BookCrossing, AuthorCrossing

Welcome to BookCrossing...

where...people in over 130 countries come to share their passion for books with the world. Where books take on a life of their own. How? It's easy.

Simply click on the link below and sign up for free in less than 1 minute-- that's it!

BookCrossing is earth-friendly, and gives you a way to share your books, clear your shelves, and conserve precious resources at the same time.
Through our own unique method of recycling reads, BookCrossers give life to books.
A book registered on BookCrossing is ready for adventure.

Leave it on a park bench, a coffee shop, at a hotel on vacation.
Share it with a friend or tuck it onto a bookshelf at the gym -- anywhere it might find a new reader!
What happens next is up to fate, and we never know where our books might travel. Track the book's journey around the world as it is passed on from person to person.

Join hundreds of thousands of active BookCrossers daily in our many forums to discuss your favorite authors, characters and books in every genre throughout history right up through current releases.

Join BookCrossing.
Help make the whole world a library and share the joy of literacy.
Reading becomes an adventure when you BookCross!
(Note: all text & images borrowed from BookCrossing.com webpage)

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Country List: Norway 163 (books)
Region List: Rogaland fylke 41
Cities List: Algard 10
Stavanger 3 (note: my town)
Sandnes 28 (note: short drive away)

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Stavanger 3 (Book Crossing Zones)
Madlakrossen 25 1 book, released about 4 days ago (1 maybe in English)
Madlatorget 1 book, released about 2 wks ago (10 maybe in English)*
Stavanger sentrum 1 book, released about 3 wks ago (8 maybe in English)
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by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

* 1 book in the wild...The Mistress of Spices - Book Crossing Zone,
at lampshop in Madla Mall
(note: am interested in this book, will attempt to hunt it down & capture it
next trip to the Mall...I have to do this at least once?!)
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Webpage Link: http://bookcrossing.com/

Read more Fellow Writers--there's also an AuthorCrossing...

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Conventions:
2010 Anniversary Convention
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Date: 16-18 April, 2010
Website: For more information, visit the convention website.
Contact: email bookcrossingconvention@gmail.com for more information.
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benk kaffee bar - Sandnes

ben k kaf fe bar / Bench Coffee Bar

Cupping on the bench

Written by: Thomas Date: 02/03/2010
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Every Tuesday at 17 (5:00 PM) is the opportunity to taste the coffee on the bench.

Cupping is the term the industry uses it to taste the coffee.

What we want to achieve with tirsdags cuppingen is to provide our customers annledningen to taste different types of coffee next to each other and thus experience the great differences between countries, prosseseringsmetoder and brewing methods.
Hope to see you to a upretansiøs

photo: Thomas during 2008 Barista competition

NM-preliminary results

Written by: Thomas Date: 23/02/2010
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After 10 very good, and brave, baristas conducted yesterday nm-qualification with flying colors, it was nevertheless three worthy winners who stuck out.

Nils Jøssang (*see Nils in photo at competition), Kristian Bye and Simon Dahl (all from Total in Haugesund) went on to a championship final in Oslo 22 to 24 April.

Here on the bench, we expect the voltage on the final settlement of the points ifht rest of the country gives Kevin Ehrenberg and Thomas Jørgensen a "wild card" to the final. stay tuned ...

photo: *Nils Jøssang (from Total) during the 2010 Barista competition trials at 'bench'

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Personal Note - written by Sharon (me) 05/03/2010:

I was there! for an hour at least, during Nil's trial & the Chocolate Girl's too -

she ended up having the Best Espresso I heard about later?!

Every Barista competitor had to make an Espresso, a Cappuccino & a Specialty Drink

(many used chocolate & chili's?!)

All 3 coffees in under 30 min's I think was their time limit, with 2 tasting/scoring judges

& 1 judge timing...

Local newspaper were there & at least 1 local television station, got lucky days afterwards

& caught it on TV as was channel surfing (even though all in Norwegian, I "knew" what was going on--this time?!)

