" Fire!"

 At 22:56 (10:56 PM) on January 18 ,2014, local fire departments were alerted to a residential fire in a historic Norwegian settlement.   A fire fanned by strong winds swept through the village of Lærdalsøyri in Western Norway through the early hours of Sunday morning threatening many of the  historic frame houses in the heritage area.

The wind-borne fire quickly spread  fanning the flames towards the town center, and by 4 a.m over thirty houses were reported to be in flames. The fire then spread to a nearby forest, threatening the heritage area. The town was evacuated 30 minutes after midnight, with residents being evacuated to a hotel in Aurland, Norway.
 

More then 100 firefighters, from eight to ten neighboring fire departments were involved in putting out the fire.  Firefighters and equipment from Haukåsen airport in Sogndal were called out to assist in putting out the fire.The fire in Laerdalsoyri was aided by strong winds, and burned through homes that were built of wood  in the 18th and 19th centuries. It wasn't clear what caused the fire, but when it was over, at least 177 people were treated in nearby hospitals for fire-related injuries.

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When winter  cold causes temperatures to drop, heat sources become very important in the long winter nights. Structures of wood arranged in close proximity to one another become a danger zone. Fires spread rapidly with winter winds carrying burning ash to the neighboring buildings. Norway has experienced several disastrous fires. Historic stav churches made of wood have been tragic examples.

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The Grue Church Fire happened in Grue, Norway  in the Southeastern Hedmark county of Norway.

A typical Stavkirk

  This fire occurred on 26 May 1822, taking the lives of between 113 and 117 churchgoers .The oldest section of the church stemmed from the 13th century and was built using the stave method.Due to this construction style, entrance doors were designed to swing inwards and leaded glass windows that were placed high up on the wall were covered by an outside iron grid . The exterior of this church was covered with pine tar. Later calculations  estimated that 17 tons of tar had been applied between 1600 and 1822.On Pentecost, the church was filled to capacity on a bright and hot Sunday early in the summer. In the middle of the sermon, a fire broke out on the outer wall and soon the fire broke in. Within 10 to15 minutes the church was completely engulfed in flames. Parishioners rushing to the doors caused the inward-opening doors to close and few were able to exit the burning building. The cause of the fire might have been that of a spark from a fire container in which a church servant brought embers from the neighboring farm to light the altar candles .The wooden stav chuch soon burned to the ground.

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.Another historically disastrous fire occurred in Alesund, Norway  on January 23, 1904. This fire destroyed 850 homes, leaving 10,000 people homeless while destroying most of the city. That  fire was reported to be caused by a cow that kicked over a torch.

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This  latest fire in Laerdalsoyri was fanned by strong winds, and burned through

homes that were built of wood  in the 18th and 19th centuries. Police cordoned off an area in Lærdalsøyri because of the fear of  explosions of nearby gas cylinders belonging to a construction company. It wasn't clear what caused the fire, but at least 90 people were treated in nearby hospitals for fire-related injuries

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 Lærdal is on the UNESCO world heritage list. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom. Buildings constructed in the 18th century are being preserved and protected. Dolyce Johnson, one of our Vennskap members  was concerned due to her family connection to the famous village. Dolyce stated:“A story  mentioned damage

Typical Norse colors

to the community center, which, I believe, we visited to research our family’s geneaology records.  My maternal grandmother’s family (Prestegard) came from Laerdal, and my children and I visited the village in 2004.  It was quite unique.  Any changes inside or outside had to be approved and the outside colors had to be what the original colors were.  We took the ferry from there down the Sognefjord.  A tragedy, but fortunately no one died in the fire”.

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Smouldering remains

Sixteen private homes have burned to the ground, in addition to industrial buildings and infrastructure. Many other buildings are also damaged. A large number of families have lost all their possessions, and many are quartered in a nearby hotel for the time being. Several people were  treated in hospital for smoke inhalation, but there are no reports of serious injuries or fatalities.
The village Telecom center has been completely destroyed, however, an emergency mobile service has been established. Electricity is also back on in sections of the township, but schools and kindergartens remained closed Monday.

