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Swedish Press N Y A
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Swedish Humour: A Laughing Matter
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Swedish Press is the world’s leading magazine on all good things Swedish. An authority on design, business, culture and travel since 1929, Swedish Press delivers insightful news and commentary in a visually striking format. With a nod to the past, and a peek to the future, Swedish Press is your go-to source for updates and inspiration from Sweden. SWEDISH PRESS (ISSN 0839-2323) is published ten times per year (Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July/Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec/Jan) by Swedish Press Inc, 862 Peace Portal Drive, Suite #101, Blaine WA 98230 for $45 per year. Periodical postage paid at Blaine, WA 98230-9998 (No. USPS 005544). US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Swedish Press, PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142-0404 OFFICE: 9040 Shaughnessy Street, Vancouver, BC V6P 6E5 Canada US MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142-0404 WEBSITE www.swedishpress.com E-MAIL info@swedishpress.com TEL +1 360 450 5858 TOLL FREE +1 866 882 0088 PUBLISHER Claes Fredriksson Claes@swedishpress.com EDITOR Peter Berlin Peter@swedishpress.com ART DIRECTOR Joan Law Joan@swedishpress.com REPRESENTATIVES Calgary: Carin Pihl +1 403 931 0370 Edmonton: Ruth E. Sjoberg +1 780 237 6730 Thunder Bay: Elinor Barr +1 807 344 8355 Toronto: Gunilla Sjölin +1 905 751 5297 Winnipeg: Nancy Drews +1 204-668-7262 Los Angeles: Birgitta von Knipe +1 310 201 0079 New York: Timothy Lyons +1 732 685 3747 San Diego: Sue Eidson +1 858 541 0207
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4 Letters to the Editor 5 From the Editor’s Desk Swedish Headlines 6 Headline News 7 Swedes in the News 8 Landskapsnyheterna Business 9 Business News 10 Company File: House of Comedy 11
Heritage An Insider’s Look at Swedish Culture: Jag övertalade min familj att ha en japansk utbytesstudent boende hos oss!
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Still shot from Andreas Wannerstedt’s ‘Waves’. Photo © Andreas Wannerstedt
Lifestyle 18 Top Sju 19 Event: Astoria Nordic Heritage Park Fundraising Tops $750,000 20 Film: Exclusive Interview with Kim Magnusson 22 Book: The Stockholm Series by Per Anders Fogelström Hemma Hos 24 Design: 3D Artist Captivates with Mesmerizing Animations 25 Treats à la Amy von Sydow Green
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Swedish Press
Swedish comedy group Grotesco. Photo: Knut Koivisto
Feature 12 The Myth of the Serious Swede: Swedish Humor from Bellman to Instagram Interview 14 Swedish Comedian Janne Westerlund – “When I am 100 years old, I want to be like Bob Hope!” Global Swedes 16 Lars “Lasse” Gunnar Åberg – Swedish actor, artist, film director and musician
Road to 2045 26 Is the EU a friend or a foe in transport decarbonization? Swedish Press Connects 27 SVIV – Sverige och den globala marknaden för kompetens In the Loop 28 Calendar and Events 29 Ads and Info 30 Sista Ordet Svenskt knäckebröd en succé i USA Cover image: Lasse Åberg as Stig-Helmer Olsson in Sällskapsresan. © AB Svensk Filmindustri/ Lasse Åberg (1980) Photo: Anders Östlund
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Letters to the Editor Enjoy reading Swedish Press? Email us your pictures along with your name and comments to info@swedishpress.com and we’ll be happy to publish them. Vill du översätta de svenska artiklarna? En av våra trogna SweMail översättare har beslutat att träda tillbaka efter bara 19 år på jobbet. Det skulle vara bra att hitta någon (eller två) som kan ersätta honom. Kanske skulle det bli du som läser det här? Kan du förstå de svenska artiklarna i tidningen? Kan du skriva det motsvarande på duglig engelska? Här har du en chans att använda dina kunskaper! Detta är också ett utmärkt tillfälle att skärpa dina språkkunskaper och borde bara ta några få timmar ur ditt liv varje månad. Intresserad? Nyfiken? Var into skygg. Skriv till mig vid swemail1@shaw.ca Ingemar Olson Parksville, British Columbia Would you like to translate the Swedish articles? One of our longtime translators has decided to step down after a mere 19 years of faithful service to the community. It would be nice to find someone (or two) to replace him. Perhaps it will be You, reading
this? Can you understand the Swedish parts of the magazine? Can you write the equivalent in decent English? Here is your opportunity to put your skills to use! This is also an excellent opportunity to sharpen your language skills and should only take a few hours out of your life every month. Interested? Intrigued? Don’t be shy. Drop me a line at swemail1@shaw.ca Ingemar Olson Parksville, British Columbia Hi Peter, I have enjoyed reading Swedish Press for many years. My Dad emigrated from Sweden to Canada in the 1950s, and we visited the Ängelholm area twice when I was growing up. It was fascinating, as a child, to see another side of my father, speaking Swedish to his brothers and sisters and running into childhood friends in his homeland. We in North America have read and seen many stories of immigrants settling to North America, but I would be curious to know more about Swedish communities, especially small towns and rural communities who lost family members to emigration, especially before the digital days when families knew they were leaving forever and the only contact would be via letters.
How did communities fill the gaps of missing community members? Thank you, Linda Polsson Prince Rupert, BC Dear Linda, A good question! My immediate comment would be that those who stayed behind remained part of the Swedish population and their fate did not differ from that of other Swedes. Reading the history of Sweden probably provides the answer: It was the emigrants who stood out. But then there were those who returned to Sweden for different reasons. Some longed back home, some had saved a bit of money, and yet others maybe fled from poverty in America. With time, conditions improved also in Sweden and Europe. Emigrating was not for the faint-hearted. To illustrate the point, read Ola Larsmo’s novel “Swede Hollow”. Leif Lundquist Enebyberg, Sweden PS from the Editor: We also contacted the House of Emigrants in Sweden but have so far not received an answer. “Swede Hollow” now exists in English translation – see our book review on page 23 of our February 2020 issue.
airbags • seatbelts • steering wheels • autoliv.com Half Page Ad v4.indd 1
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from the Editor’s Desk
How Hilarious is Swedish Humour? We need your support!
Swedish Press strives to create a high quality magazine for you, but the costs are considerable and ever-increasing. Please consider making a generous donation to help keep your publication, and Swedish heritage, alive. You’ll find a form on page 29. Tack!
Whether your Swedish is fluent or rusty, we hone your language skills by publishing some articles in Swedish. But never despair: you will find English translations online thanks to our valiant team of volunteer translators. Simply go to http://biolson. atspace.cc/swemail/ and you will find translations of all Swedish articles going as far back as to August 2007.
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nalysing the sense of humour of a nation can be difficult. Rather than dissecting the subject, it is perhaps best left in the category “you recognize it when you hear it.” Even so, there seems to be a common perception abroad that Swedes lack a sense of humour, and in this issue of Swedish Press we set out to prove the opposite. In our Feature Story we present the Swedish comedy group Grotesco and the duo Filip and Fredrik, all of whom make Swedes laugh out loud (page 12). Under the heading Company File we introduce you to the Swedish enterprise House of Comedy Nordic AB (page 10). One of the company’s founders is the multitalented Swedish comedian Janne Westerlund whom you will also encounter in our exclusive interview on page 14. The Swedish actor, artist, movie director, script writer, musician, and graphic designer Lasse Åberg is the focus of another exclusive interview (page 16). One of his most beloved film series is called Sällskapsresan (The Charter Trip) which follows an old-fashioned, nerdy Swede as he travels to the fictional town of Nueva Estocolmo in Gran Canaria. The movie episodes have reached cult status in Sweden. Moving on, we meet Kim Magnusson, a prolific Danish film producer who has more than 130 films to his credit and has been Oscar-nominated in the Live Action Short Film category six times. In the interview he talks about two of his recent short movies that highlight the traumas children experience when confronted with transgender issues and parental alcoholism (page 20). We also interview Andreas Wannerstedt, a Stockholm-based artist and art director whose unique 3D sculptures and mesmerizing looping animations fascinate millions of viewers around the world (page 24). In the Lifestyle section you will find an article about a planned Nordic Heritage Park in Astoria, OR. This brings back memories, because many years ago I dropped in on the city’s annual Scandinavian Midsummer Festival. People dressed in various regional outfits were dancing around the Midsummer pole, playing lawn games, and manning stalls selling familiar Scandinavian delicacies. Later that afternoon, most people headed for the school to watch one teenage girl after another walk on stage to talk about what their particular Swedish/Danish/Norwegian/Finnish/Icelandic heritage meant to them. Following each speech, the audience stood up and sang the national anthem of the corresponding country, immediately followed by The Star-Spangled Banner. I found it amusing that, while each Nordic anthem was bellowed out like some late-night drinking song, everybody stood to strict attention with hands on their hearts when the turn came to the American national anthem! As usual, we also offer our readers an update on political, social, economic, cultural and culinary matters that connect Sweden with the U.S. and Canada. Do keep in touch with things Swedish – and with us! Peter Berlin Editor Peter@Swedishpress.com March 2020
© AB Svensk Fi lm Åberg (1980) Ph industri/Lasse oto: Anders Östlu nd
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Carbon Footprint and Pawprint Volvo and Geely to merge? By Peter Berlin
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he Chinese company Geely Automobile is already the owner of Volvo Cars but, so far, Geely has viewed Volvo as a subsidiary which happens to benefit from a high degree of autonomy. Now top executives of the two companies are discussing an outright merger before the end of 2020, with a view to achieving better technical and marketing synergies. The new conglomerate would include the brands Volvo, Geely, Lynk & Co, and Polestar. (Lynk
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Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Automobile Holdings and Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars. Photo: Aly Song/Reuters-TT
& Co is a Chinese-Swedish automobile brand which will be positioned between the Geely and Volvo models in terms of size and performance. Polestar is an electric performance
Greta Thunberg on BBC
he famous Swedish climate activist is to appear in a BBC TV series. The program will focus on her campaign and her meetings with prominent politicians, scientists and business people. It will also follow her journey into adulthood. In a statement, the executive producer, Rob Liddell, said: “Climate change is probably the most important issue of our lives so it feels timely to make an authoritative series that explores the facts and science behind this complex subject. To be able to do this with Greta is an extraordinary privilege, getting an inside view on what it’s like being a global icon and one of the most famous faces on the planet.” The promise to explore the facts and science behind this complex subject bodes well, given the misinformation on the subject that permeates social media on both sides of the argument. The American subscription videoon-demand company Hulu is planning a similar documentary series called Greta. It will be released sometime
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vehicle brand which is also owned jointly by Geely and Volvo.) The reaction from market analysts and, surprisingly, from the concerned Swedish labour unions has been guardedly positive, considering that “synergy” is sometimes a code word for lay-offs. The general perception is that both Volvo and Geely will thrive as a result of the merger, although the details have yet to be worked out.
