Østensjøvannet (Fall 2010, Part II)

I just love the fall colours! All the photos were taken on Saturday 16 October 2010 during a walk around the lake Østensjøvannet in Oslo, Norway. See Wikipedia and the website of Østensjøvannets Venner ("Friends of Østensjøvannet") for more information.

Updated on Monday 1 November 2010 at 1215.

Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York, USA

The cemetery blog A Morbid Fascination posted a few days ago a link to the USA Today article Illustrious dead, living beauty lure visitors to rural cemeteries about Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, upstate New York, published on 17 October 2010. As the blog writer states, it is well worth reading.

I have been to upstate New York before, but not Rochester or the said cemetery. The article mentions, however, the Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, which I have visited twice (1999 and 2006).

The website of The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery can be found here.

I haven't posted any cemetery blog articles for a while, but hope to do something about this in the near future.

Noproff.net

Nettsiden Norske fotballspillere i utlandet gjennom tidene (Norwegian football players abroad past & present - see a short summary of this blog article at the end) er endelig tilbake igjen etter at den ikke hadde vært oppdatert siden juni 2008 og deretter fjernet fra nettet i forbindelse med nedleggelsen av Geocities i oktober 2009.

Statistikksiden lå opprinnelig på nettstedet http://www.geocities.com/dagtho/noproff.html, som var en underside til nettstedet http://www.geocities.com/dagtho/. Sistnevnte fikk allerede i slutten av oktober 2009 nytt domenenavn, http://www.hoelseth.com/, mens jeg har valgt å opprette en egen inngangsportal, http://www.noproff.net/, for statistikksiden.

Oppdateringen av Noproff.net den 21. oktober 2010 inkluderer 55 nye navn, slik at oversikten nå inneholder hele 512 nordmenn som har spilt fotball i utlandet - enten som profesjonell/semiprofesjonell eller som amatør. Jeg har - nær sagt som vanlig - konsentrert meg om å få alle navnene på plass samt de mest vesentlige opplysningene, som hvilke klubber vedkommende har spilt for i inn- og utland, slik at informasjon om antall kamper, mål osv. ikke har vært prioritert. Forhåpentligvis vil jeg få utbedret også dette etter hvert.

Statistikkens omfang gjør at det er vanskelig å være like oppdatert om alle spillerne til enhver tid. Jeg setter derfor stor pris på tilbakemeldinger fra leserne om mangler og oppdateringer. Jeg får god hjelp av ivrige medhjelpere på Debattcentralen (Aftenposten.no), jf. bl.a. tråd 234351 og 309797 (sistnevnte er nylig opprettet), men hører gjerne fra andre også! Det er dog viktig at informasjonen ledsages av kildehenvisninger, da jeg ønsker at alt skal kunne dokumenteres og etterprøves. Jeg har for øvrig en god del spillere "på blokken", men ønsker å samle inn mer informasjon før de kan legges inn i statistikken.

Jeg har lagt flere utvalgskriterier til grunn for spilleroversikten. I utgangspunktet må man ha spilt minst én obligatorisk A-kamp for en utenlandsk klubb for å kvalifisere seg. Prøvespill medregnes ikke, mens spillere som har vært på utlån uten å få med seg en A-kamp vil bli satt i parentes. Poenget her er at man har vært tilgjengelig for obligatoriske kamper, noe prøvespillere ikke er. Jeg behandler Academy-spillere på samme måten. De kommer med i oversikten så snart de i det minste har sittet på benken under en obligatorisk kamp. Amatørspillere er satt i parentes.

For at oversikten ikke skal bli for stor og uoversiktelig, har jeg også valgt å utelate college soccer-spillere, hvis de da ikke har kvalifisert seg på annen måte. Men har man spilt på et universitetslag som spiller i en regulær liga (med andre ord ikke intern universitetsserie), kommer man med - her er det flere eksempler fra britisk og australsk fotball.

