FOLLOW me on my popular Twitter feed. Just click this photo! @hbbtruth - David - Common sense on #Politics #PublicPolicy #Sports #PopCulture in USA, Great Britain, Sweden and France, via my life in #Texas #Memphis #Miami #IU #Chicago #DC #FL 🛫🌍📺📽️🏈. Photo is of Elvis and Joan Blackman in 'Blue Hawaii'

Beautiful Stockholm at night, looking west towards Gamla Stan
Showing posts with label Sergels Torg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sergels Torg. Show all posts

Friday, April 7, 2017

Today's terror attack in Stockholm at Åhlens Dept. Store - observations and reflections; #openstockholm #STHLM



Today's terror attack in Stockholm at Åhlens Dept. Store - thoughts, observations and reflections; #openstockholm 









The Åhlens Dept. Store on Drottninggatan in Stockholm is easily one of the largest and busiest retail stores in Sweden -and northern Europe- and is located in what they call their Åhlens City location. It's a two city blocks-long store on the city's most famous street for consumer retail shopping that is, literally, a city in itself. Not unlike the nearby and perhaps better-known internationallyretail magnet for upscale consumers, Nordiska Kompanaiet (NK) Department Store..

This store's size and its popularity with both locals and tourists alike is in large part because there are so many large downtown office buildings nearby -large for Stockholm that is- as well as its proximity to many of the city's huge and very busy main train station, 
Centralstationen. 
And, because it's just one block west of the always-busy multi-use Sergels Torg plaza and govt. buildings that are so beloved by residents and tourists, especially me. It's an area where there is constant activity, no matter the time of day.

Above, ground level, looking northeast towards the Sergels Torg obelisk and Sergelfontänen, the fountain, which in the winter becomes the scene of large lighted reindeer, sans red noses. Behind that, across the street on Sveavägen, is the large SEB building, HQ for Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, the bank I frequently used for my 2013 trip, inc. their branch at Arlanda upon arrival and departure. 
Very friendly and professional people, unlike most banks in South Florida. 

 Inline image 1

 Above, looking east towards that same scene but from farther west on the plaza. In the far right, you can see the iconic revolving 22-foot neon, circular Nordiska Kompanaiet (NK) 
Department Store sign not too far away over on Hamngatan, which is green on one side and red on the other at night, with a clock.
It's not only an iconic symbol in the area, but a beacon for those for whom the chic and fashionable life that exists in Stockholm is the only way to go. 

 The plaza is only one of my favorite places in all of Sweden and anywhere actually. I literally spent HOURS standing and walking around it and the adjoining areas in January's cold, marveling at it all -the perfect public square. 
A nexus of high-minded culture, social policy, pop culture, amazing retail shopping, very serious people-watching and the ease of well-located public transportation hubs that make everything seem more intimate and possible. 
Wish we had something like this in South Florida.

My Sergels Torg fountain and plaza in Winter photos are from my blog post of December 25, 2013, from my 2013 trip to Stockholm:

That beehive of activity I spoke of, on a beautiful busy Friday afternoon in Stockholm, is clearly what the terrorists were counting on when they hijacked a beer truck earlier this morning, with the expressed intent of killing as many innocent people in Stockholm as possible. 

Forget whatever numbers you have heard so far via U.S. media about the number of people killed, which is at least 4, 14 injured, because the police have now indicated they will NOT state a number because they know that the people behind the attack will use this for propaganda purposes.

The police and the Security people at Säkerhetspolisen, i.e. SAPO, are still looking for the people behind today's attacks in Stockholm and anyone who aided them.











Below, the words of one of my Twitter Followers who's a pilot for SAS


The Stockholm City Council is offering places to stay for the TENS OF THOUSANDS of people unable to get home tonight because the authorities stopped running commuter trains thru Centralstationen. .

Med anledning av händelse i centrala Stockholm
http://www.stockholm.se/-/Nyheter/Om-Stockholm/med-anledning-av-handelse-vid-Ahlens-varuhus/






The city has been joined in this effort by everyday Stockholm residents upset at what has happened and offering to let people crash at their place until things are "normal."
There's your real story!.

