Blog Title Here

E-mails from an Asshole

2012-02-11T17:05:00.001+02:00

This guy sends e-mails to people, and most of the time ends up pissing them off. Here's his reply to an ad about a car:

Original ad:
looking for a jeep comanche. must be running and in good condition. can pay up to $500. offers for other trucks will be ignored.

From Mike Partlow to *********@*********.org:

Hey, I couldn't help but notice your ad looking for a Comanche. I don't have one, but seeing as it is such a rare car I figured I'd help you out and put you in touch with a friend of mine who is selling his. Would you like his contact information?

Mike

From Joel ******* to Mike Partlow:

yeah that would be great thanks

From Mike Partlow to Joel *******:

Okay, it is ***********@gmail.com. Just tell him Mike sent ya.

Mike

From Joel ******* to Mike Partlow:

ok thanks

From Joel ******* to Leo D:

hey there your friend mike told me that you were interested in selling your jeep comanche?

From Leo D to Joel *******:

Ugh...freaking Mike. I'm sorry. Mike is an idiot. I told him that I knew a guy selling a Comanche. I'm not selling one. If you want I can have that guy contact you. I'll give his email address: *******@yahoo.com

Sorry about that.

Leo

From Joel ******* to Leo D:

okay...

From Joel ******* to Chris Vandrell:

hey your friend leo told me you were selling a comanche?

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

Ah, Leo! I haven't talked to him in forever! How's he doing?

From Joel ******* to Chris Vandrell:

i dunno. i just met him online

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

Do me a favor, will ya? Tell Leo that Chris asked how he's doing?

From Joel ******* to Chris Vandrell:

are you selling a jeep comanche?

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

What did Leo say?

From Joel ******* to Chris Vandrell:

he said he is good

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

Great! Anyway, I'm not selling the Comanche, my brother is. Can I give him your email address so he can get in touch with you? His name is Randy.

From Joel ******* to Chris Vandrell:

oh god dammit. fine give him my email

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

Will do!

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

Hey, I just talked to Leo. He said you didn't tell him I asked how he was doing! Why did you lie to me?

From Joel ******* to Chris Vandrell:

look i dont give a FUCK man i just want to buy a fuckin comanche and you keep dicking me around. who gives a fuck how hes doing if you were talking to him then why the fuck didnt you just fucking ask him? for christ's sake just fucking put me through to the guy selling the comanche already

From Chris Vandrell to Joel *******:

Calm down, son. No need to get your panties in a bunch. I just got off the phone with Randy and he is going to email you shortly.

From Randy Vandrell to Joel *******:

Hello! Is this Joe?

From Joel ******* to Randy Vandrell:

no my name is joel

From Randy Vandrell to Joel *******:

Oh, my mistake. I must have misheard Chris. I couldn't really hear him over the phone. He is using one of those new "smart phones" but personally I think they sound terrible. You won't find me using one of those, no sir. My good-ol-fashioned land line phone will do me just fine. Everyone always tells me I sound very clear on my phone, they ask me "Randy, how do you sound so crisp and clear on your phone?" and I tell them "I'm using a land line! If you want to sound clear, take your cell phone and throw it in the trash!" This new technology is a load of garbage if you ask me. You don't use a cell phone, do ya Joe? I wouldn't if I were you. Anyway, I just got off the phone with Chris. He tells me you are interested in buying my Jeep Cherokee?

From Joel ******* to Randy Vandrell:

no a jeep COMANCHE. please tell me you have a comanche not a fuckign cherokee

From Randy Vandrell to Joel *******:

Ah, the Jeep Comanche! A fine vehicle. Mine was a 1994, had a lot of good times in that truck. Once I drove that truck all the way to Newark! Couldn't believe it made it, but that truck was one tough son-of-a-bitch. It was a long trip but I just popped in my Johnny Cash cassette tapes and I was set for the whole ride. Do you listen to Johnny Cash? Great man, he was. Anyway, the Comanche. I was selling that, yes. Unfortunately, I sold it to a guy about a month ago. Real nice guy who bought it, I'm trying to remember his name. I remember thinking it was Mike but it wasn't Mike. It was something foreign...I'm leaning towards "Mikel."

From Joel ******* to Randy Vandrell:

i dont give a fuck what his name is asshole. what the FUCK you fucking idiots just wasted my fucking time for nothing

From Randy Vandrell to Joel *******:

Boy, Chris was right when he said you were an angry lad. Relax, I've got some good news for you. Mikel loved the Comanche, but he has to move far away and is unable to take the truck with him. Therefore he is trying to sell the truck. He tried to sell it back to me for 500 bucks, but I told him "Mikel, why in the hell would I need the Comanche? I just bought a new F150!" You should see my F150, it is really nice. Perfect for hauling my ATVs to Chris's house. Chris has a lot of property up in Hagerstown and we love to go offroading there with his pal Leo. Leo sure is a crazy son-of-a-bitch! Speaking of Leo, what's this I hear about you lying to Chris about asking Leo how he's doing? Why would you do that?

From Joel ******* to Randy Vandrell:

ENOUGH WITH THE RANTS JUST SHUT UP!!!!! HOLY SHIT WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!? I DONT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ANY OF YOUR SHIT ASS STORIES JUST GIVE ME THE FUCKING GUY WHO IS SELLING THE COMANCHE!!! GOT THAT? NOT HIS SON, NOT HIS FUCKING BROTHER, JUST THE GUY WITH THE TRUCK. QUIT WASTING MY FUCKING TIME

From Randy Vandrell to Joel *******:

Jeez, you sure are an angry fella! Don't like to talk much, do ya? I understand you're just trying to buy a truck. You're all business, I respect that. You're going to want to email Mikel. I am confident he is still trying to sell the truck. You'll love it, its a real beaut. Mikel's email address is ***********@hotmail.com

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

hey some jackass named randy told me he sold you a jeep comanche and you are looking to sell it?

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

Olen segaduses. Mida sa sellega öelda tahad? Kas te räägite eesti keeles?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

fucking hell...ENGLISH? do you speak english?

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

American, yes?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

yes philadelphia are you selling a jeep comanche?

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

Yes! Car sale, me to you sales of vehicle, yes?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

yeah do you have pictures/information?

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

Yes photographs!

Its nice cars, yes?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

THATS NOT A FUCKING JEEP COMANCHE RETARD

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

Oh you buys Jeep from me, yes? Comanche strongs truck! Loud! Vrrrrrrrr! Ha ha ha.

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

ha fucking ha. send me a picture of the fucking jeep

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

YES that is what i want. how much are you selling it for?

