Eating Muffins in an Agitated Manner

The Curse is broken!

Posted by Sari

In honor of Boston Red Sox finally taking home the world series, below is a stream of consciousness report of the seventh game of the American League Final written in a dingy little guest room at West Side YMCA in NYC, as it was all goingo down:

Here I am sitting on my bed in NYC watching – believe it or not – baseball. The American League Championships Series, the Yankees against Red Sox, seventh game. Boston’s ability to loose the important games is legendary, I can’t think any team who has been so near but so far for so long. The story goes it is the curse: Boston sold Babe Ruth to Yankees, and haven’t won a world series since. That is about eighty something years. Everybody from presidential candidates to cartoonist have been making jokes about how big a masochist do you have to be to be a Sox fan.

But miraculously, and first time in the history of baseball, it seems like a team which was down three to nothing is making a come back and going to the World Series. It is the bottom of the eight at Yankee Stadium and the game is 9 to 3 for the Red Sox.

I, of course, know next to nothing of baseball. For me, it is the slower more boring version of Pesäpallo, with the funny pajamas for uniforms. Honestly, I am not even clear on the off-side rules, even though Jukka (the Mets fan) has been trying his best to teach me. Even so, I am supporting Red Sox, yes I am. Because, well firstly Yankees. The Manchester United of baseball, ew. And secondly, even though the dry seasons with HIFK are nothing compared to the eighty something years  of disapointments for Red Sox, there is some fellow-feeling there.  Oh, and I have seen the outside of Fenway Park, but I have never seen Yankee Stadium. That I know of.

… And apparently they just had another run. I don’t know how, because I thought the Yankees outfield caught the ball, but whatever. Top of the ninth and 10-3. I mean, not even Sox can screw up that lead. Right now there are people running up and down the corridor shouting bottom of the ninth! 10-3, yes! (I suppose it is the bottom now because the long-haired bearded guy, Johnny something,  just came the third player out)

Ooh, and there is a japanese guy batting for the Yankees. I remember being more than a bit surprised to learn baseball is a big thing in Japan. And nothing is happening, they are walking up and down the diamond chewing something. Gum? Tobacco? Ooh, Two out for Yankees. Looking good for Sox, except the pitcher threw four wonky ones, and that Yankee guy got a freebie to first base.

Aflec still has the duck in the commercials! I like that duck. And now with the statistics. Quite as inexplicable as in cricket. And they did it. It is midnight, and people are partying in the corridor. Hotel, you see people out of town. Fox commentators are comparing the come back to Lake Placid Ice Hocey gold. And I am still thinking the mistake was to take Tretjak out of goal. Fox has cameras in bars in where people are partying. Billy Chrystal did not look that happy. At least I think it was Billy Chrystal.

And who are they playing against in in the World Series? Astros or Cardinals, apparently, whoever they are. There seems to be a new reality series Nanny 911, where a supernanny comes to help tired and worn out parents with their unmanageable progeny. Now lets see what the pundits will say. Historical come-back blablabla… Inredible night for Red Sox blablabla…. They believed in themselves blablabla… And now with the pouring of the champagne. This commentator guy is calling Sox a feisty and rugged team. Oookay. And there was a very cute “Just Do It” commercial from Nike, the almost ninety years on Fenway park. I am sure it is online somewhere. I think things are quieting down in the corridor, maybe I get to sleep at some point…

Guys, this is a disaster says the local Fox affiliate reporter.

We sell regalis for an affordable price

Posted by jukkahoo

Why are so many unknown Americans (and of other nationalities, come to mention) interested in my health? I know I have some friend-like individuals over there, but that so many are contacting me and offering various miracle-working medicines for different ailments is really boggling the small mind of mine.

How about being a a bit (if not a LOT) more interested in your election,
and a bit (or really a LOT) less interested in my erection, hmmm'kay?

And then some:

The Exploits of the Ammazzing Dandruff-boy

Precious little to report.
Apparently our stalwart hero is still being held captured by the Nefarious Evil-Doer-duo on Head and Shoulders.

More info when any is obtained.

Hän on palannut!

Posted by jukkahoo

Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!
Lalalalalaaa... Sari is back!

So, what else is new?

To remove potatoes from beneath the surface

Posted by jukkahoo

I'm saddened. I'm unable to go to Kööpenhamina and participate at Snorfcon the last weekend of October. Byäääh... I was forced to face the hars, cruel realities of monetary situation and pass on an opportunity to meet other Nordic bigwh... smoffers in order to make some beautiful music together. Or summat.

This is just plain wronk and bandicoot.

