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What do you think of NorFin?
I think it's a nice pairing! Not something I often explore myself as I don't really have a lot of personal experiences, connections, or references to Finland and there's not really that historical aspect that often draw me towards ship. However, Finns and Norwegians do have many common values and interests, especially when it comes to nature and outdoorsy life, so I can see how the ship is appealing to people. At the very least they are good friends in modern day.
#hetalia#aph norway#aph finland#hws norway#hws finland#norfin#thanks for the ask!! 🥰#also Finland is the only Nordic country I have not been to :((#I need to change that#would be fun to go for a cross country skiing event or something like that#in my experience Norway doesn't have a lot to do with Finland on a day to day basis#but all that isn't really neccessary for a good ship tho - that's just my personal preference#it's def a ship with a lot of good vibes#and also bonding over similar historical experiences
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Bojan & Käärijä timeline: LIVERPOOL
1.5.
They all arrive to Liverpool, Käärijä has his first rehearsal
2.5.
Joker out has their first rehearsal
Käärijä’s ja Bojan’s dinner date and intagram live. During this the rest of the Joker out were doing interviews in their hotel and Bojan very proudly tells this to Jere
Here’s some instagram stories from their date
3.5.
Käärijä’s second rehearsal. Also tiktok-live. He was asked which country he would give 12 points. First he’s so frustrated because “you can only give to one country the 12 points, that’s meaannn” but obviously his answer was:
4.5.
Käärijä had a meet & greet press conference. The birth of ”The Bojan”
may 4th was also the famous boat day!
5.5.
Joker Out has their second rehearsal
Käärijä had a livestream with Katri. Obviously Joker Out and Bojan mentions.
Nordic party where Joker out sneaked to
6.5.
Joker Out’s interview and Käärijä living rent free on Bojan’s mind. (He was asked if people stops him on the streets to take selfies, ”not as much as Käärijä tho, I blame his hair and pants 🥰”)
Famous babyseal interview.
Käärijä, his dancers and Bojan playing never have I ever. THIS was the birth of the “ARE YOUU”.
7.5.
Turquoise carpet day!
Käärijä’s and dancers ig-live. Jere keeps saying Carpe diem when he means turquoise carpet.
Käärijä interview, wild Bojan in the backround saying hi to the dancers
8.5.
Bojan, Kris and Jan visited in Käärijä’s sauna, here’s Yle’s video, here’s some more videos
I have come to a conclusion that this video of bojan and jere doing this carpe diem -thing is from the same day as they are wearing the same clothes.
9.5.
1st Semifinal
This fucking interview. Some highlights:
- Kris saying that Jere said to them that if Joker Out won’t get to the final, käärijä will NOT perform there either!
- live reaction when the interviewer said that Finland is on first place on Joker Out’s monthly listeners -list on spotify
- Bojan said he wanted to go to Käärijä’s sauna today too but it was too full.
- Bojan tries to say ”hyvää päivää” (good afternoon) in finnish but fails. Some people try to claim he said ”hyvää vittua” or ”hyi vittu” but I really think he accidently said ”hyvää yötä” (good night). Because I think it’s cute that jere would teach him all those finnish sayings.
- Bojan telling about the snus proposal. He was genuinely surprised and only realized that it was a joke after he saw everyone filming. Then he pretended to took the snus for the Content. Says he once tried snus but threw up the whole night. (Then tried to impress jere in Tavastia and used snus, what a loser)
- fanfiction talk… Kris asks if there’s fics about Jere and Bojan. Bojan doesn’t know. (Or so he says)
- this fucking thing that Bojan said about Jere:
”We bonded over that childish energy that we both have. Käärijä is a very nice guy. He’s been very busy in this eurovision season, everybody wants a piece of him and I think it was quite necessary for him to find someone to like, kind of relax and put his mind off stuff”
Joker out reacting to semifinal 1 qualifiers
10.5.
Bojan had this interview where he kept saying ”Jere” instead ”Käärijä” to random interviewers
Also another interview where he talked about his and Jere’s friendship. This was his face:
11.5.
Second semi final (SSF)
Jere watching Joker Out Bojan perform
12.5.
Dress rehearsal
Whatever this was:
Did Jere just hang out the whole day under the Slovenian flag?
13.5.
Final
#thank GOD I had most of this written down and it was just hanging there in my drafts#had forgotten most of these lmao#käärijä#bojan cvjetićanin#timeline
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Ruoska 2nd verse analysis
Aka why there's a reference to a 20+ year-old sports scandal in this song that on the surface is about BDSM.
(Fuck you Kä for making me write a 1500+ word analysis on a reference in one verse of a song and also for forcing me to learn more about Lahti 2001 than I've ever wanted. /j)
Okay, I was already having thoughts about the second verse of Ruoska, which has lots of references to the doping controversy of FIS Nordic World Ski Championships held in Lahti in 2001 aka the biggest sports doping scandal in Finland. The MV gave new context for that part and made the use of the whole reference make a lot more sense to me, enough to develop those thoughts into a semi-coherent analysis (I'm not kidding about this being semi-coherent, I've spent most of the day writing this. You've been warned.).
This analysis does require me to talk about The Lahti 2001 doping scandal a lot. I’ve decided to focus on what I remember from the aftermath of it, especially the Finnish public opinion and reaction, as it is the most relevant part of it for this analysis. So if you’re not familiar with the topic, I recommend reading a short summary of the facts which can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIS_Nordic_World_Ski_Championships_2001#Doping_controversy
In the MV, there’s this about 20s pause between the first chorus and the second verse, where the song just stops and people looking at their phones form a circle at the edges of the spotlight (where Käärijä and Erika are) and hate comments aimed at both of them are shown on screen.
After the pause, we get the second verse:
“Lunta on tullut tupaan niin paljon et tarvii sukset / Gotten so much snow in the house that I need skis
On luokkaa Kari-Pekka nää ahdistukset / At level with Kari-Pekka with these anxieties
Et taloyhtiössä on kosteudenmittaukset/ That the housing cooperative takes humidity measurements
Kun rappukäytävän portailla on hemon virtaukset/ When there's massive tides* on the stairs in the stairway”
[link/credits to the translation]
*added context to this line that gets lost in translation is that the substance flowing down the stairs in the stairway is called “hemo” in the original lyrics. Now, I’ve interpreted it to be either blood/hemoglobin or Hemohes (which is the brand(?) name of the banned blood plasma expander substance that people were caught using in the Lahti 2001 doping scandal. Either way, this detail is relevant enough for this analysis.
-----
The idiom "tulla lunta tupaan" (to get snow in the house/living room) means to get misfortune, but I think I've seen it also used to mean getting (excessive) adversity/criticism for something (wrong) you've done (from the public, usually).
There certainly is something fucked up and rather telling that from what I’ve seen, many of Finnish fans old enough to remember Lahti 2001 (me included) needed only to hear "skis" and "Kari-Pekka" to get the doping scandal reference. After all, this is a rather subtle (as in, only Kari-Pekka Kyrö’s, one of the head coaches of the ski team, first name is mentioned in the song!) reference to a scandal that happened over 20 years ago. But it also tells you how big of a deal that doping scandal was for Finns, especially since it happened in cross-country skiing aka one of our pride and joy sports, and how much (perceived) shame was involved on national level.