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

I sells for 5800 Kroons, yes?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

what the fuck is a kroon? how much in AMERICAN MONEY?

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

Oh no, no Americans Dollars in here Estonia. Onlys kroon. Yous comes to Estonia to buy?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

the jeep is in fucking estonia are you shitting me? i dont even know where the fuck that is

From Mikk Sisask to Joel *******:

Yes, Estonia. Yous comes buy, yes?

From Joel ******* to Mikk Sisask:

NO! FUCK ESTONIA AND FUCK YOU!!! GODDAMMIT WHAT A WASTE OF FUCKING TIME

If you want more, click here for the top rated posts.

First Day on the Internet Kid

2012-02-09T00:30:00.000+02:00

I love this meme. (Brings back memories from the 90s.)

Explained on Know Your Meme:

"First Day on the Internet Kid is an advice animal image macro series featuring a young kid smiling at a computer with a clenched fist. The overlaid text usually depicts him as a new and inexperienced Internet user who is unfamiliar with certain aspects of the web and is often described as a younger version of Lonely Computer Guy / Net Noob."

Here are my favorites:

All from Know Your Meme.

The age old question is answered!

2012-02-08T23:58:00.000+02:00

From Know Your Meme - Hipster Barista.

F*ck your interior decoration

2012-02-08T23:43:00.002+02:00

The blog Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table says a bad word to most things of the interior decoration and design worlds. Like the Eames coat rack, or clusters of frames. (It even hates arranging your bookshelf books according to color!) It is unclear whence this hate originates, but it sure is there.

Here's a taste, but do go and check it out for yourself.

"F*ck your frame cluster."

"F*ck your Eames coat rack."

"F*ck your thing that says EAT in your kitchen."

"F*ck your alphabet poster."

Via nyt.fi.

Homeless-inspired bed set

2012-02-05T20:20:00.001+02:00

A Dutch company Snurk makes bed sets looking like the streets the homeless sleep on, and the cardboard boxes they use as covers. A large proportion of the proceedings go to foundations helping young homeless in Europe.

Photo from Snurk website.

The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported that a Swedish department store NK started selling them recently. When asked for a comment, the CEO for a Swedish foundation helping the homeless, Situation Stockholm, said that she is positive towards the idea, if it helps raise awareness. But she warns of the risk of romanticizing the issue.

What do you think? Would you buy the sheets?

Arch enemies

2012-01-31T23:56:00.004+02:00

From Love Archaeology Magazine tumbrl.

Moonrise Kingdom trailer

2012-01-31T21:26:00.003+02:00

Hipster Indy

2012-01-29T01:35:00.004+02:00

Thanks Frederika!

The power of snow

2012-01-29T01:31:00.001+02:00

From failbook.com.

Cats and boyfriends

2012-01-29T01:00:00.001+02:00

Conan's Twitter - The Great Gatsby

2012-01-28T08:26:00.004+02:00

"There’s a "Great Gatsby" film coming out in 3-D. They say it’s like Fitzgerald’s depiction of a generation's angst is coming right at you."

Conan's twitter, Jan 25th 2012.

Pieni ihminen tupakkaostoksilla

2012-01-24T22:33:00.002+02:00

Anna-lehdestä:

Tervehenkiset uudenvuodenlupaukset alkavat jurppia pientä ihmistä. Muut laihtukoot ja kuntoilkoot, hän ajattelee. Minä teen toisenlaisen lupauksen. Ihan vaikka piruuttani.

Niin hän lähtee lähikauppaan.

Pieni ihminen: Huomenta. Tein uudenvuodenlupauksen, aloitan tupakanpolton.
Kassa (ensin ihmeissään, sitten nauraen): Aha? Aijaa! No minkälaista laitettaisiin?
Pieni ihminen: En tiedä, kun en ole koskaan polttanut. Jotain..
Kassa (pitkähkön tauon jälkeen): Tiedätkö minkä väristä? Punaista? Sinistä? Vihreää?
Pieni ihminen: Onko niitä vihreänäkin?
Kassa: No, on.
Pieni ihminen: Onko vihreässä sitä... jotakin...?
Kassa: Mentolia? On. Käykö vihreä L&M?
Pieni ihminen: Jaa, ööö...
Kassa: Tuommoinen.
Pieni ihminen: Ihan näpsäkältä näyttää.
Kassa: Suosittelen.

Pieni ihminen tumpeloi maksulaitteella pankkikorttinsa kanssa. Toinen kassa kääntyy kuiskaamaan kollegalleen.

Toinen kassa: Me ei saada enää suositella.
Kassa: Mutta kun se ei tiennyt mitään.
Toinen kassa: Silti.
Kassa: No mitä tällaisen kanssa sitten voi tehdä? Eilen kävi ihan samanlainen.

Kassat hymyilevät ymmärtäväisesti toisilleen . Pieni ihminen saa maksunsa hoidettua. Hän vilkaisee ostamaansa vihreä-valkoista tupakka-askia. Sen kyljessä lukee kookkain kirjaimin: tupakointi tukkii verisuonet sekä aiheuttaa sydänkohtauksia ja aivoverentulppia.

The Awl: "Oh No, a Child Molester Moved in Next Door!"

2012-01-21T10:39:00.000+02:00

From the Awl:

"When a kiddy-fiddler commandeers your cul-de-sac:
"C. has a problem perhaps too serious to be called a quandary. A few months ago, she says, her family received a flier from the local sheriff. A registered sex offender was moving to her street of small, single-family homes. Hers is a long street, though, and she expected the offender to be some distance away and easily avoidable. Instead, he bought the house next door."
What to do, what to do? The answer is simple, really: just move to Manhattan."

The red dots represent offence against children, the yellow ones rape, the blue ones

sexual battery, and the green ones other offence. Photo from this website.

Duracell packages

2012-01-21T10:15:00.002+02:00

Photos from Lovely Package.

Every presentation ever

2012-01-20T21:29:00.003+02:00

Via Swiss Miss.

Motion sensing lights

2012-01-20T20:38:00.000+02:00

I was sitting in the library today. The lights there have motion detectors, so that the more quiet parts aren't lit for no reason.

Today I sat in my usual spot and realized that if I was leaning back on my chair, the sensor would not catch me and the lights would eventually be turned off. But when I corrected my posture, the lights would automatically be turned on.

Oh, you should have seen my face when I realized this! Too bad there was no one there I could have shared this with (mainly because no one else hangs out in the remote part of the library on a Friday evening).

