Is fika just a Swedish thing, or is it Scandinavian-wide? Because I can see the connection. ;)
Did you get a chance to read that book, Giles?
No, it’s high on my Amazon wishlist however, awaiting a paycheck that won’t be instantly eaten by hospital bills.
I have read the sample pages however, and it’s great stuff, so I will be picking it up one day, as I love stuff like this.
Speaking of that, @rrmorton I finished that book a couple of weeks ago. Thank you again for the recommendation. What’s crazy is that I really didn’t know nearly as much about people who privately sail around the world like that, so it was a glimpse into that way of life as well. Such a sad tale.
Glad you liked it, Skipper! I read it ages ago and have forgotten the details so I’m tempted to read it again. Same goes for his Charles Manson book Helter Skelter. Bugliosi is one cool mofo.
I read that one. Truly fascinating. One day after I read it I got a bit tipsy and called the prison they had Manson in, at the time. I said I was a freelance journalist working on an article for Rolling Stone. I ended up speaking to the assistant warden discussing whether I could speak to Charlie and what he was like. Ultimately he said he’d ask him if he wanted to talk to me. I left a bullshit phone number. This was way back, before cell phones or caller ID. Lucky for me.
Not much to do with anything I guess, but you reminded me of how scary Charles Manson was. My grandmother had a copy of Helter Skelter and the image of the intensely grinning Manson with a swastika carved into his forehead scared the absolute shit out of me as a small child. He was my boogeyman. Him and Bruce, the shark.
TIL RichVR tied one on and impersonated a journalist to try and have a drunken conversation with Manson. Lol.
Crazy but true. I told my story to a secretary and was bumped up to the assistant warden one step at a time. I was drinking a lot back then. I just wanted to speak to Charlie. The warden told me that, at that time, Manson was a perfect lifer. He was funny to some. This was when he was in protective custody. Not in gen pop. He would get requests like mine several times each day. And the assistant warden was like his handler. Nobody got to talk to Charlie until the assistant warden vetted them. I was vetted. And then the assistant warden decided that I would be given clearance. Except that I was full of shit. A serious journalist might have had a call with him. As well it seemed that the AW was looking for some publicity as well.
I’m getting flashbacks to Silence of the Lambs here. The warden sounds just as creepy in this case.
I think you could have come up with some very interesting questions.
Madsen has been formally charged:
“sexual relations other than intercourse of a particularly dangerous nature.”
… wut?
So uh … wut?
Interesting that Denmark has an actual law on the books for that charge.
I know thats what the Ars Technica article says, but I’ve never heard of it, and I can’t find anything on it either in the news today, so - I think thats some sort of translation error. We have a " for andet seksuelt forhold end samleje", which is “Other sexual relations than intercourse”, which is normally used in rape charges where there is no actual intercourse.
Here’s the NYT article:
Lots of interesting little cultural/translation things in there. I wasn’t sure what to make of this one:
As a routine measure, the Danish Medico-Legal Council performed a psychiatric evaluation of Mr. Madsen, concluding “that safe custody may be required” if he is sentenced.
I’m not sure what that means. Maybe a suicide watch? Or simply that he should be confined during trial?
Im guessing a bit of both.
From that article:
That seems kind of light. It’s hard to imagine him freely moving around in that short a time considering what he’s charged with. I guess things are different over there. Maybe they feel that anyone can be rehabilitated, no matter what they’ve done?