What do an acclaimed jazz pianist, a death metal vocalist and a five piece band have in common?  The answer is, not surprisingly, Tom Waits.  Seven Norwegian musicians from Trondheim’s metal, rock and jazz scenes have come together to form the traveling show titled “Earth Died Screaming (while I lay dreaming of Tom)”, a tribute to Tom Waits.  What comes from this union of Trondheim’s various music communities is an experience that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.  The single disappointment: that the group is sticking to Norway (as far as Years For Beards knows).

When I first heard about the show, I became immediately excited, and then immediately wary.  I continued to waver between hope and skepticism up until the minute the show – put together by the Bø jazzklubb – started on the sixteenth of October, 2009.  The small stage at Grillen (“The Grill”, a pub in Bø, Telemark, Norway) was a mess of instruments.  There was even one man whose sole task was sitting on the floor playing with a pile of percussion instruments around him.  The band began clapping and stomping layered rhythms, leading into an amazing rendition of – what else? – “Clap Hands”.  Every moment a new instrument or voice joined in was a new surprise.

Marita Røstad (vocals, piano) was amazing, and she is known in the area for her solo jazz album and performances.  The main band – consisting of Stian Omenås (trumpet), Daniel Elide (drums), Kurt Sprenger (electric guitar), Magnus Mortensen (contrabass) and Allesandro Elide (percussion) – was amazing.  Each and every one knew their parts and their instruments inside and out.  Of course, what you are undoubtedly most curious about is the part played by Stian Leknes, the man singing most of the Tom Waits lines.  Would he sing in his own voice?  Would he sound like an idiot trying to imitate Tom Waits’ decided growl?  Any doubts about a Tom Waits cover band’s legitimacy were instantly put to rest the moment Stian Leknes opened his mouth.

Leknes, who serves as the vocalist in Trondheim-based metal band Manifest, found the perfect balance between emulation and tastefulness.  His experience screaming in a metal band has most certainly prepared him for the part.  At times, Leknes sounded just like Waits, but never in a bad way.  It was easy to tell that Leknes was singing with a very natural voice, and not forcing the Tom Waits style too much.  Never once did it seem overdone or out of place.

The band played two sets with a short intermission in the middle of the night, so there were more Tom Waits songs than I could list.  Despite the long list of Waits pieces, none of them felt rushed.  Every song was carefully tailored to the band’s strengths, and it was easy to see that the band is passionate about both the work of Tom Waits and the show they are traveling with.  I am a huge Tom Waits fan (and he ranks in my top three artists of all time, easily), but what I am about to say may be blasphemy, so brace yourself.  Though most pieces were really wonderfully made, some songs actually came close to sounding better than the originals.  Any fan will, of course, always prefer Mr. Waits’ original compositions.  But it must be said that the band’s versions of songs like “Singapore”, “Clap Hands”, “Rain Dogs” and the titular “Earth Died Screaming” were simply breath-taking.  The band took already amazing pieces created by one of the best artists alive today and turned them into ten minute jazzy noise-rock epics.  And for that, I must give this band a ton of credit.  Their final piece was the song the show is named after, and it was the most fitting end to a show I have seen in a long time.  It was during this finale that the normal bar patrons – who had earlier been rudely yapping away – finally had no choice but to remain quiet and listen.

Besides the fact that the show was a full night of surprisingly high-quality entertainment, it was the cheapest show I have seen during my time here in Norway.  The shows I have seen advertised thus far in Norway have often ranged between $35 and $80 per ticket, whereas this show cost just over $15 (100 NOK).  Definitely a great deal, and hopefully this is an indication of the ticket price at other stops on the tour.

It is hard to find information about this traveling show online, but there is some basic tour date information available with a little searching.  If you are lucky enough to live in Norway, I highly recommend you check out “Earth Died Screaming (while I lay dreaming of Tom)” at your earliest convenience.  It is hard to say how long this band will be traveling, but it would be a shame if they did not remain together as a band after the tour is over.  Judging by their individual talents and accolades, one would hope that the band could write some quality, original material.

Here are some photos taken from the band’s facebook page:

As of late, my mind has been buzzing on why people group up together, and we may all see the easy and obvious reasons why we all do, at some point in our life, but I mainly wonder about the reason why we band together and at some point become agressive.

