peace, love & rock on

CULTURE UPDATE March

2006-04-02T21:25:00.000+03:00

LIVE MUSIC
with the best bits underlined.

Viiden tähden festivaali, Jyväskylä: Sir Elwood duo, Paula Koivuniemi

Vastavirta: Cosmobile, Red Carpet

Tullikamari: Ismo Alanko Säätiö

MOVIES

Duncan Tucker: Transamerica (2005)
( • • • • ) - A fun and humane film about a transsexual and a drug abusing teen prostitute. The car stealing hippie really pissed me off, though. Hippies...

Tampere Film Festival:
Claudio Noce: Aria (2005)
Miia Tervo: Hylje (2005)
Luke Morris, Toby Macdonald: Heavy Metal Drummer (2005)
Jean-Gabriel Périot: Eût-Elle Été criminelle... (2005)
Claudia Priscilla: Sexo E Claustro (2005)
Sharon Colman: Badgered (2005)
Michael Duignan: Truant (2005)
Xavi Sala: Hiyab (2005)
Caroline Sascha Cogez: Mellem Rum (2004)
Maja Lindström: En Nattsaga (2005)
Kaja Wright Polmar: Asylsokere (2005)
Poopak Mozafari: Aan (2004)
Terje Rangnes: Panther Martin (2004)
Tatu Pohjavirta: Elukka (2005)
Bálint Kenyeres: Before Dawn (2005)
Chi-Jan Hou: My 747 (2005)
Ken Wardrop: Ouch (2004)
Jan Verbeek: On a Wednesday Night in Tokyo (2004)
Rostislav Aalto: Ota minut syliin (2006)
Mikko Keinonen: Risto ja Minna (2006)
Kim Helminen: Pieni Porsas (2005)
Timo Kalevi Puukko: Winterlong (2005)
Aiju Salminen: Elvis kääntyy haudassaan (2005)
Mervi Junkkonen: Aarne (2005)
Jalmari Helander, Juuso Helander: Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions (2005)
Teemu Nikki: Menestyjä (2005)
Reijo Kela: 365 päivää - Reijo Kelan videopäiväkirja 1999 (2006)
Robert Drew: Faces of November (1963)

Bill Plympton:
Push Comes to Shove (1991)
Nosehair (1994) - I love the comment on IMDB: "Bizarre even by Plympon's standars."
How to Make Love to a Woman (1995)
Plympmania (1996)
Sex & Violence (1997)
The Exciting Life of a Tree (1998)
More Sex & Violence (1998)
Eat (2001)

Unknown: Kuvavälähdys Tampereelta (1915)
Uno Pihlström: Kesällä Tampereella (1940)
Jonas Geirnaert: Flatlife (2004)
Jonathan Demme: Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006)
Group of Children, 14-16 years: Pobeg Iz Salatinizy

DVD

Isao Takahata: Hotaru no haka (1988)

Goodbye spring

2006-03-23T16:31:00.000+02:00

"The weather is unusually cold for this time of year."

Guest appearing on a food blog

2006-03-19T16:00:00.000+02:00

I'll be conributing to my friend Cat's food blog this week. I'm writing about the stuff I eat at Chocolate & Sage for the Urban Epicurean.

Tampere Film Festival

2006-03-17T17:02:00.000+02:00

One of the things I really look forward to each year is the Tampere International Short Film Festival. It's one of the biggest short film festivals in the world and for those 5 days Tampere is packed with movie lovers and esteemed foreign guests from all over the world. This year we had the honour of welcoming such directors as the amazing Pjotr Sapegin, the two-time Oscar-nominee and Cannes Prix du Jury winning animator Bill Plympton, the German avant-garde filmmaker and media artist Matthias Müller and the father of American direct cinema Robert Drew who has won everything from an Emmy to the first prize at Cannes, and whose film Primary was inducted to the U.S. National Film Registry in 1990.

I volunteer at the festival as a "door person" which I think is a great way to earn a festival pass and free food. I do four 6-hour shifts during which I can also watch films, in between letting people in. And then when I'm not working I can go see films for free. Unfortunately, this year I was so busy with my exam that I only had time to see less than 50 films (which sounds like a lot but compared to the 100+ I saw last year it really isn't).

The absolute highlights for me were the music documentary Neil Young: Heart of Gold, two Norwegian shorts Asylsokere and Panther Martin and a beautiful Hungarian film Before Dawn (13 minutes in one single shot in CinemaScope). And then I saw one of last year's winners again and it was as funny as it was the first couple of times: Jonas Geirnaert: Flatlife.

