steam of life

STEAM OF LIFE

Naked Finnish men sit in the sauna and speak straight from their heart. In the warmth of rusty stoves these men cleanse themselves both physically and mentally.The film travels through Finland and the camera joins men in many different saunas to let us hear touching stories about love, death, birth and friendship. In all of its simplicity the camera records the landscapes, saunas and the men in almost magical pictures. The presence of the characters and the depth of the emotion reaches the limit where it is almost intolerable for the viewer to watch. This film reveals the naked souls of these men exceptionally intimately and creates a poetic portrayal of Finnish men.

Written and Directed byJoonas Berghäll & Mika Hotakainen

Producer Joonas Berghäll

OKTOBER OY / 2010

nuevas historias

Dionisio Gonzalés

Isidro Blasco

Naia del Castillo

"Nuevas historias"
Spanskt samtidsfotografi och videokonst 2.6 - 15.8.2010

KUNTSI, Vasa

Böbisen

"Det här är historien för dig som misstänker att du fått barn"

Maria Rönnqvist, eminent serietecknare och känd från ÖT:s följetong "Kaffi", har gett ut ett album, "Böbisen", som torde fungera som tröst åt vilken halv- eller helvilsen småbarnsförälder som helst. Utan desto större förvarning och i total avsaknad av tomtebolycka föräras IT-generationens Ulva och Micke med en bebis... eller böbis, snarare... och till sin stora fasa hittar de inte ångerknappen. [HÄR] hittar NI däremot mer information om hur ni kan följa de unga tu i deras spirande (spökande?) föräldraskap...

when I grow up

emptiness

"I'm afraid of the emptiness - the space between letting go of 'the old' before grasping 'the new'!" I explain to him with emphasis.
"Yeah, yeah, but emptiness is WONDERFUL!" he replies, "Emptiness is like Your big, beautiful Arabia mug just waiting to be filled with cappuccino!"

Jazzoo

Summerjazz by the sea once again in Nykarleby, Finland, arranged by Jazzoo. The weathergods were not in their best moods but then again the musicians supplied the audience with the calm and warmth otherwise missing. An extra elogy goes to Jonte Fagerhed for his brilliant and sensitive interpretation of "My funny valentine" on trumpet.

Great tradition! Please keep it going and there is definately room for more!

See also Summerjazz 2009

All photos by: Christian Irjala

it is midsummer 2010 and I still love You

My blog is not functioning properly anymore. I tried to change the layout into one of the new alternatives "Blogger" offers and suddenly there is nothing but trouble logging in an out - even in watching: seems it looks very different depending on if You use Explorer or Mozilla.

Aaah... but I don't care. I don't have the extra energy to spare. Not at the moment.

It is Midsummer 2010 and I still love You.

for me?

Pick some and eat some for me will You?

from the morning

ICQ

breathing light

weird

"When the going gets weird,

the weird turn pro."

~ Hunter S. Thompson (1939 - 2005)

the previous past

.

... on what happened while You were away in the previous past ...

.

shag rug

untitled

Thank You, LT

solarized or solar-iced?

photo by Antero

the future

"The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet." ~ William Gibson

the necklace

"... och nu ser du till att ha på dig det här halsbandet HEEEELA kvällen och tar under IIIINGA omständigheter av dig det innan du är hemma igen!" säger han med sin kännspaka diftong och med oerhört eftertryck. Jag är i DIVA-skolning den här kvällen. Men jag får nätt och jämt godkännt. Jag är uppvuxen med lingonris i håret och flytmossa upp till knäna.

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"... and now You make sure to wear this necklace AAAAAALL evening and under NOOOOO circumstances whatsoever do You take it off until You get back home!" he says with his characteristic diphthongization and strong emphasis. I'm in DIVA-training this evening. But my grades are lousy. I grew up with cowberry twigs in my hair and floating moss up to my knees.

.

photo: Christian Irjala

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"My husband gave me a necklace. It's fake. I requested fake. Maybe I'm paranoid, but in this day and age, I don't want something around my neck that's worth more than my head."
~ Rita Rudner

love is everything

Lyrics K.D. Lang - Love Is Everything lyrics

hibiskus

(click image for enlarged version)