Eating Muffins in an Agitated Manner

Advent Calendar Dec 23 2021

Posted by Sari

Because it is the night before the night before Christmas, when traditionally Finns stay up late to wrap presents and bake the ham, our drink is Antons Vintervita, which is glögg. Not exactly mulled wine because it is made of cold pressed billberries and lingonberries, spirits and spices, but the idea is same. A warm spicy drink for cold evening. And this is pretty traditional but really good. The wild berries taste great, and vanilla added to the traditional christmas spices sweetens the tart berries just enough. A winner. Jukka, a notoriously bad warm drink drinker, agrees. 

And so it begins. Peter Jackson’s Tolkien movies are important to me. I am an incurable Tolkien fan, it is not an exaggeration to say that Lord of the Rings  has been instrumental in the way my life turned out. I would not have met Jukka without the novel, for one thing.

We saw the first film in Princeton where I was doing some post-grad stuff for a year, bought our first DVD player next Christmas just so we could see the extended version of the first film. After that, every Christmas we have either been to movies to see a new film (guest screening, so no queuing), bought the new DVD/Blu-ray of the next movie, or just watched a selection of the movies and most of the extras at home.

The films are flawed – especially the Hobbit ones – but even with all the cringe-worthy things (Faramir, my poor Faramir) they still are incredible. When i pretended to have stomach flue and stayed home to read the trilogy right through in the 80s I never thought that I would see to live the day that live-action movie could capture Middle Earth and its creatures. I’ll take ectoplasmic army from the paths of the dead and sandworms who can't burrow to Lonely Mountain though all other rock is fine for the utter perfection of Moria (up to the point Boromir says “They’ve got a cave troll”).

When you are beginning to be able to recite the dialogue in sync with the film, the extras are actually much more interesting. They were the first films which really made full use of the DVD extras. Every movie has over five hours of documentaries about making of the films, script, sets, special effects, filming, editing, scoring. The whole project was wholly megalomaniac in scale and the attention and love to detail is just mind blowing. Here, have a 10 minute segment on how they made the Hobbit feet. 1800 foam latex hobbit feet for four main hobbits in the first movie alone. I find all of this just a fascinating look into film-making on grand scale.

So the ham is in the oven, potato and swede casseroles are waiting their turn. And I am watching how Sauron’s armour was made. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Joulukalenteri: Kahdeskymmenestoinen päivä

Posted by jukkahoo

Tänään oli vuoden viimeinen työpäivä toimistolla, loppuvuosi meneekin sitten etänä. Jonkinlainen ikkunoihin liittyvä remppa alkaa maanantaina. Ei pitäisi olla iso homma, mitään ei varsinaisesti irroteta, vaan pokien ympäriltä poistetaan materiaalia ja tiivistetään uudemman kerran. Vanha talo (1775), oma huone on muinoin ollut palvelusväen tiloja, joten toisin kuin alemmissa kerroksissa, huoneessa on toimiva ilmastointi. Valitettavasti ikkunasta avautuva vista koostuu aika lailla sitten siitä ilmastointikoneen ulkoyksiköstä. Pystyn elämään tämän kanssa, koska ilmastointi.

Tänään juomana toimii Antons Pilsner.  Tämä on tavattoman mukava ja maukas pilsneri, viiden prosentin makuinen ja sopivasti humaloitu. Pieni yrtin vivahdus saattaa löytyä, jos oikein poskessa hölskyttää. Ei hullumpi, Sarikin tykkäsi.

Aika on katoavaista ja joulukalentereilla on selkeä elämänkaari. Se alkaa joulukuun ensimmäisenä päivänä ja perinteisesti se päättyy jouluaattona. Sikäli mikäli jäljellä pitäisi siis olla kolme "luukkua", joista tämä on yksi. 

Vähiin käy.

Meillä on ollut maestro Kuution kanssa tarkoitus podcastailla, mutta syistä jos toisista, useimmiten hyvistä ja valitettavista, emme ole onnistuneet tämän vuoden aikana tekemään niin kovinkaan usein. Kova pyrkimys olisi vielä saada yksi tallennustilaisuus aikaan ennen vuodenvaihdetta, mutta aika käy kyllä kiitettävän vähiin. 

