Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Emil in Lönneberga celebrates 60 years!

In 1963, Astrid Lindgren wrote the first book about Sweden's perhaps most beloved "förgrömmade unge" (goddamn kid). The story of Emil i Lönneberga has since been loved all over the world. This year the 60th anniversary is being celebrated with new books and exhibitions about the Småland boy's adventures in early 20th century Sweden.

Published 23 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff
3 minute read

In the parish of Lönneberga in the early 1900s, the farms in the Swedish province of Småland are often quiet and peaceful, unless you count the Katthult farm, of course. According to the story, this is where the boy Emil lived, known for his many creative antics. The story of the 5-year-old boy’s adventures is based around the fact that his mother Alma writes them down in a blue notebook so that Emil can read about them when he grows up.

Emil in Lönneberga was first published as a book in 1963 by Astrid Lindgren. Until 1997, books, picture books, short stories and collections of Emil were published. The books were illustrated by Björn Berg. In 1971, the first movie about Emil was released, followed by two more movies and a TV series. An animated film called Emil & Ida in Lönneberga was also made in 2013.

Jan Ohlsson portrays Emil. Photo: facsimile/Youtube

Although Emil loves mischief, he is not mean and does not like to see others suffer. At the same time, in the context of turn-of-the-century Sweden, he can be seen as something of a rebel, and he doesn’t always find it easy to embrace adult authority. As a result, he often has to run and hide from his somewhat irritable father Anton, in his carpenter’s shop where he locks himself in and carves wooden figures. This is also where one of the famous songs about Emil comes from – Du käre lille snickerbo (My dear little workshop) which was written for the movie Nya hyss av Emil i Lönneberga (New Mischief by Emil).

“You don’t invent a prank, you just do it and you don’t know that it’s a prank until afterwards”

Emil in the short story När lilla Ida skulle gör hyss (When little Ida was to do pranks)

Despite the many shenanigans, things would become more settled for Emil over time. Not everyone knows that, according to the story, Emil later became chairman of the Lönneberga municipal council.

The character of Emil is partly based on Astrid Lindgren’s brother Gunnar and their father Samuel August. The story is set at the same time as when he was a child, which in practice meant that Astrid often got help from her father to write the books as he had a very good memory. Even late in life, he could remember small details such as the price of a pig at the market. Some of the stories were told to the author by Samuel August.

Photo: facsimile/Youtube

Astrid Lindgren contacted the illustrator Björn Berg when she was writing the first book, after seeing a drawing by him in a book about the Nordic capitals showing a little boy on the Djurgården ferry. She immediately thought that this was exactly what Emil looked like. The boy was Björn’s four-year-old son Torbjörn. The farm hand Alfred was also drawn after a living person, namely the boy Pelle at Näs where Astrid Lindgren grew up.

Emil i Lönneberga is the only film in which the author herself appears. Here she appears as an extra at the Vimmerby market as a peasant mother wearing a shawl.

The story of Emil i Lönneberga is still very much alive and is still read to children in Sweden and all over the world. In Sweden, it has virtually become tradition to sing Ida’s Summer Song at school graduations, a piece where the text, like so many others in Astrid Lindgren’s world, was written by Lindgren herself and set to music by Georg Riedel.

In conjunction with the anniversary, Astrid Lindgren Aktiebolag is celebrating by working with Rabén & Sjögren to release new restored picture books, new board books and audio books. The publisher also provides free “birthday material” that you can print out yourself.

Many different events are organized throughout the year to celebrate Emil. Until May 28, the exhibition “Björn Berg – life as a cartoonist” is held at the Drawing Museum in Laholm. On June 1, a new play exhibition will open at Junibacken in Stockholm and in Copenhagen an Emil theater will be held at Tivoli on July 1-2. At Näs, i.e. Astrid Lindgren’s childhood home in Vimmerby, the exhibition Björn Berg’s fairytale worlds – Emil and many more! will be held between June 17 and September 24. Over 100 new license products will also be launched, including the Emil i Lönneberga ice cream cone from Sia Glass.

 

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Diddy challenges conviction after four-year sentence

Published yesterday 12:15
– By Editorial Staff
The prosecutor had requested 11 years in prison – the detention lasted 14 months.
1 minute read

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced in October to four years in prison and fines for prostitution-related crimes. Now the 55-year-old is appealing the conviction.

It was last year that it emerged that a number of women had accused Diddy of, among other things, serious sexual assault and human trafficking. In September last year, Combs was charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, and pimping, and he was arrested in New York City.

In May this year, the trial against Combs began, where the rapper was already acquitted in July of the most serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering.

In early October, he was convicted of what is called “transportation for the purpose of promoting prostitution” after transporting two women, one of whom was his then-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, across state lines for prostitution purposes. Combs was sentenced to four years and two months in prison, supervised release for an additional five years, and $500,000 in fines, reports BBC.

