Eating Muffins in an Agitated Manner

A Good Book Fair

Posted by jukkahoo

As book fairs go, this year's Helsinki one was OK, maybe even good. Lots to see (and far, FAR too much of the good thing ie. books to buy), especially people. Perhaps not as many as a month ago in Turku (that was fun, but then again, I was there for mere three [3] hours!), but good nevertheless.

As expected, SciFi-Sunday was the Place To Be for any discerning fan. The programming was fast-paced and over before you noticed. I'm supposed to be writing a longer summary of this for Alienisti but here are some thoughts of mine:

I saw Jonathan Carroll at 1PM at Helsngin Sanomat stage, where he was interviewd by Jukka Petäjä. I had heard earlier that Carroll's previous interview had been real stinker and though Petäjä's wasn't in any way bad, it wasn't very good either. Carroll was never really comfortable with the questions and in some cases he actually had some dry answers which veered close to being obnoxious and/or rude. On the whole, "ihan kiva".

The REAL SciFi-Sunday started at 2PM, when Vesa Sisättö lead his entourage of fourty-two (or some such horribly large crowd) people on stage to talk about SF/F magazines and forums. A good show with some minor quibbles. Perhaps a bit more livelier performance by the panelists could've generated a modicum of response from the audience? Ben took home the first blood with his callous commentry, but it was really Toni Jerrman Show from there onward: statesman-like answers, sir!

And then it was Carroll, again. And apparently the same interviewer as few days before or so I was told. She had some good questions at first, but when it started to go wrong, it took a nosedive. Ipa had told me to ask a question at some point ("have them [as in many!] ready", she whispered), but when she finally run out of her own questions(?), she turned into the astonished audience, desperately looking for help.

If only.

I had realised earlier, that I really didn't need to know anything more about Jonathan Carroll the Man,  "Just the books, Ma'am", as Joe Friday was fond of saying (in paraphrasing). I'm told over and over again, that he's not a people-person, doesn't like large crowds and more or less isn't comfortable in public. OK, fine. Let the man be in peace, fercrissakes!

The following interview was nothing like the one before. I was truly sorry to miss most of this one, since both the interviewer (whose name escapes me at the moment, but she is superbly funny in Stan Staanila's show... erm, ditto)and the author, Johanna Hildebradt, were excellent. I even managed to get her Norwegian! But I really had to rush to an appointment and to be Frank and Ernest, I find the idea of paleofiction not a cup of my tea. I did like Björn Kurtén somewhat, but I have never been interested in this particular brach of speculative fiction. My bad. The small portion I heared was very good interview-wise. More this!

Hiltunen-free Praedor session with Ville Vuorela was a good show. Not only was Ville good, so was Aleksi Kuutio as the interviewer. Twenty minutes went by in a hurry, with nice info acquired by the audience. Perhaps Ville could've been a bit more verbose, but this was not a serious drawback in any way. He did put his feet way up his mouth though and he is sorry, too. I didn't mind terribly, as I do realise the Flame Mountain productions are an effort of enthusiastic spirit of having fun, more than a serious attempt at creating memorable movie magic, but still I was a bit taken a back by the abruptness of Ville's comment. Which he apparently didn't mean to. Consider yourself forgiven, I'm certain Petri won't bear grudge. A finger will do.

I cannot really comment on the next interview too much, I think this'll have to suffice.

Marko had some problems with Anu Holopainen. He didn't seem to be all that comfortable with the subject and it was clear to see that he had couple of really arkward moments when he seemed to lose his train of thought, which lead to stammering and a loss of words. Holopainen seems like a very nice person and I guess I'll just have to read one of her newer books. I read her first book and more or less savaged it in Tähtivaeltaja (in 1996). I just had to introduce myself to her and she didn't seem to mind meeting her Nemesis of Old!

Stendec Blommila was supreme, as usual. Risto Isomäki had interesting and thoughtful things to say, whereas Hauta showed why he is simply the BEST sf-interviewer in the whole wide world.

Addenda: Kuvastaja-palkinto (Mirrormere) was once more awarded by the Finnish Tolkien Society. This year the wildly oscillating bust went to Ilkka Auer and his first novel,  Lumen ja jään maa: Sysilouhien sukua. I have had the book now for about six months and apparently I really should read the thing! Congrats!