And oh boy, did that sense of national shame get projected back to the public opinion about the people involved in the scandal. The scandal did have massive and long-lasting repercussions on the careers and the reputations of the people involved in Finland, way beyond the official disqualifications and suspensions. These people went from being celebrated athletes and ski team members that everyone was proud of to being mostly, or even only, remembered for being caught using doping. Their past (and future) achievements suddenly didn’t either matter anymore or, thanks to the doping scandal, were regarded with suspicion.
There’s also a layer added to this by the media’s role and involvement in all this that I’m not going to get into here. Only thing from the media side I’m going to point out is that big part of kicking off this incident was the investigation and subsequent article by Helsingin Sanomat crime journalist that revealed damning evidence of the systematic use of doping substances in the Finnish ski team.
The point is, yes they did wrong, and yes they did deserve the (official) consequences to their careers and a hit in their public images, but everything else? The figurative lashing (pun intended) they got from the media and the public? The media and the public refusing to forget and move on from that incident years after the fact and in the process probably not letting them move on from it properly, either? Being remembered only for your mistakes? That was excessive, way out of proportion to what the crime in question was.
Bringing this back to the song, the MV, and the artists:
This reference, especially with the MV context just made me think of the topic of public opinion of celebs and how quickly it can turn against you, even if you’re currently seen as a “hero” of sorts, like Finland’s ski team was in 2001 or Käärijä is now.
It also made me think of how Finns often tend to be jealous of other people's success (the good ol’ belief that there’s a finite amount of luck/happiness in the world and so other people having luck/success is to blame if you don’t have it is still deeply ingrained in us even if we don’t realize it). Like, there are always people who hate someone more successful or famous than them simply because they are successful/famous.
Also, there's often a sense of schadenfreude involved from certain parts of the public when someone famous does something bad/wrong. Something that (in public perception) "justifies" the negative turn in the public opinion on that person, regardless of how bad/wrong the thing actually was and if the reaction is actually proportionate to it. And especially in famous people’s case, there are always people who are just waiting for them to misstep, to fall, just so they can go “see? I knew they were a bad person all along, that’s why I disliked them!”. Or hell, we’ve even seen people who are constantly waiting for the moment a famous person does something that can be twisted into a controversy, or even hounding them to do something or react to something in a way that paints them in a negative light.
Now, I don't think the hate comments seen in the MV are comparable to what happened after the doping scandal (nor that are they meant to be that), and I don’t claim to know what kinds of hate Käärijä and Erika get usually but I doubt that’s comparable either. But there are some noticeable, if much smaller scale, similarities to some controversies they’ve been a part of and the media/public reaction to those. Which does make the doping scandal an effective reference to use to get the point of (often excessive) negative reactions/comments to everything you do across.
So, when the hate comment pause happened in the MV and the second verse started, it felt like the missing puzzle pieces fitting into their places, and being able to see what the second verse is trying to say. Or my interpretation of it, anyway.
The first line is rather straightforward, mentioning getting enough "snow" (aka adversity/criticism/hate, not misfortune like I thought before) into their lives ("house" in the song) that they need equipment/tools ("skis") to help them wade through it, just to keep living their lives.
The line mentioning Kari-Pekka, and anxiety at the same level as his, is interesting. Because on the one hand, he did take the blame for the doping scandal and was, according to his own words, “the most hated man in Finland” at the time. On the other hand, he did get a lot of publicity and was offered a job as a crisis consultant to teach people how to lie believably, because he appeared so calm, collected, and confident in the media during the scandal. So, while on the surface this line is about having a lot of anxiety due to the hate they’re getting, well, the dude whose anxiety levels they’re likening their own to doesn’t seem (to appear) anxious at all despite shouldering most of the blame and hate for such a big scandal, does he? Hell, he got job opportunities thanks to how not-anxious he appeared in that situation.
And the following lines, I've interpreted to be about other people having to acknowledge the damage from those hate comments seeping into their own lives as well because, depending on what "hemo" is interpreted as, either the cause of that hate (hemohes) or a rather visible representation of the pain caused by the hate (blood) is flooding the stairway now. The pain or the cause of the hate others have let into their living spaces/lives is out in the public space now. And going by the next line “Ja mä tahdon jäädä siitä kiipeliin (kiipeliin)/ And I want to get in trouble for it (in trouble)” it’s happening they intentionally let it out into the public in the first place, because they want to get in trouble for it?
There’s something fascinating about that. About acknowledging that they’re getting hate anyway, so they might as well intentionally and publicly do things that people are going to send them hate for. But also acknowledging the hate they’re getting and making other people acknowledge it as well, refusing to keep it hidden and letting it rot only their own lives.
And then continuing that yeah, we’re getting whipped/hated on for everything we do, but
#diri reads too much into things#käärijä#erika vikman#ruoska#ruoska (song)#it may not be that deep but i'm willing to dig and make it that deep#song/lyrics analysis#my meta#this is so long im sorry
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Hello! I was wondering if you can do the 2p Nordics with a fairy reader!
Hi! I did some general headcanons on this. Hope you enjoy it! And thank you, this was really fun to write! (I'm obsessed with the folklore of my country, and I went with the ones from there and the other Nordics)
2p Denmark/Markell Køhler
he's a bit cautious about the prospect of a fairy S/O. Considering he knows the fickle nature of these creatures.
while you may be very sweet and attractive he'll never really let his guard down. He knows of far too many instances where someone has been tricked
2p Finland/Thurston Väinämöinen
he knows of these beings too, but he absolutely does not enjoy it. It's not the magic that's his problem with you, it is your nature of trickery and misbehaviour. He wants structure and order not whatever bullshit you may attempt to pull
he may attempt to remove your wings if he feels they are more trouble than they are worth. If you follow his commands, he will not harm you. But if you misbehave he will punish you accordingly. You will also be forced to cultivate your muscles, so you are not weak without your flying abilities
2p Iceland/Erikur Steilsson
he would be willing to follow you anywhere, and he'd have no qualms with staying in your home world for eternity, as long as you're completely his
he is, just like the others, knowledgeable about your kind, meaning that attempting to trick him would be difficult, but he would let you if it benefits him. Try to screw him over and you might not have any wings after that. His sickles are always close by, and he sharpens one regularly, the other is kept dull for maximum pain
2p Norway/Loki Thomassen
it fascinates him, he does much like his counterpart, prefer a partner of magical descent or full blown magical being. He is also aware of the trickery of these creatures. But as his name might suggest, he is also a trickster by nature. It'll be a battle of wits, one he'll thoroughly enjoy
he will ofc attempt to trap you with him, and keep you from returning to your home, where he may not be able to follow. And if you managed to trick him into your home, it would be difficult for him to get both of you out. He is not interested in spending 100+ years in a world where it only feels like a few days.
