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Sergels torg plattan at a friday night…

Hötorgsskraporna

The Hötorget buildings (Swedish: Hötorgshusen or Hötorgsskraporna, “-scrapers”) are five high-rise office buildings in Stockholm, Sweden. Located between the squares Hötorget and Sergels Torg in the central Norrmalm district, they stand 72 meters tall and are a clearly visible landmark.

Glasobelisken and Bankpalatset Hästskon 12

Glasobelisken, officially “Kristall, vertikal accent i glas och stål” (Crystal, vertical accent in glass and steel), is Edwin Öhrströms glasobelisk at the Sergel torg in Stockholm. Edvin Ohrstrom won the competition for the decoration of Sergel’s Fountain (which was completed in 1967) with a 37.5 meter steel structure with 80.000 glass prism and illuminated from within. According to Edwin Öhrströms original intentions of the obelisk would be illuminated from within. Such lighting was installed in 1993.

Hästskon 12 (Horseshoe 12) is a property located at the intersection Sveavägen / Hamngatan Street at the Sergel torg in central Stockholm. Building was designed by architect Kjell Odeen 1962-70 as the headquarters for Skandinaviska banken and still works as an office for its successor, SEB.
The building consists of three adjoining buildings, the so called S-huset, M-huset and H-huset, according to their positions against Sveavägen, Malmskillnadsgatan and Hamngatan. S-huset which is located along the Sveavägen is separated from the other houses by Malmskillnadsgatan that crosses the building. The entire building has the shape of a horseshoe upside down. The buildings upper basement level is also associated with the complex web of underground transport and streets submerged shops and walkways around the Sergel torg and Sergelgången.

Kulturhuset

Opened in 1974, Kulturhuset (Swedish for The House of Culture) is a cultural centre to the south of Sergels Torg in central Stockholm. It is a controversial symbol for Stockholm and the growth of modernism in Sweden. Critics find it oversized, malplaced and aesthetically unpleasing.
It was the temporary seat of the Parliament of Sweden (Riksdag) until 1983, while the Riksdag building was remodelled for the unicameral parliament.
Kulturhuset has something for everyone. Every year, they put on thousands of contemporary cultural events. Photo exhibitions, stories for kids, concerts, literary discussions, films, debates and so many other things.

Editions Atlas - Volvo PV 444

Recently I have (re) started collecting car models. After deciding to sign up for the Editions Atlas Collection of Volvo cars, I found out that there are a lot of nice models around. About 10 years ago, when I started to visit Sweden frequently, I bought often little models in toy shops. These were cheap with decent quality. In Sweden they are called ‘Young Driver’, produced by Hongwell. They were stuck away in a box the last years, because they were collecting to much dust. After I got a ‘showcase’ for my models, I’m enjoying it even more. Best quality of the models seems to be from Minichamps, altough Motorart is also giving value for money. Neo models and IXO are also good examples.

List of online places to find good new and used models:

• Tradera .se +
• Blocket .se +
• eBay +
• Editions Atlas Collection +
• Bromma Hobby .se
• collection volvocars
• Lafri .se
• Diecast Legends .com
• Babouin Autoworld .com
• GL modellbilar .se
• Armand Modelcars .nl
• Schuiten Miniaturen .nl
• Hobby4u .se
• SO models .se
• koppen e-butik
• motorart .nu
• nordic-collection .dk

List of 1/43 model makers to find good new models:

• Minichamps +
• Motorart +
• Neo Scale Models
• IXO / Altaya
• Rob Eddie
• Trofeu / HPI Racing

(Shops marked with + have I used recently and work very good, brands with + have I at home)

Some models I bought recently:

Minichamps - Volvo P1800 ES / Motorart - Volvo C30

Minichamps - Volvo V40 & S40

Minichamps - Volvo 740 GL

Motorart Volvo V50 Phase 1 & Phase 2

Minichamps - Volvo S60R & Volvo C70

Some nice automotive graphics by Beau Daniels and Alan Daniels.

Saab 9-3 Cabriolet

Volvo 850

Volvo S40

More graphics on: stock-automotive-illustration.com and beaudaniels.com.

En katt i Paris är en hårdkokt och mycket fransk gangsterhistoria för barn, berättad på ett sätt som man annars mest ser i japansk tecknad film. Huvudpersoner är den stumma flickan Zoé och hennes mamma, som är polis. Deras pappa och man blev dödad av stans värsta gangster och mamman ägnar all sin tid åt att sätta dit honom, vilket ger lite tid kvar åt Zoé. Men hon har sin katt, som på nätterna visar sig bo hos en gentlemannatjuv. De två spåren korsas i denna spännande och välgjorda film som bjuder på ett härligt jazzigt soundtrack med bland annat Billie Holiday. Med några obehagliga scener är det kanske inget för de allra minsta.

Must see!!!

Last week, I read the Zlatan Ibrahimović biography, written by David Lagercrantz. He has written down Zlatan history, as seen by Zlatan. Interesting to see all events from the perspective from Zlatan.