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As  residents struggle to  rebuild, and winter life resumes, tourists will continue to visit the historic village.The Old Lærdalsøyri village has 161 protected buildings.  The famous Filefjell Kongevegen road passes through Lærdal on its way to Valdres and later extended to Oslo.The Lærdalstunnelen was built through the 

mountains

The Lærdal River

dividing Aurland from Lærdal. This 15.2 mile tunnel is the worlds longest (as of 2008), construction began in 1995 and was completed in 2000.

The River Lærdalselvi was traditionally one of the most exclusive

salmon and sea trout rivers in Norway. Known by the Norwegian King Harald V as “his second Queen”, the river has established Lærdal as one of the meccas of salmon and sea trout fly fishing.

Meanwhile, the cleanup continues.

What's Next!?

The Polar Express has left the area, taking along the infamous Polar Vortex.

  Most people are aware of the Christmas tale of the train carrying children to Santa’s work area, but  “polar  vortex” may be new to many. Remember, not too long ago when the thermometer seemed “stuck at  97° ” for an extended time of sticky summer heat and we looked forward to “normal weather”? Then, after a mild

Fall, things once again,began to change!

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A warm November day of 2013 ended with the temperature falling 40 degrees overnight to bring in “Winter”, unusually low for our area. Forecasters explained that Arctic low temperatures are usually confined to the Canadian region, but somehow arctic winds found the weather-door open to flow southerly this winter , causing problems as far south as Florida... A new term “Polar Vortex” came into our vocabulary.  Canadians were hearing earthquake sounds in the frigid -30-40° cold. We learned another new term  “Cryoseims”, a term used by weather forecasters explaining  the action of underground water freezing  and causing rocks to expand. Above-ground residents found pictures on their walls shaking and cracks several inches wide in the ground. A Frost-quake? Unusual weather can even expand our vocabulary!

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North Atlantic Gulf Stream

While U.S. residents seem to be experiencing severe and abrupt weather changes, Norway seems to be experiencing “business as usual”. Norway shares the same latitude as Alaska, Greenland and Siberia, but in comparison, Norway has a pleasant climate while the coastal areas have comparatively mild winters due to the Gulf Stream that moderates the area weather. Oslo experienced its warmest Christmas since records began in 1937, while in Helsinki and southern Finland, the second half of December was the mildest in 30 years. In Koege, outside Copenhagen, the mercury reached 11.6ºC (52.9ºF) on Christmas Eve..

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 In the late 1960s, University of California professor Jacob Bjerknes found an important piece of the oft-changeable weather-puzzle. As a young scientist in Norway, Bjerknes had gained fame by publishing the first  understandable description of the life cycle of storms in temperate latitudes. Now, fifty years later, he was the first to see a connection between unusually warm sea-surface temperatures and the weak easterly winds bringing  heavy rainfall

Usually, sea-surface readings off South America's west coast range from the 60s to 70s°F. When the easterly trade winds strengthens, colder water is driven along the equator and the west coast of South America. Only the Pacific Ocean has this phenemona. This doesn’t happen in the Atlantic, so Norway does not experience these changes.Currently, the tropical Pacific is now expected to warm throughout 2014 according to scientists from NOAAs Climate Prediction Center .

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This might produce a massive source of energy that would be strong enough to drive up global weather temperatures, creating the  first official “hot period” since 2010, the  world’s hottest year ever recorded .Are we are in an official “La Niña” cycle, or will it be a time of  El Niño and who are they?

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The original definition of El Niño goes back to the eighteenth or nineteenth century when Peruvian sailors

 coined the term to describe a warm southward current that appeared annually around Christmas off the Peruvian coast. Hence the name El Niño, Spanish for "the Child," referring to the Christ Child.The term "El Niño" (or warm episode) is  not a local warm current, but warming of the tropical Pacific surface waters occurring every two to seven years and associated with changes in the atmospheric circulation worldwide.These equatorial waves are not the familiar surf seen on the surface, but very large-scale motions that carry changes in currents and temperatures over thousands of miles. The period of these waves is measured in months, and they take typically three months to more than a year to cross the Pacific. 