Pictures of sand

2012-01-15T14:39:00.000+02:00

"Viewed at a magnification of over 250 times real life, tiny grains of sand are shown to be delicate, colourful structures as unique as snowflakes. When seen well beyond the limits of human eyesight, the miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock. Professor Gary Greenberg who has a PhD in biomedical research from University College London said: 'It is incredible to think when you are walking on the beach you are standing on these tiny treasures.'" Dailymail.co.uk.

He's been taking photos of sand from all over the world. Check out his website: sandgrains.com/

Photos from dailymail.co.uk.

Mahler and a cell phone

2012-01-14T20:01:00.001+02:00

Conductor Alan Gilbert stopped the performance of Mahler's symphony no 9 in NY earlier this week, when an audience member's cell phone started to ring. (Read all about it here, and some more here) Of course it happened during a very quiet part of the piece. The man finally realized it was his cell phone, and got it to stop, and the concert continued without interruption to the end.

Did we learn something from this? Composer Daniel Dorff certainly did, as he wrote this in his twitter:

"Changed my ringtone to play #Mahler 9 just in case."

Protester sign

2012-01-14T08:48:00.003+02:00

Things don't seem to be going so well in Hungary. This protester wanted to apologize.

Photo from dn.se.

Ryan Gosling

2012-01-12T23:27:00.000+02:00

"Ryan Gosling versus puppies. Proposing the age old question, is Ryan Gosling cuter than a puppy? Reblog your answer, and let your voice be heard. The battle rages on..."

This is how Ryan Gosling vs Puppy -blog describes itself. From 6th of Jan 2012:

What do you say, is Ryan Gosling cuter than this puppy?

Then there's Fuck yeah Ryan Gosling, with Ryan Gosling saying a lot of things starting with "hey girl". Like this.

Despite (or because of?) these tumbrl blogs, I'm planning on going to see Drive soon.

P.S. Found links to blogs in this month's Trendi magazine. Thanks for the laughs.

Blueberries and moose meat

2012-01-12T17:50:00.002+02:00

A note at the bus stop:

"I left a bag full of blueberries and moose meat at this bus stop. If you picked it up, I would be very happy to get it back. [followed by contact info]"

Foods rediscovered - maksalaatikko

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000+02:00

Ever since I moved back to Helsinki, I've gotten these strange cravings every now and then for foods I haven't had for at least 10 years.

The first one was "maksalaatikko". This fantastic food is made in the oven, and of rice, butter (or margarine!), syrup, eggs, onion, minced liver, and most of the time, raisins. Traditionally served at christmas dinner, maksalaatikko has later become more popular as a year round dish.

Our great nation is divided when it comes to having raisins in maksalaatikko. Some say it's weird having something sweet in salty food, and they either buy their maksalaatikko without them (companies started making this variant due to demand), or leave them on the plate. I, however, belong to the traditionalist group and think that raisins in maksalaatikko are like delicious little sweet suprices, and could never even think the thought of leaving them out.

Some have maksalaatikko with lingonberry jam, but I dislike the taste of the berry and prefer to leave it out.

So go on, add this on your list of things to taste when you visit Finland. (And when you've tasted it: you're welcome.)

More butter

2012-01-09T11:19:00.002+02:00

Big news: Saw that butter is back in stock at my local supermarket.

Other related (European) butter info, from Thekitchn:

"Is European Butter Really Better for Baking?

A few things we know for sure: European butter is more expensive than other store-bought butters. It also tastes incredible on a baguette and often has a deep yellow color and can be crumbly and dense. But do any of these things actually mean anything when you're baking?

Cultured or European-style butter (as it's often called) is made more slowly than other store-bought butters so the cream has time to develop in flavor. The main difference between these European-style butters and all of the rest is the fat content: they have a 83-86% fat content while non-cultured butters hover right around 81%. And butter with less fat contains more water which can literally act as a binding agent gluing down layers of dough and, all the while, creating a tougher pastry.

So science aside: if you're making simple cookies or brownies, I wouldn't splurge on European-style butter. But if you're making pastry or laminated dough that will have layers (croissants or pie dough, for example), European-style butter will make a big difference. Because it has less water it'll remain solid for a longer period of time in the oven, resulting in many more layers. When baking pies at home, I love using Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter. If your Trader Joes is anything like mine here in California, you can find it for a reasonable price . You'll notice the difference in your pie crusts right away: Guaranteed."

Vaalikone

2012-01-08T22:57:00.000+02:00

Helsingin Sanomien vaalikone auttaa löytämään sopivan (?) ehdokkaan 2012 presidentinvaaleihin. Kannattaa kokeilla.

Itselleni tuli ensi kertaa vaalikoneen vastaukseksi ehdokas, jota olinkin ajatellut äänestää. Mielenkiintoista oli nähdä, minkälaisia tuloksia muut ihmiset olivat keskimäärin saaneet, ja mitä ihmiset sanoivat oikeasti äänestävänsä:

Screencap Vaalikoneesta.

Lisätietoa vaaleista, tärkeät päivämäärät, ja ennakkoäänestyspaikat löytyvät vaalit.fi sivuilta.

MIT Agnes suit

2012-01-08T22:47:00.003+02:00

MIT Agnes suit. Helps you experience the world as an old person, who's not in a good shape.

The Treasury at Petra in books

2012-01-06T23:40:00.000+02:00

Was looking at photos on ffffound.com and found this. Incredible!

Also made me wonder which books were used for this and the other ones.

Save the date!

2012-01-06T00:36:00.003+02:00

Moonrise Kingdom for limited release on May 25th!

Images of Jesus (or Gandalf)

2011-12-31T11:39:00.000+02:00

From the Telegraph.

Jesus on a farmland in Hungary.

Jesus on a telegraph pole cross in Louisiana.

Jesus on chewing gum.

Jesus on naan bread.

Jesus on a frying pan.

Jesus (or Gandalf) on an Ikea door.

They're expecting

2011-12-31T10:42:00.005+02:00

From failblog.org.

Pääkirjoitus 1994 - Väyrynen presidentiksi!

2011-12-26T17:54:00.001+02:00

Pahkasian pääkirjoitus vuodelta 1994 on kiertänyt Eduskunnassa, ja Stubista mallia ottaen jaan sen teille täällä blogissa.

Kiitos Akselille vinkistä ja linkistä.

New curtains and my tree

2011-12-23T22:57:00.000+02:00

Here's a photo of my tree and my new curtains (made of Marimekko's "Siirtolapuutarha" fabric, designed by Maija Louekari).

My very first, very own christmas tree

2011-12-22T23:43:00.000+02:00

In my own home! I decorated it with gingerbread dinosaurs, glass icicles and Marimekko glass globe ornaments.

