If you're a fan of Swedish men's figure skating...

[siberia82]

...then I highly recommend that you try to get your hands on a copy of Filter February/March Issue #18. I've already mentioned this Swedish magazine on Schultheiss' thread, but now that I know more about the 22-page article, I felt that it deserved its own discussion topic.

"Isens ensamhet" (translation: "Ice Loneliess") focuses on the struggles and rivalry of Sweden's current top 3 male skaters: Kristoffer Berntsson, Adrian Schultheiss and Alexander Majorov. (Filip Stiller is mentioned as well.) Figure skating rarely gets any attention in Sweden, so this 22-page article is a treasure trove for fans who wish they knew more about their lives outside of the actual competitions. Along with beautiful photos, interviews, stories of their youth and the daily grind of training, the report also includes coverage of the 2010 Swedish Nationals.

This is what the front cover of Filter Issue #18 looks like: http://www.magasinetfilter.se/artiklar/filter-18.aspx If you have an iPad or an iPhone, you can purchase the magazine here: http://qiozk.com/paper/filter/-18-2011 For those of you who don't live in Sweden and prefer a physical copy, a Japanese fan informed me that this is one way you can order it: I emailed the editor of Filter, Mattias Göransson, asking if there was any way we can buy the magazine from outside Sweden. He replied quickly and seems friendly. According to him, ordering a copy of the magazine would be about 150 SEK (50 SEK for the magazine plus postage, which will be around 100 SEK).

Here is a teaser description of the article: Sveriges bästa manliga konståkare kämpar mot hockeykillar, nedstämdhet, ömma kroppar – och varandra. (Translation: Sweden's top male figure skaters are fighting hockey guys, depression, sore bodies – and each other.) These are some small preview images from "Isens ensamhet":

http://i54.tinypic.com/106cz2w.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/2qbeqmx.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/10yqbs1.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/15z5un4.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/jpww8z.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2ilhc2e.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/16jfp53.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/1io0v8.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2zs7148.jpg


I certainly don't expect any Swedish speakers to volunteer a translation for this long article. I've ordered a Swedish-English dictionary this past weekend, so once that arrives, I'll attempt to translate "Isens ensamhet" on my own so that I can understand the main points. (I already have a Swedish grammar book in my possession that I got as a birthday present.) I'm sure the process will take forever, and no doubt I will encounter words or expressions that I'm unable to translate, but I'm still crazy enough to try! Hopefully I'll develop a very basic Swedish reading vocabulary when this experiment is over...

[ioana]

"Isens ensamhet" (translation: "Ice Loneliess") focuses on the struggles and rivalry of Sweden's current top 3 male skaters: Kristoffer Berntsson, Adrian Schultheiss and Alexander Majorov. (Filip Stiller is mentioned as well.)

I know Filip worked (still works?) as a commentator for Swedish Eurosport and has done other work promoting skating in Sweden, so I wouldn't be too surprised to hear he had a hand in researching the article or getting it published. It is good to see skating getting more mainstream coverage, at any rate.

[siberia82]

Wheeeeeee, my Swedish-English dictionary arrived today! It's going to be a LOT of work trying to "read" a language that I don't understand, but I'm nevertheless eager to start this project! Out of curiosity, are there any non-Swedish speakers who would like to see whatever I manage to translate? I know there aren't many fans of Swedish figure skating on this forum, and I would guess a lot of you can read the text, so I'll only share my work if I know at least one person is interested.


Moreover, is there a Swedish speaker who doesn't mind giving me help for words or expressions that are not listed in my dictionary and grammar book?

I wouldn't be too surprised to hear he had a hand in researching the article or getting it published.

While I assume that Filip was interviewed for the magazine (I see quotes that are attributed to him), I don't think he contributed in any other way because his name does not appear in the credits. The author of "Isens ensamhet" is Filter journalist Erik Almqvist, and the photos were provided by Nicke Johansson.

It is good to see skating getting more mainstream coverage, at any rate.

I couldn't agree more, especially when it comes to OES like the Swedes. Heck, I wish I could find a 22-page magazine article of my favourite lower-ranked Canadian skaters (e.g. Shawn Sawyer) at my local bookstore, but I don't think that's ever going to happen.

