curiosities
War on media > new Google+
There is no need to be an expert to notice that social networks are becoming a milestone in media communications as well as a phenomena in sociology. Social networks have become a business itself which moves vast amounts of money focused on advertising and customer´s data trading. The giants of this sector are competing and teaming up to be on the top. In the last years Google has seen how Facebook has challenged it and extended its scope and reputation on the net to another level. Facebook now worth more than Yahoo and Ebay and its recent listing on the NY stock market was an extra platform to increase its presence and opportunities of growth. Despite previous trials of Google for setting up an alternative social network to compete with Facebook, the on-line giant based on silicon valley has not got it yet. Now it seems that Google is about launching what could be a real alternative, it is called Google+. As far as I have read it will include video chat amongst its features but I guess that talking of Google we will find far more surprising features, such as grouping your friends within circles.
The origins of job interviews
For those who are in hunt for a job I recover this funny video from “The Armstrong and Miller Show”, it is quite alike the actual process…
Munich 09′
Around November we decided to seize the cheap prices of the low cost airlines so we book a pair of tickets to visit Munich. Eventually, the journey was quite harsh since we had to take a ferry, a bus, waiting couple of hours for another bus outdoors, the plane, another bus and a train…If I remember correctly we´re travelling around 16 hours so I do not really recommend it… Anyway once there we had a great time and we visit most of the city and the famous Neuschwanstein castles that are located roughly 1 hour by train from Munich… Even though it was the end of November and it was already pretty cold, there were some surfers enjoying the waves produced in a strecht of a tributary of the Eisbach (Ice River) located next to the English Garden, just right by the famous museum “Haus der Kunst”. Although forbidden in the past it seems that Surfing is now (2010) officially allowed. A new sign next to the wave warns that “Due to the forceful current, the wave is suitable for skilled and experienced surfers only”, It seems that the wave wanted to be removed but a Surfers association got the power enough to keep it, It is really curious for visitors… Enjoy the silly music 😉
iNVENTIONS
Couple of months ago, while attending a seminar, the guest professor started to mention some Swedish inventions. I found myself surprised since among them, the professor mentioned some quotidian ones, such as, the pc mouse, the tetrapak or the zipper. Regarding inventions, there is always controversial opinions about the original inventor. Sometimes, ancient cultures are missed here. For instance, China counts with many inventions used hundred years before Europe. I found a video compilation in Youtube with some of the most famous Swedish inventions. As I already mentioned, the authority for such discoveries is always controversial. When watching the video, notice that the telephone was patented by Alexandre Graham Bell and Lars Magnus Ericsson sells improved version of Bell telephone.
Companies
Sweden has a prosperous economy with a significant weight in the export market. It counts with international leader companies in different fields. Some of them are known as Swedish, but not all. Did you know that skype or the newspaper “metro” were created in Sweden? Find below some of the logos of the most representative Swedish companies. Notice that SAS is not 100% Swedish but also Danish and Norwegian, as well as the bank Nordea it is also Finnish.
The famous swedish carmaker SAAB, a classical swedish company which belonged to the American General Motors, was recently purchased by the Dautch company Spyker, which is 200 times smaller than SAAB. Victor Muller is Spyker’s CEO which states: “The main reason why we think Saab will succeed is its unique brand”. The entire acquisition – including funds that will be spent to rebuild the operation – will be financed with loans. A 400m-euro loan ($544m; £348m) from the European Investment Bank was approved on Friday afternoon. You can find more details on this article at BBC news.
Celebrities
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been a brand icon for Swedish companies for many years and Stieg Larsson´s saga, “millenium”, became very popular overnight. Those are examples of characters who most of the people would associate to Sweden. But, there are other names which young generations would not recognize so easily. For instance, this is the case of the Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren, who many of you remember from movies like Universal Soldier or Rocky IV (I always thought he was from Eastern Europe) .Another example is the famous actress Greta Garbo, who played during the silent films Hollywood period. She was awarded as the fifth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. Find below some pictures of some of the most known Swedish celebrities: The tennis player Björn Borg, the Swedish band Mando diao, the inventor of the dynamite, Alfred Nobel or Pipi Langstrump.
Pipi långstrump
When I was definitively coming to Gotland I started to google in detail about this peculiar island on the Baltic sea. What a surprise when I found out that a TV series which many of you probably remember from your childhood was entirely recorded here in Gotland. We are talking none other than Pipi Långstrump. The famous Villa Villekulla is now located just 3 km far from central Visby. The name of the place is Kneippbyn summerland and it is an aquatic park. There is also a small camping and you can rent accommodation next to the facilities with beautiful sights to the sea. I visited it at the end of August, and It was an experience to see Pipi’s house and the Ship. Although, It was rather weird to see everything converted into an amusement park with mini-golf. What to say, everything is marketed today. Anyway, the place was lovely for the kids. The price to get into Pipi’s facilities were roughly 140 kr/14 euros. The aquatic part was closed when I visited so I do not know about the prices. Anyway you can just take a look around, it is for free! Click HERE to go to the website.
Here below, some more information for those who do not know about Pipi. You can also check the VIDEO section.
Pippi Longstocking (Swedish Pippi Långstrump) is a fictional character in a series of children’s books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, and adapted into multiple films and television series. Pippi was named by Lindgren’s then nine-year-old daughter, Karin, who requested a get-well story from her mother one day when she was home sick from school.
Nine-year-old Pippi is unconventional, assertive, and has superhuman strength, being able to lift her horse one-handed without difficulty. She frequently mocks and dupes adults she encounters, an attitude likely to appeal to young readers; however, Pippi usually reserves her worst behavior for the most pompous and condescending of adults.
After an initial rejection from Bonnier Publishers in 1944, Lindgren’s manuscript was accepted for publication by the Swedish publisher Rabén and Sjögren. The first three Pippi chapter books were published from 1945 to 1948, with an additional series of six books published in 1969–1975. Two final stories were printed in 1979 and 2000. The books have been translated into more than 50 languages. Wikipedia.org, 2010
Do you want to see how Pipi looks some years later?
Spanska på Gotland 