Populariteten af drengenavnet Atlas er på kort tid steget næsten kometagtigt, og der har været spekuleret en del i inspirationskilderne. En del af forklaringen kan dog være en særlig lydlig mode.

Superman. Batman. Mystery Man. In _Superman: The Movie_ [1978], a thief uses suction cups to climb a high-rise in search of another score, but is cheekily intercepted by Superman. In _Batman_[1989], a man [initially suggested to be Thomas Wayne, father of Bruce] leads his wife and young son on a shortcut through an alley where he is assaulted and his family is robbed. That criminal and that victim have something in common. Both small but memorable roles were played by David Baxt—the only actor to appear in both of those pioneering DC Comics superhero films. I discovered this only recently, which is why it’s taken this Superman/Batman nostalgist this long to try to find and interview David. The same day I began my search, I learned that I am the first known writer to try to find David, but not the first _person_ … Alas, this story—at the moment—does _not_ have a happy ending. On IMDb, David’s first credit was in 1976, and his last in 2000. Long ago enough to all but confirm that he no longer has an agent. Another culturally significant film featuring David is _The Shining_ [1980], in which he played the forest ranger who offers a lifeline of sorts to Shelley Duvall’s character over a CB radio as a winter storm rages. He also did stage work. He is described as Canadian-British, which had me looking for him in Ottawa and London, but quick searches in directories either yielded nothing or would cost something. Over the years, when on the trail of other “lost” performers of the pre-internet era, I have stumbled upon a snippet of info in a throwaway comment on Reddit or some other forum. These rare clues, often casually posted by former classmates, can be _the_ tipping point in finding someone. I found no such nuggets on David. So I turned to one of the most invaluable sources in such instances: obituaries. Names are gold. Unusual names like “Baxt” are gold-coated diamonds. [“Baxter” would have been a nightmare.] I found obituaries for multiple family members, but none yielded easily searchable names—or they had names of others who were also dead. Finally I came across David’s half-brother Joshua, who lives in California. I messaged him. He responded quickly—and chillingly: “Unfortunately David self-disappeared around 20 years ago. We have not heard from him since. If he’s alive, he’s off the grid somewhere. I wish I had more for you.” Oh, but he did. Because he kindly added “Feel free to call if you want more details.” I did, immediately. I also Zoomed with David’s sister Susan. With their permission, I’ll share what I learned. David was born in New Jersey on July 21, 1947. His sister Susan is four years older, Josh 14 years younger. David was not close with either sibling. He and Josh share a biological father but didn’t grow up together. Though they got along fine, they “weren’t brothers in any real sense.” When David was three-and-a-half, the family moved to Montreal. He may have had an undiagnosed learning disability. Reading could be a struggle, but he was smart. He was offered a scholarship to study opera at McGill…odd for someone who had no interest in opera. Susan didn’t know how it came about. David turned it down in favor of the School of Dramatic Arts in Montreal. He would busk to help pay for his education, along with a friend. After finishing the program, David relocated to London which had a richer theater tradition; he also did movies and TV to help pay bills. He had a good agent. He had a circle of friends. Josh and their family visited him when _Superman_ was filming in New York. Though David’s part was small—apparently he had a line, but it did not make the final cut—they’d put him up in a big suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Josh recalled that they were shooting his scene at 2 a.m. [Time-and-a-half was involved.] Their dad was proud of David’s work. Those 85 seconds of screen time earned David enough to live on for a year. That unused line, as far as Josh remembered: “I wasn’t doin’ nothing.” [Alas, Josh doesn’t think they took photos on set.] “David was smart, kind and funny, though not in a joking way,” Josh said. “He tended towards wry observations. I stayed with him in London a couple of times, and he always took good care of me.” David had asthma, which worsened over time and impacted his acting career. Around 1997, David came to California and stayed with his dad and stepmom, but their cat triggered an allergic reaction that sent David to the hospital. He recovered…but that was the last time Josh saw him. Josh and David had been exchanging letters when their father died in 2002, but that eventually stopped. David and his father, 1992 There was no falling out. There was no explanation. There was no trace. David’s mother passed away several years later. Susan tried to reach David, to no avail. Because they had inheritance matters to address, they hired a private investigator. The PI found that David had sold his London apartment sometime around 2006 and left no forwarding address. But the PI didn’t find David. At the time, however, it was determined that David was still receiving residual checks…somewhere. As of the family’s last contact with David, he dated women but had not married nor had kids. He has never met Josh’s kids, who are now adults. David liked the sun and, due to his asthma [and bronchitis], benefitted from certain climates, so Josh imagines he may have settled in a small village along the Mediterranean. Josh presumes that David would hate the digital society we live in now. Even in the analog era, David was a Luddite who got an answering machine because he didn’t want to miss calls about auditions, but was resentful of “the stupid thing.” As I mentioned, I’m the first writer to reach Josh or Susan about David, but every few years, Josh hears from a friend of David’s. A quarter century on, his inner circle is still holding out hope. Susan doesn’t feel that Josh committed suicide. Though not counting on it, Josh doesn’t rule out David showing up again one of these days. Which is one of the two reasons I’m posting this. Someone may see it and come forward with info—maybe a tipping point nugget that will solve the mystery. This has happened with my work before [see here, here]. The other reason I’m posting this sad story is, of course, that it’s also a good story about a good man. **If you know anything about David Baxt, please reach out.**

Victor 69707. Matrix/Take: B-20572/3.

