The Shameless Grafter

Maltese John Dalli, the former Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs in the European Union resigned Tuesday due to charges of fraud.

The resignation occurred after the European Union's anti-fraud office, OLAF, presented the results of it´s investigation showing that a Maltese entrepreneur had approached the Swedish snus (Swedish snuff) producing company Swedish Match and, while referring to his close association with Mr. Dalli, tried to receive "substantial financial benefits" in exchange for influence over a future bill on removing the ban on sales of snus within the European Union.

However, no transaction occurred between Swedish Match and the entrepreneur. "We unfortunately found that the offer was credible and that it was linked to the Commission's political leadership. The professional decision was pretty simple: it was to say no. It is not in our DNA or culture - or the Swedish character, what do I know - that one works that way, it's completely unattractive" said a spokesperson for Swedish Match..

Dalli denies the charges, but the investigation by OLAF shows that he was aware of what had occurred between the Maltese entrepreneur and Swedish Match and had made no effort to distance himself from the matter or to report it.

Rumours claim that Dalli, when approached on the matter by José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, first refused to resign and only did so after being told that he would be fired if he didn't.

Unscrupulous and shameless use of one's position to derive advantages is always ugly. The statement by the spokesperson is rather touching though in all its innocence, because I could name at least five Swedish companies who under similar circumstances have - or would - accept such an offer without hesitation.

Headless

When I logged in to my SecondLife yesterday I had a lot on my to-do-list, since I hadn't been inworld for a week.

The first thing on the list was to check in with my brother in-law Dejerrity Mycron, who lives in the northwest southwest corner of Southern Charm. I was happy to see the yellow dot on the minimap indicating that he was at home.

Before going over to meet him I had to go through my usual preliminaries to get SecondLife to work (it´s been like this the last two years so I am pretty used to it by now). First thing I do is to teleport to Moa, where Ars once had an office skybox for Sarco Sound. The skybox was removed by Linden Lab just a few months ago, so these days I crash to the ground when I get there. However, once I am there everything starts working, the IM´s and notices appear and sounds come back and - above all - I am no longer sunk in the ground.to the ankles and am able to walk around. I then teleport back home and my life begins.

Once I was home again, I flew over to Dej´s place and walked up to him. The man was standing stark naked (without the willy attached) getting ready to dress for the Sunday afternoon party at Folsom.

We talked about how we were doing, recent events and this-and-that while he rummaged in his Inventory and tried things on to get ready for the party. It seems it was Halloween-themed because he ended up as an awesome headless gentleman in a nice tux with his head safely tucked under his arm. The only problem was that the drinking animation took the glass to where the head should be and not where it actually was, so the poor man didn't get his vodka.

I love visiting with Dej and especially like the fact that so much about him reminds me of Ars. Stability, loyalty, love, respect and support - all this even when he is headless.

Take the Poll; Should Ziggy Stay In SecondLife?

Photo by Ziggy Starsmith

Today my hotheaded and passionate buddy Ziggy Starsmith has gone to far!

After a rant against my darlings Linden Lab, where he accuses them of all the problems in First and SecondLife and then some, he ends the post with actually threatening to leave SecondLife by November 25, 2012, if things don´t improve in a hurry!

Read his post here Ziggy On The Edge Of Second Life: Crash After Crash... Second Life Apocalypse.

I left him this response in a comment on his blog.

"My dear, sweet, charmingly hotheaded, fiery and wonderfully passionate but extremely rash darling buddy!

Please read what you yourself have written carefully. You are on the same modem and the same hook-up as Larz and "he has no issues most of the time". Doesn't this tell you that the problem is with your computer and not with SecondLife, sweetheart?

And what the fuck is this shit about you leaving SecondLife? Are you trying to kill me off completely?

I do not care if you don´t own land or if you become a basic account freeloader but don´t you even think of leaving, and especially not for that hellish Facebook of all the damned Internet social networks.

Take deep breaths, my darling buddy, and please calm yourself.

Love you always, even when you become a rash and impetuous Linden-basher!
XOXOXO"

With this post I want to give him a flap in the face and tell him to simmer down, because we are many who actually love him and need him in SecondLife! Take the poll in the upper righthand corner and dammit check the correct option or else...!

I also promise and plan to come inworld more often so that I can enjoy his company more.

Diavolo´s Podcast

Butch Diavolo, my buddy, has now gotten his own place on SoundCloud. Enjoy his first posting!