The BBC is set to broadcast the series looking at climate change and Greta Thunberg’s rise. Photo: Getty Images
in 2020. Hulu apparently embarked on the project some time ago and has been involved behind the scenes while deals were being made.
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Carbon pawprint on the rise
ight out of 10 members of Generation Z (people born between 2000 and 2015) say they suffer from loneliness, up from 7 out of 10 among Millennials (people born between 1980 and 2000). A common solution
to loneliness is keeping cats or dogs for company. In the US alone, there are 90 million dogs and 95 million cats owned by 330 million humans, and all three numbers are on the rise. Unfortunately, these pets are carnivores and, according to a Swedish agricultural studies professor, their digestion contributes to the emission of carbon dioxide that is destroying our planet through climate change. He encourages owners of cats and dogs to live without pets, or else replace the carnivores with vegan pets like goats and rabbits. If these measures fail to save our planet after all, lonely people might be prone to depression. Loneliness is said to kill more people than tobacco or obesity. That’s the bad news. The good news for the pharmaceutical industry is that it will make a killing producing even more antidepressants.
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Swedes in the News
Swedish Business and Opera Celebrations Duplantis Sets Record
Armand Duplantis. Photo: Bildbyrån
American-Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, 20, became the world record holder in pole vaulting when he jumped 6.17 meters (20’ 2.9”) in the Polish city of Torun, thereby surpassing French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie’s 2014 record. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m on cloud nine right now. There’s no secret to what I do. I just put in a lot of hard work. I can’t thank my parents enough for helping me to get to where I’m at now. All the support I had from everybody is the reason why I did this,” said Duplantis. Sweden’s nightingale Beloved opera singer Johanna Maria “Jenny” Lind (1820-1887) celebrates what would be her 200th birthday this year. Lind, a soprano and Stockholm native, has performed in opera roles throughout Scandinavia, Europe and the U.S. and is one of the opera world’s most celebrated singers. Accomplishments
include becoming a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1840 and being awarded the title of Hovsångerska (Court Singer) by the King of Sweden in 1847. Lind married German pianist Otto Goldschmidt in 1852. The couple eventually settled in England, where they resided up until their deaths. Throughout 2020, The Royal Swedish Opera honors Lind’s 200th anniversary. Events include concerts in the Golden Foyer and an exhibition.
Annika Sörenstam. Photo: Annika Foundation
at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm. Sörerstam said it was an honor to be at the event and that the award meant a lot to her. During her impressive career, Sörenstam posted 93 wins. Ten of them were in major tournaments, including 72 while on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour.
focus on the customer, so as to continue strengthening our financial development in the short and long term. There is great expansion potential with existing and new brands, with new types of partnerships, and to continue leading the development towards a sustainable fashion industry,“ Helmersson said. Myllymäki's new restaurant
New boss at H&M Tommy Myllymäki
Soprano Jenny Lind by Eduard Magnus, 1862
Sörenstam’s prize Swedish golf legend Annika Sörenstam, 49, was recently given an honorary award at the Svenska Idrottsgalan (Swedish Sports Award Ceremony) by the Idrottsakademin (Academy of Sports) for her efforts and accomplishments in golf and contribution to Swedish sport. Sörenstam was moved to tears when she received the award from Norwegian golf personality Suzann Pettersen to standing ovations
Helena Helmersson. Photo:H&M
Helena Helmersson, 47, has been appointed CEO of H&M (Hennes&Mauritz AB). She replaces Swedish businessman Karl-Johan Persson, the company said. “I am very keen to implement our plans for change. I look forward to taking the company forward together with my colleagues, with a
Swedish chef Tommy Myllymäki joins restaurant group Svenska Brasserier to launch a new restaurant called AIRA in Stockholm. The restaurant, which is currently under construction, is on Biskopsudden right by the water on Djurgården. AIRA’s menu will focus on Nordic ingredients and traditional cooking, but will consist of flavors from all over the world. An à la carte menu and a tasting menu will be available. AIRA’s debut is set for March 20, but curious enthusiasts of Nordic cuisine can book a table ahead of time. Smaklig måltid!
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[Landskapsnyheterna] SKÅNE Ann-Britt Johnsson, 80, och Torsten Simonsson, 88, fann varandra och kärleken på äldreboendet Vardaga Jordbodalen i Helsingborg i Skåne. Efter att Ann-Britt och Torsten träffats i äldreboendets gymnastiksal ville de lära känna varandra bättre. – I början var det oskyldigt. Vi umgicks och då visade sig att vi hade samma värderingar, sa Torsten. Varken Ann-Britt eller Torsten trodde att de skulle träffa någon på äldre dagar. – Vi fattar inte hur det här kunde gå till, sa Torsten. I somras bestämde sig vännerna dock för att bli ett par och nu har de förlovat sig. – Vi ville tala om för omgivningen att vi hör ihop. Det var därför vi förlovade oss, sa Torsten. När Ann-Britt och Torsten ska gifta sig är inte bestämt, men de funderar på att flytta ihop. – Det är bra att dela livet här på äldreboendet. Nästa steg är att flytta ihop, vi får se hur det går, sa Ann-Britt. – Vi fattar ännu idag inte att vi älskar varandra så mycket som vi gör. Det gör vi faktiskt.
Ann-Britt Johnsson, 80, och Torsten Simonsson, 88. Foto: Aftonbladet
LAPPLAND NORRBOTTEN
kläder och accessoarer. Utställningen arrangeras av Örebrokompaniet och Frimis salonger. – Vi är otroligt stolta över att få en världsutställning hit till Örebro. Att den dessutom visas för första gången i Sverige känns extra roligt, sa Rebecca Larserö, projektledare på Örebrokompaniet i ett pressmeddelande. Utställning visas till och med den 30 augusti. STOCKHOLMS LÄN ”Ungdomens riksdag” arrangerades nyligen i Riksdagshuset i Stockholm. Sammanlagt deltog 349 elever från hela landet. Alexander Wald och Svante Andersson från gymnasieskolan Furulundsskolan i Sölvesborg var bland de elever som var på plats i Riksdagshuset. – Vi har varit här hela dagen för att lära oss, sa Svante Andersson. Under sitt besök i riksdagen fick eleverna känna på hur det är att arbeta som Riksdagsledamot, bland annat genom att skriva motioner och debattera i kammaren. – Jag ska få chansen att ställa en fråga till inrikesminister Mikael Damberg, så det ska bli kul, sa Alexander Wald. JÄMTLAND
NÄRKE Glada nyheter för alla svenska Marilyn Monroe fans! En utställning om den amerikanska skådespelerskan, sångerskan och modellen Norma Jeane Baker kommer till Örebro konserthus den 30 maj. Utställningen ”The untold story” innehåller över 200 föremål och privata ägodelar som till exempel brev, fotografier, skönhetsprodukter,
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På hotellet i Hammarstrand i Jämtland anordnades nyligen ett pusselmaraton. Det är femte året som entusiaster från hela landet träffas för att tillsammans lägga pussel. I år deltog 50 pusslare från Jämtland och städer som Gävle, Torsåker och Sandviken. För att lägga pusslets 42 000 bitar delades deltagarna upp i grupper. Många tycker att det är roligt att lägga pussel
VÄSTERBOTTEN
JÄMTLAND
HÄRJEDALEN
ÅNGERMANLAND
MEDELPAD HÄLSINGLAND
DALARNA GÄSTRIKLAND VÄSTMANLAND VÄRMLAND
NÄRKE
UPPLAND
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DALSLAND ÖSTERGÖTLAND BOHUSLAND VÄSTERGöteborg GÖTLAND SMÅLAND HALLAND SKÅNE
Stockholm
GOTLAND ÖLAND
BLEKINGE
Malmö
och att fördelarna är många. – Att åka hit kommer bli en tradition, sa Erika Marklund som rest från Sandviken. – Det är helt otroligt roligt sa Christina Mårtensson från Öjarn i Strömsunds kommun. Man glömmer all stress. De pussel som lagts tidigare år hänger bland annat på hotellet i Hammarstrand och på Hälsocentralen. Årets pussel kommer att hängas upp i gallerian ”Mittpunkten”. Summary in English: In the province of Skåne, two residents in their 80s, who live in a retirement home, have fallen in love and are engaged to be married. The first ever exhibition of Marilyn Monroe in Sweden will open in Örebro on May 30. The exhibits include letters, photographs, cosmetics, clothes, and accessories. The Parliament in Stockholm has arranged an event for school children where they learn what it is like to be member of parliament. A jigsaw puzzle “marathon” has been held at a hotel in the province of Jämtland, with 50 participants from all over Sweden.
[Business] News
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One down, more to go?
t the time of writing, only one person in Sweden has come down with the coronavirus infection. Eleven more Swedes have been brought back from Wuhan in China where the virus was first detected. The Public Health Agency deems the risk low that more people will fall victim to the illness in Sweden. Of greater concern is the impact on the Swedish economy as the virus spreads like wildfire in the rest of the world. Worst hit may be the electronics and automobile sectors which rely on timely delivery of certain components from China and other countries in the Far East. Meanwhile, the Swedish electronics and telecommunication giant Ericsson has decided to withdraw from
this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in order to avoid exposing their staff to the potential danger of contracting the coronavirus. Ericsson’s Chinese competitor Huawei has also opted to stay away from the Congress. Will other major marketing events face cancellations for the same reason? Speaking of Ericsson and Huawei
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he Trump administration suspects that Huawei’s equipment is designed in a manner that will enable Chinese authorities to eavesdrop on classified wireless communications. The United States has therefore chosen to bar Huawei from implementing the 5th generation of mobile telecommunications (so-called 5G).
The US is also putting pressure on its allies to avoid Huawei. In a February 6 speech, US Attorney General William Barr suggested that the US Government purchase Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia, using its financial resources to bolster the competitiveness of the two companies to the point where Huawei would cease to be a viable contender anywhere in the rush to implement 5G. However, Mr Barr’s suggestion has been firmly rejected by Vice President Mike Pence who maintains that it is not the role of the US Government to acquire foreign corporations, and that the Government instead intends to focus on boosting American 5G network providers to reach the desired competitive level.