Puhuttavaa olisi ja suunnitelmiakin, mutta kuten englanniksi sanotaan, alas... Uskotaan tulevaan. Kyllähän meidän äänenlaaduntarkkailija Markolle pitää saada taas hommia. Kiitokset muuten sinnepäin, meidän kohtuullisen laissez faire -suhtautumisemme tallentamiseen ja kaikkeen teknologiseen toimintaan (ainakin yllekirjoittaneella) ei tee Markon hommia helpoksi. 

Itse olisin ainakin puhumassa jossain määrin audiovisuaalisesta tarjonnasta, jota näinä päivinä on genremme puitteissa ihan tolkuton määrä. On Marvelia ja Star Warsia, Star Trekiä ja sen merkittävämpää scifi- ja fantasiatarinaa: Säätiö, Noituri, Varjo ja riipus,  Expanse, Ajan pyörä, Oraakkelin kirja, Orjattaresi, Hyvät enteet, Watchmen ja ties mitä kaikkea vielä. 

Vaikea uskoa tämän kaiken olemassaoloa, kun kääntää katsetta edes muutaman vuoden taaksepäin, muutamasta kymmenestä vuodesta nyt puhumattakaan. Kun lapsena riitti se yksi viikossa tuleva jakso Avaruusasema Alfaa tai Kuuden miljoonan dollarin miestä, niin täytyy kyllä olla aika siis ja soturi, että ehtii katsoa edes kiinnostavimmat näistä kaikista. Tai edes viihteellisimmät. 

Sillä viihdettä näissä kyllä on. Kaikki näyttävät todella kauniilta ja kun ehvektien tekeminen on ilmeisesti nykyään halpaa kuin saippua ja aika lailla jokainen sellaisen pyöräyttää omenakoneellaan alta aikayksikön, niin eipä ihme, että silmäkarkkia riittää. 

Vaan kuinka hyviä nämä kaikki oikeastaan ovat? No, jos sanon että aika lailla yhtä hyviä, kuin Hugo-ehdokkaina olevat romaanit, niin saatan syyllistyä jonkinlaiseen mörrinmöykkyilyyn. Kaunista katsoa, hieman vähemmän substanssia. Viihdyn, en aina nauti. Olen tyytyväinen.

Ja sehän ei ole erityisen hyvä numero se "tyydyttävä". Se on on se "ihan kiva". Kolme tähteä. Kelpaa, maksan suoratoistoista tyytyväisenä ja saan rahoilleni riittävästi vastinetta. 

Ai että pitäisi syventää mielipidettä? Sen jätän podcastiin, kunhan sen aika on. Sitä paitsi siihen mennessä saatan ehtiä katsomaan Witcherin loppuun ja Hawkeyen sekä Wheel of Timen viimeiset jaksot. Ja ehkä Doctor Who'n. Titansinkin kolmas kausi tuli. Ja hittolainen, Doom Patrol! Lost in Space!!

Onneksi se STD on siellä Paramountainin puolella, niin ei tarvitse siitä huolestua. 

Advent Calendar Dec17 2021

Posted by Sari

The Drink is Anton’s Elixir: Jordgubbe och Lime. That is alcoholic version of the previous soft drink. And it is pretty nice, very much like a strawberry mixer of some sort. I like the soft drink even better, though. Jukka feels the same, it's a nice little alcomaholic beverage, but the soda is better.

Few years back when studios began to have their own streaming services, I remember thinking that that we obviously need to decide which services we want. Or game the system taking different services for a month or two and then cancel them. Yeah, right. We now have Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, Apple and HBO Max. Obviously we have too much money because we haven’t bothered with switching between them. It is not a long-term solution, though. All services have their flag-ship series, and things are only getting worse: STD (Star Trek Discovery) will be on Paramount’s own streaming service. It is all very annoying for a consumer.

At least we have lots to watch during the holidays. Also, a new TV to watch from. Our previous started to glitch and it had never worked properly as a smart TV so it was downgraded to a screen to be used at the cottage. The new one is teeny weeny bit bigger,  and I do have to say that this 50” looks pretty huge in our large living room. It boggles the mind that 55” seems to be the “normal” size for a telly now. How big are people's rooms? So far some hassle to set it up, we’ll se how this inbuilt chromecast-thing works. So far my phone and TV don’t really talk to each other and neither does my iPad.

