Here's a pair of pictures, in a metro station the other day. They belong together obviously. Has been cloudy and grey mostly so I decided to take pictures of all the stations of the Helsinki metro. Not as much work as it might sound because there are only 15 stations in the entire metro system. :-)
I meant to put up a new post earlier but I've had quite a lot to do. The work on the article is still going fairly well and is quite interesting too (will try to submit the article to a journal for which the deadline is 1st of April).
On tuesday I watched the Obama inauguration, like a considerable part of population of the planet I assume. I was immensely moved by the power and eloquence of the speech, as well as the content. Clear signs of change already there: the proceedings on the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay have been halted for 120 days to review all the cases; Guantanamo Bay will be closed in a year; Obama's given a clear no to torture; Hillary Clinton's State department has been given full mandate for strong international diplomacy (whereas during Bush's administration the Secretary of State had very little authority), which implies diplomacy will have a strong role in Obama's administration; executive orders of stricter ethics and openness in White House administration; clear support for pro-choice with regard to abortion. So far looking good. Don't get me wrong. I don't think the U.S. will give up certain basic goals of its international politics. But at least there's hope that diplomacy will take precedence over the use of force.
This week has also been the annual documentary film festival, and I've seen a couple of films. The first one was "Suddenly, Last Winter" (link), by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi. It is their own story, how their life changes when the Italian government presents a draft law on the rights of unmarried and gay couples which sparks a huge wave of homophobia in Italy. Depressing in places because I didn't know Italy is such a homophobic country, but lifted up by the humour and light in Gustav's and Luca's personalities. And it had a happy ending. :-). I enjoyed it immensely. The film makers were present in the showing to introduce the film, so that made it even more interesting. The other film that I saw was a representative of the new Indian documentary film, "Lakshmi and Me" by Nishtha Jain. The film takes place in Mumbai; it is about the director's house maid Lakshmi, her relationship with her, and through that, the still-deep social divisions in India. Also very good. Prior to the main film they showed a part of a series called "Indian diary", which is (I think) about the travels of a Frenchman in India in the 1960's.
Today, my brother, sister-in-law and younger nephew came around to ski on the nearby ski track, and my nephew came to my flat so his parents could ski in peace for a bit. Very good time was had. We played library. He was first the library lady whilst I was the customer; then we both were library ladies. My CD's and DVD's served as library books.
On tuesday I watched the Obama inauguration, like a considerable part of population of the planet I assume. I was immensely moved by the power and eloquence of the speech, as well as the content. Clear signs of change already there: the proceedings on the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay have been halted for 120 days to review all the cases; Guantanamo Bay will be closed in a year; Obama's given a clear no to torture; Hillary Clinton's State department has been given full mandate for strong international diplomacy (whereas during Bush's administration the Secretary of State had very little authority), which implies diplomacy will have a strong role in Obama's administration; executive orders of stricter ethics and openness in White House administration; clear support for pro-choice with regard to abortion. So far looking good. Don't get me wrong. I don't think the U.S. will give up certain basic goals of its international politics. But at least there's hope that diplomacy will take precedence over the use of force.
This week has also been the annual documentary film festival, and I've seen a couple of films. The first one was "Suddenly, Last Winter" (link), by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi. It is their own story, how their life changes when the Italian government presents a draft law on the rights of unmarried and gay couples which sparks a huge wave of homophobia in Italy. Depressing in places because I didn't know Italy is such a homophobic country, but lifted up by the humour and light in Gustav's and Luca's personalities. And it had a happy ending. :-). I enjoyed it immensely. The film makers were present in the showing to introduce the film, so that made it even more interesting. The other film that I saw was a representative of the new Indian documentary film, "Lakshmi and Me" by Nishtha Jain. The film takes place in Mumbai; it is about the director's house maid Lakshmi, her relationship with her, and through that, the still-deep social divisions in India. Also very good. Prior to the main film they showed a part of a series called "Indian diary", which is (I think) about the travels of a Frenchman in India in the 1960's.
Today, my brother, sister-in-law and younger nephew came around to ski on the nearby ski track, and my nephew came to my flat so his parents could ski in peace for a bit. Very good time was had. We played library. He was first the library lady whilst I was the customer; then we both were library ladies. My CD's and DVD's served as library books.
11 comments:
Now I understand the meaning of "A Clockwork Orange". Nice pics.
It is wonderful to see those around the world, as yourself, interested in what's going on in the US. Lets hope good things are on the horizon.
sounds like a good visit with family. Great game - 'Library'.
you mention "ski track" is that a downhill slop or cross country skiing?
peace,
ronny
Hi Eveningsong,
Thanks for the comments.
Hi Grace,
The enthusiasm really is very out of the ordinary at the moment! Hope your weekend is going well.
Hi Ronny,
Cross country. It's a ca. mile length track they made nearby. It's a running track in the summer.
thank-you, that's what i thought. i am sure we have them like that somewhere in america, just never seen one yet. another question if you have the time. in an earlier post you mentioned your parents house. Which made me wonder what it cost's to heat a house in Finland?
my house is 550 sq meter. for the month from Dec 15 to Jan 15th, it cost me 107. euro's. Is that close to what you pay.
weird question i know, but consider the source! :)
peace,
Ronny,
I have to admit that I don't know the heating costs. My parents have a big house but they actually mostly warm the house with wood - there's a big baking oven plus two smaller ovens which are effective. The wood they get from around the house and from the woods they own. They have electric heating but consequently don't use it much. I on the other hand live in a flat in a block of flats, of about 60 square meter in size, with water thermostats (sp?). So it's difficult to compare based on my experiences.
I did however now look at a calculation of heating costs, compared between different systems of heating. According to it, the heating costs of a 140 square meter house with four occupants varies between 2000 and 3000 euros a year - the cheapest is wood pellets (1 986 euros), the most expensive oil (2 957 euros).
It really varies a lot not only depending on the type and size of the house/flat and the system of heating but also things like climate.
ok, yeah, i realized my calculation was wrong. i live in a 55sqm house. a 550 sqm house is the one i live in when i am dreaming.
peace,
Hehe, not a bad dream that :-)
Hi Maria
I've been a bit quiet of late, but am just popping by to see how you are doing. I like the photos. Could that be you? Like a sort of rear view self portrait?
Nice full post you've written there! It feels like a real blog, about real life. I love the idea of you playing librarian with your nephew...somehow that fits with our Maria ;-)
Hi Maria,
I was wondering the same thing about the photo- did you set up a tripod to take yourself from behind?
As a neighbour to the US, I too hope the new administration will make relations (and border crossings!) more pleasant between our two countries.
Glad to read you're enjoying the winter. Ours has once again been very snowy, and I've found it great so far.
xx
AM
Playing "library" is a noble thing to do, Maria. I like that. (I played it as a kid too... and look where it got me...)
:-)
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