MetaFilter posts tagged with sweden

"IKEA in Swedish"

infini — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 07:19:16 -0800

Teaches You How to Pronounce Their Products via

A typical Swede has a very ambivalent relationship with the church.

three blind mice — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:42:30 -0800

Swedishness. What it says on the tin. (SLYT.)

Think Super Bowl halftime show on LSD, with added sequins. Eurovision!

Wordshore — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:18:48 -0800

It's that time of the year again, when the (television network) continent of Europe comes together to sing, wear interesting clothing, and gyrate before an enthusiastic/baffled world. The 2013 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden (the 2012 winner). The city expects 100,000 fans to also attend. Several countries declined to enter this year, most for financial reasons. The two semi-finals, on Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16th May, will each deliver ten countries into the final. These will be joined by the hosts Sweden and the big five contributers to the contest to make a 26 country final on Saturday 18th May. Traditionally, the previous winners open the final (memorably, Lordi opening in Finland 2007). The evening alternates between performances and video clips extolling the virtues of the host country. Voting, sometimes controversial, takes place country by country. The winner performs, while their country contemplates the cost of hosting the event next year. A week out (and before the qualifying semi-finals), the bookmakers quote Denmark as a clear favorite, with significant money also riding on Ukraine, Norway, Russia and Azerbaijan. Dark horses include the Greece "Alcohol is free" entry (previously), Iceland, singing in their national language for the first time in 15 years, and Switzerland, whose band includes a 21 and a 95 year old. The UK entry, a successful rock ballad singer, is playing down her chances. As last year, the UK TV commentary is expected to sit somewhere between irreverent and sarcastic.

Oh don't lean on me man, cause you can't afford the ticket

acb — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:19:17 -0800

Chako Paul City is a women-only city in the north of Sweden, established in 1820 by a wealthy widow. It is "a place that is respectful of women's love, but with a rule that men cannot enter"; the few who have tried have found themselves beaten half to death by the formidable Amazonian sentries at its gates. It has a castle, and its main industry is forestry, with a sideline in lesbian tourism. Of the 25,000 women, from all over Europe, living in Chako Paul City, those wishing to seek male company are allowed to leave, but may only reenter after having bathed and undertaken several other measures to avoid negatively affecting the mental state of the other residents. Chako Paul City (also known as Shakebao City) doesn't actually exist; it originated in a fictitious story in a Chinese provincial newspaper. The story spread in 2009, and soon Swedish tourism agencies were beset by inquiries from China. Since then, the story of the fabled Swedish lesbian utopia in the forests has reportedly spread to Japan and South Korea.

the land of milk, meatballs and solidarity

xcasex — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:30:36 -0800

This is why we can't have nice things. Swedish SAP ousts substitute member of the governing board, over issues stemming from his role as chairman of the Swedish Islamic Association. Media outlets are found to have been fast and loose in their reports concerning the member. the municipal district came out of the woodwork describing that part of the problem related to "values". His founding of the non-profit organisation "Heart" non-withstanding. and today, at a press-conference hosted by the former member we find out that his much criticized role as chairman of the Swedish Islamic Association ends in two weeks. Meanwhile, Ilmar Reepalu is still a high-value asset of the party.

Du kan gå nu

MartinWisse — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:27:33 -0800

"I am writing to you with a simple request, Beatrice Ask. I want us to trade our skins and our experiences. Come on. Let's just do it. You've never been averse to slightly wacky ideas (I still remember your controversial suggestion that anyone who buys sex ought to be sent a notice in a lavender envelope.) For twenty-four hours we'll borrow each other's bodies. First I'll be in your body to understand what it's like to be a woman in the patriarchal world of politics. Then you can borrow my skin to understand that when you go out into the street, down into the subway, into the shopping center, and see the policeman standing there, with the Law on his side, with the right to approach you and ask you to prove your innocence, it brings back memories. Other abuses, other uniforms, other looks. And no, we don't need to go as far back as World War II Germany or South Africa in the eighties. Our recent Swedish history is enough, a series of random experiences that our mutual body suddenly recalls." -- Jonas Hassen Khemiri: An Open Letter to Beatrice Ask (Swedish original). Jonas Hassen Khemiri is a Swedish playwright and novelist, Beatrice Ask is the Swedish minister for justice. As such she's ultimately responsible for Project REVA, " a program meant to expedite cases dealing with people who are in Sweden illegally"; REVA being an acronym of "Legal Certainty and Effective Enforcement (Rättssäkerhet och Effektivt Verkställighetsarbete)". With Swedish police recently starting checking IDs of anybody they suspect may not have the right papers to stay in Sweden under this programme, there has been somewhat of a controversy about whether or not they're going on the physical appearance of people more than is warranted. When Beatrice Ask, in her role as minister of justice was questioned about this, she argued that people confuse "personal experiences" with racial profiling. Hence Khemiri's open letter, talking about his own experiences growing up in Sweden not quite looking like your average blonde viking.