Here's a list of everything I saw:

Claudio Noce: Aria (2005)
Miia Tervo: Hylje (2005)
Luke Morris, Toby Macdonald: Heavy Metal Drummer (2005)
Jean-Gabriel Périot: Eût-Elle Été criminelle... (2005)
Claudia Priscilla: Sexo E Claustro (2005)
Sharon Colman: Badgered (2005)
Michael Duignan: Truant (2005)
Xavi Sala: Hiyab (2005)
Caroline Sascha Cogez: Mellem Rum (2004)
Maja Lindström: En Nattsaga (2005)
Kaja Wright Polmar: Asylsokere (2005)
Poopak Mozafari: Aan (2004)
Terje Rangnes: Panther Martin (2004)
Tatu Pohjavirta: Elukka (2005)
Bálint Kenyeres: Before Dawn (2005)
Chi-Jan Hou: My 747 (2005)
Ken Wardrop: Ouch (2004)
Jan Verbeek: On a Wednesday Night in Tokyo (2004)
Rostislav Aalto: Ota minut syliin (2006)
Mikko Keinonen: Risto ja Minna (2006)
Kim Helminen: Pieni Porsas (2005)
Timo Kalevi Puukko: Winterlong (2005)
Aiju Salminen: Elvis kääntyy haudassaan (2005)
Mervi Junkkonen: Aarne (2005)
Jalmari Helander, Juuso Helander: Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions (2005)
Teemu Nikki: Menestyjä (2005)
Reijo Kela: 365 päivää - Reijo Kelan videopäiväkirja 1999 (2006)
Robert Drew: Faces of November (1963)

Bill Plympton:
Push Comes to Shove (1991)
Nosehair (1994) - I love the comment on IMDB: "Bizarre even by Plympon's standars."
How to Make Love to a Woman (1995)
Plympmania (1996)
Sex & Violence (1997)
The Exciting Life of a Tree (1998)
More Sex & Violence (1998)
Eat (2001)

Unknown: Kuvavälähdys Tampereelta (1915)
Uno Pihlström: Kesällä Tampereella (1940)
Jonas Geirnaert: Flatlife (2004)
Jonathan Demme: Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006)
Group of Children, 14-16 years: Pobeg Iz Salatinizy

Busy bee

2006-03-08T20:16:00.000+02:00

I'm trying to post some pictures from last weekend but I have no time to upload them! I'm going to school every day, volunteering at the Tampere International Short Film Festival, studying for my psychology exam which is next week and making the last arrangements for the house invading project. Gotta go, but check out the film festival if you're around.

...and action!

2006-03-02T00:45:00.000+02:00

Today we drive to my parents' house for a long weekend of invading. We're gonna stop at the hardware store first to buy paint and then at my grandmother's to get some rugs and an old chest for the living room. I'll have my digital camera with me so you can expect pictures. Wish me luck...

CULTURE UPDATE February

2006-03-01T23:51:00.000+02:00

LIVE MUSIC
with the best bits underlined.

Kuudes Linja: Kytäjä, Plain Ride

Yo-talo: Nieminen & Litmanen, The Latebirds, Laika & Cosmonauts

Grandpop Valentine's Day Revue, Tavastia: Laika & Cosmonauts, The Latebirds, Nieminen & Litmanen

MOVIES

And Lee: Brokeback Mountain (2005)
( • • • • ) - This one was somehow way too sad for me and still it felt shallow at times. My favorite part was when the main guy goes to see the dead guy's parents and the mother is all quiet but accepting and condoling. It just makes you wonder, doesn't it?

DVD

Bobby Farrely, Peter Farrely: Fever Pitch (2005)
Let's go Red Sox!
Jens Lien: Jonny Vang (2003)
Paul McGuigan: Wicker Park (2004)

First purchases

2006-02-28T23:55:00.000+02:00

Saturday morning in Helsinki was a blast: we got up at 4.30 am, took a taxi to the train station and from there a bus to the airport. Just so you know, going to the airport at the crack of dawn to pick up your parents' car is not nearly as much fun as going there to fly places. Anyways, we arrived at the international terminal at 5.30 am - just in time to take the car off the parents' hands. They flew off to Spain and we sat in the car considering our options (which were pretty scarce to say the least). Our next stop was going to be at IKEA which opens at 9 am. Since Helsinki is nothing like Vegas and there's absolutely nothing to do at 6 am, we decided to drive to the IKEA parking lot and sleep.

