefruit may cause side effects including sour taste. Ask your doctor if grapefruit is right for you.

⁹ You know, like, a tasting menu or something!!

[darlenealive]

Back from my Scandi vacation!

Felt like I took it for granted leaving my brain back in SG and letting Ax do the planning and the navigating. I brought my spirits though! Spending my day off today looking back at the trip which was such a great use of my time. Really appreciating this extra day off after my vacation.

Some tips for Norway and Denmark travels first

1. It's cashless even in the small towns. Cash was more of a liability as it forced us to spend it all

2. Hotels cost as much as Airbnb for 2 pax so opt for hotels as there's guaranteed shampoo, soap, hair dryer, heating and laundry. Most of our airbnbs were missing soap or shampoo which we didn't bring any of, in order to travel lighter. The bnbs we stayed in were also commercialised houses so there's absolutely no feelings attached. Checking in and out would also be more convenient with hotels. We had to return one of our keys from a convenience store which wasn't open in the early morning, in time for our flight.

3. Groceries are marked down on Friday if they expire Monday. If you're in Norway, go to Kiwi or Coop for basic groceries as it seemed to be the cheapest. However, each shop will hv their own discounts (not standardised across the same chain). Eg. We went to a place with 40% discounts on Freia choc which was only available at a particular store.

4. Northern lights chase was the coldest we experienced. Basically, the guide said that if its frost on the floor, it's worse than snow as there's no insulation for your feet. Not the coldest real temperature but coldest we felt. Bring extra clothes and heatpack just in case. The bonfire didn't do anything for me because it's too cold. We went with GuideGunnar which updates its aurora sightings on a daily basis. These guys are crazy and would bring you as far as Sweden just to chase the lights so bring your passports along! They also offer a 50% off the next trip if you don't see it on the day.

5. There's no heat packs there so bring them from home.

6. In Copenhagen, we recommend the Copenhagen card. It's only 65USD for 24hrs and you get free transport, museum pass and boat rides. We only decided to get the card after our boat ride which cost about SGD25-30, which was already a quarter the cost of the card. In Copenhagen, checking of bus tickets was a regular thing.

7. Useful apps for riding public transport: Oslo uses Ruter, Tromsø uses Troms billet, Copenhagen uses Dot tickets. Ticket checking was not very often in Norway. We did not cycle as it felt too cold for more wind to hit our faces.

8. Skip Oslo if you dw to visit a city. We spent 3 nights there and it felt too long. We wanted to do our last minute shopping at Oslo but everything was expensive throughout the whole trip that we started to buy souvenirs earlier when we saw marked down prices. With one more day in Tromsø, we could've gone whale watching.

9. Take into account daylight savings from 29/10. You have 1 more extra hour to sleep but your days are much shorter. We slept a lot because of the cold, about 10hrs of sleep each day and it felt just right.

10. Personally I would have brought instant noodles as the food there isn't flavoured with the same umami as I'm used to. I would also bring a thermal flask there to enjoy my hikes even more, taking a comfortable and warm rest at the peak.

11. If driving, please remember to pay for parking. There's usually a machine to start your parking. Otherwise, the fine is 660NOK. Don't let the rental company settle it as it'll still be billed to you with an extra fee. We would also recommend full insurance since we aren't used to left hand driving and Norway is famous for its narrow roads (at least from Stavanger to Odda where we drove).

12. We used waze for driving and it seemed that speed cameras are only in tunnels but nobody was following the speed limit anyway.

That's about all of the suggestions Ax and I thought of!

Hope these suggestions come in useful for someone.

[herbalinz-of-yesteryear]

Thanks, @keyrousse, for tagging me. Haven’t seen this in a while. Tagging @nananarc @jawanaka @dclcq @xuelingxu @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @poeti-kat @kindlingonfire @luciferian-herbivore @tio-trile @art-hoe-world @eloquentmoon @nxctuaryninetythree @genifer-first-of-her-name If you are interested

❤️last song you listened to?

"Wolf Like Me” by TV on the Radio (just watched Wendell & Wild)

🧡 ideal pizza toppings?

🫣 Ok here we go—pineapple, jalapeño and chicken. Blue cheese is great, too.

💛 dream vacation

Tromsø, Norway in winter.

