"A" is for Awesome and ABBA as the new ABBA Museum in Stockholm officially opens this afternoon. Monday night's gala premiere brought Anni-Frid, Benny and Björn together, cheered on by a select group of invitees from across Swedish society and the music industry, who are, in the end, just fans of the band like everyone else, and very excited that this amazing museum is FINALLY a reality; #abba, #AbbaMuseum, #ThankYouForTheMusic, @stockholm, @sweden

Euronews YouTube Channel video: Euronews reporter Valerie Zabriskie speaks with lucky Abba fan club members selected to get a sneak preview of the new museum in Stockholm. Uploaded May 5, 2013. http://youtu.be/xbDW3FdtEgM

"A" is for Awesome and ABBA and the new ABBA Museum in Stockholm, which officially opens today at 1600 Stockholm time/10 a.m. Eastern U.S. Monday night's gala premiere brought Anni-Frid, Benny and Björn together, cheered on by a select group of invitees from across Swedish society and the music industry, who are, in the end, just fans of the band like everyone else, and very excited that this amazing museum is FINALLY a reality; #abba, #AbbaMuseum, #ThankYouForTheMusic, @stockholm, @sweden

I could mention who some of these VIPs are and why they're important and why they're there,

but that's not worth spending the time it would take today to do that, and besides, TMI as I'm sometimes reminded by friends here in Hallandale Beach and elsewhere around the globe.

Plus, I've had a very clear idea of how this particular blog post would look ever since I was there in January, so trying to explain to you all who Carola or Sarah Dawn Finer are and why they are in the video below iis, well, just a losing proposition today.

Aftonbladet TV video: Här invigs ABBA-museet -Jonas Bilberg levererade livebilder från galaöppningen. 
May 6, 2013. http://tv.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/article11311.ab

Aftonbladet TV video: Här inviger kändiseliten ABBA-museet  
7 maj 2013 00:12
http://tv.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/article11311.ab

It's enough to know that it's logical that they were there.
Just go with it.

BBC-TV video

Abba museum in Stockholm celebrates Swedish pop group

7 May 2013 Last updated at 04:22 ET 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22431181

BBC-TV video

As the Abba museum prepares to open its doors in Stockholm, the BBC's Russell Trott takes a look inside.

6 May 2013 Last updated at 21:54 ET

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22429172

Aftonbladet TV: Nu öppnar ABBA-museet, Björn Ulvaeus: - "Kan visa det för barnbarnen med stolthet" 6 maj 2013 15:31
http://tv.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/musik/article11284.ab



SVT video: TV Abba-museet öppnades
http://www.svt.se/nyheter/article1203720.svt


NTDTV -ABBA Museum in Stockholm

Tickets for the much-discussed and anticipated museum that's full of innovative technology run about 195 SEK/ just under $30 U.S. for adults, and 50 SEK/$7.63 for children up to age 8, at today's current ratio of about 6.52 Krona to the dollar, more or less.

But fair warning, the museum in the beautiful Djurgården section of Stockholm WON'T take bills or coins, only electronic payments, because as the museum puts it loftily, "Vi har en dröm om ett kontantfritt samhälle, därför går det inte handla med mynt eller sedlar hos oss."
("We have a vision of a cashless society, therefore we don’t handle coins and bills." )

Yes, sorta like in the future as seen in Star Trek, but not quite, since there's a 5% discount with MasterCard.

Björn's explanation on why abba-museet doesn't take bills and coins, largely to prevent crime, has a great introduction that only a real genius like him could get away with saying in his Big Picture way

There was a time when bills and coins served their purpose. They replaced cumbersome barter and made trade between people and nations possible. But do they still serve this purpose? Do we really need cash? Or is it a fixed idea like with Scrooge McDuck? Have we lost the ability to see that coins and bills are mere symbols and that those symbols easily could be exchanged for others? Cards and smartphones today and who knows what in the future.

Read the rest of Björn's comments at http://www.abbathemuseum.com/cashless

Combining innovation, ideals, crime-fighting and Scrooge McDuck! 

Brilliant!!!