After sleeping very uncomfortably for a few hours and waking up in the freezing cold car we ate a delicious IKEA breakfast (consisting of coffee, tea, juice, organic porridge, bread rolls, ham, cheese, eggs and organic marmalade - all for just 2 euros).

And then we got crackin'.

Our first purchase was a small glass-door cabinet which is on page 125 in this online catalog - in the upper right corner. It's going to hold 6 wine bottles, other alcohol bottles and glasses. Plus it's gonna look good. We also got this sideboard,

and these odds and ends for the kitchen, living room and bathroom:

4 days 'till take off

2006-02-21T11:01:00.000+02:00

This is roughly what I'm starting with (take or leave a man who just woke up):

Finnish women vs. American women

2006-02-20T21:46:00.000+02:00

There might be some truth to this: Finnish women vs. American women.

Music on Myspace

2006-02-12T21:17:00.000+02:00

For a while now Myspace has been a good place to listen to music. I first really realized it when Black Rebel Motorcycle Club had their new album on their Myspace player before releasing it. Of course there's also a lot of great music out there that you just can't get from the store: like Monsters Are Waiting. I especially like the song "Nobody". Today I've been listening to "Monster Hospital" on Metric's Myspace player - I heard the song on Conan, liked it and can't get it on iTunes in Finland.

Lately many Finnish bands have also taken an interest in Myspace. I glanced through all the Finnish band profiles (around 1500 of them) and what I mostly found was something along the lines of this. View more pics? Don't mind if I do. Oh, a picture with a bloody skull... I get it now.

Here's a few suggestions as to what you might want to check out:

• Sister Flo is new to Myspace. They have a few songs from Tragician's Hat on their player plus a demo song which I guess is gonna come on the album they start recording tomorrow. Check out the song "White Noise".

• Another indie pop band worth checking out is Red Carpet. "Sigh" is my favorite song on their player.

• 22-Pistepirkko is one of the more obveous choices. They have a cool quote on their profile from the LA Weekly in the "sounds like" section: "...nothing you've heard before, from nowhere you've been".

• Jori Hulkkonen and "LoFiction". You can watch the video here.

• The Latebird and friends have a good few songs on their player and they're playing at SXSW next month.

• Then there's Astrid Swan. She's gonna be at SXSW and she's also playing a show at the Echo next month. I haven't really listened to her album but I can say I like the single "They Need You If They Think You Love Them".

• Disco Ensemble is going to be at SXSW and they put on a good show. Check out the song "We Might Fall Apart".

• I haven't really made up my mind about Husky Rescue yet but here they are anyway.

And even some of the Finnish jazz mob is on Myspace: Five Corners, Kvalda and Q-continuum.

Furniture, color charts and a gyne exam gone horribly wrong

2006-02-11T21:33:00.000+02:00

I'm keeping busy planning the attack on my parents' place. I hit a slight bump early last week when I called IKEA and found out that the sideboard I was planning to buy wasn't available in dark brown. Luckily I found the perfect replacement from Sotka. And this one is cheaper, too. So far I've also been considering these cushions and these frames (in different sizes) from IKEA. And I had lunch with a friend who uses the university darkroom and she promised to help me develop some cool pictures after I've joined the photography club Vastavalo and am allowed in the darkroom.

My Mom called me yesterday to tell me that she isn't gonna have time to paint the wall before their trip. Which means that I'm gonna have to paint the wall while they're gone. I've been looking at color charts to find a good color before they leave so that my Mom (and possibly even my Dad, if he's interested) can give her approval. She, of course, doesn't know what I'm planning - she just thinks I'm trying to run her life and don't trust her to do anything on her own.

The creepiest thing happened to me yesterday when I went to the gynecologist. I'd never been to a male gynecologist before and was a bit nervous. I'd always thought there was something a bit off about male gynecologists. I mean, would you take your car to a mechanic who doesn't even drive? Anyways, the doctor was very reassuring and I didn't mind the exam. When he was done examining me and more importantly after all kinds of words had been uttered (including such words as clitoris and penetration) the doctor suddenly says that based on my last name I must be from this island in Central Finland. Which is true but how would the doctor know about it? Well, because as it turns out he is my dad's golf and drinking buddy. Sweet. Who wouldn't want their Dad's drinking buddy to also be their gynecologist!