Borgströms Blogg: Norden bästa demokratierna
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inland har sedan förra året passerat Danmark och Kanada till 5:e plats i den årliga mätningen från The Economist Intelligence Unit. Totalt sett för de 167 undersökta länderna har indexet försvagats och är det sämsta sedan rankingen inleddes 2006. 22 länder bedömes ha full demokrati, med Norge, Island, Sverige och Nya Zeeland i topp. På 23:e plats kom Sydkorea och därefter Japan och USA på 25:e plats, klassade som bristfälliga demokratier. Detta kan med en snäll formulering översättas till sprickor i demokratin eller med anmärkningar. Det gäller förutom Israel också flera EUländer: de baltiska, Malta, Tjeckien, Belgien, Cypern, Italien, Slovenien, Grekland och Slovakien. Sämsta EU-länder är Ungern 55:e, Polen 57:e och Rumänien på 63:e plats. Från 77:e plats betecknas länderna som hybridregimer där
flera möjliga EU-kandidater i framtiden finns: Nordmakedonien, Ukraina, Albanien och Montenegro. På plats 110 återfinns Turkiet. Jordanien på 114:e anses ha auktoritärt styre liksom många andra i Asien och Afrika ned till värsta styret i Nordkorea. Största framsteget anses Thailand ha gjort sedan militärjuntans ledare under fem tidigare år vunnit ett relativt fritt parlamentsval och nu är premiärminister. Landet ökade från plats 106 till 68. Uruguay är bäst i Latinamerika som fullvärdig demokrati. Bland dessa finns också Costa Rica (19:e) och Chile (21:e). Mexiko med anmärkningar ligger på 73:e plats. Ryssland (134) räknas till de auktoritärt styrda liksom Kina (153). Variablerna som mäts är uppdelade i fem kategorier: valprocesser och pluralism, medborgerliga rättigheter, hur regeringen fungerar/ statsapparaten, politisk medverkan och politisk kultur. Under dessa finns sedan 60 indikatorer. Länderna
delas in i fyra kategorier: fullgoda demokratier, bristfälliga demokratier, hybrid-regimer och auktoritära regimer. Summary in English: According to the latest Democracy Index published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and New Zealand rank highest in the world. The United States takes 25th place, while North Korea is at the bottom of the list among the 167 countries investigated. The ranking is based on five criteria: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on their scores on 60 indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime: full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime; and authoritarian regime. Henric Borgström är mångårig ekonomijournalist i svensk radio, TV och press. Artikeln publicerad i finlands-svenska Hufvudstadsbladet.
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Company File
Make Sweden Funny Again! By Peter Berlin
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and Best Rooky Comedians of The Year, as well as the award of the jury’s Prize of Honor. The highly successful TV program Stockholm LIVE ran for three seasons. In 2015 the founders of Stockholm Comedy Klubb went their separate ways, and the “Klubb” changed its spelling to “Club.” Janne Westerlund, who took over the Club and who speaks Finnish, performed The Word’s Funniest Finnish Language Course for the first time. The show became hugely popular and ran for three years. Since 2018, Stockholm Comedy Club and its sister organisation Norrtälje Comedy Club are subsidiaries of House of Comedy Nordic AB (see www.houseofcomedy.se). The company’s stated aims are to operate the club, arrange comedy tours, produce comedy programs, offer comedy shows on demand to companies and organisations, train aspiring stand-up comedians, give lectures about humour, and manage ticket sales through www. enkomiker.nu. Janne Westerlund is the company’s CEO and appears in most of the shows. Read more about Janne in our exclusive interview on page 14.
Photos: House of Comedy
he website theculturetrip. com states that “Swedes are not always best known for their humour. To the outside world they are often seen as relatively cold, rational and perhaps a little serious. While it is true that you probably will not see Swedes walk arm in arm down the street howling with laughter, in the right environment Swedes love to laugh. Stockholmers enjoy the opportunity to go to comedy clubs and to laugh the night away. A number of the clubs have performances in English, with great stand-up shows, comedic theatre and comedy festivals in Stockholm that cater for people whose Swedish is either rusty or non-existent.” The site goes on to name 11 of the best places for comedy lovers to check out in Stockholm. One of those venues is Stockholm Comedy Club. In an echo of Donald Trump’s motto “Make America Great Again,” Stockholm Comedy Club has set out to “Make Sweden Funnier.” The Club has
at least five shows a week, and many of the comedians perform in English or in a hilarious mix of English and Swedish. Tickets to many of the shows may include dinners as an option. The Club’s website provides a warning that the humour on offer sometimes covers highly controversial issues, and that the minimum age of attendees is 18. Hence, a performance may include coarse language, generalisations, exaggerations, and pure fantasies. That said, the Club provides an email address which people who are easily offended can contact to obtain guidance to shows that are less contentious. (Where else, if not in Sweden? Sooo lagom!) Stockholm Comedy Klubb (“STOCK”) was founded in 1999 by comedians Janne Westerlund, Özz Nûjen and Jakob Öqvist. A new era of Swedish stand-up comedy was born. The Skrattstockfestivalen (the STOCK Festival of Laughter) followed in 2002 and lasted for 15 years. That same year also saw the birth of Svenska Standupgalan (the Swedish Stand-up Gala), an annual event showcasing Swedish comedy elite. The program includes the selection of Best Male, Best Female
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Swedish Press | March 2020 10
H E RI TAG E
An Insider’s Look at Swedish Culture Jag övertalade min familj att ha en japansk utbytesstudent boende hos oss! Av Yvonne Gossner
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o, det är sant. Ska jag vara helt ärlig var resten av familjen inte alls förtjust över att jag hade bestämt att vi skulle ta emot en student från ett annat land i en månad. Som om vårt liv inte var hektiskt nog med alla barnens aktiviteter efter skolan, mitt företag och alla beting som måste göras för att hushållet ska rulla på. Ärligt talat var vi nog dock mest nervösa över vad japanskan skulle tycka om oss. Vi är en spontan familj som aldrig har långtråkigt, men det kan också uppfattas utifrån som smått kaosartat emellanåt. Ens sämsta sidor, som när jag letar efter mina nycklar i panik när jag redan skulle ha cyklat till jobbet för 10 minuter sedan, vill man helst inte att någon annan än familjen ska uppleva. Likaså när man kommer hem från jobbet och det inte går att ta skillnad på om ens hus har haft inbrott eller om det bara är att ingen har orkat plocka iordning. Att vår familj skulle blotta sig med alla våra mindre bra sidor skrämde oss, men förhoppningsvis skulle det vara värt det eftersom vi fick chans att få en doft av den japanska kulturen alldeles gratis. Vår student kom på en av de varmaste höstdagarna och hann knappt smaka klart på kanelbullarna innan hon fick låna vår dotters cykel och doppa sig i havet tillsammans med oss. Förstod rätt snabbt att varken cykla eller bada hörde till
vardagen för denna rara 20-åriga student. Det infann sig samtidigt en stor lycka hos oss i att få visa de mest vardagliga saker, som vi svenskar gör utan att blinka, som något oerhört exotiskt. Tillåt dig bara för en sekund tänka tanken hur speciellt det måste kännas för henne att äta en blandning av dessert och smörgås dekorerad som en tårta (smörgåstårta) under öppen himmel, samtidigt som det spelades det svenskaste spelet kubb i trädgården! Ja, när jag tänker på det så har jag full förståelse för att detta blev en oförglömlig månad för oss båda! Normalt sätt när vi har gäster så stämmer den oskrivna regeln att efter två nätter så är det skönt att gästerna åker hem – så där lite typiskt svensk “lagom tänk”. Med vår japanska student blev det tvärtom. För varje dag som gick blev vi mer och mer fästa vid varandra. Hennes lugna och harmoniska sätt passade vår familj alldeles perfekt, och barnen vågade varken bråka eller höja rösten. Det blev nästan så att vi anammade den japanska kulturen i att inte tappa ansiktet. Min man och jag njöt av en konfliktfri månad! Som du förstår, blev det här en månad då vi lärde känna varandra
på nytt som familj och en ny spännande kultur (som vi nu sparar ihop pengar för att kunna uppleva på plats i Japan), men också att visa varandra ömsesidig respekt. När det bara var en vecka kvar hade min make gett upp hoppet med att de japanska skorna inte skulle stå ute i ösregn varje natt. Vi kunde istället skratta tillsammans över så olika vi är, trots att studier visar att den japanska kulturen och den svenska kulturen är så extrema båda två att det gör oss rätt lika. Detta är för mig svensk humor när den är som allra bäst! Summary in English: The Gossner family initially felt some trepidation about accommodating a Japanese exchange student for a month in their home, considering the purported cultural differences. In the event, they all became very fond of their foreign guest – so much so that they have adopted the Japanese traditions of maintaining order, showing respect, and avoiding conflict.
