Some words of wisdom from Piet Hein

Piet Hein was a Danish mathematician, inventor, designer, and poet who was born in Copenhagen in 1905. He died at the age of 90. We were recently at a flow cytometry conference in Copenhagen, and written on one of the walls of our hotel room was one of Hein's short poems, entitled:

Det må vi efterligne (Kulturkritisk)

Kultur er evnen
til at leve livet,
så ny og ægte
livsform leves frem.
Den evne var
de store gamle givet
av hvilken grund
vi efterligner dem.


My translation from Danish into English; I hope that I have gotten the gist of the poem:

We must imitate (culture critical)

Culture is the ability
to live life,
so that new and genuine
life forms are created.
That ability was
the gift of the great old ones
and is the reason
we imitate them.
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Favorite Scandinavian films and TV shows

After writing yesterday’s post about my favorite films and TV shows (mostly American), I thought about the Scandinavian films and TV shows that I have seen and liked in the twenty years I have lived here in Oslo. Here are some of my favorites……..

Favorite films

·         Deilig er fjorden (The fjord is wonderful)--Norwegian

·         Hodet over vannet (Head above water)—Norwegian

·         Insomnia--Norwegian

·         Mannen som ikke kunne le (The Man who could not laugh)—Norwegian

·         Max Manus—Norwegian

·         Misery Harbor—Norwegian

·         Veiviseren (Pathfinder)—Norwegian

·         Flammen & Citronen (Flame & Citron)--Danish

·         Pelle erobreren (Pelle the Conqueror)—Danish

·         Smilla’s Sense of Snow—Danish

·         Den Gode Viljen (The Best Intentions)—Swedish

·         Fanny och Alexander—Swedish

·         Pensjonat Oskar—Swedish

·         Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes from a Marriage)--Swedish

·         Brúðguminn (White Night Wedding)--Icelandic

Favorite horror/fantasy/thriller

·         De dødes tjern (Lake of the Dead)--Norwegian

·         Fritt Vilt (Cold Prey)-- Norwegian

·         Skjult (Hidden)—Norwegian

·         Villmark (Wilderness)—Norwegian

·         Besökarna (The Visitors)--Swedish

·         Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In)—Swedish

·         Nattevagten (Nightwatch)--Danish

·         Sauna--Finnish

Favorite TV shows/series

·         Beck--Swedish

·         Wallander--Swedish

·         Forbrydelsen (The Crime)--Danish

·         Strisser på Samsø (A Cop on Samsø)--Danish

·         Ørnen (The Eagle)—Danish