Categories
Features Music

ESCAPETHECULT New Video Clandestine is out!

ESCAPETHECULT continues their creative research between music and video art and releases a new
music video for “Clandestine” which is taken from their “All You Want To”.

This time this is a proud collaboration with a Belgian based director and artist Pasquale Baseotto of “FrictionMedia”.

A mastermind of ESCAPETHECULT Peter G. Shallmin comments:
“The title of the song speaks itself – “Clandestine” meaning is a “secret”, “hiding something”, “the
meaning behind”, “a truth between the words”.

This time we are going into mysterious characters and occult symbolism in 7 scenes, 7 different worlds,
7 spaces, 7 secrets, 7 demons, 7 sins. We are happy to work with Pasquale, his impressive personal input
and professional approach turned out into a wide video novel with lots of details, epic dark atmosphere
and sophisticated interlacing the images and visual elements with the lyrics”.

Creative director, Pasquale Baseotto says:

“While most artists need a calm atmosphere to create, as humans we often desire a sense of
community. Not many artists get a chance to actually work with others much, certainly not at worldwide
level. When Peter gave me the opportunity to collaborate on making a music clip, for his upcoming
album ESCAPETHECULT ‘All You Want’, I was both surprised as overwhelmed by his proposition…”

Shallmin continues:

“It was a pleasure to communicate with Pasquale. We gave him a full independence and freedom to
move in any direction although there were some thoughts written. “Written” means that we’ve
described the whole idea in few sentences provided with some images, photos and video links, that’s all.
The full concept and the final model were actually written and released by Pasquale, he was very
accurate and precise in blueprinting ideas with so much devotion to details. We just have to be patient
and wait for the update from him…”

The owner of “FrictionMedia” states:

“Working with Peter was for me one of the highlights of my career. From concept to completion, we
aspired that same creative direction and we quickly agreed on the concept of the clip.
I really enjoyed the whole experience and the opportunity to be part of the bigger picture.
With the ability to help raise awareness for this new international supergroup debut, and the chance to
meet and talk with other artists, even if it wasn’t face to face.
Our key aim was to offer the fans a visual interpretation of the song “Clandestine” that embodied both
the atmosphere of the music as the underlying meaning of the lyrics.”

“All You Want To” is out now!

Follow ESCAPETHECULT:
https://www.facebook.com/EscapeTheCvlt

Categories
Features Music

Joy Shannon & The Beauty Marks Release Midsummer Witch Hunt

Irish neo folk multi-instrumentalists Joy Shannon & The Beauty Marks are set to release their new video “Midsummer Witch Hunt” just in time for Halloween!

The Beauty Marks’ newest music video is for the song “Midsummer Witch Hunt” from their stunning new album “Mo Anam Cara.” Created through a collaboration with Los Angeles-based horror film director Matt Kollar, the video was inspired by European witch trials of the Middle Ages and, along with the song itself, is a defiant tribute to the millions of women who were killed for being practicing pagans, free-thinkers or outsiders of various kinds during that era.

Joy Shannon and the Beauty Marks are a Celtic pagan folk band fronted by the Irish multi-instrumentalist singer Joy Shannon on Celtic harp, cello and harmonium. The Beauty Marks have released 5 studio albums: “As in the Wilderness” (2008), “The Opium Wars or Love in Lieu of Laudanum” (2009), “The Black Madonna” (2010), “Out of My Dreams and Into My Arms” (2011), and “The Oracle” (2013, Kalinkaland Records, Germany). The Beauty Marks are currently releasing their 6th studio album “Mo Anam Cara” on Joy’s own esoteric label Triple Goddess Records.

Joy Shannon

The albums of the Beauty Marks have been called “otherworldly and darkly beautiful epics of love, loss, and devotion”. Their albums showcase Joy Shannon’s intricate Celtic harp work, supported by her layers of orchestral cello arrangements and vocals that are at times angelic and, at other times, emotionally dark and raw. Shannon’s compositions are often inspired by ancient Celtic and Norse pagan mythology, interwoven with layers of historical references, personal stories and seductive imagery within the lyrics.

The album “Mo Anam Cara” is Shannon’s most conceptual, pagan and ghostly work to date, based entirely on the ancient Celtic calendar with a song for every holiday from Samhain to Mabon, complete with stories of the goddesses that govern each time of year. The title of the album “Mo Anam Cara” means a soulmate or spiritual guide in Irish, and has a double meaning within the work. The goddesses who occupy each song track can be viewed as spiritual guides, teaching the lessons of nature at each time of year, while many of them also sought their own soulmates in various ways within their mythological stories. The resulting album is a richly layered, circular album whose imagery takes listeners on a spiritual journey through the seasons of the year and back again.

A true mixed-media artist, Shannon’s background is in the visual arts. She has illustrated much of the album art for “The Beauty Marks” as well as directing and designing their music videos. For the last several years, Shannon has collaborated with photographer and cinematographer Xun Chi to create much of the visual imagery associated with the band, from the album cover photography to the music videos for the songs “The Horse Latitudes” (2011), “As You Are” (2011), and “Alkonost” (2013). Additionally, Shannon collaborated with tattoo artist Mike Giant and filmmaker Austin Page to create a music video for the song “Liam Neeson“, which features her being tattooed by Giant.

Categories
Blogs FREE! Blog

Tinder in Finland from a male perspective (Part 1).

Yes, I use Tinder and I am not ashamed of it. I am not alone, many single (and a few non single people) use it too. The story usually goes as a friend recommends you to use it and you give it a try, as was my case when a couple of friends mentioned it the same week.

The trend to have dates from online apps is increasing in Finland and in many other countries although there is still a certain taboo to talk about it. But the reality is here, we live in a fast paced world busy with work and hobbies and studies and friends and there is a point where is not so easy to find nice interesting people in everyday life. Here applications such as Tinder make our life easier, simple to use and start chatting with people you consider attractive.

I want to divide this series of articles about Tinder in two parts. The second part will go to share simple but effective tips to other male users about what I think that works the best and what not in Tinder when you are a male user in Finland. This first part I just wanted to share my thoughts about the many female profiles I have seen through the months.

I want to make clear that I write this as a sarcastic and humoristic article. We are far from surprised when we see in women’s magazines articles about what the men SHOULD NOT do in a date or in their profiles online, but we seem to forget how funny can be to apply those rules when you see Tinder from male eyes. So I just wanted to write a list of what NOT TO DO for women who would use Tinder. I guess that some people could be offended for what is written here. Please do not. Just take it not so seriously as a male opinion, some things said here could be agreed by many other men or some women and some things here are very personal views that maybe are totally distorted, but at the bottom, this is just to put a smile on your face when you reflect about what is written here and maybe a thought could come to your mind such as “I have seen that in a profile too!