Stockholm syndrome

EXISTENZ IS PAUSED — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:32:04 -0800

This is what happens when you scream in Sweden at night.

Nothing is ungoogleable in Sweden

Etrigan — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:47:31 -0800

The Language Council of Sweden has been the semi-official arbiter of the Swedish language since World War II. It monitors "the development of spoken and written Swedish" and publishes a list of new words each year to ensure consistency of spelling and make sure that Swedish is a "complete language, i.e. [is] possible to use in all areas of society." This year, for the first time, the Council has taken a word off the list: ogooglebar, which literally meant "ungoogleable" but was defined as "a thing or person that does not produce relevant results when typed into a search engine." Google objected to the word's official definition, saying that it would rather the word mean anything that couldn't be found on Google specifically (possibly trying not to open itself up to the threat of genericization). The Council decided not to bother with the word instead, striking ogooglebar from the list.

Russia Attacks Sweden

three blind mice — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 01:07:50 -0800

"Mamma Mia! They will tear us apart! 7-3! Just like in hockey last year." Sverker Göransson, commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces, recently said that Sweden’s scaled backed military leaves the country vulnerable. Sweden, he claimed, could only defend itself for one week if it came under attack. The Russians have taken notice and issued a satirical response. Göranson was first considered to have committed a crime against national security, but then decided it was not criminal. Defence Minister Karin Enström also drew criticism soon after Göransson's comments when she claimed that the level of preparedness was appropriate given the implausibility of an attack. A report later confirmed the 'one-week defense' analysis.

Disorganized Criminals

holmesian — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 08:14:00 -0800

A documentary on the trial surrounding the creators of The Pirate Bay.

Northern Lights

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:42:31 -0800

The Nordic countries are reinventing their model of capitalism

Tree Houses and Hotels

the man of twists and turns — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:02:48 -0800

Takasugi-an by Terunobu Fujimori

4treehouse by Lukasz Kos

Lake-Nest Tree House and Lantern House by Roderick Romero
The UFO and 'Blue Cone' at Treehotel Tree houses of the Korowai and Kombai of Papua. The Treehouses of Andreas Wenning Hapuku Lodge Mirrorcube Tree Hotel by Tham & Videgård, Arkitekter Free Spirit Spheres Treehouses by Casa na Árvore in Brasil Inkaterra Canopy Tree House in Peru Treehouse by Nicko Björn Elliott Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by Pacific Environments Pilotis in a Forest by Go Hasegawa & Assoc. O2 Treehouse Treehouse Point The Treehouses of Takashi Kobayashi Finca Bellavista Treehouse Community Steampunk Tree House via and deslided, via and deslided previously: Greatest Tree House Ever! Treehouses For Grownups Secret treehouse, public land: what now? RULAV is pronounced "AWESOME" Closer to God I have one in my pillow fort Giant Treehouse

The arsonists who stare at goats

Wordshore — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:20:59 -0800

The festive season is approaching, so it's time for everyone's favorite giant Swedish straw caprid to suffer from repeated attacks. Already ("The front hoof smells of petrol") this year's goat at Gävle has been attacked. Of the 76 goats to date, 33 have been burnt (includes goats burnt down more than once and goats only partially burnt), 7 vandalised (includes goats thrown in the river), 1 run over and 1 stolen, giving a survival rate of 45%. The goat attracts international attention and attacks; in 2001 a tourist from Cleveland, Ohio was jailed for 18 days [Swedish] [English] for igniting the goat. Last year's goat survived to December 2nd (traumatic video). Gävlebocken is 13 metres tall and consists of 3.6 tonnes of straw. While intact it tweets, and blogs in Swedish and English. The town is also famous this year for someone discovering that the church tower hatch has been left open for three decades, with undesirable consequences. Previously on MetaFilter, in 2011 and 2009.

