Dare to be Different. Or Exactly the Same?

Remember teenage? That awkward time in your life when all you wanted was to fit in, to be exactly like your friends. You all laughed at the same jokes, listened to the same music and wore the same clothes. Then something happened. At some point you realize you don't need to be the same. It is ok to be different.

But no.

Eurovision Song Contest was yesterday. Who won? A transvestite. So now half the population is super siked cause, after all, a transvestite won and half the population is going WTF, cause, after all, a transvestite won. One friend of mine commented on ESC as follows

Eurovision Song Contest… Can there be anything so unnecessary? Why does the winner always have to be "different" or "obtrusive" in other ways then with a good song or a good voice. Come on, is there no other way to spend that money. With the cash that goes into the Eurovision Song Contest, you could build a children's hospital in every one of those countries or do other more reasonable projects.

Well, while we're at it we might just as well cancel Christmas. With all the money that goes into Christmas, we could build a village of hospitals. And the same goes for the Football World Cup. Brazil, cut it out! You don't need to build any more stadiums that will go to total waste after the games, FIFA World Cup is hereby CANCELLED! Because a transvestite won the Eurovision Song Contest.

The World Cup is on You, Conchita! (photo ORF/Thomas Ramstorfer)

And yes, it is the same thing. Some people love to see a pack of guys chasing a little white ball, some people love to see a man dressed as a woman sing about a phoenix. What's the big deal? We all enjoy different things, but now it's not ok anymore? What are we, teenagers again?

Another friend of mine wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, she says, this could mean that Europe has become more tolerant, which is fantastic, or it can mean that whoever has the best costume wins. It is not that long ago that Finland won the contest with a band of monsters. This is a very good point. 

You know the phrase "Hell freezes over, Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest"? There is one with Finland winning the football World Cup. Except we already won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Let's see who has won the Eurovision Song Contest over the last years. Last year it was Emmelie de Forest. A young Danish girl. She was barefoot on stage. The year before it was Loreen. A Swedish woman who was also barefoot on stage. I think it's rather a nice change that this year the winner wore shoes and wasn't from the Nordic countries. Before these barefooted girls it was Ell & Nikki that won the competition the first time ever for Azerbaijan. They both wore shoes. In 2010 it was another young woman, Lena from Germany. What's up with all these women? Why is the winner always a woman? Thank the good gracious for Alexander Rybak who won the year before with his violin. He was different, he won the competition with the most points ever. Before that, in 2008, another male won the contest, Russian Dima Bilan, and can you believe, he too wore no shoes! Thankfully, Marija Serifovic who won the year before wore both shoes and didn't rip open her shirt as did Dima. The year before, in 2006, Hell froze over when Finland won. Lordi made history as the first and only hard rock act to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Dressed as monsters, they rocked Europe making one important statement: it's ok to be a monster. Saying that they only won because of their masks is like saying I could go on that staged dresses as a lesbian squirrel with vampire teeth singing about squirrel lesbian love and win the competition. Europe would go nuts over my lesbian, flying nuts and name me the queen of squirrels. Or nuts.

The costume of Emmelie de Forest that won last year (Picture cp24.com)

Looking back almost ten years, who has won? Three of the winners have been barefoot, most have been women and only one monster band. I can agree that Lordi was different, but besides Lordi, I wouldn't say that the other winners have had obscure costumes. In fact, I could even go as far as to say the clothes that have been worn and the individuals wearing them have been quite normal. One lesbian, but that's it. Thus, I wouldn't say that the best costume wins. I would even dare say the best performance wins.

I heard Conchita for the first time yesterday. I had not heard the song, but I had seen pictures of her. I would have put my money on it as soon as I heard it and saw the strong performance. It is not just a man dressed in a golden gown, it is a good song performed with power and feeling. Does it help to be a transvestite? Perhaps. But it doesn't make the song less good or the performance any less powerful. 

This you are ok with? (Picture from the music video Wrecking Ball)

In fact, throughout time, music and musicians have often stood out. Remember Elvis? The King of Rock 'n Roll, the best selling artist of all time. In the 50's, Look magazine wrote that Elvis is "a wild troubadour who wails rock 'n roll tunes, flails erratically at a guitar and wriggles like a peep-show dancer". Pink Floyd made an album called The Wall. Michel Jackson sung about being black or white, The Prodigy about smacking your bitch up. Killing In The Name by Rage Against the Machine, Fuck The Police by N.W.A, artists like Marilyn Manson, punk rock for god's sake. It is all about controversy, about making a statement, about standing out, about one or all of these things. Now if you think a bearded man in a glittering gown is even half as striking as God Save The Queen by Sex Pistols or Justify My Love by Madonna, then be my guest. It doesn't change the fact that the performance was stunning and the song was good.

God save the queen

The fascist regime

They made you a moron

Potential H-bomb

Another friend of mine told me it's a shame when music or sports or other cultural aspects of our society gets entangled with politics. To some extent I agree. Should Russia have had the winter Olympics? Should Belarus have the ice hockey world championships? If the answer is no, then that's as good as saying that you can't have the games because of your crimes against humanity and political actions. If the answer is yes, it's as good as saying that you can have the games despite your crimes against humanity and political actions. Either way it's a statement. 

Punk rock didn't come to be because people were happy and wanted to sing love songs. It came to be to express (political) views and beliefs. Saying that politics and culture shouldn't mix is like saying God doesn't exist, because in the end it doesn't really matter if God exists or not. People will still go to church and culture and politics will still mingle. They are the same thing as much as they are opposites.

Politics aside, naturally I couldn't go through this post without stumbling on some really offensive comments. Vanja comments

Hitler come back 

I mean, what am I even supposed to comment on that? Have we not come any further? Really, who the fuck cares if you're a man dressed as a woman or a woman dressed as a man? Are you going to let yourself be provoked by a dress? Just enjoy the song, enjoy the competition, politics and music are intertwined, face it and move on. Some sing about bubblegum, some sing about politics, some sing about sex, some sing about all of these things. Let the phoenix fly its transgender, transvestite, homosexual flight with the lesbian squirrel on its back and be done with it. Because really, the more you hate, the more these freak shows will love!