Flere ligaer lar andrelagene spille nedover i divisjonene i det regulære ligasystemet, slik som i Tyskland og Frankrike. Dette forklarer hvorfor for eksempel Abdurahim "Ibba" Laajab er inkludert, selv om han bare har spilt obigatoriske kamper for Borussia Mönchengladbachs B-lag.

Flere spillere har dobbelt statsborgerskap. Disse vil bli inkludert i oversikten hvis de har spilt for et utenlandsk lag etter at de har fått norsk statsborgerskap. Men har de til tross for det norske statsborgerskapet valgt å spille landskamper for det andre landet, ekskluderes de. Nå er det så langt jeg forstår mulig å ha spilt U-kamper for ett land for så å spille A-kamper for det andre. Kommer man i denne kategorien, er man selvsagt kvalifisert.

Det finnes ellers eksempler på norskfødte fotballspillere som av ulike grunner har skiftet statsborgerskap, som for eksempel Jørn Andersen og en del norsk-amerikanere. Disse er satt i parentes.

Kriteriene på Noproff.net er ikke helt oppdaterte pr. dags dato (25. oktober 2010), men jeg skal forsøke å få ryddet opp i dette snart. Designen på hjemmesiden er like trøstesløs som tidligere, da jeg har prioritert selve statistikken. Kanskje vil jeg få fikset en mer spennende design etter hvert. Et langsiktig mål må vel være å få konvertert statistikken til en base der man kan få koblet flere statistikker samtidig. I dag inneholder statistikken kun en oversikt over spillere i alfabetisk rekkefølge, men det hadde jo vært artig å også kunne klikke på et bestemt land og få en oversikt over alle som har spilt i dette landet, eller en bestemt klubb for den saks skyld.

Leserne har forhåpentligvis forståelse for at arbeidet med statistikken er tidkrevende, slik at en ikke kan forvente umiddelbare oppdateringer etter at en spiller har skiftet klubb e.l. Jeg har som man kan forstå av hjemmesiden Hoelseth.com mange interesser og hobbyer, fotballstatistikk er bare en av dem. Familieliv, jobb, foreningsliv, venner og øvrige interesser gjør at jeg ikke vil kunne makte å oppdatere proffstatistikken like ofte som ønskelig. Men målet er ihvertfall at oppdateringer skal skje mer jevnlig enn tidligere, slik at jeg slipper så alt for store skippertak. Presenslisten - oversikten over nordmennene som spiller for en utenlandsk klubb i dag - vil som tidligere bli oppdatert oftere enn hovedoversikten.

English summary

My statistics page Norwegian football players abroad past & present (Noproff.net) has finally returned! The website - which is written in Norwegian, but should nevertheless be easy to navigate in also for those who doesn't understand a Scandinavian language - contains as many as 512 Norwegians who have played football (soccer) for a foreign club. Since the last update in June 2008 55 new names have been added.

HM The King's Guard won't be downgraded after all

Last week I passed on Views and News from Norway's article King's Guards to lose some status, by which we were told that HM The King's Guard from 2011 was to be downgraded to a purely ceremonial unit.

Fortunately the military leadership has changed its mind, cf. Aftenposten and Views and News from Norway today, which means "business as usual" also next year. The guards will have both infantry training and field exercises in addition to parade and ceremonial duties.

Crown Prince Haakon promotes dignity

Views and News from Norway has in the article Crown Prince promotes dignity published today (19 October 2010) made a summary of Aftenposten's article Skoledører vidåpne for kronprinsen (printed version, p. 6), which was also published today. It is absolutely worth reading.

Crown Prince Haakon established Dignity Day together with the US American John Hope Bryant and Pekka Himanen from Finland in 2006. Global Dignity Day this year will take place on 20 October, with 40 countries participating, and is from now on meant to be arranged annually. The intention is that students are going to share their stories about dignity with eachother and to write down what they would like to do the next year in order to strengthen their own and others' dignity, cf. the said Aftenposten article. The message is that by strengthening the dignity of others, you also strengthen your own.

See also the official website Globaldignity.org.

Nepal: Referendum on restoration of the monarchy?

