Fountain
The only reason I decided to post this little tidbit is because I had no idea this guy was living in Columbus. The guy who piloted the plane [the Enola Gay] that dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan died the other day. I wonder what kind of funeral he'll have, and if he'll be buried in Columbus...
Seriously, it happened in England. I love how one can stumble on a 1,000+ year old boat in the most unexpected places.
A working group has been assembled to research and report on Finland's stance militarily in an international system that "has entered a new development phase." At issue will be NATO, the UN and EU security guarantees, the defensive policy of non-alignment, and an eye towards an increasingly unknown player directly to the east, i.e. Russia. The group's report will be presented sometime in 2008, though I'm already a bit nervous about revisiting the NATO question. I guess we'll just have to wait a few months.
While not quite as improbable as Finland winning Eurovision was, landing a Finnish team in the Champions League would be quite an accomplishment. Tampere will attempt to continue their march to do just that tonight.
A la Dell battery recall a year or so ago, due to batteries overheating while charging. 46 Million Matsushita-maufactured units to be replaced. See if you are affected. Poor Nokia=/
Finnish summer gold. The best berry in the world- eaten alone or with ice cream or pancakes (lettuja or pannukakku) or as a jam or wine or one of the countless other options. Cloudberries are one of the things I miss most when not in Finland.
Sirpa Puhakka (Left Alliance) and Labour Minister Tarja Cronberg both made calls for Vanhanen to put his money where is mouth is and add Finnish troops to the ranks. Finland (and much of Scandinavia) has long harvested the image of the Jiminy Cricket of the world- the ideal security community where fighting is unthinkable among it's members but willing to go elsewhere to help maintain the peace and bring a little piece of their culture to the world. I'd have to agree with these two- even only a few symbolic troops to demonstrate commitment would be better than what Vanhanen is currently doing.
Those of you who enjoy getting close with nature will appreciate this link. The Finnish Ministry of the Environment maintains a page in English with information and trail maps for the country's national parks, protected areas, etc. The views from many of these locations are astounding, sometimes even more so in the winter.
Amazing capture of the contrast between the light sky and the artificially lit city below. Another amazing summer view from Helsinki, as summer slowly starts to wind down
Silja Line was bought out last year by an Estonian company, but continues sailing the Baltic Sea. A fun trip, even if you never get off the boat.
I am considering starting back to blogging, since I've got a bit more time for the summer and because there's still a ton going on in Finland and in the world to be brought to notice. Jury's still out, but for now, here's are the results from the Wife Carrying World Championships that happen annually in Sonkajärvi, near where I attended high school.
I was once interviewed just under that ski jump next to the tower by Savon sanomat. I never understood what would make someone invent a sport, especially like this one. --"Hey Pekka, let's ski really fast down this hill and when we get to the bottom flatten ourselves out and see who can make it furthest down the flatter continuation of the hill" --"OK Juha, that sounds like an amazing idea."
And of course you've all heard of the famous Finnish ski jumper, Mr. Matti Nykänen? Worth googling for a good laugh if you are bored.
It appears as though Finland is slipping! In the latest Eurobarometer survey to come out (not sure why I've been so hung up on these reports lately), Ireland has been proven the country with the largest binge drinking problem. Finland and England were relegated to 2nd and 3rd, respectively. With the leading cause of death in Finns of working age being alcohol related, one would expect more from these statistics. What's going on Finland? Did the state's recent legislation moving the start time for selling booze to 9am really cause that much of a change? I somehow doubt it.
My Helsinki home - it's amazing how you can live in a city and still have so much nature around. I miss Pasila.
OK, this is just strange. The town of Umeå in Sweden is going to begin burning chicken carcasses- about 9,000 annually- in order to help heat the town. The relationship is eerily symbiotic: the power plant will take dead chickens from egg producers and burn them, aiding the farmers in getting rid of bodies in a healthy way and helping people stay warm through the Nordic winter. It works, but somehow still unsettling on some level.
Iisalmi, my first home away from home, always has had the best sunsets.
I know all my friends back in Finland were already standing in line waiting on the doors to open in order to cast their ballots in the 2007 Parliamentary elections, but for everyone else, here's a little quick info from Helsingin Sanomat International Ed.Advance voting in Finland’s Parliamentary elections began today - Wednesday - and continues until Tuesday next week.With so many days to vote, everyone can find time. For a recap of how the elections played out
The actual election day is Sunday March 18th, while advance voting is arranged in Finland on March 7 to 13 and abroad on March 7 to 10.
last year, and for a look into how things are shaping up this year, check wikipedia.
I took a class in Salibandy (floorball) in high school. It's basically hockey without the skates and pads. Boy was I terrible...
I have no time to write this up now, but eurobarometer released yesterday the latest poll measuring social reality for Europeans. The data assert that and average of 87% of the EU 25 describe themselves as "happy." In Denmark, the #1 ranking country, 97% claim happiness.
The Eurovision committee in Finland is getting closer every day to being prepared for their moment in the spotlight hosting the competition in May.Finland has chosen the presenters for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest: Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi.
Spurred by my need for a new Nokia after my previous one didn't make it through the wash, Nokia reported a 19% increase in profits over the same quarter in 2005. If progressively more people wash their phones each year,
Finland will see a multi-billion Euro increase in the size of their economy. Bulgaria is also already helping out Finnish elevator giant Kone by using the devices in hit killings of mob bosses. The Finnish economy is quite strong indeed!
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - On his first overseas visit as the new UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon indirectly welcomed an initiative within the bloc to push for a global moratorium on the death penalty - in line with Europe's ban.Italy has been pushing with its temporary seat on the UN security council to start the discussion on an international ban on the use of execution as a criminal punishment. I don't imagine this will go anywhere, but it's a nice thought. The state where I was born, Ohio, executed the 2nd most inmates of all the US states. This EU initiative would be a nice reality, but it's unlikely to get anywhere
Particularly hard-hit by the new rule, effective today, they say, are business travelers trying to obtain a passport on an expedited, last-minute basis.
The last-minute passports are available through regional offices and passport service companies. But industry officials and the passport service companies say the government has greatly reduced the number of applications these companies can submit. In addition, they say the State Department’s appointment system for expedited passports has been so overwhelmed by demand that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to get an appointment in a timely fashion.
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