House invading at my parents'

2006-01-31T23:21:00.000+02:00

I took my Mom to IKEA last Friday as a birthday present (although I didn't know it was a birthday present until it dawned on me in the car on the way back that I'd forgotten about her birthday a week earlier). I convinced her to get a new coffee table and some shelves for her living room. She's one of those people who always says everything she already has is just fine and doesn't want to spend any money on something extra. Something extra like a new coffee table instead of using an old footstool as one.

After getting new furniture for the living room my Mom started talking about painting one of the walls. She actually went out and got some color charts for us to look at. Interesting. This is when I started cooking up a plan. My parents are going to Spain for two weeks next month. This is more than enough time for me to meddle. I am going to redecorate their living room and upstairs bathroom while they're gone.

I'm really excited. I'll get a new sideboard, new frames for their paintings, new cabinets for the bathroom and I'll find out if I can go to the university dark room to develop photographs to hang on the walls. The best thing is that I know my Mom's taste in interior decoration like the back of my hand. (It helps that we always used to watch House Invaders together...) Both my parents are turning 50 soon, so this could be an early birthday present for the both of them.

I called my aunt to ask her if she wanted to participate and she said she'd chip in. And by chipping in I mean she is probably going to have to pay for the whole endeavour. I have a vision but I'm kinda short on the funds. So, now that I have a sponsor (and of course my boyfriend/partner in crime who has an excellent sense of style) I just have to wait for my parents to get out the country and start invading.

CULTURE UPDATE January

2006-01-31T19:05:00.000+02:00

LIVE MUSIC
with the best bits underlined.

Riksun Roll, Linnea: Sister Flo

Klubi: Ultrasport, Red Carpet, Viola

Lutakko: Pyhä Lehmä (acoustic set), Samae Koskinen

MOVIES

Andrew Adamson: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
( • • • • ) - James McAvoy, Georgie Henley and talking beavers make this movie worthwhile.
Woody Allen: Match Point (2005)
( • • • • ½ ) - The best moment was when Chris suddenly stole a shotgun and things took a turn for the bizarre.

DVD

Bill Condon: Kinsey (2004)
Peter Jackson: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Special Extended DVD version) (2001)
James L. Brooks: Spanglish (2004)
Peter Jackson: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Special Extended DVD version) (2002)
Peter Jackson: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Special Extended DVD version) (2003)
Mike Binder: The Upside of Anger (2005)

Good morning sunshine!

2006-01-21T18:05:00.000+02:00

It was in the papers today that people aren't supposed to wash their faces. And that if you really need to wash your face you're not supposed to use soap. This is how cold it is in Finland right now: the skin needs all the protective grease it can accumulate. I guess it's around -25°C (-13°F) where I live, I don't have a thermometer. My grandmoter is making due with -30°C (-22°F). With the wind added, it's roughly about a zillion degrees below bearable. As is living with people who don't wash themselves.

But on the other hand we've been getting some sunshine for about a week now. It's so much easier to get out of bed in the morning when you can at least imagine a hint of light in the sky. I have to start looking for my sunglasses - only 5 more months to summer. Yay hooray.

The real downer this week is the fact that the Finnish presidential candidates are tied with a week to go. I would really really want my candidate to win. There hasn't been a right wing president in Finland since... well, not in my lifetime. And I don't want to see one elected now.

What I also don't want is a penpal that would answer the ad I composed in my Japanese exam: "I am student. I am Finnish. Yesterday I eat pizza. Today I eat sushi. I have cat. Cat listen to music home." I hope the teacher doesn't do fact checks - I'd hate to have to get a cat.

As Trina so elegantly put it-

2006-01-10T01:28:00.000+02:00

it's my Birthday, it's my Birthday!
Or it was my birthday last Saturday.

My brother came over on Thursday with a home made lactose-free chocolate cake and some wonderful presents. I got lovely girly stuff from my Mom (N°7, Clinique and such) together with - canned tuna and pineapple. Allow me to explane. I made this calendar for my brother for Christmas: I bought an ordinary calendar and then customized it with pictures I cut out of magazines. I also marked everybody's birthdays in there together with other important dates my brother should remember. Next to my birthday reminder I glued a picture of a present (a subtle hint). I sometimes get good ideas like this. It was then my Mom's great idea to give me a gift that looked the same as the picture. She had the perfect wrapping paper and ribbon at home but she was in a hurry and didn't have time to go shopping for a present that would have the same shape. Which I guess is when she decided to just tape food cans together as a gift. I thought it was funny.

