http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1180887.ece

First published: 16 Dec 2005, 15:11

Drunk, naked and record-setting

A troublesome Finn who was arrested causing a disturbance on a
Bergen bus on Wednesday turned out to be one of Norway's most
annoying characters.


The man, who was arrested drunk and naked on a bus on Wednesday has
apparently been fined 99 times and has yet to pay one.

If police are correct, the unruly Finn is known under five different
identities, all of which have lengthy records of public disturbance,
newspaper Bergens Tidende reports.

"He has received up to 99 fines. Just in Hordaland County police
district he has been fined for a total of NOK 95,000 (USD 14,350).
This is most likely a Norwegian record," police lawyer Rudolf
Christophersen told the newspaper.

On Friday the troublesome Finn was remanded in custody, charged with
causing bodily harm, exposing himself and a series of violations of
the Vagrancy Act.

Police were called to the scene on Wednesday after receiving a
panicky call from a bus driver reporting a naked, drunk and
difficult Finn causing trouble on board. When the arrived on the
scene the man was visibly drunk and wearing underpants.

According to police the Finn has a noticeable tendency to remove
more and more clothing the higher his blood alcohol level gets.

The offender is a Finnish citizen and has previously been expelled
and barred from Norway, but has always managed to return.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article462474.ece
First published: 27 Dec 2002, 12:56

Lutefisk splits US families
The unusual Norwegian delicacy lutefisk - dried cod soaked in water
and potash lye - is an acquired taste that tends to frighten off the
uninitiated. In the USA, Norway's descendants find devotion to the
dish often causes strife.

A Christmas Day feature in The New York Times told the tale of Allen
Vevang (61), who had to make a solo trip to a restaurant to take his
annual lutefisk dinner. Vevang called the occasion his Christmas
present to himself and the lonely circumstances are unavoidable
because his Germanic wife Charlotte cannot stand the smell of the
stuff.

Lutefisk - that unique, jellied result of dried cod, water, and lye.
PHOTO: Anders Martinsen

Olsen Fish of Minneapolis handles about half of North America's
lutefisk sales, and import their stock from Norway. Roger Dorff,
former head of the company, says the biggest fans of the stuff are
gradually dying out, but there is still more lutefisk eaten across
the Atlantic than in Norway.

Times journalist Blaine Harden describes the aroma of the Norwegian
favorite as a combination of overripe fish and industrial soap, and
argues that it is a source of family division during the holiday
season.

But not all of the press lutefisk gets in the New World around
Christmastime is bad, though it is admittedly very hard to find an
article that doesn't poke some fun at the gelatinous fish dish.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Susan Paynter reports that
there is a renaissance of interest and enthusiasm for the dish in
the region. She quotes Ozzie Kvithammer of Scandinavian Specialties
as saying the bad smell associated with the dish is a 'bald-faced
lie', although Kvithammer himself only eats the dish once a year out
of respect to tradition.

Minnesota's Red Wing Republican Eagle newspaper hints that the
secret to becoming a lutefisk lover is to love one, and marrying a
Norwegian is their recipe for acquiring a taste for the dish.

The paper interviews German John Hinsch, who enthusiasm for the dish
has grown to the point where he competes in lutefisk-eating
contests, thanks to gradual exposure to the delicacy via his
Norwegian-Swedish wife Jan Hilan.

The Hinsches also believe the fish has no smell, and travel
regularly to take part in lutefisk dinners. Nevertheless, the future
of the tradition is not completely secure - the dish does not make
an appearance at Christmas since their two children won't touch it.

/end articles