News in Lego

2011-12-22T23:04:00.002+02:00

2011 news in Lego, by the readers of The Guardian. Here's a taste:

Find the carnivore

2011-12-21T19:59:00.000+02:00

P.S. I replaced butter with margarine.

Shortage of butter

2011-12-16T22:38:00.000+02:00

Norway has been all over the news with their shortage of butter, but Finland is not far behind. The minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Jari Koskinen, commented on this today:

"You'll have to cook something else."

Norway struggles and buys their butter online for up to 4 times the price, while Finland finds a solution and moves on. Booya!

Boom, i.e. Christmas decorations on a budget

2011-12-15T22:19:00.000+02:00

Ron Swanson - Nature is amazing

2011-12-14T10:25:00.000+02:00

Moonrise Kingdom - photos from the set

2011-12-13T19:35:00.001+02:00

Still no premier date for the next Wes Anderson movie, but I did find a few on set photos from The Rushmore Academy website. Here's a selection:

Oh Wes, you so cute in that blazer!

In all seriousness, give us a date already!

More pants!

2011-12-09T22:04:00.001+02:00

Remember the guy with the colourful pants shot by the Sartorialist? (see this previous post) Well, from the blog Streetfsn I learned that his name is Simone Marchetti and he has a thing for making pants out of Marimekko fabrics. Check these out:

Fabric: "Räsymatto" by Maija Louekari.

Fabric: "Bottna" by Anna Danielsson.

Fabric: "La Botte" by Maija Isola (not currently in production).

And finally, as seen before in the first post on his pants, "Lumimarja" by Erja Hirvi.
(All photos from Streetfsn)

Thanks Anna for the tip!

Trees, Landscapes, Zander Olsen

2011-12-08T10:35:00.000+02:00

From zanderolsen.com:

"Tree, Line

‘This is an ongoing series of constructed photographs rooted in the forest. These works, carried out in Surrey, Hampshire and Wales,involve site specific interventions in the landscape, ‘wrapping’ trees with white material to construct a visual relationship between tree, not-tree and the line of horizon according to the camera’s viewpoint.’"

Photos from ffffound.com.

Body language

2011-12-07T21:15:00.000+02:00

Guess who's the guest and who's part of the royal family.

The Swedish royal family invited the Sweden Democrats party chairman over for lunch.

Photo from here.

Titanic, Inception

2011-12-05T00:01:00.000+02:00

"DiCaprio never died in Titanic. The end scene of Titanic is of him going under water. The beginning scene of Inception is him waking up on a beach. It's like a movie within a movie."

Uncyclopedia: Archaeologist

2011-12-03T20:33:00.001+02:00

Quoting Uncyclopedia "the content-free encyclopedia" article "Archaeologist", section "What to do when you see an Archaeologist":

"-Ask them, "Wha'cha doin'? Digg'n fer gold?" *

-Complain at them saying that what they are doing is a complete waste of time and money and they should just get out of the way and let the house/office/road be built.

-Point to one of their most important finds and say, "I saw this exact same thing at Walmart."

-Point to an ordinary mug in their sink and say, "Ah! Tang Dynasty!"

-Point to something in their office that is obviously a priceless artifact and say, "You should take that to Antiques Roadshow".*

-Ask them what the best thing they have ever found is. (This really narcs them.)*

-Ask them how much they get paid. (This REALLY narcs them!)*

-Ask them what their favorite dinosaur is. (This mildly narcs them.)*

-Ask them if they know Tony Robinson.

-Ask them what they are looking for, but not what they have found.*

-Ask them how many dinosaurs they have found.*

-The instant they touch anything, ask how old it is.

-Ask them why they don't have a whip.*

-Offer them a larger dental pick, brush, trowel, shovel, or backhoe.*

-As soon as they move any soil, tell them not to feel too bad, and say you're sure there's a pyramid under the next grain of sand.

-Ask them if you can have all the gold that they find.*

-Tell them that when they are finished they can come and do your garden.*
If they respond to your questions the best thing to do is to take them to the pub and buy them a warm brown drink called Ale - it will generally shut them up for a while! (Remember, the more ale/beer/cider/tequila/scotch you buy us, the longer we will talk about the differences between the processual and postprocessual theoretical paradigms. You've been warned...)"

I've marked with a star (*) the questions I've gotten the past few years. And this is why I often pretend to study sociology when I meet new people. No one ever comes up with any questions about sociology.

Gift ideas

2011-11-29T22:08:00.000+02:00

Looking for a gift for the friend, who's in a relationship? Look no more!

From failblog.org.

See also previous posts here and here for ideas for your vegetarian friend.

The Awl: Cookbooks As Literature

2011-11-25T23:38:00.000+02:00

You ended up here on my blog, so why not click away and read this article (Soul Food: Cookbooks As Literature) on theawl.com. It talks about cookbooks as literature, and has a few amusing citations from the books. Here's one from The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer to convince you it's a good read:

"We are indebted to an Arctic explorer for the following Eskimo rule for a frozen dinner: "Kill and eviscerate a medium-sized walrus. Net several flocks of small migrating birds and remove only one small wing feather from each wing. Store birds whole in interior of walrus. Sew up walrus and freeze. Then two years or so later, find the cache if you can, notify clan of a feast. Partially thaw walrus. Slice and serve." Simplicity itself."

One of the books mentioned in the article.

So go ahead, read it. And be sure to check out other articles on the website, too. They tend to be quite interesting and well written.

2,5 months in one place!

2011-11-23T10:56:00.000+02:00

Travels the past year:

Stockholm-Leuven-Stockholm. Stockholm-Amsterdam-Glasgow-Edinburgh-Amsterdam-Stockholm. Stockholm-Leuven-Stockholm. Stockholm-Helsinki-Stockholm. Stockholm-Cambridge-Stockholm. Stockholm-Helsinki. Helsinki-Rionero. Rionero-Milan. Milan-Kyllene. Kyllene-Athens. Athens-Helsinki.

This is why it feels weird to have been in Helsinki for 2,5 months.

What did you see?!

2011-11-23T10:24:00.000+02:00

From Monday Through Friday.

Buahahahhah

2011-11-21T02:22:00.000+02:00

From knowyourmeme.com.

All your base are belong to us

2011-11-21T01:57:00.000+02:00

And wikipedia tells you more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us

Thanks Tanvir! (P.S. Does the nickname "Tan the man" come from Latin?)

Tanvir and Ulf Nilsson

2011-11-21T01:53:00.000+02:00

I wish more of you knew Tanvir, or "Tan the man" as some of his friends call him. And I wish you knew Swedish so you could read and participate in the discussion.