AC Milan's and Sweden's soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic poses during a news conference on the occasion of the promotion of his autobiography "I am Zlatan", in Stockholm

Here is a summary of the book in pictures:

1999 - 2001 - Malmö FF - 16 goals

1999 - 2001 - Success at Malmö FF

2001 - with Leo Beenhakker, signs at Ajax

2001 - At Ajax in Amsterdam Arena

2001 - 2005 - Ajax Amsterdam

2002 - Champion i Dutch Eredivisie, with Ronald Koeman

2003 - Scores at Ajax vs Heereveen - 47 goals at Ajax

2005 - Zlatan moves to Juventus

2005 - Juventus' Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic against Real Madrid.

2004 - 2006 At Juventus, scores 26 goals

2006 - 2009 Zlatan at Inter Milan

2006 - 2009 At Inter, Zlatan scores 66 goals

2009 - 2010 Zlatan at Barcelona

2009 - 2010 Scores 22 goals for Barcelona

2010 - Zlatan with Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho

2011 - Zlatan signs at AC Milan

2011 - Zlatan has scored 56 goals for AC Milan

2011 - Zlatan with kids Maximilian and Vincent

After the book, Zlatan moved to Paris to join Paris Saint-Germain.

2012 – Zlatan at Paris Saint-Germain

2015 – So far, Zlatan scored 104 goals for PSG (2015-04-19)

2006 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olof Mellberg and Christian "Chippen" Wilhelmsson going out for a party in Göteborg, before they are banned for the Swedish national Team.

Zlatan is a huge Playstation fan, used to play nights even before a match (!)

2005 Zlatan and one of his Ferrari's

Zlatan with his personal managar Mino Raiola

Zlatan with partner Helena Seger

See Wikipedia for an detailed overview of Zlatan Ibrahimović career.

Went today to see the exhibition of Nick Brandt in the Fotografiska (photography museum) in Stockhom. Great pictures from a photographer who only recently decided to focus full-time on photography.
Nick previously worked with creating music videos, during a work trip to Africa, he got infoected with the virus to get animals infront of his camera.
His pictures are characterized by the position the animals take in his photo. Also amazing are his panoramic pictures. But you have to see them in real, large size.

ELEPHANT DRINKING, AMBOSELI, 2007

CHEETAH AND CUBS, MAASAI MARA, 2003

Elephants Walking Through Grass, Amboseli 2008

Red Volvo Week #6

The Volvo 140 and its successor 240 has been called the brick! They looked great in red, altough this color was not very popular in those days.

1967 - Red Volvo 142

1967 - Red Volvo 142

1972 - Red Volvo 142

1977 - Red Volvo 244

Red Volvo Week #5

Dutch Volvo, made in The Netherlands, have also been delivered in the amazing red color.

1976 - Red Volvo 343

1988 - Red Volvo 440

1986 - Red Volvo 480

2002 - Red Volvo V40

After building a series of compact cars, Dutch car manufactory DAF sought a partner to bring its new larger model, codenamed P900 and intended to become the DAF 77, to market in 1970. Several manufacturers were approached, including Audi, BMW, and Volvo. Volvo was not originally interested due to the cost, but they were later persuaded by DAF’s access to Renault engines. This helped Volvo expand its model line-up without the large expenditures associated with developing a new model. Building cars in the Netherlands also helped the Swedish Volvo to access the markets of the EEC, of which Sweden was then not yet a member.
Volvo purchased a one-third share in DAF in 1973, increasing to a three-quarters stake in 1975.

When financial difficulties threatened to close the Born factory it down in the early 1990s the Dutch government stepped in to ensure its survival. A joint venture between the Dutch State, Volvo and Mitsubishi Motors began in August 1991, although it was 1996 before the name was officially changed from Volvo Car B.V. to NedCar B.V. On February 15, 1999 the Dutch government sold its shares to its two partners, which then owned 50 percent each. Later, on March 30, 2001, Volvo sold its shares to Mitsubishi.

On 9 May 2004, NedCar said farewell to Volvo. On that day the last of the Volvo V40 and S40 models came off the production line. During the farewell ceremony, the one millionth V40 was revealed in spectacular fashion and donated to Volvo Car UK. Altogether, between 1975 and 2004, more than 2.6 million different Volvo models were produced in Born. The last V40 and S40 to come off the line were donated by Volvo to the Volvo museum in Gothenburg.

Red Volvo Week #4

2011 - Volvo C30 R-Design

2011 - Volvo XC60 R-Design

2011 - Volvo C30 R-Design

2011 - Volvo XC60 R-Design

“The R-Design model boosts the XC60`s already sporty aura and gives the car an even more refined character in terms of both driving experience and design.” says Lennart Stegland, president of Volvo Special Vehicles. “These are properties that we know appeal to the discerning buyers of this type of cars.”

“The R-Design model has been designed for the discerning younger customer segment looking for a personalised car with an exclusive, sporty nature. On some markets, no less than 80 percent of all C30 customers choose R-Design. A large proportion of these customers are under 35 years old and many of them come to Volvo from a different car make. The design and attitude of the R-Design model are winning over more and more young customers. In this way, R-Design has helped both increase our sales and lower the average age of Volvo buyers, two very positive moves,” says Susanna Johansson, Product Manager R-Design at Volvo Special Vehicles.

The current Volvo’s on sale with the R-Design package have a unique color called ‘Passion red’.