In December of 2010, on one day, that busy area of Stockholm was also the scene of two terror attacks, one of which included suicide bomber Taimour Abdulwahab whose plans was to kill as many people as possible.
Trust me, most of the people who live and work nearby have not forgotten that fact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Stockholm_bombings









Mattias Pehrsson (@masse ): "When the police are scared then you get scared for real







Sanna Rayman, above, never disappoints!
Soon enough, the cynicismThe phones ping and vibrate. "Are you okay?" "Are you?" "But on the job." Hearts, hearts, hearts. Soreness bubbling up, manifesting as fluid in the eye and emotikons on screens, offers a ride and overnight.
 What we love each other, anyway. Soon enough we arrive at the cynicism, quarrels, accusations. Against the media, the police, the politicians. Sometimes legitimate argument, so often exaggerated or exploited. In all this hideous, hide these feelings in the heart, and let them remain as a keynote. Forget them. Even the one you are angry tomorrow, are you prepared to offer sleeping and help today. We stuck together, everyone. Let's try to remember that even when disagreements come. Ok? <3 nbsp="" strong="">







If you want to see the latest news regarding today's attack, here are the best places to do that:





Aftonbladet newspaper:  http://www.aftonbladet.se/
This is exactly what a newspaper is supposed to look like in a moment like this!


 Svensk Hjärta
Stockholm i våra hjärtan. (Stockholm in our hearts.)






Dave 
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Thursday, March 19, 2015

The newest visual variation of "Stockholm i mitt hjärta" - Anton Chivkunov captures the beauty, vibrancy and dynamic buzz of the Stockholm I love in a compelling timelapse film that speaks for itself! Bravo!!! :-) #Sweden @visitstockholm


Anton Chivkunov YouTube Channel: Breath of Stockholm timelapse 2015 50 shades of Stockholm Uploaded March 16, 2015
Go to https://youtu.be/M7w6sejTllM to see a complete list of places shown in film.

Anton Chivkunov: You've captured the beauty, vibrancy and dynamic buzz of the Stockholm I love in a compelling way that speaks for itself! Bravo!!! :-)


The last time I first saw videos of Stockholm that made me feel this way were... 
back in 2011, with 

Allsång - Stockholm i mitt hjärta (Allsång på Skansen 2011)
https://youtu.be/JEPvZBDOjdc

 Måns Zelmerlöw, Björn Skifs, Loa Falkman and Peter Jöback sing Stockholm i Mitt Hjärta (Stockholm in My heart) from the intro of a 2011 episode of SVT's Allsång på Skansen, Stockholm

 and December 2012 of Gamla Stan..
RetardedVideos2013 YouTube Channel video: Crazy snowmobile ride in Stockholm (SWEDEN). Uploaded on December 6, 2012. http://youtu.be/j7sCpSFRKww 

 Hammarbybacken. Stockholm.December 2012 from AnitaN on Vimeo.

Stockholm.December 2012 from AnitaN on Vimeo.
AnitaN's Vimeo video: Hammarbybacken. Stockholm. December 2012
I was especially psyched by this video because originally, when I thought I was going to be in Stockholm right before Christmas, I was going to be staying at the Park Inn Stockholm Hammarby Sjöstad, a nice then-two-year old Radisson property that's not-too-far from the slope seen in the video, located in nearby Hammarby. 
That's the beautiful Södermalm area of Stockholm in the background, and the pink-ish thing that looks like the moon is actually Globen, the Ericsson Globe arena, the world’s largest spherical building. 
Both videos first appeared on the blog in my January 7, 2013 post, written a day or so before I flew to Stockholm from Fort Lauderdale, via Newark and Oslo on SAS.
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/baby-its-cold-outside-but-by-sled-ski.html

 Then last year, 2014, there was Petra Marklund's first show as host of SVT's Allsång På Skansen
Allsång På Skansen with Petra Marklund - Intro, "Stockholm I Mitt Hjärta" & "Händerna Mot Himlen"




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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas to all my faithful blog readers around the world, from a place that's Far From the Madding Crowd of Swedish Moose, Reindeer, Fir trees, Snowmen and snowmobiles -South Florida, where it'll be in the '80's today. But you all know where I'd much rather be today!


Above and below, some of my January 2013 photos at Sergels Torg, Stockholm, Sweden. All original photos below by South Beach Hoosier.  © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

 Above, ground level, looking northeast towards the obelisk and Sergelfontänen, the fountain, which in the winter becomes the scene of large lighted reindeer, sans red noses.
Behind that is the large SEB building, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, on Sveavägen, the firm I used for my currency exchange at Arlanda upon arrival and departure. 
Very friendly and professional people, unlike most banks in South Florida.











