The Northern Lights are ALWAYS Trending here at Hallandale Beach Blog, whether high above Sweden, Iceland, Norway or Finland. We don't discriminate when it comes to our awe-inspiring friend, Aurora Borealis!; #chadblakley, #graemerichardson

Northern lights in Norway #amazing #beautiful pictures pic.twitter.com/ok1MezJGyn
— Emilia Watson (@WatsonEmilia) October 15, 2013

http://t.co/Ht6H3M1v6l (Photo: Chad Blakley / Lights Over Lapland) pic.twitter.com/wjAjqvZOHM
— Raven (@tolkienreader69) October 12, 2013

Wow! - beautiful "@fpm919: Northern Lights over Kiruna, Sweden pic.twitter.com/DGAbRPr5gq"
— Martin Stevens (@martindstevens) October 7, 2013

Guardianwitness Bridges small or large that make the business of crossing an experience unlike any other. https://t.co/vvX8TCN20J
— graeme richardson (@igraeme) October 4, 2013

The #NorthernLights have arrived in #SwedishLapland again and in #Luleå yesterday evening there was a fantastic show! pic.twitter.com/X6084wiTvv
— VisitSweden (@VisitSwedenUK) August 28, 2013

Though far from us, the Northern Lights are ALWAYS Trending here at Hallandale Beach Blog, whether high above Sweden, Iceland, Norway or Finland. We don't discriminate when it comes to our awe-inspiring friend, Aurora Borealis!; #chadblakley, #graemerichardson 

Real Time Tweets re Northern Lights are here:

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NorthernLights&src=typd&f=realtime

Oohs and aahs as Lapland tourists view Northern Lights: Photographer Pauli Hänninen of Kittilä had to drop eve... http://t.co/UwfyA9uhlH
— Yle News (@ylenews) October 15, 2013

Northern lights. http://t.co/JWeYk6d803
— Lisa Rank (@kumullus) October 15, 2013

On Friday 11, 'Luleå' was Trending Topic in Sweden for 10 hours: http://t.co/FG6yXb1IzJ #trndnl
— Trender Sverige (@trendinaliaSE) October 12, 2013

Well, my pre-tourney prediction was half-right: Sweden disappoints, but Slovakia will face Russia in IIHF World Championship Gold Medal Final in Stockholm Sunday afternoon; delayed telecast in U.S. at 9 pm Eastern on NBCCS, DirecTV Channel 603

Above, the Finnish first-class stamp that came out in March that features the official mascot of the Championship, HockeyBird. If you didn't already know, Angry Birds was created in Finland by Rovio Mobile.

Well, my pre-tourney prediction was half-right: Sweden disappoints, but Slovakia will face Russia in IIHF World Championship Gold Medal Final in Stockholm on Sunday; delayed telecast in U.S. at 9 p.m. Eastern on NBCCS, DirecTV Channel 603

Daily Recap 19th May  http://youtu.be/t2wQ_iyuX_0

Video of the goals in Slovakia's 3-1 second-semifinal game victory Saturday over the Czech Republic. 
http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/sport/hockeyvm/article14850922.ab


Russia routed co-host Finland 6-2 in Helsinki in the first semifinal game. Finland defeated the USA in the Quarterfinals, while Slovakia defeated Canada in the Quarterfinals on Thursday.


Depending upon where you live around the world, you might be able to watch the Bronze Medal and Gold Medal matches today online at: http://www.youtube.com/icehockey


However, the U.S. is NOT one of those countries, as even the IIHF highlight videos on their YouTube Channel are off-limits if you live in the U.S., which is why I used the Aftonbladet video at the top.
That's real marketing genius at work!!!


