Poor news coverage in U.S. of terror attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris reminds us of what we've complained about for years: inferior news coverage of foreign news on U.S. TV networks! Save yourself the aggravation of watching PC and sanitized MSM newscasts and start watching Sky News and France 24's English service if you really want to know what's going on in France right now

WE ARE NOT AFRAID. A selection of 72 covers in solidarity with #CharlieHebdo via @benoit_tessier @NewspaperWorld pic.twitter.com/RAVZSDwVqY
— Vincent Peyregne (@vincentpeyregne) January 7, 2015

I dag är Expressens hela förstasida tecknad – jag förklarar varför på http://t.co/DLfDIOsQi0 › pic.twitter.com/7iqzOv9h2k
— Thomas Mattsson (@ThomasMattsson) January 8, 2015

#SkyDebate @DouglasKMurray defends Charlie Hebdo's "lampooning" of political and religious figures in France http://t.co/Z5knLsSn9F
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 8, 2015

FRANCE 24 live news stream: all the latest news 24/7 https://t.co/4yt6nafpIg
— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) November 25, 2014

As many of you know from my past blog posts here over the years, due largely to my own wide-ranging pursuits, interests and inclinations, I've been watching Sky News and France 24's English and French language service for many, many years and have been watching them again since 

this terror attack happened in Paris yesterday.

(And SVT, SVT Play, TV4 and TV4 Play in Sweden, too, of course. Especailly the morning news shows like SVT's Gomorron Sverige and TV4's Nyhetsmorgon both of which I watch when I can and whose daily newsletters I receive, just as I receive Channel 4 News' daily Snowmail. 
I'll even admit to a bit of a crush on TV4 presenter Tilde de Paula Eby! 
Then again, over the past five years or so, I've gotten VERY frustrated with BBC America's mediocre programming lineup that for so long has featured StarTrek-TNG episodes instead of the sorts of engaging and compelling news shows and documentaries that have recently aired back in Great Britain, which I'd much rather be watching.)

The news coverage of yesterday's Paris terror attack at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo reminds us of what we've complained about for years: inferior news coverage of foreign news on U.S. TV networks. Save yourself the aggravation of watching PC MSM newscasts in USA that sanitize news and start watching Sky News and France 24's English service if you really want to know what's going on in France right now

I strongly encourage you to check these tow news outlets out so you can see and hear the facts 

for yourself and not be forced to wonder, as so many do, why the highly-edited and highly-sanitized 

versions of reality seen on US. network evening newscasts, especially important news in foreign countries, seem to leave out so many important and salient facts after they are edited out in London:

http://news.sky.com/watch-live

http://www.france24.com/en/

Want to know what's going on? 

Close your mouth, open your eyes and expand your news horizons.

Dave

Twitter: @hbbtruth, https://twitter.com/hbbtruth
https://twitter.com/hbbtruth/with_replies
http://www.hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/HallandaleBeachBlog

LIVE online TV coverage of #StormSt.Jude #StormenSimone hitting southwest Sweden, including Halland. Reports of hurricane strength in places. Öresund Bridge between Copenhagen and Malmö remains closed to traffic as of 8 p.m. Video of one-woman gang Nike Jacobson remaining steadfast as the winds howled

Above, my screenshot of Expressen reporter/camera operator Nike Jacobson keeping her cool and remaining steadfast while being buffeted by the high winds of Stormen Simone, as the following video shows:

Vi sänder live och ger er senaste nytt om stormen Judas. Vårt team rapporterar direkt från västkusten. http://t.co/9JkQE7S6rG
— Aftonbladet TV (@AftonbladetTV) October 28, 2013

More screenshots of mine from this afternoon my time, evening in Sweden.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/live/2/

Expressen has amazing multi-media tools to watch/read:

http://www.expressen.se/kvp/live/stormen-pa-vag---klass-3-varning-har-utfardats/

SVT had its usual good and comprehensive coverage at

http://www.svt.se/nyheter/sverige/livebevakning-av-stormen-fran-kl-13 but has now gone to regular news, while the other two remain LIVE.
Not sure if they will pre-empt afterwards.

Posted 2:55 p.m. Eastern U.S. - Will be updating thru the day as events warrant.