2p Sweden/Bernard Oxenstierna
he gets overprotective very fast, and he'll be the only other one willing to follow you into your home, regardless of the consequences for him.
he is a yandere by nature and while he prefers to pretend to keep the "family" together, he would enjoy coming back to see the chaos that unfolds without him. He would also be difficult to keep trapped anywhere, he is violent when it suits him and intelligent. Many things you wouldn't know until you're trapped yourself
#hetalia#hetalia headcanons#2p hetalia#2p hetalia headcanons#aph hetalia#yandere#yandere 2p hetalia#2p Denmark#2p finland#2p Iceland#2p Norway#2p Sweden#yandere 2p sweden#yandere 2p Nordics#violence#tw#nolemon#fairy reader x 2p Nordics
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You mentioned that you worked with the Estonian and Scandinavian embassies and found out that there's a lot more closeness between the countries than people would expect. What are some interesting and unexpected things you learned about the relationship between Estonia and the Nordic countries?
(Modern-day connections would be preferred, as I would assume the historical conflicts are well known. In a Nationverse context, I would like to write about the friendship and cooperation between their personifications in the modern day 👀)
Out of the Nordic embassies the most I've worked with is Danish Embassy, but also I have connections in the Swedish embassy and have spoken to the Norwegian embassy asking about facts of culture etc. (There are in fact a lot of culture and history facts the average person will not know.) I'll note to myself to make a post about Norway especially - even if the facts they were able to give were limited at the time. (I will also refer to my uurimustöö and take the facts I used from there too.)
Unfortunately Finland's embassy has ended up unreachable most of the time, with their cultural institute also being slow about responses (but my guess is that being such an important neighbour has left them very busy, same situation with Latvia.) And Iceland does not have a direct embassy here, needing to contact the one in Helsinki for any cooperation (which I tried and never got a response, again, alright.)
A keyword to know about the embassies is HELPFUL. They're very nice and open to anyone who approaches and wants to know things. They can also be generous about giving free stuff (ESPECIALLY Denmark :''D though I've noticed they just seem to have a higher budget compared to Norway's embassy for example.)
The Estonian embassies in the Nordic nations have also made 100 year timelines of diplomatic relationships, many of which really bring together a nice picture. (the Danish one actually made me cry). Unfortunately they exist mostly in Estonia, which only some having a translation into the other country's native language (Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish) if anyone speaks those then I can easily send the timeline for you to read.
I've found that the Nordic embassies (especially Sweden and Denmark which have active social media accounts (primarily Instagram) also like to actively participate in social events or matters such as Arvamusfestival (opinion festival) and other events that discuss Estonia's quality of life and development. They've always been economically close with frequent meetings about "increasing cooperation". This does not just apply to economical matters but also education and in recent times a lot lot more about defense too (especially now with Finland and Sweden having joined the NATO gang, something which was seen as a HUGE deal in Estonia to the point Estonia made a stamp of Finland about it.) I'll note to myself to also make a post about all the specific times I can recall Denmark being very active about the topic of defense to the point that I often use it as a point in arguments about faith in NATO.
The Nordic embassies have also been very vocal about and advocating for LGBT rights for years, possibly decades. They have always participated in LGBT events such as the recent Tartu pride. They even posted about having spectated the Riigikogu meeting in which the voting about legalising Gay marriage happened. You can say the Nordics have been one of the closest friends of the LGBT movement in Estonia, often raising rainbow flags in solidarity. (So YES to content about the Nordics celebrating Estonia's progress because of how much they've been supporting it!)
One thing I must bring attention to is NORDIC-BALTIC 8! It is a group that has existed since the 90's, right after the Baltics regained independence. This is another reason for why the "can Eesti into nordic" is incredibly stupid, because we already are considered together. (UN officially views the Baltics as Northern European too, grouping us together further.) Besides some international events wanting to put us far away from each other it is quite acknowledged on a nation relationship scale that the Baltics are in region friends to the Nordics. Some say that this regional friendship is the reason the Baltics are among the better countries in the Eastern half of Europe, because we have good developed countries to be influenced and supported by while some other countries were left with not the best options.
(I like to HC that the NB8 all sit pretty close by to each other in meetings.)
I intend to work on posting some of the information I've found, especially when I get time to read some sources I've received but not had the time to fully go through them.
Hope this response at least satisfies you a little <3
#hetalia#hws estonia#hws nordics#hws denmark#hws norway#hws sweden#idc if most of this is not super hetalia#hetalians need to see it#so screw it <3#hws nordic baltic 8#hws NB8
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Trick or treat! :D👻🍭🍬
So for YEARS I've been thinking of writing a "Finnish Female Pirates" AU for asoue. And I did create a document, and then did just not work on it more than when I first created it. But I do think about it a lot.
The thing with it, is that it's 5% pirate adventures and 95% jokes about them being finnish, so I can just throw in all the references to nordic media (especially kids literature). But I am writing it from a perspective of a swede who only knows random finnish words - I do have a finnish father, so the culture has been ingrained in me and it is similar to swedish culture, but you know... it's not gonna be the same.
Anyway, these are some examples of stuff I thought about including:
Sunny only speaks in finnish words or nordic media references
A lot of it will be moomin references because finnish. But I might include Astrid Lindgren references too, because it's swedish and thus nordic.
This MEANS I can also include Lazytown references because Lazytown is Icelandic and thus also nordic!
Friday might be sámi.
Someone's gonna reference Silver Fang at some point - which is an anime who got popular in Nordic countries, especially Finland, and NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
They're gonna find a map for a pirate treasure but it's in swedish and everyone is mad because they didn't pay attention when they were taught swedish in school (they're forced to learn swedish in finnish schools)
Everyone's gonna be dropping perkele's and vittu's all the time
They got a sauna on their pirate ship
References to every song from Finland I know. Ievan Polkka will be there. Hard Rock Hallelujah will be there. I might be silly and include Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä. And some others, I do know more songs.
What would the PLOT be?
Uuuuhhhhhhhh
All the unfortunate gen girls are pirates and they're sailing the sea to somewhere just because they want to. And they're finnish.
That's it that's the plot x)
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I would love to know more about your thoughts on the Danish Royal Family. Is it that you dont like Margrethe or Fred or you are neutral?
I'm not sure what prompted this but thank you for the ask, nonnie! The easy answer is that I'm Swedish & it's in the DNA of Swedes & Danes to hate one another. There, ask answered!
Okay, no, to be serious. There is this joke amongst the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Åland, Iceland, Faroe Islands & Greenland) that Denmark is the USA of the Nordics & among the Scandinavian royals (Sweden, Norway & Denmark), the Danish have always been my least favourites. I'll post a deeper discussion around my thoughts under the cut & people; remember that these are my personal opinions. I'm not talking facts or trying to be objective here.
