Spring Things.

This whole eternal winter thing seems to be finally coming to an end. It's been really Springy for the last week or so - something i realized the other day when i stepped into some dog crap that had resurfaced from underneath the melting snow. On a more pleasant springtime note, it's not long until you can bring out the sunglasses, sneakers and head for a pint outside in the sunshine. Hells yeah. While we wait for the last of the snow to disappear (and conversely, all the dog shite to reappear), i compiled some stuff into a Spring Wish List.




Like this Marimekko dress, which i fell in love with the other day. 
 



And this one. Both are priced at a little over 100 euros, which isn't too bad. Now if only i had some sort of party coming up as an excuse to buy one (or hell, both!). Like maybe the Opening of Terrace Season. I'm sure that warrants its own dress.




I think i own about six pairs of Converse All Stars (and hey, i like 'em as much as the next guy), but let's be honest: they freakin' fall apart like no one's business. All of mine are in varying stages of decay due to festivals, extensive winter wear and the less than awesome combo and quality of rubber, canvas and glue. Most of my Chuck Taylors have been bought for pretty cheap (Thailand, Camden Market thrift store, Boston outlet, discount sale, etc.), so paying over 100 bucks for these kiddos seems a little steep. They are pretty, though, and i am digging the whole Converse <3 Marimekko thing. And shucks, nothing screams spring like a new pair of sneakers.

Costo from here

Hats. Awesome. Bobble hats. Even more so. This might have to be the Spring that i finally get me a Costo hat. So should i lose all self control and end up buying all of the above things, can someone come buy me a pint when it's finally terrace season? I'll be the kid with all the springy clothes and no money. 

Sick as Balls.

 This being sick thing blows. I'm convinced the way to overcome this sickness (which isn't pneumonia anymore, by the way. The doctor has now re-diagnosed it as being sinusitis and strep throat with a side of pink eye. WTF, right!?) is to make myself feel better in any way possible. So for the last couple of days, i've woken up, transferred myself from bed to couch (blanket in tow) and indulged in movies (some really crap ones), tea (seven different kinds in the last three days) and ice cream (hell yeah) for breakfast.

 Things are looking good on the ice cream front: i found this new Ben & Jerry's flavor. On the side of the pint it says: sweet cream ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces, chocolatey peace signs and chocolate fudge swirls. Uh huh. They say 0.15 euros of the price of the ice cream goes towards saving the Nordic Sea. I doubt whether ice cream will save the Nordic Sea, but i'll admit it is damn yummy.

As for the movie front; in the last couple of days i've watched Inception (yeah, not as good as i thought), Letters to Juliet (painful. i thought with Vanessa Redgrave and Gael Garcia Bernal it might be worth it. It's not.), The Kids Are All Right (loved it. Julianne Moore and Annette Benning are awesome), Into The Wild (wow, beautiful), Shrek Forever After (yeah they should stop making these) and Shortbus (which is awesome). If anyone's got more good recommendations as for what to watch, do drop me a line.

And last but not least, here's a selection of the meds i'm currently on. Antibiotics, flu meds, cough syrup, lemsip, ketamin, finrexin, codeine, strepsils, keep-out-kids'-reach-meds, don't-operate-heavy-machinery-meds, cold meds, knock-you-out-cold-meds...i've got the whole cornucopia here. So if you're looking for a buzz (or alternatively to contract one of my contagious diseases), you know where to find me.

Baby We'll Be Fine

Goddamn. So i went and saw The National. I'm not even gonna try and describe it, or write an epic post about it. All i'm saying is, those of you who were there, you know what i'm talking about. Those of you who weren't: how could you be so foolish? Personal highlights include Matt making his way through the audience, taking an empty seat, sitting down and singing Mr. November; getting to touch him as he made his way back to the stage and passed right by us; hearing Slow Show; ending the whole show in a singalong of Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks...Yeah, all i've got is 'goddamn'.

 

<3 <3 <3

New Favorites: Kippo and The Ounce

Frozen yogurt has finally made it to Finland, huzzah! Kippo, a dinky little hole in the wall on Iso Roba, opened shop a week or so ago. The place is tiny, the frozen yogurt is home-made to a special recipe, and it's all organic. And tastes damn good, too. The idea is to get a cup of froyo and choose from a selection of toppings ranging from nuts to berries to chocolate. I opted for the dark chocolate chips, but i could have just as well eaten the frozen yogurt topping-free, cause it's that good on its own. A small kippo of froyo with one topping will set you back a little under four euros. A little pricey, but it's not something you have every day. (who am i kidding, i'd eat frozen yogurt every day if i could). Come June, this place will be the shit; muggy heat, flip flops, frozen yogurt on your way to the park...the shit, i tell you.