Dags för ABBA The Museum 
by Lars Epstein 
15:14, May 6, 2013
http://www.dn.se/blogg/epstein/2013/05/06/dags-for-abba-the-museum/

According to Lars Epstein's post yesterday, above, at his Stockholm-centric Epstein's STHLM blog at Dagens Nyheter, the museum is expecting about 217,000 visitors a year.

Yes, holograms...


ABBA Museum website:

In Swedish: http://www.abbathemuseum.com/

In English: http://www.abbathemuseum.com/en/

Here's the website of the ABBA Museum exhibit at Stockholm Arlanda Airport that I saw back in mid-January when I arrived for my nine-day trip in Stockholm, where I snapped some photos while waiting around for my luggage at the arrival carousel at Terminal 5, which was festooned with photos of... who else?
http://www.swedavia.se/arlanda/om-stockholm-arlanda-airport/om-flygplatsen/official-airport-of-abba-the-museum/

All original photos on this page by South Beach Hoosier. © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved. Right-click photos to enlarge them.

For someone like me who has been a huge ABBA fan for more than two-thirds of my life, the  biggest ABBA fan that most people I've known have ever met, as small as this exhibit at the airport was, in looking at it and reflecting back on everything, it was hard to get over the fact that for so long, like millions of other fans, we fervently hoped that there'd be a museum some day that would be shaped along the lines of,,, well, just what they seem to have actually done: music plus heart -musik plus hjärta.

Like those other fans of the band, over the past 20 years I've given up counting how many interviews I'd seen with the band members, especially Benny and Bjorn, discussing the idea
of it, but quite naturally, being somewhat unsure of how to answer such a question without seeming pretentious.
But it IS a weird question, isn't it, when you really think about it?
Should there be a museum that people pay to get into that's all about you and three other people you've known for most of your life?
How do you answer that?

TheSpringOf74 YouTube Channel video: ABBA - Dancing Queen - LIVE at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, June 18, 1976, at the gala tribute to Sweden's King Carl XV1 Gustaf and future wife and Queen, Silvia Sommerlath, the night before their wedding. If I remember my ABBA history correctly, this was the first time the song had ever been performed in public in Sweden. http://youtu.be/33Yj5pbsXAs

Above, in my humble opinion, the single best version of this iconic song ever recorded on film.

Here are those January 10, 2013 photos I snapped at Arlanda before and after grabbing my luggage:
 

All original photos on this page by South Beach Hoosier. © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Here's how they appear on the airport's official exhibit web page:
http://www.swedavia.se/arlanda/om-stockholm-arlanda-airport/om-flygplatsen/official-airport-of-abba-the-museum/

You can see more photos of this exhibit by going to Google Images using these words as your search terms: "Terminal 5, Arlanda, ABBA"

Here's the link to the ABBA Museum-related news videos that have run on TV4, most recent first, obviously, in Swedish, but many with lots of great video of the musem: http://www.tv4play.se/s%C3%B6k?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Abba

Obviously, there's a lot to see and watch!

Tourists, "amateur detectives" and the curious descend on Giglio to see Costa Concordia shipwreck for themselves and opine on its future

Euronews video: Tourists, "amateur detectives" and the curious continue to descend on Giglio to see the Costa Concordia shipwreck for themselves, and opine on its future. Death toll now stands at thirteen. http://youtu.be/2ISKK6XDqTM


On Thursday I got the chance to watch Aftonbladet TV's LIVE streaming of the disaster site for about a half-hour or so, and was quite amazed at how LITTLE was actually happening in the early afternoon, their time.
It was very odd and no doubt a bit distressing for family members to observe. I emailed the URL out to some of you and would include it here but it's no longer operating.



