My Favorites Which Probably Won’t Qualify In ESC2018

Queluz Palace part II

So sad and shocked about what happened in Sweden....

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It was already a while ago when one of the biggest winter sports events FIS Nordic Ski World Championships took place in my hometown, in the city of Lahti, I felt inspired to write about home. This inspiration was strengthened by me moving abroad. 

I’ve always had a contradictory relationship with the place I was brought up. There’s nothing better, warmer than going home but then there’s nothing more agonising than being at home. But as the years go by and the further I’ve gone in my life as in the world, I have learnt to appreciate Lahti’s bittersweet qualities and to see more potential than down sides in it. 

Ten years ago I couldn’t get out of the city fast enough but in these days I’m actually proud of my hometown, its rusty reputation and hard cover - knowing that it takes a lot to see what the city holds inside. As nostalgic my occasional visits are I do remember why I left and haven’t returned to live there. But for a SMALL TOWN lovers I wanted to point out a few things why I am proud to come from Lahti: 

Hidden history

Lahti is cool in a way that you need to know shit to see the real thing underneath the hard cover. Yes Lahti is an ugly city but it used to be traditional wooden small town that burnt down 1870′s and within the unappreciation of the recent decades-  it is what it is. There’s a story behind every statue and park no matter how ridiculous it looks outside.. Okay sometimes the story can make you laugh also. But the point is, there are marks all over the town to tell the story of the city which you need to know how to read. Lahti is definitely at its best during the warm and hopefully sunny spring-summer-fall months but also in February during the annual Skiing sport events when the atmosphere gets an international add in the form of the athletes, media and tourists. 

Lake Vesijärvi

Having always lived within a walking distance from the lake I cannot imagine myself living in a city without any sort of water system. Lahti literally means a “bay” in Finnish so the lake view defines a lot of its character. Besides that the lake offers a waterway to other towns near by (Vesijärvi is connected to Päijänne, the second largest lake in the country) it is a fabulous refreshing site all year round.

Harbour

Today it’s called the living room because everybody always heads to spent their free time there whether it’s for sports, cultural events or drinking/dining out. 100 years ago it was an important industrial area being connected by water and rail. The dominant Sibelius Hall, the lake, charming restaurant boats and wooden details make it one of the favorite spots of the city.

Architecture

Lahti is known to be the promised land of boxes of houses without a hint of character or the era they were built in. But there are some pearls among them: 

Sibelius Hall

The concert and congress center, named after the famous Finnish composer (even though Sibelius didn’t have any real connection to Lahti) was built in 2000. It consists of the old factory and the new wooden part which the latter was at the time it the biggest public wooden building for 100 years. Today it’s been recognized as one of the top ten concert halls in Europe and in the world. The location, the open space and attention to details make together a harmony which I particularly enjoy every time when I step in. 

City Hall

Not the most special buildings in Finland since you can find this same design in Helsinki Railway Station and in the City Hall of Joensuu. And yes the architect was the very same Eliel Saarinen. But it is one of the oldest buildings of the city, standing on top of the hill since 1912 and within its park and several statues it’s one of my favorite areas in Lahti. The interior is also worth seeing for. 

Other sights

Ski jumps

They are impressive when you stand down there, staring up in the sky or on top, looking over the city. Apparently it’s the 7th most popular tourist attraction in Finland and I can understand why. For almost two weeks in February 2017 the world of winter sport lovers headed to this place, it was pretty cool! 

Statues and monuments

Lahti is seriously filled with statues. Over 50 statues and monuments over the town include some important ones as others... not so much. And some which you wouldn’t even think of as an statue or a monument at all. 

(There are two radio towers but only one could fit into this pic)

The most important ones (even though I think they’re not officially monuments but anyhow) being the radio towers of course, the symbols of the city. On top of the hill there’s a lovely graveyard and great park for jogging with awesome views over the city. 