Not just the fact that they've done some questionable things (the same could be said for many of the European royals), but it has always struck me weird how borderline worshipped the Danish royals are - especially Margrethe & Mary. It reminds me a bit of the stan culture around some singers & bands where the fans don't simply like the person; they adore them & to the level where you're not even allowed to criticise the person. Then we have Margrethe's approval rating - in a democratic country (Denmark) & its territories (Greenland & Faroe Islands), there is no way someone can continuously have around 80% or higher approval rating.
Up to 2022, I didn't necessarily dislike them & I had no personal issue with Margrethe. The Danish royals weren't my cup of tea, but I found Margrethe very cool as a person & I still do to some extent. There was this public narrative of Frederik, the golden boy, Mary, who could do nothing wrong & Joachim having difficulty finding his role & purpose in the family. As someone who has grown up with Nordic tabloid culture, I assumed it was a Victoria vs. Madeleine situation where the tabloids make a hen out of a feather & try to create drama where there is none. Then that statement around the titles of Joachim's children was published & all the puzzle pieces came together for me...
Now I've seen a lot of people here on Tumblr point towards Nikolai & claim it's all his fault. But that guy has been working as a model under the name of Prince Nikolai since at least 2018. Maybe even earlier, I can't remember. But anyway, the only time his grandma told him off was when he was doing ad work for some car brand & used his royal title. If his modelling career was the problem, Margrethe would have done something years ago & not suddenly, out of the blue, make a decision in autumn 2022.
No, for me, the puzzle pieces all fell together. Joachim struggling to find his place within the Royal House & no one really helping him carve out a position for himself; it being public knowledge that Margrethe favoured his first wife; Marie saying that it wasn't her or Joachim's choice to move to Paris & they weren't happy about it; Marie being painted as the bitter step-mother who wouldn't allow Nikolai & Felix to be with their father & instead, they were kept close to their grandmother; & yeah, the car crash that was Margrethe stripping Joachim's children of their titles a.k.a. she legally changed her grandchildren's names behind their backs without talking to them about it. These are just some instances from the last couple of years that were at the top of my mind.
I've mentioned it in messages to @cambridgemadness @lizisanamimal & @world-of-wales (maybe other people as well, sorry if I forgot to mention you), but to me, it feels very much like Margrethe favouring one son over the other & also doing everything she can to coddle him. It's not just the Nordic tabloids pitting family members against one another. It's very much based on Margrethe's behaviour & her leadership.
#danish royal family#queen margrethe ii#anon: so what do you think about margrethe and frederik#me: here is all the reason why I'm bitter over joachim's treatment#sorry for the rant#does this even answer the question?#I wouldn't say I actively dislike them it's more low-key dislike and I don't really care for them as much as I care for other royals#saga.txt
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While I'm no furry, I found a brief video about the anime that came as close to making me one that I ever got, a defining cornerstone of my Weird Kid Childhood: Silver Fang.
youtube
(content warning: an american trying to pronounce japanese names)
While I originally clicked on it for nostalgia's sake, I was surprised when the guy actually specifically mentioned Finland. I was aware that Ginga Nagaberoshi Gin was more popular in the Nordic countries than in the more western west in general, but the popularity isn't all that surprising in hindsight.
While I could quite confidently say that the entire concept of anime was largely unheard of in Finland in the 80s and 90s (please don't come at me to let me know that your mom knew what anime was in -86, I'm talking about normies here), and besides being heavily censored, the finnish release also sported a notoriously, hilariously bad dub (you could make a drinking game out of it), one element it has that I believe struck a cord to the finnish audience was the sense of familiarity in it.
The anime starts in a snow storm, with an old man with a gun in the wilderness, hunting a bear with his dogs. My own grandfather owned and bred karelian bearhounds, and hunting with them was such a big cornerstone of his life that the fact that one of his bitches used to belong to Finland's 8th president's personal doctor ended up being mentioned in the obituary article my grandfather was honoured with in one of the most notable hunting magazines in the country.
The protagonist of Silver Fang is an akita, depicted on the left. The karelian bearhound - also excellent for hunting moose, which was what my grandfather mainly focused on - is on the right. And if their personalities are as similar to each others' as their appearance is, the only reason why Ginga Nagaberoshi Gin could not have been set in Finland is because Finland has no mountains.
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Newspaper Helsingin Sanomat covered the discussion on Finland at the US vice presidential debate on Tuesday night between Republican candidate JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz.
On the subject of school shootings, Walz brought up his experience visiting Finnish schools.
"I've spent time in Finland and seen some Finnish schools. They don't have this [school shootings] happen, even though they have a high gun ownership rate in the country," Walz said on the debate stage.
Walz said he and presidential candidate Kamala Harris were both gun owners and stressed that it was the responsibility of policy makers to ensure the safety of children.
He also spoke about how he was affected by meeting the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. Walz emphasised that change can be made without taking away Americans' guns.
Vance, however, advocated for improving school safety by reinforcing doors, windows and other security features. He also said schools should be given more resources.
"I appreciate what Tim [Walz] said about Finland, because I do think it illustrates some of the weird differences between our own country's gun violence problem and Finland. First of all, we have way higher rates of mental health substance abuse, we have way higher rates of depression, we have way higher rates of anxiety. We unfortunately have a mental health crisis in this country," Vance responded.
HS also noted that Walz is the current governor of Minnesota, a state with a large population of Finnish ancestry, and that a photograph of him wearing a Finland beanie previously circulated online.
Despite the rhetoric praising the Nordic country, Finland suffered its first school shooting in over a decade earlier this year.
Gold going up
Rural-focused newspaper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus highlighted that the global price of gold has surged to new highs. Current prices are reaching near 80 euros per gram, compared to under 10 euros in 2000.
While this has not yet triggered a gold rush in Lapland, there has been notable interest from foreign prospectors.
Mechanical gold mining has ceased in areas like Lemmenjoki National Park, cutting production to a third of previous levels. However, Europe's largest gold mine in Kittilä produced seven tonnes of gold last year.
Kai J. Rantanen, head of the Lapland Association of Gold Miners (Lapin Kullankaivajain Liitto), said that social media and foreign television reality series about gold miners created a movement even before the price had risen.
"Many have since discovered a reality of gold mining that may not suit their own psyche and physique. It requires a strong back," Rantanen said.
Despite strict environmental regulations, Lapland continues to attract gold prospectors, including from countries like the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany.
However, only about 20 of the region's 2,000 prospectors earn a significant portion of their livelihood from gold.
Learning Finnish on the job
The story of Saudi Arabian Mahir Ashraf Khan learning Finnish made it into Tampere daily Aamulehti.
Khan moved to Finland about two years ago, and while the words in his Finnish sentences are at times out of order, his fast and confident speech is easy to listen to, according to the paper.
Over the past couple of years, Khan's Finnish language skills have improved from non-existent to conversational. Khan learned the basics of Finnish in a beginners' course at Tampere University as soon as he arrived in Finland.
However, he conceded that his goal of effortless conversation is still a long way off.
"It would be great to be able to think in Finnish as well. Now I might be able to, if I concentrate," Khan said.
Having grown up in Saudi Arabia, Khan knew he wanted to study abroad as soon as he finished high school.
