Posted on 02/21/2005 2:29:21 PM PST by franksolich
One supposes "Helly Hansen" is the Norwegian equivalent of the world-famous "Cabela's" of Nebraska.
What is disappointing, though, is that the seamstressery jobs in Norway have been out-sourced to Asia, and so these can hardly be called authentic Norwegian souvenirs; sort of like those "Souvenir of Mount Rushmore" figures one used to see as a small child, with a "Made in Japan" label on the bottom.
And, by the way, there are a whole lot more things, on the link, including tasteful photographs of Norwegian women, at http://www.aftenposten.no/english/
"Ping" for the Norway ping list; the list is getting so long it takes time to type in all the names.
Not that I mind, mind you; anything to further publicize, promote, and public-relations Norway, the Nebraska of Europe.
The Norway ping list is now nearly four weeks old; the "statistics" are on my profile (click on my name at the end of this message), near the bottom of the page.....but one has to scroll down two or three miles, to get there.
But just ignore the book-length other stuff, and scroll down to the bottom, and there are the Norway numbers.
I had no idea they made anything but those orange waterproof overalls for fishing.
Going the way of Abercrombie and Fitch, I guess.
You know, sir, I wonder about this strange proclivity, of Norwegians, this Norwegian proclivity to give things strange-sounding names (at least "strange" to we non-Norwegians).
For example, the best-selling pizza in Norway--and Norwegians eat more pizza, per capita, than anyone else in the world--is "Dolly Dimples."
Huh?
As an image-conscious SoDak redneck, I find only Carharrt, Tony Lama, and Wrangler good enough for my discerning tastes.
The best brand in the whole world is Channellock, when it comes to pliers, and S/K when it comes to wrenches, and Stanley when it comes to screwdrivers.
Like those names on your list, perfectly commonsensical names.
I have always been mystified, however, when non-Americans try to imitate Americans, and then slap on the most-unAmerican tag possible.
My first winter in England, when I was a teenager, for example, naturally I got hungry for.....McDonald's. There were no McDonald's in England at the time--the only American fast-food chain there being Kentucky Fried Chicken, oddly enough--but friends steered me towards the English equivalent of McDonald's--Wimpee's or Wimpie's or something like that.
It was all set up like a McDonald's--excepting that one sat down at a table, and a waiter came to take the order (rather than one ordering and paying at the counter).
That was weird enough, sir, but "Wimpee's" (or "Wimpie's")?
You got to be kidding.
I prefer Craftsmen tools, myself. Viva le choice.
Helly Hansen and Grunden's (Sweden) are more oriented towards stuff to wear if you're out commercial fishing in the Atlantic or something, not land-based workwear.
Grunden's is probably more popular in the US, I see more people wearing them.
Of course, I'll probably be seeing "Julia Robert's dress is by Grunden's" during an Oscar broadcast sometime if Helly Hansen is any indication of trends.
Yeah, Sears Craftsman tools, just like S/K tools, come with a life-time guarantee, no questions asked; it is just that I favor the higher-priced ones, out of nostalgia. I worked my way through college, working for a wholesale hardware distributor, and acquired at cost quite a collection of the top-of-the-line hand-tools.
Those S/K wrenches were solid; one time a customer returned one, and after research, it proved to have been made in.....1937. But as it was cracked, of course the customer got a brand-new one. It had been cracked because he had laid it on a railway track, and a train knocked it off the rail, but not before doing some damage to it.
Here's what I do with the (currently 48) names on the Swedish Ping List: I type all the names in alphabetical order (with semi-colons as in a multiple-recipient post) and send it out as FReepmail to the list members. That way I've got an easy location in my FR Mail where I can copy the list for pasting-in whenever I post another ping. Then, periodically, when new name(s) are added to the list, I put those in the appropriate place alphabetically and send out a new mail to the list members.
This way I don't have to re-invent the wheel every time. But you would expect such ingenuity from the Swedish Ping List. :-)
Of course Wimpy's...you've never heard "I'll gladly pay you Thursday for a hamburger today." He's a famous cartoon character.
Right, sir, the Swedes are ingenious--the finest vaccuum-cleaners in the world, Electrolux.
Since the Norwegian ping list is still relatively short, though, about 30 names--there are after all not many Norwegians around, just as there are considerably fewer Nebraskans than Minnesotans--and I just type them off the top of my head, out of memory.
But sooner or later, I hope the Norway ping list is so long I HAVE to write down the names on a piece of paper, or store them on the computer somewhere, and do a copy-and-paste sort of job.
Of course, that guy from the old "Popeye" cartoons--but I was not aware the English hamburger chain was based upon him.
Just a guess.
I recall the color scheme for Wimpy's or Wimpie's or Wimpee's or whatever it was, as being sort of a lot of orange, and a little bit of yellow--but no distinctive trademark, such as a figure or symbol.
The waiters were attired as if employed by an expensive French restaurant, but the prices were pretty much in line with then-McDonald's prices.
One wonders if they still exist, these hamburger joints.
We could ask some of our British friends.
"Cabela's" out in western Nebraska used to just sell cowboy boots, but somewhere along the line got into the sporting-goods business, and expanded all over the world.
Not being an aficiando of "sportswear," I am not aware if they use the "Cabela's" name, or other names, on their goods.
Apparently "Cabela's" is now the in thing, the hip thing, the cool thing, the trendy thing, among the Birkenstock-Ben&Jerry's ice cream crowd.
Always found Grunden's to be far superior to HH
I found that the easiest way to keep track of a ping list is to put the list of names separated by semicolons into Notepad, and then copy and paste the list into the TO: field. It's very low maintenance and easy to add members to.
Just my two cents
Indeed they do. Wimpy is still going strong in places where McDonalds does not exist. They still serve their inedible food with platesd, knives and forks. The last time anyone in my family ate there was in the 1960's when my mother could not find anywhere to eat. I was forbidden from ever entering. Wimpy Burger Bars are quite mythical in some parts of the country. I saw my first one when I came to London. It was full of old people smoking.
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