I, for one, will enjoy that flight as long as it lasts and GO! half of Europe for being open minded!

#FuckCancer

A couple of months ago I wrote a post, #FuckCoke. This is not the same. This post fucks posts like that over, tears their soul out, throws it in a ditch, pours a spoonful of contempt over it and leaves it to rot. Warning given, continue at your own risk.

I have a colleague. I hope she won't mind me writing about her, but she keeps a blog (in Swedish) of her own where she writes about her struggles, so I'm going to assume she doesn't. She inspires me, which is why I want to share some of her story to remind us of a silly little thing called life.

Some time has passed since she found out she has leukemia. It is not the first time she gets these news. She has been sick before. I was at a happiness seminar at work when my boss tells me to come upstairs. Talk about life's irony. We learn she won't be coming back for a long time. Silence. Shock. Tears.

I know she's been writing her blog, but I can't bring myself to read it. I know that when I finally do, it won't be pretty and so I put it off like a coward. Like a scared little mouse I hide from the words that I know will snap around my neck like a mousetrap, suffocating me in despair. So I keep putting it off, pretending it's not there. Until yesterday.

Who Will Comfort Toffle? by Tove Jansson

I make the utter foolish mistake of reading her blog and it's like the light of day disappears, like the earth is emptied of life, leaving only anguish. I read her words that turn to a blurry smudge while tears fill my eyes. I feel guilty for my tears. How do I dare cry when she is the one in the hospital? I want to throw the computer out the window, scream to this cruel world that breeds sickness and hate and disease. Why are people who spread so much light beaten down time and time again? I curl up under my covers, feel helpless. It's so unfair.

It's so fucking unfair!

In one of her posts she talks about a story, Who Will Comfort Toffle. Toffle is piteous little creature alone in a dark and scary world. She says she feels like Toffle. Alone in her hospital bed at night she feels the heaviness of the dark, the weight of her fear. My heart twitches and wrenches while reading her words. I feel contempt toward the world, toward the entire universe. People are literally running through life and for what?

It is like we do not realize that life is right in front of us, in every heartbeat. In every moment. Do we only understand that when our heart is threatening no longer to beat? When the moment in front of us may be the very last. Is it the irony of life, the wickedness of our existence that we only learn to appreciate life once it threatens to leave us?

The world needs Jenni!

A couple of weeks ago I see my news feed on Facebook fill up with the same picture. I go to her timeline and I'm breathless. A sunflower with the words "Fuck Cancer" written on it, and over it "The world needs Jenni". I keep scrolling down but the pictures never seem to end, forming a virtual garden of sunflowers. Her friends, family and others that feel the need to show their appreciation of her, have taken pictures of themselves wearing a "Fuck Cancer" shirt. They have all changed their profile picture to this picture and tagged her in it to fill her profile with flowers.

Someone might say that this is the power of social media, but I disagree. This is the power of people who care. Of people who still give a shit about a silly little thing called life. Of people who stop to take time to give, not wanting anything in return. Except perhaps that God step down from heaven for a while to take one look at this beautiful person and stop this twisted game.

The Virtual Garden

I keep reading her blog. I can taste her sickness while my throat thickens. But then she does what she always does. She dazzles with her positive attitude, amazes with her spirit, puts us all to shame with her incredible fire. She answers her own question. Who will comfort Toffle? Everyone, she says.

Everyone. Always. All the time.

Whatever you were doing before you started reading this, whatever you were thinking, by now I'm guessing you're thinking one of two things. One, you think I'm an emotional wreck of a person and you can't believe you wasted all this time reading this sentimental crap. If this is the case I suggest you stop reading right now, I promise you it won't get any better. On the other hand, you might be thinking that your own struggles and problems are worthless crap compared to the struggles of a woman, fighting cancer for the third time. Fighting for her life. It's not. Everything that you feel is important in your life is. However, there are a few things to consider before closing the Internet and going back to glance at the newspaper while watching The Biggest Looser and tweeting about whatever is hot right now.

First, life is so fucking precious. Every day you wake up is a victory. Everyday should be memorable. Second, why are we in such a hurry all the time? The more we hurry, the faster the end will come. Instead, slow down and enjoy the moment. Third, every single thought of hate or anger is one less thought of love or compassion, so concentrate on the good, not the bad. And last, your life is now. Every second you use on unimportant crap is one less second lived, so use every second wisely. Care. Feel. Hope. Give. Love. Dream. Laugh.

She inspires me with her words, with her positivism, with her life. Even in her struggles she inspires me. With every vibrating muscle, every inch of my body I hope for her recovery. There is nothing I can do, except hope and believe that she's gonna be OK, because the world needs people that fill it with good. That Care. That Feel. That Hope. That Gives. That Loves. That Dreams. That Laughs.

The world does need Jenni.

#FuckCancer

Poppipoliisit? Nevahööd.

Päivän aihe on poppipoliisit. Tämä hurmaava kaksikko istahtaa joka perjantai alas ja analysoi The Voice of Finlandin sen illan esiintyjien vetoja. Sinänsä tämä on hieno idea. Esitykset käydään läpi, ketkä olivat illan onnistujat, ketkä illan häviäjät. Kuitenkin, minulla on ohjelman kanssa suuri ongelma.

Taistelin itseni kanssa siitä, kannattaako minun ryhtyä kirjoittamaan tästä aiheesta vai ei. Teenkö näin vain enemmän hallaa kuin hyvää antamalla poppipoliiseille entistä enemmän näkyvyyttä? Jotenkin kuitenkin nyt en pystynyt olemaan ottamatta kantaa asiaan, joten avasin läppärin ja katsoin ensimmäistä, ja viimeistä kertaa poppipoliiseja.