Back in May 2010 I wrote that the chances of restoration of the Nepalese throne were microscopic. I haven't really changed my mind since then, but it is still interesting to read the article Nepal: The Man Who Would Be King, Again (Time, 15 October 2010).

According to the article the opposition, which includes the National Democratic Party, has demanded a referendum to be held on the issue of reinstating the monarchy. King Gyanendra has been king of Nepal twice - from 1950 to 1951 and again from 2001 to 2008. As an alternative solution if the opposition should be unsuccessful, it has been suggested that the former king "should be allowed to attend and perform som Hindu ceremonies in keeping with the monarch's traditional role as the nation's religious leader".

Royalty Digest Quarterly no. 3, 2010

I received the latest issue of Royalty Digest Quarterly (no. 3, 2010) some days ago, but first now have I found time to make a short presentation of its content.

In his "Editor's corner" Ted Rosvall praises the royal wedding in Stockholm earlier this year to the skies: "The wedding of H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria to Mr. Daniel Westling became a magnificent manifestation of national unity, a splendid orgy of Pomp and Circumstance, and a happy celebration of love and youth." It is just impossible to disagree with him! I especially liked his opening sentence: "June 19th 2010 was a black day for the republicans of Sweden"!

After the editorial follows a very interesting article by Richard Thornton named Prince Albert's stepfather. His life and descendants. Maximilian Elisäus Alexander von Hanstein, later Count von Pölzig und Beierstein (1804-1884) married in 1826 Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha, mother of Prince Albert, later British Prince Consort. Louise died of cancer already in 1831 and the count married for the second time Marie Therese von Carlowitz in 1833 and had 3 children by her. Included in the article is a useful survey of the descandants of the said couple.

RDQ's historical consultant Charlotte Zeepvat is back again with yet another family album, this time covering The Royal Line of Bavaria. It includes 20 pages with photos (72 in all, if the photos on pp. 12 and 13 are also counted) as well as 3 pages with family tables (Descendants of King Maximilian I of Bavaria). Zeepvat also has another contribution titled Royal Photographers. On Hanns, Franz and Edgar Hanfstaengl - and not forgetting 'Putzi'.

Michael L. Nash reminds the readers that in 2010 it is 100 years since the death of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with his article A Cosmopolitan Prince.

The historian Trond Norén Isaksen gives a new angle of the broken relationship between the then Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (later King Frederik IX) and Princess Olga of Greece in his article 'A Broken Engagement'. Frederik of Denmark and Olga of Greece, while another familiar name in RDQ, Coryne Hall, has chosen to write about King George's Palace - a Forgotten Royal Home (Bernstorffs Palæ), the residence of among others Hereditary Prince Ferdinand (1792-1863).

The signature CMZ ponders about a photo of Duke and Duchess of Teck and their family. And as usual there are book reviews as well as the news column The World Wide Web of Royalty. Naturally enough the editor, Ted Rosvall, has also included a large ad to remind the readers about his latest genealogical publication, Bernadotteättlingar ("The Bernadotte Descendants"), which hit the market in August 2010. The front cover shows King Maximilian II of Bavaria, his wife Queen Marie, née Princess of Prussia, and their sons Princes Ludwig and Otto.

Royalty Digest Quarterly is published by Roosvall Royal Books, which can be contacted by e-mail royalbooks[at]telia.com.

See also my earlier presentations - RDQ no. 1/2010 and RDQ no. 2/2010.

State visit from Switzerland

The state visit from Switzerland continued today with among others a visit to the Oslo University Hospital where King Harald, Queen Sonja, President Doris Leuthard and her husband Dr. Roland Hausin attended the opening of the seminar "Swiss Medical Technical meets Healthcare in Norway".

President Leuthard also gave the address "The World is shifting - where is the European continent heading?" at the Norwegian Nobel Institute with her husband as well as Queen Sonja in attendance. King Harald had to be at the Royal Palace to preside over the Council of State.

