Britney Temple
December 6, 2006 3:52 AM   Subscribe

Swedish cops kept record of beautiful women. Swedish border control agents at the ferry terminal on Kapellskär kept a binder, according to reports in the Swedish media, of "exceptionally beautiful women" that passed through the checkpoint.
posted by three blind mice (132 comments total)
 
Thanks for that.
posted by StuMiller at 3:55 AM on December 6, 2006


Okay, so... WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS!! This is useless without THE PHOTOS!!

And as for that 3rd link... WHO the FUCK reads SWEDISH, fer chrissakes!

But, no really, excellent post, man. I really mean that.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:58 AM on December 6, 2006


Stockholm police passed the matter to the national police's disciplinary board, which recommended the men get away with a warning.

Local news is the same everywhere, isn't it?
posted by psmealey at 3:59 AM on December 6, 2006


Only 58 pictures in that folder? Huh, that doesn't sound like the Sweden I know.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 4:04 AM on December 6, 2006


Hrm, looks like I accidentally loaded Fark again instead of mefi. Coulda swore I just read this.
posted by nightchrome at 4:31 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


heh... i do - Anyway - this is in norwegian news also..

The guys are trying to excuse themself by saying the havent looked much at the pictures......;)

nice try...
posted by Groomz at 4:34 AM on December 6, 2006


If any of the Swedish women have really dark hair, would they be Norse of a different color?
posted by pax digita at 4:37 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


>> WHO the FUCK reads SWEDISH
Well, Swedes for one.
Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world.
posted by allelopath at 5:14 AM on December 6, 2006


"..the matter was dismissed because the compilation was not considered illegal."


This was SO much more important as newsfilter than the fact that Jen and Vince broke up..

Thanks...
posted by HuronBob at 5:33 AM on December 6, 2006


The Local reports Sweden's news in English. Here is their article on the topic.
posted by LoriFLA at 5:52 AM on December 6, 2006


Wait a minute..you say men are noticing hot women. Heavens. This could lead to dancing.
posted by jonmc at 5:53 AM on December 6, 2006


And dancing could lead to....OH NOES !
posted by elpapacito at 5:54 AM on December 6, 2006


And the OH NOES! could lead to more swedes!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 5:59 AM on December 6, 2006


...many of whom are noticeably hot. And the circle of life begins anew.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:11 AM on December 6, 2006


allelopath:: "Well, Swedes for one.
Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world."


And contrary to what Europeans think, all Americans know it.
posted by koeselitz at 6:13 AM on December 6, 2006 [3 favorites]


Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world

Just so's you know, allelopath, my comment was intended as a, y'know, sorta jokey one. And as an AMERICAN who's lived abroad for the past 11 years, let me state that I am well aware that English is not the only language in the world. I reckon there are plenty of other Americans who are aware of that as well.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:17 AM on December 6, 2006


And the OH NOES! could lead to more swedes!

...many of whom are noticeably hot. And the circle of life begins anew.


I was thinking meatballs, yodeling, and modular furniture, but, hey, roll with it.
posted by jonmc at 6:17 AM on December 6, 2006


The binder contained instructions on how to compile the collection, and orders to make backup copies in case the binder would go missing or be confiscated by "evil-minded bores," police said.

The banality of evil. It begins.
posted by hal9k at 6:21 AM on December 6, 2006


I rate this modicum effort 3 1/2 blind mice.
posted by furtive at 6:21 AM on December 6, 2006


Yodeling Swedes are the new Austrian Kangaroo.
posted by horsewithnoname at 6:22 AM on December 6, 2006 [2 favorites]


Did they get this from the "Ali G" movie?

Fit... fit... not fit. You'll have to go back.
posted by GuyZero at 6:31 AM on December 6, 2006


The binder contained ... orders to make backup copies in case the binder would go missing or be confiscated by "evil-minded bores," police said.

I wonder who has the backup? And I wonder how many photocopies the guys in the police department made, just to make sure they had backup evidence?
posted by pracowity at 6:32 AM on December 6, 2006


Farktastic post.
posted by LarryC at 6:37 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


This thread is useless without pic- oh, forget it.
posted by squidfartz at 6:37 AM on December 6, 2006


allelopath writes "Well, Swedes for one.
"Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world."