I know it can’t be great for my mental health because I do thrive when close to my community, but I have this romantic notion of leaving everything off for a few weeks and answer the call to be just on my own again. A room-in-a-hotel-in-the-midtown kind of situation.

I know I would miss my spouse and our idiot cat daughter very much, and I definitely would not be like Jack Kerouac cracking up On the Road in a week with nothing but a shit load of cigarettes (bleh). It’s just the idea of me, words, and polar nights having some alone time in a new place sounds nostalgically attractive as the day grows shorter

💚earth, air, fire, or water?

I like water?

💙cartoon you grew up on?

Cardcaptor Sakura (SOme of my first m/m f/f ships; my first multishipper show too). Wouldn’t exactly say I “grew up on,” more like one of my first cartoon series. Didn’t really follow a series long enough for me to grew up on

💜 favourite scent?

Lilac.

If you will humor me, one more question:

🖤 currently reading (that you would recommend)?

Happening, Annie Ernax. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters. Half-light, Frank Bidart. All the Names Given, Raymond Antrobus. A Snake Falls to Earth, Darcie Little Badger. Tarkin, James Luceno. My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me [anthology of mythpunk stories]. Spirits Abroad, Zen Cho.

The last book led my thesis to a new direction. I cannot recommend Zen Cho enough if you are looking to read more fantasy from non-mainstream authors (white, middle-upper, cishet), or like me, you are not exactly—or no longer—in the mainstream box in the society where you live. Don’t forget your own voice.

[winstonbinch]

An Introduction to the Lyngen Alps

The Lyngen Alps in Northern Norway have been on my bucket list for a long time. They first caught my attention in a Warren Miller film segment. The idea of skiing to the sea above the Arctic Circle seemed nothing short of awesome and like something I had to do in my lifetime. Beyond the scenic beauty, I liked that skiing there involved boats and required human power. Helis and cats allow you to access unreal terrain but ski touring is its own unique reward and better for the environment. 

To mark my 50th year, I decided to make it happen with a group of longtime ski buddies. Some of whom were also celebrating the same milestone. I was spurred on after a conversation with a friend on a trip to Valdez with Alaska Backcountry Guides, two years ago. She told me about Lyngen Lodge, a boutique lodge about a 2 1/2-hour drive north of Tromsø. She was considering it herself.

There are lots of guides and programs that operate in the Lyngen region. Many people decide to do the trip on a boat, which adds to the adventure factor but also means less comfort. In contrast, Lyngen Lodge is the only high-end lodge of its type in the area. The views, accommodations, amenities, food, and staff are world-class. To get to the ski zones you go out the backdoor, take a quick van drive, or use their power boat, which is excellent. The mountain access is incredible. Everywhere, I mean everywhere you look, there are hero lines and tours. The options are endless. 

Check out the Lyngen Alps on the FatMap app or the book The Lyngen Alps: Skiing, Climbing/Trekking. You’ll get a good sense of what’s out there.

We arrived in Norway on April 20th for a 9-day trip, which included 6 days of skiing. I found my travel logistics to be the easiest among our group since I came directly from New York City. I booked a flight with SAS from Newark to Oslo and then made the 2-hour connecting flight to Tromsø. The time difference from New York is 6 hours. I found getting here to be affordable and relatively simple as far as international travel goes. Some members of our group rented a car, while others opted for the van transfer provided by Lyngen Lodge. a couple of members of our group rented a car while the rest opted for the van transfer provided by Lyngen Lodge.

When you arrive in Tromsø, you’re immediately greeted by epic terrain all around you. While the mountains in view are not as big as Alaska, "it has serious Valdez vibes," as one friend put it. There are good tours as close as 15-30 minutes away. A lot of people decide to base camp in the city for that reason. I understand why pro skier and Norrona athlete Nikolai Schirmer calls this area home. It's a badass adventure town. At lunch, I saw two people paragliding over the harbor. There's a Norrona shop in the mall and a good store called City to Summit if you need to pick up any gear, bars, or gels.