Diddy’s lawyers have announced that they will appeal the conviction, reports The New York Times. However, it remains unclear on what grounds.

The prosecutor sought 11 years in prison, while the defense sought 14 months – of which 13 months had already been served as Combs had been held in custody.

Battlefield 6 breaks sales records – hailed as the series’ comeback

Published 18 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
3 minute read

After the failure of Battlefield 2042, the game series is now delivering a decisive comeback. Battlefield 6 sells over seven million copies during the game’s first three days and receives glowing reviews from Swedish gaming media, who believe the game finally delivers what fans have been waiting for.

At the same time, the game, like previous titles in the series, suffers from typical Americanization that at times contributes to a silly impression.

Electronic Arts can confirm that Battlefield 6 has become the biggest launch in the series’ history. During the first three days, over seven million copies were sold, while 172 million matches were played online and 15 million hours were streamed on various platforms.

We never take moments like these for granted, so I want to express our sincere gratitude to our global Battlefield studios and the passionate community that has helped us reach this point, says Vince Zampella, head of the Battlefield series.

The success is remarkable considering that its predecessor, Battlefield 2042, received devastating criticism for its technical problems at launch. To turn the tide, Electronic Arts invested in Battlefield Labs, a program where players could influence development through continuous feedback.

Byron Beede, general manager for Battlefield, emphasizes the strategy’s importance:

From the initial concept through the implementation of Battlefield Labs and into the record-breaking open beta, we have been obsessed with player feedback.

Swedish reviewers impressed

Swedish gaming magazine FZ gives the multiplayer portion high marks and highlights how different player classes complement each other. The review notes that the game succeeds even when you’re not dominating: “Even when I don’t go 28-0 in a match and dominate opponents, it’s fun to play,” and summarizes the experience as “a bullseye and a powerful comeback for the series,” according to reviewer Joel.

GameReactor is equally enthusiastic and calls the game the series’ rebirth. The reviewer highlights the large-scale battles for up to 64 players and the extensive environmental destruction. “It’s fast, brutal and penetrates concrete in a way you won’t soon forget,” writes GameReactor and concludes: “Saddle up, lock and load – Battlefield is back.”

Typical Battlefield scene where players get the opportunity to fight on land, water and in the air. Photo: EA

Campaign functions as introduction

The single-player campaign receives more mixed reviews. FZ describes it as “a fairly generic military story” that nevertheless functions well as an introduction to multiplayer mode. GameReactor is somewhat more positive and emphasizes the campaign’s visual quality: “When we maneuver vehicles across large surfaces in environments that are among the biggest I’ve experienced in a game of this type during the later part – while all hell breaks loose, then Battlefield Studios also shows what this is all about.”

Technically stable but silly experience

On the technical front, reviewers are unanimous. FZ reports that the game runs completely stable: “Not once have I noticed anything like that (lag, editor’s note) on console.”

GameReactor confirms the quality and states briefly: “On the technical side, there is very little to complain about.”

Among the more typical elements in modern game titles, Battlefield 6 also features typical Americanization, and the game has symptomatic multicultural elements of minorities with macho culture and NATO character, which at times makes the experience silly and flat.

Facts about the Battlefield series

Battlefield is a series of first-person shooter games developed by Swedish game studio DICE and published by Electronic Arts. The first game, Battlefield 1942, was launched in 2002 and became known for its large-scale multiplayer battles with up to 64 players and the ability to use vehicles such as tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets.

The series has since released numerous titles set in different time periods, from World War I and II to modern and futuristic warfare. Among the most successful games are Battlefield 3 (2011), Battlefield 4 (2013), and Battlefield 1 (2016).

Battlefield 2042, released in 2021, became a commercial and critical failure due to technical problems and lack of requested features. Battlefield 6 is the series' sixth numbered main game and marks a return to modern warfare.

Unjabbed: For singles who didn’t take the COVID vaccine

The criticized covid vaccinations

Published 12 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
"Don't give up. Anything worth achieving needs work", is the message from Unjabbed's founder Antonetta.
4 minute read

After conventional dating apps didn’t meet her needs, Antonetta decided for various reasons to start a dating site for people who didn’t take the COVID vaccine. On Unjabbed.net, people can meet others seeking love or friendship.

In 2023, Antonetta chose to use a popular dating app in an attempt to find love. Since she wanted to find like-minded people, she was also open about not having taken the COVID vaccine. This resulted in Antonetta’s account being repeatedly deleted. She doesn’t know why her account was removed, but she suspected it was related to her honesty about the COVID vaccine. Instead, she tried another app and chose not to explicitly state that she hadn’t taken the COVID vaccine, but used various hints such as “believe in natural health”, “avoid synthetic chemicals”, and “seeking people who took the red pill”. There she got a bunch of matches, but no one understood her hints and most of those she talked to had taken the COVID vaccine.

