Things We Laughed About This Week

Whenever probability theory hits you, it’s time to start thinking about things more interesting than this one:

 
It doesn’t matter how much sense it makes, or how useful it is for human survival (or whatever), it’s not FUN. Not as fun as the following remarks or events:

• The leader of the Left Alliance, Paavo Arhinmäki, publically wished to give Carl Haglund, the chairman of the Swedish People’s Party, a train ticket to Siberia. It’s not politically correct, someone might even find this statement quite disturbing. Personally, I did giggle a little bit when I read the story and the reactions it caused. If Mr. Haglund doesn’t want the ticket, I wouldn’t mind using it. No problem - дайте мне! 
• Russians trying to order vodka in Russian in the middle of the (non-Russian) forest. The poor bartender was very confused. 
• Ski-jumper Harri Olli wants Finland to join Russia because Finland is such a “s**t state”. There’s nothing wrong with Russia, so no offence – but, this is a statement that will confuse and anger, rather than .make people bounce with happiness. I wonder how all this is related to ski-jumping?

NB: the purpose of this post is not to shed negative light on Russia. Rather, yours truly finds it quite interesting how Russia is used in political discourse (and apparently also in ski-jumping circles) to make fun of opponents or for social commentary.

Saturday 15/9/2012

Black coffee and soft music. The sun is shining outside, and there are lots of nice people around.  
And I'm as excited as a little bunny. Soon, soon it's time for another country and another adventure. 

 

Book Challenge: Day 24 (pt. 2)

I said I'd think about it. It took me almost 3 months but I finally do have an answer to the following:

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

A good book is one that teaches the reader something important, while taking the teacher on a journey to another time and another place. Furthermore, the good book gives rise to thoughts and questions.
I read one of these books the other day. It's touching and beautiful and it makes you angry at the world for all the injustice and stupidity. And it makes you think about moral issues and life in general. Unfortunately it seems to be only available in Finnish and Swedish - therefore I can wish that more people would have access to this little book (it's so tiny it's almost a booklet) giving insight to one very little piece of human history.

In English the title of this book would be something like And I Wasn't A Prisoner. The author, Hella Wuolijoki, was a Finnish-Estonian writer, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment during the Continuation War for being a spy for the Soviet Union. During the imprisonment, she wrote a journal in which she made observations about her fellow inmates and life in prison, while commenting the war and the social situation in Finland.

Her good, friendly shadow walked upright before me, she gestured silently to me with a worker's hand: "Don't be afraid... there is no death... for those, who die for life..."     She was a Finnish working woman and she loved her country and her people, she gave her life for its liberty... carrying the name of a traitor. She walked into death singing. Her name was Martta Koskinen*.

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Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favourite title
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your favourite book of all time

*Martta Koskinen was the last woman to be executed in Finland.
** The translation is mine, so you know whom to blame for all the mistakes.

I Had Completely Forgotten…

…how much fun it is to take notes.

Choice.

Today I read something that made me realize something that has never ever occurred to me even though it’s so obvious: I can choose to look ugly* and it’s OK. I’m not talking about walking around the house in gym clothes and wearing no make-up (because err… that happens every second day) but to actually make a conscious choice: today I choose to look ugly. It is, obviously, equally OK to choose to look pretty.

* another question is how to define ugly, but let's leave that for some other day.

On the Stove

It’s time for more food. Very exciting it is, this life of mine…. BUT: truth to be told, there are very few things that are better on a Sunday night than a nice meal and good company.

I have written about it here and here, so maybe my love for goulash needs no further introduction. The ingredients may vary slightly from time to time (chicken this time), and the stove may look a bit different (from 1986), but the end result is always delicious. The secret: lots of paprika, chili and time.