Lyngen Lodge is in the town of Djuvik, a small fishing village, northeast of Tromsø, that was occupied by the Nazis in World War II. 3,000 Germans built a base at the edge of the harbor. Only ruins remain but you can see the ominous ramparts as you pass by the harbor on boat. There are salmon fisheries in the area and the region has also long supplied Europe and the rest of the world with dried cod. You'll see a lot of fish hanging out to dry. Something I had never seen or smelled before.

We stayed on the property after our ski days, opting for sauna sessions and cold plunges in the Fjord, but there's some sightseeing to do if that's what you're into. 

The British owner and former Austrian ski guide, Graham, found the idyllic spot while on a ski tour. Not every room has a view, but I was lucky. I had both postcard Fjord and mountain vistas right out my window. When we were there, it never got dark. So, I recommend bringing an eye mask.  Because of the light this time of year, you're also not likely to see the Northern Lights. 

Regarding the ski touring itself, Lyngen Lodge doesn't cater to extreme backcountry skiers. They’re open and direct about this. They ask that you bring ski crampons, which you will need unless you're an uphill ace, but not ice axes or boot crampons. Couloir skiing is not on the menu even though they surround you. Similar to my experience at CMH, their approach is on the more conservative side. It's a perfect setup for people who have solid ski touring experience, want long scenic runs below 38 degrees in steepness and an amazing lodge experience, and are in very good shape. You do about 3,000-4,500 feet a day. 

Our Austrian UIAGM-certified guide was knowledgeable and a great skier. We passed our fitness, skills, and safety test on day one, and he got us on to some fun and steep faces on 3 of our 6 ski days. One of which I'd put on par with Alaska or BC in terms of aggressiveness. But I would have preferred more. I like a good dose of adrenaline and fear on my adventure vacations. 

There are three guides at the lodge for a total of 16 people. At Lyngen each group gets one guide. In Alaska, you typically have both a lead and tail guide. You want that for more gnarly terrain. It gives you a lot more options as well as improves safety.  We asked for the extra guide and were willing to pay for it but were told no. Again, this is just not the program at Lyngen Lodge. Their concept is more scenic and laidback.

That said, the trip was a success and a fantastic introductory and exploratory mission to what may be the Mecca of ski touring. The weather was perfect. We had no down days, which can happen given the skiing is mostly above treeline in the alpine. 

Not all of us got to explore Tromsø, but there's a Polar Museum there. As it turns out, the city was established as the “Gateway to the Arctic” in the late 1800s. There are a lot of research vessels in the harbor. Oslo is a beautiful and interesting city. The Opera House and Munch Museum are iconic, must-see destinations. In 1940, Munch donated all of his work to the municipality of Oslo. The volume of his artwork on display is staggering. To put it in perspective, the museum is 10 stories tall.

Another thing to admire is Norway’s commitment to climate and sustainability. I knew that 80% of the country’s cars were EVs, but I didn’t know that heli-skiing was off-limits. Helis are amazing machines, but if they were allowed, it would be a very different environment. There’s something special in just how untouched so much of this land is. Norway puts the wild in the wilderness. I’ll be back to explore the Lyngen Alps for sure.

In terms of Lyngen Lodge, I recommend it for everyone besides backcountry skiers looking for couloirs and 38 degrees plus consistently. It’s a 5-star and unforgettable experience in one of the most gorgeous places in the world.

[magdasabs]

from northern lights land, and i would say tromsø is definitely a good option. it’s pretty accessible, with a heavy focus on northern lights tourist. idk about the light pollution, but you could probably still see them even in the city on good days. living some place north of there, and i can see them in the middle of my town in places with less street lights. the worst enemy is the cloudy weather (and cold weather, it’s -20, so i would not recommend January…!)

thank you for this info! also that's super cool that you live there, I always get surprised even tho I shouldn't

[superlinguo]

Linguistic Data Interest Group: Five years of improving data citation practices in linguistics

After five years with the Linguistics Data Interest Group of the Research Data Alliance, I’ve stepped down as a co-chair of the group. I wanted to use this as a chance to collate some of the work I was involved with over the last five years. I’ll still be a member of the LDIG for its next chapter, and thrilled that Andrea Berez-Kroeker, Helene N. Andreassen, and Lindsay Ferrara will be heading things up. And, of course, the group has many excellent members (if you’re a linguist and/or interested in data management, you can join the LDIG too!).