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Warm water spreads from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific. It takes the rain with it, causing extensive drought in the western Pacific and rainfall in the normally dry eastern Pacific. This easterly wind flow and possible blasts from the north area can make our weather interesting.if the winds are warm and the jet stream stays to the north, we might have a mild winter! 

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   However, we may experience the effect of “The Little Girl”. In Spanish, she is “ La Niña”,  the little girl.

The results of La Niña are mostly the opposite of those of El Niño; for example, during the winter, La Niña would cause a wet period in the Midwestern U.S., while El Niño would typically cause a dry period in that area. La Niña causes above-average precipitation across the northern Midwest, and eastern regions. Meanwhile, precipitation in the southwestern and southeastern states is below average.This also allows way above average hurricanes in the Atlantic and less in the Pacific.
In Canada, La Niña will, generally, cause a cooler, snowier winter, such as the near-record-breaking amounts of snow recorded in the La Niña winter of 2007/2008 in Eastern Canada.”The Little Girl”is expected to bring a cooling period. Is this "The winter of 2014" in Wisconsin?!

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 Due to oceanic temperatures and the direction of the winds, our weather system can swing an average of every three to five years. Critics of global warming believe this is only the rhythm of nature, and the only

" Looking ahead to tomorrow..."

predictable thing about weather is that it is unpredictable. Winter temperature swinging from -10° to 35° with rain within twenty-four hours seem to be the new norm. What’s going on? We’ve experienced a variety of conditions already in this early 2014.
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Now, if only we can keep our polar vortexes trapped up north, we may be spared future cryoseims!

What’s next? Stay tuned..

Just A Little Bit!

                                              A Little Bit Can Pile Up!

The Christmas "Holiday" is over and time to pay the bills. A little bit here and a little bit there..It’s amazing how it grows! We shop with credit cards, debit cards, checks and even “on-line”. Some people even use cash! There are several ways to pay the bills. Times are changing.

When the English colonists arrived in America, they naturally continued to use the pound, shilling and pence which they used back in England . Later, these colonists had to use wampum and even tobacco as mediums of exchange. Spanish “visitors” used the Spanish silver dollar to pay for their needs.Massachusetts began

Indian waumpam

minting silver coins in 1652 to add to silver coins that were in circulation used by immigrants from Spain, the Netherlands, the German States, France and other foreign countries. Every ethnic group had their own currency. In December,1690, Massachusetts authorized the issuing of £7,000 in public paper currency  to satisfy the soldiers and creditors of the otherwise bankrupt colony. At the time, no one realized this was the first public paper money issued in the history of Western civilization.

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European countries are attempting to unify their monetary standard with the “Euro”. Most European countries have joined the European Union and the Euro is the common currency. Norway is not a member state of the European Union and won’t use the Euro. Norway has been under the control of several countries in it’s history and since gaining their own identity, Norway likes  independence! Norway continues to use the krone, or in plural, kroner with  bank notes of 50, to 1000 kr. At this time, a krone is worth about sixteen cents U.S.

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While serving as a 1950’s GI in the Army and stationed in Germany, I was paid monthly in paper “scrip” or

Ten-dollar US  scrip money

MPC that looked the same as Monopoly money! The purpose was to keep “The Greenback” from going to the blackmarket  ( or out of US circulation). No European merchant, bar, restaurant, whatever, would accept scrip, so we were forced to exchange our “scrip” for German “marks”at the local exchanges. When we were free to travel to

French coin currency

places   such as Paris, we had to exchange our German marks for French francs. Because it was so easy to drive through small countries in one day, every stop needed a different coin or paper to pay. When we returned to our base, we found our pockets jangling with useless coins of many types.

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Time to standardize? Today’s method is to direct deposit and use plastic cards or one of the latest electronic smart-phones, I-pods or even the computer. Things are changing ..a bit! With all the new uses of our electronic gadgets,  money can now be stored in your computer.. as bits!! Somehow, I have never seen a “bit”. Apparently, it has been around since 2009. What is a “bit" besides being a portion of time?