Kuva Ilta-sanomat

Ehkä osaksi oma pettymys vaikuttaa tähän kannanottoon, ehkä se, että nämä ihmiset haukkuvat minun ystäviäni, ehkä se, että eivät minun laulamisestani pitäneet, ehkä ne hetkittäin asiattomat kommentit, tai ehkä kaikki nämä asiat yhteensä pakottavat minut avaamaan läppärinkannen ja antaa sormieni näpyttää. Olen huolissani siitä, että kuulostan katkeralta tippuneelta kilpailijalta joka ryhtyy ihan samaan kun poppipoliisit, eli ihmisten haukkumiseen. En kuitenkaan ole hirveän pettynyt, vaikka se ehkä tyhmältä kuulostaakin ja joku voi jopa ajatella että valehtelen, mutta minua ei hirveästi tippuminen kilpailusta haitannut. Joten, yritän olla mahdollisimman objektiivinen ja kirjoittaa rehdin tekstin. Oletan myös, että pojat itse osaavat ottaa kritiikkiä kun kerran sitä niin avoimesti jakavat.

Keitäs nämä poppipoliisit ovat? Tämä hurmaava kaksikko muodostuu Wallu Valpiosta ja Mika Seppäsestä ja nyt minun on pakko myöntää iso aukko omassa sivistyksessäni. Olin ihan ”nevahööd” poppipoliiseista, Wallu Valpiosta sekä Mika Seppäsestä. Olin onnellisesti tietämätön koko ohjelmasta ennen osallistumistani Voiceen. Kuulin kuitenkin kanssakilpailijoiltani ronskeja kommentteja joita Wallu ja Mika olivat Ilta-sanomien netti TVn sivuilla julkaistuvassa ohjelmassa ladelleet. Keitä ovat sitten Wallu ja Mika?

Kuva Niko Saarisen blogi

Jani Petteri "Wallu" Valpio on jyväskyläläinen muusikko, festivaalipromoottori, radiojuontaja ja toimittaja. En tiedä mitä kaikkea hän tällä hetkellä tekee poppipoliisien lisäksi, faktaa hänestä oli hiukan vaikea löytää. Hän nousi julkisuuteen 2000-luvun alussa MoonTV:stä. Hän on myös saanut julkisuutta tatuoinneistaan: rintaan Wallu on tatuoinut sanan ÄITI, kylkeen exiensä nimet ja käsivarteen osan Viking Linen logosta. Hän vilautti myös sukupuolielintään Musiikki- ja Mediatapahtumassa, jossa hänet valittiin vuoden rocktoimittajaksi. Toimittaja onkin hieno ammatti, pistinkin googleen "Wallu Valpio koulutus". Eka tulos oli "Wallu Valpio - Itsensäpaljastaja". Okei. Wallun omien sanojensa mukaan hänellä ei ole koulutusta. Ei kait siinäkään mitään, jotkut ihmiset osavat tehdä asioita ilmankin koulutusta, jotkut ihmiset ovat luonnonlahjakkuuksia.

Wallu Valpio. Kuva Radio Rapu

Entäs sitten Mika Seppänen? Hän on Iltasanomien toimittaja. Muuta en hänestä oikein tiedä enkä googlettamallakaan hirveästi löytänyt. Hän on kuitenkin kirjoittanut monta hienoa artikkelia, kuten esimerkiksi "Tältä Paris Hilton näytti 21-vuotiaana - rohkea synttärikuva 12 vuoden takaa", "Holywoodin unelmapari meni kihloihin" ja "Chris hermosauhutteli pian Madeleinen synnytyksen jälkeen - katso kuvalinkki". Kiitos Mika näistä uutisista.

Mika Seppänen.
Kuva Mikan Twitterpofiilista

Nyt kun pojat ovat tuttuja, voidaan jatkaa poppipoliiseja puolustavalla kommenttilla.

Totta kai Valpio saa niitä laulajia arvostella, aivan siinä missä minä ja sinäkin ja kuten kuka tahansa muukin taustasta riippumatta. Koko ohjelmahan perustuu nimenomaan arvosteluun ja mielipiteisiin - tämä on laulukilpailu. Kilpailun voittaa se, jonka yleisö arvostelee parhaaksi. Millä muullakaan sitä pitäisi mitata? Jos tämän kaksikon jutut ei kiinnosta, älä kuuntele. - Mika555

Tottahan tämä on. Laulajia saa ehdottomasti arvostella. Yksi ero on kuitenkin se, että jos Pekka Puujärvi Tervajoella sanoo vaimollensa: "olipa Cecilian esitys ihan paska", sen kuulee Pekka ja hänen vaimonsa ja heidän kuusivuotias rakkinsa. Jos Wallu Valpio möläyttää, että Toni Laaksonen on: "niin hinttarinnäkönen jätkä", sen kuulee jopa 200 000 suomalaista. Mukaan lukien Toni Laaksonen. Tuollainen stereotypioiden syöttäminen on tietysti täysin vastuutonta käytöstä, jonka Wallu myös itse taisi huomata kun seuraavassa lauseessa toteaa, että hänellä ei ole homoja mitään vastaan. Tunteehan hän monta homoa. Oli miten oli, laulukilpailu, mihin Mika555 yllä olevassa kommentissaan viittaa, on aika kaukana tämän tyyppisistä kommenteista.

En itsekkään päässyt livahtamaan poppipoliisien sormien läpi. Parini Tuuli nousi Wallun ja Mikan suosioon ja sai hienoa palautetta. Hyvä niin, Tuuli on taitava laulaja jolla on mieletön karisma. Itse jäin lähinnä sivulauseeseen. Tekstintulkinnassa oli ongelmia, en päässyt lähellekkään Tuulin tasoa ja olin vain opetellut tekstin ulkoa ja lauloin sen ajattelematta mitä se tarkoittaa. Esitys jätti kertakaikkiaan tyhjäksi. Kiitän poikia tästä palautteesta, lupaan ensi kerralla ajatella enemmän.

Näin niitä lauluja lauletaan ulkoa. Ajattelematta. Kuva Petri Aho

Jos et ole esitystämme vielä nähnyt, voit käydä sen tästä katsomassa. Ajattelematonta meninikiä!