The Austin Principles of Data Citation in Linguistics

The Austin Principles of Data Citation were the first major output for the LDIG, it focuses on the why of data citation. This short document is a position statement on the importance of data in linguistic work. From the preamble:

Data is central to empirical linguistic research. Linguistic data comes in many different forms, and is collected and processed with a wide range of methods. Data citation recognizes the centrality of data to research. Furthermore, it facilitates verification of claims and repurposing of data for other studies.

The official Austin Principles website

The Superlinguo post

The Trømso Recommendations in academic publishing

If the Austin Principles are the why the Tromsø Recommendations are the how.

The Tromsø Recommendations provide clear guidance for data citation for referencing language data, both in the bibliography and in the text of linguistics publications. The recommendations have been written to account for the rich variety of linguistic data, and include clear guidance and examples.

The official Tromsø Recommendations documents

The Superlinguo post

Building uptake for the Trømso Recommendations

Now that the Tromsø Recommendations have been published, there’s an ongoing campaign to normalise their use in academic publishing and grant writing. Get involved by encouraging your favourite publishers to include to Tromsø Recommendations in their author guidelines!

The Linguistics Data Interest Group (a working group in the Research Data Alliance) have developed the Tromsø Recommendations in collaboration with linguists working in a range of disciplines. The next step is to help encourage citation of data by encouraging journals to include the Tromsø Recommendations in their instructions for authors.

bit.ly/trecs-campaign

Publications

Alongside LDIG colleagues I was involved in a number of publications looking at the role of data in linguistics. Below are links to the Superlinguo posts with more information, the abstract and links to open access versions.

Reproducible research in linguistics: A position statement on data citation and attribution in our field

Situating Linguistics in the Social Science Data Movement. Chapter in the Open Handbook of Linguistic Data Management

Data transparency and citation in the journal Gesture

Reflections on reproducible research, in Reflections on Language Documentation 20 Years after Himmelmann 1998

Putting practice into words: The state of data and methods transparency in grammatical descriptions

See also: The Superlinguo lingdata tag.

[rstilgoefilmfestivals2023]

Research on a chosen film festival

My tutor requested that we research a film festival of our own choice and the one I choose to investigate was the TromsØ International film festival.

This is a film festival that is held in the third week of January every year on the island of TromsØ  in Norway. It began in 1991 and is both Norway’s largest film festival and the most northerly film festival in the world as it is held within the arctic circle. The festival has five screening venues one of which is out in the snow, so it is necessary to wrap up warm.

The festival pulls in a lot of students as its audience as it offers cheaper tickets as well as limited events and volunteering opportunities for students due to the urge for growth within the film industry amongst younger people. At the festival a wide variety of films are shown from all over the world and in many different styles of filmmaking.

The reason why this film festival interested me so much was due to hearing about it in my first year of film studies A-level, however due to COVID I was unable to go but I have been fascinated with it since then. I hope that I will get the opportunity to go to this festival in the coming years and I would definitely recommend it as something for people to be interested in. 

[dreaming-marchling]

If Brian decides he wants to brave to cold and watch the northern lights, Stockholm will be too far south. Tromsø or Kirkenes in Norway would probably be the best places. I'd go for Tromsø, since it's one of the bigger cities in Norway (and has an excellent university hospital if Brian's luck holds up). Dom would probably love having an excuse to buy Brian a whole new wardrobe. Lofoten has both northern lights and excellent surfing, but I wouldn't recommend surfing in northern Norway in winter.

I am living for your comments, just fyi

People moving out: I totally agree! Sure, Vince doesn't like change but for Brian there's definitely a destabilization element involved. He's come to rely on the house being the same and the team being the same so some massive shift in either place would be extremely hard for him to deal with, largely because he hasn't really had to before.

Mia-is-mom-shaped: Omg yes! I love this description.

MiF of the bakery ladies: I hadn't considered that at all but it could be very funny! I feel like people will riot if I do a non-team MiF and it's not Becker but this is honestly more up my alley. Or the Doyles. That appeals to my soul.

Norway: I am cackling that your recommendations for which city in Norway to visit are filtered by which city has the best hospital for our spleenless darling. Thank you for your help here! I don't live in Norway nor have I ever been so you've saved me a bunch of research time should that trip ever come to be :)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Hugely appreciated!