That night we saw The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and we all really liked it (despite the Bible factor). I thought James McAvoy did an amazing job as the Faun. The next day we went to spread birthday cheer at the Särkänniemi Aquarium. It was at the aquarium where I figured out which fish I'd like to be (in the event of having to be a fish). Then on Saturday, on the day of the actual birth, we drove to Riihimäki where Mikko played a great show at a small festival.

Needless to say, I had a lot more fun this year than last year when I spent my birthday suffering from food poisoning at home by myself.

(A belated) Welcome to 2006

2006-01-09T14:34:00.000+02:00

That's that with Christmas and New Year's then. We completed our whole tour de Finlande although the weather could've been a lot better at times. Here is a short video of four different bits of the way.

We had fun at every stop and as it happens gathered quite a few Christmas presents from all the friends and relatives we met. This year I bought all of Mikko's gifts on eBay - a few vintage western shirts and a Lego knight key chain. All the shirts fit my medium sized man perfectly and he says the key chain was his favorite gift of all. (The story goes that he visited Legoland as a child and bought a cool knight key chain - which he lost pretty much right away. Then some 20 years later his thoughtful girlfriend searched eBay for a similar key chain, found one in Singapore and had it shipped to Finland for Christmas.)

I worked an 8pm-2am shift bartending on New Year's eve, so no partying for me. Which was quite okay since my birthday is a week from New Year - every year.

CULTURE UPDATE December

2005-12-31T13:09:00.000+02:00

LIVE MUSIC
with the best bits underlined.

Punaniska: Sister Flo

Nosturi: Samae Koskinen, Mark Kozelek

So, Mark Kozelek. Unprofessional and cocky. This was definitely one of those times when it would've been more important to hold on to the idea of Mark Kozelek you have in your head than to see him perform live. His attitude was unbelievable: he was complaning the audience was too quiet, he was complaning that Finland was too cold, he was complaning about the fact that he had to sit on a plane and a taxi to get there, he was complaning that his hands were sore etc. He actually said at one point that "this is the kind of place that you come to once". And then he'd tune. Before and in the middle of songs. It's great that he cares and all but in the middle of songs? And everybody there had so much respect for him, you could tell. He asked which songs we wanted to hear and then when this one guy requested something he laughed and corrected his pronounciation. Wow. Then during his encore (which he did a capella because he couldn't be bothered to play anymore) some people in the front started clapping in rhythm. What does Mr. Kozelek do? The guy who wanted more audience participation? He stops and says: "If I need a percussion section I'll tell you."

Yo-talo: [Lucy Was Driving,] Laurila, Tigerbombs, [Nemo]

MOVIES

Laurence Dunmore: The Libertine (2004)
( • • • • ) - 17th century English with no subtitles can be a bit too much at times but I still really liked the movie. I guess I'm a fan of decandence.
Lars von Trier: Manderlay (2005)
( • • • • • ) - Excellent, way better than Dogville. Just... excellent.
David Cronengerg: A History of Violence (2005)
( • • • ) - Kinda crappy at times, bad acting in some scenes but overall an okay film. A lot of violence but some of it was really comedic.
Peter Jackson: King Kong (2005)
( • • ) - Mikko dragged me to this one. I think I got the idea of these kinds of movies for the first time. They are made to look good and entertain and maybe even touch you if you manage to see past... well, the movie. I never got that before - I just thought they were bad movies. Now that I get it I can say I don't like the genre.

DVD

Woody Allen: Melinda & Melinda (2004)
Ki-duk Kim: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2004)
- one of my favorite movies in the world!
Shainee Gabel: A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
David Cronenberg: Spider (2002)
Jared Hess: Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

jingle, jingle...

2005-12-22T23:49:00.000+02:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

HEL LOOKS

2005-12-20T13:12:00.000+02:00

I found a cool website: www.hel-looks.com.

"HEL LOOKS is selected street fashion from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The pictures are taken in the streets and clubs of Helsinki from July 2005 onwards."

Gifts for the Family

2005-12-19T16:08:00.000+02:00

Instead of getting all my family members a Christmas gift and writing their name on the card I decided to do something a bit different this year: I bought a christmassy box and filled it with small unlabeled gifts. I'm hoping my family will have fun deciding who should get which ones - I tried to choose obveous enough gifts. Although, I think I smell an upcoming fight over liqueur bottle...