Out of several options, AL wrote that he chose Finland for a somewhat surprising reason — in Finland there are bidet showers even in public toilets. That's important for someone from the Middle East, laughed Khan, who moved to the Tampere district of Hervanta in autumn 2022.
#nunyas news#updates from up north#there's a whole lot of things that factor into the gun thing#that neither of them are likely to bring up
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Hey 👋
I'm here with a random ask of the week 🌷
If dennor were on a vacation together, where would they go? Would they take someone with them? Like Iceland, bc you know, it's their kid-
Okay, it depends a little on how much time they have off and the season – so have waaaaay too many headcanons about this!
If they only have a few days off, like one or two, they drive or take the train, either to someplace fun in their own countries, Sweden, or Germany. Denmark really loves amusement parks, if they have a day off during a World Meeting, he will go to the nearest amusement park. His favourite amusement park is also the world's oldest – Bakken in Kalundborg, Denmark, but he loves all the ones in Denmark, of course. His favourite rollercoaster ride is really embarrassing though. It's this one called Wildfire, and it's been named the best in Europe and thirdbest in the world in 2018 – BUT IT'S IN KOLMÅRDEN, SWEDEN (I've tried it though, it really is great). If Norway gets to pick, they usually go out into nature, either hiking in the mountains, fishing, visit the beaches or forests, go kayaking, etc. That is, unless it's winter – then it's skiing every single time. Norway is great at skiing, obviously, especially cross-country skiing. They're very unlikely to visit any historical sites, since they already lived through it, and for these shorter trips, they're more likely to just be the two of them.
Now, if it's a week or more, the world IS THEIR OYSTER. So we need to divide these into seasons:
Spring: In spring, they both have a few days off for Easter, but this is family time, so usually they celebrate with a Easter Lunch together with the other Nordics and just hang out together at one of their homes all five of them. They also go visit other European countries (mostly their fellow protestants, because they think the catholics can get a little prickly around Easter – Denmark claims it's because of the whole Lent thing). If they have a bit more time off, they might also visit Iceland, The Faroe Islands, and Greenland (both should have their own representations, because their history and culture is very different from Denmark and they actually have self rule nowadays).
Summer: Now, you gotta understand. Europe has a lot of time off during summer and of course the nations would too. So there's a lot of options presenting themselves. A week in one of Denmark's many vacation houses near the beaches, going on a train trip through Europe, getting a house boat and sail the nearby seas, taking a plane to the south of Europe and becoming as red as a shrimp in 0.5 second ... The possibilities are endless. Iceland occasionally go with them, and if they're in a vacation house, they get a lot of visitors – especially Germany, Sweden and Finland (Iceland just moves in with them without asking). But they do as much as they can during summer
Autumn: In fall, there's only three options. Either, they go to South Europe or they go to either Thailand or the USA. But 7 out of 10 times, they go to Spain, and they often bring the other Nordics along. Spain is the tourist destination. If it's not mainland Spain, it's Gran Canaria or Mallorca. Spain is definitely their favourite vacation place. Spain isn't entirely sure how much he likes that they visit him year after year after year. Sure, he likes the money the tourism generates, but he's never really sure how much he should be around them and he needs vacation too! How else is he going to visit his favourite half of a nation?
Winter: Christmas and New Year's Eve are some more holidays all the nordics celebrate together, and here, they usually decide to stay near the mountains (meaning not in Denmark) – so they can go skiing! I mentioned skiing earlier, and it is an activity all Nordics enjoy – alpine, cross country, snowboard, you name it, they do it. Finland and Iceland especially like snowboarding, whereas Sweden and Norway are more likely to do cross country. Denmark really likes alpine, and is probably the weakest skier among them – which makes the others tease him endlessly, but he's still pretty good. Just wasn't born on skis like the rest of them. Norway is really good at off-piste – Sweden is too tall to do it as well as Norway, and Denmark is afraid he'll fall (and also tall), so that's one thing Norway, Finland, and Iceland does together.
As you can see, there really is a lot of different vacation types they like to do!
#thank you for the ask! <3#prussianbluevanilla#I hope you like this!#hetalia#aph denmark#aph norway#THIS QUESTION HAS LAYERS#dennor#Prussia is not welcome in Danish vacation houses#Spain wants to hang with Romano of course#You know this#aph nordics
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Chapter 1: Discomfort zone
As the war started, the world opened up to embrace Ukrainians. But I didn’t go. The second day of war, when things looked pretty bad, I went to my sister who lives in a village in the heart of Ukraine. There we stayed in a small house with 8 people for a month and a half, until it felt safe enough to return to Kyiv.
Back then I got several concerned messages from foreign friends, offering help. One person offered to help me relocate to Germany, another even offered to stay at their house in England. I turned them down. I wasn’t desperate. I still had a home and didn’t feel eligible to go. I was also feeling excessively optimistic about the future. A few months ago, I looked back on those offers and seriously thought if I should have left back then. There was so much more support. And, as pragmatic as it may be, it was a window of opportunity. But the truth is, I was not ready.
After nearly 2 years of war, people grew weary of supporting us. And frankly, it was partly our fault. I heard lots of stories of our people acting entitled and rude, getting into fights for handouts, seemingly indifferent to the real suffering back home. And then there are a lot of us. By some estimates, 9 million people left Ukraine to go mostly for Europe. Over time, counties began to close up, the payouts and privileges got cut down. So, by the time we contemplated leaving, there weren’t many good options. The only countries who were still truly welcoming were the Baltic and Nordic countries. One of the most supportive ones was Finland. Sure, not as it used to be. At the start of war, Ukrainians could enjoy free trains and public transport and even things like zoo tickets. Little by little, it got cut down. Still, Finland was accepting Ukrainians and granting temporary protection almost to anyone with a UA passport. But the main reason for choosing it was that Mum had a friend in Finland who recently married to a local man. She had been telling us to come for a long time, offered her help, but we didn’t listen.
For a long time, I resisted the idea of going abroad. It was too scary, too uncertain. Moving to a richer country out of convenience seemed wrong, even if a lot of people did it. And yet, things at home have only kept getting harder. There were more and more air attacks and explosions and the Winter was only beginning. The thought of leaving began to resurface.
I was desperately trying to cling to my comfort zone – my room, my PC, my things… Until there was no more comfort left. There’s no peace of mind when you sit in your corridor listening to killer drones fly in the skies above. Still, I had to ask myself “Do I deserve protection? Have I suffered enough? Sure, I heard explosions and sirens all day, had drones and missiles flying over my head, but the chances of me being actually killed are low. Surely, this isn’t for me. There are so many people who need this more.”
And then there was the guilt of leaving your country in crisis. But I realized that there was nothing I could do to help it. I admire the soldiers, the medics, the volunteers and everyone dedicating their lives to protect and help others. But I couldn’t be one of them. I don’t have it in me. I would be broken by trying. I was already broken by these two years. And I have battled depression and anxiety for most of my life. Things were hard for me and, just as I was starting to feel like maybe they might actually get better for once, it all broke down.