But at least we are now equipped to watch all the new stuff on our subscription services. And of course the obligatory Christmas time LoTR the extended cut marathon. With the extras.

Joulukuun ensimmäinen 2019

Posted by jukkahoo

It's been a while since I last posted anything here. Apparently blogging is dead and while this may not be the whole truth or nothing but the truth, or whatnot, my days of active, or even semi-active blogger are well past. Various social medias are more than able to fill that void. 

This Xmas calendar has been a Thing for couple of years and while the stats tell me that we are far away from the traffic of yesteryears (well, nothing rates as well as a looming demise of the main character and since there is no sign of cancer around, I'll settle for less), there seems to be Some people who come by, take a look and be on their merry ways after. Happy to have you! 

I was planning on doing as little as possible. "Oh, again", they say. A beverage of the day, perhaps a review and a link to something I found amusing or interesting. Or even informative. 

First beer is Suomenlinnan panimo's Gethe Sour. Like many, I have found sour beer (this year, or last?) and been pretty delighted about that. They are usually interesting and as I have been less inclined to drink lager, or in fact most other beers that people would normally associate as beer, sours have been more than welcomed by my palate. 

This is a nice little sour, lighter than most, not very tart but it has a nice nose and the scent of fruitiness. Apparently hibiscus. At 4% it is easy drink and something I will definitely look for in the future, as it is just a very nice little beer. 

I felt it necessary to watch Blade Runner last month, as it was November 2019. BR is still a very good movie, but while it pains me to say it, probably not as great as I remembered. There's still oodles and bundles of brilliant film-making, visuals and acting. It's just that I also heard some lazy dialogue and unnecessary pathos that irked me. And some really 80's auteurism. 

But we still have a great film here, one of the best the genre has to offer. Unlike the 2049 one. If that would be just a film, with no ties to the original, there might be a really interesting film somewhere, but as a reply or reverberation on Blade Runner, this is... too clean, too staged, too expensive. It should've been scruffier and a bit chipper. Now, Blade Runner is no fun fest, but it has a bunch of laughs and a really funny scene with Harrison Ford and Joanna Cassidy in latter's dressing room. There are quips and lines that elicit humour and action at the same time. BR2049 has none of that. It's a languishing, sad poem of a movie. And yeah, a bit too long, too. It could've been a contender. 

But the prologues are great, they look and feel like the original. 

In other news, we taped an episode of Tähtivaeltaja podcast with Aleksi today. Talked about Blade Runner(s) and criticism, as well as mentioned couple of books and tv-series - as we do. In Finnish, so there's that. Though there is the short one in English I did with Tade Thompson at Eastercon. Check that one out. 

Advent calendar 2018 - 9.12.

Posted by Sari

Category 7, SF Short Story Collection: Den Fantastiska Julen (ed. John-Henri Holmberg)

This is a re-read of this excellent collection from 1985, edited by the Worldcon 75 guest of honor, John-Henri Holmberg. A swedish speaking friend recommended this for me years a go, and I have read and re-read bits and pieces of it on most Christmases. If this collection was being done today, one would defenitely make note of that all the stories in this anthology are by men, and I assume that even in 1985 a little work could have been put into a more representative sample. But on the other hand, SF stories about Christmas is a bit of a nieche genre, and the stories in the collection are, though representatives of their time, all strong ones. My favourite is John Christopher's Julrosor (Christmas Roses), a melancholy story about space travel in solar system.

Category 31, A biography of a person connected to SF: James Doohan and Peter David: Beam Me Up Scotty

We have almost all autobiographies of TOS-actors. DeForest Kelley never wrote one, and we don't have Nimoy's first and more famous one "I Am Not Spock", just his later one "I Am Spock". I picked Doohan's because his life seemed quite interesting outside Star Trek. This is actually written by Peter David based on hours upon hours of interviews with Doohan. It is chatty and anecdotal and because it is transcription, not stylistically terribly interesting.