WHAT NOT TO DO FOR WOMEN IF YOU HAVE A TINDER PROFILE. 18 GOLDEN TIPS ON THINGS TO IMPROVE THAT YOU COULD SEE IN A WOMAN’S PROFILE:

1. Please put a photo there if you want to use your profile.

Empty profiles with no photos do not say anything to us men. We are visual animals, we are not going to like your profile thinking that you can be the shy princess of our dreams and when we chat, then you will send an amazing picture of a beautiful lady. We want to see how you look like, and we want to see it clear, not with a blurry photo or a photo copied from a Disney movie. If your profile is empty, we will think you are just stalking here for the sake of it, which in some cases could be true.

2. Social yes, but no need to overdo it.

It is cool you show a photo with your friends, but there is no need that you are surrounded by friends in every photo. In fact, if that happens, we will not know who you are among the group. Also, if your friends are hotter than you, that is not going to play in your favour, as most of guys will think that would be nicer to date your friend than you. Post one photo with friends if you wish to show you are not a loner, but think which one you choose.

2. We do not like pictures where you appear with other guys in a loving attitude.

I have seen all kind of these pictures, from some with the gay friends to others that look obvious you appear with the ex boyfriend (or maybe still boyfriend) or the ex husband. This is a dating site and it is really a turn off for a man to see you looking with loving puppy eyes to other guy. Special mention to those women who post photos with a wedding dress or in a wedding ceremony. Most guys will reject your profile faster than you said yes to your ex husband in your wedding ceremony.

3. No children please.

You cannot imagine the amount of women’s profiles that show photos of their babies and children. Children are great, we agree, I love my daughter’s children. The problem is that I do not think that a dating app. is a place to post photos of your children. You do not know who is looking at the other side and nowadays takes 1 second to take a screenshot of a photo. Yes, I understand many women want to make clear they “come with a package” and they have family, but honestly, you can tell about that later when chatting. And if the point to show your children is that you are secretly looking for the next father, relax, 95% of the guys do not want that kind of pressure from date one.

I come with a package

5. The gym selfies.

Many women have told me they find stupid the male’s profiles where they take selfies without t-shirt in the gym. Well, these kind of pictures are also commonly posted by girls. Imagine actually how ridiculous is the situation to have to stand in front of your gym’s mirror waiting for nobody to being around to snap a photo of the great workout you just had… Yes, surely we like fit women, but you do not need to post all your five profile photos at the gym. As far as you look nice and take care of yourself, in fact we do not give a fuck if you do a lot of sports or not, off the record for many guys is actually a turn off if you happen to have more muscles than them. So it is cool you like doing sports but no need to show only that side of your life, if you happen to live all day every day at the gym, then probably you are missing other important things in life, like reading a good book…

4. “I love my pets among all the things on the surface of the Earth.”

Yes, you have cats or dogs and you love them. Sure, we men love animals too. But we do not get depressed when our cat suffers from diarrhea. Point here is that surely a photo with your cat or dog is cute, but there is no need to post all five with them. It will end up giving us the impression that you are suffering some case of life crisis where you do not have much social life and you get surrounded by animals to balance the lack of affection from friends or lovers. Which could not be such a wrong shot in some cases…

5. I want to look ugly on purpose so you will fall in love with me just for who I truly am inside!

We do not need that you look like the Queen of Saba in your first profile picture, but surely we men like if you post a nice photo, not blurry and not wearing your most horrible pyjamas while putting a mockery face to the camera. This is a dating app. Try to present yourself at your best. And please smile, it does not cost so much and it makes a huge difference.

8. The cliché sentences in the description.

“I am selfish, impatient and a little insecure… etc etc”. Do those lines ring a bell? Probably, as the infamous words by Marilyn Monroe appear copied in one of every twenty female profiles you see around.

Well, let me break the news from you. First, you are not Marilyn Monroe, sadly but she is dead. The same I happen not to be George Clooney or Brad Pitt. And most of rational men would hopefully run away from people who are selfish, impatient and insecure. So if you think that those lines from Marilyn define your personality, I would say that you have a problem in your life and you should seek for assistance. There are other classics that most women use like “Live, love laugh” or super philosophical things like “you make your own luck” or “you can be as happy as you choose to be” etc.

Well, all those great lines really do not say much to us men. We do not choose how happy we are when we have a huge loan to pay back to the bank or our boss is busting our balls at the office on daily basics. If we would choose to be happy, then we would choose to win the Eurojackpot and buy our own island in Caribe surrounded by an army of hot bisexual models that would assist all and every one of our needs. But we cannot choose that. So why don’t you put something nice and simple about what are your tastes and what kind of person you think you truly are? Believe me, if you like sci-fi movies or videogames, you already have gained half of a heart of a man. The other half comes if you give great head, but yeah, we are not expecting that you share that kind of info in your profile description.

Great pic and collaterally showing my ass

9. According to most tall girls in Tinder, short guys can shoot themselves and die fast.

Classic beginning of a profile description: “1.76 cm” followed by some other couple of words. So like really..? The most important feature of yourself is how tall you are? Yes, I know I know is a clear message that says “I do not like shorter guys than me”. Well girl, in that case, you are really missing to get to know a lot of great guys out there. I personally find so impolite when the first sentence a girl writes to you is to ask “how tall are you?” How would a woman feel if a man wrote in the description that only expects to meet girls with boobs DD size and up?

Height is something that a man cannot change, same than age. Remember girls your ex was probably a tall guy and that did not stop him from being a fucking asshole. It is not like you gain more neurones per centimetre grown…

10. Posting the same photo.

You have 4 photos posted in your profile and they are just the same photo repeated 4 times. We got the idea with the first one, thank you.

11. Everybody can follow how mega super hyper cool I am in Instagram.

This is almost a rule in the description field of most hot young girls, to include in the description field their Instagram user name. I personally do not use Instagram, but even if I use it, I do not see the point in Tinder. Yes, we already saw in your pics in Tinder that you look fine, then what we want is chat with you and set a date. We do not need to see your other 100 photos in Instagram of your cats, what you prepare for breakfast and how nice was the beach in Thailand where you were last summer. Maybe some chicks just expect a model hunter recognizes them as the next super top model. Probably many just do it to show off because girls love attention, we have to recognize it. Point is that we do not care so much what is your Instagram account. Say something about yourself instead: are you a person with a good heart, friend of her friends, faithful and trustful? At least those features seemed to matter not so long time ago apart from how great you look tanned at the beach…

Remember that Tinder is full of beautiful young girls and competence is ferocious. Try to make a difference and show that you are more than a nosed up girl who only craves attention.

12. “Why am I framed as an easy party girl?”