This is the really Front Page worthy part of all this. Does George Bush know that there are people in the world who speak languages other than English? Does languagehat know? (He'll have to get more hats!)
posted by OmieWise at 6:42 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


Dude, yodelling is Swiss.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:44 AM on December 6, 2006


I'm a lawyer that defends police officers accused of misconduct. I'm ashamed that our officers cannot come up with such original wrongdoing. Another example of how we are falling behind the rest of the world.
posted by Ironmouth at 6:50 AM on December 6, 2006


I thought swedes were hip to the web 2.0 ethos. Where is the socially networked folksonomic user created content sharing in a binder?

Unless of course the binder was from Ikea.
posted by srboisvert at 6:52 AM on December 6, 2006


"Dude, yodelling is Swiss."

Swiss, Swedes, whatever. They're all too busy wearing their wooden shoes and plugging holes in dikes to care what we think anyway.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:56 AM on December 6, 2006


ok, flapjax ... we need a tag
posted by allelopath at 6:57 AM on December 6, 2006


Dude, yodelling is Swiss.

So that's why little debbie's Yodel knock-off is called a Swiss Roll. Hmmm.
posted by jonmc at 6:57 AM on December 6, 2006


OmieWise : "Does George Bush know that there are people in the world who speak languages other than English?"

He probably does. Doesn't the whole born-again thing involve people speaking in unknown languages as a side-show?
posted by nkyad at 6:59 AM on December 6, 2006


if you only find 58 exceptionally beautiful swedes in several years of collecting, then that says something about the quality of passport photos.
posted by quarsan at 7:06 AM on December 6, 2006


I also keep photos of exceptional beautiful Swedish women who pass through my check point.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:08 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


"Does George Bush know that there are people in the world who speak languages other than English?"

Dude, he's not even aware that there are people in the world who speak using language.
posted by jonmc at 7:08 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world. [Straw man argument; tendentious; factually incorrect (Americans speak American, not English).]

Great story.
posted by Ricky_gr10 at 7:14 AM on December 6, 2006


Certainly Americans do not speak English. Many of them seem to have degerated to vague gestures and noises, and others an incomprehensible jabbering that consists mostly of "like", "you know", and "whatever." I'm sure that there will be a dictionary, some day.
posted by malusmoriendumest at 7:20 AM on December 6, 2006


Whatever, dude.
posted by jonmc at 7:22 AM on December 6, 2006


While this debate about what Americans (the whole 300,000,000?) know or fail to know is amusing, it remains true that very few people outside Sweden speak Swedish. I know one Brazilian couple who had lived there for ten years, and they spoke the language, but those are the only Swedish-speaking person I ever met in my entire life. So, posting a link to an article in Swedish in an already weak FPP just makes it weaker (no specific prejudice here - I think the same goes for any language spoken by less than, say, two or three hundred million people around the world).
posted by nkyad at 7:28 AM on December 6, 2006


Sez youse, palooka.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:29 AM on December 6, 2006


NO JOKES ALLOWED! ESPECIALLY ABOUT SPEAKING SWEDISH!
posted by craven_morhead at 7:48 AM on December 6, 2006


The American who runs the server in our office used to work in Sweden and speaks Swedish. He also won't shut the fuck up about how great Sweden is, no matter what the topic.
posted by klangklangston at 7:53 AM on December 6, 2006


Dude, yodelling is Swiss.
Please don't tell me that kangaroos aren't Austrian.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:54 AM on December 6, 2006


Weird. I heard Sweden was entirely populated by bile bears who run a naughty movie industry with cheap talent imported from Finland.

Which, come to think of it, actually does sound pretty freakin' cool.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:55 AM on December 6, 2006


I can speak swedish, too:

BORKBORKBORK..CROONCHY STARS...BORKBORK..YUMPIN' YIMINY...BORKBORK
posted by jonmc at 7:55 AM on December 6, 2006


it remains true that very few people outside Sweden speak Swedish

Boot neerly iferyune-a speeks MOCK Svedeesh. Bork Bork Bork!
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:57 AM on December 6, 2006


The Swedes would be wise to incorporate "BORKBORK" into their actual language.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:01 AM on December 6, 2006


klangklangston : "He also won't shut the fuck up about how great Sweden is, no matter what the topic."