Well my own story may not be of much help, as I had a great adolscense, with mostly no negativity in it. I still stand by that statement, as my foot has been embedded in the spirit of positivity with a great tattoo. But as of late I have begun noticing group-voilence between people. Both Norwegian and immigrants have these tendenzies, but I mainly refer to immigrant youth societies. This is because we all tend to generalize these types of groups right from the start, which in most cases is overrated. As seen through my young eyes I feel that I can bring another view to the table, which older men and women can’t include themselves in. 

“We are strong together, we are one together” a friend said to me once, and I never really got that one, untill now. Alone we are nothing, only a mere chicken for the pickings, and when a young boy, white or black skin colour is of no importance, we all band toward eachother. We group up in fear towards the other man, who is different, in both colour and culture. things that are strange to us, like different views of religion especially a Religion which may include more gods than the one we are carrying, may feel strange, and even wrong. This is natural as when different viewpoints in Religion defines the culture. The Indian man may be more indifferent to things that we value and the other way around. We all claim to have the right lifestyle, and claim to best everyone in every aspects of life. This is problem number one.

Media also tend to blow up stories that include the minority in our Nation, even going as far as refering to gang-voilence or the persons skincolour. This creates this basic fear of the unknown, and suddenly we all spawn a terrorist out of the harmless Imam on the bus. You have all read that in an educational book somewhere, but I am not joking, this really affect all of us. This makes an ignorant and fearfull son-of-a-bitch out of us automaticly.

This makes us group up with like-minded persons, who share the same opinions. And when we are strong we tend to be braver that we would be when alone, and in some cases we become so brave that we neglect strange ways, even start to mutually hate it. We start to not tolerate it, rather pushing it away than facing it, fearing it even more. At this point there is no going back, and it all usually ends in voilence to some degrees.

This may be the cause that we all pit the other man against eachother so often, and even makes us “hate” the other man. The other man is not like us, invades our land, taking our work from us, and lives of what would be ours. This is bullshit, as we are all actually equals, in both heritage at some point, and righ to live the life we all want. But if we really are in a big family then why do we hate eachother so much? The older generation seem to be the blame in this. Ignorance and fear grips us all, but it is actually stronger in the older generation. Thank you mom for bringing me up to be this responsible, but I fear that you are overreacting! You have told me from the beginning to stay away from the scary world, in hope of shielding me from alle the “dangers” of this world, when in fact this world is my playground. I am glad that you brought me up not fearing the odd and new, but the “other man” was not the barberian that you would have me believe. There was no need to fear him, only embrace him, and his strange ways. For one day, his ways will not be that strange anymore, and rather familiar. I will not fear him, nor hate him. I will love the other man as my brother, and treat him with respect as I would my own kind.

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Written by:
Espen Dyrland

I am in the humanities library at the University of Oslo. I am terribly excited. I just had a chat with the people who established the postcolonial literature subject I’m going to teach. They are so lovely! As soon as I stepped onto the campus it felt like coming home. A university campus!!! With courtyards and large square glass-fronted buildings and students in coats and scarves! The library smells like old books. There are high windows above the shelves and sunlight slants in through the blinds. I am sitting opposite The Riverside Chaucer, two shelves away from Peter Carey’s Collected Short Stories. (This is a small library; they have a larger one a few buildings down.) The musty book smell and the yellow sunlight make my heart skip. This is where I want to be.

The world’s first power project that generates energy by mixing fresh water with sea water opens in Norway…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: coastal water. The blog is also related to: ocean marine.

…and tonight I will be in Wien for 5 days of Aikido with Endo sensei!

A nice big cloud reflecting partially some of the sun light… nice cloud in the nice Norwegian sky, one of the few thing I’ll miss for sure from here..

Time to change focus now.. one trip has started, another one might be imminent as well…..

Lisa N. Peters

Hermann Herzog, "Norwegian Waterfall," oil on canvas, 17 x 24 inches

I am following up on my earlier post on American artists in Norway, spurred by reading Sigrid Undset’s trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter (1920-22) and my husband Jerry’s visit to Norway.  In addition to John Singer Sargent and Willard Metcalf, some other American artists who went to Norway include William Trost Richards (1833-1905), who painted the Romsdalsfjord on Norway’s central coast; his daughter Anna Richards Brewster (1870-1952); and the German-born artist Hermann Herzog (1832–1932) who settled in America sometime between 1869 and 1871 (see picture at right).  Then, there are several Norwegian-born artists who immigrated to America, but kept ties with their homeland.  Among these are John Olson Hammerstad (1842-1925), Paul Lauritz (1889-1976), and, of course, Jonas Lie (1880-1940).