Sidenote: I was the happiest I ever was in my life just before the war started. And it’s not like I won a lottery. I just got a job that I loved, that paid modestly but fairly and my health was alright. Of course, the war wasn’t a complete surprise. We have been anticipating and dreading it for months. We have joked about it at work just days before. One of our team members was Russian and I remember I made a joke about the invasion. Another colleague told me it was too much. Yeah… I was the closest to that Russian boy. He seemed very nice. Talked about wanting to work for Red Cross. Funny that, since I am now living under the protection of Red Cross here in Finland. When the war did start, all the guys from work wrote to me, asking if I was ok and if I needed help. Except the Russian boy.
It was even harder coming down from that high. But perhaps, it gave me a little reserve of resilience, a little joy I collected, like an extra life to spend. So, when shit went down, I was strangely calm and collected. I still was the first year. We were riding the high of our initial success. But hope is a volatile resource. After two years, there was nothing but burnout.
Initially, I rejected the though once again. It was too drastic and it felt like I’d just be swapping one type of stress to another. And, in a way, that was true. Though in the end, hearing sirens all day is not the same as asking strangers for directions.
But the last straw fell when I was trying to find a job. I got completely burnt out at my last job the previous year. Not to get too into it, but it paid very little and required me to write Economist-grade texts in a few hours. I remember sitting in the corridor, listening to explosions and worrying I had a text about Taylor Swift’s dogs to finish. Then came the blackouts. I was physically falling ill from the stress. So I quit. But there was nothing part-time and I couldn’t even get jobs I was ridiculously overqualified for. I tried to find something reasonable for months, but it was just no use. Finally, I passed a test for the country’s major TV channel, 1+1. They offered me a translation job. Except it wasn’t official in any way and the pay would only come some 2 months later. Also, the project was some MTV trash. I came up to my mum then and she said it wasn’t worth it. So I went “You know what? Fuck it! Maybe we should just go. It can’t be worse than this.”
So I catapulted myself out of my comfort zone way across 4 countries.
Finland threw a lifebuoy and I grabbed it.
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Sámi Folklore and Magic
The Sámi (sah-me) are the traditionally Sámi-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which in modern times encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. This area was formerly known as Lapland, and the Sámi have historically been known in English as Lapps or Laplanders, but these terms are regarded as offensive by the Sámi, who instead claim the area's name in their own languages. The Sámi are primarily known for their relationship with the culture of nomadic reindeer herding. For several complex reasons that I won’t get into here, reindeer herding is legally reserved for only Sámi people in some regions of the Nordic countries.
Learning about my culture has been a very wonderful, eye-opening experience for me and I want to share what I’ve found!
The Sámi, within the circles of people who know them, are recognized for three specific forms of magic. These are divination, drumming, and “gand”. Sámi people and their craft were believed to be very powerful by sagas.
Saivu and Noaidi:
Saivu is a term that typically means “another world”, as well as the being who live there. A noaidi refers to a person with the ability to communicate with spirits, travel to other worlds, and potentially even tell the future. The drum was one of the most critical tools for noaidi carrying out these spiritual tasks.
Faith and Mythos:
There is no set limit to the gods traditionally held in Sámi culture. Norse and Sámi mythology influenced each other frequently, and thus there are many notable similarities between the two. I.e. Both hold a belief in the figure of Thor.
Mythical creatures are a critical part of Sámi culture. Many today still believe in underground spirits, and figures of legend are still described through generations. Stállu (troll giants) and Čáhcerávga (river spirits/sea monsters) are used in stories to scare children from dangerous behavior on the ice or near other dangerous places.
Joik
Joiks are Sámi song traditions used to aid a noaidi in achieving a trance, especially so in pre-Christian dominance. Joiks also have function outside of such spiritual traditions and rituals. They are also used to calm and call to reindeer, and narrative joiks are powerful tools in storytelling.
The Drum
Meavrresgárri - North Sámi
Gievrie - South Sámi
Runebomme - Norwegian (Comes from early misunderstanding that the symbols represented on the drums were runes, newly appearing name is Sametromme)
Many drums are made of a wooden frame (South Sámi) or a hollowed bowl (North Sámi). Each are personalized, with the backs of these drums being decorated with various amulets of silver, animal claws, teeth, or bones. Whenever the drum is hit, the pointers move around and indicate to the symbols on the drumskin. Through this, noaidi are able to tell the future and communicate with gods and spirits. Drums are also powerful tools to aid in putting noaidi into a trance.
Gand
Originally claimed to be a “soul” or spirit that a person practicing Sámi sorcery could control/send out. This could be to gain information about distant lands, or even to cast harm onto others. By those who feared Sámi magic, gand was typically known as a malicious “projectile” of sorts that sorcerers could use at intense speeds and vast distances.
Healing:
Noaidi were believed to be able to heal people by retrieving their souls from the world of the dead. Traditions of noaidi healing are still in use to this day. Stemming bleeding, stopping someone’s bleeding through chanting, rituals and other forms of witchcraft) are still used not only in Sámi tradition but also throughout Norway as well.
Much of Sámi culture isn’t known by those outside of the culture due to much of it being received through oral tradition. It’s very important to respect the closed aspect of the culture, while still learning about important cultural aspects that preserve Sámi people’s place in the world.
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With NATO membership imminent, Sweden and the US sign a new defense cooperation agreement
Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 08/12/2023 - 00:07in Military
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and Swedish defense minister Pal Jonson signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) on December 5, strengthening military ties between the two nations, which will allow bilateral exercises and new joint acquisitions and will further pave the way for Sweden's integration into NATO.
The agreement “will allow greater defense cooperation, such as the legal status of U.S. military personnel, access to areas of deployment and the pre-positioning of military material,” said Pentagon spokesman Brig. General Patrick S. Ryder told reporters: "The DCA also creates the necessary conditions for U.S. military support when requested and is therefore an agreement of great importance for both countries." More details were not provided immediately.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden and Finland, who have long been neutral, applied to join NATO and, although Finland has been admitted to the alliance, Sweden's accession awaits the approval of Turkey and Hungary.
Jonson, speaking on December 5 with the Atlantic Council, refused to provide a schedule on when he expects the final obstacles to Sweden's accession to be eliminated, only saying that this will be "soon".
B-1 bombers first landed in Sweden in 2023.
“Turkey has granted Swedish guest status, saying that it is not if we are going to become members, but when... and we hope that this will be resolved as soon as possible,” Jonson said.
About the DCA between the US and Sweden, Jonson said: “This will make our close partnership even closer. It will create better conditions for U.S. forces, both to use Swedish territory as a preparation and base area, as well as for exercise, and it is also a deterrent. Therefore, the DCA will be a new cornerstone in our bilateral cooperation."
He later said that the U.S. military presence in Sweden “is important” for NATO integration and that the DCA will guide U.S. investment in the region.
Jonson's observations focused on how Sweden will integrate its armed forces into NATO and argued that Stockholm is already highly aligned, both operationally and technically, with NATO standards.
