Nordic Reach back issues from December 2004:
So far, so good
Dec 01, 2004; ... If you're one of our many regular, loyal readers, you can expect more of the same going forward, and even better. Readers, colleagues, family, partners, suppliers, clients: Thank you all for a nice journey so far! The pages in the front of this issue, feature a little bit from every ...
Tidbits
Dec 01, 2004 ... Two country footrace If you are a true proponent of Nordic unity, you will want to compete in Broloppet (literally, "the bridge race" on June 18. This is a unique half-marathon, which starts in one country, Denmark, and finishes in another, Sweden. The race starts on the man-made ...
FATE OF WAR IN FINLAND
Dec 01, 2004 ... One of the most tragic consequences of all wars is its impact on innocent children. That was exactly the case in Finland, which sent over 70,000 of its children out of harm's way to avoid war sixty years ago. Some 10,000 to 15,000 of the Finnish children never returned to their birthplace. This ...
2004: Year of the Hives
Dec 01, 2004 ... There wasn't much doubt who would be named Best Nordic Act at MTV's Europe Music Awards in Rome in November. The Hives, a band of retro-outfitted rockers from Fagersta, Sweden were the obvious favorites. Thus, few were surprised when singer Howlin's Pelle Almqvist, drummer Chris ...
Beowulf in Iceland
Dec 01, 2004 ... Maybe you have read the poem, the eighth century Anglo-Saxon inspiration for Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Soon you can see the movie. Icelandic-Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson is bringing Beowulf and Grendel to the silver screen, staring Scottish hunk Gerard Butler as the Norse warrior hero, ...
PATH of SORROWS
Dec 01, 2004 ... Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, one of Sweden's best-known and most provocative photographers, focuses in her latest project on the global Aids disaster. South Africa Via Dolorosa -- presented this fall at Stockholm's performing and visual art museum Dansmuseet -- gives a voice to the quiet agony of ...
SPAIN MEETS JAPAN IN SWEDEN
Dec 01, 2004 ... Celebrated Spanish interior designer Patricia Urquiola has done a makeover of the Fuji conference room at Yasuragi Hasseludden, an unusual Japanese-style hotel and spa on the outskirts of Stockholm. "We immediately fell in love with the existing architecture at Yasuragi Hasseludden. The location ...
"SNUS" Ladies use it, too
Dec 01, 2004 ... What do Nina Persson, lead singer of The Cardigans, Tuva Novotny, one of Sweden's hottest young actresses; and Ylva Johansson, the Minister of Health in the Swedish government all have in common? All are said to use moist snuff, the special type of tobacco that the Swedes call "snus." ...
A GLIMPSE OF LIFE IN AMERICA
Dec 01, 2004 ... We see images of grandma in the streets of New York City, shopping in a supermarket, walking like a goddess in the waves, hanging out with friends in a home for senior citizens, and standing up while drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen. There are also provocative (for nudity-shy Americans) ...
WALKING ON WATER
Dec 01, 2004 ... Situated in the town of Kalmar on the east coast of Sweden, Villa Näckros is a world away from the traditional `houseboats' of the past. Where previously, floating homes have always been restricted in terms of both space and comfort, Villa Näckros, designed by Swedish architect Staffan ...
GOING TO THE MOON...OR ICELAND
Dec 01, 2004 ... Europe's largest glacier, mightiest waterfall, and highest geyser. The island nation of Iceland, midway between Europe and North America, boasts some of the most spectacular natural scenery in the world. Or out of this world. "This looks just like the moon," is a typical comment by a first-time ...
KEEPING THE TRADITION
Dec 01, 2004 ... "So-are the Germans taking over?" With a smile and a laugh, Augustana College's president, Steven Bahls assures that the Swedes have nothing to worry about. As a German-American Lutheran, Bahls feels right at home at Augustana, and is now entering his second year of service. Swedish Lutheran ...
MY SWEDISH ODYSSEY
Dec 01, 2004 ... Anna was my father's mother. Some 90 years later, I walked through the doors of that same station in search of my family's origins, back to a place I knew only through faded photographs and the vague memories of a child who understood little more Swedish than the phrase he once heard his ...
HOW SAFE ARE YOU? Future Design Days re-design fear
Dec 01, 2004; ... Fear was the central unifying theme this year at the Future Design Days international conference and convention. This may seem like an odd focus for a group of creative souls who spend their lives creating furniture, lamps, interiors, graphics and fashion. But on reflection it makes perfect ...
THE ART OF FORM AND FUNCTION
Dec 01, 2004; ... When one of Bruno Mathsson's early chairs was put in the reception area of a Swedish thought it was so ugly that it was dumped in the attic. That same chair -- Gräshoppan, or the Grasshopper -- is now and seen as a classic from one of the world's foremost furniture designers. The term ...
