April - May 2008 Newsletter
House of Denmark
Balboa Park, San Diego
In This Issue
Cottage Hosting Schedule Lawn Program Schedule Letter from the Editor What’s Coming Up Since the Last Letter Members News in Danish and English Culture Membership Payment Slip Page 2 Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Back page
Mark Your Calendars
April 12
April Members’ Meeting at the House of Denmark at 4:00 p.m. with “store kolde bord” potluck.
May 25
2008 Board Members
President Lissa Kalledsoe
lissa-k@juno.com
Food Fair at the International Village and bake sale at the House of Denmark from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
May 26 June 8
HPR barbecue. Please contact Lissa for info.
Vice President Charlotte Carroll Treasurer Alice Barnes Secretary Maj Tandrup Rundlett
houseofdenmark@gmail.com
“Grundlovsdag” (Danish Constitution Day) Please pay your celebration. The House of Denmark hosts the 2008 membership Lawn Program. dues if you haven’t December 27 already done so. House of Denmark Christmas Party at the
Grand Re-Opening
On Saturday, March 1st, many of our members had their first chance to see the new and improved cottage, as we gathered for our March meeting and celebrated the completion of our renovation, shared President Lissa Kalledsoe a potluck, and met and MC Anne Hoiberg the 2008 board. Anne Hoiberg introduced the new board and its duties. Thank you to Anne for her eloquent and entertaining words. Our new President, Lissa, presented the financial situation of the House of Denmark and spoke of our current affairs. Oda took the word on behalf of the remodeling committee to tell about its progress and express its appreciation for everyone’s support. A big THANK YOU to
House of Pacific Relations at 5:00 p.m.
the committee for all its hard work. Furniture, decor, books, and housewares no longer needed in the cottage was on display and for sale on the patio. Members browsed the offerings, and a few things were sold. In the end, many participants took home an item or two, helping in our efforts to keep the cottage as clean and uncluttered as possible. It was an enjoyable, festive and “hyggelig” afternoon with good food and company.
Social Secretary Jens Peter Hedegaard Trustees Randy Nielsen Merete Kjaer Oda Audish Delegates Lissa Kalledsoe Jens Peter Hedegaard Alternate Delegates Charlotte Carroll Anne Hoiberg
The Remodeling Committee: Oda, Anne, Charlotte and Merete
House of Denmark
Cottage Hosting Schedule
April 2008
April 6 Niels Lund April 13 Barbara & Maurice Wharton April 20 Earth Day. Cottage closed. April 27 Gary Lynn Rold
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Lawn Program Schedule
April 6: House of Pacific Relations Queens Organization
The Queens Organization is an educational and cultural service organization for young members. Its objectives include promoting a close relationship between young and adult members of all the ethnic groups represented, fostering a spirit of understanding, tolerance and goodwill, presenting to the public the music and dances of the various ethnic groups represented in the HPR, and educating its members in parliamentary procedures, democratic processes and good public relations.
April 13: House of India April 20: EARTH DAY (NO PROGRAM) April 27: House of England May 4: House of Poland May 11: House of Italy May 18: House of Norway May 25: ETHNIC FOOD FAIR
May 2008
May 4 Merete Kjaer May 11 Anders & Jennifer Jensen May 18 Jens Peter Hedegaard May 25 Heidi & Michael Iversen
June 2008
Please provide juice, coffee, cake and/or treats when you are the host at the cottage.
Letter From the Editor
Dear Reader: Spring is here, and summer just around the corner! Our cottage all spick and span, we can look forward to the great traditions we have for this time of year. The April members’ meeting will see our usual ‘store kolde bord’, and we will also have the opportunity to hear a presentation on the Danish International Gymnastics Team and see the gymnasts on video, which I have heard is quite amazing.
June 1 Niels Lund June 8 Annual Lawn Program June 15 Tom & Rebecca Mikkelsen June 22 Tove Lorentzen June 29 Aino Castellano
July 2008
July 6 Per & Nancy Moeller-Olsen July 13 Aake & Minette Olsen July 20 Margit & Ron Perfecto July 27 Alice Singleton
If you find you cannot host from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. on the listed date, please: Call Lissa Kalledsoe at (619) 224-2819 to arrange to trade with another member.