Amusing video of Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban serenading (roasting) pal Simon Baker of CBS-TV's The Mentalist at G’Day USA 2010 Black Tie Gala in LA

Expressen TV's video: Se Kidmans galna duett med maken
Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban serenading (roasting) pal Simon Baker of CBS-TV's The Mentalist at G’Day USA 2010 Black Tie Gala in LA in January.
http://tv.expressen.se/noje/1.1849391/se-kidmans-galna-duett-med-maken
This video has a Swedish V.O. but the excerpts of the gala are in English.

Also appearing in video above: actress Cameron Diaz, golfer Greg Norman, actress Toni Colette. Simon Baker and Toni Collette received the Excellence in Television and Film Award. A longer clip of this event -in English- from Access Hollywood is located at the bottom of this post.

I first became a big fan of Simon Baker in The Guardian on CBS-TV in 2001, recording every episode on my VCR when I lived up in Arlington (VA) and watching them over-and-over because of the consistently high-quality of the acting and creator David Hollander's writing.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048932/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian_%28TV_series%29

It was always powerful stuff and in my opinion, the story-lines were definitely the most-realistic on TV, esp. the episodes that depicted people you (Baker) help eventually turning on you and resenting you, despite what you've done.
Wow! Been there!

Sometimes, quite frankly, the dialogue between Baker and Dabney Coleman, who masterfully played his emotionally-distant father, sounded eerily similar to awkward conversations I had had with my own father when he tried to verbally or emotionally undermine some career events I was involved with.

One episode in particular, Heart, Season 1, Episode 8 -with guest star JoBeth Williams as Coleman's girlfriend- gave me some added insight into someone I knew because of how well a particular personal relationship was depicted in the show, which exactly mirrored an awkward relationship I'd previously dealt with. Except now, it all made sense to me!

The Guardian - Heart - Nick & Lesley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3p0lfGSUw0

The Guardian - Heart - Court & End Scenes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNPTHlunZ3M

Simon Baker on The Late Show with David Letterman, 9/23/2009, CBS-TV

"That'll learn ya!"

LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCFSI2Xhz2A


Expressen TV homepage http://tv.expressen.se/

Expressen News homepage http://tv.expressen.se/nyheter

http://www.youtube.com/user/GDay2011

http://www.accesshollywood.com/

Access Hollywood video: It’s A ‘G’Day’ For Simon Baker & Toni Collette

On her big day, Crown Princess Victoria shows how it's done with aplomb -and wows Sweden again

Or, watching det kungliga bröllopet (the royal wedding) from South Florida via SVT on the Internet with almost no sleep whatsoever.

"What a glorious day for a wedding" was the the subject line for one of the emails I received from friends in Stockholm early Saturday morning, who were already making their way to favorite parade "spots" around town to watch the cortege after the wedding, even while I was trying to catch a few hours of sleep, so I could watch all the coverage on Sveriges Television (SVT) starting at 7 a.m. East Coast time in oppressively hot and humid Miami, where you can actually sweat going outside to pick up the newspaper.

SVT's coverage of everything was superb, so much better than I could've hoped, but as one scene after another fell on me, my biggest regret was that I couldn't be there in-person to share the moments with some good and loyal friends, many of whom had feared, as I had, that that day for Victoria and Daniel would never come.
Sometimes, there are no happy endings, even for real life princesses.

If you didn't take advantage of that invaluable SVT web information I shared with you on Friday, you missed one hell of a great wedding, as it was pitch-perfect, and the summer weather even cooperated, with no rain in Stockholm to douse everyone camped-out throughout the city to see the cortege.
Just mostly sunny skies and lots of smiles all around.

My screenshot, above, part of the royal procession in Stockholm on Saturday.

My screenshot, above, some of the throngs of happy people waiting to hear from the King and his daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, after her cortege around the city with new husband Daniel Westling.
The "True Love" balloon was a big hit among the ocean of Swedish flags, with one Danish and German flag also popping-up.


My screenshot, above, of a beaming Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling in their horse-drawn carriage, with Queen Silvia, Princess Madeleine, Prince Carl Philip and King Carl XVI Gustaf waiting to meet them.

I will have a lot more to say about the weekend's events in the days to follow, and I think you'll find what I have to say of interest, especially if you are someone who knows the full story behind Victoria and Daniel finally making it to the altar all these years later.

As impressed as I've always been with the Crown Princess, and for reasons that I've never really mentioned here before in any great detail, I believe she really outdid herself this weekend by handling things with such aplomb and good humor.

