Reading, Writing, Drawing...
Books have always been an important part of my life. Every evening our dad would read goodnight stories by classic children's book authors. Soon I was writing my own stories, and as a 13-year-old I contributed with the thriller "The Mystery In The Old House" in The Children's Hour's Year Book. Later on I also tried to write some songs, and as an adult I've also written a couple of poems.
In my childhood and youth, comics were among my most important interests, and I also made quite a few myself. Characters like "Doby Duck" and "Morty Mouse" indicate more than just a slight inspiration from the Disney universe, but in the early 80s I also drew several strips with the somewhat more original (?) hero Rasmus.
Apart from fiction I've also always liked non-fiction. I've been particularly interested in languages, so it was no surprise that the humanities were my choice when I started my academic career. In this period lots of my literary production was related to my studies. During my English study I analyzed poems by people like W.H. Auden and Thomas Hardy.
As a student in Nordic Languages and Literature I wrote about postmodernism and reduction of double consonants in front of inflectional suffixes (nerd alert!). During my time as a contributor in the student magazine Bøygen I wrote various articles, primarily about linguistic and literary topics. My most comprehensive literary work so far is my post-graduate thesis.
Music
Movies
Between 1979 and 1982 my mate Lars and I (with a little help from family and friends) made several super 8 movies under the name Teko Film. Here are some screenshots and synopses from the movies.
The Thief Gets Trapped
Shot in 1979. Runtime: 3 min 30 sec
Torgny and Lars discover a thief. The thief discovers Torgny and Lars. After a brief hunt Lars is caught and put in a pillory, conveniently at hand. Torgny is being chased by the thief, but eventually manages to release Lars. When the thief loses his belt, Lars manages to tie him up. The thief is arrested and put in jail. Torgny and Lars get a finder's reward.
- A-ha! Spies!
The Invisibility Serum
Shot in 1979. Runtime: 8 min
A professor has created an invisibility serum. Lars uses it to beat up an enemy and steal drinks from the pantry. Amazing special effects!
- What's this? Evil spirits?!
Shivers At Midnight
Shot in 1980. Runtime: 11 min 20 sec
Teko's 1 year anniversary movie! A boy bets that he'll dare spending the night in a haunted house. During the night he's being chased by monsters, vampires and pirate ghosts. He survives the night and receives his well deserved reward.
- Now I'd love a drink!
Jimmy Johnson and The Family Vendetta
Shot in 1981. Runtime: 13 min 10 sec
The cowboy hero Jimmy Johnson shoots Slim Cassidy in self defence. The Cassidy family want revenge and Jimmy experiences several chases and attempted murders from Slim's brother Joe. In the end he has to run to the mountains to escape the family revenge. This is were the day of reckoning finally takes place...
- Fried pork and red beans, that's great!
Teko Film's Merits
Shot in 1982. Runtime: 28 min 40 sec
The crook Peder Christian Andersen forces Torgny to sign a will making Andersen Teko Film's sole heir. Afterwards Andersen tries at regular intervals to murder Torgny and Lars in order to take over the movie company. The movie contains several breakneck chasing scenes in Sarpsborg and its surrounding areas.
Women
My Family
Other Interests (and a walk down memory lane)
Possibly as a result of my childhood fascination for cars I still find number plates quite intriguing.
Flags is another interest I've brought with me from my childhood. (Check your flag skills here!) In my student days I was also fascinated by chaos theory and fractals.
Like for so many others, tv (and partly radio) has been an important part of my childhood. One of my earliest tv memories is the British cartoon about Sam and his Magic Ball. Other animated classics I remember with delight are Professor Balthazar and Mr Rossi. The ultra-pedagogical Play School is also something I won't forget that easily. But it still falls through compared to the Swedes' equivalent Five Ants Are More Than Four Elephants. And last, but not least, no walk down the memory lane of Scandinavian children's programs in the 70s is complete without the cult classic Pompel & Pilt, the series that (mis)shaped a whole generation.
One of my quirkier interests when the tv medium is concerned, is test cards (a phenomenon you hardly ever see on the tv screen any more). I'm also quite fascinated by the good, old BBC and ITV idents that introduced many of my favourite shows.
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