Born in the southern Norwegian town of Moss, Lie grew up near Oslo, moved when he was twelve to Paris, and a year later joined his family in New York, which would be his permanent home.  He attended the Ethical Culture School and went on to study at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League.  Also extremely peripatetic, Lie painted vibrant, realist landscapes and marines in many locales including Maine; the Adirondacks; Cape Ann, Massachusetts; and Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick, Canada.  He was drawn to water, mountains, snow, and boats—subjects that suggest that he sought motifs that reminded him of his homeland and perhaps eased his homesickness.  The latter was temporarily cured during an eighteen-month stay in Norway in 1909-10, when he visited Oslo and Lillehammer and spent part of his time in Gudbrandsdalen—the location of Jørundgård, the home of Kristin, Undset’s stoic protagonist.

Jonas Lie, "Quiet Town, Norway," 1909, oil on canvas, 26 x 35 inches

As Carol Lowrey wrote in “Jonas Lie (1880-1940): Painter-Poet of His Era,” in William H. Gerdts and Carol Lowrey, Jonas Lie (1880-1940) (New York: Spanierman Gallery, LLC, 2006): “The rustic dwellings and timber-frame farmhouses in Quiet Town, Norway obviously struck a chord with Lie in terms of his Nordic heritage, for he went on to decorate interiors for several of his patrons, such as Malcolm D. Whitman of New York, for whom he designed a “splendid Viking room.”  (21) Quiet Town, featuring a two-story Stue of log and stave construction and a grass roof, seems out of Kristin’s world, and one can imagine it as the “Saemund house,” which Undset described as “an ancient little hearth building, warm and snug: the timbers were so roughly hewn that there were only four beams to each wall,” (III, 86) while the scene evokes a courtyard Undset described where “two serving maids were tending to the smallest children. They were sitting against the wall of the women’s house, basking in the sun.  Above their heads the evening light gleamed like molten gold on the small glass windowpane.” (III, 91)

Jonas Lie, "The Fleet," ca. 1925, oil on canvas, 30 x 45 inches

Other Norwegian scenes by Lie, some rendered in the 1920s, include The Fleet (at right), Norwegian Fjord Scene, another work entitled Norwegian Fjord Scene of 1925, and Norwegian Village (below, left) reveal that he continued to capture the “glittering light” and the “verdant smell in the air,” experienced by Kristin.   It is also interesting to compare Lie’s Norwegian paintings with his American images of similar subjects (see below, right) to see how he brought the sensibility of his native land to his adopted one and vice versa or how differently each are portrayed.

Jonas Lie, "Norwegian Village," ca. 1909-10, oil on canvas, 43 1/4 x 50 1/2 inches

Jonas Lie, "American Factory Town, Winter," oil on canvas, 41 x 35 inches

Lie’s work continues to have a following among those who have made a journey similar to his.  At the time of our 2006 Jonas Lie exhibition at the gallery, we collaborated with the American-Scandinavian Foundation and our invitation to its members received an overwhelming response: more than four hundred people attended the show’s opening, many having to wait outside in the dead of winter until there was space in the gallery to fit them.

To Jerry: I hope, given the incredible beauty of Norway, as expressed in Undset’s books and in paintings of the land, that on your own Norwegian travels, you get to focus on the “nature” part of Norway rather than only on that of the “mind.”

Caveat: I’m sure this post only begins to consider the interconnections between American artists and Norway in the period I’ve focused on, but I hope it will open up new roads for further knowledge and information.

Postscript: Last night I took my two boys to a Mexican restaurant; the table next to ours consisted of a large lively group or people visiting New York from Oslo.

Finally: I started reading a novel someone recommended, Per Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses (2007), which turns out to be by a Norwegian author.  It’s descriptive passages remind me of Kristin’s world.

PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE OF VIRUS MUTATION DETECTED IN NORWAY

On November 20, the WHO briefing #17 discussed the widely talked about mutation in Norway.  The Norwegian Institute of Public Health informed WHO of a mutation detected in three H1N1 viruses.

• The viruses were isolated from the first two fatal cases of pandemic influenza in the country and one patient with severe illness.
• Norwegian scientists have analyzed samples from more than 70 patients with clinical illness and no further instances of this mutation have been detected.
• This finding suggests that the mutation is not widespread in the country.