All of these qualities, along with her well-known warm, down-to-earth personality, are ones that the majority of people in Sweden know about and respect, almost instinctively, regardless of whatever their own individual political position may be on retaining a constitutional monarchy, or despite what know-it-all foreign reporters, dropping-in for the ceremony this weekend, may have to say about her or the country.

Trust me, those people are very happy for her personally, and proud that she was more than up to the task confronting her with millions of people watching her every move on a day that she once thought might never come to pass.


My favorite screenshot: Crown Princess Victoria, how about a smile for the folks overseas? Alongside Daniel and her parents just moments before she made her short but moving speech that had people laughing -and crying.

Victoria's comments:

Kära, kära vänner,

jag vill börja med att tacka svenska folket för att ni har gett mig min prins.

Vi, min make och jag, är så otroligt glada och väldigt tacksamma för att så många vill vara här och fira tillsammans med oss.

Det är en enorm upplevelse, det är vår absolut största dag hittills i vårt liv.

Att känna ert stöd betyder mer för oss än ni någonsin skulle kunna förstå.

Det är något otroligt.

Idag är en dag som vi kommer att bära med oss i våra hjärtan för resten av vårt liv.

Tack!

SVT video of Victoria's speech to the Swedish people is at
Victorias tal till svenska folket
You can watch this SVT video until Monday July 19, 2011.

Selected video summary from Daniel and Victoria's wedding day in Stockholm on Saturday and the happy scenes that were shared across Sweden. http://www.tv4play.se/nyheter/nyhetskanalen?videoId=1.1686444

See more excellent videos of the myriad wedding events as well as analysis at:
http://svt.se/2.132586/det_kungliga_brollopet_-_livesandningen and http://www.tv4play.se/

Based on what I've seen so far, the best photos and articles have, predictably, been at
http://www.aftonbladet.se/ and and http://www.expressen.se/
They never disappoint.

Now these two organizations know how to put together an interesting and attractive news website, something the Miami Herald could learn volumes from as their pathetic website remains a complete mish-mash and industry-wide embarrassment.
Seriously, I cringe almost every time I go to it, dumbfounded at both its ugliness and complete uselessness, a very bad combination, indeed.

Also be sure to see the great Love Stockholm 2010 3-D photo collage of the crowds outside the royal palace as Victoria spoke: http://lovestockholm2010.se/EN/About.aspx
An ingenious idea well-executed.
Would be nice to see something this clever done in South Florida once in a while. HINT!

And check out TV4 LOVE 2010 trailer!
http://www.tv4play.se/noje_och_humor/nojesklipp?videoId=1.1648320
Wow!

As I said above, there's quite a lot more from me to come on the whole kungliga bröllopet, as well as my thoughts on a really fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary on Crown Princess Victoria that I recently saw which was almost like an eavesdropping C-SPAN TV camera, letting you see things you'd never otherwise never see.

I'll share my thoughts about it, but also give you information you need so that you can see it yourself and draw your own conclusions.
As always, seeing is believing.

------------------------------
http://www.stockholm.se/

Why it doesn't pay to play paparazzo to a Capercaillie -they go for the jugular!

Meanwhile, back in Sverige... Jenny Modin
of Expressen reports on a bird that's on the
prowl, and which has it's eye -and beak-
firmly on usually mild-mannered Ola Petersson.

Jenny gets Ola to describe how, while hunting,
he literally walked into a hornet's nest
-of feathers!- when he innocently pulled-out
his cell phone to snap a shot of a capercaillie
perched up in front of him on a stone,
along a snowy forest road.

When the bird got closer to him, Ola quickly
switched to film mode.

Fortunately for us, despite Ola's obvious chagrin
at what happened to him, he's a very good sport
and gives us a play-by-play of his embarrassing
fowl run-in, and has shared his video with the
world to tell the tale!

Proving Mark Twain's maxim true once again:
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight,
it's the size of the fight in the dog."

It's almost like one of those awful Canadian-made
Sci-Fi films that the SyFy Channel is always
foisting upon us at 2 a.m. on Saturday mornings,
usually featuring lots of snow and bored city
teenagers at an isolated cabin.
But Ola is a better cinematographer!