Ask him about the food. When he starts telling you about how great Swedish food really is, call him a lier. Unless you're really into dry bread, smoke fish and lettuce. In very small quantities. Every day. Every meal. A friend of mine says that when he has to visit his daughter (her husband is Swede, so they live there), he first spends a week in Portugal first, ingesting enough food to prepare his body for the "Sweden fast".
posted by nkyad at 8:07 AM on December 6, 2006


Please don't tell me that kangaroos aren't Austrian.

Well, I'll be damned.
posted by horsewithnoname at 8:10 AM on December 6, 2006


I've kept a list like this in my head for years.

"There's one for the archives."
posted by space2k at 8:11 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


En av de bästa sakerna med att behärska ett fåtaligt (häpp!) språk som svenska är att jag kan förolämpa majoriteten av er utan att ni förstår det. Som nu till exempel; amerikaner är puckon. Och om ni frågar mig vad som står här kan jag svara "oh, it says 'I love you all and I think americans rule'" och ni kommer att nicka och tänka "oh that's nice of him". :)
posted by soundofsuburbia at 8:14 AM on December 6, 2006


My ex-wife is Danish, which is similar to Swedish but much more rare, and taught me enough for us to carry on a conversation. It's actually handy speaking a language that you're confident NOBODY ELSE can understand (in South Carolina, anyhow). It's like on-the-fly encryption.

Me: Hun har en stor numse.
Her: Haha, ja det er rigtigt!

Also, after visiting both Sweden and Germany (10 years ago, at least), I found my girl stereotypes to be 180deg off. The dark, unsmiling, gothy chicks were in Sweden, while the hot, blonde, friendly girls were in Germany. Who knew?
posted by LordSludge at 8:15 AM on December 6, 2006


Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world.

Oh come on - all those other "languages" are just badly misspelled English. You think we don't know that?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:16 AM on December 6, 2006


Only 58 pictures in that folder?

The ones who didn't make the cut were merely supermodels. This is Sweden, remember.
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:19 AM on December 6, 2006


These blokes must have extraordinarily high standards. In my experience, you see 58 exceptionally beautiful women per hour of wandering around Stockholm.

Ask him about the food. When he starts telling you about how great Swedish food really is, call him a lier.

Bollocks. Swedish food is absolutely fantastic. But then I do really like dry bread, potatoes, dumplings and fish.
posted by jack_mo at 8:21 AM on December 6, 2006


That guy who thinks the food is like fasting has to come for a proper 'julbord' (a smörgårbord but at christmas) then. A proper one has 300 different sausages/hams/herring/deer/boar/porridge/potato dishes and so on to choose from and you have to refill your plate seven times. Yup. Image search julbord.

Also, only 58 women? They were slacking.
posted by dabitch at 8:22 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


soundsofsurburbia är jävligt slug. ;)

also LordSludge , you better not be talking about my numse!
posted by dabitch at 8:25 AM on December 6, 2006


300 different sausages/hams/herring

Gah, Herring. I'll be tossing that on the culinary trashheap along with my German wife's Rollmops. Or those damn balls of raw hamburger.

On the other hand, to sit at my mother in law's table is the culinary equivilant of floating on the wings of angels.
posted by smcniven at 8:42 AM on December 6, 2006


This post developed from a C+ to an A-.

Go comments go!
posted by Alex404 at 8:48 AM on December 6, 2006


Sounds like job for back-scatter X-Rays.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:51 AM on December 6, 2006


it remains true that very few people outside Sweden speak Swedish.

Well, there's a buncha Finns who do -- but I suppose that's still "very few."
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:57 AM on December 6, 2006


Contrary to what Americans think, English is not the only language in the world.

Contrary to occasional opinion, not every American thinks English is the only language in the world.
posted by katillathehun at 8:59 AM on December 6, 2006


Certainly Americans do not speak English. Many of them seem to have degerated to vague gestures and noises, and others an incomprehensible jabbering that consists mostly of "like", "you know", and "whatever." I'm sure that there will be a dictionary, some day.

