Cheater, Cheater

I ordered a pizza to be delivered for lunch and was waiting for it to arrive. I turned on the TV before it arrived and witnessed a spectacular something to behold.

Melodifestivalen. On my own TV.

Somebody slap me. Eight seconds till Melodifestivalen:




It's Heeeeee-reeee!


No, it wasn't some drug-induced dream or a whacked out signal bouncing off the sun. I paid to get SVT. I'm the proud new owner of a 1 year subscription to SVT World. It's streaming through my Internet connection and it works fantastically well. I've already put it through the wringer since I got it last week and I feel like I've already gotten my money's worth on this first deltävling alone.

I know I'm supposed to only post about Swedish stuff I happen to find, not things I purposely set out to get. That means this post is my first CHEAT. Even though Sweden took over my TV today during MF, it doesn't really count - sadly. But it's fun to see.

Our lovely hosts...



Jessica Andersson pulling out all the MF stops...


One singer, one microphone. Check.
Power ballad. Check.
Dramatic lights. Check.
Emotional performance. Check.
Open-ended lyrics. Check.
Audience waving lights. Check.

A clear winner, people!


The list of competitors and a nice shot of my pizza box just to prove I am in the US with MF on TV:



Yes, the pizza box is nearly as big as my TV. And you thought all Americans had super-sized televisions. Shame on you, you stereotyping Swede you!

And, of course, since no one else is interested in MF but me, I had to find something to complain to when my two favorite picks went to Andra Chansen. I chose this deadly-looking bug sitting on my window. It patiently listened as I jabbered on about the results. I think it's a secret MF fan. It arrived just before showtime and left shortly thereafter.




If this creepy thing is back for deltävling 2, it will only confirm that it is indeed an MF supporter. I hope it does come back because I'm sure I'll have something to complain about after that round is over too.

Happy MF days to everyone watching - wherever you are in the world!

Sweden is on my TV.

Jeans and Genetics

I was at the local Laundromat washing clothes a few weeks ago. I was minding my own business. I sorted the colors and the whites, put in the soap and paid the quarters, then sat down for a quiet thirty minutes of reading. I forgot to bring my book but it wasn't a problem. The Laundromat provided a nice selection of magazines to read. I picked up a recent issue of Time Magazine. The cover looked interesting enough. It was about genetics and environmental factors.

I stood there flipping through the magazine trying to find the article from the cover. I finally found the article and started to read until IT shows up.

There IT is. Again. It's staring at me, stalking me. Like the googly-eyed money pack from the Geico commercials.



Little little Sweden has once again found its way into my even smaller life.

I'm in the local Laundromat for crying out loud. I should be safe from the blue and yellow. Just washing some jeans. Minding my own business. Harmless and boring work. But no, Sweden comes knocking even here.

For those of you who don't know what part is shaded up there at the tippy-top of Sweden, that's Norbotten county. And according to Time Magazine, "Norrbotten is nearly free of human life." I think that's news to the 250,000 people who live there.

If I told you McDonalds couldn't survive in Norbotten county, you might think it was because there weren't enough people to keep them in business, but you would be wrong. It's because Norrbotten's own fast-food chain, Max Burger, whipped McDonalds right out of business - not once but twice. It's one of the only places in the world where McD's couldn't hack it because of local competition.

There's a burger war afoot! You can't have burger wars without people to declare an obvious winner. So while Norbotten county may be a frozen wasteland to Time Magazine, it's anything but for the people who live there and buy those tasty Max Burgers. MMM!!

Oh, and the magazine article was pretty darn interesting too.

Sweden is at the Laundromat.