If "Bits" were really coins..

Something called a  bitcoin is the newest “currency” established in 2009. 

It’s an electronic means of monetary exchange, only done using computers. It’s a “cryptographic monetary exchange” using computer zeros and 111s code! They call it “bitcoin!” controlled by passwords and electronic signature guarantees sent and stored on everyone’s computer. It's becoming quite a thing!

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A Norwegian, Kristoffer Koch invested 150 kroner ($26.60) in 5,000 bitcoins in 2009 He  forgot about them until  media coverage of the anonymous peer-to-peer digital currency in April 2013 jogged his memory. The value of a  bitcoin had wildly gone up within the space of four years. He discovered that his $27 investment when “cashed in” was then worth  $886,000.00. What an investment return!

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However, this new method of electronic exchange has acquired a poor reputation due to  actions such as that of a group known as a  black-market ring entitled “The Silk-Road”, a drug-ring  that requires all illicit drug buyers and sellers to use bitcoins in their transactions due to the difficulty of tracing the monetary exchange.

Bitcoins can be stored in your computer as encrypted wallets secured with a private key ( a password). In April, 2013, the value of a bitcoin was $266 before crashing to $50.00 due to rapid flucations such as the seizure of online drug marketpace transactions such as “The Silk Road” that caught government attention.

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Bitcoin has been endorsed by a Wall Street currency analyst who has claimed it shows “clear potential for growth”, but national banks are cynical. The Bank of France has released a report calling the currency “highly speculative” and saying it poses a “certain financial risk” for owners.

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For bitcoin users, there is  GLIP, an “app” that provides the use of  back and forth secure texts while utilizing money transfers to friends. Here is a “GLIP” in action....

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Customers are lining up to use the world’s  first-ever permanent bitcoin ATM at a coffeeshop in Vancouver, British Columbia..Times ARE changing!

Currently,  bitcoins can be used in various businesses.They are quick and free from fees and may be the future of all our transactions. The price of a bitcoin rose above $1,000.00 last month for the first time (a 400 percent surge in less than a month, as of Dec 13..Friday the 13th!!).  But again, bitcoin currency is not backed by any central bank or government, or by physical assets. It’s value depends on people’s confidence in the currency.

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If this is for you, Virgin Galactic  Aviation has more that 600 “wannabe astronauts” who have already signed up to board the aircraft if all goes well in  Richard Branson’s latest venture into space. The price of the flight will be approximately $250,000.00 and bitcoin payments are being  accepted to purchase your seat in the next trip into space. Get your bit-coin wallet out and be ready for your historic trip to the moon.

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But first, don't forget those Christmas bills! Hopefully, those "Big-Box stores" will accept bitcoin payments.

Just start saving...A little bit at a time!

Are You Ready?

Are you ready?

Norway's King Haakon, in the tenth century, determined that  the  midwinter festival “jol”, (December 25th ) would coincide with the birth of the Christ Child and passed a law  that every peasant had to obey!

King Haakon " The Good"  being entertained by dancers

Norse goddess holding a drinking cup

This law  later decreed  that each peasant and his wife would hold a Christmas “gilde”( festive gathering) that included a special feature.   Failure to do so would result in a fine paid to the bishop, and possibly confiscation of their property if they skipped the law three years in a row! This unusual feature was that they must have a portion of beer to celebrate the occasion! While this may seem very unusual, beer has been an important ingredient in human life for centuries! The Norwegian word for Christmas is actually a pre-Christian Viking drinking-vessel named a  "Jul".

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Historically, a beer called Doppelbock  was first brewed in Munich, Germany by  a Franciscan order founded by St. Francis of Paula.    Munich means “the home of monks”.  These vegetarian monks from   

Italy observed two fasts each year – one during Lent and one for the month leading up to Christmas. It has often been told that European monks of this time relied on dark beers to sustain them through their long fasts. They developed a particularly dark beer with a lot of protein and carbohydrates carried over from the mash that served them well during the times when solid foods were prohibited. Doppelbock was high in alcohol and sweet, thus serving as “liquid bread” for the Friars during times of fasting, when solid food was not permitted.  Bock is historically associated with special occasions, often religious festivals such as Christmas, Easter or Lent (the latter as Lentenbock).

