A new beginning

markusraty — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 14:45:59 +0000

Alrighty. It is time to take finnophile online. With the ever increasing bombardment of spam and my general eschewal of sending out bulk emails with any kind of regularity, it is time to leave the stone age of technology behind.

It’s interesting; I have always considered myself an early-adopter when it came to newfangled technology, yet i am only commencing my ’blogging career’ in mid-2006, some three years after its entrance on the mainstage. Apropos perhaps, as I still also purchase CDs and string cable around the house to get the Net to follow me around.

The real reason for the transition is simple: I want to share the world of Finnishness with you on a daily basis, not weekly or bi-monthly or whatever. There are always exciting stories to tell, links to forward and pictures to post. The world needs a dose of Finnishness more often than finnophile could provide via email. This will allow y’all to check in more often, spread the word more easily and rid of your inbox of at least one bulk-mail…although I will still fire off the occasional group-email with event annoucements and the like.

There will be lots of interesting (i hope) stuff here, both Finn and non-Finn so you are encouraged to invite others to have a peek. Ok, let’s see how this posting thing works..

Cheers, Markus

finnophile: Event Listings

markusraty — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 18:48:02 +0000

Howdy out there pardners:Bunch of stuff going on here in the Big Smoke, thought i’d share what i know (and thanks to various finnophilers for filling me in on several of the below items). And please keep the “head up” coming, this is a team effort and all the help is appreciated. Listings in short:

TV – Conan O’Brien does Finland
Concert – Värttinä
Film – Mother of Mine
Culture – FinnPower 3.0

EVENTS and HAPPENINGS

CONAN O’BRIEN is going Finnish! This Friday Conan will be dedicating the full hour of his show to his recent sojourn to Finland. As many of you know, he allegedly played a role in President Tarja Halonen’s successful re-election simply by looking like her!! How uncanny is that? In any case he recently traveled to Finland to see what all the hoopla was about and in fact met President Halonen on Valentine’s Day. He is now campaigning for a cabinet post in her new government and has set his sights on the position of Sauna Inspector (female saunas only). Set your VCRs and TIVOs and whatever other gadgets you may have. This promises to be hilarious!! check out the website link below.

What: Conan O’Brien on Finland
When: Friday, March 10, starting at 12:35am (technically Sat morning)
Where: NBC more info: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/09/people.conan.obrien.ap/index.html

Unless you have been living under a rock over the past six months you are well aware that Finnish sensations Värttinä are the co-composers of the new Lord of the Rings theatrical which has its gala opening on March 23rd. No, I don’t have access to any tickets to the opening, heck I can’t even swing one for myself. BUT Värttinä will be performing in Toronto two days after the gala. This is a concert not to be missed as their electric performances usually leave audiences breathless. They recently stole the show at the MIDEM music expo in Cannes, France wowing the crowd to its knees (ok, maybe not quite). Nevertheless, I can personally vouch for their talents and highly recommend picking up tickets before theyre all gone. More on this performance as it nears.

What: Concert – Värttinä
When: Monday, March 27 @ 8pm
Where: Mod Club Theatre, College and Crawford
How Much: $34.50
More info: www.varttina.com

For those of you who missed it during the film festival, the multiple award-winning Mother of Mine is showing again in Toronto.Mother of Mine (Äideistä parhain) by Klaus Härö, tells the heart-wrenching tale of a young Finnish war-time child who is shipped off to Sweden to be raised by a foreign family in a foreign land.

What: Film – Mother of Mine
When: Tuesday, March 28, 2006. 6:30pm and 8:40pm
Where: Town Hall, Innis College, University of Toronto, 2 Sussex Avenue
More info: Tickets can be ordered by calling 416-730-8350 or at tickets@cff.ca

Mark your calendars! FINNPOWER is back! Toronto’s marketplace and cultural showcase of all things Finnish is back for a third year, this time bigger and better than ever. Last year over 500 people attended this one-day event which featured a Finnish tori, fashion show, concert and fabulous Finnish pastries and other baked goods. This year we will be featuring a FINNPOWER JUNIOR IDOL where we welcome all young Finnish-Canadians to come and strut (or sing or draw) their stuff. Along with all the usual fare of course. If you are interested in being a vendor please contact the Consulate asap as tables are going quickly! Always a great day to be had, stay tuned for more details

What: FINNPOWER 3.0
When: Saturday, April 22 from 10am – 4pm
Where: Agricola Church, Yonge and York Mills.
More info: Consulate of Finland, 416-964-0066 or give me a shout

That be it for this edition, stay tuned for a new and improved finnophile – i have lots of exciting (but largely useless) info and ephemera to share.

Cheers, Markus

markusraty — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 18:46:33 +0000

Hello world!

markusraty — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 18:40:27 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

markus raty

A new beginning

finnophile: Event Listings

Hello world!