vajerzy Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 My wife finished watching an episode on 60 minutes about Denmark and came away quite impressed.....and she said- let's move there....or at least visit!! Quote
Aggie87 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Not from there, but I've visited Copehagen twice (a long time ago!) It's a beautiful city! I believe Christiern is originally from Denmark, perhaps he can offer you insight to the culture and life there. Quote
BeBop Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Vic? You out there? Still celebrating your birthday? Quote
Jazzmoose Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) Part of my family is, if you go back far enough. But the ones who could tell you anything about it are all dead now. I must admit, I'm a bit fascinated with the place. I collect Danish stamps, read about Danish history...wish I could read the language, but the only words I know are stamp terms and colors! Plus, I can't write them with an English keyboard. Frustrating! My fascination with the country began when I was about six...I read a book that was set in Copenhagen, and seeing it in person became a childhood fantasy. Maybe someday, but the somedays are starting to run a bit low... Edited February 18, 2008 by Jazzmoose Quote
Christiern Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Yes, Denmark--I am half Danish (the other half, Icelandic) and I did a lot of my growing up there, in Copenhagen and on Christiansø/Frederiksø two tiny Danish islands in the Baltic Sea. Still speak and write the language almost flawlessly. The 60 Minutes piece was pretty accurate, but I read the Copenhagen papers regularly and things are not quite as peaceful as they once were. Still, it is a country that I often miss, and I keep in touch with old friends there. I loved it when one of the students suggested that we--over her--might forget about the "American dream." In other words, if we lower our expectations it will take less to make us happy. Moose, you can enter all the Danish letters of the alphabet on your keyboard: æ, ø, å Quote
AllenLowe Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 I spent 4-5 days there about 12 years ago with some American friends who were studying near Copenhagen - wonderful relaxed feeling to that country - they were amazed because their two kids were allowed to go to daycare for free, they got medical care and housing subsidy, even as temporary residents; very humane as opposed to the US of A. I was tempted to bring the whole family over, everybody speaks English anyway - I saw the tenor player Bob Rockwell, and had a long talk which sobered me up somewhat. He had lived there for years and basically, as he told it to me, ended up as just another "local" musician, which he found frustrating, and I think he found the Danish jazz scene provincial - still, it's a whole other way of life, largely free of the kind of catastrophic medical/housing worries we have here. Maybe I should go back - Quote
vajerzy Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Posted February 18, 2008 My wife and I are attempting to simplify our lives- more into appreciating what we have versus what we don't have. The only time we've been overseas was to Ireland in 2000. Traveling there and speaking to the people made us realize how we can control the speed of our lives and not let it control us. We've been trying to do that ever since then. We're working on it.... Quote
Jazzmoose Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Moose, you can enter all the Danish letters of the alphabet on your keyboard: æ, ø, å How so? It sure would have made some of my eBay dealings easier! Quote
pepe Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) The Danish jazz scene has changed quite a bit during the last 10 years, so I'm not sure Bob Rockwell find it's still provincial. You must remember that Denmark is a small country, and even if you add other Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden, they're only somewhere around 15 million people. But of course, life is slower than on Manhattan, and that's exactly what Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster said was the reason they liked living there. I guess some people might find that kind of living a little provincial - can't always have the best of all worlds. Edited February 18, 2008 by pepe Quote
AllenLowe Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 no argument from me - if I could find some kind of teaching gig there I'd be on the next plane - Quote
ejp626 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) I'm part Danish so was excited to get to go to Copenhagen last year. It was for 2.5 days, mostly spend working, but I wandered the city in the evenings and saw most of the museums. I enjoyed it, but also thought of Copenhagen as a smaller, somewhat duller Amsterdam in terms of the feel of the place. Perhaps if I had gone in the summer when Tivoli Gardens was open, I would have felt differently. Actually, I was only a couple of blocks away from what is considered the red light district, but it was very disheartening. A couple of adult video stores and one prostitute coming onto me. Not too impressed. Edited February 18, 2008 by ejp626 Quote
AllenLowe Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 my last trip to Amsterdam - about 4 years ago - was disappointing - extremely expensive and quite gentrified, less funky and not as much fun - Quote
Christiern Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Moose, you can enter all the Danish letters of the alphabet on your keyboard: æ, ø, å How so? It sure would have made some of my eBay dealings easier! On the Mac, you hold down the option (alt) key and hit "o" for ø, "'" for æ (or "q" for œ), and "a" for å. Of course, also holding the shift key gives you Å Ø Æ or Œ If you are using a PC, I hope you get the same results and don't have to type in a ASCI number! Quote
Aggie87 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 On a pc, you can run the program "Charmap.exe", and it will provide you with all of the non-English characters. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Thanks, guys! Now when I'm talking about a red stamp, I don't have to call it "rod".... Quote
7/4 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 On a pc, you can run the program "Charmap.exe", and it will provide you with all of the non-English characters. note: this is part of Windows, not an aftermarket program. Quote
Ron S Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 On a pc, you can run the program "Charmap.exe", and it will provide you with all of the non-English characters. note: this is part of Windows, not an aftermarket program. And you also can access it if you go to the start menu/programs/accessories/system tools/character map. If you want, you can copy the icon from there, and paste in on your desktop or taskbar for easier access when you need it. Quote
Swinging Swede Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 Or Start > Run > type "charmap" > OK (You only need to type "charmap" the first time. Next time it will be one of the options.) By the way, the Danes have the letters in the wrong order. It should of course be å, ä, ö. Quote
Christiern Posted February 18, 2008 Report Posted February 18, 2008 That's enough out of you, Sweden! Quote
Jazzmoose Posted February 19, 2008 Report Posted February 19, 2008 Stop it you guys; the Norwegians are watching... Quote
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted February 19, 2008 Report Posted February 19, 2008 that 60 min story was the stupidest 60 min. story in the history og 60 min Quote
Christiern Posted February 19, 2008 Report Posted February 19, 2008 that 60 min story was the stupidest 60 min. story in the history og 60 min Why? Quote
clifford_thornton Posted February 19, 2008 Report Posted February 19, 2008 that 60 min story was the stupidest 60 min. story in the history og 60 min Stop posting with your mouth full. Quote
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