August 29, 2000

10:29 AM

Gustavus Adolphus must be smiling.The Stockholm Stock Exchange has launched a hostile takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange. My Swedish in-laws must be so proud. Or, um, not...
posted by aurelian (11 comments total)

Modern day raping and pillaging. It runs in our Viking blood - we can't help it.

Sorta like being Klingon, only different . . .
posted by aladfar at 12:07 PM on August 29, 2000

What's really satisfying about this is that about a year ago, a group of young, precocious, and generally unlikeable London stockbrokers known as The Flaming Ferraris were sacked for an assortment of dubious practices. In particular, James Archer (the son of Jeffrey, and from personal experience, not an endearing character) traded without a licence on the Swedish market, using UK leverage to engineer instability.

So: if the Swedes take over the LSE after that scandal, I'll know that this is a just and kind universe.
posted by holgate at 12:31 PM on August 29, 2000

It's probably the Python reference from earlier, but for some reason this made me think of a sketch. Doing some searching, I can neither find the name of the sketch or the movie I saw it in, but it's the one with the businessmen pirates, cruising around in their office building, attacking other businesses.

Oh Lord I'm off-topic.
posted by cCranium at 1:13 PM on August 29, 2000

Meaning of Life?
posted by thirteen at 1:18 PM on August 29, 2000

The Crimson Permanent Assurance!!!
posted by Nyarlathotep at 1:43 PM on August 29, 2000

THAT's the one!
posted by cCranium at 1:47 PM on August 29, 2000

Though, if you're bringing up Python and Vikings, I keep thinking about "Njorl's Saga."

Malden, thy name is evil...

And, forgive me for showing my ignorance, but who is Gustavus Adolphus? We didn't get much Scandanavian history where I grew up...
posted by RakDaddy at 2:02 PM on August 29, 2000

Gustavus Adolphus? A small college in Minnesota. Oh, the man?

One of the best military minds Europe produced before Napoleon. At least, that's one view ... :) At the height of Sweden's power in N Europe, he fought off Denmark, Russia, Poland, and then the full might of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, forcing each to fight him more or less on his own terms. When he was killed in battle, the Swedes were summarily defeated inside of two years. (That wasn't much time, given the logistical limitations of warfare in those days.)

Since he really didn't fight England (English soldiers fought on both sides), I don't know that he's the best reference here. Perhaps a better one would be Erik XIV, the King of Sweden who, in seeking a consort, was rejected by Elizabeth I.
posted by dhartung at 3:16 PM on August 29, 2000

I've seen that sketch on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" many times.
posted by Starchile at 3:34 PM on August 29, 2000

Scenes from a Stock Exchange, Act 2:
Sven: "And it is getting darker, Colin...The darkness is falling, just as all mankind must one day fall, for the shadow of the Grim Stockbroker must descend."
posted by whirly at 6:46 PM on August 29, 2000

dhartung: My point in referring to Gustavus was that since his time, Swedes have been extraordinarily timid on the world stage. Especially if one considers their history until him. :)

Erik XIV is something of a favorite of mine. I've thought about writing an alternate history where Gustav Vasa lived a bit longer, Erik wasn't called back for the funeral, and he was successful with Elizabeth... told from the point of view of their son, Henry IX Vasa, and the impact of a joint Anglo-Swedish kingdom.

Opening scene:

"Mother is talking again. Mother is always talking. This time it's about how inside her weak and feeble body is the heart of a king of England... Trying to buck up the courage of the troops before the Armada, no doubt...

Wait, some sails, on the horizon? A cheer from the crowd.

Oh, good. Father's here."

It only gets crazier from there... Notably when we go forward a generation or two, and Gustav Adolph is a royal cousin only, and free to be exclusively a general, rather than having to be distracted with kingly duties by Oxenstierna, his prime minister...

Hm. Seems I've run off at the mouth, again. No-Doz, anyone? :)

posted by aurelian at 12:12 AM on August 30, 2000