The good news? The virus with this mutation remains sensitive to the antiviral drugs, oseltamivir and zanamivir, and studies show that currently available pandemic vaccines confer protection.

Worldwide, laboratory monitoring of influenza viruses has detected a similar mutation in viruses from several other countries, with the earliest detection occurring in April. In addition to Norway, the mutation has been observed in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine, and the US.

Although information on all these cases is incomplete, several viruses showing the same mutation were detected in fatal cases, and the mutation has also been detected in some mild cases. Worldwide, viruses from numerous fatal cases have not shown the mutation. The public health significance of this finding is thus unclear. The mutations appear to occur sporadically and spontaneously. To date, no links between the small number of patients infected with the mutated virus have been found and the mutation does not appear to spread.

Scientists in the WHO network of influenza laboratories are assessing the significance of the mutation. Changes in viruses at the genetic level need to be constantly monitored. However, the significance of these changes is difficult to assess. Many mutations do not alter any important features of the virus or the illness it causes and for this reason, WHO also uses clinical and epidemiological data when making risk assessments.

Although further investigation is under way, no evidence currently suggests that these mutations are leading to an unusual increase in the number of H1N1 infections or a greater number of severe or fatal cases.  Laboratories in the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network closely monitor influenza viruses worldwide and will remain vigilant for any further changes in the virus that may have public health significance.

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/briefing_20091120/en/index.html

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STUDY: SEASONAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION MODERATELY EFFECTIVE AGAINST INFLUENZA A (H1N1)

I thought this was a very interesting study but it has gotten very little press.  I think part of the issue is that with seasonal flu vaccine being in short supply, it is not really an option for most people.  If you got a seasonal flu shot this year, it looks like you might have gotten a bonus!

A “moderate degree of protection” against influenza A (H1N1) was seen among military personnel who received seasonal influenza vaccination, according to results of a Department of Defense study presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s 58th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The results showed that the inactivated vaccination and the live attenuated vaccination were associated with similar levels of protection against influenza A (H1N1). Researchers at the Department of Defense conducted a surveillance study of influenza-related medical issues among military personnel stationed in the United States between April 2009 and October 2009.

During the study period, 1,205 cases of influenza A (H1N1) were reported among military personnel stationed in the United States. According to the researchers, overall vaccine effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination against influenza A (H1N1) was 45%.

The results were adjusted for gender, age, number of prior vaccinations and vaccine type. According to the researchers, further analysis indicated that irrespective of prior vaccination status, older age (defined as patients aged older than 39 years) and prior vaccination were significantly associated with increased vaccine effectiveness.

The results also showed that vaccine effectiveness against severe disease outcome (defined as requiring hospitalization) was higher than against milder outcome (defined as requiring outpatient treatment).

So, what is the net-net of this study?   if you can find a seasonal flu vaccine, I would get one!

http://infectiousdiseasenews.com/article/50808.aspx

kings of convenience – mrs. cold.mp3

OMG, ovens are on and the town folk of Bergen are quickly whipping up gingerbread walls and roofs after their city’s traditional Christmas decoration…a town of gingerbread houses were destroyed by vandals. Those bastards, do you know hard it is to make them? Locals awoke on Sunday morning to discover nearly every single one of the 650 gingerbread houses, lovingly decorated by local children, had been crushed and splattered with paint before being sprayed with fire extinguisher foam. Police inspector Erik Sveaas has asked the public for information saying “The people who did this must be full of gingerbread dust, They will smell a long way,” The gingerbread town is the world’s largest and has left the city devastated. The Bergen Sentrum foundation, who runs the event, says the show will go on, even it is postponed by a week as they rebuild the entire town again.

Psst I hope this isn’t connected with “Kick a Ginger Day”…I’m just saying!

Format: Single
Year: 2009
Label: Self-released
Country: Norway
Genre: Ambient/Drone Doom
Official Website

01. I’m on a Fridge

Download

Here are the Top 10 least religious countries in the world:

1. Sweden (up to 85% non-believer, atheist, agnostic)
2. Vietnam
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. South Korea
10. Estonia (up to 49% non-believer, atheist, agnostic)

The one that surprised me was Israel, ranking 19th, with up to 37% claiming to be non-believer, atheist, agnostic. Compare that with the United States, ranking 44th, with 3-9% non-believers, atheists, agnostics.