Later Their Majesties as well as the Crown Prince couple attended the Government's luncheon in honour of the Swiss guests at the Government Guest House. Tonight it is President Leuthard and Dr. Hausin who will be the hosts and they have invited to a consert followed by a reception at Grand Hotel.

Crown Prince Haakon is actually going to Switzerland on Saturday to attend the Young Global Leaders meeting in Geneva. Whether he will meet President Leuthard again at the meeting or not is difficult to say. At least I couldn't find any clues at the president's website. At 47, she might not be considered as a "young leader" anylonger?

Anyway, Dagbladet.no (Kjendis.no) has published photos from the gala dinner at the Royal Palace on Thursday night. The tabloid's focus was on two Norwegian celebrities - the singer Tone Damli Aaberge and her live-in partner, the actor Axel Hennie. Aaberge has not written about the dinner at her blog yet, busy as she is after recently releasing her new album.

See also VG Nett's and Nettavisen.no's coverage of the state visit, as well as my blog article from yesterday.

Swiss President in Norway

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Ms. Doris Leuthard and her husband Dr. Roland Hausin, arrived in Oslo, Norway for a state visit today, 14 October 2010. According to the official website of the royal house, this is the first time a Swiss President has paid Norway a state visit. The visit didn't start too well, however, as the military band played the wrong anthem during the welcoming ceremony at the Palace Square!

The first, but wrong, explanation given was that the military band had played the old Swiss anthem which was in use until 1961. Obviously the archives had not been updated for a while! However, the tune that was actually played, "O Mein Heimatland", was - according to VG Nett and Neue Zürischer Zeitung (NZZ Online) never Switzerland's national anthem, but was one of the contenders when Switzerland settled for a new national anthem ("Schweitzerpsalm") in 1961. The old anthem was named "Rufst Du Mein Vaterland", with the same tune as "God Save the Queen" and the Norwegian Royal Anthem ("Gud sign vår konge god").

Fortunately the military band made it right later on today when the Swizz national anthem was played in connection with the wreath-laying ceremony at Akershus Castle.

See also Views and News of Norway's article of today, State visit starts on the wrong note, as well as the official royal website's own coverage (with photos).

News in English

Last year I wrote about Views and News from Norway, which as the title suggests, provides Norwegian news in English.

I didn't know then that Views and News from Norway already had competition in another electronic news provider, The Foreigner. Actually, it seems that The Foreigner was established before Views and News from Norway!

The Foreigner writes about itself that it "is an online publication for English speakers living or who have an interest in Norway. Whether it's a glimpse of Norwegian news in English in English or entertainment you're after, there's no need to leave your linguistic armchair". You can also get updates from the news provider by following Facebook or Twitter. The editor-in-chief is Michael Sandelson, who was born in London and has earlier worked for the regional newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad's English section.

The Foreigner doesn't focus much on news about the royal family of Norway, though. Provided that I have done a correct search, the last article on royalty was published in early August and dealt with the king and queen's planned visit to Slovakia in late October 2010. Of course The Foreigner could still be useful if you are interested in other topics and the royal family of Norway, but if royalty is your main focus, then Views and News from Norway is the best place to visit, as it provides news about the royal family almost on a weekly basis.

HM The King's Guard to lose some status

Views and News from Norway published the article King's Guards to lose some status on Thursday 7 October. Unfortunately (at least for the time being) I don't get enough time in the evenings to update my blog, so I have found that a good solution is to write shorter blog articles - or just references to news articles - during my (unpaid) lunch breaks instead. I would have loved to add some personal comments about the Views and News of Norway article and the current status of the Norwegian Defence, but that will have to be put on hold until later.

Anyway, I would like to point out that the time stated in any blog article at Blogspot is not the time when the blog article is actually published (i.e. available to the public), but the time when the first draft of the (unpublished) article is stored. For instance, my article written last Thursday, Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri's 10th anniversary, was not published at 11.34, but much closer to noon that day. This also means that if I write a longer ("in-depth") blog article one evening, the actual time of publishing could be 1-2 hours later than the stated time. Not sure why Blogspot (Google) has chosen this solution, but thought it would be useful to mention it.