The clean, fresh air of Scandinavia

Wordshore — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 06:49:40 -0800

The BBC explore the olfactory delights of rakfisk, "trout sprinkled with salt and fermented in water for up to a year." But is it as smelly as Surströmming, fermented Baltic Herring from neighboring Sweden, or as extreme as the Icelandic Hákarl, basking shark buried in a hole and fermented for several months and tasting "similar to very strong cheese slathered in ammonia"? Other foods with an odor turned up to eleven are listed by College Humor, Just Eat, Knoji and Open Journey.

Gender-neutral toy catalogue

frimble — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 02:18:58 -0800

"Top-Toy Group, a licensee of the Toys "R" Us brand, has published a gender-blind catalog for the Christmas season."

Top-Toy also is working on adjusting store displays and packaging to reflect the gender-neutral approach, said Jan Nyberg, Top-Toy's sales director in Sweden. Boys and girls can now be seen playing together on boxes of "Happy House," Top-Toy's own kitchen set. "We can't decide what the big toy makers' boxes should look like as their products are made for the global market, but we can make changes on our own boxes and in our stores," Mr. Nyberg said.

Press release from Top-Toy More pictures from the catalogue

Vallhund: The little cattle dog of the Vikings

filthy light thief — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:35:27 -0800

The Swedish Vallhund is an ancient dog, believed to have been brought to Sweden with the Vikings and used as an all-purpose farm dog, cattle herder, and pest controller. It was close to extinction by the mid-twentieth century, when a Swedish Count and a school teacher worked together to revive the breed from one male with only one testicle and three female dogs. The Swedish Vallhund (SV) is a very old Spitz type breed of small, not particularly shaggy dog known since the time of the Vikings. Sweden states the Swedish Vallhund dates back over 1000 years to the time of the Vikings when it may have been known as the "Vikingarnas Dog". This dog is believed today to be the ancestor of all chondrodystrophic breeds of British Isles, including Skye Terriers and Welsh Corgis, though the latter look most similar to Vallhunds and may be more closely related. Though numerous up to the early 1900s, the Vallhund breed decreased greatly between the first and second World Wars, when hardships in Europe made it impossible to keep many dogs. In the spring of 1942, an advertisement was placed in a newspaper in Skarabårg, in search of the little Svensk Vallhund. The ad was placed by Count Björn von Rosen (Google auto-translate), a dog enthusiast and terrier judge. Schoolmaster Karl-Gustaf Zettersten responded. Zettersten was a well-regarded breeder of Scottish Terriers, and the two found Topsy, a perfect, grey, bobtailed female, then a a male called Mopsen, who while healthy, only had one testicle. They found two more females, Lessi and Vivi, and started a breeding program. In 1943, the Swedish Kennel Club recognized the breed, and they revised the standard the next year when the breed became known as Västgötaspets after the Swedish province Västergötland in which the revived breeding originated. The breed has been slow to spread, arriving in England in 1974 and in the US a decade later, and eligible for AKC registration in 2007. Vallhunds came to New Zealand in 1975, and Australia in 1981. In appearance, Swedish Vallhunds can range from the traditional grey and red sandy tans and even all the way to white, and their tails naturally range from long, stub, or bob, but are also or docked. Quite trainable (even at a young age), Vallhunds are bred for their training instinct and their agility. And of course, they're adorable and bitey as puppies.

Stockholm Syndrome

misha — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 08:36:51 -0800

Please visit Stockholm. We need more iPads. (SLYTHDTDT*) *Single Link YouTube "How do they DO that?!" post.

How does one say "Oy Vey" in Swedish?

zarq — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:35:30 -0800

The Swedish government has been handing over their @sweden Twitter account to a different citizen each week since December, so they could ostensibly talk about themselves and perhaps what they love about their homeland. It's Democracy in Action! But this week's "Twede": Sonja Abrahamsson, decided to take things in a... different and controversial direction. MeFi's own dabitch summarizes: "Her offensive tweets have included a Henry Blodget-worthy digression on "what’s the fuzz with Jews?,” the claim that "before WWII Hitler was one of the most beautiful names in the whole wide world," a photo of Freddy Mercury with strawberries captioned "hungry gay with aids," a video on "breastfolding," the need to get some eggs so she wouldn’t "starve like an African child," that her life might be easier if she "had downs syndrome" and the suggestion "that Happy Feet is probably the worst movie ever." In other words, Sonja is a troll. ... Sonja has very effectively trolled Twitter, and the international media.
Swedes who are upset with what she's posting, are now parodying her at @real_sweden Forbes: Why Did Sweden Hand Its National Twitter Account Over To A Troll? AdWeek: "Sweden hands its twitter account to citizens and things get weird. How much transparency is good for tourism?" Sweden stands by the tweets despite the controversy.