Lanu Park is located next to the harbour on a hill hiding 12 human characters made by Olavi Lanu. Some of his work with the same theme can be found in front of the church in the center and the theater.

Design city

Originally known as a city with a strong sport traditions, design and culture has been rising within Sibelius Hall, highly valued Institute of Design and Fine Arts (which they’ve been trying to put down for years!), the re-use of older buildings such as functionalism buildings bus station and old gas station near the city hall.

(Hello! Diner opened in 2016 in the old gas station- not my pic!)

Rising restaurant and cultural scene

During the passed years there has been some serious rising number of restaurants, cafés and live music venues. Even the old restaurants have taken the live music and shows as part of their business plans to attract customers. I’m super-happy about the live music scene cause I can still remember the time when there were barely places for artists and bands to perform.

(Restaurant Popot (shoes in Finnish) opened in the old shoe store - not my pic!)

They say that the region of Häme, which Lahti is a part of, is slow. Being away so much I see it changed every time I come back. Evolving. Growing. Finding its own way. Still not there yet. Lahti is stil not as attractive as Tampere or Porvoo for example but we’re getting there. Slowly but surely. On FB it’s lovely to see people moving from other parts of the country and telling what a great place it is to live and how much does it offer. How friendly people are. Of course crime and negativity do take place but overall it’s nicely positive. Thanks to the pretty heavy selection of events and fairs all year round - the city is being discovered by thousands of tourists every year and along with city folks they develop this city too. Looking forward to my next visit. 

“Home is where your story begins..”

I keep..

Allô!

March has been so full of #mtlmoments that I don’t even know where to start!

The much praised La Nuit Blanche which was already a month ago was indeed one of the greatest events of my Mtl year. Ten well spent hours by doing free activities in the greatest company. The highlight of the event was definitely vinyl scratching just around the corner from the place I live. Other stuff included penguin watching, so called tramway ride, ice sculptures and several other different art performances all over the city. Some activities didn’t exactly match the original description but were still somewhat enjoyable. And they were all free so can’t complain.

(LNB, 2014)

Also the long anticipated Laura Pausini concert which was even more back and beyond than what I imagined first. In total 9h of travelling in a bus from Montréal to this small town of Orillia, in Ontario. Even my first apartment was bigger than the local bus station. But the people there were the friendliest I’ve ever met. It came handy at that point when we were checking out from the hotel (we stayed in the same one with the band and crew btw!) and there was only 30min to our bus’ departure to Toronto and we seriously thought that you could have a taxi in that time but noup. Our travel plans would have changed dramatically unless the hotel’s manager hadn’t driven us herself to the bus station. What a service!! http://www.daysinn.com/hotels/ontario/orillia/days-inn-orillia/hotel-overview

(You'll never find me in this one! pic by Mario Torre)

We were lucky enough to see Laura doing a tv interview before the concert and where we were literally 1m away from her. She saw my flag and signed some autographs, again I was super lucky to get one! Otherwise there were no more chances to meet or talk to her. But I don’t wanna complain cause I’ve been so lucky with her in the past in London and Madrid. I did give her the post I wrote about her here in my blog ( http://lageografiademicamino.tumblr.com/post/68130494682/she-uguale-a-lei ) through a staff member of a casino. Not sure if she's read it or checked out my blog or anything.

The concert followed the same tracklist as the previous concerts in America and Europe. More or less. Some songs weren’t performed like Con la musica alla radio which I’ve been praising here in Tumblr too.. But I guess you can’t have it all. Laura seemed tired. But she’s now a mom of one-year-old and still touring around the world so who wouldn’t be tired in her place The problem with an artist like Laura is that she gives so much of her time to her fans and when she's acting normally and just doing her job it doesn't feel like enough.

