The Thirty Years War is a website covers that ginormous kerfuffle that consumed Europe in the first half of the 17th Century from the Second Defenestration of Prague to the Peace of Westphalia. It has a handy map with a place locator which will help you tell your Schweidnitz from your Schweinfurt. Here are some other maps, The Religious Situation in Central Europe about 1618, Principal Seats of War, 1618-1660 and Europe in 1648 - Peace of Westphalia.
posted by Kattullus on Oct 29, 2009 - 55 comments

Bliss and Heaven, No man is an Island II, The Sweetest Embrace of All, Something To Love (partial), A Vicious Undertow. These are works from Jesper Just, a Danish video artist. He merges a performance and video art approach with the aesthetic sensibilities of film. He explores subjects such as gender roles, sexual identity, and interpersonal relationships. The stories are usually ambiguous, unresolved, and quite haunting.
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist on Sep 4, 2009 - 4 comments

Yesterday was self government day in Greenland. The last step before complete independence from Denmark. They played the Greenland National Anthem.
posted by Xurando on Jun 21, 2009 - 15 comments

Police in Denmark target bike riders. SLYT Police in Denmark take drastic steps to change the habits of bike riders...
posted by HuronBob on Apr 28, 2009 - 49 comments

They call themselves Visual Journalists. Prime among them is the Bombay Flying Club, a group of photo-journalists who are using the latest web and flash technologies to frame their online news gathering and documentary storytelling. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Mar 1, 2009 - 19 comments

Danish photographer Simon Høgsberg has made several updates since we last visited, including Faces of New York and The Low Fat Diaries. Digital Photography School interviews Høgsberg about his latest project We're All Gonna Die - 100 Meters of Existence.
posted by netbros on Feb 16, 2009 - 6 comments

The Faroe (Fær Øer) pilot whales slaughter (warning, crude pictures). The Faroe Islands (prev) were nominated in year 2007 by National Geographic as one of the most appealing tourism location in the world. The inhabitans have traditionally hunted pilot whales and other cetaceans for their own sustainment, but according also to their own national statistics (PDF) , the whale hunting business is no longer a significant factor. Some ongoing online petition is trying to put a final end to this practice.
posted by elpapacito on Nov 19, 2008 - 37 comments

Very, er, unusual voting results in Alaska. [more inside]
posted by flotson on Nov 8, 2008 - 90 comments

"You can not come back to Canada until you have been criminally rehabilitated." Ann Wright, who had 29 years of military and govt service, resigned in protest on the eve of the Iraq War from her position as deputy ambassador to Mongolia. In this hour long talk, she discusses her story and the story of several others from various countries who resigned in protest. Her new book, Dissent: Voices of Conscience, details the story of 24 people who resigned in protest. [more inside]
posted by nooneyouknow on Nov 6, 2008 - 6 comments

Here is the post. Here is the post. Here is the perfect post.
How does such a number function? What kind of thing is it?
We will look into that. We will investigate that.
posted by StopMakingSense on Nov 2, 2008 - 63 comments

Tunnels no Minasan no Okage Desu is a Japanese game show where contestants strike poses to fit through cutouts in pink foam walls. International reproductions of this game show reveal much about national character; reproductions exist in Italy, Russia, France, Denmark, Hong Kong, Korea, and Australia. [more inside]
posted by Alison on Aug 13, 2008 - 20 comments

Denmark: Flush With Energy.
posted by chuckdarwin on Aug 10, 2008 - 47 comments

Viking invasion ends as longship sails home. The Sea Stallion From Glendalough, a replica Viking longboat (previously), is returning to Denmark.
posted by homunculus on Jun 30, 2008 - 13 comments

Natasja Saad, born to a Danish mother and a Sudanese father was a Danish rapper and reggae singer, about to achieve international break through. She died last week in a car accident near Kingston, Jamaica
posted by growabrain on Aug 3, 2007 - 11 comments

