Pecos Bill

Kuusi vuotta kotoa muuton jälkeen äiti päätti viimein että tavarat pitäisi kantaa omiin nurkkiin. Ajoi luokseni monta pahvilaatikollista tavaraa, ja nimenomaan sellaista, jota ilman olen tullut hyvin toimeen maailmalle lähdettyäni.

Yhdessä pahvilaatikossa oli isän ja äidin vanhoja sarjakuvia, oletettavasti sillä logiikalla että kaikki talosta löytyneet ovat varmasti siellä minun jäljiltäni (ja jos ei ole, niin roskiin menee).

Yksi mielenkiintoisemmista on Pecos Bill. Muistan isän puhuneen tästä monta kertaa lapsuuteni aikana. Oli ilmeisesti hänen suosikkisankarinsa. Hänellä oli ainakin Pecos Bill-pelikortit, ja saatan muistaa nähneeni myös joitain oikeita leluja, mutta ei ole oikein mielikuvaa millaisia ne olisivat olleet.

Kansi. Pecos Bill - Texasin tarumainen sankari. 12/1958 (kesäkuu). Irtonumero 60 mk. Vasemmassa yläkulmassa lukee PB-sarjat, leimassa THE STATE OF TEXAS. Kuvassa vasemmalla Pecos Bill, oikealla Davy Crockett.

Sisäkansi. Yllä mainos Lännensarja n:o 6:een, alla tiivistelmä edellisestä numerosta ja "Il Lavoro Illustrato"n arvostelusta kopioidut kehusanat. Viime numerossa Pecos Bill, Jane Calamity ja Davy Crockett ovat paenneet purjealuksella Alaskan intiaaneja, joiden laivasto on kovaa vauhtia perässä.

Etusivu. Painatus ja värit ovat todella kaunista katseltavaa. Aku Ankassa värit olivat (ja ovat pitkälti vieläkin) tiukasti punainen-keltainen-sininen, eikä liukuvärejä juuri harrasteta. Pecos Billin ja Jane Calamityn vaatetus tuo helposti mieleen Paluu Tulevaisuuteen, Osa 3:n kohtauksen jossa Doc Brown antaa Martylle "aidot cowboy-vaatteet", joille kuitenkin nauretaan pelleilynä, kun hän pääsee saluunaan 1800-luvulla.

Painatuksen hinnan pitämiseksi kohtuullisena oli joka toinen aukeama mustavalkoinen. "Valkonaamat kuolevat uhripaalussa!"

Vene, lehmä.. what's the difference?


"Irrotan sinulta korvan, jotta ymmärrät, että Pecos Billiä on pelättävä!" Huomatkaa intiaanien raivo päällikön menetettyä korvansa.


Jane Calamity ratsastaa. "Yippeee!!!" Lehden juonenkuljetus on hyvin "avattua" ja helppolukuista. Tulee Brian Michael Bendis mieleen, osoittaen hyvin ettei mitään uutta auringon alla.

Toisaalta; on helppo ymmärtää miten Aku Ankkaa kyettiin tämän rinnalla mainostamaan opettavaisena.

Tarina päättyy lähes siihen mistä alkoikin; Jane vain onnistui hukuttamaan itsensä, intiaanipäällikkö menetti korvan ja pari tämän punapaitaista alaista henkensä. DC-lehdessä tämä kaikki olisi tapahtunut ensimmäisellä sivulla.

Tilauskuponki loppuvuodelle.

Pecos Bill -57:n (maailman suurimman sarjakuvakirjan) ja Lassie - Intiaanipäällikkö-kirjojen tilauslomakkeet.

Takakansi.

Political views

Just did a test of my political views, with the results on the left.
The nice thing about the test was the ability to check how certain groups, divided by age, nation and/or self-announced political groups answered the same questions. I note that I'm a bit farther away from the centre than my age group or the generation of my parents.

I was interested in the views of my own age group from natural reasons.. and of my parents' generation as these are the views from which the newspapers are edited, laws are made and from which moral arguments that the youths challenge usually stem from.

I wonder though - am I on the left (and down) of my generation and my parents' generation because of my views.. or because the control group, the other people who answered the quiz happen not to represent a good average Finn of that age (and to admit, 11 people in the older group does seem a rather small sample)? This would have to do with where the link has spread, and who have thought to click on it, or do the test (which was fairly long). Also would have been interested to see the views of people in larger towns compared to countryside, but this was apparently not possible.

But I have long suspected that the people that write opinions to news stories on the Internet ("niggers go home! finland is to white people! pure race!") may be closer to "average citizen" than those well-phrased texts in the daily paper's Letters-section. I am not entirely comfortable with this idea.