Footnote: Yvonne Gossner är en f.d universitetsadjunkt och Swedish influencer, numera ägare av Learn Swedish Culture AB. www. learnswedishculture.com
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Swedish Press | March 2020 11
The Myth of the Serious Swede: Swedish Humor from Bellman to Instagram Lorem ipsum
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umor isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Sweden. In fact, Swedes are usually regarded as stern By Marcus and serious, more inclined toward noir murder mysteries or Bergmanesque dramas than sitcoms. Behind the austere Scandinavian mask, though, there’s a rich tradition of humor that has evolved significantly in the past thirty years, and continues to develop today in new social media platforms. Perhaps the most famous comedian in Swedish history, Carl Michael Bellman, created the blueprint for the Carl Michael Bellman, portrait by nation’s humor in the late Per Krafft 1779. 18th century. He was a poet and songwriter with a sharp satirical wit who wrote drinking songs that have endured the test of time, still sung today at family gatherings. Bellman wrote scandalous material about courtly life, addressing themes like sexuality, bodily functions, and the monarchy. Though Bellman was born nearly three centuries ago, Swedish humor still draws upon the same sources for much of its material. Fortunately, 21st-century Swedish comedy has found some new targets for the butt of a joke. Heavily influenced by British humor in the 1960s, Swedish writers took the cue of exalting failure and humiliation. According Jon Skolmen and Lasse Åberg in to English TV personality “The Stig-Helmer Story”. Stephen Fry, the British
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Swedish Press | March 2020 12
comic ethos can be characterized as follows: “We are bathed in failure but we make a glory of our failure … We love the fact that every great British comic hero is so flawed as to be an utter disaster.” The Swedes share this Andersson mentality, gravitating toward the darkness of the pathetic hero rather than the lighter American paradigm of the clown (Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis, to name a few). Unlike American comedy, which is primarily punchlinedriven and slapstick-centered, British and Swedish humor focus on creating a painfully awkward mood, and draw attention to class differences and stifling social norms. Swedes, like their UK neighbors, take their national identity itself as a joke. Besides its indebtedness to British humor, contemporary Swedish comedy also spends a lot of time mocking other Scandinavians. The Finns are consistently made out to be knife-wielding drunks, the Danes portrayed as rustic hedonists, and the Norwegians depicted as unsophisticated farmers. This is fairly parochial local humor and not very translatable outside of its Grotesco på Scala på Turné. Photo: Scandinavian context, but Robert Eldrim it’s still extremely popular. Nearly every Swedish sketch troupe or comedian has had its Finn or Dane-bashing moment. Today, one of Sweden’s most popular comedy troupes is Grotesco. The group ridicules Swedishness with skits like “Svennen” (“The Swede”), as well as Finns by showing how a literary discussion ends in a knife fight, and Danish hedonism by portraying a gathering where the party-goers pass around a defibrillator while drinking. They also attack both social democratic and right-wing political attitudes
in a sketch in which the Swedish welfare state mentality turns people into zombies. Grotesco is irreverent and dares to be more experimental in its subject matter. Much of the humor is meta-humor, making fun of the idea of sketch troupes and television programs, often layering sketches within larger sketches. Many of Grotesco’s cast members star in one of Sweden’s most popular comedy series, Solsidan. This is a satire of Stockholm’s archipelago, which encourages the viewer to see the world from a common person’s perspective. One couple in the show, for example, lives in an all-white mansion, so glaringly bright that it Solsidan Season 5. appears surreal, taking the trend in upper-class interior design to the extreme. At the other end of the social ladder, the audience is asked to identify with Anna and Alex, a middle-class family trying to adjust to the snobbery of Saltsjöbaden – a posh town near Stockholm. Though the comedy duo is a less popular format, it still offers a winning approach to humor in Sweden. The most successful contemporary example is Filip and Fredrik, which is defined by its characters’ candid, unscripted banter. They come across as two friends exploring the world: “Alla mot alla med Filip och Fredrik” Season 3 premiered on 13 January Fredrik represents Sweden 2020 on Channel 5. Photo: Margareta Bloom Sandebäck/Kanal 5 – reserved, uptight, and anxious, which are traits that Filip, who represents the anti- Swede, often mocks. In 2014, for example, they created La Bamba, a show about the two characters pursuing their fantasies of living out exotic American lives (e.g. the cowboy, the hippie, etc.). Filip constantly pushes Fredrik’s boundaries, even drugging him at a spa retreat in California – a moment that became one of the most famous clips from the program. A less developed side of Johan Glans. Photo: Robert Eldrim Swedish humor is stand-up
comedy which only started to flourish in the 1980s. Swedish standup comedies tend to be less vulgar than their American or British counterparts, playing on themes like city versus country life, personal inadequacy, and SwedishÖzz Nujen. Photo: Robert Eldrim ness. Comedians like Johan Glans and Janne Westerlund are national favourites and cater their material to a broad public, keeping their content safe. Since the 1990s, immigrant-centered standup has also found a place in the scene, with comics like Özz Nujen creating a space for addressing ethnic differences, a subject that is otherwise ignored in the Swedish media. The future of Swedish comedy takes the tradition of the sketch troupe to new social media platforms. Tom Ljungqvist, an up-andcoming Swedish comedian, Photo: Tom Ljungqvist has used Instagram and its filters to create several characters, morphing his face digitally and altering the pitch of his voice. He films himself from a selfie angle in his apartment or on the streets of Stockholm while in character, using absurdist comedy instead of parodying anything uniquely Swedish. Some of his work, however, does satirize life in Stockholm, particularly the sketches he makes with his troupe Inte Helt Hundra. Their comedic sense has landed them sponsorships and appearances on television, where they continue their brand Tom Ljungqvist, Alfred Svensson of comedy but incorporate and Petter Egnefors in “Inte Helt products into their pieces. Hundra”. Comedians like Ljungvist show the opportunities available to future generations on social media for creating a brand and evolving the country’s comic tradition. Despite the stereotype of the serious Swede, Swedish humor has an unexpectedly broad range and is constantly evolving as it interacts with new social perspectives and media platforms.
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Swedish Press | March 2020 13
E X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
W I T H
J A N N E
“When I am 100 years old, I want to be like Bob Hope!”
Swedish comedian Janne Westerlund is in fact halfFinnish. His mother is from Kamijärvi in central Finland, but Janne was born in Sweden in 1971. “I am very old, but also very young if you ask an old person,” he smiles. He has lived in Stockholm most of his life and started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 15.
All photos © Janne Westerlund. Right: Janne Westerlund. Photo: Linnea Frank.
Interviewed by Peter Berlin
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Swedish Press | March 2020 14
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anne had watched Eddie Murphy standing in front of an audience of maybe a thousand people, talking into a microphone and making everybody roar with laughter. He found that absolutely amazing. It awakened his curiosity and prompted him to give it a try at his high school, mostly in the form of monologues. Then he began interacting with the class, and the feedback revealed his full talent. In the beginning, comedy was just a hobby. At the age of 21 he did his first stand-up club gig and emerged feeling that stand-up comedy was what he really wanted to do and decided to make it his profession. “I worked at a regular full-time job, because nobody believed that one could earn a living as a stand-up comedian,” he recalls. “But then I realized that I could make more money as a part-time comedian than in my full-time job, so I decided that it would be more rewarding for me to devote myself to comedy.” He also performs stand-up comedy in Finland. “My mother taught me Finnish. I started translating my comedy routines into Finnish and had a first go on stage in 1999. But it is a
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challenge for me to do comedy in languages other than Swedish, because one has to get not only the words but also the timing absolutely right. When I was doing a gig in Finnish recently in Helsinki, I recognized that part of my motivation is to maintain a close relationship with the language.” In fact, Janne was only 7 years old when he discovered that he could make people laugh. Every Friday afternoon at school they had a role-playing event called Roliga timmen (Funny Hour). He always looked forward to it, even though he wasn’t able to stand out in his own right because the teacher insisted that the roleplaying should be a group activity. But he soon figured out that he could perform all the roles
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himself, even better than his classmates. He told his teacher that, and she gave him her o.k. to have a go. When Janne was about 10 years old, there was this big debate in Sweden about whether or not the country should continue generating nuclear power. “Everybody in my class agreed that the nuclear power stations should be closed down in favour of alternative power sources,” says Janne. “As a deliberate provocation I declared that I was firmly for continued nuclear power. The whole class turned against me, but the teacher suggested that we should form a working group to debate the issue. To make my point, I even built a miniature nuclear power station on a desk. In the end we all discovered the virtue of agreeing to disagree. In reality, I wasn’t totally convinced about my own pro-nuclear stance, but I decided to argue the case for the sake of stimulating a debate. In my stand-up comedy I often take a similar stance in order to interact with my audience. For me, stand-up comedy is not only about evoking laughter, but sometimes also about suggesting alternative positions and making a point. When I perform at my friends’ clubs I have to be a bit cautious, but in my own club I can say anything I want.” When Janne reached 12, his father died. There he was – half-Finnish, living in a Stockholm suburb with his single mother. He found himself at a crossroads. As far as his aspirations in comedy went, he thought he could either devote himself to slapstick routines, or else choose a more theatrical route. He opted for the latter. Looking back today, he thinks his choice was driven by a desire not to disappoint his mother. As concerns his professional range, Janne says: “I do many things.
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I am a stand-up comedian, a host, a conferencier, a producer, and a radio guy. Back in 1990 I did my first radio assignment. I like radio shows because I find them very easy to do, and I even have a radio station downstairs in my house called Roslagen Live. I am also a boxing ring announcer! But mostly I do stand-up comedy by hosting shows at my own comedy club or as a participant in shows elsewhere. My stand-up comedy subjects are typically current events which I keep up with by reading newspapers, watching TV, etc. It is interesting to view politicians on TV with the sound muted, because their lips move, but nothing of substance comes out. I particularly love ‘small’ news, like a report about a chicken that escaped from its cage; the public who might spot it are urged to call the police.” He has now moved to Norrtälje about an hour north of Stockholm. “It is a much smaller town, and I just love it there, so I talk about that with my audiences. This is an example of my conferencier role, and I always make a point of getting the audience involved. When I am in Finland I make fun of Sweden, and when I am in Sweden I do the same about Finland, because as neighbours we love each other and hate each other.”
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About the question of whether Swedish humour differs from humour in other cultures, Janne replies: “Here in Sweden, we comedians are free to raise absolutely any subject we want, be it politics, sex, money, or religion, to name a few. This is different from some countries which on the one hand claim to be the inventors and defenders of free speech, but on the other hand one has to be very careful to avoid talking politics because it is so divisive.” As for his long-term ambitions, he says: “I want to be like Bob Hope. When he was 98 years young, he did a show on an aircraft carrier. I would like to do something similar when I am 100 – that’s only 50 years away!
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Swedish Press | March 2020 15
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Putting Sweden on the Map At Home
“One proejct I’m proud of is ...
Global S
Lars “Lasse” Gunnar Åberg, Swedish actor, artist, film director and musician
Lars “Lasse” Gunnar Åberg. Photo: Carina Åberg
Lasse Åberg is a veteran of making humor part of everything he creates. Well-known for his participation in Swedish comedy movie classics, such as Sällskapsresan and Den ofrivillige golfaren, Åberg, 79, was recently awarded the prestigious Hedersguldbaggen (Honorary Guldbagge Award) for his accomplishment and contribution to Swedish entertainment. He has dedicated his life to amusing the world. “Almost everything I’ve created is based on humor – the movies, my sketches, the TV productions and my books. Humor has become my niche.”