[SmallFairy]

Siberia, just ask if you get stuck in the text! I don't have time to translate a long article now, but just let me know if you need help, weather it's grammar or words or anything else

[siberia82]

I totally forgot to share this preview image of Adrian and his aquarium! http://i51.tinypic.com/33544d2.jpg

Siberia, just ask if you get stuck in the text! I don't have time to translate a long article now, but just let me know if you need help, weather it's grammar or words or anything else

Thank you so much for your offer, SmallFairy! After I study the basics of Swedish grammar, I'll most likely contact you by PM for any assistance that I may need since there doesn't seem to be any interest for an English translation. While I suspected that I was probably the sole Canadian on FSU who lurved the Swedish guys, I didn't expect that I'd be the only non-Swedish speaker...

[whiteskates]

siberia82, thanks for the info. I'd love to read this article and wouldn't have known about it if it hadn't been for you!

I'm a new member here and I happen to be Swedish with quite a bit of time on my hands so I'll be happy to assist you with translation of at least parts of the article if I can get hold of a copy. I don't have luxuries like iPads and iPhones but will look for "Filter" when I go shopping today or tomorrow.

[Rock2]

Just translate the juicy parts and feel free to post.

And Stiller...holy hotness

Feel free to search the doc for "gay love triangle" and advise in due course

[_Lola_]

siberia82, thanks for this alert. i am in finland and will try to find this magazine in store.

ice loneliness - this title breaks my heart as well as recent interviews of adrian and kristoffer.

[natalia65]

http://i54.tinypic.com/106cz2w.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/2qbeqmx.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/10yqbs1.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/15z5un4.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/jpww8z.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2ilhc2e.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/16jfp53.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/1io0v8.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2zs7148.jpg


I certainly don't expect any Swedish speakers to volunteer a translation for this long article. I've ordered a Swedish-English dictionary this past weekend, so once that arrives, I'll attempt to translate "Isens ensamhet" on my own so that I can understand the main points.

Why not get some practice for my English? I can manage the main points. The problem stays, your scans are not readable.

[aemeraldrainc]

Thank you so much for digging this up, Siberia!
(info, links,etc.)
It's much appreciated!

[aemeraldrainc]

And YES!
I would definitely be interested in an English translation!
(Just registered on here after hearing about it on gs so these are my first posts. yeay me! hehe.)

[siberia82]

To everyone who thanked me for sharing info about the magazine: you're very welcome! If enough fans buy Issue #18, maybe it will encourage the folks at Filter to publish more 22-page articles on Swedish men's figure skating.

I'll be happy to assist you with translation of at least parts of the article if I can get hold of a copy.

Great! Now that I know that there a few people who are willing to assist me when I encounter some bumps along the road, I'll be that much more motivated to complete this project.

ice loneliness - this title breaks my heart as well as recent interviews of adrian and kristoffer.

Although I'm eager to learn more about the Swedish guys, I'm aware that the article will be a heartbreaking read.

The problem stays, your scans are not readable.

The preview images weren't scanned by me; I found the pics on a website and "glued" the halves together so that it would be easier for me to share them.

And YES!
I would definitely be interested in an English translation!

Okay, one vote. That's good enough for me!

[siberia82]

To ease myself into the Swedish language, I decided to begin with a couple of photo captions. My translation can only be approximate at best, so please forgive me for any glaring errors I may have committed.



Table of Contents photo; page 16 (http://i54.tinypic.com/106cz2w.jpg):
GLITTER. In spite of that Adrian Schultheiss is Sweden's most successful figure skater internationally, Kristoffer Berntsson is popular on home ground. In our face-off* for the last time.

* My dictionary defines "gör upp" as "make up", but I don't think that makes sense in this context. I suspect that this term is supposed to refer to an adversarial meeting.



Photo; pages 38-39 http://i53.tinypic.com/2qbeqmx.jpg):
ICE LONELINESS. For five years, Kristoffer Berntsson was Swedish figure skating’s perfect son-in-law*. Then martial artist Adrian Schultheiss emerged with more advanced jumps and a pierced lower lip. Everything was established for a final showdown when a Russian prodigy blended into the game.

* "Svärmorsdröm" means "mother-in-law's dream", but considering that "stora" (grand or great) was in front of it, I felt that "perfect son-in-law" sounded less clumsy in English.

[Veronica]

Thank you for recommending the article! It's really sad though.

As for the translation, it looks pretty good except that you have translated "vår" as "our" instead of "spring".