But Doohan did have an interesting life. He fought on Juno beach on D-day and was wounded the next night. His life was saved by cigarette case given to him by his brother, but he lost a finger - you can catch it in the Trouble With Tribbles where he is carrying a whole lot of them in his arms. After being wounded, he joined Air Observation unit and flew planes for the rest of the war. Apparently he once weaved between telephone poles with his plane just to show it could be done. After that, rest of his life, even the Star Trek bit seems a bit tame. The autobiography has episode by episode recollection of his time on Star Trek series and movies, and has a poignant ending where he sort of makes peace with his estranged alcoholic father.  Enjoyable, if you are into Star Trek.

Darjeeling Muscatel

Darjeeling, a (mainly) black tea from Bengal is one of my favourites, and Darjeeling Muscatel, the second flush picked after certain flies have fed on the tea bushes, is really tasty. Ask ten persons what muscatel tastes like you get ten different answers. The common denominator is something sweet, fruity and a bit burnt. Honestly, I don't think I could get muscatel flavour right in a blind taste test, but this tea, a gift from a friend is absolutely lovely. It is delicate and a bit sweet but the flavours are those of tea, not other flavourings.

Duodecimus

Posted by jukkahoo

Whirlwind, I tell you. Life, work, everything.

The beer of the day is Norwegian Wheat Beer White Dog. Based on medieval Belgian brewing tradition and made by Lervig aktiebryggeri. And it tastes like...

But first the nose. Fresh, citrusy, dry, sweet(?). Very nice, not at all like most of the witbeers you'll readily get from tap here in Finland. Taste is dryish, very wheaty and light, leaving a lingering aftertaste that goes on for quite some time. There's yeast all right.

I like this, wouldn't mind having this on tap at some sf-friendly pub in Museokatu...

I'm going to write about two series, since couple of last ones have been about movies and there's this missed "episode", thanks to City council and their xmas party. Now, these two have nothing in common, but here goes.

Alien Nation was a motion picture with James Caan as the rough and tough cop, who was being partnered with one of the newcomers, an alien named Sam Francisco. Which is the biggest gripe I have with this show. In the series he is called George (which is okay, since Sikes thinks that Sam Francisco is a silly name and how about if I call you George? Great!), even officially. Hells bells! His name is SAMUEL! Mandy Patinkin is SAMUEL Francisco. Aaaaaarggghhh!!!!

The again, as come-ups go, Sam's reply is glorious: "It is like your name... Sykes. I'm sure it doesn't bother you at all that it sounds like "ss'ai k'ss," two words in my language which mean "excrement" and "cranium. [...] Shithead."

Where was I?

Yes. Newcomers. A bunch of aliens who landed on Earth, former slaves of some evil aliens, who look exactly like them. And are now living in cognito among the populace. Plotting evil stuff. As aliens go, newcomers are frienfdly and capable of learning things at very high speed, making them better than people at some many things. Or at least as good.

This is a buddy series, laced with humour and action. A classic of the sort. The series goes more into the relationships we humans have with the newcomers. Some episodes have really simple basic premises, but the writers managed to deal with those ideas in a way that transform this simple series into something far more than the sum of its parts. It isn't as good as I'd like it to be, but as someone who saw it way back then and thought of it as OK, and having seen it again now, I'm finding this very interesting and entertaining piece of late 80's SF.

The series ends with lots of things undone and there are a number of tv-films which I haven't seen, so there's more where that came from for me!

Alien Nation is a lot more "norman" police procedural than straight-up SF, but that gives it some additional advantage as well. These are normal situations and having these aliens among us as a norm, while racial tensions being out there, gives this some kind of... honesty I really appreciate. And it is really funny.

The Fades was a six-episode BBC production from 2011. We have this teenage boy, whose having these apocalyptic nightmares about the end of the World. Which then promptly starts to happen.

[This is moment when I accidentally pour the rest of my beer on my keyboard.]

Starring the male geek from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and special agent Tucker from Johnny English 2, with lovely Natalie Dormer from nigh everything and that cute Scottish/Chinese girl from Kick-Asses, The Fades was really interesting take on creatures of the unknown. Fades are ghosts, somewhere there on the edge of our vision, not evil per se, but could become such. Then there's angelics, men and women who fight the fades with intention of giving them eternal peace in glorious light. It gets muddled and religiously baffling, but the script writing is good and with some excellent acting, Fades was a really tight little series that should've gotten renewed. It got BAFTA for best drama series in 2012.

