Scandinavia

Scandinavia/ˌskændᵻˈneɪviə/ is a historical and cultural-linguistic region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethno-cultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages.

In English, Scandinavia usually refers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, while Finland and Iceland are sometimes included. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whereas modern Denmark consists of Jutland and the Danish islands.

The term Scandinavia is usually used as a cultural term, but in English usage, it is occasionally confused with the geographical term Scandinavian Peninsula, which took its name from the cultural-linguistic concept. The name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. The terms Scandinavia and Scandinavian entered usage in the late 18th century as terms for the three Scandinavian countries, their Germanic majority peoples and associated language and culture, being introduced by the early linguistic and cultural Scandinavist movement. In foreign usage, the term Scandinavia is sometimes incorrectly taken to also include Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Finland, on account of their historical association with the Scandinavian countries and the Scandinavian peoples and languages. However, this broader group of countries is officially and commonly known as the Nordic countries.

Scandinavia (composition)

"Scandinavia" is an instrumental composition by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and is the closing track on his 1982 album Beautiful Vision.

The track was the first instrumental Morrison released and would be followed by many others throughout his 1980s career. It has been performed in concert only a few times. Morrison played the composition on 3 April 1982 at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany and was broadcast on Rockpalast in Germany and the BBC in the UK.

It was recorded at the first recording session for the Beautiful Vision album and was the only track from this session that would be used on the album. The musicians featured differed from the other tracks on the finished album and had appeared with Morrison at the Great American Music Hall in March 1981. Morrison played piano on this instrumental.

The composition was nominated in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category for the 25th Annual Grammy Awards.

It was used throughout the 1993 BBC documentary 40 Minutes.

Expo (album)

Expo is the second album from the Robert Schneider solo project Marbles and is the follow-up to the 1997 release Pyramid Landing (And Other Favorites). Whereas Pyramid Landing was a showcase of experimental pop songs, Expo focuses more sharply on electronic pop music, similar to that of Gary Numan, one of Schneider's influences on the Expo. Other influences include Electric Light Orchestra, Brian Eno, Phoenix and The Cars. The liner notes for the album state a dedication to "Marci and Max". The album was released in 2005.

Track listing

All tracks written by Robert Schneider.

Bonus material

On the CD release, there are six bonus mp3s that can be accessed by a computer. They include:

Expo (Stockhausen)

Expo, for three performers with shortwave receivers and a sound projectionist, is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1969–70. It is Number 31 in the catalogue of the composer's works.

Conception

Expo is the penultimate in a series of works dating from the late 1960s which Stockhausen designated as "process" compositions. These works in effect separate the "form" from the "content" by presenting the performers with a series of transformation signs which are to be applied to material that may vary considerably from one performance to the next. In Expo and three companion works (Kurzwellen for six performers, Spiral for a soloist, and Pole for two), this material is to be drawn spontaneously during the performance from short-wave radio broadcasts (Kohl 1981, 192–93). The processes, indicated primarily by plus, minus, and equal signs, constitute the composition and, despite the unpredictability of the materials, these processes can be heard from one performance to another as being "the same" (Kohl 2010, 137).

Sanford L.P.

Sanford L.P., is a Newell Rubbermaid company based in Oak Brook, Illinois, USA. Sanford is the largest writing products manufacturer in the world. It is primarily known for manufacturing Sharpie, Paper Mate, and Prismacolor products.

History

It was founded in 1857 by Frederick W. Redington and William H. Sanford, Jr. in Massachusetts as the Sanford Manufacturing Company. The company moved to Chicago in 1866 - five years before the Great Chicago Fire destroyed Sanford's Chicago location. New facilities were soon built after the devastation of the fire and operations resumed. In 1947, just following World War II, the Sanford Ink Company was forced to move locations to make room for a new expressway. The company settled in Bellwood, Illinois, where it still maintains a facility. In August 1985 Sanford became a public company. On February 14, 1992, Sanford was acquired by the Newell Company, (now called Newell Rubbermaid, a Fortune 500 company).

Acquisitions

Business grew through many acquisitions. Newell already owned Keene Office Products and Rogers Office Products, acquired in 1991.