Political Spectrum Quiz

Tutkimusretki Pornaisiin II

Jatkoa edelliselle viestille.

Hylättyjä pikkutaloja nyt löytyy vähän jokapuolelta;

Hylätty parin huoneen talo lähellä Keravaa.

Mutta isompia yksiköitä ei niinkään. Siksipä yllätyin kun törmäsin kokonaiseen hylättyyn maatilaan Järvenpään itäpuolella;

Päärakennus oli rakennettu kivestä ja näyttää vanhemmalta ja huolellisemmin rakennetulta kuin varusmies-talot yleensä. 1900-luvun alkuvuosilta?

Sisältä talo oli epäsiisti, mutta suurin osa ikkunoista oli yhä ehjiä ja talossa oli vain kaksi grafiittia.

Pitkin rakennusta löytyi oppikirjoja. Ne oli sijoitettu kuvan osoittamalla tavalla, aivan kuin joku olisi vain laskenut ne hetkeksi.

Pari esimerkkiä. Varsinkin saksankirja oli melkein priimakunnosta. Vanhin kirjoista oli vuodelta 1958 ja viimeiset 1970-luvun alusta.


Hellan päällä on useita tyhjiä lasisia säilytyspurkkeja. Niitä löytyy myös muualta asunnosta.

Osa hylätyistä tavaroista tuntui todella oudoilta, kuten nämä 80-luvulta peräisin olevat sukset (ruokahuoneessa).

Pitkin taloa näkyi merkkejä siitä kuin siellä olisi aloitettu remontti juuri ennen talon hylkäämistä.

Kalenteri joka näyttää elokuuta 1990 on tuorein talosta löytyvä esine; valtaosa on 60-luvulta ja 70-luvun lopulta. Lisäksi muutama esine 80-luvulta.


Talo sijaitsee aivan tien vieressä ja siitä on näköyhteys puiden läpi naapurustoon. Se lienee alueen vanhin talo; muut ovat paljon myöhempää, ehkä 80-90-luvulta.

Yläkerrassa osa lattialaudoista on irroitettu. Arvelen että se on tapahtunut jo ennen rakennuksen hylkäämistä. Nurkassa on toinen talon televisioista.

Yläkerrassa oli ilmeisesti talon pään työhuone.

Pöydällä kahden atache-salkun vieressä.

Vaatehuonetta ei ole täysin tyhjennetty.

Talon kummatkin hellat toimivat puulla. Talossa oli kuitenkin sähköt.

Ulkoa talo on todella massiivinen.
Kuva ei täysin kohdistettu, sillä kamerasta alkoi loppua akku.

Maatilan työhuoneet ja mylly(?)

Kenties jonkinlainen autotalli? Rakennus ei koskaan valmistunut; toiselta puolelta puuttuu seinä ja katosta on pystytetty vain runko. Tukirunko on hyvässä kunnossa ja rakennus ei näytä siltä kuin olisi hylättyä hajonnut.

Jonkinlainen autotalli? Kuvittelin että rakennus oli vielä käytössä - maali ei ollut halkeillut. Ovet oli kuitenkin murrettu auki. Vasemmanpuoleinen johti kapeaan varastotilaan ja oikeanpuoleinen autotalliin.

Klappikone(?) on ison varastohallin ainoa esine.
Kuvan ottamisen jälkeen kameran akku tyhjeni.

Uskomattoman suuren, mutta tyhjän autotallin perällä oli puuhaketta. Klappikone oli ainoa huoneen esine.
Kuva otettu puhelimella.

* * *

Miksi maatila oli hylätty? Kummatkin talon hellat toimivat puulla, vaikka talossa oli sähköt asennettu jo (kytkimistä päätellen) 60-luvulla tai aikaisemmin. Siellä täällä oli merkkejä siitä, että kaminaa olisi oltu irrottamassa ja lattiaa vaihtamassa; en näe syytä miksi vandaalit haluaisivat hajoittaa yläkerran lattian, kun kaikki muu on jätetty ehjäksi!

Kenties talo oli toiminut kesä-asuntona, mökkinä? Mutta miksi sitten rakentaa uusia rakennuksia, jotka on hylätty lähes käyttämättömänä? Missä talon viljelymaat olivat? Pihapiiri rajoittuu metsään ja omakotialueeseen, joista jälkimmäinen samalta ajanjaksolta kuin miltä uusi moottoritalli.

Tutkimusretki Pornaisiin I

Yksi Keravalla asumisen parhaista puolista on sen sijainti YTV-alueen reunalla; toisaalta pääsen Helsingin keskustaan 20 minuutissa, toisaalta maaseutu alkaa kymmenen minuutin kävelymatkan päässä itään.

