in english

French and British working luches

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Welcome to London
Welcome to London

Was in London on Friday.  As usual, absolutely love the city, one of my favourites in the world.  One thing that truly stood out this time was that we had a business lunch during a meeting.  They brought some sandwiches, potato chips, fruit and cheeses to the room, and we continued as usual.  The attitude to it was very contrasting to a business lunch I had in a similar situation in Paris, where we had trays with 3-course meals brought to the room, and the meeting itself was stopped during lunch.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, but it drove home the point of food-as-fuel vs. food-as-a-ritual.

in english

Finnishness, an ethnic concept?

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As we know, there is not that many foreigners in Finland, society is very homogeneous, and the country has a history of emigrants, not really immigrants.  Discussing these details with a couple of friends (a Finn by birth and a Finn by naturalisation) over a beer last Thursday, I started thinking that Finnishness is an ethnic, not only a cultural concept. 

This would be behind the perceived fact that an immigrant who comes here, no matter how well he/she (hän) adapts to the place, learns the language and adopts the culture will not be regarded as a Finn, even when holding a Finnish passport as he/she wouldn't "look like us".

If this idea happens to be right, it forecasts trouble for the integration of those immigrants that are already here and those that are coming, since the host society would not be ready for it.  Really wonder if that is the case.  Any opinions?

Not that nationality being a cultural concept is a guarantee of success.  Just ask the French.

en español

Cómo seguir perdiendo el tiempo

Entre este blog post y esta polémica barata de tercera, no me cabe la menor duda que nos encanta tirarnos al suelo y perder el tiempo en babosadas pseudonacionalistas.  En lugar de pensar que "es que nos discriminan, y nos tratan mal", "todo es la culpa de la conquista", o incluso síntomas de una falta de autoestima brutal como "nos insultan diciendo que somos feos".

El momento en que empecemos a ver hacia el futuro y hacia el exterior de una forma constructiva, en lugar de hacia el pasado y hacia dentro de una manera simplista y francamente irreal, es cuando realmente empezaremos a hacer algo por nosotros y por nuestro país.  Ya basta de echarle la culpa a otros y de quejarnos, si no nos ponemos a actuar seguiremos en las mismas.

Tal vez es lo que queremos, a final de cuentas.

in english

Anime Music Video

You may have heard of mashups before.  An anime music video is a special version, wherein Anime (or other kind of animation) is edited to be co-ordinated with a specific song (or other, completely unrelated audio source).  I discovered them while looking for something else, and have to admit that I was surprised by the artistry and results of many of them.  Judge the results below.

Jihaku. Foo Fighters-Best of You
Sleeping Beauty- Sepultura
Ursula la del Barrio

I guess we will have to start rethinking copyright, for example.

in english

Talent Suomi & foreigners

Talent Suomi is the Finnish version of America's Got Talent, an American programme whose Flemish interpretation I had already seen in Belgium in the spring.

The interesting thing, which was highlighted in a TV news report I just saw, is that there is a lot of "people with foreign backgrounds" (ulkomaantaustaiset) as contestants in the show (and a couple of them are crowd favourites), bringing us to living rooms accross Finland when we are normally not so visible, and tend to have a not so great reputation.  Any change for the better is welcome.

I suppose that it might be a natural development after Ourvision, which was not that mainstream.

in english

Genomics for the masses.

Basically, by giving a sample of your DNA you can get answers about what is your real risk for heart disease or where did your ancestors come from, for example.  I'm just reading an article in Wired, where they explain how these genetic analysis are available for consumers for 1,000 USD a piece.  Whereas I would definitely like to know this information the consequences of it being available are enormous.  Gattaca anyone?

in english

About honesty

You may have heard already that Finland is a country rather free of corruption in general.  I have one anecdote that can support the view that it starts from society itself, and it all happened on Friday.

My wife dropped her mobile at the bus stop by mistake, and a person picked it up.  The founder called me (being the last person she had called) and eventually he returned me the device.  I actually tried to arrange the delivery by text message but the person never checked them, explaining that he wouldn't even open them as it was somebody else's mobile.  I know for a fact that he never used it for anything else but calling me and and another person as I didn't answer his first call, and he would have been horrified if I had tried to offer him a reward for it.

I'm sure this wouldn't have happened in many places I know, and the fact that I know plenty of people who would have acted in the same way makes me feel more convinced to say that the fact there is little perceived corruption in this society because the people so demand.

When will we make other places change?