Wild Mushrooms

Wild mushroom sauce

Ingredients

• Wild mushrooms (cleaned and cut into small pieces)
• Onion (chopped)
• Milk (apr. 4 dl) (alt. cream)
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper

And this, my friends, is easy. Chop the onion and sauté it with the butter in a pan for a couple of minutes, add the cut mushrooms. Add milk/cream once most of the liquid (from the mushrooms) has evaporated.  Add salt and pepper, let the sauce simmer for a while (5-10 minutes).

Serve with boiled potato and red cabbage.

Red cabbage can easily be spiced up with fresh lingonberries. Grate the cabbage, add the berries. Mix. Done, ready to be eaten.

An Ordinary Wednesday

One of the things I enjoy the most about my current situation is the fact that I’m free to plan my time in whichever way I wish (as long as I get some things done), meaning for example that I can go for long walks in the afternoon. This situation is about to change soon*, so I’m doing my best to enjoy life as much as possible. Today K and I had some delicious salad in our absolute favourite place, the bookshop didn’t get caught on camera, but the clouds I saw on the way home were lovely.

* Fortunately. Even though I quite enjoy life, I’m about to start climbing the walls.

Viva La Patata

There are so many things I want to write about, but the thoughts just won’t come out of my head. So, let’s write about food then.

Food is fun – although it’s a dangerous topic: criticize a diet and someone will be ready to chop your head off.  The other day I read an article about the world’s healthiest superfoods. This is interesting stuff, but hardly surprising. And the use of the term “superfood” is slightly annoying. Just saying.

Note: after completing this post I realized that I should be very thankful for not being that picky about food. Who has the time to analyze all that they put in their mouth? Now, let’s move on to the post.

Mushrooms straight from the forest – it’s ecological, fresh and cheap, not to mention healthy (if you skip the cream – replace with milk or low fat cream ). Mushrooms* are high in potassium, selenium, folate, B2, NIAEQ, vitamin D. Especially that vitamin D is important up here in the darkness!

The potato is underrated these days. Many people seem to try to avoid it because it’s such a scary carby, starchy food. However, a boiled potato (with skin) is not too bad an option. According to Fineli, 100 g of boiled potato contains some important vitamins and minerals, including potassium, magnesium and vitamin C.

And remember, the good thing about the potato is that it’s usually not imported from the other side of the planet, sometimes it might even grow in your own back yard.

Tip: add some vinegar, olive oil + salt to boiled potatoes, delicious.

Tip 2: add broccoli for vitamins A, B6, C and E, iron, potassium and calcium.

 

  “Healthy sandwich”. Ok… so everyone has a vice or two, mine is hot sandwiches. They are far more addicting than, say, pizza. Rye bread, cheese and tomato. 

Tip: add basil and/or oregano on top for an extra dose of calcium.

Somewhere in the world Sasha might be considered tasty food, up here we prefer her alive and happy for cuddling and playing!

 

* more precisely, Boletus edulis

Sleepless In Godforsaken Lands

Why sleep when one can drink chamomile tea and eat cheese while listening to the rain? It’s also September – autumn’s starting, yay. All great changes happen in autumn, does anyone know why that is so?

Here’s a short list of the things I want to do in September (apart from the necessary things – that list is about as long as the Finnish constitution and I wouldn’t want to bore you with the details. If you for some odd reason would like to read the Constitution of Finland, you can find it here).

• Drink more water. 1,5 – 2 liters/day is the recommended amount. Some people speak of liquids, but I’m quite sure this applies to water and NOT coffee. Ehem. 
• Find a flat that has a kitchen where one can make goulash. Note: the essential part here is the goulash, not the kitchen. Making the goulash is probably cheaper than going to Hungary.
• Walk more – fresh air is good for the brain.
• Read something (anything!) for pleasure. Karl Marx does not count. Translate something. Write something. Do anything that involves letters. And a pen. And a notebook.
• Start getting up earlier in the morning + do some yoga, maybe. Or perhaps getting up at a decent time is enough.
• Meet all my friends at least once. Even if it’s for talking about absolutely nothing. Throwing a party could be fun. A party with some goulash.

Right. This does not look like rocket science.