Ah. That must be the dry London twit everyone always goes on about.
posted by srboisvert at 8:59 AM on December 6, 2006


Ever notice that when the English compare themselves to Americans, they act as if for purposes of the comparison everyone in England is a BBC newsreader or a Cambridge don? You'd think they didn't have football hooligans or Jade Goody, wouldn't you?
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:12 AM on December 6, 2006


Han som tror att ha är så jävla klok bara för att han klottrar här på svenska -- jag säger dig bara BWAAAH HAHAHA
posted by alloneword at 9:15 AM on December 6, 2006


Man, who wouldnt keep pix of beautiful (Swedish) girls. No brainer.

Swedish girl story: Met a young Swede gal travelling in a pretty remote trekking area of Nepal some years back. She looked pretty much like every teenage boys (or perhaps a thirty-something travellers) dream-girl, which apparently every female Swede does...

Mountainous terrain, humid climate, not too much clothing ... anyway the local Nepali boys at the tea hut (as well as myself and companion) pretty much though we'd died and gone to heaven. May have photo of that goddess somewhere in my collection..... have to track that down.
posted by elendil71 at 9:20 AM on December 6, 2006


I've been to Sweden. The blonde 6' goddesses are not as common as American men would believe, but it's still common enough to be a breath-taking experience. Plenty of brunettes as well.

I remember seeing a young tall blonde Swede changing into her bike shorts and top outside on a Stockholm street. I'm keeping that image in my mental "Happy Place" until the day I die.

My wife insists that she saw more gorgeous men walking the streets in Copenhagen than any other place she's ever been.
posted by Ber at 9:25 AM on December 6, 2006


alloneword: Do you shake your mother's hand with those dirty, dirty typing fingers? ;)
posted by soundofsuburbia at 9:35 AM on December 6, 2006


I'll share my Swedish-Nepali-Goddess memory with you for your Stockholm-Happy-Place memory, Ber.

Always room for one more bit of beauty in the old noggin. I'll be in touch.
posted by elendil71 at 9:43 AM on December 6, 2006


Oh yeah, elendil71?

I raise your Tibetan Swedish chick story and call with an Irish B&B Swedish chick story.

There were three attractive women at the same B&B with me in Dublin. An Australian chick, a Finish chick and a really hot Swedish chick.

One morning we sat for Breakfast and the three of them were across the table from me and one of them began playing footsie with me. Serious spelunking type of footsie. What to do? They were all sitting there eating their breakfast?

The 63 year old B&B owner lady was sitting at the table too, telling us about how she shook hands with JFK. She had strict rules about single people hooking up.

So I just "eeeny-meeenie-miney-mo'd" and chose the Swedish chick to play footsie with right back. It was a win-win as far as I was concerned.

She looked up and smiled in a way I will never forget. Yes!

After breakfast as everybody prepared to go their separate ways for the day the Swedish girl came up to me and asked if we could tour together. Sure!

So we hung out for three days. An amazing time. But then she left to finish her tour of the UK and I was staying to meet a friend in Gallway.

I stayed at the B&B two more days. The last morning it was just me and the B&B owner lady having breakfast. I'm sitting there dreaming about the Swedish girl when I feel somebody playing footsie with me under the table.

I about choked on my corn flakes.

True story.
posted by tkchrist at 9:44 AM on December 6, 2006 [12 favorites]


alloneworld, jaså, säger du det, mannen? Låter lite babelfiskigt. Nä nu måste jag sluta sitta här och tjattra, jag måste ju hinna till glasbanken och köpa limpor innan dom stänger så att jag kan som ärkesvensk vana trogen är hutta inne på kakelbaren senare ikväll, tjolahopp!
posted by dabitch at 9:46 AM on December 6, 2006


*looks at hand*

*folds*

Good tale, tkchrist :-)

We could easily derail this thread with similar stories I'm sure. Save that for another day.
posted by elendil71 at 10:04 AM on December 6, 2006


tkchrist, that is easily my favorite anecdote that I've read on MeFi this year. Hilarious.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:33 AM on December 6, 2006


the binder will be filled with screen captures of naked, bald, luminescent women

V'ger demands an answer! The carbon units must comply.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:34 AM on December 6, 2006


As a Swedish woman, I wonder If I'm anyones tale. ;)

My two male roommates in NYC asked me one day to not prance around in my underwear anymore. "Why, you guys said it doesn't bother you?" -"Oh, it still doesn't bother us, but the building construction men in that building across the yard have made it a habit of lunching on the roof, and now they bring binoculars."
posted by dabitch at 10:44 AM on December 6, 2006


Certainly Americans do not speak English. Many of them seem to have degerated to vague gestures and noises, and others an incomprehensible jabbering that consists mostly of "like", "you know", and "whatever." I'm sure that there will be a dictionary, some day.