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Tell us about your upbringing and how you found your artistry. Were music and humor present in your family? I grew up in a working-class family on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. I dreamt of becoming an artist at an early age. When I turned 10 years old I told my friends and family that I wanted to make a living as a professional artist. I spent a lot of time drawing and was praised for my work. My father was a wood turner (svarvare) and a drummer. For some time, he played with an orchestra that accompanied Frank Sinatra at Chinateatern in Stockholm in 1953. I admire my father for his sense of humor. He was always quick with a funny line. Where did you go to college? Konstfack (University of Arts, Crafts and Design) in Stockholm, where I was enrolled between 1960 – 1964. What did you do next? I participated in numerous TV comedy series. I directed and starred as Stig-Helmer Olsson in the movie Sällskapsresan and its sequels which were box office successes, made over 300 million SEK, and became international hits. I played the role of Tarzan Apansson in children’s programs along with my fellow actor and musician Klasse Möllberg. I also performed and recorded albums together with composer/ guitarist Janne Schaffer in Electric
Banana Band. One project I’m very proud of is the creation of Åbergs museum featuring world-class art and an impressive Disney collection. Who were your earliest collaborators? Without my friend and producer Bo Jonsson, I probably wouldn’t have made any movies. In the mid-70s, he sent me a letter saying: “Hi Lasse, could we meet up. I have some thoughts on a movie. Bosse.” That was the beginning of our collaboration and what would become seven movies. What does the Hedersguldbaggen award mean to you? Hedersguldbaggen is a kind of endorsement of the recognition comedy (igenkänningskomedi) that I represent. The award is a tremendous personal achievement. I hung my Hedersguldbagge next to my other Guldbagge Award in Åbergs museum. Name a few other awards. I am proud to have received the Ingmar Bergman Award in 1981
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(for the film Sällskapsresan), and Guldbaggen in 1991 for best male actor in the role of StigHelmer Olsson in Den ofrivillige golfaren. I also received Albert Engström-priset in 2012, Piratenpriset in 2015 and H. M. The King’s Medal – 8th size gold medal worn on the chest suspended by a blue ribbon (8:e storleken i högblått band) in 2003. Tell us about Åbergs museum. Åbergs museum opened in 2002. We are in a stylish barn by Väppeby gård in Bålsta. On our website we describe what customers can expect from a visit. “At the museum everybody can have a good time, doesn’t matter if you are young or old. You will find a fabulous collection of cartoons and art as well as one of the world’s premier collections of Disney artefacts. For the children we have the Tarzan jungle hut. Of course, there is also a shop and a restaurant available. There is a permanent exhibition of props, photos and costumes from the films about the lanky nerd Stig-Helmer. Outside the museum is a
.... “the creation of Åbergs museum.” large playground for children and two nice cows that never harm a fly. So, have a jolly day out and visit Åberg’s museum. We boast about being Sweden’s most amusing museum.” Åbergs museum and shop are open to the public Monday through Sunday from 11am until 4pm. Åbergs museum, so near to your home in Fånäs, is widely known for your Mickey Mouse themed paintings. Of all Disney’s wonderful characters, what made you choose Mickey Mouse? Pop art has always inspired me – Lichtenstein and Warhol, for example. I started making pastiches using Mickey Mouse as my model because pop art fascinates me. It “undresses” what is considered fine culture art and affirms the simple things in life and art – the so called “little life.” One might just as well paint a soup can as a beautiful landscape. Had I started sketching today I might have chosen Hello Kitty or My Little Pony as my model. Which artists inspire you today? My idols include the very talented artists Jim Dine and Claes Oldenburg. Jim Dine is an American pop artist from Ohio. He became popular in the 60s and is well-known
for his sketches of colorful hearts. Claes Oldenburg is a SwedishAmerican sculptor. He is renowned for his impressive public art installations depicting everyday objects. Have you visited Disney Land Park in California or Disney World in Florida? And if so, how did you experience your visit there? I have visited Disney’s parks in California, Florida and France. I found them well-organized and effective. I do, however, wish that I had been 10 years old and not middle-aged when I made my visits. It would have given me another perspective. What aspects of Swedish culture and life are you personally most passionate about promoting? As a member of Electric Banana Band, I am proud of the unprecedented success of the Swedish music industry globally. What have you planned for this spring and summer? This spring I opened my souvenir exhibition (souvenir-utställning) at Dansmuseet in Stockholm. I will be exhibiting my paintings on Österlen in Skåne and in Lindesberg in Västmanland. I’m also working on the script to the musical Banankontakt which premieres in October. Interviewed by Sofie Kinnefors
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Swedish Press | March 2020 17
[Lifestyle]
Top Sju
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Plastic bags used to carry items home from Swedish grocery stores are becoming more expensive starting on March 1. The government has proposed an increase of 3 SEK, upping the cost to 7 SEK per grocery bag. To reduce plastic consumption (plastförbrukning), the EU countries have agreed to cut down on the amount of packaging and packaging waste. Sweden’s initial anti-litter contribution will be the new plastic bag price increase.
March 7 is Punschrullens dag. Punschrullen (punsch roll) is a small, oblong pastry covered in green marzipan with chocolate dipped ends, which has been adored by Swedes for decades. The treat’s interior usually consists of a cookie crumb mixture based on arrack, butter and cocoa. The pastry is sometimes called a “dammsugare” (vacuum cleaner) because it resembles the tubular vacuum cleaners used in Swedish households during the 1920s. Visit your nearest cafe or be bold and try baking your own punsch rolls this year.
Statistics from SCB Statistiska centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden) showed that Alice and Lucas were the most popular names given to Swedish newborns last year. Both names have been popular for several years and have previously topped the list of the most common names given to Swedish babies. Alice was bestowed on 688 girls and Lucas on 768 boys. Olivia was the second most common name given to girls last year and Liam the second most common name given to boys. The names Astrid and William came in third place.
6 Sweden’s biggest ice cream manufacturer GB Glace recently revealed its 6 new flavors for 2020. Magnum Ruby, consisting of white chocolate ice cream with a raspberry swirl (all dipped in Rubychocolate), and Magnum Salted Caramel & Glazed Almonds are both new editions. Igloo Cola makes a comeback. Pippi Tjolahoppglass is launched in combination with Pippi Longstocking’s 75th birthday. Cornetto Mermaid, consisting of raspberry and matcha ice cream and vegan Solero Mango, also made the list.
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20 Spring Uje spring arrives in movie theaters on March 20. The autobiographical story of Swedish musician, singer and journalist Uje Brandelius and his family has been described as a warm comedy about life’s unexpected twists and turns. Swedish comedian,
actor and TV personality Henrik Schyffert debuts as director of the movie played by Uje Brandelius himself and his real family. Spring Uje spring takes place during a couple of summer weeks in the Stockholm suburb of Bredäng.
1960 Swedish chocolate drink powder O’boy, launched in 1960 and a staple in most Swedish homes, is now climate-smart thanks to a recent makeover. The new packaging, which recently hit stores, consists of a closable bag made from environmentally friendly materials. The O’boy chocolate drink can be enjoyed warm or cold, at breakfast or perhaps with a sandwich for lunch.
22 With spring just around the corner, it may be time to plan a relaxing vacation. Travel site “ALLT OM RESOR” has released a list of Sweden’s best spas for couples, friends and family. Kust Hotell & Spa in Piteå, Yasuragi in Nacka, Arken Hotel & Art Garden Spa in Göteborg, Mora Hotell & Spa in Mora and Ystad Saltsjöbad in Ystad were part of the 22 spa-hotels said to provide guests with plenty of relaxation and renewed energy.
[Lifestyle] Event Astoria Nordic Heritage Park Fundraising Tops $750,000
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storia Nordic Heritage Park committee members cheered as committee chair Judi Lampi gave Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association president Loran Mathews $99.01 in cash, bringing total funds raised for Astoria Nordic Heritage Park to $750,000 or three quarters of a million dollars. Committee members in this small town on the Oregon coast have been working since 2015 to build a heritage park on the Astoria Riverwalk along the Columbia River to honor early Nordic immigrants to the region.
Astoria Nordic Heritage Park Committee Chair Judi Lampi and Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association President Loran Mathews
The West Studio of Seattle, Washington, designed the park to tell the story line. The staircase and ramp from the Astoria RiverWalk to Nordic Heritage Park represent the immigrants’ farewell to the Nordic lands (“We Said Our Last Goodbyes”). Five granite pillars represent Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, and six flag poles fly the flags of the Nordic countries
Architect’s image for Astoria Nordic Heritage Park
and the U.S. on special occasions. Steamer trunks on the plaza reflect the meager prize possessions that Nordic immigrants brought with them to a new country. The main feature on the Arrival Plaza is the Midsummer Pole representing the traditions that the Nordic immigrants celebrate in the new land. “We Came to Work” is the theme of the path proceeding from the Arrival Plaza through the Gateway Arch. Nordic immigrants came to contribute and find their version of the American dream. Interpretive panels explain the significance of contributions of Nordic immigrants to the fabric of the local community. Artistic representations on granite slabs honor typical early immigrant professions such as fisherman, logger, cannery worker, carpenter, farmer/dairy worker, and domestic worker. Benches at the end of the path let park visitors enjoy the river view and reflect on the universal immigrant experience in any new land. The Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association was formed in 2011
and is headquartered in Astoria, OR. ASHA’s non-profit status is driven by a continued mission to preserve traditional Nordic culture and heritage through opportunities in areas of customs, language, food and the arts and to educate the citizens of Clatsop County and surrounding areas about the culture and heritage of the Nordic countries. ASHA’s primary activity has been to support the Astoria Nordic Scandinavian Heritage Park logo Midsummer Festival, an Oregon Heritage Tradition since 1968. The endeavor to enrich the community with the Nordic Heritage Park started in 2015. Park construction will begin when fundraising is complete. Naming rights for a few park features are still available. Contact park committee chair Judi Lampi at clatsop41@yahoo.com or call 503791-9156. For more information go to www.AstoriaNordicPark.org.
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Swedish Press | March 2020 19
[Lifestyle] Film
Exclusive Interview with Kim Magnusson
Kim Magnusson. Photo © Krestine Havemann
Kim Magnusson is a prolific Danish film producer who has more than 130 films to his credit. He has been Oscar nominated in the Live Action Short Film category six times, and won the coveted award in 1999 for Election Night and in 2014 for Helium. In the following interview with Swedish Press he tells us about his background, his life as a film producer, and his plans for the future. Interviewed by Peter Berlin
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Where did you grow up, and what drew you to film-making? I grew up in Denmark. I was born into the film world, as my father was – and still is – a producer in this country, and that is how I got into the industry. Actually, I didn’t want to be in it, because it was a very small industry at the time here in Denmark, so it was difficult to get the foot in the door. Also, everybody kind of hated me because I was the son of the Big Boss. At the time my dad was running a big Nordic company called Metronome Productions. They were becoming very big on the production side. In a small industry where you only have 4 – 5 production companies, if the son of the company suddenly gets all the jobs, then of course people start asking themselves what is going on. But it was good for my education, because my father said: “If I ever hear anything bad about you, you are out!” He couldn’t hold my hand all the time just because I was his son. It was very different from today. Everybody who knows somebody has an advantage when it comes to succeeding in the industry which has become very big now around the world, and also here in Denmark. In those days it was a difficult business to be in; it was a seasonal industry that produced perhaps one or two films a year, and that was that. Today the producers could import hundreds of film-makers because there is so much work to be done and so few skilled movie people here. Originally I hoped to be either a fighter pilot or a chiropractor, but somehow I ended up producing my
first film when I was 23 years old, not with my dad but with somebody totally different. That experience prompted a turn-around in my life. I never had a gap year like other young people who travel around and live the good life. Even while still at school, I was working on my first film. One thing led to another. Thanks to my father’s connections in America I found myself shooting a Danish film in Toronto with several famous American actors on the set. That was in 1988 or 1989, and I just kept on going from there. Now here I am still producing movies and, together with my father, I own a company called M&M Productions In 1991 I attended the American Film Institute (AFI) to complement my practical experience with some theoretical training. I developed close connections with Hollywood from my time at the AFI. Several people in my class became important figures in the industry. These connections are very important for me. When my short films were nominated for the Oscars, my connections helped me to grow my business.