Number one complaint of women in Tinder is probably that most guys want sex. Well, I do not want to enter to argue about that, as I do not like the old cliché of “all men being perverts and all women innocent flowers”. I guess everybody likes sex in good company when chemistry kicks in. But the perception of the guys is not gonna be exactly as you are girlfriend material if your pics, specially your profile pic, shows yourself half naked or with your boobs about to jump out of your dress, or if in every one of your five photos you are holding an alcoholic beverage and partying in the club. And yeah, for us men there is no big difference between you wearing a tiny bikini and sexy underwear, we know the tiny bikini it is just the socially accepted way you can show most of your flesh. Just saying.

Note: profiles with photos of beautiful women that state in the description they want straight sex and contain a url link to a site are 100% always fake.

I never seem to find suitable clothes to cover myself

13. “I have so super healthy lifestyleeee and you have to be like me.|

Yes, you are addicted to gym, you do yoga and drink smoothies and you do not smoke. Great for you. A man does not need to be like you. Men want to date a girl, but that does not mean we want to go to train every day to the gym with that girl or we have to quit smoking because of you or not drinking beer anymore or having to join zumba lessons just cause you love it. It is good you take care of yourself. Just do not make it an obsession like if any man who does not live as healthy as you is not worthy to talk to.

14. I love travelling!

Well, guess what, everybody loves travelling! But sadly most people have to work to pay bills, so it is not like you can travel every week. I appreciate well-travelled women as it really avoids having a narrow-minded perception of the world, but really, you do not need to show off in all your photos how many amazing trips you have done. The sad reality is that probably most of the days after work you just arrive home, put on the pyjamas and lay on the sohva watching your favourite TV series and eating candy while daydreaming of that prince in shiny armour, tall, sporty, rich, kind and amazing lover that you never seem to find in Tinder.

15. Flashback in time.

In the first photo you look cute and thin and then in every next picture you look older and older and more overweight. Yeah, it is true we men are a bit blind to notice changes in women, but believe me, if your first pic is taken 15 years younger than the last one, we will notice. And unfortunately for overweighed girls, just because you post photos showing only your face, it does not mind we will not realize what you are trying not to show there.

16. “I am just looking for new friends!”

Right, maybe you want to make it believe that to your friends, couple, husband or even in some kind of self denial to yourself. But we know this is a dating app. and you are scanning the market if “somebody special” pops up to spice up your life. And deep inside you, you know it too…

17. “I am just looking for a serious boyfriend, not casual dating nor one night stands”

Is not putting a little bit of too much pressure from first date to look for only your next husband (or ex husband). Besides, probably 80% who say they do not look for one night stands from Tinder is because actually they have had one night stands with guys from Tinder.

You are going to be my next ex husband

18. The men hater style.

Other classical female profile, usually posting sexy photos while telling in the description how she hates players and she knows everything as she has been around followed by a long list of the kind of guys that is better never to meet. Well, this is a dating app., so is this not about going with open mind to meet interesting people how this should work?

If your view is that all men suck, then maybe you should not use Tinder or just select to see other female profiles if you are into women. There are some lines I have seen in women’s profiles such as “I love more my dogs than any man I have met” that are really offensive and sexist towards men, and probably if a man would write something similar about women, he would be labelled in 0.1 seconds as a chauvinistic pig. A man should not have to apologize for being a man the same that no woman should have to apologize for being a woman; equality rules as far as there is respect.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

And after that list, many readers could think. Ok, so then men do not like any kind of profile at all? Not true. I am not going to deny that most men are simple straightforward creatures, so probably just with a couple of very sexy pics, you will have the 95% of male matches secured. But we are talking here not just about the looks, but about how to present yourself attractive in general as a quality woman, not just like a piece of ass in a thong to have men fantasizing about you.

Having a nice and attractive female profile is not so difficult, and in fact women know much better than men how to select the photos that suit them best. Just select some photo where you look nice, no need to overdo it with the sexiest dress in the world or tones of make up but make the effort to select a photo where you feel pretty at your best and you have made an effort to look good, just with some nice photos of you and one of a hobby would do, followed by some short description of what floats your boat, what are your passions, hobbies or what kind of people you would like to meet. No need to write the Bible there either, you can chat more later. Be honest, be friendly and be nice. And if you have good sarcastic sense of humor, show that too, we men love a woman with good sense of humour who does not take things too serious and is not a drama queen.

There will be farther a lot of time to chat or talk face to face and get to know each other. Remember, try not to be too bitchy from the beginning, because in fact, when your profile is dismissed, there are tones of other pretty girls in the line. So be yourself, be positive, be friendly and be a bit flirty too if you wish so. There are many cool guys out there waiting for your match, and life is too short to waste great company!

Categories
Articles Misc

The Finnish Dream: Winning the Lottery

Every Saturday night hundreds of thousands Finns gather around their TV sets for the national Lottery draw. The lottery is organized by the national betting company Veikkaus and it’s quite simply called “Lotto”. Lotto has been played since the end of 1970 and it has created around 1 500 millionaires along the years (large share of those naturally during the time before euro). Nowadays there’s also the Viking Lotto, drawn on Wednesdays and played also in other Nordic countries and the in Baltic states. Another popular newcomer is the Eurojackpot, played in altogether 16 European countries. The largest jackpot in the history of Eurojackpot was won by a Finnish player based in Espoo, in September 2014 – 61.1 million euros!

Of course there are other ways for Finns to chase their millionaire dream. Finland really offers only one true land-based casino, based in Helsinki. Taking this into account, it’s no wonder that Finnish casino players direct their interest to the Internet when looking for gaming options. And that naturally multiplies the available options. Problem is that it’s hard to know which online casino are not only reliable but which offer services tailored specially for the Finnish market. There’s a number of so called netticasino sites offering useful information to those who want to try their luck, like for example www.netticasinosuomi.info. There are plenty of different types of lottery games online, too, if lottery really is the way to get your fix of excitement.

Lottery winning

And although Finland is pretty restrictive country when it comes down to gambling, the Finnish authorities have at least so far taken pretty relaxed or at least passive stand for playing on foreign-based sites. Finland is ranked pretty much on top positions when talking about press freedom, freedom of speech and related topics. Blocking access for legally operating websites wouldn’t really fit into that image, and that’s one reason such drastic measures haven’t been taken in regards to accessing online casinos from Finland.

There’s a modern Finnish proverb: “On lottovoitto syntyä Suomeen” which roughly translates as “Being born into Finland is like winning in the lottery”. Whether that now might be true or not depends on your perspective. But one thing is certain: Finns love their lotteries.