...and now I am crawling back to my warm and wonderful bed... ;)

Two Turtle Doves

My parents are - finally - reunited again after my fathers short stint at the local hospital.

When I saw my father yesterday he was despondent, feeling abandoned and talking about how he was going to die in the hospital bed where he had been since September 29.

"Everyone else goes home after a day or two here, but they keep me. They will never send me home! I am bored to death and I worry about mother. She doesn't like to be alone, you know, and I don't like to leave her alone either. I miss her."

The two met when my father was 15 and my mother was 16. They married in april 1950 and since then have never been much away from each other, except for their various hospital stays in recent years.

As far as I can remember my parents have always shown their love for each other in an unassuming but highly visible way, except for a short period nearly thirty years ago when I was in my early teens.

As far as I and my older sister (who was married and had moved away by then) have been able to piece together from what we remember and overheard, my father must have had a short romantic fling at the office. When my father broke it off after a few weeks the woman felt obliged to call my mother to inform her of what had been going on.

I remember my mother crying a lot and my father going around and looking like a whipped dog. At the time it felt like this went on for an eternity, but in hindsight it cannot have been for longer than two months until they found their way back to each other. At first very tentatively and carefully but soon their love flowed again and filled the whole family with joy and reassurance that everything was still well in the world.

I remembered that time when I saw them together today. Both radiating with happiness at seeing and touching each other and for being together again.

For some reason I started singing a rewritten stanza from The twelve days of Christmas to myself in the car on my way home, again and again and again... "two turtle doves and a son in a virtual reality" (Yeah, I know the words don´t fit the music well - but I did not receive the Nobel Prize in Literature this year either.)

The Yadkin Valley Festival

My ex-missus and friend Iendi Laville and my friend Gittrika Mint have joined forces and with the help of a few more friends organized an autumn festival.

The program

FRIDAY (times below are CET until I take the time to change the to SLT)
20:30 Inauguration of the stage next to Bounce Bar
20:30 Rola Hykova on the same stage
22:00 DJ Apollon at the Bounce Bar

SATURDAY
10:00 Melodikrysset (a Swedish radio crossword puzzle program not recommended for International guests) at the campsite. It is of course good to just come and hang out also
11:00 Festival Radio. Rattle and music with Iendi and her guests
13:00 aake Roffo will be in place at the Yadkin Exhibition to show the current exhibition. One of the artists may be in place.
17:00 Festival radio transmits Aake´s fairy tale "The Princess and the Frog". You should expect a discussion after the program. The fairy tale will also be broadcast after the events on Friday and Saturday.
19:00 DJ Betty at La Grenouille
21:00 DJ Ikaros at La Grenouille
22:00 AM Quar at Gitts Club
23:00 DJ Kicki on the deck

SUNDAY
12:00 Bright Oh on stage at La Grenouille
13:00 Discs with coffee at the campsite
15:00 Festival radio broadcast replay of interviews with Rola Hykova and Bara Jonson
19:00 Bara Jonson & Free Balan at Gitt´s Club
20:00 Torben Asp on stage at La Grenouille
21:00 DJ Rultan at "The Mushroom"
23:00 Urban Harvy on stage at La Grenouille
24.00 Talk into the night at the campsite. If you hear someone snoring in separate tents it will be Gitt and Iendi. (Wouldn't it be even more interesting if we could hear the two girls snoring from the same tent, my comment)

Iendi and Gitt welcome you all to have a fun weekend with them!

For updates or changes in programming please check The Yadkin Post

Il Ritorno Del Laird

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm and prince of Cascade Falls, having visited Stockholm to descend upon his royal cousins and to lobby the Nobel Committee (to ensure an invitation) for two days has now returned home again.

While in Stockholm the laird thought of his retirement from official duties in the far off future. It is true he has made plans with his sister Millimina Salamander that they would join households when that time comes, but they have not been able to agree on where yet. Bock emphatically refuses to move north and Millimina is hesitant about moving to the south of Sweden.

Well, during his visit in the northern city his mind cleared on where they should eventually retire after partaking of a delicious dinner at the wonderful restaurant The Trattoria by the waters on the quay at Norr Mälarstrand in Stockholm.

"It has to be Italy of course, nowhere else will do! Preferably Tuscany. in Florence, Siena, San Gimignano or any of the many other medieval towns there, The food is excellent, the climate is mild and warm and the men are beautiful. Guyke and Janttu could move into a villa, or apartment, nearby and see to it that we are well taken care of. It´s perfect and I am sure she will love the idea also!"