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Water accounts for up to 95 percent of beer’s content  and grain  needed as well as fermentation. With the

Ancient Babylonians drinking beer through straws.

quality of water in earlier times, it might have been difficult to keep "water" from turning into a form of beer. Beer was recorded to be the major beverage of the Babylonians, and as early as 2700 BC, they worshiped a wine goddess and regularly used both beer and wine as offerings to their gods.Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain and  water before learning to make bread.Straws were used to avoid the grain husks.

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In 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, because their beer supply was running low, as the story goes! Water would have lost its purity, becoming unhealthy if it had been the main beverage for all those

ship-bound travellers months on voyages! Drinking wine and beer at that time was safer than water - which was usually taken from sources used to dispose of sewage and garbage.

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 Colonists improvised a beer made from red and black spruce twigs boiled in water, as well as a  wide variety of wine from fruits. They additionally made wine from such products as flowers, herbs, and even oak leaves. Early on, French vine-growers were brought to the New World to teach settlers how to cultivate grapes.For hundreds of years their English ancestors had consumed beer and ale. Both in England and in the New World, people of both sexes and all ages typically drank beer with their meals. Because importing a continuing supply of beer was expensive, the early settlers brewed their own.

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English sailors receive their portion.

Spirit drinking was still largely for medicinal purposes throughout most of the 16th century. It has been said of distilled alcohol that “the sixteenth century created it; the seventeenth century consolidated it; the eighteenth popularized it.”

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In Scandinavia,Swedish beer consumption may have been forty times higher than in modern Sweden. English sailors received a ration of a gallon of beer per day, while soldiers received two-thirds of a gallon. In Denmark, the usual consumption of beer appears to have been a gallon per day for adult laborers and sailors. It is important to remember that modern beer is much stronger than the beers of the past.

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Norwegians are said to consume ten million liters of beer during December. It’s a celebration drink and  Juleøl ( Christmas beer) accounts for half of the amount. Early time peasant in Norway used beer to celebrate many occasions from barnøl ( Child-baptismal beer),festerøl ( engagement beer) and gravøl  (funeral beer).      

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St. Thomas

Finished beer was to age eight to ten days and had to be ready December 21st.This day became known from the Middle ages as  "Brewer's Day", for St. Thomas. While connecting "beer-brewing" with St. Thomas seems very strange, history has played a role in the story. December 21 is known as St. Thomas Day.

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In December, long before Christianity, Mayan Indians in Guatemala honored their Sun God in a dangerous ritual  of a "Flying Pole Dance". Three or more men climbed a fifty-foot pole to the top.
While one played a flute and another beat a drum , the "flyers" wound ropes around the pole, tied the ends to their ankles and jumped to circle to the  ground. If they landed on their feet, the gods would be pleased and make the coming days  longer. (No word on how the musicians descended). Coincidentally, December 21st is the Winter Solstice! This day is in remembrance of the Doubting Thomas apostle, who was instructed to evangelize in the Persian area and was there revered by Malabar Christians  and Angelicans. St. Thomas was born in the first century and his death was reported to be..the 21st of  December 72.

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With the approach of Jul and the need for the required beer portion, December 21st became known in Scandinavian countries as "Thomas, the Brewer's Day". So, while we might be very concerned with Christmas shopping, early Scandinavians had to be concerned with the beer supply, or else! Rules have changed, but the importance of beer in the festivities remains.  This celebratory beer is a bit stronger than usual and known as Juleøl. The beer better be ready!

Knut Albert's Brew

 Timing is everything!

What Did The Fox Say?

Whats this about a fox?

Recently, I had tuned in to listen to a daily TV network news-show and heard the anchorpeople excitedly asking “What did the fox say”? After the broadcast, I had to “Google” the remark and I couldn’t believe what I was reading!

“What does the fox say” is a product of some Norwegian “humor” that has gone viral on the internet. This “Music” had been released as a “single” on iTunes in Norway, September 2nd, released in the US a week later  quickly climbing to number 6 on “Billboard Top 100”. How times have changed.