Categories
Features Interviews Music

Interview with Peter Shallmin of ESCAPETHECULT

Peter Shallmin, bassist and orchestrator of this project, tells to FREE! Magazine Finland more about one of the most interesting rock bands that have seen the light during this ending year of 2014: ESCAPETHECULT, counting with a luxurious line up with members scattered all over the world from such prestigious bands as Primus or King Diamond as well as his personal views towards music and the future projects that could await the band for 2015:

Thanks a lot for taking your time to answer FREE! Magazine ́s questions! Can you tell us a bit from where came the idea to form the band, being all the members geographically so far away? I have read that Internet played an important part of putting the project together.

Thank you, Antonio! Yes you are right. Internet does the whole deal to make happen this extremely hard to realize project. Just imagine, we are from different lands USA, Sweden, France and Siberia and we can not simply now just communicate but also compose music and record together. Yes it takes a lot of time but, damn, it’s so exciting!

To say where the idea came I should make a flashback to my youth when I was a 14-years old boy when I’ve heard PRIMUS in the first time with their “Frizzle Fry”. My jaw was dropped when I’ve heard it. This was exactly what I wanted to play some day but through my own angle. A truly unique band I sincere love. I was dreamed to play with Tim Alexander someday, this idea has been not forgotten and finally it was happened through many years with ESCAPETHECULT.

Mike Wead is another pro I admire through the years and value so high from MEMENTO MORI era and then KING DIAMOND. I’m a lucky one to say he is my long-time partner in another band KAMLATH, I rely him on everything. After years of research for the vocalist I was rewarded with Matthieu Romarin of UNEVEN STRUCTURE – he is exceptional talent. It’s a great experience indeed and the result was mind-blowing.

In most of the media ESCAPETHECULT is announced as a new “superband”. What is your feeling when you read that, does it help that most of the members belong or have belonged to renamed rock bands?

It doesn’t have a sense for us. The main and the most important is the music we can create together and play to this world. Being “supergroup” or being called “superband” is mainly for mass media, we are too far from that. Without doubts the ESCAPETHECULT’s line-up is very attractive but, believe me, the main intention, my driving force was not to “collect” the names but to play with the musicians I sincere admire. I’m quite lucky to have a chance to work with such legends as Tim Alexander and Mike Wead. As for Matthieu he is a rising star, you’ll hear more about his talent.

Escapethecult

What is what this project adds to the members of the band different from their other current or past bands as a musical and personal experience?

I think, it’s my personal point of view, that it gives an opportunity to create something completely another, open the door into another universe and philosophy. Every person involved brings something different from what you are doing now or did in the past. The creative process is the most exciting thing that always brings unexpected results. You can’t plan, can’t specify and can’t control the idea when it becomes a part of the collective of creative minds. It’s magic. It expands beyond… Tim, Mike and Matthieu are top-notch professionals and their personal approach and contribution is priceless and unique.

How would you describe to a new listener what they would expect from “All You Want To” first album?

Actually “All You Want To Escape The Cult” is the full (hidden) title of the debut. Weird, bizarre, eccentric, eclectic, distinctive, hypnotic, beautiful, mature, multi-layered with many musical styles, full of hidden meanings and signs and finally not heavy/aggressive as someone expected/wanted reading the names of the line-up.

Your album was released last 21 of September. How do you feel that has been the media and audience response so far these first months?

We are keeping get different reviews and feedbacks. From the highest shouts to disappointment. Associations to other bands sometimes are very bizarre. We are fine with it. The reaction always different because our music is very complex and we’ve expected this…it’s normal. Everything goes natural and we are open for criticism. You never beat the fact that we did it and we are all loved making “All You Want To” the way we like, it’s up to you to accept or decline. Everything goes as it should go.

Do you have any favourite track in the album?

Every single song is the short but deep and sincere fragment that resonates with our souls. I’m quite sure that if we do not like the song it would never have appeared on the album. The whole thing went smooth, each song has own charisma. All of them are our favorites.

Will there be in the near future any possibility to see you all members sharing stage and playing your songs live?

We’d love to and some steps were already planned for the coming 2015 year. We’ve got some interesting offers for tours and we’d happy to play it for our kind audience. It’s very demanding project that requires a detailed attention, a serious management and many technical aspects to achieve. We still have to do many things together in the real time to confirm that we are ready: a new album, new videos. At least for now our concentration is mostly on the composing process and then to record the second album.

And a short fast questionnaire:

-Biggest influences as musicians?

From the old good days bossa nova to grind core, forward-thinking classics as Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, Schnittke, contemporary and experimental jazz, psychedelic, funk and SALSOUL disco.

-What are the current bands you enjoy the most listening to?

Depends on many factors. Last time I enjoy being in silence. This year I discovered CROBOT, ISAAC DELUSION, new NIGHTINGALE, BLOODBATH, SEBASTIEN TELLIER were amazing…

-What musicians you would love to share stage with?

PRIMUS, RUSH, TOOL, FAITH NO MORE, PORCUPINE TREE

Anything you want to add guys?

Few words to our new listener: We will be glad to hear that our debut has touched you, transformed something within, given strength, returned from somewhere, unlocked a “window” or even just brought a fresh breath. Every single word will inspire us to create new music. And thank you, dear Antonio, for this interview. We wish FREE! MAGAZINE the best of luck!

Categories
Books Features Interviews

Interview with British writer Peter James

Bestselling British writer Peter James visited Helsinki a few weeks ago to promote the Finnish translation of one of his books, Dead Man´s Time, and FREE! Magazine had the chance to sit down with him to have a pleasant talk about many aspects of his long career, not only as a recognized crime author but also about his roles as producer in Hollywood movies, his hobbies, and many other interesting anecdotes that this truly gentleman wanted to share with us:

Thanks for the opportunity to talk to you Mr. James! Have you been ever before in Finland?

A pleasure. Yes, I was here on April 2011. Helsinki is a beautiful city and people are very friendly.

Unfortunately I could not assist yesterday due to work to the public event to promote your book translated into Finnish, but how does it feel for you when you have to talk about a book you have written years before and then after that you have already published several others?

It is difficult! This year I have been like in around 15 different countries: Russia, France, Germany, Spain, etc and in every place I go can be 6 months or 1 year behind. Here in Finland is one book behind.

Peter James

If I am not mistaken since you were very young, your two big passions were writing and cinema. If you allow me to jump back in time years ago when you worked in North America, was it always a shared passion to work in both industries?

Well, I was doing what I could to make a living. At the beginning I was not selling enough books, I made my living writing scripts and producing film and television. Then in 1988 I wrote Possession that became a big success and then I wrote full time for 5 years. Then I was living in the countryside and I was missing the ¨world of people¨. I would speak to somebody in an office and I would think ¨you lucky bastard, you are sitting in an office surrounded by people, by beautiful girls, and I am sitting here with the dog and the rain!¨hehehe. I remember one day I walked through the field with my vacuum cleaner to repairing service just to talk to somebody! Hehehe So I thought ¨I need a life! ¨

In the cinema industry, every film is a battle. The last film I made was ¨The Merchant of Venice¨ in 2003, and you have, as with every film, you always have arguments. You have two or three producers who say ¨this is my film buddy¨, and then the director says ¨actually, it is my film!¨ and then the director of photography would say ¨he is an idiot, I saved the film!¨and then you have the actors that would say ¨darling, it is our film really¨ and then the editor would say ¨the film is a mess, I saved it!¨and the composer would say ¨the film was dead until I put the music on!¨

And what was your role?