The Brits have some incomprehensible jabber too.
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 10:51 AM on December 6, 2006


I, for one, welcome our Swedish goddess underwear-prancing Overlords.

ok sorry about that...
posted by elendil71 at 10:52 AM on December 6, 2006


I've seen Swedish girls, and let me tell you, a guy who goes on about how hot they has no erotic imagination whatsoever.
posted by Tasty Like Your 9V Battery at 10:58 AM on December 6, 2006


I found this while looking for Asterix books. They also have this, for those of you who need help imagining beautiful Swedes naked. 2nd link NSFW, btw.
posted by klangklangston at 10:59 AM on December 6, 2006


The braying of some near 40 year old frat boys here is pathetic. Fucking pathetic, wankers.

And this, today, on the anniversary of that fuck Marc Lepine who slaughtered 14 women engineering students at École Polytechnique at the University of Montreal, after separating the women from the men in a classroom and letting the men leave the room.

You're fucking right I have an issue with frat boy yuks that centre around domination and predatory behaviour towards women. Ogling included, lechers.

What have you done today as a man to combat the violence women face today, eh¿
Still think there's nothing wrong with Customs officers and a binder of pretty women¿

These two Customs officers need to be fired immediately. I don't know what purpose their photo collection would serve, but it is a violation of the people whose passport photo's they copied.

Not to mention the sexist excuse 'nosey manager types'. They've shown they aren't mature enough for the position.

Since when is this part of the job description¿

Does Your employer allow you to say watch porn at work¿ Go online looking for dates¿

It's about power and its abuse. What next, body cavity searches hmmmm¿
posted by alicesshoe at 11:17 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


What have you done today as a man to combat the violence women face today, eh¿

Yes, because a buch of old farts sitting around an office bullshiting about good-looking women equals violence. You sound like an oversensitive paranoid lunatic, and that's the last image feminism needs.


The braying of some near 40 year old frat boys here is pathetic. Fucking pathetic, wankers.

Most of the jokes were about the Swedish Chef and food. Pull yourself together.
posted by jonmc at 11:28 AM on December 6, 2006 [1 favorite]


The Sweet Swede Life (?)
posted by cenoxo at 11:31 AM on December 6, 2006


Frankly, is this a huge deal? No. Not on the overall scale of evil. So what's the appropriate response to something that's not a huge deal? Well, a slap on the wrist. Which is what these folks got.

Justice is served.
posted by klangklangston at 11:33 AM on December 6, 2006


Yes, because a buch of old farts sitting around an office bullshiting about good-looking women equals violence.—jonmc

This isn't about a buch of old farts sitting around an office bullshitting about good looking women is it now jonmc¿ Customs officers have a lot of power, this is clearly an abuse of power for personal satisfaction = predator/abuser.

Then again, you're just a white boy and your ignorance about many women's experiences is showing.

I may be sensitive, but paranoid and a lunatic¿ Nah.

Have another drink, bubba. Your rights are being stripped away daily, but you aren't noticing That, speaking of power and abuse.
posted by alicesshoe at 11:58 AM on December 6, 2006


wow, alicesshoe, you are way out of touch with reality and I agree, you are what give people fighting for women's rights a bad bad name
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 12:01 PM on December 6, 2006


aliceshoe: Actually, I agree. I'm all about the pretty ladies (and they all about me, ha!), but the problem is not dudes checking out attractive women (big deal). It's not even about dudes keeping a record of attractive women (check any guy's myspace profile). It's about people in positions of authority using the system to collect and maintain a database of attractive women without their knowledge or consent. Yeah, that's messed up.
posted by LordSludge at 12:03 PM on December 6, 2006


alicesshoe: first of all, learn how to wrie coherently. What's with the fucking upside down question marks? Are you illiterate or is that some kind of art statement.