In the past few years, tea shops have been popping up around town, which is good news for coffee-shunning tea addicts. Up until now i've mostly done my tea-shopping at Thehuone on Eerikinkatu, so for a change i decided to check out The Ounce on Freda. Compared to the classy, minimalist decor of Thehuone, The Ounce is like the set of a period play; it's like you've set foot into Ye Olde Tea Shoppe, complete with a shop assistant who looks like Little Bo Peep. I guess it's kind of endearing. In any case, the place smells delicious and they have a nice tea selection, in little brown bags with hand-written labels. I ended up going for some flavored black tea, most of which have curious names. But i'll admit, sipping on a mug of 'Alice in Mirrorland' or 'Lolita' is admittedly a more exciting start to the morning than a cup of the old Earl Grey.

Back with a Vengeance.

It's been a million years since i last wrote. I'd love to say the reason for this has been a decadent, extended vacation in the tropics, as plentiful in cocktails as it is lacking in computers. But no. Quite the opposite, to be honest. I've been AWOL because the amount of work i've been doing lately has been verging on the incredible. Having said that, it's all been awesome, but what with all these events, projects and plans, there's been precious little time for anything else. Like blogging. Or sleeping, for that matter.

So here's what's happened during all the blog silence. A running theme has been me, spending a lot of time on the floor (and no, it's not all because of drunken blundering). Yours truly attended a JV-course and got certified to work as security. Said course consisted of two weekends of early (mostly hungover) wake-ups and a lot of time being handcuffed, strangled, or pinned to the cold concrete floor of Nosturi by people who were all bigger than me (and seemed nowhere near as hungover).

Photo courtesy of Hopponen

The other reason a big chunk of the last months has been spent on me hitting the ground is Roller Derby. The difference is that for this i've been sober, and the people responsible for flooring me have all been girls on wheels. Which, to be honest, is a lot more fun. Thanks for all the bruises, battering and good times go out to all the lovely ladies (and dudes!) at Helsinki Roller Derby.

Photo of November's Freshmeat by Dagger

The most recent thing that floored me, however, occurred this past weekend, and has little to do with sobriety. I'm talking about Femmagaala. In the myriad of work projects i've been meddling in these past few months, this one manifested itself last Saturday in the form of a raucous party at Henry's Pub. Complete with lipstick on mirrors, artists not being able to get in at the door, and a mean gig from Pertti Kurikan nimipäivät, this was the most hazardous, backwards and kickassest awards party i've seen in a good while, as the footage below depicts. 

The party was awesome, the aftermath almost as much so: pneumonia and doctor's orders to stay in bed and dope up on some serious meds. Speaking of which; said meds are making me happily delirious and wildly dizzy. Hey, it might not be a vacation in the tropics, but passing out on the floor of the bathroom in a chemically-induced swoon is quite the trip in itself.

  

Christmas Shopping at TOKYO

It's that time of year again. People become hordes of cattle rammed through shopping centres, grannies sharpen their elbows to make up for their small size and delicate build, and you hear 'last christmas' thrice an hour, which is enough to send a mass of people (already at the very end of their tether) straight over the edge, into yuletide massacre mayhem. All in the name of Christmas shopping. Ho ho ho.

 

Luckily, it doesn't all have to be shopping centres (or grannies or carols, for that matter. not that i have anything against either). Which is why last Friday i trammed it through the frosty afternoon to Arabia and TOKYO's Christmas sale, in the hopes of finding presents for my nearest and dearest. 

These necklaces are made using a picture or photo, and you can get them with your own pictures, which is kinda nice. As would be giving one of these to your best friend with that pic of her passed out on the floor next to a puddle of vomit.<3

An advent calendar you can happily hang on your wall. None of that Disney-themed plastic crap with fake chocolate in it for me this year!

 

How can you not love these? A perfect gift for anyone. Especially your Grandma. And her sharp elbows. Nutty Tarts, i'm a big fan of your work. 

After all those christmas parties, going for the brown-paper-bag-over-your-head look might start seeming like a pretty bright idea.