But the concert was great overall. Her voice was in top condition as always. The majority of people were quite old, I felt super young among those canadian-italian grannies. That was one of the reasons why the concert seemed a bit slow compared to the concerts I attended in A'dam and London which were just full of energy. But I did love to see the show with my own eyes and hear the latest versions of the songs. Now all I’m looking forward to, is the live release. #pausini20th

The latest event which I’ve been to was St. Patrick's Day,  probably one of the rare Sunday afternoons in the winter time when it's totally okay to get wasted here. Totally new acquaintance as an event since we don't have it in Finland. Originally an Irish thing but celebrated widely in all over North America. Also in Mtl where almost half of its population has some sort of Irish background in the family (who knew?!).

It was fun, cold thou but fun. There was a parade of three hours long, more commercial apparently when compared to the real thing in Ireland. Or so I was told. But I did get to see some mounties, which I've been dying to see ever since I came here! Green was the theme colour of the day and the streets of centre-ville were packed of people wearing all sorts green clothes and accessories. Even the beer was green at the Irish pub where we later ended up with the bunch of couchsurfers.

(Moi, on St. Paddy's)

ALSO, I'm almost embarrased to tell you this but I did attend to a seminar of "Get the Guy" by Matthew Hussey. Apparently he's quite big in his field, wrote books and doing a world tour now with this seminar thingie. Definitely a #mtlmoment I never thought I'd do! It was just one post or two before where I was telling how I'm not looking for anyone or anything but.. yeah friend had a free ticket and I thought what the hell.

It was okay, he didn't tell anything that I wouldn't have known before but gotta admit that it was still pretty entertaining with his jokes and that gorgeous british accent. In the other hand, it did have a bit of a commercial taste cause it ended up lasting over five hours! When I left he was still talking.. not about pick up lines or how to get any guy but about himself and trying to sell his book, tour or whatever. Well now, I've been there and done that too! :)

Single ladies, interested or curious in the subject, this is for you :)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnFUFy4GbdQ

But I have worked as well. Quite a lot actually recently. Just had my first days off for 11 days. I’m be working now only in the evening shifts since there’s not enough of physical space for all the employees to work during the day. And naturally the day shifts are more popular compared to the evening shifts which last until midnight. Like I said before, nothing against working in the evenings but I gotta admit non-stop working until midnight five times a week might get in the way of my social life. So in some point I’m thinking of cutting it down to four days a week kind of thing. But at least Babel is paying $12/evening shift more now!

Against what people might think about it, the job ain’t about the playing the game but to find all the things that might go wrong while playing the game. The employees are usually divided into different teams and we have different themes, areas etc, we need to work on. Still fun thou. People are still super friendly and there are worse jobs in the world. Haven’t done translating since there are now more finnish people but I enjoy the team I get to work with while doing the regular testing. 

It’s been pretty hectic at the flat as well. First one room mate from the flat downstairs got evicted after he started fighting about this rat issue at the building with our landlord. And now that room mate is suing our landlord. A bit more dramatic the disagreements here between landlords and tenants compared to Finland. Yeah but now he’s moved out. We also had a week of renovations being done in our kitchen and bathroom which was just pain for me cause it didn’t just fit into my daily routine at all. Cause I worked in the evenings when they were gone and then when I was at home so were they. But it’s over now and no more leaking taps etc. But now the toilet doesn’t work! I hope the landlord gets it fixed by my bday which is next weekend..when I’m just gonna do the traditional finnish thing: get drunk… with great friends of course to carry me home afterwards. #finnish #bday #justkidding

Weatherlike. It's been back and forth with spring and winter over here. There's been pretty gorgeous days with sun and warm temperatures over 0 but then there has been snowstorms too, the latest one today. But I'm still brave enough to say that I have indeed survived the famously cold canadian winter. #mtlmoments

Okay, now I stop! Thanks again for reading :)

A new hobby started! And yes filtered used but they are my first shots so give me a break! Wandered around in the streets and seacoast of Helsinki and this is what I got :)

How should voting system be changed in Eurovision?