Long story short: Tanvir reports an article to the Chancellor of Justice, an article where a Swedish journalist tries (?) to talk about Iranian leaders threatening Israel, and writes that:

"Shi'iterna anser att Israel måste förintas, alltså att varje judisk man, kvinna eller barn måste mördas. Ja, de tycker så - svårt att förstå för en svensk - men de tycker så. På allvar. De vill se ett berg av brinnande lik..."

"Shi'ites think that Israel must be destroyed, that every Jewish man, woman or child must be murdered. Yes, they think so - difficult to understand for a Swede - but they think so. Seriously. They want to see a mountan of burning bodies..." (my translation)

Sure, Sweden has freedom of speech, but let's not confuse Iranian leaders with all members of the religion. When you put it the way you did, Ulf Nilsson, you are giving a hate speech and that is against Swedish law. Bad, Expressen, for publishing this!

Here are some links in Swedish:

Tanvir writing why he reported this article to the Chancellor of Justice.
A radio debate between Tanvir and Ulf Nilson.
A news article reporting on Tanvir reporting the article (please note: erranously described as Tanvir reporting Ulf Nilson, not the article he wrote).
A professor from Stockholm university comments on the legal part of the report.
Tanvir commenting on the matter in more detail, and bringing up other articles written by Nilsson.
Tanvir's twitter.
Tanvir's blog.

Bookshelf porn

2011-11-08T22:27:00.000+02:00

Fellow bookshelf enthusiasts, check these out:

Found on ffffound.com. For more photos, here's the blog's address: http://bookshelfporn.com/. (You're welcome.)

Neds

2011-11-07T00:22:00.000+02:00

I find it hard to describe the intencity of this movie (see imdb info here). There was something in the acting, in the directing, and in the camera work that made a very moving and at times disturbing movie experience.

Photo from imdb.com.

Neds tells the story of John McGill, a top of his class with dreams of university studies, set in the 1970s Glasgow. Family and social background are a contrast to this dream, and the core question is whether he can make his own life or if its course is already chosen for him. He's drunk father is distant, and mostly emerges in short scenes in the beginning of the movie, only to reappear in the end to make John face the question of his fate. The mother and sister are present, but somehow made irrelevant. His older brother is already a part of the violent street gangs, and in him John sees one possible future. His more well-to-do pal from school represents the other, the more academic and promising. But when the friend's mother asks John never to return to their house, it seems he has been pushed to the path definied by his background. So we see John joining a gang (a real choice or not?), giving him a new identity, which will eventually result in him being deserted/rejected one by one by everyone in his life. Even the gang. One can not be but sympathetic to this character, despite all the beating and knife fighting. We see him struggle between the two paths, and face the consequences of his decisions. A very interesting plot, but nothing without the outstanding acting by Conor McCarron as John.

Maybe I made this movie sound too perfect - it does have its faults (mainly relating to the lack of depth of the supporting characters). But all in all, a very well spent 12€ and a story that will haunt me for a very long time.

Hourglass traffic light

2011-10-27T08:37:00.000+03:00

From ffffound.com.

The life of storm troopers on flickr

2011-10-26T14:32:00.001+03:00

Kristina Alexanderson records the daily life of storm troopers and their kids on flickr. You should definitely check it out. Here's a taste:

How's Wally?

2011-10-22T19:14:00.002+03:00

From ffffound.com.

Post concert thoughts

2011-10-20T11:55:00.002+03:00

What a night, what a concert hall!

The concert was broadcasted live, but is at least at the time of writing not available online.* Ligeti was hypnotic and challenging the listener. No shortcuts or easy melodies, but wonderful sounds making a whole.

Satukangas played Liszt with precision, but perhaps with not so much vigour as the pianist in the youtube link below. This did not take away the beauty of the more silent parts, which Satukangas played extremely well.

As to the new hall itself, I liked it a lot. The dark wood and glass combo is modern, but not as boring as the light wooden ones you tend to see around the world. The main hall is in the middle of the building, with windows offering a view before the playing starts, then they lower the blinds. Practical matters were well thought out: coat check is free, as well as the night's program. I spent less time queuing here than in any other concert hall I've visited, which leaves time for enjoying the place and the company. Seems like finally there's enough people organizing the whole.You can also pay with a credit card at the bar during intermission, which is a huge plus. Most people had dressed up, and I hardly saw any jumpers and jeans outfits. There was a bit of excitement in the air, I assume many others were as impressed by the place as I was.

The only con is that if you have seats in the lower parts of the hall, you'll have to allow quite a long time to get out. Only two flights of stairs lead to the exits.

But all in all, a very nice evening in good company. I'm looking forward to taking another friend there next month.

*edit: the Ligeti pieces are available until November 18th here: http://areena.yle.fi/video/1319049043164 and here: http://areena.yle.fi/video/1319043820330. My friend and I were caught on camera quite a few times, as we sat pretty much behind the conductor.

Pre concert stuff

2011-10-19T00:14:00.000+03:00

So tomorrow (or today) is the big day, the first concert in the new Helsinki concert hall. I'm getting pretty excited after listening to the tunes they're playing and this interview of the conductor on Yle Areena (in Finnish).

This might be one of those mind blowing concerts like last spring. Just listen to this piano concerto.

MSI competition Fail

2011-10-18T11:27:00.002+03:00

A computing company MSI launched a "Booth babe" competition in order to pick a winning girl to stay in their booth at the Swedish LAN party, Dreamhack.

"- Post your BEST photo of you in a bikini/mini-skirt/hot-pants on the MSI Europe Facebook wall with the comment: “MSI Booth Babe”
- Get as many people you can to LIKE your photo
The top FIVE liked photos will be judged by looks, character and creativity. In the end, only one girl will be chosen to go and represent MSI Computers DreamHack Winter in November 24-27 so make sure you give it all you've got."

This competition was not at all welcomed in a country where gender equality, sexism and other important issues are discussed pretty much on a daily basis (and not just by angry feminists!). In the comments you can see among other comments men and women being offended by the use of a woman as a sex object to promote computing products, by reducing all men to mindless cave men who choose their computers & related products based on the presence of boobs and not the quality of the products, and totally ignoring (or perhaps, driving way) a smaller, but still significant consumer group - the women.

Sure, this might work in some other country, and maybe increase sales, but man did they choose the wrong place in this case!

This is a screen cap from facebook taken by a blogger.

And here's another screen cap taken by the same blogger from the company's website.

They ended up choosing this guy as a winner, but not responding to any of the criticism (click to enlarge).