Do yourself a favour and have a looksee.

Here's your arbitrary link of the day. Tired of all the same old, same old at Netflix, Viaplay, Hulu etc? Try Mubi.

Decimus of Smaug

Posted by jukkahoo

I like it! 'Twas a fun 161 minutes, well worth the admission fee (guest premiere, thanks Mikael!). *grin*

The second Hobbit movie is a lot like the first one, almost nonstop-action fanfic disguised as Tolkien. Most of the stuff I remember from the book (although I must emphasize again, that I haven't actually never read The Hobbit, only Lohikäärmevuori [the first Finnish translation, a wonderfully simplified version], though I did read that quite a number of times) was not-quite-as-I-remember and there were several additions that were on occasion either entertaining or just plain what-the-fuck?

The orcs are plentiful and all over the place, there's far too little Gunvald, Thranduil is brilliant, I approve of Tauriel, there are NO LAWS OF PHYSICS, Smaug is divine worm, Martin Freeman is spot on perfect, Brad the Archer is again peterjacksonified (not a positive comment) as are the interminable action sequences, and while the escape from Mirkwood is barrel of fun, there are just too bloody many orcs. And Dol Guldur. Why? Or the Nazgûl prison of Azkaban. Whatthe? And dwarf/elf romance???

Kudos to Jackson for his restrained use of spiders and glorious visuals. But for the love of Reason, is there no bloody health & safety in Middle Earth? Are railings for wimps and not something for neither elves nor dwarves? Jeebus!

Ah, but Smaug! Glorious and beautiful. Terrific. Definite.

And Martin Freeman. Well done, sir. Well done.

All in all, good film, on occasion great. Nearly three hours long, but didn't feel like that. And despite all I've said above, there was much more to like than not.

Short and sweet (and sour). Go see it!

Octavus

Posted by jukkahoo

Bejeezus! YLE Teema (the best channel on telly) had Snow Patrol (USA, 1940) on - and what a film it was! Winter War breaks out and little mountain village on the border is threathened by the invading Russians. The lofty border mountains are filled with battle after battle, when the pesky Soviets bombard the heroic Finns. Well, not necessarily that heroic, but nevertheless.

Not only is this stunningly unrealistic in every imaginable way, the mountain dwelling Finns seem to be Swedish-speakers (Birger, Tyko, Viktor, Gustaf etc), which does explain the large and well-stocked cabins but this is apparently alternate history as well. No, not because there are mountains on the border. It's possible that most viewers won't even notice the historical inaccuracy in the beginning of the film, where Viktor and his Russian friend/competitor Ivan are battling it out with the 18 km crosscountry ski-race. 

Now, 18km, not that often used distance. Nor are often tracks quite so... downhilly. But those are just mere details when one remembers that Soviet Union first participated Olympics in Helsinki, in 1952. And first Winter Olympics in 1956, in Cortina. Not so much in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.

Ski Patrol is mercifully short (64 min) and is very average b-movie in all respects, with silly dialogue and stilted acting. And some really nice winter footage from a German war movie (Berge in Flammen, 1932). It's lurid and unrealistic, but as a Finn I enjoyed it for what its worth. And a movie that ends with a line like: "The penalty for traitors is DEATH!", followed by a BIG BAD BOOM!, cannot possibly be all that bad.

Yes, beer? Brakspear Triple is a... oh, 6,7%, so it's a strong ale. Doesn't taste all that alcoholic, but after few sips it is evident that this is potent stuff. Not bitter, sweet and mellow more like, and well drinkable. Hoppy, malty and tasty.

I think I'm gonna skip the tv-series this time, since it'd be foolish to try to top Ski Patrol. Here's your arbitrary link though. I'm tired.

Ostium primus

Posted by jukkahoo

It is the season of opening doors (or in my case, the caps) from your advent calendar. Like last year, I thought that beer goes well with the wait for the Man in Red to make his appearance. Unlike last year, I won't be talking about films I've recently seen. No, this years calendar will focus on the world of television, since that is where most of the interesting stuff is happening.

Mind you, I may go with entertainment and the attainment of gratification over edumacation and edutainment. My opinions are my own and should not be seen as word of Dog. Although Mogens does have very strong opinions that one should take seriously. 