Ostin taannoin itselleni maastopyörän. Tarkoitus olisi päästä tänä kesänä tekemään kunnon lenkki, jonka aikana nukkuisin teltassa tai hostellissa useamman yön.Tämä retki oli 65,4 kilometriä (kiitos Google!) ja ensimmäinen kerta elämässäni kun kävin Pornaisissa ja Mäntsälässä.

Yksi maaseudun parhaista puolista on siellä oleva tila. Käytöstä poistuneelle rakennukselle ei ole samanlaista purkutarvetta kuin pääkaupunkiseudulla, minkä ansiosta välillä vastaan tulee isojakin rakennuskokonaisuuksia, jotka on vain hylätty paremman idean puutteessa (klikkaa kuvaa suurentaaksesi);

Vanha huoltoasema

Irti revittyjen bensapumppujen luona kasvaa jo puita.

Rakennuksen takana on vanha rekka 60-luvulta (?) täydessä puulastissa. Sitä ympyröivästä romusta päätellen autoa ei ole liikutettu lähivuosina.

Vanha laituri. En tiedä mikä sen käyttötarkoitus oli, mutta se oli tarpeeksi tärkeä että yksityiselle pihalle johtavalle tielle kannatti rakentaa liikennevalo. Laituri kuuluu ilmeisesti vieressä olevan omakotitalon alueeseen.

Tämä siis menomatkalla, kuvat Pornaistentieltä. Takastulomatkalla törmäsin suureen hylättyyn maatilaan, jota tutkin lähemminkin. Kuvia seuraavassa viestissä.

Finnish race, ethnology

Originally nomads (hunters and fishers), all the Finnic people except the Lapps and Ostyaks have long yielded to the influence of civilization, and now everywhere lead settled lives as herdsmen, agriculturists, traders, &c. Physically the Finns (here to be distinguished from the Swedish-speaking population, who retain their Scandinavian qualities) are a strong, hardy race, of low stature, with almost round head, low forehead, flat features, prominent cheek bones, eyes mostly grey and oblique (inclining inwards), short and flat nose, protruding mouth, thick lips, neck very full and strong, so that the occiput seems flat and almost in a straight line with the nape; beard weak and sparse, hair no doubt originally black, but, owing to mixture with other races, now brown, red and even fair; complexion also somewhat brown. The Finns are morally upright, hospitable, faithful and submissive, with a keen sense of personal freedom and independence, but also somewhat stolid, revengeful and indolent. Many of these physical and moral characteristics they have in common with the so-called "Mongolian" race, to which they are no doubt ethnically, if not also linguistically, related.
-Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, 1911
Article on "Finland", p. 387.

The article on Finland can be found here, here and here.

EDIT: As people seem to think this holds water, let me paste here the text I wrote in the comments;

This theory was popular hundred years ago - if it was researched, I can't tell how. The "theory" served the same purpose as those written of Africans - that due to "submissive" nature, the Finns should be ruled by a a more dominative race. Namely, by Swedes and Russians.

The view of Finns as Mongolians was well spread, however, and till around World War 2 foreign reporters writing about Finns could be expected to remark how that particular specimen under observation - were it a politician, athletic or a businessman - was "uncommonly European for his race".

This all changed starting in the 40s. First Winter War, then Continuation War fought along Adolf "Pure Race" Hitler followed by Olympics in 1952 buried this theory well into the rubbish bin to which it deservedly belongs.

It is, however, good to remember stereotypes like this and how absurd they are, as most likely some of the ones we hold today are as idiotic as the one above.

Sunset

Taken around 23:00 at my balcony about a week ago. You can't stay up too late - after 2:00 the sun starts to rise up again..

On another topic: Picasa, a service by Google seems to have a rather embarrassing bug; while Blogger and Picasa are both owned by the same company, I can't actually add pictures I have loaded to Picasa to Blogger -- but pictures I load to Blogger are shown as folders in Picasa, and can therefore be shown. To get this picture to you, I had to load it to Picasa here and to Blogger separately here.
Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but I doubt it.

Happiness!

This post is update in my life, which consists of report about my life during the past few days. About how Salo was at school and kept a presentation; about how he got his permanent driving licence and lastly some ponderings about internet relationships.