Then again, you're just a white boy

Yes, it's true. I can't dance, I'm a lousy dresser and I have a terrible inside game, but a decent 3-point shot. I also drink Budweiser and like bologna & cheese on white bread with mayonaisse. Guilty as charged.

your ignorance about many women's experiences is showing

Um, not gulty. I'm close to many women who have through horrendous things at the hands of the men in their life and to equate the moderately oafish behavior with such things (especially horrific events like the Lepine shootings) is hyperbole and insulting.

Have another drink, bubba.

You're only trying to get me drunk so you can take advatage of me, lech.
posted by jonmc at 12:10 PM on December 6, 2006


Wait, alicesshoes, your profile identifys you as male. Is this true? As a male do you identify with the woes of women?
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 12:14 PM on December 6, 2006


Yep, LordSludge, that's what pisses me off, the fact that they are Customs officers doing this. By what right and under whose orders¿

What one does in the privacy of their own home is their business, but not someone on the government payroll with a lot of power.

It needs to be used judiciously and not for their own wank gain.
posted by alicesshoe at 12:17 PM on December 6, 2006


grrr that's identifies
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 12:18 PM on December 6, 2006


"Weird. I heard Sweden was entirely populated by bile bears who run a naughty movie industry with cheap talent imported from Finland."


And here I thought Sweden was entirely populated by Viking Metal bands.
posted by MikeMc at 12:18 PM on December 6, 2006


Wow, alicesshoe, talk about overreacting! The sexism street runs two ways, you know. I'd suggest that believing any male who appreciates female beauty is a lecherous frat boy just waiting to rape women is pretty fucking sexist of you.
posted by MegoSteve at 12:20 PM on December 6, 2006


Yep, LordSludge, that's what pisses me off, the fact that they are Customs officers doing this.

Oh, please. When I worked retail and had a cute female client, I'd make a point of remembering their name. So would the other employees male and female. Are we asking customs employees to be more than human. As long as they didn't use it to harass anybody, it's a minor gaffe.

As a male do you identify with the woes of women?

It helps him pick up chicks.
posted by jonmc at 12:21 PM on December 6, 2006


Well, in theory, you never know what is next, one day you're collecting photos of beautiful women, the next you're raping and killing. One day you're all 'fuck you, wankers', and the next day you're planning genocide. It's such a small step! be careful there!

Also, speaking of non-deranged feminism, this is a country where women make up half of parliament, and all measurable statistics on sex equality place it ahead of the rest of the world. So, if they recommend the two officers get away with a warning there, could that mean it may be a fairer and rational response than firing them? Perhaps?
posted by pleeker at 12:26 PM on December 6, 2006


Reminds me of the time I spent with a German Family. North German family I might add. Just like the Swede's and the Swiss but with not so romantic a language. Good times...good times.
posted by winks007 at 12:28 PM on December 6, 2006


Huhuhuh, alicesshoe said wank ¡¡¡!¡¡!!¡¡
posted by jouke at 12:34 PM on December 6, 2006


I have been within hearing distance of my wife and her friends when they are discussing men. Objectification does not begin to describe their in-depth analysis. Both sexes do it, it's the way we're wired.
posted by Ber at 12:34 PM on December 6, 2006


Ber writes "I remember seeing a young tall blonde Swede changing into her bike shorts and top outside on a Stockholm street. I'm keeping that image in my mental 'Happy Place' until the day I die. "

I'm sitting having a sandwich at Paul Lake. It's a cool fall day and the lake is at an elevation that it never gets really warm but there are two blondes swiming about a couple dozen metres off shore. About 15 minutes go by and then these two goddessess walk out of the water and up on shore. Their both wearing one pieces and are conversing in what sounds like Swedish/Danish but could be some other language. After toweling dry they proceed to strip naked before routing around in their bags for dry clothes and getting dressed, a process that takes several minutes. Right there on the beach, not even a lodge pole or sagebrush as screening. Then they wander off to their car. At 19 it made my week.
posted by Mitheral at 12:37 PM on December 6, 2006


Objectification does not begin to describe their in-depth analysis.

Besides, in moderation, being objectified is a blast.
posted by jonmc at 12:39 PM on December 6, 2006


Whoa alicesshoe, you need a nap or something.

Guys who like to look at pretty girls is nothing new. Granted this thread perhaps got a bit derailed, but the original post was kinda meh anyway, and certainly no great news flash. But we did get a tale or two out of it.