As an example, he cited last year's "Silver Arrow" exercise with the U.S., saying that it was Sweden's largest exercise in 25 years and highlighted the need to pay attention to logistics and maintenance, and the ability to "fight for a long time".
He noted that the Nordic countries of Norway, Finland and Denmark already work together militarily and all now have DCA with the U.S., which should accelerate and improve NATO interoperability in the Scandinavian region.
Sweden was one of the first members of the Partnership for Peace (PFP) - sometimes called "NATO Light" - created during the Clinton administration to establish a path for NATO membership for other European countries and for the former Warsaw Pact nations. The PFP has defined a series of steps, from joint exercises to common equipment and training standards, necessary for membership, and Sweden fully embraced all of them, Jonson said, and sent its troops to serve alongside NATO forces in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Libya.
“We are linked to NATO's regional plans,” he said, and Sweden offers not only state-of-the-art land, air and naval forces and grassroots opportunities, but also experience in Russian intelligence issues.
"Intelligence is also an asset that I think we can bring to the table, to the alliance," Jonson said. "Sweden has a lot of Russian experience. We have strong capabilities in our intelligence communities. We have sensors that can work on our submarines and also on our surface fighters and also on aerial sensors."
T-7A jet developed by Boeing in partnership with Saab.
Sweden, despite having a population of only 10 million inhabitants, also has a defense industry capable of building armored vehicles, submarines, corvets and combat and command and control aircraft, and is manufacturing 155 mm ammunition for Ukraine, along with Denmark and Norway. The SAAB JAS39 Gripen is a frequent competitor to the U.S. F-16 and F-35 in international competitions, and its GlobalEye airborne alert and control system often faces Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail. SAAB is a partner of Boeing in USAF's T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer, and Sweden's Gripen fighters carry US-made AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and are powered by GE Aerospace F414 engines.
Sweden is “fully in favor” of NATO's objectives that each member devote two percent of its gross domestic product to defense and 20 percent of that amount to new equipment and research and development, Jonson said.
“Sweden doubled its defense budgets by 2024 compared to what we were in 2020,” he said. "In five years, we have doubled [expenditures]... and next year we will reach 2.1 percent of GDP and we also have an upward trajectory."
In addition, Jonson said that Sweden spends “actually 56% when it comes to acquisitions. Therefore, we obtained a very good score in terms of investments and also in innovation."
NATO membership will give Sweden greater security to deter a possible aggression by Russia, which continues to wage war against Ukraine, and Jonson said that Sweden also wants to do its part to prevent Russia from a series of new attacks.
"If Russia succeeds in this war, I fear that other countries neighboring Russia, such as Moldova and Georgia, will feel increasing pressure and that there will also be increasing pressure on the Alliance. Therefore, be sure that the United States has a partner in Sweden who shares the unity of purpose of supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary,” he said.
Russia outlined plans to regroup from losses in Ukraine and “return with a greater force” in 2026, Jonson added, which will require vigilance and will not diminish support for Kiev from NATO and the European Union. There is a “window of opportunity” for NATO to maintain the pressure to ensure a desirable outcome in the war, he added.
Most of the Swedish electorate – 65-70 percent – supports NATO membership, Jonson said, and 88 percent of the seats in parliament were won “by those who want to join,” Jonson said. They recognize that Russia's aggression is an immediate danger and requires an "evolution" in thought.
“Sweden is no longer being defended within Sweden,” he said.
Tags: Military AviationFlygvapnet - Swedish Air ForceJAS39 GripenNATO - North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationsaabUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force
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Fernando Valduga
Fernando Valduga
Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.
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Eurovision Semi-final 1 Personal Reactions in resumee:
Spoilers of Eurovision 2023 SemiFinal ahead
Opening (and the First Interval act with Alyosha and Fergusson): To cite Shrek in Shrek 2: "Could you please not make any Ukraine homage emotional and heart-breaking...FOR FIVE MINUTES?!" 😭😭😢 (for the Opening only: I wish LatAm countries would be so dedicated in making such arrangements for hosting any event like they do in Liverpool TmT)
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Norway: The song still majestic and strong as her spirit, but something's off with Ale (whistle note and finale)...In the name of the Nordics, please save her, televote ;m; T-T
Malta: They revamped the 8-bit sprites to not get sued by Nintendo, right? Also, CARBOARD DESTINY IS BACK and that SLAY! Deserves to be saved from 2nd spot death curse :,)
Serbia: HE BROUGHT THE FLOWER AND THE GUNDAM MECHA!! :DDD Luke, to the finals, now. Obligatory.
Latvia: The same staging as the Supernova version. But still have some energy. Well, only time will tell if they're saved...
Portugal: Where's the sofa and heart engines from Festival da Canção? ._. Still, EATING THE ENTIRE STAGE WITH HER CLASS...Loving it and wishing it to go to the finals :)
Croatia: A teeny weeny softer than the original Dora 2023 version. But still the same insane Let 3 in stage XD. Even the rocket finale was improved :D. I swear if they don't get into the finals...
Switzerland: The suit is fine, at least original with the pyro effects and the choreo. Not as good as Gjon, but at least better than the last year's entry and maybe, MAYBE it can make it. No guarantee though
Ireland: Still the lower key pitch upsets me. But the staging WAY BETTER than the studio and Eurosong versions and with more style. Fearing for them, still.
Israel: My GOSH, Noa Kirel and Israel. We asked you for a competitive song in the sight of three Nordics slaying, not a MASTERPIECE. 🤯😦 If the rumors of the dancebreak part of Solo are really true (not seen the rehearsals before the semis to avoid spoilers), they gonna need A FRICKING MIRACLE, cause Noa just raised the bar to the arena's ROOF 😂. Directly to the finals, assured!
Moldova: The closest we can have to a well-done Fulenn successor in staging and style and all ;w;. The flute guy making justice to the Sax Guy from Sunstroke Project (NF runner-up), and ready to battle Loreen again like in 2012! (the coincidence she came up next in the running order of the semis) Please let this happen!
Sweden: SHE BROUGHT THE (panini press) LED SCREEN!! 🥰🤩😍How do you say "Mother" in Swedish? Cause she just made it like MelFest... ;w; (the postcard of her relaxing in the lake just nails her vibes). The world will be ON FIRE if she flops TwT
Azerbaijan: Not my favorites of the semi roster (they would have been safer in the second semi, tbh) or the entry list in general. But they sang good and with nice vibes? Yup. They just give some band vibes like Gorillaz (my mutuals can agree on this, as they told me that and I see they're right). They gonna need a lot of luck to get to the finals, still.