"Where are you spending Christmas?"

2005-12-19T12:59:00.000+02:00

Well, we start off on the 22nd by driving 170 km to Nastola to spend some time with Mikko's father and his family. The next day we continue to Lammi (55 km) to visit my grandmother in the hospital. After that we stop by at Mikko's grandparents' in Oitti (40km) and continue on to Riihimäki (20 km) where Mikko's mother lives. We spend the night there and relax for half a day before driving 220 km to Jyväskylä to my parents' place. That's where we'll spend both Christmas Eve and Day. On the 26th we'll make a quick 580 km roundtrip to Valtimo to visit my other gandparents before coming home (150 km) on the 28th. You?

The return of the dietary invalid

2005-12-14T14:44:00.000+02:00

Just as I was starting to add more fish and chicken to my vegetarian diet and broaden my perception of food - everything falls apart. They took away my lactose. I'm now lactose intolerant. I don't get how they could do this to me: lactose is my favorite food! I love the sweet taste of lactose. I especially love a dose of lactose with my milk chocolate. If you need me I'll be sulking in bed reading the list of lactose-free chocolates. There's only 15 items on that list! That's no life.

London, 6th - 11th December

2005-12-14T02:42:00.000+02:00

tuesday

We arrived at Stansted airport around noon and got a bus to Liverpool station where we bought 7-day Oyster travel cards (£21.40 for two zones). They're a really convenient new way to get around London. Then, with our new cards we took the Tube to Bayswater where we had two beds booked at a hostel. The hostel was not as good as one could've hoped for: rude service, narrow staircases to the 4th floor, bunk beds with no ladders(!), horrible spring mattrasses, exposed wiring in the bathroom etc. But it was also dirt cheap.

We left our luggage at the hostel (took our valuables with us, of course) and went for a stroll on Westbourne Grove. We turned to our "Let's go London" travel guide for an inexpensive place to eat. Our first pick was Carribean food at Mr. Jerk's. Yes, Mr. Jerk's. We had the most delicious vegetable curry, bbq chicken, banana, yams, dumplings, mashed potatos, rice with beans and salad. With full tummies we walked to Notting Hill Gate just in time to catch a movie at the Historic Coronet Cinema. I saw The Libertine and Mikko saw half of The Libertine and some sweet dreams.

After the film Mikko checked his London pub guide for good pubs in the area and then took me to Uxbridge Arms, a traditional music free (and tourist free - before we arrived) pub where we enjoyed some London Pride and Strongbow with a side of soccer.

wednesday

After a long night of listening to our Spanish roomates giggle we got up early for the hostel breakfast (which we decided to skip the following mornings) and headed to Tate Modern. Although one of the floors was closed, we had a great (and not to mention free) afternoon exploring modern art. And then from art to consumerism: Urban Outfitters was next in line. I was hoping to find lots of cute tops but it didn't happen - I'm not into fake punk rock style clothes which seem to be the hippest thing right now.

Our dinner was served at GBK, the Rolls Royce of burger joints. Check out the menu - I had the falafel burger: "Handmade falafels with homous, cucumber raita, fresh chilli sauce, salad & relish". And I would have it again. And again.

On the way back to the hostel we stopped by a pub called The Prince Edward for a pint of Tanglefoot and half a pint of Strongbow.

thursday

We started our day with a walk through Bayswater to Notting Hill where Mikko visited a small local library. Unlike many, he is very interested in libraries (and I love him for that). We made our next stop at Westminster where we decided to walk by a few sights before diving into the London Aquarium.

The 3 storey aquarium turned out to be one of my favorite things in London. I felt very peaceful underground looking at all the beautiful fish. And it was pretty exciting seeing sharks feeding up close. Although, the best bit by far was petting rays. I was sure beforehand that I wouldn't be able to touch them but I did. And we have it on video. Here is also some footage of the shark tank.

After the peace and quiet of the aquarium we were all ready to shop again and where better to go than Brick Lane in East London. We hit vintage stores like Rokit and Beyond Retro. I came out with two new bags and a skirt and I think Mikko bought somewhere around 7 shirts. We then turned again to our Let's go London guide which hadn't failed us yet to find a good place to eat. An Indian restaurant called Aladin came with good recommendations so that's where we went - and weren't disappointed. I love places which let you bring your own bottle.