On Thursday I had presentation (ten pages plus powerpoint) at school about Japanese culture. It was group project, there was four of us.. and I admid, we took Japan mostly out of my suggestion (I had done several presentations of the subject already, and I knew stuff without having to look up, which is always a bonus). As it goes, one person of the group stopped school 20 hours before the presentation - something about how he had studied too long and he couldnt continue, law said so. He didn't give us his notes, tho I know he had them, so suddenly we were short several pages.
Somehow making the powerpoint and collecting and editing the papers from the group became my task... We made some last minute modifications, but things really didnt go as we had planned, because second group member decided to drink alcohol the day before presentation and had a hangover (and therefore didnt come to talk at his cue). The presentation went just fine with only two of us, I was amazed how much I actually knew of the subject. Teacher asked a curve-ball question about employment (I dont think she hoped for an answer), and I think she was quite suprised that I could, after little thinking,give essey answer on the subject!
And then I had, at the same day, that driving lesson stuff (more of that later), so I gave the nearly-complete paper to the fourth group member, who promised to see it thru (there were some incomplete sentences and stuff like that yet to be edited, thanks to small changes we had done earlier in the morning). Felt like I was escaping from a sinking boat - only one person left, after me! But yeah, I did do my part, I feel. Most in the whole group, but I wonder what the fourth member feels..

* * *
So, the driving stuff. The second stage (as its called) consisted of class in "How to drive during dark?" (read: nearly always on wintertime outside cities), of "grading drive" (where teacher put me driving around and wrote up my mistakes, what I should try to correct in the future), four hours of testdriving at arena, with road iced and water thrown over, hour or so watching two wrecked cars scraped from the road, also testing some Volvo-gadget which simulated (on low speed) how it feels like when car goes over three times before settling on its roof, and how hard its to get out thru window if this happens.
This morning had the last theory class, which was quite ridiculous, and I dont think I learned anything new; expect that getting driver's licence will be getting even harder at future; they are going to double the compulsory driving lessons! It isint like Finland wouldnt have one of the hardest driving schools in the world as it is! Well, that dosent really have anything to do with me, but my sister will be so pissed off when she has to go thru this "all new driving school" in seven or eight years.
So, got my studies for permanent driving licence finished and gave it to police. Said I can come to get it after seventh of January next year. After getting it to my hands, I can use it till Im 55 (my current one is ok only till next July). Also, I wont lose it after my first speeding ticket or bad parking.

* * *
Bordering on my personal life; talking with a great personality (belonging to a female) always make me feel incredible happy for days after. Even if we talked via computer.
This also borders on pathetic; I think of her way too much even if Im not on computer. Definetly not good. Hope this rubs off. Though I have to admid, usually Im very gloomy this time of a year. Now I feel like I could dance.

* * *
Should draw more, but somehow I dont seem to get anything orginal on paper. Just faces, and Im good enough with those already. Maybe should take some photos and practice drawing more from a model? To make art that is actually good enough to recongize the model from. Yes, that is definetly something I should practice more of.

* * *
On other news. Do you know how it feels to hear that someone actually reads my writings? Without prompting? [HINT: so very good].

Presidential elections

Today Hyvinkää's magistrate sent me mail concerning Presidential elections. The post mostly said when it was ok to vote and where, and offered alternatives how to cast my vote should I be out of the country when the official casting day is, what to do if I can't leave my apartment (on behalf of being nintyfive and tied to my bed) or what to do if I have both of my hands tightly wrapped in casts, thanks to skiing accident (and cant therefore do the number of my candinate in the casting pallot).

So, the elections are sometime next month, and I still dont know who to vote. There are six or seven candinates, of which three have at least some change of getting in.

Tarja Halonen, the standing president is Social Democrat. She has repeatedly gone with her morals when guiding the ship of state; basically good thing, but I feel her decisissions in the whole arent that well defined or logical. She is the "feel good" candinate. At some point, she had better popularity than Saddam Hussein (somewhere around 95% would have voted for her, if the elections would have been then - around 2002 I suppose).

Matti Vanhanen is the candinate of the Centre-party. Standing Prime Minister (eg. the person who does most of the decissions), he has very good "nice guy" imago (if we ignore the rumours about adultery - the Minister of Culture said about month ago how she can rate Sauli Niinistö and Vanhanen in bed (Niinistö is her old boyfriend)). What makes this is interesting that MoC is also of Centre-party, so should think she would have some loyality to the party, by not making such remarks (presidency is, naturally, a big thing). Vanhanen shot into public knowledge basically from nowhere, tho he has sat in parlament for years (usually with minimum ammount of votes).
The main problem with him is that he would probaply be going for helping the rural areas, which the party has traditionally has special interest in; farmers being the mainvoters of the party (previously known as the "Rural Party" or somesuch, before changing the name).

