Articles
Taking the measure of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius
A cultural examination of the colorful and controversial life and music of Finland’s national composer; his rise to stardom, his moods and melancholy, his relationship with Nazi Germany, his musical transition from the grand symphonic romantic style of Beethoven to early modern, written for non-musicians and Finno-philes. A must-read before visiting Helsinki…
Nordic Cuisine Becomes Haute Cuisine
Scandinavian Press
Reinventing the Hollywood of the East
During the roaring 1920’s when everyone was living the high life and feeling no pain, Hollywood was in an expansive mood, and celebrities, then as now, were earning more money than they really knew what to do with. A well-known star of the silent films by the name of Thomas Meighan had decided he wanted a second home (or third, or fourth, or whatever) in New Port Richey. So he had a palatial home built on the river (yes, that river), and as the story goes, he persuaded some of his Hollywood buddies, both men and women, to come and take a look. A new theatre was built, christened the Thomas Meighan Theatre, and it was intended to be one of the finest in all of Florida for that time period. It was built within a few months of the construction of the Hacienda, a Spanish architecture new hotel a block west of the new theatre. The glitterati came to poke around, to see and be seen, and debate whether they too wanted to build on the river and become part of the vanguard of the Hollywood of the East as New Port Richey began to be called. Unfortunately the Hollywood of the East was not to be. . .
Interview with Norway’s Minister of Culture & Communication
Scandinavian Press
Winter 2015
SP I noticed from your resume that about 25 years ago you were a journalist for a Norwegian financial newspaper. What prompted you to switch careers to the foreign service? Mr. Øyslebø I saw an opportunity to explore other countries from the inside, and to see my own country from a different perspective. Only by first understanding how you are perceived by others is it possible to have a successful interaction with them. Understand them first in order to be understood. SP We are focusing in this issue on all things Arctic. With reference to Norway…
Interview with Finland’s Arctic Ambassador
Scandinavian Press
Winter 2015
Aleksi Härkönen is an affable but serious man with a wry sense of humor that takes you by surprise when you are least expecting it. I decided after the first ten minutes that Aleksi would make a great next door neighbor, and that is exactly what he promotes: good neighbor relations in the far north. He represents both his own country and the entire European Union with regard to all things Arctic, and that is particularly significant because in a little over a year from now, Finland will assume the chairmanship of the Arctic Council from the U.S. Mr. Härkönen…
Welcome to the Arctic Circle!
Scandinavian Press
Winter 2015
Part of the United States lies above the Arctic Circle, but except for some folks in Alaska, the Arctic Circle probably seems more like a concept than a place where real people live, work, raise families, and yes, nurture dreams. Some of us may even be hard pressed to find the Arctic Circle on a globe. We’ll give you a hint: it is at the top of the world and looks a little like the diagram on this page. This is a map of the entire circumpolar region. If it looks strange it is because we usually don’t look at a globe from the top, but from the side…