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Kevin from the 'bench' on to Oslo

Written by: Thomas Date: 24/02/2010
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After the points from all the qualifying places in Norway has been considered together,

there were still seats left in the final in Oslo. SCAE decided to provide a place special to each of kvalikkstedene. Kevin from the bench was next man on the list and are therefore further to the finals in Oslo.

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Webpage Link: http://www.benkkaffebar.no/
Blog Link: http://benkkaffebar.blogspot.com/

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Bench CoffeeBar Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10-19
Wednesday: 10-22
Thursday: 10-22
Friday: 10-22
Saturday: 10-17
Sunday: 11-17

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Benk CoffeeBar Location:
Olav Kyrre Gate 5
4306 Sandnes
95 82 17 25
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Note: text was translated from Norwegian, so not all the words translated to English

CouchSurfing - Stavanger, Norway

About
What is CouchSurfing?
CouchSurfing is an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world. Since 2004, members have been using our system to come together for cultural exchange, friendship, and learning experiences. Today, over a million people who might otherwise never meet are able to share hospitality and cultural understanding.

Our mission as an organization is to create inspiring experiences: cross-cultural encounters that are fun, engaging, and illuminating. These experiences take many forms. CouchSurfing's initial focus was on hosting and "surfing" (staying with a local as a guest in their home). Alongside these core experiences, we now also facilitate a growing array of activities and events.

We have a vision of a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Each CouchSurfing experience shared by our members brings us closer to that vision.

How does CouchSurfing work?
CouchSurfing members share hospitality with one another. These exchanges are a uniquely rich form of cultural interaction. Hosts have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world without leaving home. "Surfers," or travelers, are able to participate in the local life of the places they visit. We also give more people the chance to become travelers, because "surfing" lowers the financial cost of exploration.

The CouchSurfing community continues to expand its horizons. Members are always finding more ways to connect and learn about each other. Every day, people across the world share coffee, camping trips, meetings, language exchanges, discussions and all sorts of other experiences.

Webpage Link: http://www.couchsurfing.org/about.html
Search: Europe...
Country - Norway - 941 CouchSurfers
City - Stavanger - 211, but only 196 show up on list...

Link for Stavanger, Norway CouchSurfers list...
http://www.couchsurfing.org/mapsurf.html

would love to visit, have a coffee on "this" red couch

Personal Note: I never expected to see anyone I knew on the list, but I was wrong...

Have met Austin Bingham at Red Crossing - Cooking Group with his wife Lisa

(but not their dog that time) & they were a great couple, were fantastic help in & out of the kitchen at the Red Cross House for sure (if you guys are reading this by chance, thanks again?!) :oD But sorry can't say what their Couch looks like?!

The Reverse of Volume by Onishi Yasuaki

photo from artist webpage - an earlier exhibition

Japanese art in KINO KINO Exhibition - Opening Time 12:30 - 28 Feb 2010 Sunday

The Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi has been a guest artist in artist in residence program Air Sandnes since mid-January and through February.
During his stay here has Onishi worked with the installation "The Reverse of Volume".
The work, a place-specific sculptural installation that challenges the room's own architectural elements, will be displayed in the foyer in the basement.

See more about the artist Yasuaki Onishi at...
Link: http://onys.net/

Air Sandnes, a collaboration between KINO KINO center for art and film,
Rogaland County and Sandnes.

KINO KINO Olav Kyrresgt. 5, 4307 Sandnes

About KinoKino:
The vision for CINEMA CINEMA center for art and film are:

The regional center for arts and film will be a leading screening arena for innovative art.

Through creative use of technology in video, film, electronic art, animation, comics and other artistic expressions, we will initiate and invite the new expression and dissemination methods and new cooperation constellations.

Link for art center: www.kinokino.no

Coffee Bar - benk
Link for Coffee Bar, Barista - Thomas: www.benkkaffebar.no