Ah well, now I am able to go and make a fo... talk about modern space opera at the Helsinki Book Fair at that weekend.

Sari is also soon back in Finland. Today is her last day in Princeton, as she'll be spending the last few days in NYC (ahhh... to be in Manhattan!). I hope she has at least some money to spend and pamper herself. Oh wait, she has Visa!

I may have to start cleaning up a bit before she finally returns.

We had a wee Turkey festival this last weekend and as is good and proper, we watched some jolly old films. Seventeen in all, as we decided not to count a TV-series episode (Rockets of the Dead from The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne) nor two first parts of old Republic serials (Undersea Kingdom and Radarman from the Moon - both staggeringly good and even more so, eerily reminiscent of Warlord of Saturn...). My picks of the lot were the following: Mustan kotkan metsästys, Jääasema Erebus, Alien Factor, Pelottomat - Aftermath and Kadonneen valtakunnan taikurit II. Now I know what REALLY happened to "Adolph" Hitler, what is homeopathical Stephen King, who is the "other" great auteur of Baltimore, how come Steve Barkett is probably the most talented survivalist-cum-moviemaker in all of California and how to make a movie out of two old c-grade barbarian movies and their "stars" some ten years after. Not a total waste of time, I'd say.

halling, hambo, reel, gopak

Posted by jukkahoo

Lately, I've been mostly ill. Confoundedly, I realise that this is actually the very first flu I've had in a long time. Over a year. I may have had a slight case of "nuhakuume" at some point, but no real illness. I wasn't even ill when I had my chemo, which in a hindsight can be seen as a very good thing indeed.

These past few days have been the most troublesome. The pleghm seems to like it inside of me and sees apparently no reason to come out via my nostrils. Thus creating a rather disturbing sense of clogged nose without drainage. And the blasted cough is hard-hitting and at times really annoying, but at the same time strangely subdued, like it is behind some unknown kerberos, unable to squeeze past the beast. Lying dormant there, waiting for the right moment to pop up and start it's merry rebelling.

This almost happened last Wednesday ie. yesterday, when I was giving a lecture/show-and-tell on fantasy literature, with Sini Neuvonen. I started with trying to define what fantasy really is (to a three scores of bewildered librarians) and before I really managed to mangle thru fantasy and SF, I realised that I was no longer able to speak properly. My throat was dry, I had trouble breathing and my body was trying to cough, but was unable to do so. I did lost my train of thought too, which was the really embarrassing point, but I was really, really unable to continue.

I took a wee brake, drank several cups of water (as well as popping some Strepsils and Silomat pills to my mouth) and continued with the show, trying to breath steadily, focus on the speaking - and eventually it went a lot better afterwards. We had a short break and I saw Leena who was participating and forgot to mention that Sari is in America and would most probably enjoy an email from her/anyone (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!!!). I drank a cup of hot chocolate and took another one with me to the auditorium, and the rest of the piece went very well, though I must say I was a bit dissappointed with the amount of questions we were asked. I know we're Finnish, but last time we did the same thing, the Espoo librarians had dozens of Q's to ask. Most of them even intelligent. Like the ones we had yesterday, too.

I'm happy with the over-all show, even if the beginning had the makings of a disaster, but luckily there were two of us. It was a basic explanation of what fantasy is, where it comes from and what it has to do with Libraries (the main point, really) and librarians. And they payed us money. Which is nice.

I had this other thing to say too.

Where are all the good SF-films nowadays? I have had a LOT of time to spend, while Sari has been in US and I've been ill. The local Filmtown may not be a perfect specimen of DVD-rentals at their very best, but still. There's precious little good SF available, not to mention made. This was also pointed out couple of weeks back, when we were out with Alastair Reynolds and (I guess it was Toni) pointed out, that not a single Great SF-film (and it's Science Fiction here) has been made since the 20th century. Or can you name one? Toni later raised a flick called Cypher out as the one that's a great one, but most of us hadn't seen it. It's directed by Vincenzo Natali who also made the original Cube.

Talking about SF-films, I saw a Japanese film called Returner, which was OK'ish. It had nice visuals, decent cgi and pretty people posing, but ultimately I have seen too many "mankind is going to be destroyd by the evil aliens/robots/younameit, unless this one guy/girl manages to return back in time and save the world, while the baddies are trying get rich by being way too stoooooopid" -plotted movies. It looked good and the way over the top bad guy was fun too. The thing I had in my to mention, was the translation. Our DVD tried to made me watch it in English. I changed the setting back to original Japanese, but due to some incredibly clumsy fingering on my part, I managed to shut my machine at one point. And again our DVD tried to offer me the English version.