We hope we have found a good way to participate in the annual Food Fair by having a bake sale. The more of you can contribute to this fund raiser, the better. I hope you enjoy your newsletter! . . . Maj T. Rundlett
House of Denmark House of Pacific Relations International Cottages Balboa Park, San Diego
House of Denmark
WHAT’S COMING UP Members’ Meeting 4/12
- aren’t hot. No need to try to fit the table in the freezer to cool it down before the event. Come join us on: Saturday, April 12th, at 4:00 p.m. at the Cottage The event is a potluck, and we would like to try to coordinate the dishes for this Danish tradition. Please let Lissa know what you are bringing at: lissa-k@juno.com or (619) 224-2819
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Mia Hansen will be joining us to talk about the Danish International Gymnastics Team that will visit San Diego in January of next year. We look forward to seeing you!
As in previous years, we will be sharing “det store kolde bord” at our April Members’ Meeting. The phrase literally means “the large cold table”; but it just refers to a meal of a variety of foods that - for the most part
Food Fair 5/25
The annual Food Fair at the International Village takes place Sunday, May 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The House of Denmark will be having a bake sale as a fund raiser. We need volunteers both to
staff the cottage and to produce the goodies. If you can help out, either by baking or hosting or both, please contact Lissa Kalledsoe: lissa-k@juno.com or (619) 224-2819
Recital of Nordic Piano Music 4/12
Jim Reilly, Piano Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego Concert Series 4190 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92103 619-298-4580 A suggested donation of $15 will be accepted at the door. PROGRAM: Piano music by six composers from five Nordic countries: SWEDEN: Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758) DENMARK: Niels Gade (1817-1890) NORWAY: Halfdan Kjerulf (1815-1868) ICELAND: Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnson (1847-1917) FINLAND: Jean Sibelius (1856-1957) NORWAY: Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) An unusual recital of rarely heard repertoire which will include brief spoken commentary.
Lawn Program 6/8
You will see more about our Lawn Program in the next issue of the newsletter; but be sure to save the date now. We will serve “medisterpølse”, potato salad and cucumber salad and your help is needed! This year, the Rock’n’Roll Marathon will not take place on the same day as our Lawn Program, which should make access to the Village and Cottage less of an issue.
House of Denmark
SINCE THE LAST LETTER New Furniture on Order
Series 7 Chairs by Arne Jacobsen
In 1955, when Arne Jacobsen designed a chair with the model number 3107, he had no way of predicting the success and architectural recognition the chair would obtain all over the world. Today, over 50 years after its introduction, the Seven chair is more popular than ever. Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) is without a doubt one of the most important Danish designers ever. He was very productive, both as an architect and as a designer. It was the Ant chair, designed in 1952, that propelled his name onto the international furniture scene. Fritz Hansen has manufactured both the three-legged and later four-legged versions of the Ant chair plus the four-legged 3107 chair in record numbers. The chairs are omnipresent today and can be spotted in countless offices and homes, in museums and at exhibitions all over the world. And when our order is received, you can also find it at the House of Denmark.
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Super-ellipse Table by Piet Hein
(With contributions to the base design by Bruno Mathsson & Arne Jacobsen).
shape that nested well and yet filled the space more efficiently than an ellipse. After an exhaustive search, he determined the shape which combined the best, most aesthetically pleasing features of both the rectangle and the ellipse and dubbed it the super-ellipse. The form is more rectilinear than an ellipse, but rounder than a rectangle. If this seems unusual, it’s because it is. The super-ellipse also comes in a 3D version called the “super-egg”. The super-ellipse has been used for a table for the Vietnam War negotiators in Paris, 1969, (the story is that Piet Hein helped the parties agree on the shape for the negotiating table), and the Azteca Olympic Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico (1968).
Piet Hein (1905-1996) was a Danish poet and scientist with wide ranging interests. He is known for his short, aphoristic poems called Grooks (“gruk” in Danish) and creations like the games of Hex, Tangloids, Morra, Tower, Polytaire, TacTix, Nimbi, Qrazy Qube, Pyramystery, as well as the Soma cube and a perpetual calendar called the Astro Calendar. Piet Hein invented/discovered the super-ellipse curve in 1959, when he was commissioned by the Stockholm City Planning Department to find a shape for a city square called Sergel’s Torg. The problem was that the area, a rectangle, needed to be filled with some oblong
‘Fastelavn’
On February 23rd, the House of Denmark shared in the ‘fastelavnsfest’ (carnival) with ‘Den Danske Legestue i San Diego’, the Danish parents’ group. Participants ‘hit the cat out of the barrel’ and enjoyed the many goodies, including ‘fastelavnsboller’ (lenten buns).