Pystyn hyväksymään tämän palautteen. Se ei tunnu hyvältä, tietenkään, mutta se on ok. Se on rehellinen mielipide johon kaikilla on oikeus. En kuitenkaan pysty hyväksymään tapaa millä pojat välillä antavat "palautetta". Kun ottaa huomioon lausahduksia kuten "Voicen historian huonoin esitys" ja "myötähäpeä", on reilu ja suora kritiikki, mitä ohjelma käsiittääkseni on tarkoitus antaa, aika kaukana. Se ei ole kritiikkiä, se on ihmisten, tai heidän esitystensä haukkumista. Välillä tulee asiatonta tekstiä laulajista, välillä YLEn narisevista juontajista sun muusta, joka nyt ei millään tavalla liity kyseessä olevaan laulukilpailuun. Tottakai mielipiteitä saa olla myös YLEn juontajista, mutta tämä foorumi ei ole se oikea myöskään näille kommenteille. Toni Laaksosta (kanssakilpailija, YleX:n juontaja) lainaten

Tuntuu, että tuolla ohjelmalla ei ole tuottajaa tai jos on niin ei ole tehtäviensä tasalla. Ny se on koulun pahisten rinki, jossa kiroillaan, syljeskellään, haukutaan muita ja ihaillaan mimmejä.

Väistämättä herääkin kysymys, kertovatko Wallun ja Mikan kommentit enemmän palautteen antajista kun itse palautteen kohteista?

Kuva Ilta-Sanomat

Isoin ongelmani tätä ohjelmaa koskien ei kuitenkaan ole Wallu tai Mika, eikä heidän hetkittäin asiattomat kommenttinsa. Onhan heillä välillä ihan hauskojakin juttuja ja hyviä mielipiteitä, vaikken niihin aina yhtyisikään. Isoin ongelma on kuitenkin mielestäni siinä, että Ilta Sanomien kokoinen lehti julkaisee tätä ohjelmaa. Ymmärrän sinänsä poikia, onhan heidän tyyppiset lausahduksensa se, mikä lehtiä myy ja saa ihmiset katsomaan heidän ohjelmaansa. Kysymykseni onkin, minkälaisen viestin Ilta Sanomat haluaa lähettää lukijoilleen? Missä menee toimittajien eettinen raja? Mitä mediassa voi, ja vielä tärkeämmin, mitä mediassa ei voi sanoa? Onhan Suomessa sanavapaus. Onko se kuitenkaan oikeus, jota haluamme tällä tavalla käyttää?

Minulla ei ole vastausta, minulla on vain mielipide, ja sen voitte varmaan jo arvata. Mielestäni eettiset rajat ovat paukkuneet Ilta Sanomien tyyppisten lehtien ja medioiden myötä moneen kertaan. Siksi en yleensä lue enkä katso niitä, mutta sehän on vain minun mielipiteeni. Kaikillahan meillä on siihen omaan mielipiteeseen oikeus, vai mitä Mika555?

I'm Just A Dreamer - Part Two

A couple of months ago I told you about my dream in a blog post. My precious little dream that I had so cruelly locked away in a little dusty jar, lid closed so tightly you'd need a screwdriver to open it. But I did. I did open the lid and I took the leap of faith, out in the wild and unknown world of commercial TV. It is a strange world that doesn't make any sense to me. What you see on TV, naturally, is totally different from the reality. Mostly, we sit around waiting for things to happen. And we walk. A lot. My friend called me during the shooting and asked me how it was going. I told her I will be a pro at walking after this competition. I might not sing any better, but I'll sure know how to walk. They are shooting us from every possible angle, walking here and there, it all seems silly. So far away from the what I came here to do. But I do not despair, I knew my dream would need a lot of work and I'll walk a week straight for them if that's what it takes.

Waiting...

It all started when I was a kid. Like any other kid, I'd pick up my moms hairbrush and sing in it like it was a microphone, stand in front of the mirror, waggling my hips to the beat of an imaginative beat, performing to an imaginative audience who was imaginatively chanting my name like a choir. I decided I was going to be a rock star.


After waiting (and walking) for many, many, many hours, it's finally my turn. It only takes a few minutes and then it's over. A few minutes and I'm on the tram on my way to the train station to catch a train with my mum and her husband. It feels surreal, like it didn't really even happen. But it did. I am reminded of this when I see myself on TV a few months later. It's the strangest feeling, and not one I particularly enjoy. I'd rather turn off the TV, not watch it at all. Nonetheless, I do watch, together with 630 000 others. The amount of messages and Facebook comments overwhelms me. It's crazy how people get involved, how they want me to succeed. Even people I've never met. It is one of the nicest feelings, people caring even when they have no reason to do so.

There's just something about drinking cognac out of a plastic mug. On the train. With your mum. After performing to four hard core musicians...

This all happened a few months ago. A few days from now, on Friday 7th to be more specific, it's time for the next challange, the next leap of faith. It will be the second time I get on the stage in front of the judges, but this time only one person will make the cut. My coach, Mira Luoti, is (or I guess was since the band did their last show only a few months ago) part of a well known Finnish duo called PMMP. She alone will decide my faith, she alone will decide whether I continue in the competition or not. The pressure is on, but I must say it's not half as bad as I would have thought. I must say, this time around my heart is not beating quite as hard, my hands aren't shaking and my head feels calm. Why?

Team Mira! <3

I have already gotten far more from this experience then I ever thought possible. I have met people I would otherwise never have met, done things I would never have done and learned things I would never have learned. There is a strange feeling of serenity to the situation, regardless of the craziness of it. For me the most important thing are the people, and no I'm not talking about celebrities. I've never been one to much care for if someone is famous or not. People interest me more for who they are then for what they do. Some people interest me also for what they do, but "moviestar" or "rock star" is usually not of interest. The people that I get to share this experience with are remarkable. There is something very special in a room with 20 singers, all singing the same song while someone plays the guitar. The variety of voices, notes and sounds is enchanting. Or partying with new found friends at the sleazy karaoke bar. Smiling till my cheeks hurt. It all sounds like a cliche, but I don't even care. These people are my family, even if just for a few days. In a way I have already won.

