World Championships: Finland 14 - Canada 2

Let's go Canada, let's go!
...but not in this game.

It's again time for the World Championships and this time in Finland. The games are played in the ice hockey arenas, one of them being the very same that hosted Ice Hockey World Championships already 1997 in Helsinki, but yesterday's game was played in the home arena of Espoo Blues, my home team.

5 players and goalie in both teams with their sticks sharpened and ready to start the game. But soon the tention is over as Team Finland controls the game from the beginning and already after the first 20 minutes it is 4 - 0 and after 2nd 20 mins it is 8-0.

Hats off to Canada as they played (naturally) with a high moral through the game and it was awarded towards the end by 2 goals.

Yes, Finland has found a way to donimate a game in ice hockey arena against the mother country of ice hockey. However, unfortunately the game was not ice hockey but floorball...

But some of you thought it was ice hockey while reading - gotcha!!!

PS In few hours starts the fun of Finland Independence Day. You can follow it at http://www.yle.fi/linnanjuhlat/2010/
To get to the mood check out this old clip from ice hockey World Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ddim6Yx3mI

Fruits, Vegetables and Independence - Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää Suomi!

The local main newspaper Helsingin Sanomat had in their online paper an interesting article about eating habits of fruits and vegetables. UNICEF had conducted a survey and quite alarming fact was that only 14% of 15 years old boys in Finland eat daily fruits or vegetables! Only fourteen procent!!!

I know from my own experience that it is not only the boys that have difficulties to eat them, it's also the girls. Unfortunately some allergies rule out some of the fruits that our lady in the same age group can eat, but I can tell you it wouldn't be that easy even if she could eat them all. Same challenge with the veggies. The only one that is on "I like to eat it" -list is cucumber (Cucumis sativus), but there the vitamins are as rare as Finnish NBA-players...

What is positive, is that the younger man in the family is happy to eat different kinds of veggies and salad. He has even loves "well prepared" green beans, or I'd say Haricots verts as the French, thinner and longer version is. That's one of the things picked up during Belgium years.

What is the "well prepared" then?
Well, I'm not 100%  sure how my wife does them, but an easy option is to put some (a lot) olive oil on a hot pan, put the beans in, add some sea salt & pepper and that's it! You don't need to cook them long, even if you use the frozen ones it takes only some minutes to prepare. Very good - unless you are too suspicious and afraid to taste one...

What comes to the fruits, the shops are full of different type of them but as the article refers, they are not that cheap up here in the corner of the world - in a country covered with snow. We try to encourage the kids to eat them, naturally showing example, and even push it a bit by putting on a plate in minimum one piece of the veggie prepared or served. Be it green bean, cherry tomato or what ever, they get familiar with the taste and it becomes a habit bit by bit. A healthy habit.

No veggie or fruit - no desert. And the desert can also be or include some fruit - which is something where we could improve a bit.

To read the article at Helsingin Sanomat online newspaper, go here.

To finish the Finnish topics, let's talk about independence;
Tomorrow is again the independence day of Finland, this time # 93 I believe. Hence we get to enjoy a long weekend while tonight most of you prepare again for a 5 day work week.

Last year I wrote the 100th posting about the Finland's Independence day. You can check it out to read a bit about the history, and more details you can get from Wikipedia... Along the years we have build a tradition of two TV evenings per year: Finland's Independence day reception at the President's Palace and the Eurovision song contest in May (I've also written about that few times).

...I actually was wondering in the vey same 100th posting if I'd ever reach 200 postings but today we are somewhere around 230 postings. Since you keep coming back, I guess I need to do the same...

The reason for watching the reception is not that much the event itself or the party, but the biggest fun is to be a home-couch-critic for the dresses. There are always both tops and flops and naturally the flops come across easier. Some flops from an old article from here.

For Finns, here is an old sketch, nauttikaa!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPJY3PoVWKw&feature=related

So tomorrow at 6 pm we shall light 2 candels in the window, a tradition that dates back for a long time. I'm not so sure about where it comes from and will not find out just now. If you know, please share!