TV4 Sweden's video includes highlights of Czech Republic's 4-3 victory over Tre Kronor in the Quarterfinals.
http://www.tv4play.se/sport/sporten?title=sporten_09_00&videoid=2193024&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=permalink&utm_campaign=tv4play.se


The IIHF tourney has been the source of lots of serious -and some would say unrelenting- media criticism in Sweden over the smaller-than-expected crowds that have shown up for some games in what is a world championship tourney, after all.
More fans actually attended some of the Elitserien games this year than attended the tourney.


But whether you think it's the length of the tourney, over two weeks, or the high ticket prices, or both, there seems to be a lot of positing of the old chicken and egg conundrum.


Photo gallery: 
http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/landslag/hockeyvm/wixtromlive/article14732912.ab


Is turnout low because the ticket prices are thought by many to be higher than they should be, leading to a situation where the visiting fans who are able to get away from home for the tourney in Finland and Sweden are being overly judicious in what games they go to besides their own country's, and thus, spending the money at bars, night clubs and restaurants instead?


Is the tourney getting smaller crowds because the Stanley Cup playoffs are still being played in North America and many of the best players of those teams would be playing in the tourney if the NHL had reconfigured the schedule, so why see less-than-the best?
Or, is it the tourney getting lower-than-expected crowds because Swedish and Finnish fans the organizers thought would be attending just aren't really too interested in going to games where neither team is playing -at those prices?


-------


My pre-tourney prediction of Sweden vs, Slovakia came in my April 26, 2012 post titled, Instant Classic video! Romania's National Ice Hockey Team manager lets loose after tough loss to Poland; IIHF World Championship 2012 Finland/Sweden starts next week, 
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/instant-classic-video-romanias-national.html
which featured this amazing video that everyone who sees it just loves because it's so honest!
Warning -lots of expletives are flying in this video!


Romania National Ice Hockey Team manager lets loose with tough love after tough loss to Poland; Tränarens utbrott efter storförlusten Polen - Rumänien. This was following a Group B qualifying game at Krynica, Poland. April 2012.
http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/sport/ishockey/article14728686.ab 

Here's the English language version of the official information webpage, which also has one in Swedish and Finnish: IIHF World Championship 2012 Finland/Sweden

http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/championships/world-championships/finlandsweden-2012/english.html

Aftonbladet's awesome hockey page: http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/

Here's the official tourney merchandise page full of lots of intersting goodies: http://62.20.67.28/wm2012/Servlet

Here's the Swedish Facebook page that has lots of photos of the arena and the preparation:

http://www.facebook.com/iihfvm

Branislav Kysucký's You Tube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/8brano7
http://www.branno.tk/  

Instant Classic video! Romania's National Ice Hockey Team manager lets loose after tough loss to Poland; IIHF World Championship 2012 Finland/Sweden starts next week

Warning -lots of expletives are flying in this video!

But it is still destined to become a CLASSIC!

Romania National Ice Hockey Team manager lets loose with tough love after tough loss to Poland; Tränarens utbrott efter storförlusten Polen - Rumänien. This was following a Group B qualifying game at Krynica, Poland. April 2012.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/sport/ishockey/article14728686.ab

I first saw this video on Wednesday on the video page of Aftonbladet, Sweden's most-read newspaper, and I played it five more times in quick succession... for obvious reasons.

The IIHF World Championship, a 16-team tourney, will be played in Stockholm and Helsinki starting next Thursday May the 4th thru the 20th, with the final in Stockholm at Ericsson Globe a.k.a. Globen.

With the Stanley Cup playoffs continuing and talented teams like the defending champion Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks being eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, some very talented foreign players, and Swedish players in particular, will now be available to play in the tourney from the very beginning.
For the Swedes on those teams, the prospect of returning to play for the Swedish National Team, Tre Kronor, and playing at home, and for for the title at home is very appealing.

Aftonbladet's sports columnist Mats Wennerholm wrote about the subject of these returning NHL stars Tuesday, terming it a "Dream Team": Drömläge, Tre Kronor: Sju NHL-spelare klara – och fler stjärnor på gång  http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/kronikorer/wennerholm/article14725006.ab

My early title game prediction is Sweden vs. Slovakia.
But so very much has changed in the past year for both of these elite teams, something they could have never imagined.