But how will the story end? Will it end at all? Below you can see a glass. This time not a plastic one. Only one question remains, and that is whether it is a drink to celebrate or to numb away disappointment. Stay tuned and I'll let you know!

Olen Suomalainen?

There has been a video going around on the internet where a group of singers remake an old Finnish song called Olen Suomalainen (I am Finnish). It is a classic song known by pretty much everyone. No harm in that, right? Except the people in the video and the people singing the song are all Finnish citizens, but with roots all over the world. From Peru to India, Finnish citizens of differing colors, races and history are displayed. It is such a nice thought, much like the Coca Cola Super Bowl commercial America The Beautiful I commented on a few weeks back. In that post, my intention was not to bash out on Americans as, sadly, racisms is as evident in Finland as it is in the states. However, I now realise it is easier to point out the weakness of others than the weakness of oneself. It is not always easy to be proud of ones origin and descent.

You can have a look at the video below.

The sad part is, watching the video, as ever touching it was, I already knew what was waiting. Some people would love the concept for showing that Finland looks different today than 50 years ago. What was seen as Finnish half a century ago, may have changed. On the other hand, others would hate the video. When I read the comments about the Coca Cola commercial, I was filled with a rage and frustration so intense, I hardly got any sleep. This time, however, the story is quite different. I feel tired, exhausted even. I feel pity. I almost feel indifferent. Wow, that's when I realize something is wrong.

We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men. - Boondock Saints

Edmund Burke said "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing". So back to basics. The ever so brief feeling of indifference is trashed, thrown in the corner like an old rag.

I can honestly say I'm Finnish, no question about it. I was born in Finland, as were my parents and their parents before them and their parents before them. Proud to be I might add. Finland has had great publicity during the last year with headlines such as If you want the American dream, go to Finland or What Finland can teach America about education. Naturally, there is a down side to the story and not everything is wonderful in Finland, but I'd say it's a pretty great place to live (if you don't consider the 6 months of winter). Simple as that, I'm Finnish and proud of it. One comment to the video above was the following

Kuinka vaikea on ymmärtää, että kansallisuus ja kansalaisuus ovat eri asia? - Slumnigga

Translating into: How hard is it to understand that nationality and citizenship are two different things? I think about this for a while and realise I agree. I am going to use the Finnish definition of these words (based on legislation), as the English definition of citizenship and nationality may differ a little from country to country. Citizenship (kansalaisuus) means a member of a state with all the rights and duties it entails. For example, with a Finnish citizenship you have the right to work, vote and live in Finland. On the other hand, nationality (kansallisuus) refers to the national identity or ethnicity. So if I was to move to Germany, I might get a German citizenship but I would still be very much Finnish. This is quite clear and so I agree with Slumnigga.

When all is purple, there is no black or white. Holi festival in India. (photo by Callum Lynch)

Citizenship and nationality are two different things, fact, but does it mean that one rules out the other? I am a Swedish speaking Finn, however, I am also Finnish. My native language of Swedish does not make me any less Finnish. Can it be that people that move to Finland may actually identify themselves also as Finnish, even if perhaps not the same way that Slumnigga would like? Will immigrants not adopt some traditions? Will they not learn the language? Will they not identify with the people living here? Cultural diversity, is it really such a tragedy? Is our culture not strong enough to be able to take it if a few ethnically different individuals say that, they too, are Finnish?

The lyrics of the song also calls for controversy, as a guy called Kai so kindly points out. On täällä elämä raskasta työta, translating into "the life here is hard work" which obviously is funny as we all know NO immigrants do ANY work. The only thing they do is collect income support from social services. They (meaning these god damned immigrants) live like social bums, collecting tax money earned by hard working Finnish citizens. Bastards. They think they can just come here and do nothing? Get everything for free? Sure, some people do. That is the down side of a well-functioning social safety net. However, "some people" are not immigrants. They are as much Finns as they are other nationalities. Not only Somalians take advantage of the system, but also the earnest and honorable Finns do this.

My Indian friend Rathan. Bastard lives in Finland collecting all income support known to man.
OR then he is a smart guy that studied at a Finnish university, currently working on India related projects,
bringing Finland some of that much needed tax income.

It is very dangerous to identify a person through ethnicity. To put people in boxes depending on their skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or any other number of so called ethnic traits. Statements such as "I hate Russians" or "all Asians look alike" will not make you sound very smart. As Tommy Lee Jones put it

Ethnic stereotypes are boring and stressful and sometimes criminal. It's just not a good way to think. It's non-thinking. It's stupid and destructive. - Tommy Lee Jones

You can't hate Russians. There are 140 million of them, you cannot tell me that you hate them all, can you? I must say, I despise some of the things that are happening in Russia, but still, if I would actually say that I hate Russians, it would mean that my world would be 140 million poorer on people that could be my friends. That's a pretty hard cutdown. Not to mention all the people I would have to unfriend on Facebook, good lord. I can also not say that all Asians look alike. You know why? Because they don't. They look as alike as do whites. I can't say I hate muslims, for it is not religion that defines people, or people that define religion. The actions of some cannot be pinned to a religion, religion alone does not make decisions. People do.

I hate Russians. Especially this Russian guy called Maxim.
While I'm at it, I might also just hate the Norwegians. Like this girl called Jeanette.
That would be why my shirt says I <3 U ;)

They say Finns are honest and hardworking people, but I will let you in on a secret. It's not true. Not all Finns are hardworking, not all Finns are honest. Not all Finns stab their wife and drink vodka all day long. Not all Finns love the sauna. Not all Finns can stand winter. Not all Finns lack rhythm. Not all Finns own a Nokia and love to go fishing at their summer cottage. Sure, some people do, but not everyone. Ethnic stereotypes are boring and stressful and sometimes criminal. Do you really want to let stereotypes determine what you think of someone? Are you really ready to let go of all that control?

I guess what I'm trying to say are these two very simple things

#1 Don't be indifferent.
Being indifferent to evil is just as bad as being evil. We need to care about the people around us, also the people we do not know and have no obligations too, because it is all of our obligation to care and to not be indifferent.