[Lifestyle] Film Your short film Ida portrays an alcoholic mother and her little daughter. When the mother is sober she is an ideal parent, but when drunk she is verbally abusive and even accuses her daughter of being the cause of her alcoholism. How did this movie come about? I was approached for help in developing an understanding in society of families that are disrupted due to abuse. Some people think it is the abusers who are the victims, but the real victims are the children. There is an organisation in Denmark called Terapi og rüdgivning for Unge, som er Børn af Alkoholmisbrugere (TUBA) which supports children living with alcoholic parents. The people at TUBA came to me, and we discussed what to do and how to do it. They helped me to find a film director and a script writer. Ida is a stand-alone fictional movie rather than an informational one. It has gained a lot of traction in Danish politics. There is a law in Denmark that says that people who live in abusive relationships have a right to therapy within two weeks of reporting the offence, but for the moment the law does not apply to children. The movie is meant to highlight this omission and can be watched online on www.tuba.dk (in Danish). You have also recently produced the short film The Confirmation about a transgender child who is fiercely protected by its mother when confronted with verbal abuse from other children and their non-comprehending parents. How did that movie come about?
earlier, Ida can currently be watched in Danish on the TUBA website, and a version with English subtitles will be subject to the same marketing process as The Confirmation.
The way we normally produce short films is that people approach me and commission them. On this occasion someone came to me with the idea for the film. We sought financial support from various sources, but they all declined, so we went ahead and made the movie entirely on our own. We financed it, and everybody worked for free. I liked the story a lot. When I produce films, I try to choose ones covering subjects that are important to the general public.
What are your plans for the future? We are hoping that either Ida or The Confirmation will make an impact on the upcoming award season – it could be the Oscars, it could be Cannes, it could be any of the big festivals around the world. If you win something there, it goes a long way towards building awareness of your films through television, streaming, and so forth. I have recently completed a Danish feature film called Collision which has been the number one movie here for 4 weeks now. I am also working on a big Swedish film idea which I hope will move forward in 2020. If it goes ahead, it will be great for Sweden!
How can the readers of Swedish Press gain access to these two movies? Sadly, The Confirmation cannot be accessed anywhere online, but with any luck it will receive publicity through the Oscars, and there are some venues that procure short films and deliver them via streaming services. We will let you know if and when that happens. As I mentioned
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[Lifestyle] Book
The Stockholm Series by Per Anders Fogelström Translated into English by Jennifer Brown Bäverstam. By Robert L. Johnson
Per Anders Fogelström and Jennifer Brown Bäverstam
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t was with enthusiastic pride that the staff of Stockholm’s Stadsmuseet (City Museum) and conservers of Per Anders Fogelström’s archives celebrated the year 2017. It was the centenary of the birth of the famed author and activist, recognized for his body of literature and honored for his life-long dedication to the beloved city of his birth. In November of that year I was privileged to meet and confer with these staff associates, inspect the archives, tour the Fogelström-related sites on Södermalm around Sofiakyrkan on Vita Bergen with Kent Josefsson of the Fogelström Society, and later attend
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one of the sold-out performances of “Mina drömmars stad” (City of My Dreams) at the Kulturhuset at Sergels Torg in Central Stockholm. Fogelström published all five volumes of his series during a span of six years – from 1960 to 1966. But it wasn’t until late 2011, while perusing the book section of Chicago’s SwedishAmerican Museum Gift Shop, that I found copies in English translation of the first three volumes of Fogelström’s Stockholm Series, as translated by Jennifer Brown Bäverstam, Penfield Press, Iowa City, Iowa. Before that time I was unaware of the person and the work of Per Anders Fogelström. Reading that first volume, “City of My Dreams,” (US publication in 2000) sent me on my present journey. I want to bring to Americans, especially Swedish-Americans, in reviewer John Felstiner’s words, “this clear, candid translation – the taste, feel and pace of another world – that of the Swedish working-class [as] one well worth knowing.” While I have great respect for readers who are dedicated followers of the now popular Swedish murdermystery genre that includes the late novelists Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson, my personal preference leans toward biographies and historical events. But there has also been space and time in my schedule for the well-received “Hannah’s Daughters” by Marianne Fredriksson and the more recent popular favorite “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman. As with many other faithful Swedish-Americans, the four volumes of Vilhelm Moberg’s “The Emigrants” occupies a central place on my book-
shelf. Clearly, and in every instance, the novels of both Moberg and Fogelström are by masters of historical fiction. First of all, each uses a very broad brush to fix the time in which their respective characters are set. For Moberg’s prospective immigrants Karl Oscar and Kristina we see how they are shaped by the social and religious, cultural and historic upheavals – specifically the devastating droughts that affected rural Sweden in the 1840s. These in turn exerted a greater awareness on the increasingly viable option of emigration. Even at the risk of being branded with the unpatriotic label assigned those who had no choice but to abandon their native land, thousands of mostly peasant Swedes – both brave and desperate, and mostly by foot and cart – journeyed to the coasts and to the ships that would transport them to an uncertain new beginning. Secondly, in Fogelström’s use of certified historical events such as the political awakening, labor unrest and trade union formation in the years leading up to 1900, we follow Henning Nilsson’s daughter Emelie, her extended family and friends as their horse-and-cart village within a city joins greater Stockholm. The villagers react to the daily dynamite blasting, the radically transformed city, and the beginning of new possibilities in a new century. Vilhelm Moberg and, later, Per Anders Fogelström developed fictional characters to anchor a place and a time and to move their respective narratives along a preordained historical path. For Moberg it is the
[Lifestyle] Book New World and for Fogelström it is a new city. Sometimes these are composites and sometimes not. In any event, molded by their circumstances, and as symbols of those preceding them and the tens of thousands who followed, each character appears to us as incredibly real, almost to the touch. It is through these characters and the microcosm of their individual lives that Fogelström fills his books with a warmth and generosity that are captivating. In the year 2018, there is the advantage of more than half a century of digestion and reflection of Volume I of the Stockholm Series, published in 1960. In 1850, the population of Stockholm was 93,000, while London was 2.2 million. By 1960, Stockholm had grown to 800,000, and Sweden to 6 million. By then, an incredible 25 percent (or 1.5 million) Swedes read “City of My Dreams” following publication. Such success of a novel was unprecedented. It was a national sensation in part due to an earlier Ingmar Bergman film “Summer with Monica” (1953) based on a
novel by Fogelström. The Stockholm Series became a national treasure and a must-read in public schools throughout Sweden. Fast-forward twenty five years to the personal library of Jennifer Brown Bäverstam’s Swedish motherin-law whose favorite books were those authored by Per Anders Fogelström. American-born and educated, Jennifer had begun Swedish language lessons in high school. Following university, as a skilled linguist and the new wife of a Swede, she couldn’t wait to tackle the Stockholm Series. Already busy as a wife and mother and with a career in music, her love of Fogelström’s series led her to contact him in 1992 with the offer to work on an English translation. In an immediate response, he enthusiastically agreed. By this time Fogelström was in declining health and died before publication but confident that Jennifer’s alliance with Pennfield Press was the winning formula to address a wider and equally appreciative audience in America. The first volume appeared in the year 2000.
Starting in 2000 with “Stockholm, City of My Dreams” to 2015 when the English translation of “City in the World” (Volume V) was published, the novels have been warmly received and critically acclaimed. Thinking of my own several dozen lengthy excursions to Sweden over the last 50 years, I think reviewer David Ferry summed up the skilful English translation exactly how outsiders view Sweden and the Swedes: “This translation makes clear what the qualities of this book are: the sweetness and unsentimental directness of it, the clear-eyed truth-telling, the unswerving respectfulness towards these human beings. The translation is as lucid as winter light. By means of it a wonderful writer is brought over into English.” In closing, as I begin my fourth read of all five volumes of the Stockholm Series, a close cousin of mine has discovered the Swedish term LAGOM; meaning not too much, not too little, but just the right amount. I may be in strict violation of LAGOM, but, then again, I may not. You decide. Read and discover for yourself!
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Hemma hos
3D Artist Captivates with Mesmerizing Animations
[Design]
By Kristi Robinson
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he online world of Instagram is a virtual sea of ideas, but not often are they compelling and original. Stockholm-based motion graphics artist Andreas Wannerstedt has captured an audience with his mesmerizing 3D animations. Whether it’s metal marbles rolling synchronistically over an undulating surface, or candy-colored gel swirling into a soft serve melt of pure satisfaction, there’s something undeniably captivating about the movement and rhythms of Andreas’ looping animations.
Grid Slicer
At 38 years of age, Andreas has been working in the field for almost half his lifetime. His career first started out in 2D animation. After attending Sweden’s leading digital creative university, Hyper Island, and doing an internship with a digital design agency in Los Angeles he found his calling in 3D animation. Andreas’ first video sharing was done on Vimeo and on his website with 2–3 minute animations that took him about eight months to make. When Instagram came on the scene his foray into the ever-popular social
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Colorful, animated art in a digital series called “Oddly Satisfying”
networking service began by posting clips from commercial projects he had done. He did gain some attention, but when he narrowed his focus to create content specifically for Instagram with 3–5 second looping videos, that’s when things really took off. He admits it’s relatively easy to produce the videos since he is able to go from concept to completion in just one day. For him the hardest part is coming up with the ideas, but clearly this is something Andreas shines at having done looping animations for clients including Google, Swarovski, Gucci, and Omega. Andreas reveals that the most important aspects of these 3D videos are to make them realistic through texture and lighting. Most of his inspiration comes from things he’s surrounded by in daily life. He looks for small details, like how light bounces off objects. He says it’s fun to observe the real world and try to mimic it in the 3D world. He loves the possibilities of adding an abstract touch, because he can adjust real world behaviors of gravity and friction without the need to make it physically correct.