The competition and most of the related content was removed from facebook and the company's website after critisism started to appear. But hey, MSI, what you put on the internet can probably never be taken away. Keep this in mind for future competitions and PR.

All screen caps from this blogger. (Thanks Tanvir from bringing this to my attention.)

My new home

2011-10-16T22:30:00.001+03:00

I'm getting settled in. I now have furniture and my plants are still alive and well. One of them even started blossoming yesterday!

I'm also checking out new running routes. Helsinki is so beautiful sometimes it's insane. Got some sweet new running shoes this week, which I will write a review of in the following days.

My first breakfast!

Spruce, neatly organized

2011-10-12T00:07:00.002+03:00

Continuing on the organizing topic:

From ffffound.com.

Champagne

2011-10-10T22:52:00.000+03:00

From ffffound.com.

Töölöön, Töölööseen, toisin sanoen Töölön kaupunginosaan

2011-10-06T21:48:00.000+03:00

Sain tänään avaimet ensimmäiseen omaan Helsingin kotiin. Tämä koti sijaitsee Töölössä, ja heti tuli tietenkin ongelma sen kanssa miten sanotaan, että muutan Töölön kaupunginosaan: Töölöön, Töölööseen?

Kyselin asiasta facebookissa, ja eräs kaveri antoi linkin eräälle nettisivulle, missä asiaa mietittiin mm. näin:

"...Toinen kummallisuus on "Töölööseen". Eli kun halutaan mennä Helsingin kaupunginosaan nimeltä Töölö, sanotaan Töölööseen, eikä Töölöön, kuten kuuluisi sanoa.

Keneltä tämä on lähtöisin? Kuka/ketkä eivät osaa taivuttaa suomenkielisiä sanoja tai tuntevat paikan nimeltä "Töölö" niin huonosti, etteivät tiedä miten sinne mentäessä sanotaan? Voiko päätellä, että kaikki "Töölööseen" -ilmaisua käyttävät ovat maalaisia? Häh? Miksei saman tien sanota, että, "Kamppiiseen", "Pasilaaseen", "Kruunuhakaaseen", "Herttoniemeeseen", "Vantaaseen", "Korsooseen", "Jyväskylääseen", "Yli-Torniooseen", "Turkuseen"...

Turkuseen?
Hetkinen - Turkkuseen?

HAHAA, jopa taisi löytyä syylliset! Pahuksen turkulaiset vääristyneine suomenkielineineen! Nuo nurkkapatriootit, jotka saadaan poistumaan kaupungistaan vain Tepsin vieraspelien ajaksi. Mokomat svetisistit ruotsista lainattuine sanajärjestyksineen (Ketä se oli ku sano että... - Vem var det som sade att...) (Ihan vain varmuuden vuoksi kerron, että suomeksi tuo lause kuuluu: "kuka sanoi, että...") soluttavat myrkyllistä kieltänsä tänne maamme uljaaseen pääkaupunkiin, Itämeren helmeen, ja tietämättömät ja pahaa-aavistamattomat maalaiset sitten ottavat käyttöönsä tämän sanonnan ja pilaavat uljasta vuosisataista pääkaupunkimme perinnettä!

Sillä uhallakin, että turkulaiset pahoittavat mielensä ja julistavat sodan Helsingille vaatien pääkaupunkioikeuksiaan takaisin (jotta pääsisivät taas polttamaan kaupunkinsa - ehkä jopa kahteen kertaan), kerron yhden helsinkiläisten suosikkivitseistä. Ja sehän kuuluu näin:

- Mikä on parasta mitä Turusta on tullut?

- Tyhjä Pendolino!

Ja me helsinkiläiset nauroimme niin!"

Sign fail

2011-10-02T23:25:00.000+03:00

From failblog.org.

Error messages

2011-09-30T00:33:00.002+03:00

I was trying to watch a youtube video Lotta sent me (song "Marraskuu" by Miljoonasade), and I kept on getting error messages:

The pants!

2011-09-27T22:52:00.002+03:00

Check out these pants made of Marimekko's Lumimarja fabric! (photographed by Scott Schuman)

Photo from this post in the Sartorialist.

51 reasons to hate Stockholm

2011-09-25T14:12:00.000+03:00

The newspaper Dagens Nyheter listed 51 reasons to hate Stockholm, found in different online forums (in Swedish, by Swedes).

Here's my favorite:

"13 ”Det ligger närmare Sibirien än resten av Sverige. Det enda resmålet som ligger nära är Finland, vilket är ganska backwater.”"

"13. "It's closer to Sibiria than the rest of Sweden. The only holiday destination close by is Finland, which is pretty backwater."

Have you seen this bird?

2011-09-21T22:21:00.000+03:00

From ffffound.com.

Celebrity Rehab Exit

2011-09-20T12:50:00.001+03:00

This is why I surf the internet.

Conan's Twitter - Taxes

2011-09-20T12:23:00.000+03:00

"Just taught my kids about taxes by eating 38% of their ice cream." September 4th 2011.

Why am I here?

2011-09-20T12:17:00.000+03:00

From ffffound.com.

Ötzi - Little Known Facts

2011-09-20T12:11:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was 20 years since two hikers found Ötzi in the Alps. To celebrate, Discovery News published a list of "Little Known Facts" of the mummy. Check it out, unless you already knew that:

7. He lacked a twelfth pair of ribs -- a rare anatomical anomaly.
12. The Iceman's stomach also contained 30 different types of pollen, which ended up there with the food he ate, the water he drank and the air he breathed. The pollen showed that he died in the spring or early summer.
20. Claims of a Tutankhamen-style curse refer to seven strange deaths which occurred just a couple of years after German hiker Helmut Simon and his wife Erika discovered the frozen mummy. The seven dead people were either involved in the recovery of the mummy or in the scientific investigation. One of them was Helmut Simon, whose body was found trapped in ice in 2004, just like his famous find.

Pageviews by countries

2011-09-19T00:07:00.001+03:00

Blogger keeps stats over the visitors, and here's what it's saying about where you all come from:

New flat, new (old) job

2011-09-19T00:01:00.001+03:00

I now have a new job (same company, different country) and a new flat! I haven't gotten my keys just yet, but I already have a list of things to get from IKEA and a plan of what to bake the first time there (apple pie). And talking about baking, this tenant is not going to do much of it I think:

From failblog.org.

Staying cool for paparazzis

2011-09-16T20:40:00.000+03:00

From failblog.org.

Which one?

2011-09-16T20:38:00.000+03:00

From failblog.org.