And as for your vitriolic response, I mean sheesh. Save it for real issues like girls getting raped to death in Africa or having their breasts cut off. I scanned the posts here (mine included) and really saw nothing but a humerous and honest appreciation of that which we guys like best - pretty girls.

If you feel the need to rant and rave about governmental malfeasance, I think you could probably find a lot more appropriate, and timely targets.

upon preview, Mitheral, I want your memory too ;-)
posted by elendil71 at 12:41 PM on December 6, 2006


Hé dabitch je had met viewropa een europese metafilter opgezet; wat leuk! Jammer dat dat niets is geworden. Sorry dat ik dit niet in het deens of zweeds schrijf maar misschien kun je dit ook bijna lezen net als ik deens/zweeds.

And northern dutch girls (Frisian!) are the tallest blonde girls in the world! Take that you swedish dwarfs.
posted by jouke at 12:42 PM on December 6, 2006


MegoSteve and pleeker,

I've an issue with those in positions of power and their abuse of it, in this case, the two Customs officers.

You both made the leap in logic of collecting photo's is one step shy of rape next.

As for identifying with the woes of women¿ I've had a few experiences, more than one, where mere ogling had a more sinister reason from groups of men, 3 & 4 ]once 2 turned into 4[, believe me, I got in their face about it and ended it there.

So sure, call me a lunatic, but that is the ferocity I needed at the time and I wasn't bluffing, like pack animals, they knew to piss off.

Would I have killed 'em all¿ Before they laid a hand on the woman they'd have to kill me first.
posted by alicesshoe at 12:50 PM on December 6, 2006


So sure, call me a lunatic,

OK, you're a lunatic.
posted by jonmc at 12:53 PM on December 6, 2006


What the hell is going on with the formatting? Have I taken crazy pills?
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:55 PM on December 6, 2006


Yes, men can be sinister when they look at girls, but girls can be crazy and beat the crap out of their boyfriends because they're pissed off and jealous, so don't make it sound like the women are always the innocents in any situation. Both sides can behave poorly, welcome to human nature.
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 12:57 PM on December 6, 2006


Yes, elendil71, I could have found a more appropriate, timely target, but I felt like a rant.
posted by alicesshoe at 1:00 PM on December 6, 2006


I don't think I've ever thought it was possible for a man to be a castrating harpy before. You were the one that was the first in this thread to bring up violence against women, and then you're pretending like I brought it up? You are as upside-down as your question marks.
posted by MegoSteve at 1:07 PM on December 6, 2006


All I can say alicesshoe is you don't need to stand up for my rights.
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 1:08 PM on December 6, 2006


Hoi jouke. Viewropa was een goed idee maar niet is alleen mijn, ja het droevig dat niets van het werd. Het is o.k. u niet kan Zweeds en Deens lezen, het Nederlands is een mooie taal ook:) En het is zeer waar dat u langste blondes in de wereld hebt, ik ben miniatuur in Holland. Zo klein!
Tot ziens!
posted by dabitch at 1:22 PM on December 6, 2006


Yes, I brought up violence against women.

This morning I listened to a playwright who wrote a play about the Montreal Massacre. It was disturbing, including my own experiences. I felt like a rant.

And, Holy foxy moxie batman!, I was standing up for someone I was close to, not you.
posted by alicesshoe at 1:26 PM on December 6, 2006


I was refering more to standing up for the rights of women in general.
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 1:34 PM on December 6, 2006


jonmc: Oh, please. When I worked retail and had a cute female client, I'd make a point of remembering their name. So would the other employees male and female. Are we asking customs employees to be more than human. As long as they didn't use it to harass anybody, it's a minor gaffe.

Do you consider a retail (sales?) job to be a position of authority?

One more time, that's the problem here: the abuse of govt power. Not cool.

They're taking jobs from Americans. (I kid...)
posted by LordSludge at 1:36 PM on December 6, 2006


Yes, elendil71, I could have found a more appropriate, timely target, but I felt like a rant.

Well, all right then. Glad we could provide you with a convenient, if somewhat off-subject topic. Please carry on.