NORWAY CELEBRATES 100 YEAR BIRTHDAY
Dec 01, 2004 ... One hundred years ago, in 1905, the union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved. For a while, things looked tense and it looked like Sweden might go to war to keep Norway as part of the kingdom. But the divorce was peaceful and today the two neighbors are close friends. That is to say, they ...
Mean streets of Oslo
Dec 01, 2004 ... If you think that Norway is all picture-postcard scenery and goat cheese, your eyes will be opened wide by Uno, a hard-hitting new action film by first-time director Aksel Hennie. This is a strong debut for Hennie, one of Norway's hottest young actors, who also wrote the script! This ...
WHO LOVES TV COMMERCIALS?
Dec 01, 2004 ... The answer: Certainly not Swedish film directors Claes Eriksson and Vilgot Sjöman. The duo filed a lawsuit in Stockholm District Court late Fall 2004 against television channel TV4 for violation of the copyright law protecting their films. They object to the fact that the television station ...
LONG LIVE MR. DEAD!
Dec 01, 2004; ... Artist Jón Sæmundur Audarson -- who goes by the name Mr. Dead -- has developed a cult following among international rockers as a fashion designer of tough-looking T-shirts and other clothing with a skull motif. Kirk Hammett of Metallica, the Placebo front man Brian Molko, and pop princess Pink ...
Soundtrack of our lives, revisited
Dec 01, 2004 ... The fourth full-length CD of Soundtrack of Our Lives, TSOOL sounds familiar. All too familiar. The music an Origins Vol. 1 is clearly rooted in the Golden Oldies of the 1960s and 1970s, everything from Beatles and the Beach Bogs seem to echo in this disc which is decidedly more "pop" and less ...
Much ado about MUNCH
Dec 01, 2004 ... While the Munch museum in Oslo remains closed at this writing because of an audacious robbery, curators at Sweden's Moderna Museet have staged a coup of their own. From February 19 to May 15, the museum of contemporary art in Stockholm will showing "Munch by Himself," a unique exhibition of ...
Superhero anti-virus fighter -- and rap music artist
Dec 01, 2004 ... The first line of global defense against nasty computer viruses rests in the hands of guys like Mikko Hyppönen, the 34 year-old Helsinki-based director of anti-virus research at F-Secure, the largest and probably the oldest data security firm in Europe. Long-haired Hyppönen has emerged as a sort ...
MADE IN SCANDINAVIA
Dec 01, 2004 ... CASH FOR TRASH Finnish artist Janna Sgvänoja, who recycles objects from nature into jewelry, was the 2004 winner of the Torsten och Wanja Söderbergs Prize. The award for Nordic design and applied arts carries a cash award of 500,000 Swedish crowns, making it one of the most generous ...
A CHILD'S SCANDINAVIA
Dec 01, 2004; ... Ask people who grew up in Finland who Ninni is, and, more likely than not, they will smile knowingly and tell you the story of a little girl who, neglected by her family, became invisible. What helped her become visible again -- step by step, beginning with the feet -- was the Moomins, a joyful, ...
A SCANDINAVIAN CELEBRATION
Dec 01, 2004 ... The father-son team of Robert and Loren Paulson, co-owners of Paulstad Communications, have made capturing the beauty of Scandinavia their lives' mission. Collectively, the Minneapolis-based photographers have illustrated Nordic life and culture in both Scandinavia and their native ...
Strong Icelandic Women; A TRUE SAGA
Dec 01, 2004; ... If a woman is slapped in the face in an Icelandic film or novel, you can be dead certain that a terrible act of retribution is soon to come. It is likely that someone will be brutally murdered to revenge the humiliation. This isn't a new trend in Iceland, but a modern echo of the distant ...
Morten Sohlberg & Min Ye
Dec 01, 2004 ... If coffee is not enough, you are more in the mood for Fjord Smoked Salmon, Herring Sampler or Lefse, head for charming Stone Street in the Financial District of downtown New York where you'll find "Smörgåschef." The beer is Danish, the meatballs Swedish, the salmon Norwegian and the shrimp from ...
TRACING YOUR SWEDISH ANCESTRY
Dec 01, 2004 ... The popularity and enthusiasm for tracing one's ancestry has grown immensely over the last few years. Newly available internet resources have also revolutionized the way we conduct research and the use of computers makes the cataloguing and overview of documents simple. There are ...
SIT AT YOUR OWN RISK
Dec 01, 2004 ... Not surprislngly, therewere quite a few beautiful and unusual chairs and sofas at the Future Design Days 2004 exhibition. Many visitors enjoyed cooling their heels in the modernistic white, high-backed couches made available for the public by Lammhults of Sweden. The extremely clever "Picnik" ...