Oda Audish’s lovely little dancers danced a few of their traditional dances to everyone’s delight. Thanks to Oda for organizing on the part of the House of Denmark and to Ulla Bisgaard for putting on the event and welcoming everybody to her home.
House of Denmark
MEMBERS We Thank Our Generous Supporters
In connection with our renovation, the House of Denmark has received much help and support. We would like to extend a warm THANK YOU to the people and businesses who have been so generous: DNA European Design Studio in Little Italy (1990 Columbia Street, San Diego, tel. (619) 2356882, www.dnaeuropeandesign.com) is supplying our furniture at a generous discount. Louis Poulsen (www.louispoulsen.com) allowed us to purchase the PH-lamp at an extremely favorable price. In addition, the following members have extended donations for the project: Rita Moller Ted & Milly Hansen Lisa & Per Dideriksen Marcy Carey Alice Singleton Anders & Jennifer Jensen.
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Danish Teacher Introduces New Product
Charlotte Young, our previous Danish teacher, is introducing a new baby safety product to the U.S. market. Thudguard is an infant safety hat designed to help absorb and reduce the impact of head injuries due to a fall or collision. It is the only product of its type to comply with safety standards and be endorsed by children’s accident & emergency experts, and it is suitable for babies and toddlers aged 7 months to 2 years. You can reach Charlotte at: (619) 252-9543 or cyoung@babysfirstheadgear.com Website: www.babysfirstheadgear.com
Visit the House of Denmark website at:
www.houseofdenmark.org
HOW TO REACH THE NEWSLETTER
Please e-mail your questions, comments and contributions to: houseofdenmark@gmail.com Or mail to: c/o Rundlett, P.O. Box 57, Solana Beach, CA 92075
House of Denmark
DANISH NEWS
News in English
25-Øre Coin Soon To Retire
From October 1st, the small copper 25-øre coin will be discontinued, reports Berlingske Tidende newspaper. ‘Consumers will not notice a thing, apart from their pockets being lighter,’ wrote Bendt Bendtsen, Minister for Business and Economics, in a press release.
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Nyheder på dansk
25-øren udgår
Fra den første oktober bliver den lille kobbermønt sat ud af cirkulation, rapporterer Berlingske Tidende. ‘Forbrugerne kommer ikke til at mærke noget som helst, ud over at deres lommer bliver lettere’, skrev økonomi- og erhvervsminister Bendt Bendtsen i en pressemeddelelse.
He said the cost to produce the coin is higher than its Han sagde, at omkostningerne til produktion af møntvalue. Prices will remain unchanged despite the elimi- en overstiger dens værdi. Priserne vil forblive uændrede på trods af 25-ørens afvikling. nation of the small denomination coin.
The Danish Oil Sheik
Bjarne Simonsen is director of Emmelev A/S, Denmark’s largest manufacturer of environmentally friendly bio-diesel and among the largest in Europe. This year he will produce 25 million gallons, all for export. Next year, he expects to double production, saving the environment half a million tons of CO2. Bjarne Simonsen believes that in the long term bio-diesel will win the battle against bio-ethanol, hydrogen and electricity to become the transport sector’s preferred source of power.
Den danske oliesheik
Bjarne Simonsen er direktør ofr Emmelev A/S, Danmarks største producent af miljøvenlig bio-diesel og en af de største i Europa. I år producerer han 100 millioner liter, udelukkende til export. Næste år forventer han at fordoble produktionen og dermed skåne miljøet for en halv million tons CO2. Bjarne Simonsen er overbevist om, at bio-diesel på langt sigt vil vinde over bio-ethanol, hydrogen og el og blive transportsektorens foretrukne drivmiddel. Nye EU-mål for øget brug af bio-brændstof betyder stærk vækst i branchen.
København prisbelønnet for bedste turistfilm
Den internationale komité for tusristfilmfestivaler, Bjarne Simonsen CIFFT, har belønnet KøbenWith new targets set by the European Union for increased use of bio-fuel, the industry is growing rapidly. havn for verdens bedste turistfilm 2007.