Well, you are a ¨nurse¨. And with writing it is just me. Then in 2004 with the first Roy Grace book, I just thought ¨why am I bothering with films?¨

So is it really so brutal the film industry as people could imagine from outside, as you experienced it from inside?

it is really tough, lots of tremendous egos. Money disappears, even in the big studios. I think because of there is so much money involved… In books industry there is so much nicer people. In publishing, people who work there love books and reading. In movies, people love money.

Were you writing since you were young, or was there any breaking point when you decided that apart from the pleasure of reading, you also wanted to take a pencil and write?

I kind of wrote since the time I was 7. Then when I was 15 at school, I won a poetry price. I had a teacher who believed in me and thought that I had some talent, but I had no confidence as a child, I never thought I would amount to anything. I wrote a novel when I was 18 and to my amazement, it got me an agent in NY, that was a big boost, but it took me 10 years until I got my first book published. Then I went to film school and in the 70s in England it was terrible, there was no movie business. It was really hard to get into unions and everything. So I got a job for a daily show in Canada, Polka Dot Door, 6 puppets doing stuff and I was the runner. After 3 months the producer said that the writer was sick and they did not have a show and he had read my CV and asked me to write the show, so I started writing it 3 days a week. I was 22 and for me it was a huge confidence boost. And that was the start. Then I started making horror movie, they were cheap made in Canada. I wrote my first book when I was 28.

You keep a good discipline writing every day and you have been busy multitasking. Do you have enough hours during the day for writing plus all other activities?

Still my best writing time is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. I have a vodka martini, music, cigarette… I love that. I look forward to that time of the day. Then I read in the mornings and in the afternoons I play tennis or walk the dogs or read emails.

¨I love writing. I think I would write even if I was not paid because I really love learning things about human nature¨

When you have to promote your books and you are on tour, do you still find time to write?

Yes, yesterday for example I had a couple of hours free and I was writing in the afternoon on a plane. I finished my last book on an airplane to Singapore! I feel I can work anywhere.

Your books can be found all over the world. Now, as a bestselling recognized author, what keeps you going? Is there a point where you feel ¨ok, I do not want to write today¨. I know for example that as a hobby you like racing cars, so is writing something that trough the years you enjoy the same?

I love writing. I think I would write even if I was not paid because I really love learning things. One thing I love when I write is that I try to learn about human nature, people fascinate me and criminals in particular fascinate me. So writing a new book is a challenge to learn something about human nature. I think if I would stop writing, then I would then start writing again cause I would miss it so much. What fascinate me the most is trying to make sense of the world where we live.

Do you think that most of the crime writers that become successful can feel a sense of empathy for the ¨bad guys¨ of the books?

I think that the most most successful bad guys in literature are the ones whom you feel something for. For example, Hannibal Lecter, he is quite a monster but we kind of like it. For example Dracula is a monster, but he has got style. Frankenstein is a monster but we feel sympathy as he turns to his creator and says ¨you made me, I did not want to be like this¨. So I think that the best fictional criminals are the ones we feel something about. In real life, all of us… part of the fascination in crime novels is to think ¨what is the difference between a guy who does that and me?¨ All of us, you me and everyone in this office is able of committing murder. We have our bare hands, we have knives in the kitchen, we could get rid of the body and buy in a shop a shovel and some garbage bags… What we have not got as those people is the ability to live with it. We could do that, but after the remorse… we would have to tell somebody. Those ones who do not have remorse are the really dangerous people, and really fascinating ones.

Interesting! You hang around with the police often and do a lot of research for your books. Are you able when you hang around with the police to sleep peacefully and separate what you see from your personal life?

I get a lot of bad dreams a lot of nights. I see stuff constantly that most people are lucky enough not to see, but I always believe that you must do your research. I always remember the second book I wrote in 1982 called ¨bone angel¨I keep it unprinted for 35 years because I felt ashamed. I located a scene in Namibia but I was not there as I could not afford the trip, and then in the first interview I was asked ¨How was it like in Namibia?¨ And I was ¨Well you know, it was hot, there was a lot of sand… hehehe¨. I thought that I had cheated to my readers and promised not to do it ever again. So if I am describing something I want to go there.

How did you come up with the idea of Roy Grace character and his name?

What happened is that I was writing these spy stories that were not selling, I was very upset as with 3 books in a row I was not selling anything. And a friend of mine told me ¨Why are you writing about spies? What could I know about spies? You cannot research about it, you are not John Le Carre who worked in intelligence. You need to write about what fascinates you and that you can access¨. So we got a burglar and a detective came to my house and invited me to hang around with the police, they invited us to a police social night, a barbecue at their house, all the friends were policemen. I thought it was fascinating. Then time later somebody told me about this young homicide detective, his name is Dave Gaylor and when I arrived to his office, it was a mess, every inch was full of files, plastic boxes… I said ¨Are you moving?¨and he said ¨No, these are my dead friends¨. He explained he had been given the job to reopen all the unsolved murderers in the county of Sussex applying the latest advances in recognizing DNA, fingerprints, etc. He said that each of those boxes contained the principle file of an unsolved murder and was the last chance that the victim had for justice and the family for peace of mind.

So we became friends and he helped me in my research of my early books. Then was when my publishers asked me if I had thought about creating a detective as a central character. So I went to Dave and I said to him if he wanted to be a fiction detective, and he loved it! I changed his name, he does not look the same and his wife is not missing, but we work very close, he helps me when I am plotting the book, he tells me how Grace would think and whom I should talk to in my research.

Why the word ¨Dead¨ appears in every one of Roy Grace`s saga titles?

At first when I chose titles like ¨Twilight¨or ¨Alchemist¨, they had no copyright and then somebody else was coming with the same title. So I decided to find interesting titles with the word Dead, original that nobody would have used before. I thought that I should keep it… even people call it now the ¨Dead Series¨.

Peter James

You have hobbies like racing fast cars and writing about restaurants and food. What do you prefer, a good race or a good meal?

I love racing historical cards. Now I am racing a 1965 BMW. I race mostly in UK but sometimes in other countries too, next year I am going to do Monza and Spa.

Ever had a bad car accident while racing?

Yes, in May last year in 2013 I broke 3 ribs and I had 3 discs in my back. I still have my right leg a bit numb… but I am racing again! I love the atmosphere! It is the only time I relax. When I am at home or playing tennis or at the beach, I am still thinking about my book, but when I am racing is all consuming. I always loved cars!