Jubileumsutstilling med arkivmateriale fra 200 år med vidunderlig vitenskap ved Bergens Museum og Universitetet i Bergen

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Store norske leksikon har fått over 500 banneord i år. Dette er ord og uttrykk som tidligere leksikon og ordbøker ofte har gitt blaffen i. Muntlig kulturhistorie står alltid i fare for å gå nord og ned dersom den ikke blir nedskrevet. Denne delen av kulturen bør for guds skyld bevares! Det er derfor på sabla høy tid at banneord blir en ordentlig del av leksikonet. Banneord og kraftuttrykk har til alle tider vært en del av muntlig språk, og ved Internett og nettforumenes inntog har fanden og hans oldemor fått muligheten til å uttrykke seg for den store verden. Det har dermed blitt gysla mye mer skriftlig belegg for bruken. Dette var noe av bakgrunnen for Norsk banneordbok av professor i leksikografi Ruth Vatvedt Fjeld. Boka kom i 2018, med revidert utgave fra 2021, og er forsyne meg den første ordboka for banneord på norsk. Noe bøvelskap har tidligere vært dokumentert i vanlige ordbøker, men en helhetlig innsamling har ikke blitt gjort før. Vi ble dritglade da vi fikk i gang et samarbeid med Ruth. Nå kunne denne viktige kulturhistorien også komme inn i SNL! Vi har lært mye gjennom prosjektet. Visste du for eksempel at _søren_ er en eufemisme for satan, _jøss_ for Jesus og _guriland_ for Guds rike? Og visste du at _dyre død_ kan hete _dyke de_ ,_dyrade_ ,_dyrede_ ,_dyre deg_ ,_dyskande_ og _dyskedausen_ avhengig av hvor du er i landet? Arbeidet har ført til mye fnising på kontoret, blant annet fra redaktører som leser _bullshit_ , og en hel redaksjon som går rundt og gjentar _faen_ for å finne ut om man uttaler e-en eller bruker to a-er. # Fremgangsmåten for importen En ordbok og et leksikon er forskjellige typer verk. En ordbok er ment å slå opp i og har korte tekster om hvert ord. I et leksikon kan man sette ting i en større kontekst. Vi valgte derfor å slå sammen beslektede ord til lengre artikler. Vi delte ordene inn i grupper der et av oppslagsordene ble valgt som hovedordet og de resterende som varianter av dette. _Dæven_ fikk for eksempel et eget oppslag, med variantene _dæven steike_ , _dæven sprekke_ , _dæven han salte_ , _dæven han steike_ , _dæven dundre_ , _dæven døtte_ , _dæven røske_ og _dæven sprette_. Vi brukte programmering for å systematisk sette sammen oppslag fra ordboka til artikkelutkast som vi deretter redigerte. Et viktig aspekt ved banneord er hvor stygge de oppfattes, altså hvor tabuiserte de er. Banneordenes styrkegrad oppgis i form av null til fire lyn i ordboka. Dette brukte vi til å karakterisere banneordene som henholdsvis avtabuisert (milde måne), svak (gurimalla), middels sterk (jæskla), sterk (rasshøl) og svært sterk banning (forpult). Resultatet av arbeidet ble over 500 nye banneord, rundt 150 nye artikler og en heidundrande flott temaside. Vi håper arbeidet ikke blir skyld i all landsens ulykke, men kan være til nytte neste gang du holder på å gå i baret. _Redaksjonen i Store norske leksikon_ _Annen i ellevte 2025_

I mi oppvekst var Absolute Music ein viktig arena for å oppdage musikk. I tillegg til hovudserien med samleplater, kom dei også med nokre temaalbum, som «Love songs» og «Movie Hits». Men det kom aldri med ei plate med musikk om Internett, datamaskinar og TV-spel. Her er mitt forslag til ei slik plate, der eg har valt å halde meg til songar gjeve ut på norsk fram til Stoltenberg var askefast med iPad i 2010. 1. Prima Vera – Data-Love (1:44) (1978, YouTube) 2. Ballade! – EDB og Data (2:15) (1980, YouTube) 3. Blacken & Co – Datateknikk I (2:44) (1983, YouTube) 4. Ola Fjellvikås – Pac Man (2:49) (1986, YouTube) 5. Minus Maja – Internettside (5:28) (1997, YouTube) 6. Jupedalens Pøbb Ensemble – Skvett På Internett (2:52) (1999, YouTube) 7. Blekkulf – Datadilla (4:46) (1999, YouTube) 8. E76 – Fram og tilbake (2:56) (2001, YouTube) 9. Vassendgutane – Data (3:08) (2002, YouTube) 10. Bare Egil Band – Vedrørende Moderne Datateknologi (2:05) (2003, YouTube) 11. Øystein Sunde – Jeg Kommer Ikke På Nettet (Sånn Er’e Bare) (2:11) (2005, YouTube) 12. Ove Røsbak – Internet Rap (2005, ikkje på nett?) 13. Scandix – Kjærlighet På Internett (3:05) (2007, YouTube) 14. Gatas Parlament og Supa Sayed – Counter strike (2:54) (2008, YouTube) 15. Stensvold, Kamfjord og Dahle – Datadilbert (2:50) (2008, YouTube) Dei er presenterte i kronologisk rekkefølgje, til hjelp for dei som vil utforske korleis tematikken har endra seg i takt med den teknologiske utviklinga. Her kjem i tillegg ein bonus-CD med mobiltelefoni som tema: 1. Delillos – Mobiltelefon (3:36) (1995, YouTube) 2. Bjelleklang – Bare jeg (3:33) (1996, YouTube) 3. Vinskvetten – Forelska på mobil (4:13) (2005, YouTube) Kom gjerne med forslag til fleire songar som kan vere med på lista.