Below, earlier in the afternoon, looking east towards that same scene but from farther west on the plaza. In the far right, you can see the iconic revolving 22-foot neon, circular Nordiska Kompanaiet Department Store sign not too far away over on Hamngatan, which is green on one side and red on the other at night, with a clock.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommyajohansson/4948444585/

 It's not only an iconic symbol in the area, but a beacon for those for whom the fashionable life that exists in Stockholm is the only way to go. 

 It's pretty amazing, which is why I have said here on the blog so many times that people who live there REALLY love it in a way that is hard to describe to people who live in South Florida, given the high percentage of people who are from elsewhere.
That's part of what gives it its palpable soul and sense of style.



Above, looking west from ground level near the middle of the Plattan towards the very popular Stadsteatern, the Stockholm City Theatre, http://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/







The plaza is only one of my favorite places in all of Sweden and anywhere actually.
I literally spent HOURS standing and walking around it and the adjoining areas in January's cold, marveling at it all -the perfect public square. I simply couldn't get enough of it, just like when i first moved to washington, D.C. in 1988, and could spend as much time as i wanted on the steps of the west side of the U.S. Capitol overlooking The Mall, or from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking east towards the washington Monument.
A nexus of high-minded culture, social policy, pop culture, amazing retail shopping, very serious people-watching and the ease of well-located public transportation hubs that make everything seem more intimate and possible.

 So unlike South Florida.
[OFFICIAL] Michael Jackson Dance Tribute - STOCKHOLM, July 2009.

 When kids in small towns in Sweden think about what they want to do in Stockholm one day when they are older and have left their bucolic and boring life behind, one of the things they think about is being able to take it for granted that a place like this exists for them, too.
That it belongs to them as much as it belongs to people who have always lived in Stockholm.
There is nothing like this at all in South Florida.
RetardedVideos2013 YouTube Channel video: Crazy snowmobile ride in Stockholm (SWEDEN). Uploaded on December 6, 2012. http://youtu.be/j7sCpSFRKww 
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Irresistible Veronica Maggio delivers two new infectious songs for us to linger over and become addicted to, just when we needed her talent and moxie the most - 'Sergels Torg' and 'Dallas'; Veronica and Stockholm NEVER disappoint!; Jag älskar Sergels Torg!; @veronicamaggio, #stockholm, #sweden, #sergelstorg


UniversalMusicSweden YouTube Channel video:Veronica Maggio - Sergels Torg (Lyric Video). Uploaded August 21, 2013. http://youtu.be/kSdqLlyqZX8

In Veronica's own words from this recent Sveriges Radio interview, it's "a love song about having struggled in vain." 
'Nuff said!
We knew it wouldn't be the same as her last album, 'Satan i Gatan' -and it's not.

 Sveriges Radio
"Du har hittat mitt mest utmärkande mönster" 
torsdag 12 september kl 12:25 Nyheter P4 Radio Stockholm
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=103&artikel=562199

Acoustic?
Sure, we've got that covered :)! :)!
Veronica Maggio LIVE on Radio1 Norway - Sergels Torg (acoustic) Uploaded September 11, 2013. http://youtu.be/Siol4nbT6pw

 Some comments about the new songs at SVT's music blog: 
http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2013/08/20/lyssna-veronica-maggio-sergels-torg/

Sergels Torg, released less than a month ago is already at #12 on the Swedish singles chart, Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish music chart, http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/
EriicTheKing YouTube Channel video: Veronica Maggio - Dallas. Uploaded September 5, 2013. http://youtu.be/Zqzl_udVSkM
Still trying to figure out completely what I think of this song.

COPENHAGEN BETA YouTube Channel video: Veronica Maggio - Dallas (Talk)  
(In Swedish, with Danish subtitles) Uploaded August 27, 2013. 

-----
Long story, sort-of-short: In late May, right before the Memorial Day holiday weekend here in the U.S., and just over four months after I got back from my trip to Stockholm, despite having a Google Alert for her, I hadn't seen anything in ages regarding super-talented Swedish singer Veronica Maggio, whom I've written about a few times here, complete with her crazy-infectious tunes.

 So, I decided I'd spend a little time one weekend at the usual online haunts trying to find out what's the latest with Veronica -whom Google often refers to (unintentionally funny to me) at some websites where its instant translation immediately pops up without you asking it to, as "The Veronicas"- I penned an email to a friend in Sweden with real 'connections' to the Swedish music industry, basically asking ¿Qué Pasa? 
What's going on with her? Was she sick or seriously ill or have some family crisis?

