Archive for the ‘Society’ Category

Allegations Tarnish Sweden’s ‘Perfect Monarch’

Books, Design, Film, History, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, National, Offbeat, Politics, Society, Sweden abroad, Tourism: November 15th, 2010 by VT

Taiwan’s Next Media Animation, which shot to fame late last year for its animated news clip of Elin Nordegren’s alleged attack against then-husband Tiger Woods, has turned its focus again to Sweden.

This time, it has targeted Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf following the publication of controversial biography “Carl XVI Gustaf – the reluctant monarch,” which details rumours of the king’s affairs.Just in case you missed it the first time around, here’s the Tiger video.

Philips unveils latest wake-up light campaign

Business, Climate, Design, Film, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Offbeat, Science, Society, Swedish Life, Technology, Tourism: October 29th, 2010 by VT

Philips’ advertising campaigns for the wake-up light have historically challenged the prestige of the product, testing the wake-up light’s mettle in real life. In this latest campaign, the test is on an epic scale.

Watch the clip for the trailer here.

Philips travels to Longyearbyen, Norway, where winter lasts for four months and the sun doesn’t rise at all in this period. A town where the local people look with dread to the winter months: a time of little enjoyment and confusion. A period when, without the differentiation of day and night, time itself is without meaning.

Enter Philips and the wake-up light with a simple mission: to restore residents Longyearbyen’s daily routine and help them combat the negative impact of living without natural light for four months.

The wake-up light simulates sunrise, allowing users to, perhaps not surprisingly, wake up in an environment similar to a bright summer’s day. The theory behind the experiment is that this will combat the negative effects of waking, living and then going to sleep in darkness and should help the user readjust to a more natural cycle.

The full footage for the experiment will be released in November. Will it work? Wait and see.

CNN hits the Millennium trail in Stockholm

Architecture, Books, Business, Film, History, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Offbeat, Society, Swedish Life, Tourism: September 9th, 2010 by VT

CNN follows the flocks on tourists on the Millennium tour of Stockholm on Wednesday.

The magic of Google Analytics

Business, Health, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Music, Newsbites, Offbeat, Society, Swedish Life, Technology: July 23rd, 2010 by VT

Sometimes older articles on The Local find new life weeks, months or even years after they are initially published when they are picked up by external sites.

Recent examples of this are a sudden spike in traffic of 8,000 readers on June 16th to Swedish parents keep 2-year-old’s gender secret, initially published nearly a year earlier on June 23rd, thanks to a pickup on i am bored.

More recently, on July 8th, Cracked.com cited our article Black Cobra gang steals selection of small cakes from March in a roundup of 5 bizarre real-life gangs, sending 4,700 readers our way to read about their exploits that merited the mention (they came in 3rd).

This week alone, we’ve seen a significant spike on Artists lose out as fans stop burning CDs and Cerebral palsy fraudster gets 3 years in jail thanks to Fark and Swedish women vote to keep their tops on thanks to reddit.

How can we narrow down the dates, numbers and sources of the traffic coming to our site? Google Analytics. We could spend hours tooling around to see where people are coming from to our site, but we would never get any work done.

We love to see where our stories end up on the Internet, so please feel free to share any articles (old or new) that amuse or enrage you from our site (using the buttons at the bottom of each story or elsewhere). And don’t forget to check out our new and improved Facebook page.

Riding out the recession, IKEA style

Business, Design, Economics, Media, National, Society, Sweden abroad: November 20th, 2008 by JS

There’s an old joke about a couple from Småland, a province in southern Sweden, who win a million kronor on the lottery. “What shall we do with all the begging letters,” asks the wife. “Keep on sending them,” her husband replies.

Perhaps, though, the Smålänningar (as the region’s allegedly tight-fisted inhabitants are known) will have the last laugh as the rest of the world braces for a bumpy economic ride.

The world’s most famous Smålänning, Ingvar Kamprad, appears to have braced IKEA for the downturn by living up to the stereotype. Instead of taking advantage of cheap credit, IKEA borrowed little. Instead of selling boom-time luxuries, Kamprad has always behaved as though every one of his customers was a stereotypical stingy Smålänning.

The words of current CEO Anders Dahlvig in this Time interview are perhaps testament to the virtues of living frugally:

This is a really good time for us. The way we’ve set up our business, we’re planning for a climate like this all the time. We have a very conservative policy when it comes to borrowing money. We basically only use our retained earnings and don’t borrow very much. We also have a very conservative policy when it comes to how we place our cash and our liquidity. We don’t place anything in equities, so we haven’t lost a dime so far. And the way we position our brand is as good value for the money. People know when they have less money what Ikea stands for.

Sweden provides US viewers with Earth Day inspiration

Climate, Media, National, Politics, Society, Sweden abroad: April 22nd, 2008 by DL

People like to complain that American news outlets never spend any time covering foreign news. In contrast to Swedish broadcasters, which spend ample time covering international affairs, US national news programs rarely devote much air time to other countries (save those with which the US may be at war).