So..... Community is buzzing about the results of the Grand Final and especially the voting system. I find it unlikely EBU wouldn’t change the system in somehow considering how huge is the people’s reaction and they did drop the juries from semifinals last year so... Anyhow here are some options. 

1. JURIES ARE DROPPED FROM EUROVISION ENTIRELY 

France 2023. 

I don’t think this will happen. First of all, there are too many delegations and countries that benefit from the jurers. Second, it wouldn’t change the problem. Last year folks were crying why Juries didn’t stop Ukraine winning with sympathy televotes. People don’t always know the best and we do make decisions based on politics etc soo.. Every year we’re not happy with either side of voting system but I do believe we need both sides to continue in the contest. 

2. JURIES PERCENTAGE WILL BE DROPPED 

Currently jurers hold 50% of the votes in the final (semifinals it’s only televote). In some national finals their percentage is less and people votes have more impact. If this scenario did happen, would it be 30%? 40%? 45%? 

Ukraine 2023. 

3. JURERS WILL BE INCREASED TO ADD DIVERSITY OF THE VOTES 

Currently there are 5 jurers / country. Would adding more people bring diversity of giving the points? Because they often are surprisingly aligned on their big favourites. They should be musical professionals or media professionals experticed in music industry and they’re not allowed to talk about the acts to each other or have any connection to the delegations, artists etc. 

4. BRINGING IN 3RD VOTES (TELESCOPIC)

Georgia 2023. 

Sanremo and Benidorm Fest use Telescopic votes. I think they have 15-25% impact to the final points. This might help to smoothe the biggest differences between audience and the jurers or make the final decision in some cases perhaps. 

5. KEEPING JURERS BUT MAKING JURY SHOW PERFORMANCES PUBLIC 

Currently only the audience that bought the tickets to Jury shows and press sees the actual Jury show. Would it be better to add visibility here by publishing the performances later on Youtube? 

Armenia 2023. 

6. KEEPING JURERS AND CHANGING CRITERIA 

So the current criteria being: 

Vocal capacity of the artist(s)

Performance on stage

Composition and originality of the song

Overall impression of the act

Every year the entries outside of pop genre seem to be receiving less Jury love. Jurers should represent different genres and parts of the industry though to appreciate rock, rap entries for example. I wonder is the singing overly hyped in the criteria and should there be different guidelines for it because you can’t judge pop song singing and rock song singing in the same way. 

7. KEEPING JURERS BUT MAKING THEM VOTE ALL THE ACTS 

Croatia 2023. 

Again to make the jury votes more even and less in favour for the big favourites only, would it help if they’d judge ALL the entries? Having limitations on how many 12 points etc you can give of course. This would also solve the zero points dilemma. 

8. KEEPING JURIES BUT CHANGING TELEVOTING TO VOTE 3 ACTS WITH THE SAME PRICE 

In Junior Eurovision public must choose 3 different acts I believe. Not sure how this would work but it would help diving the points instead of people voting for their one and only favourite. In years like these when we have such a strong televote favourites like Finland and Sweden, they tend to suck all the votes and there isn’t much left to anyone else. We saw the televote scores being quite small even for songs that were loved (Austria, Moldova, Czechia etc)

Portugal 2023. 

9. KEEPING THE JURIES BUT CHANGING TELEVOTING FOR FREE

They do this in Melodiefestivalen I think. They’ve built up an app just for voting where voting is free. Again people wouldn’t just vote for the number 1 favourite but several acts and this would also perhaps prevent the unpleasent zero points situations. 

What are your thoughts on the voting system in Eurovision and how would you change it? 

Randomly Lisboa! 

Visited my hometown with a friend and a camera. This is what I got in black and white.

My favourite tv show Heartbeat and one of my favourite characters, Claude Greengrass... I’m so sad to hear the actor Bill Maynard gone. RIP

Took some shots of winter scenery when in home for Xmas. Finally I can appreciate the peace and quiet