The survey concluded that “high levels of organic atheism are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as low homicide rates, low poverty rates, low infant mortality rates, and low illiteracy rates, as well as high levels of educational attainment, per capita income, and gender equality. Most nations characterized by high degrees of individual and societal security have the highest rates of organic atheism, and conversely, nations characterized by low degrees of individual and societal security have the lowest rates of organic atheism. In some societies, particularly Europe, atheism is growing. However, throughout much of the world — particularly nations with high birth rates — atheism is barely discernable.”

And now for the Top 50:

So let’s compare. Here are the nations with very high human development (developed countries).

1	▲ (1)	Norway	0.971	▲ 0.001
2	▲ (2)	Australia	0.970	▲ 0.002
3	▼ (2)	Iceland	0.969	▲ 0.002
4	▼ (1)	Canada	0.966	▲ 0.001
5	▬	Ireland	0.965	▲ 0.001
6	▬	Netherlands	0.964	▲ 0.003
7	▬	Sweden	0.963	▲ 0.002
8	▲ (3)	France	0.961	▲ 0.003
9	▲ (1)	Switzerland	0.960	▲ 0.001
10	▼ (2)	Japan	0.960	▲ 0.002
11	▼ (2)	Luxembourg	0.960	▲ 0.001
12	▬	Finland	0.959	▲ 0.004
13	▲ (2)	United States	0.956	▲ 0.001
14	▬	Austria	0.955	▲ 0.003
15	▲ (1)	Spain	0.955	▲ 0.003
16	▼ (2)	Denmark	0.955	▲ 0.002
17	▬	Belgium	0.953	▲ 0.002
18	▲ (1)	Italy	0.951	▲ 0.001
19	N/A	Liechtenstein	0.951	▲ 0.001

Yet another thing to add to the “to do” list.

The photographer notes:

Atlanterhavsvegen (“The Atlantic Road”) is the part of Norwegian national road 64 that connects the island of Averøy to Vevang, Eide, on the mainland, and by extension, the cities of Kristiansund and Molde. The road is 8.2 km long and is built on a total of 8 bridges in picturesque surroundings.

Atlanterhavsvegen’s sharp turns and wild nature have ranked it first on The Guardian’s list of the world’s best road trips, in sharp competition with world renowned attractions such as Northern Ireland’s Antrim coast road and the Himalayas.

Credit: Tord Henning Zich

- Gyro

If a photograph stirs

the emotions in

at least one person,  

that makes it art.

This includes

the person who

clicked the shutter.

Henrik A. Lundh

Norwegian Photographer

The Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations and the Islamic Council of Norway have published a joint statement that condemns violence in close relationships and within the family. The joint Muslim-Christian declaration brings into focus the question of family and relationship violence, which has long been a significant social problem in Norway.

According to Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations, one in every four women has been exposed to violence in relationships or family. In the statement Mr. Shoaib Mohammed Sultan, the General Secretary of the Islamic Council of Norway, stated that: “In our capacity as religious communities, we want to contribute positively to the struggle against violence in the family and in close relationships, both by our attitudes and our actions. “Violence in families and in close relationships is a criminal act which goes against our religious teachings and the human rights. This applies both in Norway and globally,” Mr. Sultan added. “As members of a society it is everyone’s responsibility to prevent and resist all shapes and shades of violence in the family and in close relationships. As religious leaders it is our special responsibility to strongly condemn any misuse of the teachings of our religions in order to legitimise such violence,” said Fykse Tveit.

The statement comes from dialogue between the two groups—which dates back to 1993. Regular meetings are held where the two religions can openly discuss a range of issues that relate to society and religion. The coalition aims to provide greater understanding between the Muslim and Christian communities and also seeks to promote further contribution from the two religions to the greater community.

source: icenews.is

Lisa N. Peters

John Singer Sargent, "A Torrent in Norway," ca. 1901, oil on canvas, 22 3/8 x 29 3/4 inches, private collection

Lately Norway has been on my mind.  I recently read Sigrid Undset’s amazing, incredible trilogy Kristin Lavrensdatter (1920-22; Undset won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1928), set in medieval Norway, and now my husband Jerry will be giving a talk at the Center for the Study of Mind in Nature in Oslo on November 25—the connection between the mind and nature in Norway makes sense!