Aftonbladet TV video: Video of the Costa Concordia and computer graphics depicting various options that may be employed to salvage and tow the ship
away to safety. January 2012.
http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/nyheter/olyckor/article14233903.ab



Euronews video: Decision on Costa Concordia salvage operation imminent. January 22, 2012. http://youtu.be/HoeoO4jR8ms


See more videos of, on and near the ship at:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/nyheter/olyckor/


For a discussion of how society's norms have changed since the Titanic disaster 100 years ago, see

PJTV video: Costa Concordia disaster: Women and Children First?
http://www.pjtv.com/s/G43TMNA


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http://www.aftonbladet.se/

Wrong again! Swiss voters disappoint pro-chaos & confusion European news media predictions re Swiss People's Party, who remain THE most popular party

Euronews video: Despite losses in Swiss election, rightist People's Party remains largest party in country

http://youtu.be/S4QDzDo4MDU

Wrong again! Swiss voters disappoint pro-chaos & confusion European news media predictions re Swiss People's Party, who remain THE most popular party

Once again, as they did with the French and British elections, the U.S. Mainstream Media's print and electronic cousins in Europe tried to write the headline for a story before the election took place, with the result that they got caught with their pants down again when voters didn't play their parts as vox populi puppets, and do exactly what the news media said they'd do.

As for instance in The Telegraph: Swiss far-right party SVP aiming to make election history

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/8837942/Swiss-far-right-party-SVP-aiming-to-make-election-history.html

Yes, I hear hear there's a lot of that going around...

Predictably, the BBC, after-the-fact, says rather arrogantly,

"Voters know many Swiss businesses, and their health service, depend on foreign workers, our correspondent says."

Yes, but Helvetia depended upon them just as much before, where previous elections resulted in the People's Party gaining some seats they have now apparently lost.

Time for the news media to work on getting a more accurate list of excuses and alibis for why their elections predictions -with matching horror stories about the Right- failed once again to come true.

When you read the BBC story below, you'll see that the key fact that the People's Party remains the largest in the entire country with 25.9%, one-third larger than the Socialist Party after the election, doesn't get mentioned until the last paragraph, instead of the first where it belongs.

Sort of makes you think they almost hated to mention it.

The BBC story -and likely any story you see about this election in the next few days in U.S. newspapers- also doesn't mention the germane fact that prior to the weekend election, the People's Party had THE largest percentage of the vote in Switzerland since the current system went into effect 92 years ago.

So answer me this question, in a modern, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual country like Switzerland, how exactly does the European news media get away with continuing to say that THE most-popular party is outside of the mainstream?

They are the mainstream.

BBC

Poll jolt for Swiss anti-immigration People's Party

23 October 2011 Last updated at 15:18 ET

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15418331

See also: Switzerland debates tough deportation proposal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11847113

Sting sings at sixty -Turns 60 on Sunday, celebrates 25 years as solo artist, and begins 'Back to Bass' North American tour in October

Euronews le mag video: Sting sings at sixty, September 30, 2011.

http://youtu.be/12G__SCf6Ts

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http://www.sting.com/

B

STING: 25 YEARS IS OUT NOW! This stunning retrospective captures for the first time both the highlights and rarities of Sting's enduring solo career. The box set features: - Three CDs with 45 re-mastered tracks personally curated by Sting. - All of Sting's top 40 hits includingSeven Days, Englishman In New York, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You and Fields Of Gold. - A DVD with previously unreleased footage of Sting's 2005 Irving plaza show. - Hardcover book featuring intimate photos, lyrics and introduction by Sting. An absolute must for any Sting fan, Sting: 25 Years is out now. Don't miss out - order your copy today! COMING SOON - STING: THE BEST OF 25 YEARS! 2CDs with 31 remastered tracks, including several remixes and previously unreleased live versions of "Message In A Bottle," "Demolition Man" and "Heavy Cloud No Rain". Sting: The Best Of 25 Years is out on the 24th October. Pre-Order your copy now!

On Monday, Sting will be appearing on CBS-TV's "Late Show with David Letterman" as a guest and the musical performer. Don't be too surprised if Sting winds-up performing on NBC-TV's "Saturday Night Live" by Thanksgiving, too.

Universal Music UK's blog, Umusic, is a great way to keep up on new and old artists signed to Universal's eight well-known labels -including our old pal, Pixie Lott, of course, on Mercury Records, whose new album comes out in the U.K. on November 7th.

http://www.umusic.co.uk/umusic-blog

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If you're interested in a knowledgeable contrast to the Obama-besotted American MSM, might I suggest you becoming familiar with Euronews? http://www.euronews.net/

Euronews English-language YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Euronews