I haven't entirely forgotten about this blog, even if everyone else has. Yet I'm far from finished with my Scandinaivian history project; in some ways, it's more of an obsession than ever of mine. A blog was never the format that I envisioned for my multibiography of history's 81 most influential Scandinavians. I tried it because it was recommended to me--and available for free. Although blogging proved more fun than I anticipated, and has helped focus my thoughts on this undertaking, it has outlived most of its usefulness. Soon, I hope, there will be a proffesional-looking "Scandinaviana" home page. It will link to the Scandinavian 81, in progress, and also to this blog, or another like it, in which I'll continue to report and reminisce about Scandinavian-related news, particularly pertaining to influential persons of Scandinavian descent. Other features will follow as they occur to me.

When I finally bother to learn how to do it, I'll be linking rather than sumarizing most Scandinavian-related stories, offering only the briefest comments to contextualize and tie them together.

Fortunately, I'm far from alone in this brave new world. I have one friend, for example, who's just designed an excellent web page to accompany his recently published book, also excellent, on Seattle history. He claims to be eager to help me design and create a new page for Scandinaviana. I have another friend who's a very talented artist. She has just published an intensely personal graphic novel, and has started working on another; but despite her workload, she has agreed to create a "Jormungandr" logo for me, probably to be used as the "header" for the 81. I saw some of her initial sketches, which were beautiful. I can't wait to see the final rendition and to post it here.

In short, I believe better times are ahead for this project. It might even turn into something someone might actually want to look at!

....Meanwhile, in Scandinavian news....The low level war between Denmark and Somalia continues. Readers of Scandinaviana  may recall that late last year seven Danish citizens, including three children, were released after a capitivy of several months at the hands of Somoli pirates. A $1 million ransom was allegedly paid. Last Tuesday more hostages were freed by a different method as the Danish navy intercepted and attacked a Somali pirate "mothership".  17 suspected pirates were apprehended in the fight, and over a dozen captives liberated. Two hostages, however, were apparently killed during the fighting--by what means, the New York Times did not specify.




Did you know there even was a Danish navy? I'll bet it was the most action it's seen since King Canute the Great invaded England in 1015.

Two more distinct modern countries could hardly be imagined than these two antagonists, Denmark and Somalia. Denmark is a stable industrialized democracy with little unemployment, crime or corruption. Its citizens enjoy one of the world's highest average incomes, and they're apparently among the happiest people in the world. Somalia, by contrast, is a failed state even by African standards. There hasn't been a government to speak of in over twenty years; the country is controlled by brutal warlords, and its people have lived with violence and extreme poverty on a daily basis for decades.   

It's worth reflecting that Denmark was once also best known to the outside world for piracy. For hundreds of years Danish pirates invaded and inflicted untold misery on England, Ireland, Frisia (Holland) and France--burning towns, abducting women, and carrying as much loot back north with them as they could stuff into their fearsome dragon-headed warships. It was a long, long road from Viking times to the age of Social Democracy. The Somalia of this epoch seems to have been a relatively tranquil and civilized place. A sobering reminder of how the fortunes of history can, and indeed must, shift over the long course of time.