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  Remember. “back in the day” when we heard a hit tune and rushed to the musicstore racks and flipped through the singles to find that hot tune? When we got back to our room, we put it on our machine and sang along. However, that was only ONE side and one song. The “Flipside” was a dog! We accepted it as “That’s life!”----Then the big vinyl 33 1/3 gave us a collection of tunes in albums. Later,

we were able to play them in our little pocket tapeplayers! Some of those tapes are still being played today. However, today’s youth are seen holding their newest electronics to their ear, and the music has changed

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Edvard Grieg

Norway has had some outstanding music composers and musicians. One who always comes to mind is Edvard Grieg. Instrumentally, the unique Hardanger “fiddle” is unique in its arrangement of strings placed under strings, giving the music a very unusual sound.

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Another famous name in Norway’s history was Ole Bull, a composer and violinist who was also known as a Norwegian political and business figure. Bull visited the United States several times with great success. In 1852, he obtained a large tract of land in Pennsylvania urging others to join his “Amerika colony” we know today as “Oleanna”, advertised as a land of milk and honey. The deal didn’t sell, but ended up as a US park in his name.

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Kirsten Flagstad

Norway has produced several other notable figures in music. Kirsten   Flagstad is still remembered for her stylish performances in classical opera productions.

Sissel

The pop music people today enjoy the sounds of Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkebø. Sissel has  received the prestigious title of “Arent Spelleman”  (the Norwegian equivelent of a Grammy Award), and in 1994, at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, performed at the opening and closing ceremonies recording the official Olympic theme.  In the US, she has appeared as guest soloist with several orchestras and choruses. Not only enjoyable to listen    to, but to look at, as well.

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The Swedes have a famous vocal group that combined their first initials to name their now-retired popular group ABBA, who sold many records in the US as well as Europe.

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Then, along comes the age of rock and roll, hip hop, rap and violent groups  such as "Mayhem", and "Zyklon " performed by youths featuring a passion for hatred, violence and true mayhem in their time of “Black Metal”. These groups were known to gather in an Oslo record music store called “Helvete” ( (Hell in English). The sounds of 1984!

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 Musical times have changed, a bit. Television and modern electronics have made an important impact on music both here and in Europe. The internet has created a media used world-wide.

Two Norwegian brothers host a Norwegian TV comedy show aired twice every week, known as  “ I kveld med Ylvis”. In English, this is “Tonight with Ylvis”. To promote the show, the brothers Bård and Vegard Ylvisär wished to produce a video meant as a joke and the craziest video they could come up with, enlisting the aid of “Stargate”, the production team that helped create hit songs for Rihanna and Kathy Perry. They intended it to be a nonsensical comical joke

. They came to the US, appearing on the Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Fallon shows, and the joke went viral! “ The Fox” became a YouTube hit climbing upward in the ratings to number 2 in the US charts, receiving more than 140,000 hits after it was released in September.

The video begins with Bård singing at a costume party where other participants are dressed as different animals, whose appearances follow the progression of the lyrics. He gives a summary of animal sounds ("Dog goes woof/cat goes meow", etc.) and asks "what does the fox say?" The group then transitions into a synchronized dance scene in a forest with Bård in a bear costume and Vegard a squirrel costume (as they failed to find any fox costume in the Norwegian Film Institute the day before filming), Ylvis were surprised by the international success of the song, intending only to target their Norwegian audience.Bård said he was "quite surprised" and that it was "supposed to entertain a few Norwegians for three minutes — and that's all."

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The song “What does the fox say” only slipped to number two  after being eclipsed by Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball!

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The brothers, both well-known Norwegian comedians stated that they only wanted to use the talents of the famous producers for comic effect to promote their show. The song was the US’s most streamed song for some time. Even serious US TV morning news-anchors became excited about “ What does the fox say?”

Ylvis at the MTV Awards in Amsterdam.

Internet clips go “viral” when audiences reach the millions as people forward their links.

It’s a joke, folks!