And here's the fine point. The scene when I fumbled was one where the evil dude was rebelling against his evil Chinese boss-man, who was both speaking Chinese as well as commanding the evil gun-crazy weird sicko of a main baddie to speak the lingo too. This I know from reading the Finnish subtitles. None of which would've made any sense if I'd been watching the English dubbing. Since they were all speaking English and the Chinese fellow didn't order the other guy to speak Chinese. Which was still "said" with subtitles. Pleasant to see that the translation was really made from Japanese.

Next weekend will be Turkey Festival weekend at our place. Plenty of Turkish films and bheer, chili and late sleeping.

Mediakritiikkia

Posted by Sari

Mr. Elk (jonka kommenteihin en jostain syysta paase) kritisoi blogissaan suomalaisten medioiden, erityisesti maikkarin amerikkauutisointia. Ja aika lailla samaa mielta olen ja vahan toisenlaisesta mediaperspektiivista. Kun meidan huushollissa ei ole kaapelia ja antenni ei skulaa kauhean hyvin, ei telkkarista ole tullut vaalivaittelyiden lisaksi mitaan katsottua. Nain ollen oma uutisperspektiivini koostuu paivittain luetusta New York Timesista, Washington Postin netista ja silloin talloin kasiin eksyvasta USA Todaysta. Sita taydentavat sitten demokraattispainotteiset blogit kuten Political Animal, TalkingPointsMemo, Eschaton ja Matt Yglesias. Suomenkielella uutiset tulevat lahes ainoastaan hesarin netin sahkeuutisista. Ja huolimatta siita etta amerikkalainen uutisvalitykseni on vahvasti painottunut vasemmalle, niin hesarin kerryspin jaksaa silti aina yllattaa. Ei niin etteiko amerikkalainen eurooppa-uutisointi olisi viela paljon naurettavammalla tasolla.

Vaaleista puheenollen, Michael Moore on onnistunut ainakin yhdessa asiassa: dokumenteista on tullut merkittava vaalitaistelun valine. Kavin eilen katsomassa Kerry-dokumentin Going Upriver, joka kuvasi Kerryn aikaa Vietnamissa ja osallistumistaan sodanvastaiseen liikkeeseen. Siina haastateltiin Kerryn sisaruksia, opiskelutovereita, alaisia Vietnamista ja kolleegoita veteraaniliikkeesta. Jollain tapaa yllattavaa oli sen sanoisinko hienovaraisuus. Ottaen huomioon kuinka taalla on tapana vaantaa kaikki rautalangasta ja alleviivata viela kuuteentoista kertaan, oli tama Kerryyn kritiikittoman positiivisesti suhtautuva dokkari ihan katsottava.

Puhuvien paiden lisaksi sanomaa valitettiin kuvastolla: Alussa Coppolan kuvastosta tutut napalmin ja savuntaytteiset kuvat Mekong- joelta vuorottelivat filminpatkien kanssa nuoresta Kerrysta purjehtimassa ja pelaamassa touch-footballia. Haettu assosiaatio oli aika selva: JFK. Eika filmintekijoiden tarvinnut edes itsensa artikuloida tata, sen teki heidan puolestaan Nixon, joka yhdella Valkoisen Talon kuuluisista nauhoista keskustelee Colsonin kanssa Kerryn todistuksesta Senaatin ulkoasiainkomitealle: Very like JFK.

Otaksuttavasti aika pitkalle yleiso oli Kerryn kannattajia joten leffan vaikutuksesta on vaikea sanoa mitaan, mutta oli hauskaa katsella elokuvaa katsomaan tulleiden elakeikaa lahestyvien reaktioita, heista useampi jai juttelemaan nuorempien katsojien kanssa ja kertomaan omakohtaisia kokemuksiaan sodasta tai protestiliikkeesta. Niin se aika kuluu: "greatest generation" alkaa poistua keskuudestamme ja boomereista on tulossa oraalisen historian valittajasukupolvi joka lapikay menneisyyden traumoja.

Going Upriver pyorii elokuvateattereissa ja Fahrenheit 9/11 ilmestyi juuri DVD:na. Eniten keskustelua dokumenteista ja/tai vaalimainoksista on kuitenkin herattanut Sinclair Broadcasting Groupin paatos pakottaa paikalliset TV-asemansa muuttamaan ohjelmistoaan ja lahettamaan juuri vaalien alla Kerrykriittisen dokumentin "Stolen Honor", jonka esittamat faktat, kuten Swift Boat Veteran's For the Truth" -jarjeston eivat oikein kesta paivanvaloa. Federal Communications Comissionin puheenjohtaja Reed Hundt on ilmaissut huolensa.