Czechia: Not what I expected (still attached to the studio version videoclip ;w;), but my gosh: They can SING perfectly in live! Loved the outfits, the entire vocal harmony and the performance. (The braid part reminded me of the Nasci María live staging for Portugal somehow). I will cry if they are gone from the finals. Please, one chance. ;w; 😭🥲
Netherlands: Fearing for them since the pre-parties performances and with some HOPE for the semis. 😣😔 Still, they gave their best and looked just so happy at the end. 🥲. Well, you made your best, even if you don't make it
Finland: My mutuals and most of all Europe said already everything about him. But I'm gonna repeat it: HE JUST HYPED THE FINAL SPOT! The improvements to the UMK choreo, the wild vibes... Getting him out of the finals is a national if not a continental punishable CRIME. Don't make that mistake, televote, he gave you the SHOW.
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Rita Ora segment: Damn, UK. You brought the best of the best to perform in the intervals. Like Madonna in the Super Bowl, but way better! :D
The Graham Norton resumee of Eurovision: Very self-aware of the bad luck UK got during the recent millennia but still knowing their best hits in earlier years ;w;. Also, the mentions of the best Ukrainian entries and Kalush is appreciated. (Not to mention the homage to Sam Ryder's ROYAL talent)
The Timur reaction clip: I've never seen so much passion in a victory not from LatAm's football fans. Beautiful O,W,O
The Dustin the Turkey moment: Where is this dude from? (minutes after searching for Ireland 2008 entry: They took the "Eurovision weird level" seriously XD)
The Måns and Filomena segment: Need to make that game for the friends rn. (Poor Måns, he thought Achille qualified in Torino...We feel your pain ;w;)
The Italy-France-Germany segments: La Zarra just as France-class as she can be, LOTL being just almost like Maneskin at this rate in charisma, and Marco being a sweetie...FUCK NO, NOT THE SPOILERS FROM THEIR PERFORMANCES! (mutes and changes broswer tab view) 😭😭
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The moment of truth:
Croatia: THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT! They will bring the traktor! ;w;
Moldova: YES! We need Loreen and the 2012 return will be complete!
Switzerland: I know I said there maybe could go but HOW IN TARNATION?
Finland: KAARIJA STANS, TODAY IS NATIONAL CRAZY AND PARTY DAY! Finland 2024 is nigh!
Czechia: MIRACLES EXIST...GRACIAS, DIOS, you gave them a chance! Go, Vesna!
Israel: Of course she had to be selected! :D If Solo EVER makes it to the finals, they're probably screwed XD
Portugal: Madre mía, this is a lucky day. My favs are into the finals!! (well...most)
Sweden: OFFICIALLY, MOTHER HAS RETURNED TO EUROVISION!! THE RETURN IS COMPLETE! (Wins either her or Kaarija, I will be happy nevertheless. They're both incredible)
Serbia: LUKE HAS BEEN SAVED! 🥲🥲Serbia again to the finals with the surreal and out-of-box slaying. Konstrakta would be so proud of him... TwT
Norway: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Thank you, televote! ;W; 😭😭😭. Now I won't be sad in these semis. (almost) ALL MY FAVORITES INTO THE FINALS! :DDD
Ps: Could we please swap Malta or Latvia in exchange of Switzerland, pretty please?
Now to wait the second semis...Not as excited for them like in this one (except for Austria, Australia, Georgia, Armenia, Estonia and Slovenia), but still interested (bring Ruslana, plz ;W;)
#esc cause why not#eurovision 2023#nicky's chatter#random shit#semifinal 1#today I invite some wine and pizza...If i had any of it XD#the nordics serving today#still a bit curious about how “poland” will make it this thursday#“poland” bc it's not Poland's song...just the TV's choice
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I find it so fascinating how animes have been broadcasted in different countries.
Because in some, it seems like everyone over the age of 40 barely knows what animes are. But in others, you hear how "their parents watched animes, and now I watched the same as them"
Especially in latin america, I feel like people have been much more into animes for DECADES than in the US. I've seen old animes from the 70s and see comments in spanish about how "my mom used to watch this when she was little and then she showed me it too". And maybe not everyone is anime FANS, but they at least have had a knowledge and exposition for it for much longer.
And honestly, same up here in the Nordic countries. We barely aired CARTOONS, PERIOD before the 80s essentially, my parents saying the cartoons were either stop motion, very cheaply animated, or it was stuff like Balthazar and occasionally they could air Tom and Jerry or Scooby Doo. But animes, absolutely not. Animes first came to the nordic countries via VHS releases in the 80s, and thus it was only a handful of people who got to see them rather than a majority. And of course, there's ones that are very popular here due to that (especially Silver Fang, which seems to not have been popular at ALL in other countries outside the nordics). But we didn't really get the mainstream animes until Sailor Moon and Pokemon aired on TV. I mean, we had the moomins anime, but people didn't treat is as an "anime" because... it was the moomins, you know! (I legitimately thought the moomins anime was animated in Finland for literally half of my childhood)
But then we have other European countries like Germany and Italy where it seems like they got a BUNCH of animes airing on TV (Italy especially, y'all italians even have your own made theme song for every anime you aired), and these people also have the things where "generations have seen the same anime".
I've just found it interesting how different countries have aired them, and how much or how little they have aired them.
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A series of protests was organised in Istanbul in front of Swedish Consulate General after Swedish far-right groups burned Islam’s holy book, the Koran, in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.
Protesters in front of the Swedish consulate in Istanbul on Sunday chanted against Sweden and burned Swedish flags and pictures of the far-right Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan.
Paludan sparked anger in Turkey by publicly burning the Koran in front of supporters of his far-right Danish political party, Hard Line. He also has Swedish citizenship.
He burned the copy of the Koran during s protest on Saturday afternoon outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
He has held several demonstrations in the past where he has also burned Korans. He told Swedish media on Sunday that he did not regret burning the Koran.
However, the gesture has hugely embarrassed Swedish diplomats. “We do not share the book-burning idiot’s view,” the Swedish Consulate General staff wrote on a placard placed in a window at the consulate as a response to the protesters.
Turkish police maintained tight security around the Consulate as protests continued until late on Sunday night.
The Koran-burning episode has strained already stressed relationships between Sweden and Turkey over the Nordic country’s NATO membership bid, which Ankara has not approved.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book … Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar cancelled the planned visit of his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson’s to Turkey on January 27 saying that there was “no point” to it, because Sweden had not stopped the Koran-burning protest in Stockholm. “Measures should have been taken,” Akar said in a written statement.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson tweeted his regrets about the whole event on Saturday. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act,” he said.
“I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today.” Kristersson added.
But the statements have not calmed Turkish official opinion. “If it goes on like this, Sweden’s entry into NATO will never be approved by Turkey,” Numan Kurtulmus, Deputy Chairman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, said on Sunday.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year prompted neutral Scandinavian countries to rethink their neutraity and seek to join the Atlantic alliance. Both Sweden and Finland have officially applied to join.
But countries can join NATO only if all its members unanimously agree, which effectively gives Turkey veto powers over any possible enlargement.
Finland and Sweden signed a trilateral memorandum with Turkey in June, pledging to address its concerns over their tolerance of outlawed Kurdish groups and followers of President Erdogan’s nemesis, the exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen.
However, Swedish and Finnish attempts to convince Turkey to approve their NATO membership have failed until now.
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