 Lots of cool prints, too. I almost bought one daintily titled "Up Your Butt in 80 Ways".

 And pretty cards, too. Couldn't find the ones with the elf flipping the bird, tho. (a pic of which can be found from last year's post on this topic).

And then i saw this. The tentacled bunny had me enraptured from the get-go. It's like The Mad Hatter and Cthulhu made babies. Tea-drinking, totally looney, world-destroying demi-god, semi-lapine babies. Set me back 35 euros, which is not bad at all. And it goes nicely with the print i bought last year, of two girls having a macabre tea party wearing masks, seen behind the rabbit in the above pic. Similarly to last year, i sort of ended up buying lovely things for myself, and failing at getting presents for others. I guess i can always resort to baking, wrapping and lovingly giving out gingerbread vaginas.

Which is what i might do right now, accompanied by the four hour xmas playlist (!!!) i put together on Spotify last night at two in the morning, and an industrial-size mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Have a rockin' weekend y'all!

i heart in November.

Oh my, it's been a while, hasn't it. I'm gonna go ahead and say that a month worth of blog silence has much to do with the fact that i find myself currently juggling four different job projects (and nothing to do with the fact that my leisure time occasionally renders me incapable of typing and forces me to put aside days solely for recovery purposes). It keeps a girl busy, i tells ya. In any case, here we are, with the most lovable things of November.

1. TOKYO Christmas Sale. Takes place next weekend. Wondrous things, creative talent, a small way of supporting your local artists. I've been delighted with my findings in the past, which have included some neat Ex Libris stickers (with pics of bird fetuses), cupcake magnets and undies with pubes printed on ("Look what Santa got you this year!").
2. My birthday, fast-approaching. Okay, it's in December, but the anticipation is at least 54.3% of the fun. Even more so because it's (once again) an excuse to beard up (wonder if that's ever gonna catch on, like 'suit up' did? Probably not.) Be that as it may, the theme is facial hair. Oh yes. I'm looking forward to seeing the stuff of legend; the obscure, elusive but ever-so-enchanting eyelash-beard. On at least three guests.
3. The Sleep Cycle app for the iPhone. The app measures your sleep patterns, tells you when you hit a deep sleep phase and lets you know how much shuteye you're averaging per night. Yeah, i didn't think this was gonna be interesting data either, but it's actually pretty cool comparing a sober, good night's sleep to the fitful, haggard tossing and turning of drunken slumber. 
4. Jeavestone. Saw this band at Semifinal last Thursday. Prog rock featuring a melodica, flute and some serious stage presence, among other things (like cool stage names and seriously sweet merchandise).They had a Thursday night crowd hot, sweaty and sporting a semi. 
5. Megazone. It's been close to a decade since i've last fired laser beams at people in dark rooms full of smoke and ultraviolet lighting. Which would explain why i've forgotten how awesome it is. Why discuss things with your work colleagues when you can stalk them in a dark alley and hide in the shadows, cackling, after shooting them in the back three times in a row? Rather satisfying.
6. Delay Trees at Bar Loose on November 24th with Black Twig. Make my November Wednesday, why don't you?
7. Roller Derby. I think this is something you hear from all roller girls, but i just dig the shit out of Derby. Seriously. Watch out Old Meat, the Fresh Meat are almost done with their training period, and they're coming out to play with the big girls. Oh yes.
8. Poetry. Yeah, saying you write poems is still kinda like saying you cry every time you have a wank, while simultaneously slitting your wrists. Whatever. I wrote a poem this week. It was about the irony of writing poetry. How postmodern and clever of me.
9. Arttu Harkki's cake. I was watching Neljän tähden illallinen (As i do. P.s. How good is this show?), and the chocolate cake he made looked delicious. Haven't tried it out yet myself, but the recipe is super simple. Think i might give it a whirl in the near future.
10. The Ugly Lamp. I spotted this curious porcelain seal at Urban Outfitters when i was in New York. It was half price (it's a blue porcelain seal, who the hell is gonna buy one of those?), and without stopping to think about transport (how the hell am i gonna fit that into my suitcase?) or electrical currents (this won't plug into my socket at all!), for twenty bucks, i made it mine. The Ugly Lamp came through victorious through both the transport and electrical conundrums, and now sits on my desk, where i admire it daily. And others shake their heads disapprovingly. 

