janteloven

We’re grateful to TYWKIWDBI for the introduction to the “Law of Jante,” originally a satirical way to codify Scandinavian social foibles and group behaviour but now something taught in schools to reinforce social mores.
Setting his observations and reflections on small town life in a 1933 humorous work called “A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks” (En flykning krysser sitt spor), author Aksel Sandemose creates the fictional village of Jante and prescribes ten rules, which all echo the prevailing sentiment that overt ambition and rebellion—within certain tolerance—are selfish and inappropriate and one ought to adopt the Golden Rule to have the empathy and self-awareness to know that one is not better than everyone else. Outside the classroom, the term has taken on an idiomatic sense of disdain for over-achievers and agitators for agitation’s sake, and the attitude is testament to the social cohesion, tolerance, equity and compassion demonstrated by the Nordic culture. Visit the link above to review the full rules and learn more.

nightswimming

Photographer Christy Lee Rogers gives her subjects a distinct Pre-Raphaelite, Baroque quality not with gauzy filters and tuning but by submerging them, fully swathed and swaddled with colourful fabrics, in a floodlit pool. This ethereal composition is part of Rogers’ series called “Muses” and you can learn more at Colossal at the link above.

[ʊ]

Via the always excellent Nag on the Lake, we are treated to writer and composer Aaron Alon’s gradated deconstruction of English orthography.  Because of English’s pedigree and influence, there are a lot of counter-intuitive formulations that really bedevils learners and makes the cultural hegemony more than a bit fraught and maybe a little suspect, betraying a reluctance to synthesise new influences any more.  This short demonstration normalises (previously) vowel and consonant sounds in stages to give us an illustrative demonstration of what the language might sound like if spelling and pronunciation were consistent.  A weirdly intelligible dialect comes out of it.  Do give it a listen and let us know what you think.

trashercize

Lately I’ve incorporated (like in the article, when confronted with how we’ve rubbished the oceans with our profligate and careless use of petroleum products) of picking up litter on my long walks, and so was delighted to be reminded that there are other motley crewes of enthusiasts combining cleaning up with exercise.
Plogging, the portmanteau named by Stockholm resident Erik Ahlström is a combination of the Swedish plocka uppa and jogging and describes a popular fitness and do-gooder trend that’s been gaining momentum since at least 2016. Though it seems Germans are growing less and less tidy (a discouraging development for the strata of rubbish that collects on the curb, gutter and under shrubs), I can’t say I’ve encountered as interesting trash as the intrepid ploggers in New York—detritus of fast food mostly and fruit drink sippy pouches. You’re on notice, Capri Sonne. I ought not be so dainty about picking up trash, however that’s giving a little more meaning to my idle wandering, calling myself a flâneur rather than a jogger or plogger and perhaps not being enough of an aspirational cleaner (picking up only plastic deemed fit for the recycle bin) to maybe encourage others to join in.