8brano7 video: IIHF World Championship 2012 Finland/Sweden. February 14, 2012. 

Here's the very well-produced unofficial Slovakian video about the Ice hockey Championship, though obviously it helps if you know who the players are, and some of the dazzling plays are beyond description. It also includes a very touching tribute to former Slovak captain Pavol Demitra, who perished in the September 7th Russian airline crash into the Volga River that claimed the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslav KHL team, including Tre Kronor star goalie Stefan Liv. http://youtu.be/lSsY2P5tFZI

SVT video: Minnesstund för Liv i Jönköping.

Thousands flock to Jönköping to say their final farewell to their friend, teammate, neighbor, favorite son and hero, Stefan Liv.

Publicerad 10 september 2011 - 14:00; Uppdaterad 11 september 2011 - 10:08

http://svt.se/2.19691/1.2530099/tusentals_tog_farval_av_stefan_liv

* 2013 Update: This news video, which was VERY, VERY  SAD, has been removed from SVT's website and is no longer available.

My September 7, 2011 blog post on that tragic crash, with videos, was titled,
Swedish National Team goalie Stefan Liv among 43 dead in plane crash into Volga River, obliterating KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as new season starts
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/swedish-national-team-goalie-stefan-liv.html

Above, the Finnish first-class stamp that came out last month that features the official mascot of the Championship, HockeyBird. If you didn't already know, Angry Birds was created in Finland by Rovio Mobile.

Here's the English language version of the official information webpage, which also has one in Swedish and Finnish: IIHF World Championship 2012 Finland/Sweden

http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/championships/world-championships/finlandsweden-2012/english.html

Aftonbladet's awesome hockey page: http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/

Here's the official tourney merchandise page full of lots of intersting goodies: http://62.20.67.28/wm2012/Servlet

Here's the Swedish Facebook page that has lots of photos of the arena and the preparation:

http://www.facebook.com/iihfvm

Branislav Kysucký's You Tube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/8brano7
http://www.branno.tk/  

Nokia N8; When you combine French sexiness and un certain joie de vivre with Finnish design, you get... Nokia's House Party to end all House Parties!

Nokia N8 HD-- My Superfun House Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGamyeJsJ-4&feature=player_embedded

More than anything else, this video reminded me of:
1.) certain elaborate Capitol Hill and Georgetown parties I attended in D.C., minus the bikini-clad wrestlers.

2.) most of the the "Swimmer" parties at IU, in Bloomington, especially those thrown at the Lantern House Apts., circa 1981-83, by my great friend Dave Whitmore from Overland Park, KS, who lived across me at Briscoe Quad my freshman year.
Dave and I quickly became fast friends because of similar interests and geography, he just happened to be faster than me in the water -even while doing the backstroke, his specialty- which is just part of why legendary IU and Olympic swim coach "Doc" Counsilman chose Dave to be captain of the IU swim team, and why I became such a familiar presence at Royer Pool inside the HPER and at their social shindigs.
I even missed the 1980 U.S.-Russia Olympic hockey game the Friday night it was first broadcast because I was at Royer for a meet against Michigan.

"In the Heart of a Great Country, Beats the Soul of Hoosier Nation."
-South Beach Hoosier, i.e. me, in 2007.



Those "Swimmer" parties were insanely fun and animated, and featured some of the most beautiful women on campus on a large Big Ten campus of uncommonly beautiful and smart girls-next-door to begin with, something my friends and I were eternally grateful for.

When there were big sorority social shindigs going on that we weren't part of, we got even MORE of the beautiful coed "Independents," like my sweet and talented friend Laura Seitz from Pittsburgh, also an IU swimmer herself for a while, always so breath-taking and dapper in her sweet cherry red Adidas IU swim jacket, something I can still see today with eyes closed.