A few days before our trip I got a -20% email discount coupon from Urban Outfitters UK which was only valid on the evening of the 8th, so naturally we wanted to take advantage of that. I think Mikko found a shirt and I got a pair of black jeans and a cardigan. Before heading back to the hostel we made an appearance at a Piccadilly Circus record store and Mikko got a copy of Mojo, Uncut and - a t-shirt.

friday

Friday morning we skipped the educational and cultural stuff and went straight for the shopping, at Portobello Road. Before getting there we had to check in at our next hostel which was at walking distance from the first one. These people hadn't heard of service with a smile either but at least they had proper beds and an ensuite bathroom. Portobello Road was a great experience and I have three pairs of new earrings to remember it by. I don't remember what Mikko got but I'm guessing t-shirts. Yep, I checked, two t-shirts. We had breakfast at Lazy Daisy cafe and continued on to High Street Kensington and Covent Garden for more shopping. Which in retrospective was a waste of our time since those shops can offer us absolutely nothing. The low point of the evening was a quick peak inside the overly expensive world of Selfridges. We were exhausted from all the walking when we finally got back to Bayswater and found a nice Indian place on Westbourne Grove.

saturday

We weren't sure if we wanted to go to Camden Markets because of the masses of people that come there on Saturdays but I'm glad we went. Early in the morning in the off-season it wasn't half bad. We found some nice vintage clothes but we also found a free Playboy photo exhibition.

Then it was time to go back to learning at the Natural History Museum. We weren't too impressed with anything else except the size of the animals that used to roam the earth and the building itself. We checked out the dinosaurs, the mammals and some of the human biology before we got bored and went back to Brick Lane for some shopping and dinner. We were gonna try a new place but ended up at Aladin again because all the other restaurants had staff at the door harassing people walking by. One guy even said that he was gonna charge us £5 if we just looked at the menu and didn't come in. And this guy wasn't kidding around. This time the food at Aladin was just off-the-charts amazing. I had a Vegetable Masala with peas pilau rice and Mikko had Chicken Ceylon and we had our own Woodpeckers and Cobras with us. Before going to bed we went to yet another pub for a pint of Badger, a bottle of Sussex and half a pint of Blackthorn.

sunday

The last morning of the vacation I didn't feel like getting up early anymore and stayed in bed when Mikko went for a walk in Kensington Gardens, west of Hyde Park.

He finally dragged me out of bed just in time for us to check out without loosing our key deposits. We took the Tube to Tottenham Court Road and walked to Berwick Street for the record shops. Which weren't open yet. So, we had an hour to kill which I spent eating a soggy jacket potato in a freezing sandwich bar. I don't get why the English just can't heat their buildings. Because of all the time we lost waiting around we almost missed our bus to the airport. It came down to minutes. And because we didn't have time to buy snacks before going to the airport we had to eat there. Which of course is never a good or cheap idea. But in the end everyhting came together nicely and we made it back with very little trauma.

You can find a few pictures of me with all my new clothes in the London2005 folder. Everything I'm wearing in those photos I got from London. The password is still the same old.

--
Here's the selection of travel guides which we found useful:
Let's Go City Guide 2005 London
- for independent travelers on a budget
Lontoo, näe ja koe
- for all the basics in Finnish
Mondo, Lontoo
- this one wasn't really all that useful but it was entertaining in it's own way
Lontoon pubit - 100 parasta!
- Mikko is into beer and pubs so this one was really a must for him

Ta ta and cheerio!

2005-12-05T23:37:00.000+02:00

We're off to London.
(coming back next Sunday and the first thing I'm gonna do is complain about Mark Kozelek)

CULTURE UPDATE November

2005-12-02T16:01:00.000+02:00

LIVE MUSIC
with the best bits underlined.

Klubi: The Posies, The Latebirds

Artturi: Hammer of the Dogs

MOVIES

Jim Jarmusch: Dead Man (1995)
( • • • • • ) - Can a film with Iggy Pop in a dress go wrong? I don't have anything negative to say about this great movie. And I have to mention the music by Neil Young which played a crucial part in creating the atmosphere.
Cameron Crowe: Elizabethtown (2005)
( • • • ½ ) - It had it's moments, like the free bird catching fire, but it was by no means memorable.

DVD

Clint Eastwood: Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Paul Weitz: In Good Company (2004)

I notice I've been busy doing something else last month.

Music muscle workout

2005-11-29T14:36:00.000+02:00

We found this to be so much fun! There's 74 bands in the picture. Look at blind melon, it's hilarious. We're listing the ones we've got in the comments field (take a peak and add more when you're done thinking).

