Paavo Haavikko, one of Finland's (and Europe's) foremost poets, died earlier this week. As well as poetry, his seventy or so published works included essays, novels, plays for the stage, radio & TV, and opera libretti. (via)
posted on Oct 9, 2008 - View this thread

March 3rd, 1976 - June 19th, 2008. RIP GTS FinnJet.
posted on Jun 19, 2008 - View this thread

If you find yourself in Finland on the evening of April 30th or on May 1st, you must be aware of the following information. Today is Vappu. Also known as Walpurgis Night, Vappu is a traditional holiday in Finland, and there are a number of unique social customs and dress you must be aware of in order to avoid embarrassment and ridicule.
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - View this thread

Helsinki is home to a new baby camel, Snufkin. He is the son of 13 year old Voodoo and his partner, Selma.
posted on Apr 28, 2008 - View this thread

28 Hours in Jyväskylä Filmed at locations in and around Jyväskylä, a city in Central Finland. The idea was to show city life in a way that no-one normally experiences it - in time-lapse, often shot from roofs and masts. [Shorter version on youtube]
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - View this thread

Finnish supermarket dominoes. (6 1/2 minute SLYT post)
posted on Mar 15, 2008 - View this thread

Anglo-Finnish artist Sanna Annukka's vibrant, flat design work (especially her Icons series) got me curious about her, well, iconography.

She mentioned The Kalevala previously, the Finnish national epic poem (in Finnish here), a tale of creation and heroism that arguably spurred the Finns to independence from the Russians.

Like so much else epic and awesome, it spawned a '70s prog band, with three albums.
posted on Feb 25, 2008 - View this thread

Is this the end of the bus timetable? It can be bloody cold in Helsinki in January. The last thing you want to do is hang around too long for a bus or tram. Soon you won't have to because Helsinki City Transport is currently fitting *its entire fleet* with Linux servers. Not only will each bus or tram become a travelling wireless hotspot, but you will be able to see exactly where in the city your new bus actually is. Meaning that you only step into the bitter cold the minute before it arrives. (its in beta but you can see the effects of the live trial)
posted on Jan 27, 2008 - View this thread

PISA results are in. Finland and Canada high five and make awkward polite bows and gestures towards The Far East. For education policy Programme for International Student Assessment is the research about how 15-year old students are being educated. Briefings for UK and US. Results escape easy answers, but you might test your theory against interactive data tool.
posted on Dec 4, 2007 - View this thread

Carta Marina - From 1518 to 1519, Olaus Magnus made a journey across Sweden. On his journey, he encountered fish the size of elephants, sea serpents, demons and a tribe of pygmies.
posted on Dec 3, 2007 - View this thread

Rare Exports, Inc. They deliver the impeccable, well-mannered, and extremely rare original Finnish Father Christmases to nearly 150 countries every Christmas. Exclusively. [YouTube, NSFW.]
posted on Nov 15, 2007 - View this thread

The Roma Journeys - contemporary photographs of Roma life in Hungary, India, Greece, Romania, France, Russia, and Finland by Joakim Eskildsen. For more photo essays and info on the Roma, see two superb prior posts by plep and taz.
posted on Nov 15, 2007 - View this thread

I'ts fun to stay at the... N-M-K-Y!
posted on Aug 26, 2007 - View this thread

Bilderbook.
posted on Aug 16, 2007 - View this thread

Toy art: tribal scooters, spider car, little animal robots out of broken electrical parts, a color changing house designed by a 14 year old boy, of wood, wind-up, MunkyKing, Ugly Dolls, out of beer cans, with balloons, Cute Things, artoyz, toys from trash, tiny knitted dolls clothes and accessories, vintage and retro at Tick Tock Toys.
posted on Jul 7, 2007 - View this thread

Jyrki Kasvi is a member of the Finnish parliament from the Uusimaa constituency. He represents the Green League and his campaign website can be viewed in English, Swedish, or Klingon.
posted on Mar 9, 2007 - View this thread