Musiikki & Media: American Kitsch

Music and media professionals from Finland and abroad have once again made the annual pilgrimage to the hippest, most happening music city (err...) in this neck of the woods, otherwise known as Tampere. An extended weekend of seminars, talks, networking, gigs and generally approved intoxication in the form of Musiikki & Media 2010 kicked off last night.

As M&M first-timers, we rock up to Tampere in good time, decide to get the lay of the land and grab some lunch. I persuade Aleksi into checking out Classic American Diner, a place i've wanted to visit for ages. Now, i'll admit right here that i have a serious thing for all things kitsch and Americana. Which is why i can happily overlook the superficial, plastic pseudo-nostalgia of this 'roadside diner' situated in the middle of a shopping center in Tampere, and love it despite all its goriness. And the spicy veggie burger, fries and mint chocolate milkshake i had weren't too bad either.

 

 

the mint-chocolate milkshake

Later last night, we decide to delve deeper into the depths of this Americana experience, and go check out some rockabilly at Klubi. Turns out it was an awesome idea, cause they have a three band lineup of rockabilly ranging from the toe-tapping, bass-slapping gusto of Relentless to the sombre, cinematic melancholy of Last Calls, topped off with Fatboy from Sweden. Contrary to the diner experience, there was nothing pseudo or plastic about the music. 

Relentless

Last Calls

Last Calls

We wander home in the early hours, in good spirits, and decide that Tampere is, indeed, a great city.

Having by now almost recovered physically from the after-effects of yesterday's Americana trip, i can only guess what's gonna happen tonight. If we're feeling adventurous, we might ditch Uusi Fantasia, Jätkäjätkät, The Capital Beat, Iiris, Neufvoin and a whole host of other bands for another nostalgia trip, this time to the teenage era, and go check out revamped pre-teen idols Jimi Constantine (formerly Pääkallo, of Technicolor fame) and Jonna Geagea (formerly Kosonen, of Nylon Beat stardom) instead. Trippy indeed.

i heart in October

1. Girlfriends by Carol Ann Duffy. I found my copy of her Selected Poems at the bottom of a pile of books, opened it and didn't put it down until i'd re-read all poems. This one in particular is beautiful.

2. Thunderbaum. Who am i kidding, these boys are the dog's bollocks. Having seen them live five times in the last year, i know what i'm talking about. (Even though said gigs have been enjoyed in various states of pint-throwing wild drunkenness). Having said that, it's probably appropriate to be stupidly drunk when you're seeing the Morons of Rock.  

3. Roller Derby. I haven't been this excited about something since i discovered sex, alcohol and hard drugs. Just kidding. Seriously though, Freshmeat Training Period starts in November, and i can't wait to get rolling.


4. Etsy shopping. There are realms of enchanting things out there i could (and do) spend hours exploring. Like, i never knew i couldn't live without personalized, custom quad skate toe guards.

5. Mr. Nobody. Chaos theory, parallel realities, the opportunity cost of choosing, string theory, the nature of time...oh, and then there's that guy, Jared something.

6. Autumn. My favorite season. Clear skies, crunchy leaves and crisp, cold afternoons are what i'm all about.

7. Morrissey. The 20th anniversary reissue of Bona Drag has been blaring out of my speakers for days now. Loudly. I hope the neighbors dig the Moz, too.

8. Théhuone. At my house, it's tea time all the time. This place is a tea drinker's fetish house. Last time i came home with a little bag of Chai, which i can't stop sniffing. I'm like one of those Japanese underwear-sniffers, but with tea.

9. Bored to Death. I always feel anxious watching Jason Schwartzman in this show, cause he's got really bad hair and he's always seconds away from some sort of awkward encounter. Also, Ted Danson is perhaps the most awesome character. Right after Barney Stinson, of course.

10. Nightvisions. Halloween's a-coming! And so is the Mutant Girls Squad, apparently. Will go see them, and other gory, dark, frightening stuff at the epic scare-athon, armed with a thermos of black tea, a gigantic bag of candy, and someone whose arm i can dig my nails into when the going gets scary (or i hit a combined caffeine and sugar high and can't sit still). Whichever happens first.

Free Lunch? No. Delicious, decently-priced Lunch? Hell yes.

I found out today that there's a little known of secret when it comes to lunch venues in the city. The secret in question is located in what used to be known as Finnair Stadium (now Sonera Stadium) and it's called FreshCo. I'd never heard of it, until the good peeps i work with suggested we go there for lunch today.

