The Little Red Hen and Donald Duck

You may have grown up reading Donald Duck comic books. (Maybe you still do - many adults in Norway do....) But did you know he was first introduced in a cartoon? The cartoon was called "The Wise Little Hen" and was a retelling of "The Little Red Hen", one of the first stories in the Tracks 1 book. This cartoon is from the 1930s - the animation and even the music look very strange to us today.

Dara O'Briain on Anglo-Irish relations

Irish comedian Dara O'Briain is an Irishman living in London. Here he talks about the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain. He has a very very Irish accent!

Pancake Day!

Today, Tuesday March 7th, is the day before the season of Lent begins in the Christian liturgical calendar. This day has many names, such as Shrove Tuesday, but for many people in English-speaking countries it is PANCAKE DAY! People did not want to eat rich foods like eggs and butter during Lent, so they made pancakes the day before to use them all up.

Here's a recipe for American pancakes, the small, fluffy kind. They are meant to be eaten with butter and maple syrup on top, but you might also think they are good with your favorite jam or even a sweet spread like Nutella.

First, make sour milk. Put a tablespoon full of white vinegar in a measuring cup. Then add milk until you have 3 dl of liquid in all. Let it sit on the kitchen counter for five minutes.

Now mix all these things together in a bowl:

• 3 dl flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (natron)
• a dash of salt
• 3 dl sour milk
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 egg

Mix with a wisp until there are no more lumps.

Let the batter sit for about 15 minutes. Then use a large spoon or a small ladle to pour small amounts of the batter into a hot frying pan. When the top is bubbly and dry, flip the pancake over and fry until it is brown on both sides.

Super Bowl weekend is over!

The one weekend a year when American football gets spammed all over sports pages around the world is over. My favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, lost a close game to the Green Bay Packers, making the Packers the Super Bowl Champions for this year. NRK showed the game live, but it was in the middle of the night Norwegian time. Did you watch any of it? I know people who stayed up to watch the whole thing!

American football is different from what most of the world calls football (also known as association football, or soccer). It's more like rugby, another game that isn't too well-known in Scandinavia. I've been looking for an explanation of American football on the Internet, and believe it or not, the best one I have found has been from the BBC: A Guide to the Basics of American Football and a Guide to the Positions of American Football. The coach who presents both these guides speaks rather fast, so you may need to listen to it a few times before you understand him.

I will comfort myself by remembering that the Steelers have won six Super Bowls, and that is more than any other team!

The Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month at the Eleventh Hour

World War I (sometimes we say the First World War) ended on this date in 1918. The cease fire agreement said that the fighting would end "on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, at the eleventh hour", which is to say November 11th at 11 in the morning.

This day has many names in the English-speaking world. In most countries it is called Remembrance Day. Some places it is called Armistice Day - an "armistice" is an agreement to stop fighting - and  in the United States it is usually called Veterans Day. A veteran is someone who has fought in a war.

The holiday is meant as a way of remembering and honoring those who fought in all wars for their country, not just World War I. Did you know that at least three people who served in World War I are still alive? They are all 109 years old!

My father served in the US Navy during the Korean War. Do you have any veterans in your family?

Donald Duck - Trick Or Treat - 1952 (English)

Halloween

This morning I saw pumpkins at the supermarket! Five years ago, we Americans who live in and around Oslo special-ordered our pumpkins for Halloween from a farmer who grew them for us. Now he and other farmers grow many more of them and sell them like any other vegetable. Halloween has become common in Norway, at least in Oslo and Akershus.
Some people do not like this. They feel Halloween gives children permission to destroy property and scare people who don't want to be part of the game. Others believe it is something shopkeepers are pushing so they can make more money. But children seem to enjoy the holiday. Some adults say it is a welcome break in the long dark autumn.

What do you think? Do any children in your neighborhood trick-or-treat? Did you dress up when you were younger?