Unfortunately I have not been to Norway, but I feel in a way that I have from reading Undset’s novels.  Here is a passage from the second book (The Wife), which describes Kristin’s arrival on the journey from her home in Jørundgård, in rural central Norway, to the northerly estate of her new husband (Erland) in Husaby, in Trøndelag:

They had reached Skaun. They were riding high up along the mountainside.  Beneath them, on the valley floor, the leafless forest stood white and furry with frost; it glittered in the sunlight, and there were glints from a little blue lake down below. Then they emerged from the evergreen grove.  Erland pointed ahead.  “There you can see Husaby, Kristin.  May God grant you many happy days there, my wife!” he said warmly.  (ll, 5, Tinna Nunnally translation, Penguin Books, 1999).

This takes place one third of the way through this epic tale of love, passion, heartbreak, self-examination, the struggle between impulse and restraint, and moments of happiness amid remorse, repentance, sorrow, and the unbounded emotions of parenthood.

The book has made me consider the connections that existed between American artists and Norway in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  During this time, most American artists of stature went to Europe, but few seem to have ventured to Norway. They felt that study in a Paris academy was a necessary “diploma.”  When they traveled, they went where others had gone and to the places well known for picturesqueness:  of these, Venice, Brittany, Normandy, and several locales in Holland were the most popular. The expatriate John Singer Sargent was one of those who did go to Norway.  In August of 1901 he took a salmon-fishing trip with his patron George McCulloch,  a Scottish-born developer of gold and silver mines who at the time of his death in 1907 was called by the New York Times “the possessor of one of the finest art collections in the world.” (December 13, 1907) Sargent painted On His Holidays (below) in the fjord at Sundal Valley, in central-western Norway, as well as a view of a torrent that the gallery sold some years ago (above).

John Singer Sargent, "On His Holidays," oil on canvas, 135.9 x 242.6 cm (53 1/2 x 95 1/2 in.), Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village, England

A peripatetic figure while at home in America, Willard Metcalf was another noted American artist who went to Norway.  Invited by the American painter William Henry (Billy) Singer Jr (who settled in the village of Olden on the Nordfjord in the early 1900s), Metcalf and his wife Henriette sailed on the Minnewaskie on May 30, 1913.  In Norway, Metcalf, too, went salmon fishing; he reported in a postcard to his friend, fellow artist, J. Alden Weir that his “best fish was 34 lbs, 41” long”—he also caught ten twelve-pound trout.  (Elizabeth DeVeer and Richard J. Boyle, Sunlight and Shadow: The Life and Art of Willard L. Metcalf [New York: Abbeville, 110].) Metcalf painted a canvas entitled Salmon River, Norway (1913, location unknown, DeVeer, 111) and a work entitled Mountain Lakes, Olden, Norway that the gallery sold some years ago (below).

Willard Metcalf, "Mountain Lakes, Olden, Norway," 1913, oil on canvas, 18-1/4 x 21-1/2 inches, private collection

This painting reminds me of another passage from Undset:

It was the most beautiful spring weather on the following day, as Kristin stood behind the corner of the main house looking out toward the slopes beyond the river.  There was a verdant smell in the air, the singing of creeks released everywhere, and a green sheen over all the groves and meadows.  At the spot where the road went along the mountainside above Laugarbru, a blanket of winter rye shimmered fresh and bright.  Jon had burned off the saplings there the year before and planted rye on the cleared land. (II, 276).

In a second post, I will consider some other American-artist connections with Norway.

Amazon's Global Kindle Reader

I heard that Amazon now has a global version of Kindle. I was disappointed to find this morning that the new version still will not work in my country.

Since I’ve wanted one for some time, but have been waiting until they got a version that would work in my country, I checked out their website this morning, only to be disappointed again. Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new Global Kindle for a Christmas gift this year, since the new version will only work in SOME countries, I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S., Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009):

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A Norwegian house in Burberry tartan

If you want the exterior of your house to look different than the other houses on your block, there’s always a possibility to paint it in the pattern of your favorite designer-brand.

A 33-year old Norwegian artist, Jens Werner,  painted the exterior of his house in Burberry’s distinctive tartan, known as the Haymarket check, or even the Burberry classic check.

I costed him thousands of pounds to re-do the former lavatory buidling in Larvik, Norway, but the result is quite remarkable… don’t you think?

(Source: The Daily Telegraph UK)

Recently visiting Olso, the capital city of Norway, I decided to look at the background information of the city as I wasn’t wow’ed by the scenery. Due to this disapointment I decided to look elsewhere for the wow-effect of this place.