Below a video of Johannes who is caught out in the cold without a jacket. Would you help him?

And how about the next one based on a true story. Eila is old and sick, wondering around town aimlessly. She is found dead. Frozen to death. Would you help Eila?

Indifference makes all the difference. Don't act. React.

#2 Prejudice is so 1997
Who would you be if you were only the sum of stereotypes? If you don't wish to be defined solely by ethnic stereotypes or by what music you listen to, think about that the next time you see a turban and think terrorist.

He look crazy to you? Well, he's crazy enough to figure out black holes. Stephen Hawking

I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road. - Stephen Hawking

And a bonus one, just because I can

#3 Love the haters
Love beats hate every time. Smiling will get you further than shouting. So smile, god dammit, just smile!

#FuckCoke

There are some things that I just can't wrap my head around, or actually I guess there are a lot of things I can't wrap my head around, but some things are particularly challenging. One of these particularly challenging things is hate. Hate is unbelievably unnecessary and frankly quite boring. Life is so much more fun when you're laughing.

Super Bowl was a few days ago and yet again the world kept its breath as the biggest companies spent a few million on a 30 second ad. Coca Cola decided to make a statement with a new version of the anthem America The Beautiful. If you haven't yet seen the commercial, go ahead and take a look below.

I wouldn't do cart wheels over the commercial, but it's a decent one. Meanwhile, Coca Cola tweets, quote

The only thing more beautiful than this country are the people who live here

Nice thought, Coca Cola, I'll give you that. You may not be my favorite company in the world, well frankly, which multinational company is? But this commercial is nice. Might even make me go get a coke. Zero of course, I'm on a diet after all. Never ever in my mind could I have imagined the outrage this commercial could produce. Never ever in my mind could I have imagined the amount of hate it would awaken. A friend of mine shared this hideous article that made my eyes bleed and my heart stop. I know not even half of you will actually click the link, so I'll save you the trouble and shamelessly borrow some of the material in it. For example, Tristin here decided to offend about 20 % of the American population, if you believe CIA's statistics that 79.96 % of Americans are white. Minus of coarse the 1.7 % that is Jewish. Although, I do not know how many are terrorists, CIA did not list that group of people in their statistics.

Naturally, Mexicans are not American. They are Mexican. Also, I am not certain what "American" means. Is it the same thing as American? Anyone? Well if you thought Tristin's choice of words were a little over the top, you are going to love Beth. She seems to think that American is actually a language.

Way to go Beth. Really showed off your intelligence there. Especially as America does not have any official language. Also, one of the languages in the commercial was actually that of native Americans. Continuing, Robert here actually believes that America The Beautiful is the national anthem (even though it is the unofficial national anthem, last time I checked the national anthem was still the Star-Spangled Banner).

Oh, and Super Bowl didn't make that commercial honey. Coca Cola did.

So we have stupid, stupider and, lord have mercy, stupidest. I hope you realize that America is a blend of people that immigrated from various places. There are not many Native Americans. That is, as Coca Cola would put it, what makes America beautiful. After reading the list of offensive language and clear hatred toward anyone who isn't white and speak American, I started going through some more posts of people outraged by the commercial. I know I shouldn't, but it's like a drug. My hands start shaking of anger, my pulse races, I find myself cursing to the computer screen. Did I mention this is totally healthy and normal behavior? I found a ton of outrageous comments about Coca Cola promoting Islam (in what way is Islam bad) and the commercial being offensive (to whom may I ask) and other motivating stuff. I got so frustrated, I even hit the Like button. Because of you haters I now Like Coca Cola.

Even some politicians (republicans) thought the commercial was not appropriate and naturally tweeted about it. Todd Starnes, host of Fox News expressed his love for the commercial by tweeting

Todd "I only speak English" Starnes.

I only speak English

Well Todd Starnes, I speak Swedish. I speak Finnish. I speak English. I can get by in German. I even know a little bit of Khmer. How. Is. This. A. Bad. Thing. I can communicate in your language while you cannot communicate in mine. Well good for you, you do realize this does not improve my idea of you at all.

#ToddStarnesOnlySpeaksEnglish

As a Swedish speaking Finn (about 6 percent of Finns have Swedish as their native language and Swedish is one of two official languages in Finland) I have gotten my fair share of hateful comments, much like the ones about speaking English in America. It hurts. It also hurts when a Finn asks me if I cheer for Sweden in an ice hockey game (mind you, cheering for Sweden would be the most unpatriotic thing you could ever do). You show your ignorance asking that question. I am Finnish, after all. The hate towards Swedish speaking Finns is strange. It roots in misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of knowledge of Finnish history. We have a lot to thank Sweden for. We were a part of Sweden for over 600 years, there was no Finland then. Instead of accepting our past it seems some are trying to fight it. Instead of sharing a laugh with our neighbor, we hate them and make fun of them. Where is the hate coming from? And frankly, given the choice, I still think most Finns would choose being a part of Sweden over being a part of Russia any day.

#WhereIsTheHateComingFrom

Well, back to Coca Cola. Did I already mention that besides Mexicans, terrorists, Jews and niggers, the commercial also showed a gay couple ice skating with their daughter. It was the first gay couple to be seen in a Super Bowl commercial I might add. What an outrage, just offensive really, considering the woman who wrote the anthem was most likely gay herself. Oh the irony. However, Coca Cola is not the only company to take a stand. I read an article on much the same topic in the Daily Finance that tells the story of some of these companies. For example, The Gap made a beautiful ad with a Sikh man. Unfortunately, people thought it would be a good idea to write hurtful comments on the ad.

Picture Robert Gerhadt

Obviously, comments such as Make Bombs and Bin Laden are utterly ridiculous and only shows you know nothing about Sikhs. I have not yet met a single Sikh who made bombs, and I've met a few. Also, I believe Bin Laden was a Muslim, not a Sikh (no offense toward Muslims intended). Now because of the outrage and the comments, The Gap chose to change their Twitter cover to the ad. Cheerios made a commercial with a family of three. A black man. A white woman. Outrage. YouTube had to disable the commentaries for the video as it got so many spiteful comments. You can watch the commercial below. Can't say I blame them, this commercial is ridiculously offensive!