In the wake of this, Unjabbed.net was born, a dating and friendship site for those who didn’t take the COVID vaccine. Since 2023, it has attracted thousands of members from several countries, but users are primarily from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. In Sweden, there are a few hundred members at the time of writing. Worth noting is that the site only exists as a website, not an app. The app that exists with the same name is from a different creator, according to Antonetta.

Several dating sites also participated in marketing COVID vaccine campaigns during 2021, according to Antonetta. For example, Tinder created labels where people could fill in whether they had taken the COVID vaccine or not. After the site launched, she received responses from members that they had also had bad experiences on conventional dating sites.

After starting unjabbed.net, several members told me they couldn’t find anyone on conventional dating apps and as soon as they said they were unvaccinated they were either insulted or had their accounts deleted or felt their accounts were being hidden in search results or restricted in some way“, Antonetta tells The Nordic Times.

Financially challenging

Starting a new dating site is not always an easy path. To be visible, you need marketing and advertising – something that costs a lot of money. The site was free until last year when they chose to introduce a membership fee to afford reaching out to other singles who didn’t take the COVID vaccine. However, Antonetta wanted the amount to be affordable compared to many other dating sites and apps, which can cost up to 60 dollars for three months, and also charge for sending messages.

Our website just charges $16 USD for a whole year and we don’t charge for individual messages”.

The advantage of charging is also that many people think twice before creating an account, and it also prevents spam, says Antonetta. However, it’s possible to create a free account as well, but you don’t have all the features on the site.

Several have found love

Despite unjabbed.net being relatively newly started, Antonetta says she has received messages from people who found each other on her site.

One couple donated 50 dollars to us and told us they had met on our website and are now married. A woman contacted us and said she’s getting married to the man she met on our website. So it works!

Tips for finding the right match

If you’re planning to create an account, Antonetta recommends both writing something about yourself and having photos. If you want to be more anonymous, you can, for example, upload a picture in sunglasses or similar. She also suggests writing something that can create a conversation.

People can write anything. What are their thoughts on the future of the world? What line of work are they in? What are their hobbies? Favorite places in the world to visit? Funny stories”, she suggests.

She also advises that it’s more advantageous to write to people in your own country than outside the border. It partly signals that you’ve given up hope in your country, but it’s also very difficult to make long-distance relationships work. Furthermore, she also suggests spreading information about the site in your own city; there may be singles who didn’t take the COVID vaccine but missed that there’s a dating site for this purpose.

There is hope

Finding like-minded people can be difficult, and even though more and more people show understanding for those who chose not to take the COVID vaccine, there are still many who believe it was wrong not to take it. At the same time, Antonetta encourages unvaccinated singles to dare to go out and talk to people they meet in stores, in town, or on the bus. You never know who you might meet there. Finally, she also wants to say that you shouldn’t give up hope on love.

Don’t give up. Anything worth achieving needs work“.

Number of members at the time of writing on Unjabbed.net by country

  • USA: 1349
  • United Kingdom: 872
  • Canada: 984
  • Australia: 249
  • New Zealand: 68
  • France: 501
  • Germany: 705
  • Italy: 234
  • Belgium: 142
  • Switzerland: 70
  • Spain: 76
  • Portugal: 42
  • Denmark: 129
  • Norway: 204
  • Sweden: 479
  • Netherlands: 1019
  • Japan: 25
  • Ireland: 63

Moomin becomes new feature film

Published 10 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Moomin and his friends have spread warmth, security and adventure to generations of children and adults around the world.
1 minute read

Moomin is set to be produced as a new American animated feature film. This will be the first Hollywood adaptation of Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson’s beloved stories.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the magical Moomin troll, something that has been celebrated in both Finland and Sweden, where the troll is a cherished cultural figure.

Moomin, created by Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson, was previously produced as an animated feature film in Japan in 1992. There was also a Japanese-Finnish animated series that first aired in 1990 and became very popular internationally.

Now Hollywood will interpret the idyllic magic of Moominvalley, where Moomin and his friends embark on adventures, writes Moomin Characters, which manages the Moomin rights.

“We are honored”

The film will be produced by media company Annapurna’s animation division, which was founded in 2022 by former Disney animation executives Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein and is known for the Oscar-nominated film Nimona.

We’re honored to bring Tove Jansson’s timeless vision to the big screen, say Baird and Millstein.

It will be written and directed by Rebecca Sugar, known for the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe. Additionally, it will be produced by Julia Pistor, who is behind animated films such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Rugrats.

Earlier this year, Norwegian game developer Hyper Games also announced that they will release a new Moomin game. The game will be called Winter’s Warmth and is based on the book Moominland Midwinter.

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