 

Fortunes of Fame

Posted by Sari

I think it is safe to say that Bill Shatner has been going through a period of rehabilitation from camp to cool camp in the last  few years. Now he is climbing the hedy hights of critical approval with the win of a guest-star Emmy from The Practice, and his new critically acclaimed album. Yes, you did not read wrong, I said critically acclaimed. Don't believe me? Well, go to NY Times (registration required).The Guardian leans more on the camp side of things, but still.

And of course I bought it. Do you think I would have dared to come home to Jukka "king of novelty records" Hoo without it? I don't think even the return of Martti Servo on the telly would have saved me. The thing is - I kinda like it. It is an expertly produced effort where Ben Fold's instrumentalistion support's Shatner's recitation of mostly his own lyrics about life universe and everything. The music covers multiple genres from Manhattan transfery lounge to ballads and from penguin cafeish new age to funky percussion music.

Sometimes it is funny. The Gospel "You'll have time" with its deep motto: "live life like you're going to die, 'cause you gonna," is hilarious, the grumpy old man rant about all the things in the world has the necessary self-rony to work, and the quirky love song "Ideal woman" sounds wonderfully familiar, like he is channeling Jukka.

Sometimes it is serious, like when Shatner recites a poem about the death of his wife, and sometimes it is bit of both like in the western spoof "Has Been". The serious efforts sometimes fall a bit flat, just because there is a feeling Shatner just doesn't have the vocabulary and mastery of metaphor to take his message across. The poem about his wife's death especially suffers from this, lines like "her dear profile at peace at last" does not really carry.This is especially apparent when the previous "song" on the album is "that's me trying" where the song about father trying to reach for his daughter after many years has lyrics by Nic Hornsby and works exceptionally well.

The cherry on top is the album's only cover,  Shatner's wild interpretation of Pulp's working class anthem "Common People". He really throws himself into the song with such panache, hamming the angry lines like only he can. Excellent music for burning pamphlet's on CD's I tell ya.

More Random things

posted by Sari

Ten hour days at library means there is no way I can make up long and coherent messages about the state of America, or even me, so here are more tidbits.

Overheard on campus: "and I saw it in Town Topics, in Police Blotter, and I said what were they doing with an arrow!" Maybe I should pay more attention to the local press.

I am missing Finnish manners. Here in small-town New Jersey you are supposed to look complete strangers into eye and greet them or you are being a bit rude. In Finland people thought you rude or a bit mad if you start saying "hi, wonderful weather!" to passers-by. So, when in Rome and all that, but it just goes to show how politeness in one culture is rude invasion of private space in another....

Do you have any idea how boring it is to push "scan" button for hours upon end. I ended up buying Harry Potter III as a CD book to listen to when doing the endless copying. I had forgotten that Harry was insuffrable already as a 13-year old, and that there is at least one really clear Tolkien-moment in the book.

Geeks at it again

Posted by Sari

You gotta love the internet. I mean really. Last night at the vice-presidential debate Cheney countered Edward's accusations about Halliburton by asking people to go online to factcheck.com and see for themselves the truth about his relations with his former company. Only, he meant factcheck.org, which is a non-partisan site trying to correct the political spin. Factcheck.com domain, on the other hand, was obviously owned by some  HTML-savvy democrat who forwarded the link to here.

Go and read more from the Political Animal

This election sure is much more fun than the Finnish ones. Anything interesting going on in the Communal election campaigns?

Sari

Agreeing with the hype

Posted by Sari

It must be one of if not the most hyped fantasy ever, the buzz has been on at least since Neil Gaiman gave a thumbs up in his blog, and Bloomsbury's harrypotterhoned publicity machine has done a little too good a job about getting the message through: This is it, the Fantasy novel for adults, HP meets Jane Austen.

I am, of course talking about Susanna Clarke's doorstopper of a first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Which is not really Harry Potter meets Jane Austen, but Austen meets Dickens meets Dunsinay meets Mirrilees meets Chesterton meets Stoppard meets... And darn, it is good. I might have liked it even better if my expectations weren't so high to begin with, but even so: darn, it is _good._

For the first few hundred pages, I was a bit sceptical: Austenite language and period in a dickensian plot with a large cast of charicatures instead of characters. Style was exquisite, the invention delightful, but there was no emotional engagement. Oh, and how original: there was a prophesy about magic. But then but after Jonathan Strange made his appearance on the pages, and I was slowly but surely taken into Clarke's intricate, whimsical and totally believable alternative Regency. It turned out to be one of those books you want to live in, not just live with while reading.