Laura was someone I knew from her very first week on campus, as she was also at Briscoe Quad my sophomore year, and for me, sort of became the model for the sort of well-rounded college students that IU has so many of: diligent with her studies, always asking good probing questions, great sense of humor and always game for some tennis on a lazy afternoon or taking in a movie or an IU soccer game.
I was indeed fortunate to have so many high-quality and high-caliber friends at IU the likes of Dave and Laura.

3.) certain IU frat parties, esp. Alpha Tau Omega on Third Street the weeknd before classes started, which featured a live band, or the parties at Sigma Chi that I usually found out about after they'd started by my friend there who could recite the dialogue from Fast Times at Ridgemont High by heart the same way another friend down here at NMB had been able to recite dialogue verbatim from Gone With The Wind.
And accurately, in those pre-video and pre-YouTube days, too, which is all the more remarkable.

If only we had had cell phone technology, camera phones and blogs back then, the fascinating stories I could tell you about my friends and IU with photos...

Like with a Nokia N8, now that I think about it.
C'est la vie

Which reminds me, before it's too late...

Dear Santa, Secret and Otherwise:

The Nokia N8 comes equipped with a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash, HD-quality video recording, film editing software and Dolby surround sound.
http://conversations.nokia.com/2010/04/28/first-sample-hd-video-captured-on-nokia-n8/

Compared to what I currently have to work with now, it would really help a humble blogger like myself ferret-out more hidden facts and capture below-the-surface skullduggery and crony capitalism in action in chaotic South Florida -and look good while doing so!
I only mention it, Santa, since you asked me to be more direct this year and to not beat-around-the-bush.

If you have any questions, please see: http://events.nokia.com/nokian8/home.html

Nokia France YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/NokiaFrance

The official Nokia blog: http://conversations.nokia.com/

WTIU-TV's documentary about James "Doc" Counsilman
http://www.indiana.edu/~radiotv/wtiu/doc/

http://www.finnishdesign.com/

http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx

Sweden's skillful Tre kronor vs. Finland's Susi in Olympic hockey Sunday - Heja Sverige! Heja Sverige!

Heja Sverige! Heja Sverige!

Have been waiting all week for this game,
a rematch of the 2006 Turin Gold Medal
hockey game -Sweden's skillful Tre kronor
vs. Finland's Susi Sunday at 6 p.m.

But because the U.S. Men's team plays Canada
at 7:30 p.m. on MSNBC, Sverige-Suomi ishockey
gets the tape-delay treatment and will be aired
midnight, 12-3 a.m. Monday morning, also on
MSNBC.

Photos of the Olympic team, Tre knonor, and
Damkronorna, i.e the Swedish Womens team,
which plays the U.S. on Monday, playing on
SA network from 3-6 p.m.
http://www.sok.se/vancouver2010/sverigestrupp/ishockey.4.5ca279741267328c60f80002290.html

For more on the svensk ishockey,
see http://www.hockeykanalen.se/
http://www.expressen.se/sport/os2010/1.1830301/sa-ska-tre-kronor-forsvara-os-guldet
and http://www.expressen.se/2.3324

Here, Jill Johnson sings a song meant to
inspire the Swedish Olympic teams.
http://www.sok.se/

I know; it sort of surprised me, too. I'd never
have guessed THAT song.
http://www.sok.se/vancouver2010.4.1264560211c46255bc0800012759.html

Yes, it's the same amazing Jill Johnson whose
great 2007 video I had here last year singing
Jolene, from TV4's Bingoletto.



-----
Back on Wednesday, TV4 ran this story on
Sweden's chances of winning the hockey gold.

Ankan om Tre kronors chanser i OS
Anders "Ankan" Parmström drar upp riktlinjerna.
Max Grinndal reports from Vancouver

http://www.tv4play.se/aktualitet/nyhetsmorgon?videoId=1.1513416