Bergman objects hot objects at auction.
Buyers snapped up 337 objects that once belonged to Ingmar Bergman at an auction Sept. 28 that raised $2.6 million for his family. Charlotte Bergström, a spokeswoman at auction house Bukowskis in Stockholm which brokered the sale, said the sale lasted into the early hours of Sept. 29. Everything sold, she said, including Bergman's wastebasket, writing desk and Golden Globes awards, were sold. A red-painted, devil-shaped jumping jack — which Bergman’s grandson Ola gave him— sold for $4,100. A wooden model of Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theater with a tiny model of the legendary director sitting inside it, scored the highest bid: $147,500. Bergman headed the theater for several years in the mid-1960s. Bergström called the auction "historic," saying that even though the hammer prices were expected to be higher than estimates, they still exceeded expectations. "And because it's him, Ingmar Bergman, it inflates the prices a bit, of course." In the four days the objects were showcased before the auction, Bukowskis received more than 8,000 visitors. The auction house's Web site tallied more than 5,000 hits a day from 116 countries, Bergstrom said.

We are all immigrants.
A team of Swedish, Danish and British researchers using DNA said today's Scandinavians are descended from Stone Age immigrants, contradicting the theory Scandinavians descended from the people who came to Scandinavia at the conclusion of the last ice age. "The hunter-gatherers who inhabited Scandinavia more than 4,000 years ago had a different gene pool than ours," said Uppsala University Assistant Professor Anders Gotherstrom, who led the project with University of Copenhagen Professor Eske Willerslev. The scientists said they used DNA from Stone Age remains to investigate whether the practices of cultivating crops and keeping livestock were spread by immigrants or represented innovations on the part of hunter-gatherers. "Obtaining reliable results from DNA from such ancient human remains involves very complicated work," said Uppsala University researcher Helena Malmstrom, who conducted the initial DNA sequencings of Stone Age material. "Our findings show today's Scandinavians are not the direct descendants of the hunter-gatherers who lived in the region during the Stone Age," said Petra Molnar at the Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory at Stockholm University. "This entails the conclusion that some form of migration to Scandinavia took place, probably at the onset of the agricultural Stone Age. The extent of this migration is as of yet impossible to determine."

Serbs offer tip in cash depot heist.
Serbian Police Chief Ivica Dacic said Sept. 29 that former Serb paramilitaries took part in last week's brazen helicopter raid of a cash depot in Stockholm. Dacic said of the "Red Berets" paramilitary unit who fought wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s took part in the heist, along with Swedish robbers. Serbian police "handed certain information about a criminal group which was preparing a robbery" in Stockholm to the Swedish embassy in Belgrade a month ago, but Swedish authorities did not react or contact Belgrade after that, said Milorad Veljovic, a senior Serbian police official. Masked gunmen used a helicopter in the Hollywood-style heist Sept. 23. They broke through a roof window and setting off explosions inside the building before taking off with an undisclosed amount of cash. A Swedish court said Sept. 28 that police arrested six men from the Stockholm area, aged 21 to 36, on suspicion of robbery or assisting a robbery. Police spokesman Varg Gyllander said some of the men have criminal records but declined to give further comments. Police didn't name the suspects in line with Swedish privacy rules.

8 Swedish films at Hamptons Film Festival.
Hamptons International Film Festival, which takes place October 8-12, has a Nordic focus this year with lots of goodies for lovers of Swedish film in particular. Five feature films (among them Lukas Moodysson’s “Mammut” and Niels Arden Oplev’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), two short films and a special screening of Stig Björkman’s documentary about Ingmar Bergman called “Bilder från lekstugan”. For more info: www.hamptonsfilmfest.org

Study links elderly suicide to gender.
Swedish researchers studying suicide among the aged with severe depression found gender was a factor. The study, published in BMC Psychiatry, found from middle age onward, repeated suicide attempts are a risk factor for suicide in women and so are severe attempts for men. Louise Brådvik and Mats Berglund of Lund University in Sweden looked at suicide attempts in 100 patients who committed suicide and in an age- and sex-matched control group. "Men and women showed different patterns of suicide attempts in the older age groups. The risk for an initial suicide attempt reduced with age in all females and in male controls, but not in male victims, repetition and severity then showing a special pattern," Brådvik said in a statement. "In other words, though all suicide attempts should be taken seriously, an older woman who makes a repeated attempt is at higher risk for suicide and needs more observation and treatment than a young female repeater. Correspondingly, an older man who makes a severe attempt - or an initial attempt - is in need of more observation."

Staying fit like celebrities.
They are successful and hardworking and when it’s time for the limelight they sparkle like nothing else. They always look great and they are always in good shape. How do they do it? Thirty of Sweden’s most beloved celebrities reveal their health secrets in a new cookbook called “Sinnenas mat.” Barbro Svensson, Camilla Thulin, Christina Schollin, Gladys del Pilar, Lill Lindfors and Pia Johansson are sharing recipes and secret tricks on how to keep in shape. Opera singer Kjerstin Dellert is famous for her love of champagne and sweets, but she is also very disciplined and has worked out every morning of the past 30 years. Here’s Kjerstin’s vegetable soup, which will keep you warm and full, your hunger at bay. Ingredients: 6 big yellow onions, 1 cabbage, 4 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 2 green peppers, 2 cans stewed tomatoes, 3 bouillon cubes, and whatever spices you like. Clean and cut the vegetables and put them in a pot. Pour the tomatoes on top and water enough to cover everything. Put in the bouillon, salt and pepper (or use whatever spices you like) and let cook for about 30 minutes. “Sinnenas mat” by Annica Triberg, ISBN: 9174240412.

Swedish men – bad lovers.
Not too long ago we happily reported that Swedish men make good husbands. Unfortunately, they aren’t very good lovers. At least not if you are to believe a new study from Onepoll, a company that polled women from 20 countries asking where the best (and worst) lovers come from. They also had to explain why the men were good or bad lovers. Swedish men are bad lovers because they move too fast; only British and German men are worse than Swedish men. The best lovers are made in Spain, the second best come from Brazil, Italians come in third place, French men in fourth. The list of the worst lovers looks like this: 1. Germans 2. Brits. 3. Swedes. 4. Dutch. 5. Americans.

Anna Anka’s advice for the princess.
Media can’t seem to get enough of Anna Anka (Swedish wife of Paul), and neither can we. The bizarre blonde star of the reality TV-show “Svenska Hollywoodfruar” is everywhere you look these days. Now she is giving advice to Crown Princess Victoria for her upcoming marriage. “Paul and I are equal, and that is very important in a marriage,” Anna says. “We’re also extremely happy. Look at other couples, there’s always one who seems to stand in front of the other: Angelina Jolie is always in front of Brad, as if she were more important, Tom Cruise is always pushing Katie Holmes back a bit. That’s disrespectful. It’s important that Victoria and Daniel are equal. Remember the first date, Victoria. How you got dressed, how you put your perfume on. And it is important not to let yourself go and become lax. Remain the person your partner fell in love with.”