I asked because all of her various personal Social Media sites as well as the Swedish media sites that could usually be counted upon to note any movement or scintilla of news or activity about her seemed unusually quiet. 
Too quiet.

 In the case of her Social Media, it was as if nobody was even bothering to keep them properly maintained, like a lot of dead blogs I could name.
That made me only more curious and even a little bit worried about this curious low-profile for one of Sweden's most talented and popular performers.

 If you didn't know from my previous posts, Veronica is a three-time Swedish Grammy winner, and was Sweden's most-played radio artist in 2012, with three of the nine most-played songs according to STIM, the Swedish royalty collecting society that is sort of like the Swedish cousin to ASCAP in the United States.

 I certainly heard more of Veronica on the radio than any other Swedish artist when I was in Stockholm in mid-January and walking around with my earbuds underneath my Dolphins cap, checking my ears every so often to make sure they weren't getting too cold, since it was never over 20 °F the whole time I was there, and usually in the single digits.

 But I heard her even before I left Arlanda Airport and caught my very comfortable ride via the Flygbussarna airport bus into the city, 40-something miles south on the E4 roadway that had its road lights on full blast at Noon because it was still snowing, though relatively light in comparison with just a few days before.

 These very reasonably-priced buses are frequent, frequent and frequent, to and from the airport to Stockholm, even late at night as I discovered on my way back late Friday night on my last night in the city, which was spent walking around from the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan up to the skating rink at Kungsträdgården, over to Nordiska Kompaniet for an hour and then down to the bus station at Central Station to get an early start on being ready for my Saturday morning flight, which is why I crashed at the airport. 

 *Warning: Arlanda's International Terminals have ZERO carpeting, so while you can use your down jacket as a pillow under your head, the rest of your body is in big trouble with the hard floors. 
Also, there's NO real comfortable seats like you can find at BWI or O'Hare, just lots of blocky and hard plastic-like couches that seemed less inviting than a splintered wooden bus bench, quite frankly, which is why once I got onboard my return SAS flight, tired and sore, I tilted back and slept until we got near Iceland.
ACENDigital YouTube Channel video: Flygbussarna (Swedish Airport Coaches), "50 cars or 1 bus". Uploaded April 29, 2009. http://youtu.be/k5o6oFQwLKA
http://vimeo.com/4410746

Veronica's degree of popularity was proven rather conclusively in this article last winter in Aftonbladet, under the category of Mest spelat i radio 2012: 3 of the 9 most popular songs! #3 was Välkommen in, #8 was Satan i Gatan, and #9 was Jag kommar.
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article15929544.ab

In considering why Veronica might be keeping a low profile, even while recording new material, I also thought about what I knew and had learned over several months about the tragic death last year of her 58-year old friend, the acclaimed producer and sound engineer, Tom Hofwander, and how that might've affected her plans. 
He perished as a result of accidentally falling out of their tour bus in Copenhagen late at night, after they'd finished touring in Denmark in mid-August, and were on their way home to Sweden for their last four dates.
From all public accounts, it seems that while everyone else on the bus was fast asleep, he may've accidentally come into contact with a door release button -located at knee-height- in the back, since a back door opened and...
Really, what can you say?

Aftonbladet
Veronica Maggios ljudtekniker hedrades av svenska artisteliten. Nu slår polisen fast: Dödsfallet var en olycka
By Martin Gustafsson
2012-09-19
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article15464866.ab

A week later, a photo-filled article on the heartfelt performance by Veronica and several artist friends honoring him thru their grief: 
Här hyllas Tom Hofwander
2012-09-25 
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article15509685.ab

But the few articles I could find about her often made no reference to that very upsetting incident, either, so what could it be? 
In retrospect, of course, I shouldn't have bothered wondering, because whatever it was, now Veronica has released two new singles from her fourth album, the follow-up to Satan i Gatan
and already, fans and critics are raving about them, especially Sergels Torg. 







But Sergels Torg is not only a great song, but also a great place that is very important to all of the people of Stockholm, and what an amazing place it is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergels_torg
Below, some more of my January 2013 photos at Sergels Torg, Stockholm, Sweden. All original photos below by South Beach Hoosier.  © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.






Only one of my favorite places in all of Sweden and anywhere, and somewhere where I literally spent HOURS standing and walking around it and the adjoining areas in January's cold, marveling at it all.