Happy Independence Day Finland -

Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää Suomi!

Questionable retro material

We have a shop in Helsinki area, Finland, that sells all kinds of military related equipment. Majority of the stuff is new, but some is also used – 2^nd hand.

Obviously they have purchased stocks from military organizations in different countries. The time I visited the shop, they advertized clothing originating from German Army and Belgium Air Force. They also had loads of other material that is more or less useful for either outdoor usage, camping etc., as well as urban military style fashion.

There was also some good stuff for Halloween, or would you be happy to see someone with a gas mask knocking on your door for a ”trick or treat”…?

What was most surprising for me was a section where they were selling some historical material – and obviously the staff too had realized the questionable aspect to this. Why else they would have bothered to make a sign that explains why do they sell the stuff and for what purpose.

The content goes somewhat like this;

“Nazi Germany and Eastern Germany Patches

Ask for the material at the cashier”

The main message on the right side text is along these lines;

“Material for the 2^nd World War military outfits are normally bought for reenacting history uniforms, mainly for movie/theatre usage. This is not a new revolution of the Nazis. There is a demand for these and hence we serve the need. These are meant to be used in war time army uniform copies, not for other civil clothing.

Does this mean that you are Nazis or that Nazism is spreading because of you?

No. We can not be blamed for such and we have always been on the side of the good ones.”

Just to clarify, this is not my view but what stands on the wall in the shop. You can make your own judgment – but I’m not that sure if it is needed to sell that stuff.

OK, what was my motivation to go to the shop?

Nope, it was not the “unacceptable” material or gas masks, but to buy a pair of pants. Army style pants that last and I don’t need to worry about. However, my kids said they are not my kind of pants – I guess they kind of suggested it’s out of my genre. Or style.

Naturally it is a bit different to see me wearing those pants, comparing to my 5-days-a-week-office-uniform, a suit. On the other hand I hope this is not a sign of a middle age crisis. I hope I’m not in crisis, at least not with my age. 

Surely I’m getting older and am the oldest generation alive in my direct family tree, but unfortunately that is the situation in my life. Like it or not. The biggest thing I don’t like about it is that the dialog with my parents is not that fluent any more. Surely I say things to them almost daily, but as you know the realities the dialog is on the level of mind :o) Damn I miss you both!

Italian Tomato Garden

An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey . He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
--
Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty sad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.

Love,
Papa
--
A few days later he received a letter from his son.
--
Dear Papa,

Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.

Love,
Vinnie
--
At 4 a.m. The next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologised to the old man and left.

That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
--
Dear Papa,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love,
Vinnie
--

Pimp Your Garage Door

If you have been looking at a boring garage door for too long, this might be the thing for you! You can select an image from a pretty good selection - or use a picture of your own, and print an image on the door. Then just sit back and enjoy the faces of the people passing by...

Here are some of my favorites.

To order yours, go to the German company's site http://www.style-your-garage.com/ , prices are quite reasonable. They seem to deliver also to US and all over Europe. You can also get prints for the doors in the house.

And again; IT'S YOUR CHOICE as the sign says...

Have a great weekend!!!

Yes-yes-yes, the winter is still here!

We have had now in Southern Finland winter since last Thursday. As I told earlier, I got to prepare for the snow by clearing the backyard but unfortunately I didn't take care of it all; the big grill is still there but I don't see that as a problem. Neither that my Mexican clay oven is there, even if I'd rather keep it in dry and warm - and use it for the main purpose.

Some weathermen have seen the light - they estimate -22C for next week, let's wait and see if it happens. I guess I should start polishing my skis to get myself to the slopes.

Tonight I was too lazy to heat up the sauna so I settled for a warm shower after a work out, but wanted to freshen up still outside. These are fresh images from few moments ago, I know some of you have seen something similar from last winter.

The profile pic where I'm covered with snow is from last winter - same place though as these pics...

Wanna fly with style?

