Bara Jonson - Official Release Party

Today Thursday June 2, 2011, 01:00 PM the Swedish singer/songwriter - and my buddy - Bara Jonson will be singing live for us from his new album "Lost in America .. Somewhere".

The party starts at 12:30 PM (noon) n hour earlier though with DJ Apollon spinning for us - as he will continue doing as the party moves to the Grenouille Inn after Bara´s set.

Come to the Gimle sim or hit me (or any other sexy Swede you may know) for a teleport.

This event is presented to us all by Iendi´s transistor, Iendi and Apollon!

On Snus (a.k.a. Swedish Moist Snuff)

This is a guy putting in a sachet of snus under his upper lip
(from an article in the Finnish online news-site HBL.fi)

I thought the mention of Swedish moist snuff in the previous post might need some clarification for non-Scandinavians.

Snus is - next to smoking - one of the major ways to consume tobacco in Sweden. I should perhaps also mention that the most macho men and some very butch women don´t use the sachet-variety but digest snus in it´s "loose" form:

This is parts of the article on "snus" from Wikipedia: 

Snus (pronounced /ˈsnuːs/, Swedish pronunciation: [snʉːs]) or Swedish snuff, is a moist powder tobacco product originated from a variant of dry snuff in the early 19th century in Sweden, consumed by placing it under the lip for extended periods of time. The precursor of snus, the dry form of snuff inhaled through the nose, was introduced in Europe much earlier. Snus is a form of snuff that is used in a manner similar to American dipping tobacco, but typically does not result in the need for spitting. Snus is also unique in that it is steam-pasteurized rather than fire-cured, is not fermented and contains no added sugar. The sale of snus is illegal in the European Union, but due to exemptions, it is still manufactured and consumed primarily in Norway and Sweden. 

Its popularity is growing in the United States as an alternative to smoking and traditional "chewing" tobacco. In Sweden, snus is often used to quit smoking, which has lead to a significant decrease in the prevalence of smoking among men. In fact, Sweden has the lowest male smoking rate in the European Union. Females in Sweden, who are less likely to use snus, have similar smoking rates to neighboring countries.

Previously, Swedish snus was only available by mail order within the United States; however, an increasing number of tobacco retailers have begun to stock popular Swedish snus products. While it's packaged in much the same way (moist tobacco in a small pouch), production methods vary considerably from traditional Scandinavian methods. Additionally, differences in the way American snus is formulated may also diminish some of the possible benefits. 

Swedish Match, the leading manufacturer of Swedish snus, is currently test-marketing snus in Canada, Russia and several regions throughout the United States.

Watch the video "Swedish Snus - from seed to can"

New Littering Laws

Photo courtesy of Bengt Nyman, Stockholm, Sweden

Sweden gets new legislation against littering on July 1st, 2011.

According to  the new law dropping cigarette butts, spitting out chewing gum or sachets of snus (Swedish moist snuff) and leaving beer cans, used condoms or hamburger and kebab wrappings in the park can lead to a fine between SEK 200 - 4 000 (which is approximately USD 30 - 650).

The new law has been adopted because it was found that the existing legislation on littering was not effective against such petty littering.

As I understand it there will be no exception for champagne corks or confetti but spitting will still be allowed.

The King Speaks

His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, has been making headlines recently for entertaining bare-chested "coffee-girls" at strip clubs and for having close friends who don´t know better than to contact organized crime to try to get hold of the pictures that supposedly exist.

Well yesterday the king finally deigned to let himself be interviewed on the issues by the largest news agency in Sweden. What he said was in essence “I know nothing – and there aren't any pictures to prove it anyway…”

That statement kind of reminds me of the Spanish waiter Manuel, in John Cleese´s old sitcom “Fawlty Towers”. Manuel was constantly running around saying “I know nothing!” in a terribly charming but stupid way.

The king of Sweden has no real power within Sweden itself. He is mostly a decorative and ceremonial adornment to the otherwise parliamentary democracy that is the rule of our nation. However by public international law he still retains certain powers given to any head of state that cannot be removed by national law. 

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According to my personal ethics infidelity is a total breach of the trust that is the foundation of any true marriage or partnership, but I certainly know better than to impose my own ethics on other peoples relationships. After all the sexologists tell us that more than 50 percent of the men and close to 50 percent of the women commit adultery. 

I do not really give a damn if the king has extramarital affairs or looks at the boobies of women young enough to be his own daughters. What I do expect though is that he handles his business discreetly and doesn't expose himself to the possibility of being blackmailed; we pay him well enough for doing just that.

What I most assuredly also expect from my head of state is that he chooses his mistresses with good judgment so that they aren't publicity-craving C-list celebrities and to find close friends among people with enough good judgment not to seek out criminals to try to cover up for him.

After the kings statement yesterday I think we may expect the press scuffling to try to get their hand on the "non-existent" pictures.

A Human Pretzel

If you want to see more uncensored pictures of this human pretzel you have to head on over here.

Awesome and funny pictures of a co-blogger clowning around!

P.S. Yeah, yeah, I know I don´t usually censor a naked body, but I did it this time so you would go to the mans blog for the full frontal view...

Second Pride 2011 - Satisfaction Survey

The organizers are asking us to do a satisfaction survey on Second Pride 2011. Please click on the picture above to get to the survey!

I have a few views which I have already shared in doing the survey.

It was a great party and the DJ´s were awesome. I had a lot of fun and met old and new friends but

• I would have preferred if everything had taken place in the same area
• I missed the opening and closing ceremonies
• I missed the opening and closing parades
• I missed the live acts (below I mention a few that I am sure would have loved to be there)
• Bara Jonson
• Strum Diesel
• Jaynine Scarborough
• SOAR
• Junivers Stockholm and the Cardinals and
• DJ Elfay Pinkdot with her Coffee and Pajamas Jazz show

The Four Bloggers Dance at Second Pride 2011

My friend and co-blogger Eddi Haskell just posted a video on his blog "Eddi Haskell´s Second Life" in it you can see NakedCarl, Jeff Ellsworth, Eddi and myself ("The Four Bloggers") moving our asses to music to satisfy the crowds.

Be among the first in the world to see it, go there NOW!