Else Marie Pade (b. 1924) is a phenomenon in the history of Danish music. As a child she was often ill and bedridden. She would listen to the sounds around her... on the stairs, from the yard and the room next to hers. This is where her audio universe began. During the Second World War, she was arrested by the Gestapo and placed in solitary confinement. Rather than despair, she began composing music on the bare prison walls, where she scratched the notes with the fasteners on her garters. After the war and her discovery of the concrete music of Pierre Schaeffer and the French avant-garde, she realized that the sounds resembled those she had heard in childhood, and that this was the music she really wanted to compose. Read a long interview with Else Marie Pade here and listen to her collected works here. (Last link in Danish. Left column is production year, middle column is title. Click the bit rates on the right to listen to each work.)
posted by sveskemus on Jul 30, 2007 - 8 comments

"I'm a control freak-- but I was not in control." Lars von Trier made his latest movie without a cameraman. The Boss of It All (trailer), a comedy, was made with "Automavision", allowing a computer to decide when to tilt, pan, or zoom. The film also employs Lookey, a game that challenges the viewers to spot objects that don’t belong in a scene. The first viewer in Denmark to identify all the Lookeys correctly wins a cash prize and a chance to be an extra in von Trier’s next film.
posted by hermitosis on Jul 4, 2007 - 14 comments

Longboat! The Sea Stallion, a reconstruction of a ship scuttled off Roskilde will sail from Denmark to Dublin, where tests on timbers from the wreck show the original was built in the mid-eleventh century. (Pillaged from a centre of Irish learning)
posted by Abiezer on Jun 30, 2007 - 23 comments

Guide to the Danish Golden Age
posted by Silune on Feb 10, 2007 - 11 comments

The King's Kunstkammer - en vogue in Renaissance Europe, kunstkammers were status symbols of kings, vast collections of art, curiosities, and scientific and natural objects. This is a partial reconstruction of the Royal Danish Kunstkammer, established by King Frederik III in the mid-1600s. Exploring the collection's 250 objects offers insight into princely preoccupations of the era.
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 22, 2006 - 13 comments

The Danish Road Safety Council is a private association of authorities and national organisations in Denmark. The number of member organisations is currently 42. The Council has existed since 1935. The Council works to increase public road safety through information and traffic education. We aim for the public to gain knowledge and understanding of the aspects of road safety. The Council works to sustain road safe conduct by means of campaigns, consulting and the production of instruction blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
This movie was made by the Danish Road Safety Council and aims to draw attention to speed signs and speed limits in Denmark. (embedded movie, nsfw) (direct movie link)
posted by Wet Spot on Nov 7, 2006 - 11 comments

Stateline windfarm in Oregon/Washington is the largest windfarm in the world (300 MW). Denmark's Nysted windfarm is the world's largest off-shore windfarm (165 MW). Ireland plans to build a 520 MW off-shore windfarm, while the London Array would produce a massive 1000 MW and be a major feaure in the English Channel. Norway announced a 1,400 MW windfarm in 2005. The world's largest single wind turbine (5 MW).. the worlds largest solar farm (300 MW) planned for New Mexico would cover over 3,000 acres.
posted by stbalbach on Apr 30, 2006 - 141 comments

When Iranian paper Hamshahri (in Persian) launched a contest for Holocaust cartoons, an Israeli group responded in turn with a contest of their own for cartoons that make fun of Jews. Too bad it closed yesterday, or the Dutch branch of the AEL could submit theirs. (WARNING: some of the linked content may be offensive to readers' ethnicities, cultures, religions, or tastes.)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Mar 4, 2006 - 20 comments

Due to the insanity of the 'cartoon riots' one man takes it upon himself to support Denmark
posted by cdcello on Feb 20, 2006 - 61 comments

This great picture was taken in the French Pig-Squealing Championships. This pic was alleged by Danish imams to be offensive to Muslims, and was included in the recent tour of the Middle East. The Brussels Journal asks some pointed questions. The Beeb belatedly explains - and (sorta) apologises.
posted by dash_slot- on Feb 9, 2006 - 35 comments

Newsfilter : Farid Mortazavi, graphics editor to the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri, puts out a call for revisionist Holocaust cartoons. Israeli settlers may plan to riot. Well, continue rioting, anyway.
posted by suckerpunch on Feb 6, 2006 - 61 comments

