Hello, since I'm Norwegian I would like to comment on that poem
"Lutefisk Lament".  "Lutefisk" is actually the Norwegian word for
fisk treated in an alkali solvent (my dictionary says: "Dried codfish
prepared in a potash lye"

Luckily, few Norwegians actually eat this, and even more fortunately,
even fewer Norwegians eat the "smalahovud", which is a sheep's head
baked and opened. (You eat the brain, eyes, etc.)

"Uffda!"  It really means "Ugh".  You can say it to the person who
tells a eerie thing to express your empathy, but it is a very light
expression -- it's like saying "Oh, darn!" instead of a four-letter
word.  You can also just say "uff", then it's like saying "Ugh!"

No, the Viking times in Norway are definitely over, although we
unfortunately still hunt for whales (and probably most of the population
aren't against it), you'll seldom find a Norwegian bragging over his
last meal of whale meat.

The one pro-whalehunting and "fish the oceans empty" politician in our
parliament, who was voted in by the fishermen in northern Norway, is
considered a really, really strange person here too...

It is a little early to say, but have a nice Yule(*) and a happy new
year to you all!

(*) In Norwegian: "Jul" :-)

Thomas Henden
Oslo, Norway

 [ Several folks wrote to me with comments:
 [
 [ "Having suffered through many a holiday dinner with that
 [ vile concoction, that poem really tickled my funny bone."
 [
 [ "It helps to have Italian or Bulgarian neighbors who raise garlic
 [ and goats, so that there are competing odors nearby that might, 
 [ somehow, cancel out or perhaps overwhelm and conquer the lutefisk."
 [
 [ "Heavens to Garrison Keillor!"
 [
 [ -- Robbie