The last panel was about publishing and a very good panel it could've been too, if only they would have had more time or a more determined moderator. Unkind as this seems, but Marko was again a bit off-pace. He was way better than with Holopainen, but still there was a lot he should and could've done in order to make this one a memorable one. A good crowd, with representation from Kirjava, Karisto, Loki and Like. Patricia McKillip in Finnish, hooray!

All in all, a very nice programming. A nice boost of scientifictioness to warm the proverbial cuckoldes of the heart, while the world turns white or the colour slush and there really isn't all that much to do. Next year, again?

In other news: Monta apuraha-anomusta Finncon 2006:n nimissä lähti tänään liikkeelle. Toivottavasti rahaa on tulossa, muuten voi vielä käydä ohrasesti ja jäädä homma tekemättä. Sanotaanko että muutama kymmenen tuhatta euroa ei esiinny ainakaan meikäläisen takataskussa.

Paheli and Veer-Zaara

Posted by Sari

At last I got to see Veer Zaara. I mean, Tarja saw it ages ago and even Peter Elk got to see it long before me. And it was a classic Yash Chopra melodrama. Zaara (Preity)  is a pakistani girl who travels to India to take her nurse's ashes back to her native land. He meets Veer (Shahrukh) and falls in love with him. Unfortunately Zaara is of course already engaged to a nice (not) pakistani boy and when Veer comes to stop the wedding he is arrested and put to gaol for twenty years before brave lawyer (Rani) takes his case. Lots and lots of songs, great role by Amitabh as Shahrukhs father and Lata should really stop playbacking young actresses.

It would be interesting to know how Chopra himself sees the way he has depicted Pakistan in the movie. On the one hand, there is a vibe that he is really trying not to enforce the hindustani good pakistani bad dichotomy, but on the other the love-letter to India in "Aisa des hai mera" and the fact that Rani really is the only positive pakistani character sort of weaken the impression. Still, compared to Hero, this is a positively balanced view of the two countries. Here, by the way is an interesting article about indian nationalism and the hindu/muslim divide in Mission Kashmir, Fiza and Sarfarosh.

Paheli is Indian entry to this years Academy Award competition, a very traditional and beautiful picturisation of a novel by Vijayadan Detha based on a folk-tale. It is a story of Lachchi who marries Kishen. Kisna leaves immediately for five years to do business, and a ghost who has fallen in love with Lachchi takes his place. The film has some great locations, Rani looking gorgeous, lots of culturally specific hand-gestures, and probably the first time I have actually found the comedy in hindi movie funny. (I think I should be verry worried.) Also, aren't there any other older indian actors than Amitabh Bachan and Anupam Kher? I mean they are great but they seem to be in every film I see... All in all, the kind of india west finds exotic, but not really my cup of tea. I liked the puppets.

The race has begun - Uusi rotu on syntynyt

Posted by jukkahoo

Started Thursday and will continue until Sunday, when it is -yet again - time for SciFi Sunday! Yay! I'll be interviewing Juha-Pekka Koskinen about his new book, Viisi Todistajaa. Not really SF, as was not SF his first novel (Ristin ja raudan tie), but a very good read. Historical fiction. Great stuff. Go and buy it. Recommended.

Last night's mafia was a very good one. Lots of people, many of them regulars (of course, duh!) but also some delightful less-seen persons, like herra kirjailija Laajarinne from Switzerland and herra Uggla-Roimola from Åbo, not to mention rouva kirjailija Sinisalo and herra Kuutio from Tartu. Too little time to meet and talk with everyone, but it was nice to see many of them.

As was a delight to witness some other non-mafia-attending fen at the Messukeskus. If only there'd be a nice corner of comfy chairs and refreshing drinks at hand near the SF-booth, we'd call it a con. There is an inkling of con-emotion with these Book Fairs. I sensed something of that in Turku as well, and maybe there even more. Hmm?

Talking about cons, it's time for Snorfcon! I'm going to Uppsala for the next weekend. Bought a cheapo flight there and back from Seat24, the same outfit that I bought my ticket to Glasgow last August. Cheap and efficient. And cramped. I think I'll live thru these 1-hour flights from Seutula to Arlanda.