-

Dan just noticed that there's a bit missing from the picture. You can see the whole thing here. We'd been missing out on the Scorpions.

This is not a photoblog, I swear

2005-11-27T16:22:00.000+02:00

Taken on a Sunday afternoon at 4pm.

Salvaging valuables

2005-11-23T11:34:00.000+02:00

Here's a link to the pictures from my old blog: trip to Riga, my brother's party, the house warming party and "random2005".

Ask me for the password, sign in, choose an album and hit "slideshow".

For he's a jolly good fellow

2005-11-21T13:49:00.000+02:00

This, and other wild party shots from Matti's 34th birthday party can be found here. (If you feel like you should see these photos ask me for a password, sign in, choose "Matti34" and hit "slideshow".)

To be or not to be - pregnant?

2005-11-20T13:12:00.000+02:00

I've had this weird pinching and aching feeling in my stomach since Thursday- I think it's going away now but yesterday I thought I was pregnant. It never occured to me that the sensations in my abdomen could be a baby on the way but after Mikko had suggested it I started seeing all the "signs". It could've well been the case since we haven't been that careful all the time. I went online and googled the symptoms of being pregnant and hell, I had them all. We discussed the possibilty of a baby with Mikko and agreed that this would be the worst possible time. The baby would've been born next fall when Mikko is living in another town to finish his degree. But despite the bad timing the thought of a baby made us both happy. And the one blue line on the pregnancy test made us both a little disappointed. But I did have a good afternoon thinking I was pregnant. I think it's gonna be pretty great when we actually start trying for a baby - somewhere in the distant future.

Happy studying psychology

2005-11-18T17:30:00.000+02:00

I've even been buying books! In all my years of studying sociology I never bought a book. I always thought that's what the library was for.

CULTURE UPDATE September & October

2005-11-18T11:17:00.000+02:00

LIVE MUSIC
with the best bits underlined.

Poppikerho, Klubi: Astrid Swan, Risto

Yo-talo: YUP

Yo-talo: Rubik, Cosmobile, [The Prisondream]

Klubi: Moses Hazy, Ruotomieli, Rock Royale

New Orleans benefit, Tavastia: [John McGregor,] Astrid Swan, The Latebirds (w Jonna Tervomaa), Tuomari Nurmio, Kauko Röyhkä, 22-Pistepirkko

Mental Alaska, Telakka: Samae Koskinen, Arttu Tolonen, Anssi Kasitonni, [Futone, Ville Pirinen]

Senssi: Pornorphans

Music & Media 2005, Klubi & Telakka: Sister Flo, The Latebirds

Kipsari: Sister Flo, Risto

Kulttuuritalo: Sigur Ros

MOVIES

Love & Anarchy 2005:
Juan Diego Solanas: Northeast (2005)
( ••• ) - An okay story, an okay movie.
Todd Solondz: Palindromes (2004)
( •••• ) - A good story and some great characters.
Thomas Vinterberg: Dear Wendy (2004)
( ••• ) - I didn't really think much of it storywise. I should've since it was written by Lars von Trier.
Jim Jarmusch: Broken Flowers (2005)
( ••••½ ) - A great movie (although I thought it lost something towards the end) with great music by Mulatu Astatqé.
Nick Park, Steve Box: Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
( •••• ) - Really good and a bit kinky at times. I didn't think it was as good as the previous Wallace & Gromit films, though.
Luc Jacquet: March of the Penguins (2005)
( •••½ ) - Okay, so the penguins spoke... but the scenery was really beautiful.

DVD

Mark Frost, David Lynch: Twin Peaks (1990)
Tony Scott: True Romance (1993)
Quentin Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Terry Jones: Life of Brian (1979)
Steve Carr: Daddy Day Care (2003)
- I gotta say this was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. (And I've seen Duplex.)

While painting the house red

2005-11-17T12:22:00.000+02:00

I just found out that Mark Kozelek is coming to Finland for the first time! He's playing a solo show in Helsinki on December 4th. I'm definitely gonna be there. If you glance to the right you'll see that Ghosts of the Great Highway is on my favorite albums list. I haven't been this excited about a show since... R.E.M. in January.

You can find an Unofficial Mark Kozelek site here and I warmly recommend checking out the Sun Kil Moon debut Ghosts of the Great Highway. Get started by listening to the track "Carry Me Ohio" on their Myspace player.