Copenhagen wins award for best tourism film
Den højt ansete pris går til The International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals, den turistfilm, der har vunCIFFT, has awarded Copenhagen for world’s best tour- det flest priser året igennem ism film of 2007. ved de forskellige internaThe prestigious recognition goes to the tourism film tionale festivaler. that has won most awards during the year at the vari- Wonderful Copenhagen ous international film festivals. deltog med en reklamefilm Wonderful Copenhagen’s entry, ‘Copenhagen Kicking’, was produced in 2006 as a promotional film for the Danish capital and has previously won seven international awards, among others the World Medal for best tourist film 2007 at New York Festivals Award Show and the Diamond Award at ITB in Berlin.
for hovedstaden, ‘Copenhagen Kicking’, som er produRundetårn, Copenhagen ceret i 2006 og tidligere har modtaget 7 internationale priser, blandt andet World Medal for beste turistfilm 2007 ved New York Festivals Award Show og Diamond Award ved ITB i Berlin.
House of Denmark
CULTURE
Arne Jacobsen
were transformed into wallpaper designs and textile prints for a collection launched in 1944. After the war, Jacobsen returned to a Denmark under reconstruction with a shortage of building materials. To work around the shortages, he turned to traditional methods and materials while succeeding in giving his buildings a contemporary look. During the late forties, he designed some of the most beautiful and most characteristic housing developments in modern tradition. Arne Jacobsen was determined to give industrially produced items a quality similar to handmade pieces. With this intention in mind, he enforced new production methods. His interiors proved that his talents were multiple. He liked to surround himself with beautiful objects and designed consumer goods, furniture, lamps and textiles during the following years. The interiors and detailing of Rødovre City Hall (1955) and SAS Hotel Royal (1959) in Copenhagen reveal how personally involved he was in his projects. The Egg chair (1958), the Swan chair (1958) and the Swan sofa were designed for the Hotel Royal.
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Munkegård School (1955) in Gentofte attracted equal attention. Arne Jacobsen designed the Oxford chair (1964) for St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, and he received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. His largest foreign assignments, however, were in Germany, where he often worked with Otto Weitling. Together, they designed an administration building for Hamburg’s Electricity Works (1962) and new city centers in Castrop-Rauxel (1966) and Mainz (1968).
The architect and designer Arne Jacobsen, who developed the chairs we are acquiring for the cottage, has had a tremendous impact on Danish aesthetics. Born in 1902, Jacobsen’s education was typical of the time: He completed 4 years of Technical School (1920-24), spent holidays as a bricklayer’s apprentice, and studied 3 years at The Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Architectural department (1924-27). In 1929, he professed to the new, international style or functionalism. The thirties were a very busy time for Arne Jacobsen. Among his accomplishments were: • Bellevue Sea-Bathing Area (1932) • Bellavista housing (1934) • HIK Tennis Court (1936) • Århus City Hall (1939-42) • Søllerød City Hall (1940-42) • Apartments, terrace houses and one-family houses in Gentofte and environs (1932-38) • Stelling’s House (1937) Being Jewish, Arne Jacobsen was forced to flee to Sweden together with his wife, Jonna, In 1943. Here, many of his nature sketches
The Egg chair
The Danish Central Bank (1961) in Copenhagen and the German projects were completed after Arne Jacobsen’s death in 1971 under the direction of Otto Weitling and Hans Dissing.
Danish Saying
Skik følge eller land fly
Literal meaning: Follow its customs or leave the land.
Bellavista
Translation: When in Rome, do as the Romans.
2008 House of Denmark Membership
Name: _________________________________________________________ New member Street address: _________________________________________________________ Membership renewal City, state, zip: _________________________________________________________ e-mail: _________________________________________________________ Tel: _________________________
How many times a year do you want to host the House of Denmark? 1 2 3 more ____ If you do not wish to host, you will be called on to help at one of the House of Danmark’s major events. Amount enclosed: $14.00 $24.00 $__________ Single membership Family membership Donation for the renovation of the House of Denmark Alice Barnes 4715 Boxwood Drive San Diego, CA 92117 Denmark and its culture and provides a venue where we can come together, enjoy Danish traditions, connect, and get a warm dose of ‘hygge’. None of this is possible without you, our members. Don’t forget to renew your membership!
Please fill out with your updated information and return to:
With your member’s fee, you get: • The newsletter, keeping you informed and entertained on a bi-monthly basis. • Participation in great House of Denmark events. The House of Denmark promotes the knowledge of
House of Denmark c/o Rundlett P.O. Box 57 Solana Beach, CA 92075