According to Norse sagas, Olso was founded in 1048 by King Harald III of Norway. However, archaeological research has uncovered Christian burials from before the year 1000, meaning that there were earlier urban settlements. My disapointment about this location was the fact that it looked like a third-world “modern” city with little history. I was expecting more a Stockholm look into it. However, from background reading this can be understandable as big part of the city was destroyed by a fire in 1624.

The name “Oslo” originates from the Old Norse and it was probably the name of a large farm at this site. The meaning however has caused much debate. One of my favourite theories (due to my interest of Old Norse) is that Olso used to be spelled as Álso, later becoming Óslo during the Middle Ages. The earlier  spelling suggests that “ás” refers either to the Ekeberg ridge southeast of the town or to the Aesir. In other words, this can be interpreted as “the meadow beneath the ridfe” or “the meadow of the gods”.

After the 1624 fire, Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV moved the city westwards, restored it, and named it after himself; Christiania or Kristiania. This was the name of the capital of Norway since then and until 1925, when the original name “Oslo” was restored. The original place of Oslo, before being moved westwards, is now known as Gamlebyen (Old Town).

One thing I found very interesting was a tiger outside the city hall. For what reason would there be a tiger in the northern europe, where there is no tiger and the animal is not symbolic for power? From background reading it was understood – the city was once referred to as Tigerstaden (the City of Tigers) by the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson around 1870. The reason why he named it Tigerstaden was because he perceived this location as a cold and dangerous place. The name Tigerstaden has over the years nearly become an official name, so on it’s 1000-year anniversary tiger sculptures were placed outside the city hall as of celebration.

In more recent times, Olso has started being called Tiggerstaden (the City of Beggars) instead due to the increased amount of beggars and homeless people in the capital. This is probably the reason why the city looks so degraded and poor like a third world country. Apparently police men give money to drug addicts so that they don’t disturb other people. Not something I find very ethical. The picture of “the City of Beggars” later became amplified by the novel Sult (Hunger) by Knut Hamsun in 1890.

What possibly made me believe that Olso seems more like a third world “modern” city was the amount of immigrants there, which consist of 26% of Olso’s population. Honestly, it didn’t feel much like Norway to me.

If you are interested in going to Oslo one day, go there in the summer or during the first months of the year when there will be more snow. Even though Olso didn’t reach my expectations it doesn’t mean it isn’t special. Considering that it is located in a fjord makes it quite an experience; from any location of the city you see a vast sea with islands in front of you. The nature side of the city is breathtaking. The arquitecture is beautiful; there is an obvious mix of old and new buildings, some being of such an equisite design that you become wow:ed, such as the Opera house. Make sure however, to read about Olso before arriving there, so you understand many of the unexpected scenery.

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 03:18 GMT]
Norway is up to appease Colombo as the Tamil Tigers are out of the picture and the only way to do this is abetting Colombo’s discrimination of Tamils in the line of Iran, Burma and China, writes Professor Øivind Fuglerud of the University of Oslo adding that a revealing cue comes from Norway insensitively sponsoring a Buddhist organisation to conduct a music festival on 27th November in Galle, timed to humiliate Tamils on the Heroes’ Day. Norway sat silently like a mouse in the final phase of the war. Now its ‘humanitarian’ aid helps the internment camps of captivity and death. In future Norway’s aid may be integral to Colombo’s military complex cum Buddhist temple infrastructure to dominate Tamil areas, he further says. Not surprisingly, Norway’s leading news agency, NTB, on Monday came out with biased reporting on the first ever democratically elected council of diaspora Tamils.

Well? Among all the furore surrounding the perfectly illegal handball by Thierry Henry in the recent Ireland-France match, people forget about those darned unlucky Norwegians! The only team to finish second in their group during the UEFA federation qualification process and not get a play off spot for their troubles. Ireland may have been undone by a handball from a French legend, but at least they were given 180 minutes more than the Norwegians to try and qualify.

Poor Norway probably think THEY should be the ones who played France as they should have had the same opportunity as everybody else who finished second in qualifying. The 8th and 9th placed of the runner ups should have battled it out in a match of mediocrity for the right to be cheated out of an unlikely spot in South Africa. But they weren’t even given that luxury. Instead they’ll have to sail down the Norwegian fjords in the Scandinavian summer, licking their wounds while others gallavant around playing football. They’re the real losers in this scenario.