UMK 2024 Song Review - Sini Sabotage

Oriente train station in Lisbon. Couldn’t decide in which colour I like it more...

Finland's mesmerising landscape revealed

Finish photographer Mikko Lagerstedt's enchanting photo series highlights some of Finland's most extraordinary landscapes, by concentrating on the horizon and what comes above and below it.

++++ 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.

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. 

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

I'll let the time tell me..

Hey all..

Still unemployed, I’m afraid. Never been this eager (read: desperate) to find a job. Totally new experience, this one.  For me having a job is so much more than just a source of income. Going to work has always been a very social thing as well. It gives some sort of meaning and structure in your life.

I guess it’s hard for the local employers to understand that I can really work for free during my practical training thanks to the Finnish social insurance and despite the fact that I study management at the university level, the ordinary customer service work is really what I wanna do at the moment. If it’s -my far from perfect- French – no one has said it out loud yet. Not sure if I’ve been looking for the right places though. Have widened my search and looked for jobs outside of MTL as well though leaving this city is the last thing I wanna do. Though in a way it’s interesting and exciting to see where I’ll end up.

(from this exhibition: http://www.mosaiculturesinternationales.ca/en/ )

Summer has ended and besides the weather you can see the season’s change in the streets of Montreal. Don’t mind really. Fall has always been one of my favourite times of the year. In here it’s especially beautiful with all the maple trees.. I do love to live in this city and even though it didn't work out in the end and I’d have to leave I try to celebrate every moment I get to spend here. I’m so lucky.

Also I’ve lived in my new room for a week now. I’m so loving it! I mean how happy can you be for having one simple window! The window itself looks quite dirty and the scenery ain’t impressive but having that fresh breeze.. :D

(my new room, messy I know but otherwise it wouldn't be mine)

Otherwise not much new with me. My days are filled with the job hunt, going to the gym, some school stuff and new friends. Met my first Finnish person here btw! Worth mentioning for! Though I’m perfectly comfortable speaking in English and it’s not like I miss home or anything but I gotta admit that speaking in your own language is quite a luxury when you’re being this far away from home. 

(my new room - look at all that space!)

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!

Tomorrow Lisboa! 

Praça do Comércio

by:  fbosch

"..and when you’re in your twenties, i hope you buy a plane ticket to paris. i hope you get lost wandering all of the streets. i hope you travel the world and read lots of new books.  i hope you have interesting conversations over warm cups of tea.  i hope you drink out of mason jars while dancing barefoot in the grass. i hope you have a water fight in central park. set goals and change them. quit your day job. i hope you don’t do any of these things or that you do them all. write a book. change your mind. start new friendships and let go of the ones that you need to. say goodbye to all of the things that have kept you stagnant and vow to keep moving forward..."