Muslim world goes apeshit over Danish cartoon. Saudi Arabia and Libya have withdrawn their ambassadors to Denmark, which issued safety warnings to its citizens travelling in Muslim countries after threats by militant Islamic groups and a boycott of Danish goods
posted by The Jesse Helms on Jan 31, 2006 - 165 comments

Pioneering instrumental-rock guitarist Link Wray - one of the original rockabilly artists, credited with having invented the "power chord", which has become the basis for modern rock and alternative music - died this week at the age of 76. You'd probably know him from his song 'Rumble', used on the 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack. The English-speaking media hasn't picked up on the story yet, but various blogs, the Spanish and Danish press - translation here - and various music messageboards were all over the story 24 hours ago.
posted by tapeguy on Nov 20, 2005 - 45 comments

Should a rapist be given a harsher sentence if his victim dies as a result of the rape? A Campobello, South Carolina teen has been accused of a rape in his neighborhood. Now the victim has died, possibly because of injuries to her internal organs. And the charges are being upgraded, but prosecutors aren't looking for the death penalty.

Cruelty isn't just an American phenomenon-- a Danish caretaker has eaten some of his charges and the law can't touch him.
posted by Mayor Curley on Jun 20, 2005 - 57 comments

Erik Petersen. Danish newspaper photographer. Died in 1997. He took a number of pictures around WWII. He never developed them. Fortunately, sixty years later, someone else has. Now they can be found in a book. Here's a bit of bloggery as well.
posted by IndigoJones on Jun 2, 2005 - 14 comments

"I am an American, so that is why I make films about America. America is sitting on our world, I am making films that have to do with America (because) 60% of my life is America. So I am in fact an American, but I can't go there to vote, I can't change anything. We are a nation under influence and under a very bad influence… because Mr. Bush is an asshole and doing very idiotic things."
Lars Von Trier introduces his new film at the Cannes Film Festival: «Manderlay» picks up where «Dogville» left off, with the character originated by Nicole Kidman -- now played by Bryce Dallas Howard -- stumbling onto a plantation that time forgot, where slavery still operates in the 1930s. The film (5 MB .pdf file, official pressbook) ends, as Dogville did, with David Bowie’s Young Americans played over a photomontage of images that range from a Ku Klux Klan meeting to the Rodney King beating, George Bush at prayer and Martin Luther King at his final rest, American soldiers in Vietnam and the Gulf, the Twin Towers. More inside.
posted by matteo on May 16, 2005 - 69 comments

Simon Hoegsberg's latest project involved stopping passersby and asking what they were thinking at exactly that moment. These are their thoughts and portraits.
posted by freddles on Jan 21, 2005 - 16 comments

The Law of Jante (Janteloven) was codified by the Danish-born novelist Aksel Sandemose while he was living in Norway. The Law comprises ten 'commandments', and describes an unspoken code of conformity that Sandemose felt as a stifling inhibitive influence in the town where he grew up. Later commentators have used the term more generally to refer to the anti-individualist tendencies that have traditionally pervaded Scandinavian culture, and to denote 'the dark side of egalitarianism'. Of course, the Law needn't be interpreted in such a negative light, and egalitarianism has its good side too, the difficult question being: do the benefits of equality make it worthwhile suffering the strictures of Janteloven?
posted by misteraitch on Oct 27, 2004 - 31 comments

The architect as total designer. In 1959, Danish architect Arne Jacobsen shattered paradigms aplenty with his SAS Hotel (represented now by its last remaining original room, the legendary 606). The hotel was intended as a single field of experience; from seating and lighting (more here and here) to table service, Jacobsen was intimately involved in almost every aspect of the hotel's physical interface with its guests. The result is a work of deeply pleasing harmony that still looks fresh some four and a half decades later. MeFites in Copenhagen: how's it holding up?
posted by adamgreenfield on Oct 6, 2004 - 11 comments