Updated on Tuesday 19 October 2010 at 17.30 (minor mistake corrected).

Fall 2010

Close to Skøyenåsen T-banestasjon (metro station) 2 October 2010.

On my way to Bryn shopping center, Oslo 2 October 2010.

Same place at Bryn, just another direction. 2 October 2010.

The lime tree avenue at Nordre Skøyen, Oslo 10 October 2010.

Park of Nordre Skøyen 10 October 2010.

10 October 2010.

Nordre Skøyen, Oslo, 10 October 2010.

Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri's 10th anniversary

Today, 7 October 2010, it is 10 year since Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (b. 1921) abdicated and was succeeded by his eldest son, Henri (b. 1955).

The Luxembourgian newspaper Wort.lu has made a special report about the anniversary, which includes many photos. At the Luxembourgian government's official website one can still find the publication Avenèment au Trône de S.A.R. le Grand Duc Henri about his accession to the throne as well as other information.

You can also find the act concerning Grand Duke Jean's abdication and other constitutional documents at my own Luxembourg page.

Grand Duke Henri created some controversy in 2008 when he refused to sanction a bill to allow euthanasia, a decision which lead to a constitutional amendment by which he lost the right to promulgate laws.

Royals get modest pay hikes

Views and News from Norway has also written about the Government's proposed apanage for 2011 in its article Royals get modest pay hikes today (6 October 2010).

See also my blog article of yesterday, Proposed apanage for 2011.

The Royal Palace in Oslo: No money for a new library

In connection with the state budget which was unveiled on Tuesday 5 October 2010, VG Nett wrote that the planned project to rebuild the royal stables to a new library, offices and storage room has been put on hold. The reconstruction is expected to cost about NOK 400 millions, but there was obviously no opening for this in the state budget for 2011.

The restoration works on the palace roof is of course more important. Originally there were plans to convert the stables into a royal museum, but as the need for more office space is larger, the royal museum - if it will ever become a reality - has to be located somewhere else.

Updated on Wednesday 6 October 2010 at 16.15.

Proposed apanage for 2011

Norway's annual state budget for the year 2011 was unveiled today. Included in the proposal is NOK 179.384.000 in grants to the Royal House, the Royal Court and the staff of the Crown Prince couple, which is 2.6 % more compared with the 2010 budget.

The proposed grants mentioned above include NOK 9,3 millions in apanage to Their Majesties The King and Queen, 146,1 millions to the Royal Court, 7,77 millions in apanage to the Crown Prince couple and just above 16 millions to their staff.

The apanage (civil list) for the king and queen is meant to cover personal expenses, including expenses connected to various official engagements and expenses to the management and maintenance (upkeep) of their private properties. The grants to the Royal Court is meant to cover the costs of official engagements, the management of the court (including salaries), infrastructure and minor maintenance projects. The grants also cover costs of running interior maintenance and development of the state-owned royal properties - the Royal Palace, Bygdø Royal Farm (the main building including annex and park) and Oscarshall.

The apanage for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess is meant to cover their personal expenses, including costs of management and maintenance of their private-owned properties. The grants to the staff is obviously meant to cover expenses to the staff at the Royal Palace and the Skaugum estate as well as expenses connected to the Crown Prince couple's official engagements.

In addition to this the Government has proposed to grant NOK 25 millions for restoration works on the roof of the Royal Palace. The restoration will start in the first half of 2011 and will when finished have cost appr. NOK 112,6 millions. It is expected that the work will be finished at the end of 2012.

In addition to the grants mentioned above the budget of the Foreign Office includes the expenses the royl house has to official trips abroad (proposed to NOK 8.590.000), while the Ministry of Defence covers the costs of the aides-de-camp (NOK 3.971.000) as well as the management and maintenance of the royal yacht (NOK 30,7 millions). The expenses of police security is not disclosed.

Sources and references

• Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church affairs. Press release 5 October 2010
• Prop. 1 S (2010-2011). Annual state budget (Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs), pp. 23-24