[daily-fun-animal-facts]

Arctic Reindeer

Researchers have discovered the eyes of Arctic reindeer change colour through the seasons from gold to blue, adapting to extreme changes of light levels in their environment and helping detect predators.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded team from UCL (University College London), and the University of Tromsø, Norway, showed that the colour change helps reindeer to see better in the continuous daylight of summer and continuous darkness of Arctic winters, by changing the sensitivity of the retina to light.

(Full article <<< I recommend giving it a read! It’s very interesting!)

[obihoekenobi]

I live in Norway, and although I'm more familiar with the northern part of the country, I might have some suggestions or maybe just some insight.

U said u've been to Oslo before, but if u like art they just opened the new Munch Museum there. Oslo honestly just has a lot to offer when it comes to culture and history. The Oslo fjord is also just a nice area in general.

Bergen is also really nice. The pier is pretty and they've got a huge fish marked there. It does rain a lot there so u might want to bring an Umbrella just in case.

Trondheim is also pretty cool and it has Nidarosdomen which is a really old, gothic church where st. Olav (a former king) is buried and stuff. I hear food is also really good there.

Places like Fredrikstad, Dovrefjell, Jotunheimen and Røros are also supposedly nice. Driving up Trollstigen is a whole experience, and u get to cozy, little Geiranger on the other side. I also hear that Kristiansand is a popular tourist city.

April is unfortunately a bit too late for Northern lights season and a bit too early for midnight sun season, but there's still fun places like Nordkapp, which is about as far north as mainland Norway goes (and maybe even Europe if I remember correctly). Very windy and cold tho, even in summer.

Northern Norway doesn't really have any big spectacular cities, but Tromsø, Alta, Bodø, Lofoten and Kirkenes are still nice places to visit. They do call Tromsø the "Paris of the North" after all lol. I have to admit I'm most familiar w Tromsø, and I think it's a nice city w a bunch of cool stuff to offer.

U also get to see a lot more sami (indigenous people from Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia) culture up north, especially in places like Alta and Kautokeino.

If u wanna go somewhere super arctic I hear Svalbard is a nice place, but it's also really cold. Even in summer. Honestly, I'd recommend packing a bit warmer clothes if ur going anywhere in Northern Norway bc we just have short, kinda cold, but very bright summers, and really long, freezing, dark winters.

I also know that a lot of places offer tours where u can go whale watching and stuff.

I feel like most of the appeal for Northern Norway is the nature, even though the South still has plenty of that. Tons of mountains to climb and u can still go skiing some places in April. It just depends on what u wanna do ig.

Idk maybe this was helpful

- @frunbuns

I hope it's okay that I post this - just in case anyone else needs the inspiration!

Thank you so so much for all the tips, I really appreciate them. I only got to spend a day in Oslo before so I didn't get to see enough of it - I had the Oslo fjord written down as well so it's good to hear it's nice!

I shall definitely pack warm and bring an umbrella though. One of the first things I googled was weather and northern lights! It's unfortunate that we'll miss them this time of the year but I'll definitely get around to seeing them one day.

This was really, really helpful - I shall look into the places you mentioned! 💙

[pac-wo-man]

Miracles of Ramadan

Since I made this tumblr nearing the start of the fasting month, I would like to dedicate my second post to the miracles I have experienced during the holy month of Ramadan. Disclaimer, this may sound rather like a personal spiritual reflection…

And this brings me back to the Ramadan I had in 2019, one that I thought would be the hardest, but Allah made it one of the easiest. --- It was on May, close to the summer solstice, when the day in the northern hemisphere was notably long. I was still living in the Netherlands, and so the fasting hour was long: it would begin at 3:00am CET before sunrise, and ends at Maghrib (sunset hour, the time when we broke our fast) which would call at around 9:30pm CET. Yet, in that month, I had to travel even far north to Tromsø, Norway; for a course study trip that worth 15 credits of my masters. A place where the sun does not even set. Of course it was trip I highly anticipated on, coming from Indonesia, trekking the vast snowy mountain range of the arctic is indeed listed somewhere on my bucket list. On the other hand, I was worried that the trip would ruin my rituals in Ramadan. It crossed my mind to skip a few days of fasting, especially that my family convinced me I was actually eligible to have the exception of not fasting, considering I was a ‘musafir’ (meaning traveler--in which in Islam they may be excused for not fasting). Although, referring to the old tales, its not like I resembled the musafir that spent days on a camel travelling through the dry desert of Sahara in a mission to deliver an important message to….. ok lets not go into that. But anyways, I had my doubts. And as far as I remembered, no one on the trip was fasting too, so I was reluctant.

