Stockholm Neon

I have a weakness for Stockholm's old and new neon signs. Here are two, observed on recent strolls.

This is a storied theater on Drottninggatan. It was designed by Erik Gunnar Asplund and originally opened in the 1920s.

From the 1970s is Kulturhuset at Sergels Torg, a center for performance and culture.

Matador

Although "Matador" evokes something other than a wildly popular  mini-series about Denmark's history 1929-1947, the name is the equivalent of Monopoly in English. When I first arrived in Copenhagen a friend suggested I watch some episodes as a way of improving my ear for Danish. Her collection of "Matador" DVDs had options for subtitles in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish--I chose the Danish. This gave me the opportunity to both read and listen. It was far better than anything else I could have done to get better Danish pronunciation into my head.

In the end I watched all 24 episodes over a two-week period. "Matador" was originally shown on Danish TV beginning in the 1970s, but it has been shown repeatedly over the decades to huge audiences in Denmark and elsewhere in the world. It was created by Lise Nørgaard,  and included performances by many of Denmark's best known actors. The many story lines, involving several families in a small town, were expertly crafted to give the sense of changing times, for workers, women, and the bourgeois families who saw their power eroding. It was funny, heart-wrenching, and often tremendously exciting storytelling.

Not only did I get more of a feel for Danish history, but I found that everyone I knew in Denmark was very familiar with the series (and friends in Sweden too), so that made for another connection with this culture. 

Scenes from Copenhagen

A late spring.

The teachers in Denmark have been locked out of the schools for almost two weeks.

Construction on 18 new metro stations. Only 5 years until they open.

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How strange the spring

Printed on a window at the airport in Keflavik: a poem by Mattias Johannessen. I was between planes, en route from Seattle to Copenhagen. Red dawn from the east as we flew over Iceland's southern coastline. And there were the small lights of fishing boats below in the rocking sea.

Lovisa Negga

It's time for some music on this blog! Lovisa Negga is young French-Sami electropop singer from Linköping, in Sweden. I came across her when checking out the events at Umea University's Sami week, currently in progress. Program here.

Herdswoman

 This February 6, at 3 p.m. Pacific Lutheran University celebrates Sami National Day with a program that begins with the showing of the film Herdswoman, about three generations of Sami women reindeer herders.

"Aina, Elisabeth and Lisa belong to different generations. Their stories reflect life in Sápmi (Lapland) and the transition from nomadic existence to modern society. The film relates their pleasure in working with the reindeer. They live with and for their herds. When a court case questions their ancient rights to the reindeers’ pasture their life as reindeer keepers is at risk."


I love this photograph.

At 7 p.m. Harald Gaski will lecture on  “Celebrating the Return of the Sun and the Recognition of a People: The Sami National Day in the Context of Myth and Poetics.”

For the full schedule and  more information