Return of the cod monsters

Not only was the last report of hideous mutant cyclop cod a follow-up to an earlier news story in the Norwegian press, the subject of deformed farmed fish runs deeper. Even though some of my work means keeping an eye on the aquaculture industry here, it isn’t easy to stay on top of stories like this – they don’t often make it to top headline status, and the cod farming sector is minuscule compared to the salmon.

Now it seems the problem is known in the Trondheimsfjord as well as in the far north.

Monster cod

There have been few times I have been so tempted to just defy copyright and go steal a photo for inclusion here, because this story, if not useless without pics, is certainly much better with. Because this cod is like something out a Simpsons Springfield nightmare. Please visit this link – and then we can continue.

OK? Take a deep breath, and lets learn more.

Cave holidays

Apologies for the recent silence, I have the usual excuse – off to London for so much input for the other blog that absolutely nothing gets done for a while. Somehow I need to find the time to get a year’s worth of London blogging queued. Strangely, I have met up with more Oslo friends in a few days in London than I tend to at home in a month.

On the real news front, there have been regular developments and flare-ups on the Muslims in Norway front.

The nation’s guilty pleasure

It may be Triple Cake Day, as the Norwegian media have been on about – that incredibly rare conjunction of Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Shrovetide Bun Day – but the big occasion in the news is the 30th anniversary of the Grandiosa.

Norwegians may love their cake, but the relationship they have with frozen pizza, and especially their own Grandiosa, is something every immigrant here needs to try and understand. Italians may not consider it food, and according to recent research

The usual suspects

The Friday demo protesting Dagbladet‘s printing of the most controversial Mohammed caricature proved to be remarkably predictable, taking Norway’s calm and rational setting and the only slightly hysteric state of its national press.

The protest, which attracted somewhere between 2500-3000 demonstrators, managed to be both completely peaceful yet illegal, measured yet threatening. And when it was all over, of course the Progress Party (FrP) said that the event proved that Norway was not in the throes of ‘stealth Islamization’, but openly roaring down the road to Islamization.

The demonstration was reported live as having turned ‘illegal’, when it began

Cartoon storm brewing

The Mohammed caricature\cartoons are causing trouble again, and this one is turning into a highly complex scenario, with all sorts of room for conspiracy theories and spiraling fury. At the moment a major demonstration is planned, and this will likely be a pivotal event, as it has the potential to be a show of widespread support for Muslims offended by this kind of chronic provocation, or it could turn into a real mess. The web sites of Dagbladet and leading tabloid VG were brought down by ‘hackers’ last night, though it is not clear yet

Caveman rights to Supreme Court

Yes, you read that right. A character known as the Caveman will have an appeal heard in Norway’s Supreme Court. And like any self-respecting caveman, the 56-year-old, who appears only to go by the name ‘Caveman’, at least in press records, is fighting for his right to be filthy. This is not a pretty story.

This is in fact the second time this battle goes

For the faithful

When doing the scary food entry last night, I was so shaken by the thought of daily seal oil supplements, that I forgot to include my cod liver oil update. Tran as it is known here, is the Norwegian elixir of life, as you may know if you’ve been following this blog.

The TV advertising for the omnipresent brand of cod liver oil, Møller’s Tran, consists of variations on a simple theme. Some kind of accident occurs

Scary food

Food accidents are always popular when looking for a news story that reels ‘em in while skirting on the boundaries of ‘good taste’. Because food accidents hit hard, in the gut. My general impression is that the quality of food products in Norway is quite high; eggs can be eaten raw without fear, and raw materials should be fresh and clean.

OK, there was a very big e-coli scare in the meat industry a few years ago, and the focus on food hygeiene did turn up some frights*. But things have been quiet on this front for a while, so confidence is restored. And so these stories about baked teeth and oblong eggs are just freak exceptions. Right?

Norway’s (Muslims) got talent

This story raised my eyebrows when I saw it, but got relatively little coverage. It certainly seems to be the first time anything like it is happening in Norway, but maybe the ‘M-Factor’ is standard fare in other countries? Either way, you’d think