Category Archives: finland

requiem for an empire

I understand something happened in Finland today. Two years ago I might have learned about it in a very unpleasant 6 am phone call. Today I learned about it when the US woke up and my father and brother sent … Continue reading →

Posted on 4 September 2013 by Diana ben-Aaron
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finland crash Q&A

Dale, who asks excellent questions, asked this today: I was just reading a blog entry that mentioned the Finnish financial crisis of 1991. The horrifying thing is that its effects on the job market were worse than the current US recession. … Continue reading →

Posted on 4 February 2013 by Diana ben-Aaron
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art: our land at the cable factory

Maamme (Our Land), Minna Rainio and Mark Roberts. Finnish Museum of Photography, Cable Factory, Helsinki Musically, the Finnish national anthem is easy to sing except for the devilish first line, which sounds as if it combines two wrong-way key changes … Continue reading →

Posted on 23 November 2012 by Diana ben-Aaron
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pianists’ progress

The Third Maj Lind International Piano Competition is going on in Helsinki this week and I watched one of the 10 preliminary heats, in which four or five alphabetically grouped contestants perform a 40-minute hexathlon: Bach prelude and fugue, Classical sonata, three … Continue reading →

Posted on 18 September 2012 by Diana ben-Aaron
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Three memorable gigs in Helsinki

1. Tarharyhmä, ca. 1995. That was Maija Vilkkuna’s old band, an all-girl punk outfit that played everything double fast (if you have eMusic, look up Jenny Choi and the Third Shift, “My First Time” – that’s what they sounded like). … Continue reading →

Posted on 5 September 2006 by Diana ben-Aaron
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seven ways of looking at a Fabergé exhibition

Reposted for Easter 2013 before returning to original spot in the timeline. The Era of Fabergé, Vapriikki, Tampere, Finland, 17 June – 1 October 2006 1. As a celebration of an exploitative imperial autocracy, rationalized through the familiar rhetoric of … Continue reading →

Posted on 29 August 2006 by Diana ben-Aaron
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I am so psyched to be getting out of town and going to Jyväskylä this weekend, I can’t tell you. 12 people, an 18-hour sauna in the countryside, sausages and beer, autumn leaves. The next weekend I get to move … Continue reading →

Posted on 21 September 2000 by Diana ben-Aaron
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Today was the first coat day here at the 60th parallel. I don’t mean the first coat-optional day. That was a while back. I mean the first coat-necessary day. Sitting at my desk, I can’t stop shivering. And outside it … Continue reading →

Posted on 5 September 2000 by Diana ben-Aaron
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Stages of house moving (assuming one has keys to both places for several days): 1. Denial. 2. Moving unobtrusive things. 3. Moving good things. 4. Confronting the junk that’s left. 5. More denial. 6. Oh crap, the old place doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted on 5 June 2000 by Diana ben-Aaron
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I’m not making it up: Someone wrote a detective novel set on the mean streets of Koskela, “Helsinki’s Bronx” (Alueuutiset). Check out the description of Sjöman & Co. here. PS 2015: The Nordic mystery boom finally happened but Hannu Vuorio’s … Continue reading →

Posted on 26 May 2000 by Diana ben-Aaron
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National holidays of the week: Victoria Day (Canada) as described by Kristin and Nicole, and Cyril and Methodius Day, the main Bulgarian national day, especially if Johku can get us into the reception. [Later:] She did, and it was a rather strange: … Continue reading →

Posted on 22 May 2000 by Diana ben-Aaron
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Hmmm. I may need a link to Tranbase at Trantex for a while longer.

Posted on 15 May 2000 by Diana ben-Aaron
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