You were at first line of the battlefront when your novel Host was advertised as the first digital novel. What do you think of this ¨war¨ between digital books Vs printed books?

I think that my first point is always that storytelling is storytelling and does not matter what the media is. Look at Shakespeare, he wrote plays because people did not read novels. Nowadays Shakespeare would be writing novels I think, as it is the biggest way to communicate. The popular printed books have been with us less than 100 years, relatively new. So when Host came out and they called it the first digital novel, although I think there were one or two before it, I became a world authority. I was invited to a speech in 1995 in Los Angeles about the future of the literature, and I was on a platform with Steve Jobs, the President of Time Warner, Nicholas Negroponte who was the director of MIT Media Lab and then me having jet lag thinking ¨what the fuck am I doing here?¨. So I think the digital book will become popular when is more convenient. Ask a child in 50 years time when is used to accessing everything on a screen. We as children were accessing everything on print. There are people who enjoy the feeling of the print and people who enjoy the convenience of a Kindle. Even old people read Kindle as they can do the print bigger, etc.

I have curiosity about your experience working in Hollywood as you have been with some of the most legendary actors and actresses in the world. How is to work with big stars as Al Pacino, etc. Do they have big egos or are more down to Earth that what we could imagine?

Some yes have big egos but some not. With Al Pacino we had a dinner with my partner in NY in November 2004 and with Jeremy Irons, and it was like being with a band of mates. The worst I have worked with was Peter Sellers, and Michael J. Pollard who was in the film Bonny and Clyde… he was… puff! There are a few who were pretty tricky. But for example Charlize Theron was really nice, Robert de Niro was pretty ok but demanding… I think my favorite is Al Pacino and also Sharon Stone, she is fun! We became good friends. I also worked with a Spanish actress, Nadiuska and with others as Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, James Gardner…

What are your plans after your current visit here in Finland?

I am going to Germany on tour there. Then back in England trying to finish my new book and then to America and then Canada and Iceland! I have not been before there in Iceland so I am looking forward to it. I will try to finnish my new book this week before I go to Germany.

Categories
Concerts Music

Dragged Into Sunlight embarked on a European Tour!

Dragged Into Sunlight have left a permanent scar on the extreme metal community ever since they emerged with their debut, Hatred For Mankind. Countless live shows (including prestigious festival slots at Maryland Deathfest, Incubate, Damnation and their recent Japanese tour) have further cemented their place as one of the most visceral and cathartic live bands in extreme music. Their latest album, the eerie masterpiece Widowmaker, revealed a darkly beautiful side to their songwriting, creating much anticipation for their upcoming new full length, which is rumoured to arrive next year.

This November, Dragged Into Sunlight shall embark on a European tour, preceeded by two shows in the UK. Here are the final tour dates which can now be made public:

DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT EUROPEAN TOUR NOVEMBER 2014

8th – The Dome w/ Hooded Menace, London, UK
9th – The Exchange, Bristol, UK
11th – Decadence, Ghent, BE
12th – Le Klub, Paris, FR
13th – Les Pavillons Sauvages, Toulouse, FR
14th – Mogambo, San Sebastian, ES
16th – The Blacksheep, Montpellier, FR
17th – Freakout Club, Bologna, IT
18th – Sidro Club, Rimini, IT
19th – Le Romandie, Laussanne, CH
20th – Lo Fi Club, Milan, IT
21st – Blue Hell, Budapest, HU
22nd – Kokpit Club, Prague, CZ
23rd – Exzess, Frankfurt, DE
24th – Ciemna Strona Miasta, Wroclaw, PL
25th – Cassiopeia, Berlin, DE
26th – KB18, Copenhagen, DK
27th – Bambi Gallore, Hamburg, DE
28th – dB’s, Utrecht, NL
29th – Romein, Leeuwarden, NL

For tickets go to www.bandsintown.com/DraggedIntoSunlight

http://www.draggedintosunlight.co.uk

Categories
Concerts Music

Qui Announce European Tour

Alt Rock Duo Heading Out For Lengthy EU Run Of Dates

US mentalists Qui have announced a lengthy run of dates in support of their latest record “Life. Water. Living”. The duo are set to hit the following cities:

27.09 Vsetin @ Vesmir – (CZ)
28.09 Kosice @ Tabacka – (SV)
29.09 Budapest @ tbc – (HU)
29.09 Oradea @ Cafe Moszkva
30.09 Szeged @ Live Music Club
01.10 Vienna @ Rhiz (+Arktis/Air)
02.10 Prachatice @ Pub Za Radnici
03.10 Ceske Budejovice @ Ostinato – (CZ)
04.10 Prague @ 007 Klub (+Hammerhead +Vaz) – (CZ)
05.10 Halle @ Hühnermanhattan
06.10 Hamburg @ Hafenklang – (DE)
08.10 Den Haag @ Haags Pop Centrum
09.10 Brussels @ m4 (+Zs) – (BE)
10.10 Paris @ Nouveau Casino (+Off!) – (FR)
11.10 Gerardmer @ Le Grattoir
16.10 Geneva @ L’Usine (+Vaz)
18.10 Valeggio sul Mincio / Verona @ Villa Zamboni
19.10 Loreto / Ancona @ Circolo Reasonanz – (IT)
20.10 Bologna @ Freakout
21.10 Osio sopra / Bergamo @ Joe Koala – (IT)
22.10 Torino @ Blah Blah Club
23.10 Milano @ Bloom (+Sebadoh)
24.10 Cagliari @ Bohemien
25.10 Sardegna @ tbc – (IT)
26.10 Pisa @ Borderline Club – (IT)
27.10 Cremona @ Il Fico – (IT)
28.10 Brescia @ Lio Bar – (IT)
29.10 Zoppe di S.Vendemiano / Conegliano @ Bar Barbone
30.10 Crnomelj @ MKK
31.10 Velenje @ Klub eMCe plac

Qui

After a 5-year absence, Qui is once again back to the original duo formed in 2000 by drummer/vocalist Paul Christensen and guitarist/vocalist Matt Cronk. Life, Water, Living… features inventive song structures and warped pop sensibilities reminiscent of early Sparks and Frank Zappa with Queen-style harmonies… or something like if Badfinger were the Melvins. Throughout, it’s an album that subtly commands attention as it shifts from a soft whisper to a chuckle to a scream.

Categories
Albums Music

Chaotic Systems from Romanian band Paradigm

Paradigm, the Progressive Thrash Metal band from Târgu-Mureş, Transylvania, Romania released their first EP earlier this year entitled Chaotic Systems. All five songs from the EP is available for streaming on their official website and their social media sites.

