Snakes In The Ball Pit => Yay, I get to talk about me! => Topic started by: crow on June 16, 2014, 11:47:55 pm
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 16, 2014, 11:47:55 pm
This is a question for people who have, are or will be living in Finland. Why do people with Finnish accents all sound like witches? Are you a witch?
Please do not respond if you aren't Finnish, thank you.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 17, 2014, 06:51:51 am
Well, I do have a black cat and people have been known to call me a witch. Or that might have been "bitch", I wasn't really paying attention.
Semi serious answer, we have a long history of paganism and nature magic. Finns were pretty much "Sure, we'll be Christians as long as we can still sing our songs about forest spirits and do sauna magic". There was also the thing about people really having three "souls", so I guess God might just as well have one of them.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on June 17, 2014, 11:07:32 am
What kind of magic do you do in a sauna?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 17, 2014, 03:14:35 pm
All the important magic. Birth magic, appeasing the house spirits, fertility, sending the dead etc. Fun fact, the steam in sauna is known as "löyly" in Finnish, which roughly translates to "the breath".
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 17, 2014, 04:53:50 pm
Well, I do have a black cat and people have been known to call me a witch. Or that might have been "bitch", I wasn't really paying attention.
Semi serious answer, we have a long history of paganism and nature magic. Finns were pretty much "Sure, we'll be Christians as long as we can still sing our songs about forest spirits and do sauna magic". There was also the thing about people really having three "souls", so I guess God might just as well have one of them. montrith, June 17, 2014, 06:51:51 am
Are you more or less pagan than Lithuania, who were pagan until like, the 14th century?
Do you have a witches brew?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Lemon on June 17, 2014, 05:14:01 pm
While we're at it, how often do you see the words "Angry Birds" in your daily life? Has Rovio just taken to renaming everything in Finland? Do people watch hockey games in Angry Birds Star Wars Arena?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on June 17, 2014, 05:37:57 pm
Birth magic, appeasing the house spirits, fertility, sending the dead etc.montrith, June 17, 2014, 03:14:35 pm
Okay, level with us here. All of that just means "fucking," right?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: A Whirring Bone-White Gleech on June 17, 2014, 06:03:54 pm
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 18, 2014, 04:10:21 am
Are you more or less pagan than Lithuania, who were pagan until like, the 14th century?
Christianity first came to Finland during the middle ages, but it never really managed to completely replace the old pagan beliefs. Like I said, people were pretty cool with the idea of God, as long as they could still do the old magic stuff they'd done before.
Do you have a witches brew?
Yes, and we teach children how dangerous it is.
While we're at it, how often do you see the words "Angry Birds" in your daily life?
Every fucking minute of my life. Let me put it this way: You could stay alive and well while consuming nothing but Angry Birds products.
Okay, level with us here. All of that just means "fucking," right?
No fucking in sauna, actually. Firstly, it's a holy place and the spirits wouldn't like that. Secondly, the Finnish sauna is much, much more hot than your wussy American saunas. Temperatures of 210 F are not uncommon. This makes for a very uncomfortable place for fucking. Combine that with the traditional sauna sport of rolling around in snow and jumping into ice holes and I challenge even Bunnybread to find a way to keep things sexy.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: One Of The Crappy Pokemon That Nobody Likes on June 18, 2014, 04:31:11 am
Secondly, the Finnish sauna is much, much more hot than your wussy American saunas. Temperatures of 210 F are not uncommon. montrith
There's no way that's true. No goddamned w--
"Taking a sauna begins by washing oneself up and then going to sit for some time in the hot room, typically warmed to 80–110 °C (176–230 °F)" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_sauna)
Finland! Where even the saunas are metal as fuck!
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Fanzay on June 18, 2014, 05:30:36 am
Secondly, the Finnish sauna is much, much more hot than your wussy American saunas. Temperatures of 210 F are not uncommon. montrith
There's no way that's true. No goddamned w--
"Taking a sauna begins by washing oneself up and then going to sit for some time in the hot room, typically warmed to 80–110 °C (176–230 °F)" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_sauna)
Yeah I admit I don't go to saunas but rest assured our saunas are not 230 goddamned degrees. Holy shit that is hardcore.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on June 18, 2014, 01:21:32 pm
Well, how long does a sauna soak last at that temperature? Is it short? In the US people will sit in a low-temperature (by Scandinavian standards) sauna for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 18, 2014, 03:02:10 pm
Well, how long does a sauna soak last at that temperature? Is it short? In the US people will sit in a low-temperature (by Scandinavian standards) sauna for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Isfahan, June 18, 2014, 01:21:32 pm
You're supposed to do it in episodes. First 10 minutes in the sauna, then you go out and swim, then you go back inside and repeat this for a few hours. That's the traditional way anyway, if it's more like a modern sauna then it's usually something like 10-20 minutes and a shower afterwards.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on June 18, 2014, 03:28:14 pm
So is birth magic something that's performed during labor or pregnancy, or before/after? Are Finns so metal that they enter the world surrounded by the heat of a hundred hells?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 18, 2014, 03:40:04 pm
Actually, giving birth in a sauna used to be common place. It was hygienic and also considered spiritually safe for the baby, since newborns only had a part of their "soul" together when they were born and were vulnerable to evil spirits and whatnot.