Or, you know, create your own post on this important subject (no sarcasm on that particular point).
posted by elendil71 at 1:36 PM on December 6, 2006


Is the regular question mark a misogynistic tool of white male privilege or something¿

]once 2 turned into 4[

Parentheses too, I see.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 1:52 PM on December 6, 2006


This is the really Front Page worthy part of all this. Does George Bush know that there are people in the world who speak languages other than English? Does languagehat know? (He'll have to get more hats!)

Oh no, no, OmieWise, you got it all backwards. You see, it's an inverse relationship: every time a language dies he gets another hat.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 1:53 PM on December 6, 2006


Astro Zombie writes "I also keep photos of exceptional beautiful Swedish women who pass through my check point."

This is some roundabout way of saying you were letting them fuck you up the ass, right?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:04 PM on December 6, 2006


This is some roundabout way of saying you were letting them fuck you up the ass, right?

I didn't even think it was roundabout.
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:09 PM on December 6, 2006


I didn't even think it was roundabout.

Maybe it was reacharoundabout
posted by InfidelZombie at 2:26 PM on December 6, 2006


alicesshoe is a freaking great contributor.
/initiates excessive, fist-bumping handshake
posted by Joybooth at 2:33 PM on December 6, 2006


alicesshoe: "I felt like a rant."

Fine. Leave the fucking racism out of it next time, please. "You're just a white boy?" Is hypocrisy excusable when it's humorless?
posted by koeselitz at 3:13 PM on December 6, 2006


Oh, and on the topic of Sweden: Meshuggah. 'Nuff said.
posted by koeselitz at 3:15 PM on December 6, 2006


This doesn't sound like an abuse of power at all.

They made sure they didn't collect any information, so the collection was essentially useless, appart from being a collection of pictures of beautiful women.

It was pretty tasteless and tactless, though.

I think using a large group of strangers to "vent" is a lot more tasteless and tactless though. And using Feminism (or any sort of politics) as an excuse for such antisocial behavior is pretty tacky too.
posted by svenni at 3:33 PM on December 6, 2006


Yeah! Meshuggah! Among other wonderful things, they're responsible for the best music video ever!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:54 PM on December 6, 2006


"You're just a white boy?" Is hypocrisy excusable when it's humorless?

Eh, he's probably a white boy, too, but he has a complex about it.
posted by jonmc at 4:11 PM on December 6, 2006


soundofsuburbia: thanks for that. It was awesome. It made me very happy.

I imagine that the rest of Sweden breathes a collective sigh of relief when Meshuggah goes on tour. I'm relatively certain that it consumes a remarkable amount of physical and spiritual energy to share the same country with that kind of rocking.
posted by koeselitz at 4:11 PM on December 6, 2006


koeselitz: Yeah, it does. But at the same time you miss them, you know.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 5:01 PM on December 6, 2006


If anyone is still reading this conversation, what is gross is that these women didn't pose for porn -- they had their pics taken for passports, for their own private travel purposes. Despite which their images were copied without their knowledge or permission and put in some "wank" file. Nor did they have the option to withhold the pictures from the men.
posted by jfwlucy at 5:02 PM on December 6, 2006


svenni,
we don't know how harmless it was then, do we now. What kind of club is this¿

If that's accepted behaviour in your mind and harmless, it's just your opinion, like my stating my opinion vigorously.
posted by alicesshoe at 6:11 PM on December 6, 2006


jouke: "Take that you swedish dwarfs."

I'm the flatchested dwarf in my (half-Swedish) family at 5' 7", so I can only imagine...

BORK BORK BORK!

(sorry, couldn't resist)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:06 PM on December 6, 2006


Are ya sure that no personal information was gathered? I mean, just because the wank file rules say so...? That's what makes this particularly sketchy -- these guys have access to the girls' names and addresses. Who knows what info got squirreled away for future reference?

They just really shouldn't go there.
posted by LordSludge at 7:21 PM on December 6, 2006


I speak for all "exceptionally beautiful" blond women around the world when I say, "Like, oh my god. That is toally creepy. Whatever!"
posted by Titania at 11:28 PM on December 6, 2006


I'm a woman, a lesbian, even, and I'd rather have some customs guy staring at my tits than frisking terrified 14 year old black boys or separating out the folks who look like they might be Arab, or the other bits of security theatre that have become normal in the US.
posted by QIbHom at 4:07 PM on December 7, 2006


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