#MakeAStatement

I realize my Liking Coca Cola also has a dark side to it, for Coca Cola is the number one sponsor of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Fuck

No matter what direction I turn, there is hate. For some reason Russia has decided to hate homosexuals. The public is asking Coca Cola to take a stand with the Winter Olympics, to tell the Russians to get their shit together. Well I agree, only Coca Cola just made a stand and look were it landed them. I won't even get in to the Olympics, that's a whole new post in itself. I even saw a picture of Putin without a shirt that, allegedly, was in a hotel room. I must not smile, but that really is hilarious.

Google takes a stand. The Rainbow Olympics.

I will not bash companies or people any more than I already have, but a serious question remains: Where does the hate come from? I cannot wrap my head around why people hate Muslims, Jews, Christians, Non-believers, blacks, whites, Hispanics, homosexuals or any other "type" of people. Do you not see that we are all the same? We all breath with our lungs, speak with our mouth, see with our eyes, touch with our hands, feel with our senses, love with our hearts. We all have a religion, may it be to believe in a god with a monkey head or to believe in no god at all. We all have a home, may it be the dirt under our feet or a gold castle. We all have our origins, may they be growing up and living in the same small town or traveling from one place to the other. We all have dreams, may they be to climb the highest mountain or to build a home for a family. We are all the same. Look past the shell and you will see it.

We are all just people trying to get by our daily life. Getting up in the morning, going to work, going to school, working on the street to make enough for food. Show each other respect. Learn tolerance. If you dislike something, fine. But don't bash out about it. Why hate when you can love. Why cry when you can laugh. Why not just live and let live. Give others the benefit of a doubt. Give them the respect that they deserve as human beings. Don't be afraid, but learn. Don't talk behind a back, but talk to a face. Don't be a jerk.

Oh, I almost forgot. Thank You America for your prayers. Thankfully she is no longer the president. Oh, and she is married. To a man. If it makes you feel any better.

#Tolerance

The Pursuit of Happiness

You know the feeling when you just can't stop smiling? Smiling from ear to ear, it eventually starts to hurt your cheeks. It's not the kind of smile that comes from a good joke or from an evening out, it's a smile that comes when your mind is blissful, full of an unmentionable joy. It bubbles up from inside and the feeling is eerie, almost spiritual. Perhaps you have felt this kind of joy when you first learned to bike, or when your child laughs for the first time, or on your wedding day. This is the kind of feeling I had last week.

This smile comes from an unexpected source. Taking part in a singing competition means that, at some point, all singers are camped out in a hotel for a few days while shooting the next episodes. When you push a group of people for a couple of days and then give them the day off, one of two things will happen. Either this group of singers will go to the hotel, eat a filling meal and go to bed, or they will go to a karaoke bar and sing their heart, frustration and tension out. If the group of singers would go to a karaoke bar and sing their heart, frustration and tension out, they would most definitely choose the most cheesy karaoke bar in town. Something like CocoLoco sounds about right. By the time they hit the karaoke bar, everyone would be laughing and smiling, exhausted, tired and happy.

I give you CocoLoco

One of the singers would choose Whitney Houston's classic I Wanna Dance With Somebody and oh how everyone would dance.

Clock strikes upon the hour

And the sun begins to fade

Still enough time to figure out

How to chase my blues away

Hypothetically, if I had been at CocoLoco that evening, I would have watched my fellow competitors singing along to the tunes, moving in perfect beat to the addictive tune. A random couple would join in on the dance floor, also smiling. It would be one of those perfect moments that only lasts a minute, but stays with you a lifetime.

Trying to take a wedding photo until my brother shouts "look at that squirrel".
Happiness caught on camera.

This same kind of happiness I have also found sitting alone on a beach and riding the tram to work, in hours of distress as much as in hours of joy, alone as well as in good company, at home as strongly as abroad. It comes unexpectedly and without any prior notice, bubbles up from somewhere deep inside. A calm sense of perfection.

Something you are not aware of is that I've been writing and rewriting this post about a dozen times. Why? Because this is one of the hardest topics I've ever written about. Confusion strikes and it is tearing a whole in my soul not to be able to give even the slightest of insight. The more I think about it and the more I analyze it, the more complicated it seems, the further I get from any simple explanation. This is even more confusing as happiness in itself is quite a simple matter. Perhaps even more simple than I could have imagined. Here it goes (and mind you, this is not even slightly my field):

The ancient Greeks, as is the case with oh so many things, were among the first to explore how our emotional responses are linked to our physical body. The theories of the Greeks were dismissed to a large extent, but during the 21st century this link has, again, seen the light of day. In the field of neuroscience, quote, happiness - like every other emotional experience - is the result of electrochemical reactions in the brain brought on by stimuli. All of this is based on a hypothesis by this guy called Francis Crick that "you, your joys and sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated neurons". For more on that, check this out.

Neurons or not, Holi festival in India was all about happiness

I won't even pretend to understand half of that, but I do understand that, by this, our personality is simply a sum of a lot of shit that happens in our brains. Unfortunately, that doesn't help at all. It still doesn't offer an explanation as to what triggers the feeling of happiness. Still puzzled, I turn to find what others, people older, smarter and wiser than me, have said about the matter. I find one simple quote that sort of blows me away

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. - Albert Camus

I've never even heard about this wise man, Albert Camus (yes I googled him and he was a French writer and philosopher), but it sounds like he knows his shit. If you don't buy that, there's always the other possibility, offered by the Beatles

When I hold you in my arms (oh yes)

When I feel my finger on your trigger (oh yes)

I know nobody can do me harm

Because

Happiness is a warm gun, momma

Happiness is a warm gun

Can't really argue with the Beatles, now can you! 