Här går tjädern till attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZMvCqX7CTU



See also:
http://www.expressen.tv/
http://www.youtube.com/ExpressenTV
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/capercaillie/index.aspx
http://www.expressen.se/

Walking in Memphis on Elvis' 75th birthday: some Swedish and Icelandic treats to celebrate with

1993 Elvis Presley Stamp -Watercolor of Elvis by Mark Stutzmamn

As some of you who've been coming to this blog
for awhile know by now, after my family moved
from San Antonio, where my sister and I were
born and my mother grew-up, my family moved
to Memphis in 1965, where we lived for three
years, and where my youngest sister was born.
We moved to South Florida in July of 1968
just a few weeks after Dr. King was assassinated,
following the horrific aftermath in the city.

It was in Memphis specifically, and the Mid-South
in general, on our weekend family drives around
Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi -not always
so great in an un-air conditioned car with two
younger sisters!- where I first developed my
deep and enduring love and preference for many
things that still remain with me to this day:
the Mississippi River; rhythm 'n' blues; Al Green;
The Andy Griffith Show; Dusty Springfield;
Petula Clark; St. Louis Cardinals baseball on
the radio in the summertime during their mid-60's
glory era; smoky sweet Memphis-style barbecue ribs;
cornbread, and, of course, The King - Elvis.

To a devout Elvis fan like me, who knows just
about everything there is to know about him,
the good and the bad, the best books ever written
on Elvis -by far- are Peter Guralnick's masterful
"Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis
Presley" and the great follow-up, "Careless
Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley."

Each is written with honesty and empathy,
free of the judgmental cant and analysis that
doomed other books that purport to tell the
tale.

It was also while living in The Mid-South,
that I first became greatly interested in the
American Civil War, following a summer
day-trip to Shiloh, the site of the bloody
April 1862 battle.

It was on that summer day-trip that I had
a chance encounter with a VERY old man
on the battlefield itself.
A man whose own father had actually
fought in the battle -and lived to tell
the tale!

For more info on Shiloh, see
http://www.nps.gov/shil/

Spending a day there is an awesome and
eye-opening experience and really puts
things into their proper perspective,
just as my later trips to Gettysburg,
Harper's Ferry, Winchester,
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
did as well, after I moved to the
D.C. area.

You'll recall that a few days ago I shared
video with you of Yohanna singing
Don't Save It All For Christmas Day
at En Sång För Hemlösa 2009 in
Stockholm and encouraged you all
to watch the entire TV program if
you could, because it was so well done.

Well, on what would be Elvis' 75th
birthday I return to our talented friend
from Iceland and share a song that she
recorded last year called Butterflies
and Elvis.

I'm choosing today to also write for the first
time here -though some of you know from
emails- about another young singer whom
I know you all have never heard of before,
but whose talent is so obvious that...
well, the first time I heard him, let's just say
that I was just thunderstruck.

Just like I was the first time I heard
Molly Sandén or Yohanna.
Obvious transcendent talent!

A friend in Europe has seen him on the
Idol Sweden program and she sent me
a video of his audition in Malmö in an
email last year that had the simple words,
"Must see!!!" in the subject header.

Wow! Was she ever right!

I'm talking about Calle Kristiansson,
a name you will be hearing a lot more
of in the future, because seeing and hearing
IS certainly believing.

-----
First, the original version of Mark Cohn's song
that you probably first heard sung by Cher.



When the song was incorporated into the
1997 X-Files episode called The Post-Modern
Prometheus, it instantly became my favorite
episode.
See video of it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CKs8NjusTQ

----

Prepare yourself to be wowed and remember
in the future who first told you about a Swedish
singer named Calle Kristiansson.
Me!

TV4.se
Calle Kristiansson - Walking in Memphis -
IDOL Sweden 2009,
auditions in Malmö

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CESHAeCxV4



-----

Calle Kristiansson - Walking in Memphis -
XL Live Expressen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQtKe9qQYH8



See also:
http://www.expressen.se/
and http://www.youtube.com/ExpressenTV

-----

Yohanna -Butterflies and Elvis
from her Butterflies and Elvis CD



See also: http://www.youtube.com/TEAMYOHANNA
and http://teamyohanna.blogspot.com/
plus http://www.myspace.com/yohannamusic


Memphis Commercial Appeal
Bitter cold can’t keep these Elvis fans from his birthday party
By Michael Lollar
January 8, 2010
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/08/bitter-cold-cant-keep-these-elvis-fans-his-birthda/