Last Fall. Home.

++++ Finland!

A few things I enjoy coming home to. For a change at least.

In general it's kind of nice to return to a country where I'm a citizen.. entitled to many things I've learnt to appreciate like health care for example. Friends and family come also handy as a safety net when everything just sucks big time. #imissyoutoo

Ice cream: better, cheaper and the selection of flavours waaay much wider.

Sauna

If you find a lake, river or whatever water system you can actually swim in it. 

Food: Carelian pies, devil's jam, salmiakki... yum, yum, yum! 

White nights in the summer time.

Life is so boring that I'll actually get some school stuff done #whatwasmyexcusebefore?

(Not my pic)

Being €uropean - the union and currency makes travelling so much easier.

I can get naked in women's locker room at the gym (at least at the gym I go here there are lockers insides of the lockers and if you don't use them people look at you like a crazy woman!)

Prices include the taxes.

Distances are shorter. 

No stranger, cashier or a salesman cares how I am - I can be as quiet and shy as I want!

On tv, commercials don't come in the middle of the scene, in the most inappropriate moment of all.

(Not my pic)

Online banking - seriously never had a need to go to bank this frequently. You can also draw cash from any ATM nevermind the bank you're actually using.

You can do all your shoppings in ONE store (food, cosmetics etc).

The products don't change places every week and if there's something really run out of stock it's something truly seasonal or something I can yell about to a poor staff as a customer :)

If you work on Sundays or on a holiday you'll get 2x hourly wage. 

Temperatures actually feel like what the thermometer shows... most of the times anyway. 

Houses are mice/rat free.

Tax system is easier.

I did not spent more than just a few hours in Braga nor did I have a local showing me around and telling me stories of the city... but I was missing that lively spirit Porto had. I might go back though for an event or if I had a local or someone to prove me wrong. The churches were nice though and I’m glad I went. It was also cheaper than Porto clearly.  

Praia da Ursa Bear’s beach is famous for its distinguish rocks. Next to Capo da Roca (most western point of EU) you can hike there within 45min-1h. The route is often described as easy but if you’re not used to make an exception from the paths going down might be difficult. 

It’s surprisingly popular and the traffic on the path is heavy. There are entire families with food, tents etc with them. 

Please note that this beach is also known as a nudist beach and as it is located right on the Atlantic coast, the waves are big and cold. I recommend going here when the summer heat wave reaches its peak. 

LA NUIT BLANCHE

The event of the year or at least of my MTL year is just around the corner and I've made a list of activities I'd like to do during the night between March 1st and 2nd. 

I can't believe I was able to narrow it down to this short, out of over 200 activities all over the city! And these are admission free kind of stuff!! 

RENDER & REACT: APPROACH TO A SUBCONSCIOUS SENSORY SYSTEM: is an immersive installation by Tryggvadottir in which a moving “forest” is created out of coloured liquids trickling from organic sculptures. Little by little, the space and its objects are transformed by drops and textures. 

TRAVEL BY TRAMWAY AT THE OLYMPIC PARK! Exploring the Olympic Park with horse-drawn characteristic San Francisco trolleys!

OLD MONTREAL | OF ICE AND LIGHTS: Performances by ice sculptors, creating impressive illuminated works of art in the great wintry outdoors of mighty Place Jacques-Cartier.

VINYL SCRATCHING NIGHT

Vinyl “scratching” workshop in the studio space where public is able to create etchings on vinyl records, while listening to the music of a live DJ. Participants will be treated to a demonstration of intaglio printmaking and can take their own creations home with them.  

+ Food trucks are back!! 

In the tradition of the streets of San Francisco, food trucks are thriving at the Olympic Park! They're there every first Saturday of the month from La Nuit Blanche on so not a necessary thing to do now but.. 

+ Play at the City Hall 

Montreal as a gaming capital, featuring board and video games as well as quizzes are presented at the City Hall. The Hall of Honour in City Hall will be divided into a number of game stations. 

More info here: http://www.montrealenlumiere.com/nuit-blanche-en/default.aspx

More Cabo da Roca and Praia da Ursa

UMK top 3 worst and best stagings (recent years)

All Eurovision fans out there know that the staging is half of the performance and it can either kill you or raise you. 