Thus, imagine our surprise upon seeing that NBC News, one of the traditional ‘Big 3′ television news networks in the US, devoted a precious 3 minutes and change (more than 10 percent!) of Monday evening’s broadcast to Sweden and it’s penchant for green living.

The King is eloquent as usual, but the mayor of Växjö left us puzzled with his talk of ‘whips and carrots’. See for yourself:

Now the question is whether SVT would ever bother to find a topic where the US can teach Swedes a thing or two, and dedicate an equal amount of air time to it.

What would you suggest?

What would Bergman think?

Film, Media, Offbeat, Society, Sweden abroad: February 25th, 2008 by DL

In Be Kind Rewind, a new film starring Jack Black, the zany actor brings a new word to the lexicon of film: to Swede.

According to the film’s website:

Sweding is re-making something from scratch using whatever you can get your hands on.

Hmmm…not sure what to make of that.

For more background, you can also check out this YouTube clip:

The question we have is how Swedes themselves feel about having been made into a verb, and whether or not the act of ‘Sweding’ is at all reflective of Swedes or Swedish culture.

Sweden gets biblical…?

Books, Media, Offbeat, Society: February 15th, 2008 by DL

Back in the day, great novels were sometimes published over several months through installments appearing in popular periodicals. Swedish publisher Förlaget Illuminated has revived the trend with one of the most well-read books of all time.

The Wall Street Journal this week spilled some ink on the company’s serial publication of the Bible. Among other places, glossy, photo-enhanced books of the Bible started appearing last spring in places one usually doesn’t go hunting for spiritual guidance: news stand Pressbyrån.

According to WSJ,

The Swedish-language Bible marries the standard text to glossy magazine-style design. Full-color pages are illustrated with a striking combination of news and dramatized photographs: a homeless child wrapped in a sweater on the streets of Bogotá, Colombia, illustrates the book of Job; a man who drowned trying to enter Europe, for Deuteronomy; and models posing in stylized scenes convey joy or despair. Bible passages are pulled out as captions.

What is one to make of the decision to hawk the Bible along side titles like Cosmopolitan, Elle, and weekly news magazines?

Of course, Sweden has always had a unique relationship with Christianity, even before attaining the status of one of the world’s most secularized countries. After all, the daughter of the great King Gustav II who died fighting for Protestantism in the Thirty Years’ War, Queen Christina, eventually abdicated her post and fled to Rome to convert to Catholicism.

She was the first (only?) Swede–and woman–to get a final resting place among the Popes buried at St. Peter’s.

According a bishop quoted in the piece, Swedes–just like everyone else–apparently still have some of life’s ‘big questions’ left to figure out.

Although Sweden is one of the most secularized countries in the world, we are seeing a growing interest in existential questions across the Western world, of which [Bible Illuminated] is a part,” says Antje Jackelén, the bishop of Lund, in southern Sweden. “As people travel, as they are presented with a growing multiculturalism at home, they are thinking harder about what it means to be from a culture that is formed by Christianity.

Video: World’s biggest elk

Offbeat, Society, Tourism: November 27th, 2007 by PO

Somewhere in the wilds of northern Sweden lurks the biggest elk in the world. See what’s inside possibly the most impressive wooden animal since the Trojan horse:

Britain studies Swedish schools

Society: November 20th, 2007 by PO

With leading UK educationalists talking up the Swedish ‘free school’ model, the BBC and The Guardian both packed a school bag and headed north to get a closer look.

The BBC traveled to Ingarö outside Stockholm to meet the Lundquists a couple who, failing to find a suitable school for their kids, siply decided to set one up.

That was 12 years ago and since then the Lemshaga School has grown from a tiny 80-pupil primary school to a thriving state-funded comprehensive with 420 pupils aged from three to 16 and an international reputation.

The school’s creation was made possible by Sweden’s radical school choice policy introduced in 1992, which allows pretty much anyone, a private company, charity, co-operative or voluntary group, to found a school and receive state funding.

The Guardian’s correspondent meanwhile is not even sure at first that he has come to the right place.

To call Stockholm’s Praktiska Gymnasium basic hardly covers it. Even the most rundown inner-city English comprehensive usually makes some effort to tart itself up, but this Swedish upper secondary school has made almost none. Classrooms and workshops are spread out across several industrial buildings, and facilities are thin on the ground.

Brits discover easy Swedish living

Society, Swedish Life: November 2nd, 2007 by PO

The Times talks to a couple of Brits who have bought property in Sweden and offers tips to those planning to follow suit.

As Henry Ford might have said, you can have a house in Sweden in any colour you like, as long as it’s red. This red paint is almost as old as the Vikings. It contains copper and iron oxide and was brought from the copper mines by women who were then often hired to paint the wooden buildings.

An added bonus is that the word “gazumping” is mentioned in the article.