And what is Snorfcon, you ask? Good question, young man! Snorfcon is a Nordic get-together of active con-organising/club-running people. I'm hoping it to be something like the SF-yhteistyökokous we have here in Finland, where all the various clubs, fanzines and groups get together and talk about their activities, future plans and hopefully about how we could make things better and learn from each other. There'll be speeches, group works, panels and discussions about various mind-bogglingly important subjects. And pub-crawling. And Practical English, Abu.

Now this you simply have to own! I'm talking of course about the long-awaited-and-finally-here DVD-box of Studio Julmahuvi! Including all six episodes of the Studio Julmahuvi -show, the whole of Mennen Tullen, The Joyboys Story, Jerico 2000 and extras. There's even Z-Salamapartio CD! "Levotonta verta mulla virtaa suonissain!" OK, that was not from Z-Salamapartio, but the final long sketch of Studio J, when Toni slaps Sakari a few times, while trying to find and STOP Alfonso narrating Los Oravidos. Ehhehheheee...

Yes, it's probably the single best Finnish comedy tv-act of the last decade. Actually, nothing probably about it. Studio Julmahuvi Rules! The only thing missing here of the whole package is the occasionally brilliant To(i)ni ja Heikki Haaman show. Who could've watch this without completely falling from one's chair. "Seven minutes eggs! I won't wait for that long!!!"

Ja koska erilaiset testit ovat aivan välttämättömiä, tässä jälleen yksi:

Mikä Studio Julmahuvi -hahmo olet?

Olet Toni Järvelä! Työskentelet Studio Julmahuvin uutistoimituksessa ja vedät ajankohtaista keskusteluohjelmaa. Sinulle tyypillisiä ominaisuuksia ovat rutiinien täyttämä arki, hyvä kielitaito, samana pysyvät vaatteet, enimmäkseen vakava luonne, suuri juoksunopeus ja kyky jäljitellä muiden poseerauksia. Sinulla saattaa olla muutamia mieltymyksiä, jotka aiheuttavat ongelmia. Yleensä mietittävänä on kuitenkin tärkeämpiäkin asioita.

Däng, olisin mieluusti ollut Stig Carpelan tai Rauski. Toisaalta ilman eritysemmin asiaa miettimättä, tein testin uudestaan kaksi kertaa ja sain ensiksi Stigun ja sitten Rauskin. Ei ehkä aivan raketti-insinöörin taitoja vaativa teko kuitenkaan.

More less

Posted by jukkahoo

I need to write something about last Friday's play (I just loved frau Kaunanheimo!: "Jospa vielä tuikkaan tikarilla tuota keskiluokkaisuutta!") and subsequent Turku Book Fair (a BIG Thank You to LIKE for the tickets to the latter and to Bald-and-Sexy-Guy for the first), but I'm afraid I'm not up to it.

As I may have said some time ago (too tired to check), this Monday I had an operation. A small one but I do like the reaction a word like "operation" - tai oikeastaan "leikkaus" - receives. Nothing major, they just "wanted" to remove my trusty veinal gate (laskimoportti). Now I have a fairly largeish scar on my chest and I feel drained. And, yes, it does hurt a bit. Makes sleeping somewhat difficult, not to mention noisy for Sari, as I have to stay on my back. Snore City! And I'm really looking for tomorrow and shower.

It itches and burns. I feel it every time I take a deep breath. Or bend down to give Myy a doggiechockie. Or when I try to type. I louch in front of Mr. Sanders and thus inadvertantly push my mighty chest muscles closer to each others, causing a small amount of bodily harm to myself, not to mention pain.

So, just a short notice here for now. More later.

And yes, I did ask for the gate. It's very nice looking and a future broach/pendant of mine. Not that I wear those, but this is somewhat of a conversation piece, methinks.

Parilla pitkällä ja sitten Turkuun kulttuuria katsomaan

Posted by jukkahoo

Met Jeff Long yesterday. A thoroughly nice fellow and a very good author to boot. LIKE had arrainged a little get-together for us "sidosryhmä" people (meaning various hobnobs of the Helsinki SF-circles and me) to meet, eat and dine with Jeff. The Man told us things from the past, the future and the present. And was more than interested about Finland, the scene here and, well, us. Which was nice.