Color plays an important part. He prefers pastels because they work well with the soothing nature of his animations. In his earlier looping videos he created the animations without music, but feedback from viewers requested that he add it in. He teamed up with sound designers and immediately found that his animations became much more popular. Jump to present day, and he has reached out to some of the biggest sound agencies in the world, all of whom have been eager to collaborate with Andreas. A fascinating and unforeseen side effect of putting his videos on such a public platform is that people suffering from OCD have told him his animations help them calm down.
Interlace
Andreas explains that this may be so because the repetitiveness and motion patterns fire up neurotransmitters in our brains, like dopamine and serotonin – chemicals that are responsible for our feelings of relaxation and happiness. So if there’s one thing you do for yourself today, check out Andreas’ wonderfully hypnotic loop animations. They’re candy for the eyes and R&R for the soul. Go to instagram. com/wannerstedt. All photos © Andreas Wannerstedt
Hemma hos
I
grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden where I graduated from high school. I then moved to the United States to continue my studies at Wellesley College. I returned to live in Gothenburg for a while with my American husband Jeff. A little over 10 years ago we moved to Philadelphia. I got my medical degree in Sweden but trained to be a licensed registered
dietitian in Philadelphia. I currently provide nutrition counseling for patients at Penn Medicine, consult for restaurants (helping with healthy menu development and analysis) and work as a nutritionist for a Swedish online nutrition and exercise business (Mamma Fitness). Cooking and recipe creation have always been passions of mine. I have been able to combine work and pleasure by writing four cookbooks in Sweden in collaboration with my sister who is a lifestyle journalist and TV personality. Our most recent cookbook, “Around the table with the von Sydow Sisters,” was created together with my sister as well as my mother. It gives you all the recipes
[Treats]
à la Amy von Sydow Green
you need for eating well all summer. When I’m not busy working on a million projects, I love spending time with my husband and three kids, and of course we enjoy cooking together! By Amy von Sydow Green MD, MS, RD
Red Currant Cardamom Cake Ingredients: (10-12 pieces) • 1 softened stick of butter • 1⅓ cup sugar • 1 egg • 2/3 cup milk • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 2 cup flour • 2 tsp baking powder • 1 tbsp ground cardamom • 1 pinch salt • 1 banana • 1/2 cup red currants (or raspberries) • 1 tbsp of raw sugar
This heavenly cake is medicine for the soul! A delicious combination of sweetness and acidity from the berries, with spicy cardamom as a final touch. Preparation: Heat oven to 350 F. Grease a pan (approximately 10 inches in diameter) and then add 1 – 2 tablespoons of sugar to the pan. Shake and turn pan until sugar coats the butter, and pour out any excess. Place softened butter and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric beater, whisk until light and fluffy. Stir in the egg, milk, yoghurt and vanilla extract. In a different bowl, mix all dry ingredients and pour them into the wet mixture. Stir together. Add half of the batter to the pan, then slice the banana and spread it out on top of the batter together with berries. Cover with remaining batter (so that it covers banana slices and berries). Sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake in the lower half of the oven for about 45 minutes, until a test stick comes out dry. Decorate with berries and powdered sugar before serving.
Yogurt Cream with Berries Ingredients: • 31/2 oz white chocolate • 1 cup 2% (or more) Greek yogurt • Seasonal mixed berries (or whatever you have in your freezer!)
This recipe could not be any simpler! It makes for a fun and different dessert that you can literally throw together in 3 minutes. Preparation: Melt white chocolate in a pot or in the microwave. Immediately stir in yogurt. Serve right away with berries.
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Swedish Press | March 2020 25
[
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Road to 2045
Road to 2045
Is the EU a friend or a foe in transport decarbonization?
CO2 emissions (g/km)
By Jakob Lagercrantz
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weden joined the EU in 1995. A referendum a year earlier had resulted in a narrow 5.5 percent margin for the join side. Since then, the Swedish opinion has become more positive. Sweden has set the worlds’ most ambitious target for decarbonizing the transport sector, with a target of 70 percent reduction in carbon dioxide by 2030. But is the European Union a friend or a foe in this ambitious task? The European Commission is a gigantic organization with more than 30,000 employees. The structure is complex, with checks and balances. The Parliament approves the Commission’s leadership. The Commission drafts proposals that are discussed, amended and voted upon by the Parliament with its 705 parliamentarians elected in the 27 member countries. Finally, the Commissions’ proposals, amended by the Parliament, are negotiated in a “trilogue”, a three-part negotiation between the Council of Ministers from the member countries, the Parliament and the Commission. It is often a long process, and the position of the Council of Ministers weighs heavily as they directly represent the governments of the members states. When a decision is made, it is introduced in national law some 18 months later. Few people are aware of the legislative power of the EU. Part of the work of the 2030-secretariat has focused on keeping track of new directives being prepared in Brussels, and trying to ensure that decisions don’t contradict sustainable development. The European Commission shows
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Vehicle production and disposal
Fuel production
CO2 exhaust emission
The range of life cycle CO2 emissions for different vehicle and fuel types. Values are estimated for an average mid-class vehicle, based on 220,000 km. (Reproduced courtesy of the European Environment Agency EEA 2016a)
its Janus face on decarbonization of transport. Some decisions support sustainable development, but other decisions go the other way. A positive example is the carbon dioxide requirements on cars in the Clean Vehicle Directive from 2009. The directive requires that the car industry limit average emissions from sold new cars a specific year. The demands were first set for 2015, with a maximum allowance of 130-gram carbon dioxide emissions per kilometer. If the industry does not meet these requirements, they have to pay a fine for each car above the limit. For 2021 the limit is set at 95 gram, and recently even tougher levels were set for 2025 and 2030. In spite of initial protests from the car industry, the 2015 target was met two years prior. What started as a discussion about voluntary agreements became a directive that created a legislative framework. The Clean Vehicle Directive has had a strong impact on development. Biofuels is a completely different story. The Commission has unfortu-
nately taken a position that is contrary to the Swedish position, and we believe it hinders sustainable development. First of all, in the recently adopted Renewable Energy Directive, the Commission limits certain biofuels to only 7 percent of the energy content of the fuel, with a total share of 14 percent of the energy consumed in road and rail transport by 2030. With Sweden having an almost 23 percent share already in 2018, and with a target of 70 percent of CO2 reduction by 2030, the EU is holding development back. Biofuels are part of the solution and need to be developed both with regard to technology and sustainability. Secondly, in the targets set for emissions from cars and trucks, no benefit is given to biofuels in spite of their documented carbon dioxide reduction. A combustion engine car, running on biogas with a 90 percent reduction of climate impact, is treated the same as a car running on fossil natural gas. The 2030-secretariat is advocating a well-to-wheels approach that incorporates both the carbon reduction of the biofuel and the efficiency of the vehicle. The European Union consists of 27 member states with not only different environmental ambitions, but also different cultures and industrial traditions. When the European Union allows itself to cater to the slowest movers, it does not only hinder developments in leading countries like Sweden, but it also stops technological developments needed to decarbonize the transport sector. With friends like that, who needs enemies? The Swedish 2030-secretariat was formed to support the decarbonization of the transport sector in Sweden. The secretariat is independent from political parties and technical solutions.
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Swedish Press Connects
Svenskar i Världen
Sverige och den globala marknaden för kompetens Av Cecilia Borglin
Det råder stor internationell konkurrens om kompetens. Sverige är ett litet land i stort behov av kompetens, eftersom den bidrar till Sveriges tillväxt och konkurrenskraft. Att attrahera utländsk kompetens är viktigt för det svenska näringslivet och samhället i stort. Men lika avgörande är det att kunna attrahera och behålla svensk kompetens med internationell erfarenhet.
I
den nyutkomna boken ”Sverige och den globala marknaden för kompetens – hur ta tillvara kunskapskapitalet och bli en attraktiv medborgare?” (Ekerlids förlag, 2020) får läsaren ta del av en historisk översikt över kompetensinvandringens industriella betydelse i Sverige. Samtidigt beskrivs vilken roll HR-avdelningen spelar, och hur andra länder gör för att stimulera och stödja utflyttande medborgare och sedan aktivt locka tillbaka dem. Författaren Gunnar Eliasson, som är professor emeritus i industriell ekonomi/dynamik vid KTH i Stockholm, har bland annat undersökt vilka svårigheter som alltför ofta uppstår när svenskar återvänder hem efter några år utomlands.
Delat ansvar
Bakgrunden till boken var Svenskar i Världens behov att få en bättre överblick hur det kommer sig att hemvändande svenskar har svårt att komma tillbaka till den svenska arbetsmarknaden – och detta i en tid då svenska bolag skriker efter kompetens. Problemen som kan uppstå när man som svensk återvänder efter några år utomlands varierar självfallet från individ till individ. Enligt författaren ligger ansvar och åtgärder på tre nivåer: individen, arbetsgivaren och samhället. För individens del handlar det bland annat om att vårda relationen med sina chefer och HR-avdelningen i Sverige under tiden man jobbar utomlands. Kräv ett specifikt kontrakt av arbetsgivaren vad gäller bland annat de ekonomiska villkoren för hemvändandet, anser Eliasson. Detta blir speciellt viktigt i de fall då återvändandet till företagets Sverigekontor inte blir tillfredsställande.
HR-avdelningens placering i företagets organisation avgör vilken betydelse som kompetensförsörjningen får inom bolaget. Genom att snarare se sig som ”kund” på kompetensmarknaden menar Eliasson att HR har ett särskilt ansvar att medverka till att hemvändarnas problem minimeras. Slutligen, ett väl fungerande regelverk för hur kompetent arbetskraft ska kunna röra sig smidigt på kompetensmarknaden måste till. I den framväxande gig-ekonomin, med lösare förbindelser till företag och osäkrare inkomster, kommer det att bli nödvändigt att se över dagens regelsystem. För många som återvänder har egenföretagandet blivit enda alternativet när det har varit omöjligt att hitta jobb. Eliasson anser att individer med ojämna inkomster bör kunna lösa sitt socialförsäkrings- och pensionssystem genom att investera i så kallade medborgarkonton, där beskattning sker först när uttag görs.