Swedes radiate happiness at nuclear plants

Society, Swedish Life, Tourism: October 30th, 2007 by PO

Many Swedes’ idea of a fun day out will include a trip to the local nuclear power plant, Reuters reports.

Of Sweden’s population of around nine million, almost three million have been to a Swedish nuclear plant — some on school trips, others as passing tourists — since they were first able to visit 35 years ago, said Torsten Bohl, communications director at state firm Vattenfall, Forsmark’s majority owner.

“They see it’s a large industrial complex, but nothing else — and the people who work there are ordinary, not greenish,” said Bohl.

Prominent Dane on free speech in Sweden

Society, Swedish Life: October 30th, 2007 by PO

Flemming Rose is most famous as culture editor of Danish daily Jyllands-Posten and the man responsible for the controversial publication of a series of caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

Rose is alarmed by the results of a recent Swedish study:

Every fourth citizen of Sweden supports a legal ban on offending religious symbols.

Writing on his Northern Light blog, Rose gives his thoughts on Sweden’s recent cartoon crisis

Interview with Lars Vilks

Miscellaneous, Society: October 17th, 2007 by PO

Artist Lars Vilks talks to CNN about life after the publication of a caricature of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

As he sits at his computer, his phone buzzes with a text message. Another death threat has just come in, this one from Pakistan.

“I will kill you, you son a bitch,” he reads.

There are hundreds of threats just like this one on his mobile phone, on his answering machine and in his e-mail inbox.

“You get used to it,” he says. “It’s a bit of hide and seek. It’s like living in a film.”

Privatizing wine and spirits

Society: October 17th, 2007 by PO

The BBC embarked on a voyage of discovery in Sweden to look at the proposed privatization of drinks maker Vin & Sprit. The journey to the bottom of the glass took one intrepid reporter to the very heart of Vodkaville.

If you want to find out more about the finer points of vodka in Sweden, there is only one place to start.

So I donned my silver, fur-lined cape and insulated gloves, and sat down on a convenient chunk of glacier for a chat with Anders Johansson, hotel industry entrepreneur and boss of the City’s famous Absolut-themed Icebar.

Hilton dumps ‘boring’ Swedish model

Society: October 17th, 2007 by PO

Paris Hilton’s dalliance with Swedish model and pizza delivery boy Alexander Väggö has ground to a halt.

A source said that the 26-year-old liked his looks, but he was too boring for her.

“She loved his good looks, but she gets bored very quickly, and he was just too shy and quiet for her. She likes bad boys,’ the Sun quoted the source, as saying.

The Daily India has the devastating news.

Teenage Swede invents the Binibottle

Business, Society: October 16th, 2007 by PO

Hats off to 15-year-old Anna Axelsson for the invention of the Binibottle.

Who would have thought the design of a water bottle could be drastically improved? Well if you’ve ever tried to fill one in a shallow sink or drinking fountain you’ll appreciate the clever design of the Binibottle. In addition to the twist cap on top, it also includes a sunken twist cap on the side allowing the bottle to be filled in a horizontal position. That means there’s no more trying to awkwardly angle the bottle to get it to fit under the faucet of a small sink.

Oh Gizmo has the story and the relevant links.

Sweden shoulders refugee burden

Politics, Society: October 12th, 2007 by PO

Reuters AlertNet joins the growing chorus of voices calling on other countries to accept their share of refugees from Iraq.

There seems to be increasing agreement that more must be done for refugees fleeing Iraq – but as Syria and Jordan effectively close their borders and other European countries continue to return Iraqi asylum seekers home, there are few countries willing to take in the displaced.

[...]

… the greatest number have headed north to Sweden, attracted by a reputation for generous welfare and refugee protection laws.

Some 20,000 have arrived in the last year alone, swelling the Iraqi diaspora to some 100,000, aid workers say.

“There is no country better than this,” 16-year-old Haidar Fozi Karim, who fled Baghdad for Syria two years ago with his family before leaving them to go to Sweden, told AlertNet at a refugee centre in Stockholm.

Environmental Utopia or dirty man of Europe?

Climate, Politics, Society: October 12th, 2007 by PO

The New Statesman travels to Sweden to compare the progress being made here with that of the UK:

The scientist across the table from me was laughing, unusually for a conversation about climate change. “You’re in environmental utopia now,” he beamed. This being Sweden, he was partly being ironic – but only partly.

‘Gandhi should have been awarded Nobel Peace Prize’

History, Society: October 3rd, 2007 by PO

India’s CNN-IBN elicits a confession from a Swedish Nobel Foundation spokesman.

Gandhi was nominated five times for the Nobel but the Norwegian Nobel committee believed that the champion of non-violence could not be awarded because he was “neither a real politician nor a humanitarian relief worker.”

But now, for the first time ever, the Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation in Sweden, Michael Sohlman, says that it was a mistake by the Norwegian Peace committee.

“We missed a great Laureate and that’s Gandhi. It’s a big regret,” he admits.