But somehow my heart whispers: no. don't compromise. keep your fast, because-- I don't actually know because of what. But I felt I really wanted to challenge my faith at that time. And subhanallah, as I set the intention firm, it felt like the world rotated to my favor (at least in my perspective):

1. It was with Ingrid, Judit, Malavika, and Nicole that I shared the cabin with during the extended road trip days. I actually hesitated to let them know as I did not want my routine to disturb them, such as having to wake up early for sahoor or seeking my iftar food in the rural north. But after I let them know, they had my sahoor and iftar food prepared, asking what is halal for me to eat, and say things like 'we won't let you eat bad food after having to starve all day'. Tears! I did not expect such help and tolerance.

2. As I mentioned, the sun only set halfway before it rises back up again in Tromso, Norway. And that’d be around 1 am. So I decided to break my fast at 8pm, following the time of the nearest Muslim country. I don't know how, but I managed to fast that lengthy hour, even on the day where we planned to go trekking up the mountain. Not a recommended activity during the fasting month, but how can I miss an opportunity I may not get another time? Indeed, there is no way a strength like that came from any other but the Creator. I never trained myself to hike, let alone in the fasting month? The exhaustion from the long walk also disappeared instantly as we found a picturesque waterfall of 100 meters tall that is so beautiful I instantly fell to my knees and cried (hehe). MashaaAllah. The moment itself was the most remarkable gift I ever had.

3. We spent most of the time on the road roaming around the site of our fieldwork. Ingrid and Judit were the two taking turns driving the wheels. They always offered to stop every time its my praying time. And the place where I stopped? It's always in the middle of nowhere -- a truly scenic, mesmerizing, *insert more bewildered adjectives here* Norwegian landscape which overwhelmed me as I begun thinking how would ‘a better place than the earth’ look like.

Please allow me to share the view that kept sending me shivers back then (I swear they are better in real life!):

In the end what really what got me was: I don't think it was my even my will anymore to have the determination to keep fasting.

But it was Allah who did not want me to skip it, and he made every situation easy, possible, and beautiful for me to enjoy doing the worship. Alhamdulillah. And so that remained as a precious memory.

The Ramadan in 2019 changed my perspective on how I view obstacles and how to have taqwa (full trust) on Allah when you have already set your intention straight. This helped me to go through the Ramadan in 2020, which was at the start of the worldwide lockdown, as He blessed me with a tiny circle (Hi Wida, Yasmin, Widya, etc!) to quarantine together and venture on a journey inwards. But that’s another story. I pray that you too shall experience the miracles of Ramadan, or get you flying to the Arctic Norway (again if you already have!), and for those of you who are fasting in this pandemic Ramadan--may Allah make it easy for you and grant you barakah in all your efforts.

Ramadan Mubarak,

PAC

[lihikainanea]

Hi Lei! I'm going to Tromsø this Christmas for the first time (eeee xD) and I'm wondering if you've been + if so what recommendations you have?? <3

Ohhhh babes, lucky you! It’s such a magical time of year to be in Scandinavia <3 I went to Tromsø 3 years ago for a few days, I flew a small propeller plane over from Oslo to chase the Northern Lights. I highly suggest a tour for it if you’re interested, there are a lot and they really bring you out to some incredibly remote areas where you have the best chances of seeing them.

Food wise, the restaurants can be pricey AF. I ate at Bardus which was tiny, quaint and so lovely with good food and not too expensive, considering the location. I also went for the ~experience~ at Smak AS which just blew my mind but it’s crazy expensive.

I stayed in Tromsoya, or the downtown area of Tromsø near the harbour. I went in November and honestly, the views were just so spectacular—it felt like a movie.

Enjoy, boo. And PLEASE report back once you go! I’d love to hear about it <3