A blog and website by Peter Bengtsson
23 April 2004 8 comments Sweden
"It is warmer in this country than you might think
Sweden is a strange country"
Food from Sweden is a site about Sweden and Swedish cooking. The list of recipes is still small, but the few they have are all genuine typical Swedish dishes. I must say that the pictures are really good. Much much better than mine.
An interesting fact from the Swedeness page : The distance between Malmö in the south and Kiruna in the far north is about a thousand miles. Travel this far in the other direction and you land up in Rome! Sweden is so long that it encompasses six climate zones.
08 March 2004 3 comments Sweden
On the same day 32 people bought the same car in the little Swedish town of Dalarö. The advert is about the new S40 Saloon but they've made a documentary only about the "fact" that 32 people bought the same car on the same day.
The film is embedded as Flash and takes a while to load, but you can download it as Quicktime or Windows Media if you like.
Worth watching if you as an unswede, want to get some insight into how normal Swedish people look and live and how they speak English. I think this also has large portion of Swedish irony in it, because even though it's all a joke, nobody smiles or laughs; you're on your own to understand it.
24 February 2004 4 comments Sweden
Water from Sweden and California was voted: best water in a recent international test.
"Each sample is weighed on six points: appearance, odor, flavor, mouth feel, aftertaste and overall impression."
How can a water have appearance, considering that all water good enough to even test must be crystal clear?
But here's the odd thing: "Five countries, 25 states and the District of Columbia were represented in the contest." Not very representative, is it?
Another odd thing, The Star Online says: "Ice Mist bottled water from Morarp, Sweden and tap water from Desert Hot Springs, California, were ruled the best in the world"; but USATODAY.com says: "Tap water from Desert Hot Springs, Calif., was ruled the best in the world"
16 January 2004 0 comments Sweden, Politics
"China vows to increase prosecution cooperation with Sweden [...] on prosecution practice and prosecutors training"
Wow! Talk about Yin-Yang. China, with the highest capital punishment ratio in the world; Sweden, where you get looked up for 5 years (3,5 if good behaviour) for the same crime. And! In Sweden they probably have uncensored broadband access in the cells. (was that a joke?)
Now these two countries are working together. I've never studied law, but I guess "prosecution" is more the process of court-work to prison etc. Not so much crime-law and prison sentence.
All together I think this is good news. China needs to reconsider much of its crime and punishment policies. The flattering news for the Swedes is that it's China who is changing, with Sweden as its mentor. Not the other way around.
"Bodstrom [Thomas Bodström, Sweden's Justice Minister] said that China has undergone tremendous changes in its judicial field since the country's reform started about two decades ago."
BUT! This news site, Xinhuanet is probably government controlled and biased and I haven't seen anything about this on DN.se (liberal, one of Swedens biggest newspapers) yet.
21 December 2003 1 comment Sweden
Today I am leaving for Sweden to celebrate Christmas and the new year with family and friends. I come back on the 4th of Jan and sadly when I come back I have two exams to take on the 6th of Jan.
I will check my email but only very sporadically so don't send me anything urgent. Hopefully my UK mobile will work there too, but if not my parents number is +46 39010186.
Here's a webcam facing the centre of town
23 October 2003 0 comments Sweden
"A Swedish tourist who tried to smuggle eight baby snakes, four of which were venomous king cobras, into Australia in his trousers has been jailed for two months."
Some nutter tried to smuggle venomous king cobra. Not in a lunchbox or anything but in his trousers! Amuzing