If you wish to fly with style - and can afford it, there are many ways to do it. One option you can find from here;
http://www.787firstflight.newairplane.com/

We have come quite a long way in 100 years... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroplane

Have a fantastic Sunday!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Yesterday morning I had a niiiice wake-up but horrible morning traffic here and there. We had about 10 cm fresh snow during the night and at 0630 when I started the car it was quite nice to play again with the car in the empty, snowy roads.

I gotta say that I would very much need to find the button that turns the traction control off from the car. I know the symbol but I simply have not found such. Same thing was with the previous, temporary car that I had.

Anyways, soon the traffic became quite bad mainly due to trucks and buses that are not obliged to have winter tyres and hence got stuck in the hills - blocking a lane and causing kilometers of queues. In one of these I was trying to get further for an hour this morning. After I had passed the 2nd truck that was stuck, the ring road was clear for the next 20 kilometers.

When I left the office in the evening, all roads were wet and temp was around 0 C so when the temp dropped over night, it was a killer weather in the night...

For some pics from the snow day (no, not snow day like school-is-closed), scroll pics in here.


PS Finland won the EuroCup qualification game against San Marino 8-0 so don't expect daily blogs ;o)
Here a pic from http://www.yle.fi/ where Jari Litmanen finishes a penalty goal and becomes the eldest player who scores in EuroCup qualifications

Rakkaudella Suomesta - From Finland with Love

I recommend this book to everyone dealing with Finns - as well as for Finnish people who interact with people outside their own little village! 

I am a Finn myself and have shared this book with many friends representing different nationalities from Swedish to Americans. They all loved it and now understand us a bit better... For us, Finnish people, it gives a perspective to the facts of our differences to others. Yes, we are different in many ways and we should understand and accept it.

The book is written both in Finnish and in English in same covers and I must say I really enjoyed reading both versions.

You can get it from Amazon, both in UK and in US.
I recommend it to everyone dealing with Finns - business or leisure! And to all who are interested to do so...!

Short comment about the book from here.

...few words about football;

Tomorrow the football EuroCup 2012 qualifications continue and Finland is playing against a team that is in the last(!) position in FIFA ranking. Yep, the very last with only one (1) single win in the history of the local national team. The win came from a game against ... Lichtenstein.

San Marino, welcome to Finland!

Our team is already out of the games and we sacked our Scottish manager (coach), so I can promise that in case Finland does NOT win the game, I will write a blog every single day until Christmas.

Team Finland, you should step up the game - or you might need to consider changing into Lichtenstein passports ;o)

Finland - San Marino at Helsinki Olympic Stadium tomorrow 16 November 2010 at 18:30. It might be the last chance to see soon-to-be-40-years-old Jari Litmanen playing for Finland. Not bad, he started his career in the national team at 1989 so he has played for the team in 4 different decades. And in between won the Champions League with Ajax at 1995 and had Barcelone # 10 shirt...

Suomi - San Marino Helsingin Olympiastadionilla huomenna 16 marraskuuta 2010 kello 18:30. Otteluinfo ja liput täältä. Mahdollisesti Litin viimeinen maaottelu. Ei hassumpaa, pelannut maajoukkueessa neljällä vuosikymmenellä.

Go Finland!!!

Happy Father's Day - Hyvää Isänpäivää!!!

Today is Father's Day in Finland and what would be a better way to start it than sleeping until 1030 for the first time in months!

Wife and kids have been there to hug you before leaving for soccer practice, then your daughter comes in to ask if she could bake something. Soccer groups come back and we prepare a fantastic brunch with caviar, bacon, different cheeses including manchego and Iberico-ham - Spanish delicacies.

Desserts with fresh pineapple, freshly made white chocolate mousse and a meringue cake. And one should not forget the bubbles :o)

In Belgium the Father's Day is celebrated on 3rd Sunday of June and I gotta say it was a bit surprising when the kids came from the school with cards & gifts at the first year in Belgium.

Hyvää Isänpäivää - Happy Father's Day! I will have a talk with my father at some point today - it has been only 2 years since he passed away.