Attitydförändring behövs
Svenskar i Världen, SVIV, kommer i kontakt med många återvändande svenskar som beskriver sin frustration över hur svårt det kan vara att komma tillbaka till Sverige och den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Många menar att deras svenska ursprung väckte positiv uppmärksamhet i landet de bodde i, men tillbaka i Sverige ansågs deras tid utomlands vara ointressant. Och inte sällan drabbas erfarna svenskar av åldersdiskriminering i Sverige, där motsvarande ålder i exempelvis USA ses som en tillgång. Inom ramen för Svenskar i Världens påverkansarbete ingår attitydförändring kopplat till hemvändande utlandssvenskar. Förhoppningsvis kan boken kasta välbehövligt ljus på detta. Summary in English: Sweden is a small country with a big appetite for professional competence, because it is a prerequisite for the country’s growth and competitiveness. Yet returning Swedish expat professionals sometimes encounter difficulties finding suitable employment back home. To make things worse, senior professionals often suffer from age discrimination in the Swedish employment market, whereas advanced age is viewed favourably by employers in the USA. An overall change in attitude to returning expats and their international skills is therefore needed. (See also SVIV article on page 27 of the February 2020 issue of Swedish Press.)
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Calendar & Events
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A guide to fun and interesting Swedish events outside Sweden
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CHICAGO Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640 Tel: 773-728 8111 | info@samac.org www.swedishamericanmuseum.org Mar 8 – Sun 4 pm: Dinner precedes 5 pm concert by the Swedish quintet Jaerv. Mar 11 – Wed 7 pm: Interracial Swedish hip-hop artist Jason Diakite will speak and read from his book, “A Drop of Midnight.” Mar 14 – Sat 9 am: Pancakes with Pippi Longstocking Mar 31 – Tue 1 pm: Cooking Class inspired by Magnus Nilsson cookbooks DETROIT Swedish Club of Southeast Michigan 22398 Ruth St, Farmington Hills, MI 48336 Info: 734-459 0596 www.swedishclub.net Mar 1 – Sun 2 to 3:30 pm: Buffet Mar 14 – Sat 5pm: St. Patrick's Day Party Fundraiser for Scandia & Arpi Choruses MINNEAPOLIS American Swedish Institute 2600 Park Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel: 612-871 4907 | www.asimn.org Ongoing through March 22 – Frederick D. Somers: Borders & Betweens – This exhibition is a retrospective of the work of Minnesota-based artist Frederick D. Somers. Ongoing through Jul 5 – Exhibition: extra/ ordinary – Discover never-before-displayed artifacts from the American Swedish Institute's collection and the untold stories that make them truly extraordinary in this playful new exhibition at ASI. Mar 19 – Thurs: 4:30-7 pm Skål! A Toast to Uppsala Silent Auction and Fundraiser – Support education and cultural exchange by joining friends of Minneapolis Public Schools and Minneapolis/Uppsala Sister Cities for an annual reception and fundraiser at ASI, presented by the MinneapolisUppsala Friendship Committee. PHILADEPHIA American Swedish Historical Museum 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145 | Tel: 215-389 1776 | info@americanswedish.org | www.americanswedish.org Ongoing – Exhibition: New Nordic Cuisine will be on display through August 2020. 8
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This exhibition focuses on a value-driven food system that has captured the attention of world-famous chefs and home cooks alike over the past 15 years. Mar 21 – Sat 7-10 pm: extrABBAganza! ABBA Dance Party – DJ Robert Drake will spin the throwbacks as everyone lets out their inner Dancing Queen. Highlights of the evening will include a dancing and costume contest along with a few surprises! PORTLAND Nordic Northwest Nordia House, 8800 SW Oleson Rd., Portland, OR 97223 | Tel: 503-977 0275 www.nordicnorthwest.org Ongoing through May 2020 – Exhibition, “Mind The Earth,” uses satellite imagery to share new vantage points about the global climate crisis. SEATTLE Swedish Cultural Center 1920 Dexter Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 Tel: 206-283 1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org info@swedishculturalcenter.org Mar 1 – Sun 8 am to 1 pm: Swedish Pancakes. Music and dancing, plus authentic Swedish pancakes, ham and lingonberries. Music by Skandia Kapell, Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag and Tinn Felen. Nordic Museum 2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107 Tel: 206-789 5707 | nordic@nordicmuseum.org www.nordicmuseum.org Ongoing through Mar 15 – Jacob A. Riis: How the Other Half Lives features photographs by Riis, a pioneering newspaper reporter and social reformer in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, and his contemporaries, as well as his handwritten journals and personal correspondence. WISCONSIN Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin Tel: 414-352 7890 | www.sahswi.org Mar 14 – Sat 1:30 pm: Exploring Our Swedish Food Heritage – at Redemption Lutheran Church, 4057 North Mayfair Rd. (Hwy. 100, just north of Capitol Dr.) Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. 18
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CALGARY Swedish Society of Calgary 739 20 Ave. N.W. Calgary, AB T2M 1E2 Tel: 403-284 2610 | www.swedishsociety.ca Mar 7 – Sat: The Swedish Music Group “BLÅELD” dinner and concert at The Danish Canadian Club. Open to the Public. For tickets and information: roslars@ outlook.com. TORONTO Svenska kyrkan i Toronto 25 Old York Mills Road, Toronto ON M2P 1B5 Tel: 416-486 0466 | toronto@svenskakyrkan.se www.svenskakyrkan.se/toronto Mar 28 – Sat 11 am to 2 pm: Påskbasar i Svenska kyrkan Toronto – Försäljning av allt du kan önska dig till påsk Påskris, dukar, servetter, påskpynt, bonader, handmålat hantverk m.m. VANCOUVER Scandinavian Community Centre 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9 Tel: 604-294 2777 | info@scancentre.org www.scancentre.org Mar 13 – Fri 6:30 pm: Scandinavian Meet and Greet – Meet new and old friends from the community for a relaxing evening. There will be music, games, tasty food and laughter! Contact: Åsa eidelofasa@ hotmail.com to register. WINNIPEG Swedish Cultural Assn of Manitoba 764 Erin Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 2W4 | Tel: 204-774 8047 | Reservations at: svenskclub17@gmail.com Mar 6 – Fri 11:30 am to 1 pm: Svensk Lunch – Enjoy traditional open-faced sandwiches, homemade soup, dessert and coffee with fellow members and friends. Mar 15 – Sun 10:30 am to 1 pm: Swedish Sunday Brunch – Members from Vasa Lodge Strindberg will be joining us on this special Sunday. Enjoy a delicious brunch prepared by Chef Michael and share in the fellowship of our Vasa members. Mar 19 – Thurs 7 to 9 pm: Fika – Celebrating Spring in Sweden! Join family and friends for a Fika evening and celebrate as we begin to see signs of Spring in the air! 28
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Swedish Press | March 2020 29
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Sista ordet
‘Cult Crackers’ på svenska blir ‘kultkex’ ... Svenskt knäckebröd en succé i USA
erbjuds i ett 60-tal butiker i San Francisco-området, fyra butiker i Los Angeles, några fler norrut på Västkusten samt ett fåtal på Östkusten. Priset i butik varierar från 7,99 dollar till 12 dollar. Alltså när detta skrivs ungefär från cirka 74 till 111 svenska kronor.
Av Lars Sönnergren
S
venskan Birgitta Durell kom till USA på 1990-talet, där hon lärde känna sin blivande man Mitch. Efter några år i USA träffade hon, via sin dotter, amerikanskan Dianna Dar som hade dotter i samma skola. Vid ett tillfälle då det var knytkalas på skolan hade Birgitta med sig sitt hembakade svenska knäckebröd. Dianna fick receptet och klarade av att baka brödet, det var ett slags fröknäcke. De blev väninnor. Hembjudna till Durells bjöds paret Dar på fröknäckebrödet som fick högsta betyg!
Väninnorna amerikanska Dianna Dar (till vänster) och svenska Birgitta Durell har framgång i USA med sitt något amerikaniserade knäckebröd. Foto: Cult Crackers
Experimenterade
Under bjudningen berättade Birgittas make Mitch att han flera gånger försökt övertala sin fru att börja baka och sälja detta bröd. – Bra idé! Jag hjälper till, utbrast Dianna, som hade viss erfarenhet från det köksliga genom att ha studerat kokkonst vid California Culinary Academy. Sagt och gjort. De hyrde lokaler och provade sig fram till hur deras knäckebröd skulle bakas och
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Swedish Press | March 2020 30
Siktar på New York se ut. Man avstod från att baka de stora runda – och något ohanterliga – knäckebrödskakor vi är vana vid i Sverige. Inte heller fastnade de för den rektangulära formen. Kvinnorna valde istället en kvadratisk kexstorlek på fyra gånger fyra centimeter. Och vad skulle kexknäckebröden innehålla? Birgitta och Dianna experimenterade och kom fram till två kanske något amerikaniserade varianter. Den ena heter Classic Seed Crackers och innehåller majsmjöl, solrosfrön, linfrön, pumpakärnor, sesamfrön, chiafrön, hampafrön, kokosolja och himalayasalt. Alla ingredienserna är ekologiska. Den andra varianten heter Crunchy Cassava Crackers och innehåller samma ingredienser fast cassavamjöl istället för majsmjöl. Också ekologiskt. Båda sorterna är glutenfria. Birgitta och Dianna funderar på ytterligare en variant med huvudingrediens bovete. År 2017 var de beredda att lansera sitt knäckbröd under varumärket Cult Crackers. På svenska blir det “kultkex”. Birgitta och Dianna knöt an till att alla som fick pröva knäckebrödet ville veta mer om det svenska ursprunget och vilken stor betydelse knäckebrödet har i vår kultur.
60-tal butiker
Knäckebrödet säljs i påsar om 30–33 kex i vardera som för närvarande
Men Birgitta och Dianna riktar ytterligare blickar mot New York och Los Angeles samt delstaten Oregon längre norrut på amerikanska Västkusten. I dessa områden vill man nämligen gärna följa vad som händer i innestaden San Fransisco. De båda framgångsrika kvinnorna har nu en heltids- och tre deltidsanställda. Cult Crackers har visat sig perfekta som små tilltugg med ost, hummus, en liten bit avokado eller lite sylt. I och med att Birgitta och Dianna blivit mer bekanta, har de funnit likheter i sina släkter. Båda deras pappor jobbade inom lantbruket. Birgittas pappa var agronom och arbetade i Malmö för företaget Bayer. Diannas farfar hade en svensk partner i sin firma. Han hette Frank W Heggblade. Firman fanns i San Francisco och var grossist i frukt- och grönsaks- branschen. Den hette HeggbladeMarguleas. Firman gick i arv till son respektive brorson. Summary in English: Two women – one Swedish and one American – have discovered that Swedish-style knäckebröd (crispbread) is very popular among Americans and have created a successful business in the San Francisco area. They are now looking to expanding their business to other cities in the United States.
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