Heterosexual marriage rates in Denmark increased after adoption of same-sex marriage, study shows. "In the end, the Scandinavian and Dutch experience suggests that there is little reason to worry that heterosexual people will flee marriage if gay and lesbian couples get the same rights," Badgett concluded, in a report published by The Institute for Gay & Lesbian Strategic Studies. Much of the report covers the same ground which Hoover Institution professor Stanley Kurtz testified on before the US Congress in April this year, drawing almost diametrically opposite conclusions.
MORE FROM THE PRESUMABLY STRAIGHT KURTZ HERE; FROM THE POSSIBLY GAY BADGETT HERE.
posted by dash_slot- on Aug 26, 2004 - 36 comments

"The people of Dogville are proud, hypocritical and never more dangerous than when they are convinced of the righteousness of their actions" (NYT link) "The movie is, of course, an attack on America—its innocence, its conformity, its savagery—though von Trier is interested not in the life of this country (he’s never been here) but in the ways he can exploit European disdain for it." (The New Yorker). Lars Von Trier's new movie, Dogville, is under attack from critics who consider it anti-American. Von Trier, of course, has never been to the US but he counters that he knows more about U.S. culture through modern media than, say, the makers of "Casablanca' knew about Morocco. Kafka hadn't been to Amerika either. Should non US-ian artists leave America alone if they've never been there? Von Trier says that "in my own country, I'm considered anti-Danish - again, that's more about politics than issues of nationality." (more inside)
posted by matteo on Mar 22, 2004 - 42 comments

Artnode: Contemporary Danish Art
posted by hama7 on Feb 3, 2004 - 5 comments

Christiania, the spunky Danish autonomous zone near Copenhagen, may soon be shut down after 32 years of self governance. "I built my own house here. I have two young children who are third generation Christianites. I am not going to give all that up without a struggle."
posted by moonbird on Dec 31, 2003 - 23 comments

The Little Mermaid Explodes. This is only the latest in a long series of indignities suffered by Denmark's national symbol. Why are people so into this sort of thing?
posted by alms on Sep 17, 2003 - 21 comments

Yippie. Denmark beats US in world cup hockey. We have not participated in the world cup since a 0-47 loss to Canada in 1949.
posted by Eirixon on Apr 27, 2003 - 18 comments

What a bunch of little nazis. A scout leader in Denmark has been reprimanded for leading the kids (ages 11-14) in a theme based game of tag, with the theme being Nazi's vs. Jews. This included dressing the Jews in yellow Star of David outfits and a sign with the words "Arbeit macht frei". Danish Metafilter members, explain yourselves!!
posted by jonson on Jan 24, 2003 - 64 comments

The man who wrote 10,000 Grooks (grooks, grooks, grooks), Piet Hein, was also the inventor of Hex and the creator of the Soma Cube. In the design world, he is most famous for the SuperEllipse, a figure that rivals Buckminster Fuller's geodesics in ingenuity, an aesthetic balance between a circle and a square, and a mathematical figure which has been used to design a square in Stockholm. From the SuperEllipse, you can get the SuperEgg, a strange solid which will unexpectedly balance on one end and has been mistaken for an alien artifact.
posted by Winterfell on Oct 28, 2002 - 11 comments

happy birthday jakob Though we all like to scream about his pronouncements or catch him when he makes an error in his own rules, it's time everyone who has a job relating to human factors to acknowledge that Jakob Nielsen's tireless promoting of usability is very likely the reason our bosses or our clients are willing to consider allowing usability testing. Thanks guy! Wish I could afford to buy you that rogers and hamerstein collection...
posted by christina on Aug 20, 2001 - 7 comments

Red Bull cocktails giving wings, sending some to heaven. The Swedish are more than a little upset and Norway, Denmark, and France won't sell it because of its caffiene content.
posted by skallas on Jul 15, 2001 - 37 comments

Copenhagen is one of the cleanest cities I have ever visited, so what does this mean for the rest of us? My wife and I were a bit troubled when our house guest told us he flicked his butt from our balcony; it's likely that his flying butt did not land on the street--more likely on the balcony two floors below. Quelle horreur!
posted by Dick Paris on Jun 6, 2001 - 10 comments

The U.S. Should buy Greenland I often wonder why politicians and bureaucrats don't act on the ideas of columnists. Maybe because it would be, in the words of Sir Humphrey Appleby, "courageous" of them to do so.
posted by youthbc1 on May 17, 2001 - 24 comments