#TasteTheFeeling

(via J.M.G.)

Ahhh this is the effect a hot and bothered pool boy can have on a traditional family's values.

Happy Halloween!

"Trick or Treatin'" by Tomais Ashdene

We don't traditionally celebrate Halloween in Sweden. It's only existed here since sometime during the 1990's, mostly as a result of some clever marketing targeted at small children and teenagers. The only places I know of that celebrate it are daycare centers.

I am still on the fence whether the tradition will stay with us or not, but as there is money involved in the sales of costumes, makeup and - last but not least - pumpkins, it may follow and grow with the kids now being indoctrinated with it. So we shall see... However, I am hoping not, because there is so much about this holiday that - in Sweden - just screams alien invasion and commercial greed.

To those of you who love the tradition, who have grown up with it and to whom it is a part of your cultural heritage I wish you all a very

H A P P Y    H A L L O W E E N !

Keep Safe with Tom of Finland

I don't usually run first life product advertisements, but once in a while I may be convinced to do so without monetary gain.

Nonetheless, when this press release from Jalo Helsinki appeared in my email, I knew I simply had to run it.

Tom of Finland and Jalo Helsinki are ready when things start getting hot at home

"Finnish fire safety company Jalo Helsinki and Tom of Finland Foundation have teamed up to create a new line of red-hot fire safety products. Four of Tom of Finland’s iconic drawings will appear on Jalo Helsinki’s fire blankets, raising the temperature on interior design goods.

The blankets can extinguish small fires, but while there are no flames, users can have Tom’s art on display to enjoy, within easy reach and in case of emergency.

“A fire blanket by nature is quite a practical application, but we also want it to be beautiful and meaningful beyond its primary function” says Olli Nuutila, CEO of Jalo Helsinki. “By launching, we want to communicate Tom of Finland’s message of love, respect, tolerance and freedom through display of our fire safety products” he adds. 

The Jalo Helsinki team worked with Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles to identify inspiring and iconic drawings to grace the fire blanket covers. Dubbed The Leader, The Aviator, The Hero and The Dog are quintessential examples of the Finnish artist’s work featuring men depicted as powerful, distinctive and unafraid - notions that ran counter to the prevailing sentiment in the late 1950s when Tom of Finland drawings first started appearing.

“This collection of fire blankets is a wonderful hybrid between art and design, and further elevates Tom’s work to heroic proportions. We are honored to partner with Jalo Helsinki in making Tom’s drawings and message easily reachable and always available.“ says S.R. Sharp, Curator at Tom of Finland Foundation.

“When we started our collaboration project with Finnish designers and artists - some iconic, some emerging - we knew that we wanted Tom of Finland on the list. He represents freedom, pride, and promotes a respectful attitude towards other people. His body of work embodies this universal message that we also stand for as a company” says Nuutila.

Jalo Helsinki’s fire blankets comply with EU fire safety standard EN 1869:1997 and are available to buy online through the Jalo Helsinki shop."

Press contact:

Olli Nuutila,

CEO & Co-founder

 olli@jalohelsinki.fi

+358 40 578 0109

Media Kit

About Jalo Helsinki Jalo Helsinki is a Finnish design company turning fire safety products into beautiful design objects and improving user experience with the help of internationally famous designers. The company’s current products range from smoke alarms to fire blankets. Jalo Helsinki was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. More information: www.jalohelsinki.com

About Tom of Finland/Tom of Finland Foundation (Touko Laaksonen, Finnish 1920 - 1991), is the creator of some of the most iconic and readily recognizable imagery of post-war gay culture and is regarded as one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. He produced thousands of images beginning in the 1940s, robbing straight homophobic culture of its most virile and masculine archetypes (bikers, hoodlums, lumberjacks, cops, cowboys, and sailors) and recasting them through deft skill and imagination - unapologetic, self-aware, and boastfully proud enthusiasts of gay sex.

In 1984, the nonprofit Tom of Finland Foundation was established by Durk Dehner and Touko Laaksonen. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homo-erotic art, the Foundation’s original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened to offer a safe haven for all art in response to rampant discrimination against work that portrayed sexual behavior or generated a sexual response. Today the Foundation continues in its efforts of educating the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and in promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality. More information: www.tomoffinlandfoundation.org

Commercial Break

Safe In My Hands - Eli Lieb

(via J.M.G.)

Eli Lieb sings his song in a commercial for an auto insurance company. I couldn't find the full song anywhere yet and this animated version is really cool. Enjoy!

Zlatan, Volvo & Wilderness

Music by: Zlatan Ibrahimović featuring Day - "Du gamla, Du fria" (The Swedish National Anthem)
Produced by Max Martin

Clip description:
"Sweden is our home. Mountains, vast forests, long distances, sun, rain, darkness, snow and ice. This inspires and challenges us when we develop our cars. The Swedish wilderness is our heritage and it is here we find our strength. Just like Zlatan Ibrahimović. This is our celebration of Sweden."

---

Zlatan (the son of a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother who individually emigrated to Sweden, where they met each other, fell in love, married and built a family), is undoubtedly the most widely loved Swede living today, although his "Swedishness" is disputed by a small clique of xenophobic extreme nationalist. 

Zlatan is a professional footballer who at the moment plays for the French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team. He has previously played for the Swedish club Malmö FF, the Dutch club Ajax, the Italian clubs Juventus, Inter Milan and A.C. Milan and the Spanish club Barcelona (briefly). Zlatan is regarded to be one of the best footballers of his generation in the world.

Volvo is a Swedish multinational manufacturing company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its principal activity was the production, distribution and sale of cars, trucks, buses, and construction equipment. In 1999 the car division, Volvo Car Corporation, was sold to the American Ford Motor Company, who in turn sold it to the Chinese motor manufacturer Geely Automobile (owned by the Chinese Zhejiang Geely Holding Group) in 2010.

Notwithstanding these facts, Volvo Cars is still a Swedish company with its headquarter based in Sweden and its production in Sweden and Belgium. (Some cars are also produced in China, but exclusively for the Chinese market.)

So Zlatan, driving in a Volvo and cavorting about in the empty Swedish wilderness while rapping the Swedish national anthem, kissing and cuddling a blonde woman and blonde children after taking a sauna in a log cabin in the woods and jumping into an ice hole afterwards is about as Swedish as you can get - at least for 95% of the population in Sweden. We love it and ignore the clique who don't.

The only thing "un-Swedish" about this commercial is that Zlatan is actually wearing trunks when he jumps into the ice hole, no decent Swede would ever do that. It's pure blasphemy against everything that is sacred, nature should be met in the flesh as every Swede knows! 

Video Commercial

(Tipped by longtime Bock in SecondLife reader - who also happens to be my SecondLife son - Guyke Lundquist)

This is a video commercial for an exceptional store in SecondLife. Miamai. The store is loaded with lots of interesting and unusual stuff. It proves beyond any doubt that SecondLife is still alive and kicking and that we have wonderful, imaginative and skillful creators, designer and builders.

Yesterday I got the wonderful black hat from there, just because it is beautiful work. I will alas only be able to wear it on those rare occasions (once a year) that I do drag.

Love Stockholm

(via Qx.se)

Stockholm is trying to target the gay tourists with this commercial, not a bad one actually and not untrue.

The Importance of Forwarding Your Mail

This is a commercial currently running on Swedish television on the importance of ordering forwarding of your mail when you change your address.

The captions at the end say, "Today Kjell lives with Britt-Marie", "Don't miss important mail" and "Order mail forwarding when you move"

Kjell asks: "A croissant?":
Britt-Marie answers: "No, I'm fine!"

Cute isn't it?