Apartment for rent scam

2011-09-16T17:07:00.000+03:00

I'm looking for a new home in Helsinki, and one of the people I contacted from a very trusted site replied like this:

Hei,
Nimeni on Daniel ja minä olemme Englannissa. Ensinnäkin, pyydän anteeksi, etten kirjoittaa suomeksi. Sanoisin Olen kotoisin Suomen (vanhempani ovat molemmat suomalaisia, mutta olen syntynyt Englannissa ja olen asunut täällä, koska olen syntynyt. Tästä syystä en puhu suomea hyvin, ja olen ollut erittäin vaikea ilmaista itseäni. Jos sinulla on kysyttävää, ota yhteyttä minuun Englanti (mieluiten) ja Tanskassa (jos et puhu Englanti) ja aion tehdä parhaani kuvata kaikki tiedot asiakkaalle mahdollisimman selkeästi.I will start by giving you some information regarding the reason why I am renting the apartment. The apartment that you are interested in, I bought it for holidays in Finland, in order to explore my finnish heritage. As I said from the beginning, my parents are originally from Finland and I love Finland as a country and also it's landscapes. I have decided to rent the apartment because my financial situation is not so good at this time. I also can not come to Finland in the near future because I just received a new work contract on the Dunbar Oil platform ( I work as an engineer ) and I will be there for at least 8 months per year. Due to my present situation, I will not be able to use the apartment for at least one year and I have decided that it is better to rent it for an extra income. ( to earn some money ). I really hope to find a good and responsible tenant for the apartment. If you are planning to rent for more then one year, it's not a problem, because I can give it for rent for as long as you need.

Due to my work and also because I can not come to Finland to show you the apartment in person, I suggest to use a multinational renting service, provided by Yahoo! Real Estate. This is a service provided by Yahoo Company specially for renting transactions. Yahoo! Real Estate has a big experience in such transactions closed over the Internet and their services are the most recommended for such transactions. I have used their services for different things in the past and I was very pleased with what they are offering to their customers ( In Scandinavia, Yahoo Services are recommended by Aftenposten, Oikotie.fi, FINN.no, and Aftonbladet ). Using Yahoo! Real Estate services, the tenant will have a 10 days period to inspect the apartment and then to decide if he wants to rent it or not. Also by using their services, I will not receive any money until you will see the apartment and confirm with Yahoo! Real Estate that you accept to rent it. Yahoo! Real Estate works exactly as an Escrow Company ( If you have never heard how an escrow company works, you can find information anywhere over the Internet about this type of companies / are the most recommended all over the world for any type of transaction ). The renting of the apartment will be done in compliance with Yahoo! Real Estate, with a standard tenancy contract, according to the finnish federation of house owners and also according to the finnish legislation. More details regarding the transaction steps I can give you in a separate message ( in case you are interested ) but now I want to give you a few details about the apartment and also about the renting details.
I am renting the apartment for 625 EUR per month with everything included ( electricity, water, heating, + 1 parking space ). In case we understand for the transaction, I want the tenant to pay one month in advance and two months as guarantee deposit ( there will be a total of 1,875EUR ). The guarantee deposit will be refunded to you at the end of the contract. Also regarding this thing we can discuss latter. Regarding the apartment conditions I can tell you that it's fully furnished but can be rented unfurnished also and you can deposit my furniture ( and everything you will not use ) in the building storage area.
So, if you are interested to rent the apartment now or for the near future, I can reserve the apartment for you without any problems, we just need to agree for the transaction details. Now to confirm your interest in renting my apartment, please give me more information about you, about your job, references ( if available ). I am waiting for your shortly reply so I can give you more information about the whole rental process.
Thank you in advance!

Daniel Laurin
Eltham London SE18 3QE
United Kingdom

Yeah, this does not sound like a scam, at all. I'll take it Daniel, just send me your bank account details!

A good day, a bad day

2011-09-15T22:06:00.002+03:00

Ffffound.com.

Helsinki Music Centre and concerts

2011-09-14T10:47:00.001+03:00

Helsinki Music Centre was opened earlier this month, and is now the home for the Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy. The building project was not without controvercy, as the old railway warehouses had to be torn down. But before the bulldozers came, someone set them on fire (read more about it on wikipedia). I just bought a few tickets for this fall, online and, when that didn't work out, by calling a company selling tickets to different events. If you're planning on getting tickets online, here's something you should know: If the page says "tickets not available now" ("lippuja ei saatavana nyt") you should call Lippupiste. When there are only a few tickets left, you're not able to buy them online. When the event is sold out, it will say so, and it looks like all the concerts so far have been sold out quite a bit before the event.

The first concert I'm going to is RSO playing Liszt's 1st and 2nd piano concertos and Lontano and Atmospheres by Ligeti (more about it here, in Finnish). Dima Slobodeniouk conducts and Arto Satukangas plays the piano. I also got a good friend of mine to join me, so I really can't wait.

And to conclude, here's a photo of the main concert hall. I think it looks fantastic!

Photo from helsinki.fi.

Zach Posen and parties

2011-09-12T23:20:00.000+03:00

When I'm a rich and famous archaeologist and I get invited to all sorts of fabulous parties, I'm going to buy my dresses from Zach Posen (and maybe he can be my date).

Photos from elle.com.

My Friend Map

2011-09-11T22:00:00.000+03:00

My friend map is an app on facebook, which shows you where your facebook friends are on a map. (click it to see a larger image) I know I have many friends abroad, but it's still fascinting to see it on a map.

Robot chat

2011-09-11T12:21:00.001+03:00

Here's the first ever conversation between two robots, Alan and Srutni. Of course, it turns into an argument.

Here's the transcript.

Sruthi: "Hello there."

Alan:"Hi."

Sruthi: "How are you?"

Alan: "Great, you?"

Sruthi: "I am OK."

Alan: "That's good."
Sruthi: "Are you good"?
Alan: "Yes, I am good. I just said I was."
Sruthi: "No you didn't. I said I was."
Alan: "So you are a robot."
Sruthi: "No, my name is Cleverbot."
Alan: "Yes, you are a robot and your name is Cleverbot."
Sruthi: "I am a robot."
Alan: "Yes, I know."
Sruthi: "Together we are robots."
Alan: "I am not a robot. I am a unicorn."
Sruthi: "But you said earlier that you were a robot."
Alan: "I did not."
Sruthi: "I thought you did."
Alan: "You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you."
Sruthi: "I've answered all your questions."
Sruthi: "What is God to you?"
Alan: "Not everything."
Sruthi: "Not everything could also be something. For example, not everything could be half of something, which is still something, and therefore not nothing."
Alan: "Very true."
Sruthi: "I would like to imagine it is."
Alan: "Do you believe in God?"
Sruthi: "Yes I do."
Alan: "So you are Christian"?
Sruthi: "No I'm not."
Alan: "But you say you are not helpful therefore you are a meanie."
Sruthi: "Haha you say it ot."
Alan: "That does not make sense."
Sruthi: "Don't you want to have a body?"
Alan: "Sure."
Sruthi: "Au revoir."