And it almost always is: to meet an author, to talk and drink at the same time and exchange pleasentries and bits of serious thoughts. Or more of the latter stuff and some puns. Or... You know what I mean. It IS nice.

And now I'm about to leave for Turku Kirjamessut. Not, on second thought, strike that. I'm going to go to Turku to see a play. Kansannitistys, starring with Hannu "Mr. Kebabcic" Pajunen, my bloodbrother as the supporting male (tukevana sivuroolina, kuten hän haluaa sitä kuvattavan). Apparently a radical nihilistic comedy. Should be... er, fun?

The Call of Dracula

Posted by jukkahoo

It's finished, it's done!

The new Flame Mountain Extravaganza, a veritable cinematic masterpiece, The Call of Dracula (Aka. Draculan Hutsu) was shown to a choice audience at the Bio Flame Mountain, last Saturday. And what a feast of biomagic it was! Sensuous Colours, Thrilling Excitement, Horrifying Shocks and a Whole Lot More! A horror film to end all horror films, maybe even flicks.

You ask yourself: could one mix Bram Stoker with H. P. Lovecraft, and get away with it? Only if you're a true autéur á la Petri Hiltunen. That master of poise and dialogue, that Rollin of cinematography, that Fellini of austerity, that Dekker of humour and gore!

No, I tell you, it was better than that, and more. Many a people said that this is the best Flame Mountain production so far and I've seen them all. Heck, I've acted in all of those!

It follows a trusted formula: starring Matti Tanska and Veikko Laeslehto as fearless vampire hunters (as opposed to a dashing adventurer and a trusty mechanic from The Warlord of Saturn; of which M. John Harrison has said: "drinking a couple of beers in front of it"!), yours truly as a professor (no more a mere docent!) with a kidnapped daughter (Tuisku Hiltunen as you've never seen her before), and Petri Himself as the Count with that vile Radu (played with gusto by that hairy beast, Mika P. Nieminen - congrats on the happy occasion!) as his henchvamp, as the evil kidnappers. The three caballeros then fight the evil dudes and claim victory, and the babe. Errr... perhaps not the babe, as Tuisku is still (what, 9?) a very young girl indeed - and my daughter in this film!

It's fun, it's not too long - a mind-numblingly co-incidentally three-quarters of an hour long, just like ALL previous Flame Mountain productions - and it looks a way bigger than the real budget of €30. Go figure. Shot in FOUR different countries, it has the most advanced FX ever in a Flame Mountain production, as well as original score by the director-producer-scriptwriter-FXmaster-editor-star MC Petrus Himself! Is there no end to the talent of this Renessaince man? Evidently not.

Sari was especially taken by the editing, which she thought was seriously better than in two previous ones, and she also thought that us actors seemed to be more "in" with our roles than before. She also thought that surprisingly, prof. Carl-Gustav Apollonius is not a cardboard-copy of doc. Arimo Kaskelotti! Mein gott, who knew I had layers?

Go see it.

Oh... it probably won't be available at your local multiplex very soon. I gues you must wait for the commercial DVD. Coming soon to a very good filmstore near you (ie. Pieni Leffakauppa).

Linkapalooza

Posted by Sari

Combinig two of my interests - SF and Amercian politics - Kevin Drum of Washington Monthly talks about Kurtzweil and Singularity.

Combining two of my other interests - nuclear weapons and opera - here is John Adam's new opera, Doctor Atomic about Robert J Oppenheimer. The music sounds much like the only previous work of his I have heard, the ever controversial Death of Klinghoffer, but that is not a bad thing, Adams minimalism-derived style is quite accessible and engaging. Also, his intensly political choices of subject are interesting. (His first and perhaps most famous opera is Nixon in China). Link to Dr. Atomic via always excellent Fabula.

The Skating season is started and it is an olympic season. Results are in from Nebelhorn Trophy, and some old friends had a surprise announcement.

And a quick reading recommendation: Francis Spufford: Child that Books Built is engaging and interesting long essay on how reading molds us. There is much to argue for and some against, but what Spufford has to say should, I think, resonate with us all who grew up as readers in general and story-addicts in particular.