The EP is the first recording with the new line-up. The band was formed in 2002 as a five piece, the following year they played as an instrumental act than in 2004 they recorded a demo with a new singer. Tudor Turcu was their second singer, who eight years later, in 2012 won first place on the Romanian X-Factor.

Unfortunately they split-up in 2005 and only after four years of pursuing other projects have they decided to reform the band with new members; this time with three guitars to make the music all the more complex. After a few changes the final line-up was established in 2012. The following year they entered the studio and released their new material on March 2014.

Paradigm

Members:

Siklódi Attila – bass
Zeitz Róbert – guitars
Péter Csanád László – guitars
Ács Levente – guitars
Fodor Csaba – drums
Hadnagy László – vocals

Contact:

Official website: http://www.paradigm.ro/site.php
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ParadigmBand/256809517736148
Bandcamp: http://paradigmmusic.bandcamp.com/releases

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Cover story Misc

Street Hockey Tour 2014

Street Hockey, also known as ball hockey, dek hockey or road hockey, is a variation of ice hockey where the players play on the ground with sneakers or rollerblades instead of on ice with ice skates. This is why this sport is easy to play and everybody can participate, regardless of their skill level. This year 144 team were chasing the Finnish Street Hockey championship title.

Street Hockey is usually played on asphalt which is why helmet and ice hockey gloves are mandatory equipment. Although it’s also recommended to use protective cup and knee pads. In Finland the Game time is 2 X 10 min. and in this sport the gaming time doesn’t stop during the game breaks. Street Hockey is played with a small plastic ball.

Street Hockey Tour 2014

Street Hockey Tour has been arranged in Finland already for ten years, and the popularity is increasing year after year. This summer Street Hockey Tour celebrated its eleventh year touring around in Finland. This also means that there are eleven happy teams with the Finnish championship title in Street Hockey. This year the tour started in the beginning of June, with the first qualifier arranged in Helsinki 7-8.6.2014. Altogether the tour was arranged in 7 different cities, and in total there were 14 eventful days during the Finnish Street Hockey championship tour. The tour was culminated with the Finals in Helsinki 1-2.8.2014, where the four best teams of each city, altogether 24 teams, competed against each other to win the Finnish championship.  The title of The Finnish championship in Street Hockey year 2014 was won by Jaybirdz team from Tampere. The second team was American diner and the bronze was won by a team called Joukkue. You can check out pictures from the whole tour here.

The tour this year was arranged in following cities: Turku, Rauma, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Oulu and the finals in Helsinki. From these cities the following teams were able to struggle their way to the finals in Helsinki: Killeri, Joukkue, Vallox Rednecks, American Dinner, HC Puutuneet Jalat, Minnesota Viltti, Texas Pete, Myyrät, Punakone, DPHD, Turtles Hockey, Raimonlätty, Jaybirdz, Örh, HC Nahkanuoliaiset, Radio City, Vuorelan Veikot, HC Nahkatorvi, Pasilan Pyrkijä, HS127, Dynastia, Haamujengi, Hc Kings, and G.G.G.

Tour with 14 eventful days

In addition to the tour and the exciting games, the gaming area was filled with entertainment and events for the audience. Throughout the whole tour the audience had the possibility to test their own strength with the hockey shot radar. One of Finland’s most known hockey players: Jarkko “Rudi” Ruutu tested this hockey shot radar in Helsinki with the result speed of 153 km/hour. And of course the aim of many hockey fans was to beat Rudi in the hockey radar. The speed of the best shot during the whole Street Hockey Tour was over 190 km/hour. Another partner to Street Hockey Tour in Finland was the Finnish online casino Netticasino.com, which provided the audience entertainment in their tent with their roulette and blackjack gambling tables. Netticasino also had a raffle throughout the tour where one lucky winner from Oulu won a season ticket to Kärpät ice hockey team for season 2014-2015. Read the interview with the winner here.

Throughout the whole, almost two months lasting tour, many famous faces were seen and also many hockey players participated the tournament. In Jyväskylä the audience could enjoy games watching Stanley Cup winner Ville Nieminen playing in the Blockfest team. The northernmost city in the tour also provided the audience excitement with a “star game” with Finnish known hockey players such as Juhamatti Aaltonen, Julius Junttila and Joonas Donskoi.

Helsinki finals in August was popped with people and no wonder, since the “star game” at Saturday 2.8.2014 was played with hockey stars such as Esa Tikkanen, Jarkko Ruutu, Leo Komarov, Veli-Matti Savinainen and Juha Koivisto.

Be ready for the next year’s Street Hockey Tour, since for sure there are going to be even more teams participating, and it’s going to be bigger and of course better, so sta

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Blogs FREE! Blog

Candy Test from Finland Video

Categories
Blu-Ray Cinema

Movie Review: Monument Men

Although I have read some other critics that do not leave in a very good place this movie, I must admit that I liked Monument Men. If you expect the typical war action movie, maybe this is not your cup of tea. Monument Men is certainly a war movie, but narrated from a different angle. This is not about the soldier on the front line doing heroic acts to take enemy positions. This is more about the life of guys that incidentally found themselves having to do a job in the middle of the Second World War. The job is no more and no less than trying to save as much precious works of art as possible rescuing them and discovering them from the hidden places where the Nazi had stored them. But you could extrapolate the same idea to the thousand of men, truck drivers, engineers, doctors, etc that found themselves having to struggle with lost bullets while doing their jobs in circumstances that years before nobody would have imagined.

Monument Men

I am also quite a fan of history of art, so it is beautiful to see how also saving the essence of what makes us creative humans matters. The movie is far from flawless, that is true, the narrative is not always well connected, the relation between Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett lacks of chemistry and the main role by George Clooney is eaten alive when sorrounded by some of the best actors in Hollywood in secondary roles, name them John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban and overall Bill Murray who as usual just has such a strong presence on screen that literally steals every scene he is in.

An enjoyable movie that shows that sometimes small things matters when you fight for a bigger cause.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Categories
Cover story Misc

Gambling Culture in Finland

Finland is a country in which the people enjoy gambling. Statistics have shown that a large percentage of Finns have either gambled playing cash games or other games of chance such as the lottery. While Finnish people enjoy various gambling games, the choice is somewhat limited.

Gambling Oligopoly in Finland

While it is not quite a monopoly, but rather an oligopoly that dominates the Finnish gambling market. The main players, each with a monopoly in their specific areas, are RAY, Veikkaus, PAF and Fintoto. Fintoto runs the country’s horseracing. With the introduction of mobile gambling, there are certain changes that are slowly taking place in the gambling culture in Finland.

RAY, Finland’s Slot Machine Association, not only provides gaming entertainment to the Finnish people, the association also helps to support both health and social welfare organisations as well as war veterans. RAY runs its own arcades, and also offers slot machines in a total of 8,000 locations, including hotels, markets, service stations, restaurants, and other locations that are frequented by the general public. RAY operates the only land casino in Finland and offers both online and mobile gaming too.