One theme I did find plowing through quotes about happiness is that happiness only comes with the risk of being unhappy. Jonathan Safran Foer said: you cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness. I guess it's true, when you are the happiest, you are also the most vulnerable to pain. Continuing this thought, Lauren Oliver wrote: you can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes. Congratulations, we have ourselves the most magnificent paradox of them all. It seems as if we can only be happy if we are also sad, protecting ourselves from sadness only resulting in less happiness. Does that mean that the crappier I feel one day, the happier I'll feel the next? Time for the big guns.

Happiness depends upon ourselves. - Aristoteles

Now that just clears everything up, doesn't it. Thanks, dead dude with white beard from 300 BC, that really helps. I guess dead dude with white beard does have a point, though. What makes me happy might not matter to you, so happiness derives from differing sources. The problem, however, is still as evident as ever, and yes Albert Camus, I'm still searching for a recipe for happiness. In fact, what I'm looking for is some sort of connection. If happiness can derive from any number of places, feelings, situations, or whatever it may be, what is the connective factor? Is there even one? It is contentment? Peace with oneself? Feeling of achievement?

Happiness can be present even in the simplest of situations. Often unexplainable it's in the moment.

Frustrated as ever, pulling my hair and screaming at the walls, suddenly it hits me. I've already said it. Happiness, it's one of those perfect moments that only lasts a minute, but stays with you a lifetime. That's exactly what it is. And just as our old pal Albert says, when you're busy searching for happiness, those moments will just fly by unnoticed. It doesn't really matter where those moments come from, what matter is that we acknowledge them and, even more importantly, enjoy them. Last, also dead dude with white beard is correct. Happiness derives from so many places, but always from within us. The origin of happiness is not in the world, but in us, and so happiness does depend upon ourselves.

This explanation has nothing to do with science, and if you ask me, happiness has nothing to do with science. They say that the Devil is in the detail (or originally that God is in the detail, but we don't care about that in this post), but I say happiness in the detail. Usually it is the smallest of things that sparks this feeling and that's why detail is important. So perhaps the pursuit of happiness is in vain, for happiness is already here, in the details and the small moments around us. We just have to pay attention and let the details do their work.

Happiness, it lies in those perfect moments that lasts only a minute, but stays with you a lifetime.
- Cecilia

I'm Just A Dreamer

Heart beating, shirt sticking to my cold sweating body, soon it'll be my turn. Someone tells me to breath, to take a deep breath and just dive in to the song and let the song tell the story. Easy for you to say, the spotlight isn't on you, dear. Someone shoves a mike in my hand and gives me a gentle push towards the stage. The crowd is silent, it's now or never.


Bob Marley once said "one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain". Bobby was right, but also wrong. Sometimes music does inflict pain. Or joy. Or love. Or any number of feelings. Sometimes, music makes you feel so much it hurts. That's why I love music. For me, as a person that lives life more based on feelings then on rationale, music is the ultimate fountain of feelings. It's a way to ventilate all the good and the bad both in and out of your system.

Someone asked me what music means to me. On one hand, this is a very simple questions with a very simple answer: everything. On the other hand, it's the trickiest question of them all. How can I explain that music is like the air I breath, the rain after a drought, the spring sun after a cold winter, the first snowfall after a gray and dark autumn, like the best of wines combined with the best of foods enjoyed with the best of friends. It is pure joy. Music is like a love story, a bitter sweet one. Passionate and lustful, it eases me into a state of trust and devotion. It lures me into the deepest of satisfactions, yet always reminding me that we can never truly be together. Reminding me that I am not worthy. Until perhaps now.


Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. - Victor Hugo


It all started when I was a kid. Like any other kid, I'd pick up my moms hairbrush and sing in it like it was a microphone, stand in front of the mirror, waggling my hips to the beat of an imaginative beat, performing to an imaginative audience who was imaginatively chanting my name like a choir. I decided I was going to be a rock star. This was the only profession I could imagine. So I studied music for many years, until I graduated from high school and life's realities struck down on me. I went abroad, I studied, I worked and I buried my dream deep deep down inside of me. I closed the lid on it so tightly, I almost forgot the damn thing. But then you can't really forget your dreams, because without dreams, what do you really have left?


Without music, life would be a mistake. - Friedrich Nietzsche


About a year ago, I started practicing music again. After almost ten years off the stage, I did a show at my local pub and it was magical. At least for me, couldn't say about the audience. As I sang the songs on stage, I carefully took the off lid and, believe it or not, in that little jar I found my dream was still intact. A little older and perhaps a little rough around the edges, there it was exactly where I had left it. Thus, I decided to pick up my fragile little dream and see how far my wings would carry. I wanted to be a rock star. Again.


Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. - Frank Zappa


This is how we get back to my beating heart and cold sweating body. My little dream needed a lot of work. I might add that during those years in that jar, my dream had become a little more humble than "rock star". Making a living out of music would really be enough. Just as a banker goes to work at the office in the morning, or a teacher prepares class, or a clerk tends to the shop, so did I too want to spend my days working with music. That is why I decided to take part in a competition.

I sent in an audio sample and next thing you know, I was called in to an audition. The cut was clean and simple: sing to us and we'll tell you if you got through or not. I stood waiting for the verdict with my friend. Here we go, they would call out the names of the ones that had made the cut. I hear someone say Cecilia. Cecilia? Well that's me! I see my friends red locks of hair dance in front of me as she is jumping up and down, screaming in my ear as I stand completely still, acting all super awesome and cool. Probably failing in the most embarrassing of ways. I was a step closer to my dream, my wings had carried me through my first jump.

This brings us to Friday. Two days from now, my fate will again be decided by someone else, this time by four music moguls. They will decide whether my wings will carry me closer to my dream, or if I will fall flat on my face. It's that leap of faith that everyone keeps talking about, it's happening. It's scary, it's fun and it's necessary. It's my life and, most of all, it is my dream.


Heart beating, shirt sticking to my cold sweating body. The lights feel warm on my face, my head is filled with a slight buzzing and the sound of my beating heart. The band plays the first riff of the song. The crowd is silent, it's now or never.