I Am A Swede

But isn't that a presidential trait now?

Since there's not much else going on here right now I thought I'd share a little Emmerdale Farm trivia. I was browsing through "Inside UpDown", a book about the creation and production of "Upstairs, Downstairs" (my all-time favourite tv-show), and discovered that Gail Harrison, who played Marian Wilks off and on during the 1970s, was a contender for the role of Georgina Worsley. The role eventually went to Lesley-Anne Down. I had of course already read this, since I have owned the book for several years, but I never really connected the dots before.

Oh no, Mrs. Oleson!

Kei Nishikori beats Roger Federer in straight sets (7-6, 6-3)!

I'm more surprised that she actually went out in public with that hairstyle! Babs darling, you know I love you but that hair is almost as bad as that horrible curly stuff you had in the 1970s! Her makeup is not the most flattering either. I wonder if she had fired her stylist before this?

It looks like this site https://www.thelocal.se/politics could be a good start. The 4 party alliance that they want (The Moderate party, the Christian Democrats, the Centre Party and the Liberals) doesn't have enough seats in parliament to be able to rule. They even have one less seat (143) than the left (the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party) which has 144. You need 175 seats to have the majority. The Sweden Democrats have 63 seats, so with their support the Alliance could have the majority, and while the Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats have hinted that they're willing to rely on them for support the Centre Party and the Liberals have categorically refused to consider that. But at the same time they (especially the leader of the Centre Party, Annie Lööf) has insisted that their first choice remains a government consisting of the 4 Alliance parties. How they will make that work is beyond me though. There's been some talk that Lööf wants to try and entice the Green Party away from their collaboration with the Social Democrats, but even with their support the Alliance won't have a majority. And since the Sweden Democrats view the Green Party as one of their main foes, due to the Green Party's immigration-friendly stance, such a government would stand no chance in parliament. To me the only solution (other than a new election, which would solve absolutely nothing) is a coalition with the Social Democrats, the Green Party, the Centre Party and the Liberals. They wouldn't have a majority, but would almost certainly be able to rely on support from the Left Party, even if it might be passive support. One can only hope that these supposedly grown up people will stop behaving like obstinate children soon and face the facts and deal with them accordingly.

Right now we are a perfect example of this. It's now been two months since our election and we still have no new government, because the parties, especially the Centre Party and the Liberals, are clinging to the Alliance with the Christian Democrats and the Moderate Party despite it being impossible for them to get a majority without turning to the right-wing Swedish Democrats, which the Liberals and the Centre Party have sworn they will never do. It's like they are burying their heads in the sand and refusing to face up to the actual election results. The Social Democrats have repeatedly invited them to talks about working together, but they keep repeating, like parrots, that a four-party Alliance government is their first choice. Meanwhile the political life here is at a stand-still and it's becoming more and more ridiculous. It's time for especially Annie Lööf, leader of the Centre Party, to face up to the fact that if she wants to keep the Swedish Democrats from having any influence, which is what she has stated over and over, then a coalition with the Social Democrats is the only way, unless she wants to force us into a new election process. And the only thing that that would accomplish would almost certainly be that the Swedish Democrats would increase.... Time to grow up and face the reality Annie!!

Yet another mass shooting with 12 dead so far. No motive revealed yet, and the perpetrator is dead so perhaps we'll never know why this happened. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46135459

The final Falcon Crest episode of the season saw Richard being (supposedly) killed by Eric Stavros, and Melissa gaining control of Falcon Crest itself through some old deed. The cliffhanger was Angela meeting a mystery man (with a beard) and asking him "Isn't it time Maggie knew you're alive" or something similar.

I'm happy that the Democrats had a successful election although I have to admit I had hoped for even more. I guess it's hard for a foreigner to completely understand the mindset of the American voters, but then again I'm baffled that so many people here voted for a xenophobic and homophobic party with neo-nazi roots. So maybe it's me who's out of touch with what people want.

Perfect summary! On to current events, and I guess it could be my intense dislike for the character speaking but why the hell did Liv have to go and stick her nose into Sebastian's living arrangement. I wish that little bitch would just shut up or better yet disappear altogether. And now Aaron is all worked up too. Why did they have to saddle Robert with this man-child? I'm probably not very objective about this, but when it comes to Liv I find that objectivity flies out the window. I just cannot stand the character.

What is wrong with people?! First the idiot who dressed himself and his son as Hitler and a nazi officer, and now this..... https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/11/02/two-kentucky-students-suspended-columbine-shooters-costume/1860371002/

Yay, Ross and Rebecca got their happy ending!

Oh Babs, you really are the greatest star!

Brenda is a character I never liked, and Bob can be exhausting with his constant joking. I wish they would have killed off those two instead of Viv and Terry. I would have loved to have had Terry still on the show when Joseph Tate came back, considering Terry's close relationship with Chris. And having Terry and Viv around instead of Bob and Brenda would also have helped with Kim's return. It was such a short-sighted and stupid decision to get rid of those two.

Finally some good news!

Amen to that! I can't help but wonder though how he came to be so filled with hate and disregard for other people. How is it possible to be so cold and downright evil? I just can't understand it, which in a way is a relief I guess.