Moomins! The Moomins, created in 1945 by artist and writer Tove Jansson in this story, went on to become a series of books beloved by children in the 60s and 70s and then a British TV show in the early 80s. The Moomins’ fame is so all pervading in Finland that they have their own amusement park and museum but they somehow have never gained as much of a foothold in the US. Why are the Moomins so popular? Some of the books are surprisingly philosophical and even dark and some of the characters are downright seditious; the Moomins, for all their humor and love, are often a little bleak. Tove Jansson, who modeled many of her characters on people in her life, was as talented an artist as she was a writer; here, for your delectation, are her illustrations for The Hobbit. Previously on Metafilter.
posted on Aug 13, 2006 - View this thread

Frets on Fire is a Guitar Hero clone that is so good that you will turn your keyboard upside down. It's one of many games you can download that were made for the Finnish computer festival, Assembly.
posted on Aug 4, 2006 - View this thread

The kantele is the national instrument of Finland, strongly associated with traditional Finnish folk music. A psaltery-like string instrument of somewhat obscure origin, it prominently figures in the Kalevala. Despite this association with the past, the kantele is very much a living instrument- it was used in the soundtrack to "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" for its "pure, chilly sound", and electric kanteles have been made. [more inside, with sound samples]
posted on Jul 8, 2006 - View this thread

Eurovision winner declared: Finland's Lordi, (previously mentioned here, wins with the highest Eurovision score of all time, 292 points, breaking Finland's 40 year long bewitchment of the Eurovision Curse. [Euro♥isionFilter]
posted on May 20, 2006 - View this thread

Hardrock Hallelujah Finland's entry for this year's Eurovision contest. It is indeed the day of Rockening.
posted on May 15, 2006 - View this thread

Downtown Helsinki seemed semiapocalyptic tonight while a set of warehouses near city-center burned to the ground. The buildings were previously owned by the State Railway, and (as Wikipedia tells) recently had become an unofficial cultural center hosting BDSM conventions and heavy metal festivals. The buildings were previously scheduled for destruction on Monday to make way for a new music hall, but it looks like the demolition happened early. Fire trucks had visited the scene earlier this week when it was last set on fire during a May Day eve protest-- or was that drunken revelry? Strangely, this wasn't considered significant enough for the police to worry about it. More photos.
posted on May 5, 2006 - View this thread

Hel Looks. Street fashion from Helsinki, Finland. You're probably familiar with Japanese street style, and how they're dressing in Shibuya, but what are things like on the other side of the world? Some Hel fashions look familiar. Very familiar. Some recall the 'world between the wars'. Shemagh are popular, although not for the head. Sometimes just...eek! If Death Metal marries Neko Musume, in which religion will the kittens children be raised? Of course this is Helsinki: "When I dress up the most important thing is not to be cold!" [via]
posted on Dec 1, 2005 - View this thread

A new, controversial law making its way through the Finnish parliament is confusing, but its implementation may infringe on already existing Finnish laws of free speech. With decisions set to be made later this week, a demonstration has already been planned for Tuesday. On the other hand, some sources seem to be saying that this new law should present no major issue. Thus, it seems like there's a small amount of confusing legal voodoo going on: while the law wouldn't make it illegal to copy music to MP3 players, it would mean that "the breaking of copy protection for the copying of the content of a sound or video recording for personal use would be prohibited." It looks like no one knows exactly what they want out of this law, or how to interpret it. DMCA, anyone?
posted on Oct 2, 2005 - View this thread

A warning to would-be kebab thiefs. A three-part political allegory of sorts. Something more abstract. All links WMV. Music videos.
posted on Jun 29, 2005 - View this thread

The Paganism of Suomi. Before the arrival of Christianity, and even for centuries after, Finland (popups) had a rich religious tradition. Like most things Finnish, it was wholly different from the mythology of their Nordic neighbors, but shares much with that of the Sámi (Lapp) peoples.
posted on Nov 27, 2004 - View this thread

"Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play."
The overriding ideal behind Ultimate frisbee is Spirit of the Game where sportsmanship is valued above all else. Next week is the World Ultimate & Guts Championships in Turku, Finland where 23 countries compete, so now is a great time to (re-)learn to play. Besides being lots of fun for everyone, it might even improve your career prospects.
posted on Jul 24, 2004 - View this thread

WTF online.
posted on Mar 30, 2004 - View this thread

Mieskuoro Huutajat are the "Men's Choir Shouters," formed in 1987 in Oulu, Finland, by a group of young men who clearly had nothing better to do. The idea was to dress about 20 men in black suits, white shirts and black rubber ties, and train them to shout some of the most beloved songs in the Finnish song heritage. Since then they've branched out a bit. Check out their version of the Star-Spangled Banner. Apparently, they are currently performing on an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean, shouting at a stranded ice-breaking ship.
posted on Feb 3, 2004 - View this thread

Rare Exports, Inc. They deliver the extremely rare original Finnish product to nearly 150 countries every Christmas, exclusively. It's a big download (the small version is 35.5 MB) but that's nothing compared to the patience these hunters must have to catch their prey. [NSFW, via MonkeyFilter.]
posted on Dec 26, 2003 - View this thread

Looking over this list of corruption levels by country, it is evident that there is some correlation between corruption and quality of life. But which is cause and which is effect? And since these numbers are only relative, are things getting better overall, or worse? How corrupt is your country?
posted on Oct 8, 2003 - View this thread

Extreme Piggy Back Riding For the past 11 years, couples from around the world have been participating in the Carry Your Wife competition in Finland. Based in local legend, the husbands are required to carry their wives through water, across sand, and over man-made obstacles. The prize? Her weight in beer. warning: last link is video
posted on Jul 5, 2003 - View this thread

You're a pro wrestler (seen here in action figure form) who was just elected to the parliment of Finland with one of the highest vote totals in the country. Although calling your President a lesbian isn't really the first thing you want to do after your election.
posted on Mar 20, 2003 - View this thread

Finnish Parliamentary Elections are held this sunday. Deutsche Welle and NY Times sum things up pretty well, but I've added some links you might find interesting. [more inside]
posted on Mar 15, 2003 - View this thread

An enduring fad in Finland. For a few years now, musicians in Finland have coopted Humppa, traditional polka-style music, and given it a punk sensibility. Eläkeläiset, the focus of the above link, are the most popular Humppa band. The most fun for folks who don't speak Finnish (like me) are covers of songs with which we're familiar like "Viva Las Vegas" ("Humppaleka") and "London Calling" ("Vanhamiljonäärihumppa"). Even after the novelty wears off, Finnish is oddly beautiful even when it's shouted over an accordion. There are plenty of samples for download on the site.
posted on Feb 10, 2003 - View this thread

Cyberpunk is here today. Finnish telecom company Sonera's security unit is being investigated for using telephone records to find out who had given reporters confidential information. Two employees have been arrested.
posted on Nov 4, 2002 - View this thread

19-year-old student behind Finland's deadliest peacetime attack last friday found inspiration from the internet and was said to be a skilled bomb-expert. And yes, the internet as the source of all evil is being heavily discussed in the Finnish media again.
posted on Oct 13, 2002 - View this thread

All you need is three chords and a guitar? Zac 'Mr. Magnet' Monro didn't even have an instrument when he won the 7th Annual Air Guitar World Championships (video) in Oulu, Finland. And it's two years in a row for him.
posted on Aug 26, 2002 - View this thread

Just the ticket... A 500,000 markka (£50,000ish) fine for speeding? If you're a dot-com millionaire in Finland, sure. Though you have to wonder whether it's about time to slap a ban on this speed merchant. (The debating point: should fines be related to income?)
posted on Nov 25, 2000 - View this thread

it's just not the same on radio but it seems radio morning shows are willing to go to any length to get new listeners.
posted on Jun 17, 2000 - View this thread