Strange boat visiting Bergen this week, named simply “A” it is pure russian ogliarch gone mad.

On the last day of class I happened to scan the university bookstore for possible gifts, and my eyes were drawn to a rack of funny looking stuffed animals. “Great” I thought, “Liv will love one of these”. Then I read the tag… Giant Microbes. Educational and fun it says, and while I think they are amusing it’s a little weird giving your kid MadCow, Staph or Ebola to play with

I dunno what they put in that string but I know I want some!

Ikea ads can be quite smart and playful. Last time we went there the store was full of posters saying Kom deg hjem (loosely translated Go Home; are we supposed to turn around and go home once we get to Ikea?)

The newest campaign for beds encourages Norwegians to proliferate with a variety of cheeky slogans, including

Never more a small country in the world – poignantly expressing the Norwegian desire to be an “important” country in the world

Take responsibility for your pension, create more taxpayers – tapping into the real problem of a bloated welfare state unsupportable by the next generation

Tired of never getting a plumber when you need one? – jokingly noting the serious labor shortage in the hyper-expanding Norwegian economy.

and finally the catch-all

Population growth starts in the bedroom! – Yes, but despite the generous leaves and child benefits offered to parents the native growth rate in Norway like most of western Europe is stagnant if not negative. Just like the beds Ikea sells, population growth is more likely to come from low-cost countries abroad.

I stayed here last week and give the hotel a rating of 2 scythes (of 5 possible), mainly because of the hellish racket from the bar that lasted way past midnight on a regular Tuesday. They only charged us half price the next day so you know it was real bad!!

First in an occasional series of unfortunate named businesses