The Finnish Lottery, Veikkaus, operates a number of games including instant games, pools, and of course, lotto games. Many Finns play the lottery games that are offered in a large number of locations around the country. Veikkaus helps to support arts and culture, science, and sports.

The Alands Penningautomatforening (PAF) company has been offering legal online gambling in Finland. While online gambling has been legal since 1996, it took until 2010 for RAY to get the necessary permission to enter the online gambling market. Fintoto and Veikkaus were also given permission to offer their lottery and horseracing betting online.

Land-Based Gambling and Online Gambling in Finland

Since Finnish people are surrounded by legal gambling games there is clearly a high demand from players. The gambling culture in Finland is thriving and many children are with their parents when the parents play slots around the country. While gaming is familiar and part of life, the Lotteries Act passed a law in 2011 making 18 the minimum gambling age. While children had been allowed to play slots if they were accompanied by an adult, this changed in 2011 with the introduction of this law. Those who are gambling now were introduced to gambling games from a young age.

Gambling culture in Finland

As more households have one or more computers, smartphones or tablets available, online and mobile gambling is becoming more popular. While the percentage of Finns that gamble online is still smaller than that of land-based Finnish gamblers, it is likely that the number of online players will increase over time since Finnish people enjoy games of chance. The EU has ruled that all member countries should allow online gambling across EU borders, however, Finland is resisting this change. Should more online gambling companies be introduced into Finland, it is likely that there will be a rise in the number of players who choose to play online.

Statistics Show How Entrenched Gambling is in the Finnish Culture

In 2011, the National Institute for Health and Welfare designed a survey regarding gambling in Finland. The survey was conducted between October 2011 and January 2012. The survey showed that 78% who responded to the survey had gambled during the past 12 months. The percentage is only slightly up from the 74% result in the 2007 survey. There have been no significant changes between the 2007 and the 2011 studies that took place.

85% of respondents showed that there is a general feeling that raising the legal gambling age to 18 has been a good move and will reduce the number of problem gamblers. 75% of those who were polled feel that it is a good thing that gambling is controlled by the state.

Related articles:

http://www.freemagazine.fi/top-5-gambling-locations/

http://www.freemagazine.fi/estonia-is-not-only-about-cheap-booze-easy-women-and-gambling/

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Articles Misc

Jari Litmanen – A Finnish Football Legend

Jari Litmanen, the son of two footballers, carried on the family tradition in style. Litmanen’s father, Olavi played for Reipas and as a Finnish international player. His mother also played for Reipas at the highest level in women’s soccer in Finland.

In 1987, at the age of 16, Litmanen played for Reipas for the first time in what was the top division in Finland at the time, Mestaruusarja. Litmanen’s international football career began in 1989 and only ended in 2010. Between 1996 and 2008, he was the captain of choice for the Finnish national football team. In November 2003, while he was still playing professionally, the Football Association of Finland picked Litmanen as the best Finnish footballer of the previous 50 years.

Over the years, Litmanen has represented a number of clubs both in Finland and abroad. In Finland, he played with Reipas, MyPa, Lahti and HJK. Abroad, he played with Barcelona, Ajax, Hansa Rostrock, Malmö, and Liverpool.

Jari Litmanen statue

In the 1993 – 94 season, Litmanen scored 26 goals, the top-scoring player in the league. In 1995, the midfielder made his name on an international level when he was playing with the Amsterdam team, Ajax, and won the Champions League.

Having started his international career in 1989, and playing into 2010 when he played with Finland against South Korea on 19 January 2010. Litmanen, also known as “Kuningas” or “The King” had earned the distinction of playing professional football in four different decades.

The King was voted as the Finnish Footballer of the Year in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2000. He was voted as the Dutch Footballer of the Year in 1993, and as the Finnish Sports Personality of the Year in 1995.

With all these football achievements under his belt, Litmanen is also the face associated with the Betsson sports betting site at this time. Finland has also erected a statue of Litmanen in October 2010. He is the first team sport player in Finland to receive a statue. The statue stands at the place where Litmanen’s career began in the 1970s, at Kisapuisto (Lahti).

Related articles:

http://www.freemagazine.fi/the-hand-of-god-maradona-by-kusturica/
http://www.freemagazine.fi/euro-champions/

Categories
Articles Misc

Rautatientori: the throbbing heart of Helsinki.

If you are a new visitor in the Finnish capital or just basically if you live in Helsinki, it is almost impossible that you spend many days without your steps guiding you around the Railway Station Square or “Rautatientori” as it is called in Finnish. I still remember the first time I stepped there and I was naively surprised to find many of the street signals written in both Finnish and Swedish languages.

Rautatientori is the spot where most of the foreign people get the real first contact with Helsinki, as trains from St. Petersburg arrive there as well as buses from Vantaa airport. Added to that, it is also the main point where all the local trains connect to destinations in Helsinki and nearby cities Espoo and Vantaa, as well as the most transited metro station and also the departing point of many bus lines on both sides of the Station building and also the trams that allow you more slowly and pleasantly to have a great view of the city.

Although relatively a new building, opening its doors in 1982, the Helsinki Railway station is also one of the most recognizable architectural work in Finland due to the unmistakeable two pair of statues holding spherical lamps that decorate the facade outside and that are widespread used in commercials and parodies, giving the station a unique “Gotham City alike” touch.

Helsinki Rautatientori

But not only the station itself is worthy to mention in the square. The visitor can pretty much find anything interesting to do in every corner of the station square. Around in a few meters the walker can see and visit the National Finnish Theatre and the Ateneum Museum if you are into arts and culture. For those who like tempting the luck live apart from gambling online in sites like casino.com, the Casino Helsinki is also located in the Railway Square surrounded by many interesting bars and restaurants to enjoy good food and relaxing drinks. And on winter there is also the possibility to practice ice skating in the ice rink located there.

Shopping is also pretty much just something that you can do walking a few meters away from the station, as you can find shopping malls just in front of the station and a few meters away like the infamous Sokos, Forum or Stockmann. The station has also a lot of R Kioski where travelers can load their travel cards and buy snacks and drinks apart from different fast food chain restaurants to have a tasty quick bite before continuing the journey. The main office of Helsinki Transportation Office is located also in Rautatientori, downstairs near the Metro entrance, and if you are a permanent resident of Helsinki you can get a transport card that can make your live much more easier to move around the city.

As you see, Rautatientori has just condensed almost everything that a visitor needs for enjoying the stay in Helsinki. Although we advise you just to visit as many areas as possible, do not waste your chance to investigate all the adventures that the emblematic Railway Station and its square have awaiting for you!