Today's beer is Belfast Bay's McGovern's Oatmeal Stout. Very dark colour, almost pitch black and the flavour lingers along that same dark line. Very roasty, bitter (but not too much), smooth stout. Lovely drink. Aftertaste is dark, a bit musty but pleasant. And then it gets a bit coffee-like? Great start for the calendar. Belfast Bay also brews a very nice red Lobster Ale.

The series of the day is Warehouse 13. It is one of the Syfy-series that have a tenuous connection with each others (Eureka, Alphas and W13). I like W13 (as I just started calling it for short) a LOT. It is fun, entertaining and galore of popular culture references. (Eureka is great too, but Alphas is a bore.)

W13 is a mixture of Indiana Jones, X-Files and romantic comedy. It's light and fluffy, not the least because of its brilliant casting choices, but it packs a lot of punch with its gallery of interesting guest characters (H. G. Wells, I'm talking about you!). Highy recommended if you want to spend time taking it easy and without the ever present "long arch of the show" bogging down the flow of the episodes. This is mainly artifact of the episode -kind of a show, but the script includes a lot of backstory and character interaction that carries from episode to episode. Four full seasons so far, with a six-episode fifth miniseason coming is 2014.

The arbitrary recommendation of the day is Lonkeropiirakan joulukalenteri. Yes, in Finnish, but this is another great seasonal calendar with a theme of 30 Day Film Challenge. Looking forward to their various choices. As to their first day's question, I fully support Grandpa Cthulhu's pick of Shichinin no samurai. It is a truly great movie and what he says about it is spot on, other than the fact that to me the action scenes are *not* clear, but very chaotic and *realistic* in that sense. Korppisusi has a very interesting choice, Aeon Flux. I cannot for the life of me remember that much from the film, but I'd be hard to call it a masterpiece.

My choice? Confidental Report (aka. Mr. Arkadin), surely.

Day Eve

Posted by jukkahoo

Here in Finland, the Christmas Eve is the day when the Great Feast takes place, presents are given and most of things happen. The following day is quiet, comtemplative affair. Some might say solemn.

Since proper Xmas calendars have 24 windows and the traditionally crateful beginnings of a beer calendar have similar number of bottles, this is the last one. Here goes:

Mikkeller Red White Christmas beer is mix of Pale Ale and Belgian Wheat. And what a mix it is, too!HOPS ahoy and then some! Very citrusy flavour, caramelly and malty, explosive amount of details filling your mouth as you drink this one. I don't find really any witbier from this one, it's much too alcoholic (8%) for that, perhaps? Truly remarkable head that tastes delish itself! A bit gingery even, orange, spicy and malty. Very complex, no beer for casual drinking this one! Still looking for the xmasy though. Very good.

This usually the moment in time, when all the threads and pieces are collected together for some kind of a brilliant conclusion. This is perhaps the time to present the best book/film of the year. Or to have another one of those themes like, say, Xmas? Unfortunately I don't have anything of the sort. The only even remotely xmassy film I remember seeing this year is about half of Love Actually, when came from the telly. I have no recollection of any xmassy moments in any of the books I've read.

I voted for Jo Walton's Among Others at the Hugo Best Novel category, so I'm going to go with it as the best, or at least most intriguing and endearing book of the year for me. Excellent novel about growing up, finding SF and your place in the world. Read the book and then come to Swecon next year, and meet the author as well!

Was Avengers (2012) best film of this year? Probly not, but it was fun nevertheless. After the disappointing Ironman 2, interesting Thor and decently entertaining Captain America, I didn't know what to espect, but clearly something along the lines Joss Whedon had in mind: whedonesque dialogue, thrills, action galore and properly superhero-style banter and cameraderie. Best part? By far: "Puny god"

Was Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) best film of this year? Again, not sure, but it was a great film. Brilliant ensemble cast, where everyone incites everyone else into even more excellent performance. Great stuff! Slow-paced, but rightly so, this is still Usain Bolt action compared to sadate Sunday stroll of the original tv-series with sir Alec Guinness. Both are excellent, as are the Le Carré booksies.

Most excellent and happy holidays to you all! Who knows, what next year brings to us all? Well, Le Docteur does!