International pop

LSK — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:14:08 -0800

"Euphoria", which won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest (previously), is a #1 in several countries, including Ireland, Austria, and Switzerland Of course, it's not the only song charting internationally that you might never hear on US radio. It should come as no surprise that one can readily find international hits online. For instance - Sweden, #4: Panetoz - Dansa Pausa Sweden, #9: Mange Makers - Drick Den This doesn't purport to be an exhaustive list, but rather a jumping-off point. Finland, #1: Robin - Frontside Ollie Finland, #8: Haloo Helsinki! - Jos mun pokka pettää Norway, #10: Michel Teló - Ai Se Eu Te Pego Italy, #2: Emma Marrone - Cercavo Amore France, #1: Gusttavo Lima - Balada France, #3: Tacabro - Tacata (also a hit in many other countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden) Japan, #1: AKB48 - Manatsu no Sounds Good Israel, #2: גלעד שגב ומירי מסיקה - קולות הלב

Iceland is the one that sparkles

Diablevert — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:18:01 -0800

Scandanavia And The World: A web comic of outrageous national stereotypes bluntly portrayed by cute little cartoon bobbleheads, that will nonetheless help outsiders learn to differentiate among the Nordic countries. With explanatory text.

Bye Bay Baby Bye Bay

marienbad — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:03:18 -0800

Pirate Bay to be blocked By UK ISPs. "File-sharing site The Pirate Bay must be blocked by UK internet service providers, the High Court has ruled." ""Sites like The Pirate Bay destroy jobs in the UK and undermine investment in new British artists," the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said. The BPI's chief executive Geoff Taylor said: "The High Court has confirmed that The Pirate Bay infringes copyright on a massive scale. "Its operators line their pockets by commercially exploiting music and other creative works without paying a penny to the people who created them. "This is wrong - musicians, sound engineers and video editors deserve to be paid for their work just like everyone else."" Via BBC

"I want to marry a lighthouse keeper..."

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:23:06 -0800

The strange story of Market Island

You must've heard of a few

vidur — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:00:31 -0800

The Most Powerful Women You've Never Heard Of 1. Helen Clark, Administrator, U.N. Development Program | New Zealand 2. Liu Yandong, State councilor | China 3. Lael Brainard, Treasury undersecretary for international affairs | United States 4. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance minister | Nigeria 5. Mary Schapiro, Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | United States 6. Theresa May, Home secretary | Britain 7. Fatou Bensouda, Incoming chief prosecutor, International Criminal Court | Gambia 8. Marisela Morales, Attorney general | Mexico 9. Kim Kyong Hui, Politburo member | North Korea 10. Valerie Amos, U.N. emergency relief coordinator | Britain 11. Ann Dunwoody, Commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command | United States 12. Atifete Jahjaga, President | Kosovo 13. Lubna Al-Qasimi, Minister for foreign trade | United Arab Emirates 14. Gleisi Hoffmann, Presidential chief of staff | Brazil 15. Cecilia Malmstrom, European commissioner for home affairs | Sweden 16. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee | United States 17. Peng Liyuan, Major general, People's Liberation Army | China 18. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Former finance minister | Indonesia 19. Fayza Abul Naga, Minister of international cooperation | Egypt 20. Marina Berlusconi, Chair, Fininvest | Italy 21. Josefina Vázquez Mota, Presidential candidate | Mexico 22. Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker, Federation Council | Russia 23. Viviane Reding, European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights, and citizenship | Luxembourg 24. Lindiwe Mazibuko, Party leader, Democratic Alliance | South Africa 25. Hanan Ashrawi, Member, PLO executive committee | West Bank

Pain cake

You Should See the Other Guy — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:30:07 -0800

The National Association of Afro-Swedes calls for the resignation of Culture Minister Lena Adelsohn Roth after photos and video surfaced of this "living" cake, which was part of a celebration of World Art Day. The cake's creator talks a bit about the cake.

Ring Ring

rollick — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:36:41 -0800

The story of the ABBA sound. 8 minute Swedish documentary. Click the "CC" button for subtitles.