Honestly, when it comes to any kind of food served at a sports stadium, i'm all set to have my culinary hopes shattered by mystery-meat masquerading as a hot dog and a pint of beer boasting a higher percentage of plastic flavor than alcohol.

Which is why i was baffled by the awesomeness of this place. (Which, as i found out later, might be explained by the fact that the man behind it is none other than Jyrki Sukula himself). The decor is a little office cafeteria, but the place is light, spacious and clean. The lunch menu has a meat, fish and veggie option (from around 10-12e), all of which looked tasty (well, as tasty as some sort of hacked steak can look to a vegetarian). Or you can go for the salad buffet (9.30e). Personally, i've always thought salad buffets can be the biggest ripoffs and downers of the buffet world (it's like, meh, dunno what to do with all this semi-frozen sweetcorn, wilted lettuce and 20kg bag of onions. We'll call it a salad and charge them 12 euros). Well folks, on seeing the salad buffet at FreshCo, i take back that nasty assumption.

Not only did this one feature huge olives, croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds, marinated zucchini and chickpeas in addition to the standard salad fare; there were also little veggie Caesar sandwiches and Jerusalem artichoke tarts. Not to mention freshly-baked bread with a herby spread. There's also mineral water on tap, which is awesome. The salad bowls are big, too, so this is no skimpy little salad you're putting together, either. And if all that weren't enough, your nine euros will also get you tea, coffee or hot chocolate, accompanied by the dessert of the day. Which, today, was a dreamy, chocolate mousse and red berry kind of affair. Forget breakfast of champions - this stadium-side lunch is where it's at.

 
FreshCo, Sonera Stadium, Urheilukatu 5, 00250 Helsinki
 

Libraries & The Smell of Old Books.

I like libraries. Having said that, i hadn't been to one in Finland since i moved back from Paris a couple of years ago. And to be honest, in the last five years, visits to the library have been exclusively academia-related. Hours of essay-writing and crappy vending-machine tea, armfuls of textbooks, journal hunting in the dusty recesses of research rooms...you get the drift. 

Well, i decided to make it right and head to the library with the sole ambition of borrowing some entirely academia-unrelated reading. And so i traipsed off to Rikhardinkadun kirjasto. And quite the bibliophile's wet dream that place is, too. The library was founded in 1882, and the building retains a lot of its original features. The coolest of which is the book tower, which is the highest point of the library. A spiral staircase leads up to the very top floor, which houses English Fiction. You can see clouds sailing above you, looking up through the skylight at the top of the tower. It's old, charming and eerie in equal amounts. I wanted to find a corner, build a fort and sit there with a blanket, flashlight and a thermos of tea and spend the night reading books. It's kinda awesome.

I spent an hour browsing the bookcases (and smelling the books - yeah, i'm one of those sneaky, old-book-smell-loving library pervs), trying to figure out what i wanted to borrow. i realized i'm a complete library-noob, continuously marveling at the fact that i could just pick out any books, and they'd let me take them home to read. I had to remind myself several times that that is, indeed, the premise a library operates on. And they didn't have to be bricks of books that dealt with the consequences of modernity in regard with self identity, or critical essays about the role of media as the fourth estate. (Which are the kinds of books i've come home with on my most recent, academia-heavy library visits.)

So there i was, like a fat kid at an all-you-can-eat buffet, hoarding books. In the end, i didn't take out all the ones i wanted (they'll still be here next time, i told myself - another great thing about libraries), and got out the following: Factotum by Charles Bukowski (a marvelous account of women, booze and chronic unemployment in America during WWII), The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (absolutely fantastic reworkings of classic fairy tales; dark, erotic and always wondrous) and Filth by Irvine Welsh (i thought Trainspotting was brilliant, but this was better. Mental problems; genital rashes; substance abuse of all sorts; the misogyny, racism and corruption of the Scottish police force in the 90s and intestinal parasites. The shit, in other words.)

Having vicariously drunk myself into oblivion, killed Bluebeard and hosted a particularly observant and intellectual tape worm, i need something new to read. If you've read something awesome lately, do leave me a recommendation (and it doesn't have to involve intestinal parasites - although that would be a bonus, of course). And if you haven't, i recommend you drop by the library and pick up one the aforementioned reads (and smell some old books while you're at it).