 I went inside for an hour or so and gave myself the self-guided tour, and saw the awesome and impressive Kulturhuset arts, retail and civic complex and saw the public library, the theatres, the cozy and chic and alternately swank restaurants, all of which is organized and planned in a stylish way that would cause anyone from South Florida, who is used to the sort of mediocre design and half-assed results we see all around us, to have their jaw drop.

 Plus the very impressive Stockholm on the Move exhibit! 
http://www.fargfabriken.se/en/stockholm-on-the-move
2016 Update: That site was replaced by http://www.fargfabriken.se/en/







That featured a room with a scale-model display of the entire city of Stockholm and environs and what it might look like in the future, which made me thinks of the diorama located at Gettysburg.
That's when all those hours of walking around for days I did really came in handy, since I feel like I now know Stockholm much better than I do Fort Lauderdale right now, which is both odd and comforting. As I've said before, I felt very much at home there.

 Sergels Torg is the sort of public space writ large of the sort where, when you are there for the first time, at least me with MY particular personality, and living in an area of the U.S. like I do in South Florida with none of the energy and synergy it has, unlike when I was in D.C., made me wish that my friends and family could be there so they could be wowed by it, too.
Here's some perspective:
http://en.kulturhuset.stockholm.se/About-Kulturhuset/
Oskar Sigvardsson YouTube Channel video: Robyn - Show Me Love (LIVE, Sergels Torg, Stockholm, 2010) Uploaded March 11, 2010. http://youtu.be/T3IdGD9SLwk


Bounce Sweden YouTube Channel video: [OFFICIAL] Michael Jackson Dance Tribute - STOCKHOLM. Uploaded July 9, 2009. http://youtu.be/lVJVRywgmYM
At Sergels Torg and Stureplan.


Martin Larsson YouTube Channel video: Stockholm in motion. Uploaded January 8, 2013. http://youtu.be/oV_NEayqfvs
This is a terrific video of Stockholm, and not just because I was at all of the popular locations shown here -but two- within one week of this being video uploaded. The only difference was that there was a LOT MORE ice and snow on the ground when I was there! The photo shown here in the vid is of the fountain at Sergels Torg (Sergel's Square in English), festooned with light-covered Christmas trees and reindeers, with the SEB building in the background, looking slightly northwest from the Kulturhuset, also one of my favorite places! I took a lot of photos right around there because there's so much energy there that it's positively infectious. Sergels Torg comes at 1:38.

Some older songs of Veronica's that we love -and frequently sing and hum to ourselves- and have featured before here on the blog:

BBL.se youTube Channel video: Veronica Maggio - Jag kommer (LIVE on SVT's 'Allsång på Skansen' in Stockholm). Uploaded July 16, 2011. http://youtu.be/3LuMvh8nr00

SwedishStereo2 YouTube Channel video: Veronica Maggio - Välkommen in (LIVE on SVT's 'Allsång på Skansen' in Stockholm). Uploaded July 12, 2011.
http://youtu.be/vLP8TLj9cIs 



 allnicktaken YouTube Channel video Veronica Maggio - Snälla Bli Min (with Benny Andersson on piano) on SVT's "Moraeus med mera," aired September 18, 2011. http://youtu.be/sWOHGCKPRfU 


UniversalMusicSweden YouTube Channel video: Veronica Maggio - Mitt Hjärta Blöder. Uploaded February 15, 2012. http://youtu.be/kJafqgvwKMs
UniversalMusicSweden YouTube Channel video: Veronica Maggio - Måndagsbarn. Uploaded March 3, 2008. http://youtu.be/NtJxy0zc7nU


re @veronicamaggio  
Veronica doesn't actually use Twitter herself, but lots of people do in talking about her. 
See what they're saying at: 
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23veronicamaggio&src=typd&f=realtime

 http://www.veronicamaggio.se/

https://www.facebook.com/veronicamaggioofficial
Some of the videos on her official Facebook page will not play for readers in the U.S. since they have not yet been officially released yet by the Universal Music Group, which is why I have them above for you to listen to, notably, Dallas.


https://www.facebook.com/UniversalMusicSweden


https://twitter.com/UniversalSE

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/veronica-maggio

http://www.veronicamaggio.se/kontakt/


For those of you with an interest in her Social Media scores...
http://cn.starcount.com/profile/4f43efe618065b361a000081/veronica-maggio

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