The sentence should be something more like this: "Even though Adrian Schultheiss is Sweden's most successful skater internationally, Kristoffer Berntsson is more popular at home. This spring they'll settle things for the last time."

[whiteskates]

siberia, I bought the magazine yesterday so if you need help, please let me know and I'll be happy to either assist you with your ambitious project. I can translate parts of it on my own. I have time. Just PM me! It seems there are a few people here who are willing to help out so you're the project manager, lol... No need for two or three people to translate the same text.

[siberia82]

As for the translation, it looks pretty good except that you have translated "vår" as "our" instead of "spring".

The sentence should be something more like this: "Even though Adrian Schultheiss is Sweden's most successful skater internationally, Kristoffer Berntsson is more popular at home. This spring they'll settle things for the last time."

The pronoun "vår" was the first entry in my dictionary, so that explains my mix-up. Thanks for the corrections. I didn't know that Koffe was still more popular in Sweden than Adrian (although I was aware that Kris received more media attention during the 2008 Worlds).

It seems there are a few people here who are willing to help out so you're the project manager, lol... No need for two or three people to translate the same text.

Okay, project manager sounds good to me. Splitting up the text is an excellent idea! It would be great if you could work on the first part which focuses on Adrian. SmallFairy has already translated the section in between "- Jag är väldigt förvirrad just nu" and "Själv misstänker han gälparasiter" in the thread about Adrian's depression, so you would only have to focus on the earlier paragaphs.

[siberia82]

Skaters' profiles; page 41 (http://i52.tinypic.com/10yqbs1.jpg):

KRISTOFFER BERNTSSON
Born: July 13, 1982 in Gothenburg
Personal best: 206.29 points (2007 World Championships in Tokyo)
Merits (selection): Five-time Nordic champion, gold at seven Swedish Championships (along with an additional two which were not counted when there were too few competitors), ninth at the 2007 Worlds, plus a seventh and an eighth place finish at the European Championships.
Trivia: Is according to SVT's figure skating commentator Roger Blomqvist, "...our greatest figure skater of all time. What they were doing in the 20's was a different sport."


Two of Koffe's national titles don't "count"??! I'm assuming that "too few competitors" would be 2 or less, but that would mean Filip Stiller's 3 wins (1998, 2001, 2002) and Adrian's 2005 gold medal are also "invalid". Moreover, Kris was the victor at three Swedish Nationals where he had only one other challenger (1999, 2000, 2007), so shouldn't he be a 6-time national champion (and not 7 as the author claims?)

[siberia82]

ADRIAN SCHULTHEISS
Born: August 11, 1988 in Kungsbacka
Personal best: 218.26 points (2010 World Championships in Turin)
Merits (selection): One-time Nordic champion, one Swedish Championships gold, fifteenth place at the 2010 Olympics, ninth at the 2010 Worlds, sixth at the 2008 European Championships.
Trivia: Likes reptiles and has a boa constrictor and two barbed agamas at the parental home in Tibro. The Russian consul in Gothenburg, David Mnatsakanyan, specially composed the music for Adrian's program last season.



ALEXANDER MAJOROV
Born: July 19, 1991 in Saint Petersburg
Personal best: 180.73 points (2010 JGP Czech Skate in Ostrava)
Merits (selection): One-time Junior Swedish champion, one silver and two bronzes at the Swedish Nationals.
Trivia: Alexander's mother Irina sews his figure skating costumes. Until two years ago, Alexander had a different gait. "I tried to be cool and did hip-hop style, it was a bit of a way to compensate for people thinking that it is a silly sport."


This article was published in mid-January, so obviously the author didn't mention Sasha's recent victory at the Nordic Championships.

[whiteskates]

Okay, project manager sounds good to me. Splitting up the text is an excellent idea! It would be great if you could work on the first part which focuses on Adrian. SmallFairy has already translated the section in between "- Jag är väldigt förvirrad just nu" and "Själv misstänker han gälparasiter" in the thread about Adrian's depression, so you would only have to focus on the earlier paragaphs.[/QUOTE]

OK, siberia. I´ll translate the first part for you. If I use a word document for the translation, can you PM me your mail address so I can send it to you? Then when you have as much material as you want, you can post chosen bits and pieces or the entire article here on the board if you want to.

[whiteskates]

Siberia, I have translated the first part and sent you a couple of PMs so please check your inbox.