Sauli Niinistö is the candinate of Kokoomus, the conservatist party. He used to be Finance Minister, and the guy who pulled Finland out of recression and to the boom-years that gave Finland the reputation of high tech country. Currently working in European Pank. He would know how to handle the budget, and he apparently has very good grasp of how to handle things and knows stuff about economy - the bad thing is that conservatists traditionally have wanted to take steps towards more capitalist system - cutting health care and social and public services. Also, they usually arent that big for environment, so good bye Kioto.

So, we either have a woman who goes for the "feel good" line, without actually doing anything (leaving most stuff to the cabinet), a guy who wants to push money from cities to farms, or guy who wants to make the public sector smaller.

Sure, there are other candinates. I might be voting on the first row for Heidi Hautala, the candinate of the Green Party who will probaply get under 15% of the votes, and then on the second round (if there is one; it's possible that Halonen gets over 50% of the votes on the first try). I'll vote one of the big three. Or two, because either Niinistö or Vanhanen has dropped off by then.

But we shall see. Im also pretty sure I have some impressions of the candinates wrong, but I dont have that much experience in voting for presidents before, this is my first time I can take part. The last time president was elected was year 2000; didn't know much then about the people, and the previous time before that (1994) only that it was man vs. woman. Choosing is so hard. Its pretty comforting in knowing that the president dosent have that much power, and that I wont be making this decission alone.

Matti Vanhanen on Papers

If you live in Finland, you probaply have noticed the hurricane our prime minister is going thru. To go thru highlights:

• Vanhanen was normal representative of Centre-Party in the parlament, of which very few had heard of before he rose to the highest seat in the realm after the previous PM had to step down because of scandal, about memos of Finland's role with USA in War With Terror. There was some question, was the way she got them legal (she got them thru "backdoor", even though she apparently had the security clearance to ask and get them officially).
  
• After Vanhanen got the seat, the papers told how he was loving father who lived about 50 km's north of Helsinki in house he himself had build. Though the PM-status came with big house in the city, he refused it in favor of the smaller (but still rather big) house he himself had constructed. Absolutist, he invited Foreign Minister of Russia to his kitchen to drink orange juice.
  
• Then it comes up that he and his wife are getting a divorce. They do it calmly, refusing to tell media what is the reason behind it is. Some suspected that the long hours of the hard job is the cause. The ex-couple is still seen together, with and without children.
  
• Vanhanen announces he will be taking part in the presidential election next year. Though candinates are many, the three "important one's" are Halonen (Social Democrats, current president), Niinistö (Coalition Party, former finance minister who know holds some position in EU bank), and Vanhanen, who enjoys public trust and is in the polls near behind Halonen.
  
• Trash magazines start to throw up rumours that the reason behind divorce is another woman. First its hinted its Tanja Karpela, former Miss Finland, who also has place in the current administration as Minister of Culture. They are said to have slept together at least once in hotel room. Vanhanen admits he was in the room, but says they were talking about politics.
  
• Few weeks after that, the King of Trash Papers, Seitsemän Päivää (Seven Days), usually called 'Seiska' starts the first part of classic two-parter, where "Kaarina" (name altered and face blurred), tells of her sex-relationship to Vanhanen. Vanhanen refuses to answer, saying that the divorce is painful subject to him and he and his soon-to-be-ex-wife have deal of not spreading their lifes to papers. The papers got a fieldday with his "I dont admid, I dont deny" answer he gave to the papers. Suprisingly, yellow press makes big articles with the Seiska's stories, even though they are not grounded in any facts.
  

Most finns dont care one way or another about Vanhanen's sexual life, as long as he does his job well. Most serious papers are either refusing to comment on the whole subject, while others are ridiculing the whole mess ('why does "Kaarina's" name have quote-marks around it? Its typical for Seiska's "journalism"). The only place where I have seen paper encouraging Vanhanen to take stand in the subject, was Metro, where old, retired reporter wrote in her column that she wanted to know - that not knowing hurt Vanhanen's imago.

Seeing as there is no proof this story is true - other than the word of Seiska, that dosent have that much weight (in past it has been shown that they sometimes are themselves behind their own stories) - it's probaply just way to to throw dirt at Vanhanen, who was pretty spotless before hand.

I am mostly amazed that evening papers take such interest in the subject. At the same time, London reports of second bombing attempt, and it gets burried on behalf of alleged extra-marrial relationships of PM before he became PM. It should be easy to see which of the subjects is the more important. Let the man have his peace. Would think that the reporters of the papers in question would be ashamed of themselves. Is this why they went to the uni for four years in a row, just to make two page-articles about some scandal, developed by Seiska that isint probaply even true?