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu has had a track record of producing both over the recent years. Here are my top three for each category. The performances do not appear in my favourite order! 

TOP3 THE BEST UMK STAGINGS that have managed to elevate the songs : 

The Rasmus - Jezebel (2022 UMK winner)

Despite of being the biggest favourite when going in to UMK last year The Rasmus’ song didn’t quite reach the hights as a studio cut. However, the playful and colourful live performance elevated this one for me

Akseli Kankaanranta - Looking back (2020 winner) 

Akseli pushed through passed the fan favourite Cicciolina back in 2020 with his well balanced and stylish live performance! 

NormaJohn - Blackbird (UMK 2017 winner) 

Back in 2017 Blackbird left many people cold with its studio cut but when performed live.... the emotion was real and very atmospheric! 

TOP3 THE WORST UMK STAGINGS that have ruined the song’s success in the contest : 

Bess - Ram pam pam (UMK 2022)

Bess Ram Pam Pam eventually became the biggest hit in Finland last year but her UMK staging ended up being messy, confusing and not meeting the hype of the song before going in to the UMK live. 

Erika Vikman - Cicciolina (UMK 2020)

Can someone explain me what those bears and forest do on the same stage with sinful Cicciolina? This performance made no sense to me at all. Not then or not now. 

Saara Aalto - Monsters (winning song in 2018) 

Despite of winning the entry ticket to Lisbon’s Eurovision back in 2018 Monsters live performance was complex to start with. I liked the beginning with the cape and all but they ended up adding here too many elements (this got worse in Lisbon). 

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu Final takes place tomorrow February 25th on Yle Areena at 9pm (FIN time zone)! Let’s see how the seven acts will do and if fan favourites are able to keep their positions!

Getting to know my new home... 

Part Une: Another round of shots taken by me all over Helsinki. Obsessed with the waterfront, blackandwhite (they always look better, don’t they?) and flowers or any kind of hay. Got caught up by the storm, sunshine, following the duck and the lovely colours of autumn. And yes, filters used. One of these days I’ll get better at this and have courage to post my pics without them. 

UMK 2024 Song Review - Windows95man

The hype is very real around Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national selection for Eurovision and the race to Malmö continues with another entry!

Windows95man - No Rules!

Windows95man is a shy family man from the Finnish capital area who's made a name for himself as multitalented entertainer. The man is a visual artist and a photographer plus owns his own gallery in Helsinki but is the best known aka Windows95man. It all started from Youtube but quickly grew to become famous as a DJ who wears cut off shorts (magic shorts according to him) and Windows95 t-shirt.

He represents the same liberated crazy spirit as Käärijä last year. He does a lot of things that are not seen suitable for a Finnish man of his age in style and in music and feels no shame of doing so! Good for him!

No Rules is his first song in which he collaborates with Henri Piispanen who delivers the vocals.

No rules is a throwback from the 90's which according to Windows95man influenced his musical style the most (as born in the mid 80's). Musically this is part of the eurodance genre and reminds many of E-Type.

Musically it holds all the necessary elements that a proper 90's banger needs and Piispanen impresses with his high notes (can he deliver live?). However, what is a strong point for No Rules can be also its death.

This is a nice, funny, catchy add to UMK24 selection but doesn't really meet the high quality of the previous songs, does it. This can be seen as a joke entry especially with the music video which reminds me a sketch on TV. Musically this can be quite irritating for many. It doesn't offer anything new and some listeners might tune off before the song has reached its 3-minute run.

Last year Portion Boys delivered a similar entry but still bringing their own musical value to the table. I just don't see No Rules doing the same despite of possibly becoming a guilty pleasure for some UMK fans. In Eurovision this is something what we could have sent a decade ago but now UMK as Eurovision has topped its game since. Wiwibloggs were on point with their a Nokia reference - it's nice to down a memory lane for a moment but would someone still buy one? No.

This is still a decent first single and I hope nothing but the best and love in the future!

What do you think of the fifth UMK24 track and would you vote for Windows95man to go all the way to Malmö? UMK final takes place on February 10th!

J'arrive Québec!! in a few days :)