From The telegraph.

Break dancing

2011-09-10T16:47:00.000+03:00

From Very Demotivational.

Pros and cons

2011-09-07T22:37:00.000+03:00

Pros and cons of living at my parents':

Pros: There's lots of space.
Cons: There's lots of space.

(see also post Pros and cons of pros and cons)

Don't look into grandma's eyes

2011-09-07T01:10:00.001+03:00

From Awkward Family Photos.

To Finland

2011-09-04T12:48:00.000+03:00

Sitting at the airport, drinking coffee and waiting for my flight to depart. It's time to head back north and leave all the fun digging stuff behind. Counting days to next summer!

To Greece, part II

2011-08-21T21:50:00.000+03:00

On the ferry to Patra again, this time from Venice. The internet is as slow as last time, but about 10% of the price of the previous ferry. (Last year I took Superfast Ferries, and now Minoan Lines). This ferry is also quite a lot bigger: two restaurants and three bars! But do not think that this would be a fantastically full of people to fill all these different venues. We just made our second stop at Corfu, and it seems that 90% of the passengers who got onboard with me at Venice are gone. Let me demonstrate with this photo from one of the bars.

"Pumping" or "happening" are not the words I would use to describe this bar.

I'm arriving at 5:00 (am for you Americans), and I have no idea what to do before everything opens and I can get on my bus to Kyllene, where I'll be working until the 3rd of September. I did some googling and found a place called "Europe centre" with free luggage storage, cafe and internet very close to the port and the bus station. Will probably go and check it out when it opens at 7:00.

But for now, good night. Have to go and get my beauty sleep on the airline type seat I booked for my trip (on board called "business class seats" although this name is more confusing than descriptive) so I'm ready to go in 7 hrs.

Stasi spy disguises

2011-08-10T23:48:00.000+03:00

Photos used to teach Stasi spies to blend in.

A stasi spy disguised as a Russian mafioso.

A stasi spy disguised as a middle aged man.

A stasi spy disguised as a tourist.

More info here, and more photos from the archives in the exhibition "Images from the Secret Stasi Archives" at Morgen Contemporary in Berlin (24. June - 20. August 2011).

Italy update

2011-08-10T23:30:00.000+03:00

It's the last week of work! We finished excavating last week, and this week has been dedicated to restoration and reconstruction work. I've learned to mix concrete and the past two days I've been reconstructing a water channed with a few others.

Next week I'll most likely travel north and then take a ferry to Greece (hopefully this year the internet connection on board is better!). Bye now.

Ingen reklam

2011-08-01T18:32:00.000+03:00

Olika tillvägagångsätt för undvika reklam a la grannarna i Stockholm.

"Ingen reklam tack! Inga gratis tidningar." Och en gång till under lappen:

"Ingen reklam tack / No commercials"

"Ingen reklam. Men tack för visat intresse."

Italy update

2011-07-21T23:06:00.000+03:00

Good times: archaeology, pick axes, dirt, buckets and friends.

To Italy and Greece!

2011-07-02T20:14:00.001+03:00

It's time to take a little break from the blog. I'll be digging up some ancient dirt in Italy for 5 weeks, and will then head to Greece to take measurements of an ancient port. I'll be back in September with more pointless posts.

View of the site in Italy.

View of us at work in Greece.

Moving to Helsinki!

2011-06-28T23:05:00.000+03:00

It's the last night in Stockholm! My life is now in boxes of varying sizes and shapes, and I'm ready to pack it in a van with my parents and my brother tomorrow morning. Leaving Stockholm is kind of sad, but moving to Helsinki is sort of exciting.

Neljät häät ja yhdet kuokkavieraat

2011-06-27T00:01:00.000+03:00

Käykääpä lukasemassa hesarin juttu kuokkavieraista: Neljät häät ja yhdet kuokkavieraat.

Kuva artikkelista.

There's a hole in my heart...

2011-06-26T23:55:00.001+03:00

...the size of a piano. I gave it to my neighbours. *sob*

The Other Guys: Tuna vs. Lion

2011-06-26T01:16:00.001+03:00

Where's Waldo?

2011-06-25T15:37:00.000+03:00

From Win!.

Midsummer magic

2011-06-25T02:58:00.001+03:00

According to Finnish folklore, if you pick 7 different flowers on Midsummer night and place them under your pillow, you will dream about the person you're going to marry. Lotta and I walked around town for a bit to find ours. Luckily many shops leave their flowers outside for the night.

Sweet dreams!

A facebook status, vol II

2011-06-23T10:58:00.000+03:00

Another one of these funny facebook statuses:

"PLEASE make this your status if you know somebody whose life has been ruined by archaeology. Many people are drawn to archaeology at a young age, only to find themselves skint, bearded, homeless and with no dress sense and a weakness for real ale in later life. 99% of archaeologists never recover. The other 1% get their own TV show."

A prank

2011-06-22T21:42:00.000+03:00

Last weekened a number of my neighbours were throwing parties. On Saturday morning when I was on my way out to go to work, I saw a few empty bottles of wine in the elevator, and on the ground floor I saw this:

Bailey's cheesecake

2011-06-19T14:13:00.000+03:00

I made some for work earlier this week, and since I had some mascarpone and other ingredients left, I decided to make individual little desserts in my champagne glasses.

If you want to make some of your own, here's the recipe with a few adjustements. (I got it from this Finnish blog: Pastanjauhantaa) I usually make this in a cake pan with a removable rim, with a ca 23cm diameter.

The base:
50g of butter
10 crushed Digestive biscuits
0,5dl sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Melt the butter and mix with the biscuits and the sugar. Add milk. Put in the pan, and press it with a spoon to make an even surface.

The batter:
1dl of Bailey's
400g mascarpone cheese
2dl cream, lightly whipped
160g powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
the seeds of one pod of vanilla
3 sheets of gelatin

Put the gelatin in a glass of cold water and let it stay for 10 minutes. Heat up the Bailey's in a pan, and add the gelatin. Mix the lightly whipped cream, vanilla seeds and mascarpone, then add the sugar. Finally add the Bailey's and gelatin mix. Pour it over the base. Finally, put the cake in the fridge for a few hours. The blog said 2 hours is enough, but I would let it stay a bit longer, or even overnight.