Though I think the sauna would probably be cooler than for serious bathing.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on June 18, 2014, 09:32:15 pm
Something I've heard more than once is that the sudden cold of a delivery room compared to the mother's womb is traumatic for a newborn. I could see that being the case. Perhaps a sauna would be more comfortable for their first moments on the outside.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Lemon on June 19, 2014, 09:30:46 am
Something I've heard more than once is that the sudden cold of a delivery room compared to the mother's womb is traumatic for a newborn. I could see that being the case. Perhaps a sauna would be more comfortable for their first moments on the outside. Isfahan, June 18, 2014, 09:32:15 pm
I think a newborn baby has a whole lot of weird shit they have to adjust to immediately. They don't breathe the same way, their food line has been cut, and what was once dark red shapes and blobs is now shiny, vibrant colors with crystal clear sound attached to them. A 20 degree drop in temperature is probably not the system shock.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 19, 2014, 10:54:45 am
How many days a week do you have to contend with trolls attacking your home?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 19, 2014, 11:48:57 am
How many days a week do you have to contend with trolls attacking your home? Smoking Crow, June 19, 2014, 10:54:45 am
Silly person, everyone knows trolls only attack during the night.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on June 19, 2014, 01:03:57 pm
Well if heavy-metal bands would stop summoning them during concerts, you Finns could avoid the problem entirely.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 19, 2014, 03:59:52 pm
How many days a week do you have to contend with trolls attacking your home? Smoking Crow, June 19, 2014, 10:54:45 am
Also, Finnish isn't an Indo-European language. Are you all elves or aliens?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Tiny Prancer on June 19, 2014, 06:49:56 pm
Something I've heard more than once is that the sudden cold of a delivery room compared to the mother's womb is traumatic for a newborn. I could see that being the case. Perhaps a sauna would be more comfortable for their first moments on the outside. Isfahan, June 18, 2014, 09:32:15 pm
I think a newborn baby has a whole lot of weird shit they have to adjust to immediately. They don't breathe the same way, their food line has been cut, and what was once dark red shapes and blobs is now shiny, vibrant colors with crystal clear sound attached to them. A 20 degree drop in temperature is probably not the system shock. Lemon, June 19, 2014, 09:30:46 am
I have a lot of sympathy for babies (although I do not want one myself) because for the first few years or so of their existence everything is a confusing mess of noises and colors and sensations. No wonder babies cry a lot.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 20, 2014, 08:08:19 am
I don't know about aliens, but Tolkien did base elvish partly on Finnish grammar and vocabulary. Take from that what you will.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on June 20, 2014, 01:24:13 pm
He was a huge fan of The Kalevala, too, so I'm sure that had more than a little to do with it. He, like me and the Finns, also apparently believed that words look better with diaereses over all the vowels ever.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 20, 2014, 02:35:15 pm
He was a huge fan of The Kalevala, too, so I'm sure that had more than a little to do with it. He, like me and the Finns, also apparently believed that words look better with diaereses over all the vowels ever. Isfahan, June 20, 2014, 01:24:13 pm
Näin on näreet.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 23, 2014, 03:10:34 pm
Does Finland even exist? I've never seen Finland in the news, and I've only heard people that say they're from Finland, but never seen one. Is Finland real, or is it like Atlantis?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Cheapskate on June 23, 2014, 03:42:14 pm
My understanding is that Finland is a place that has a language that isn't related to anyone else's in the immediate vicinity, spent its entire history getting shoved around by its larger neighbors, is extraordinarily cold in the winter, makes a lot of cell phones, is famous for alcoholism, and had a big chunk of its territory stolen by Communists.
So Finland is the Korea of Europe.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 23, 2014, 04:03:25 pm
My understanding is that Finland is a place that has a language that isn't related to anyone else's in the immediate vicinity, spent its entire history getting shoved around by its larger neighbors, is extraordinarily cold in the winter, makes a lot of cell phones, is famous for alcoholism, and had a big chunk of its territory stolen by Communists.
Finnish is related to Sami and Estonian. It's not a language isolate like Basque is.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 28, 2014, 07:47:13 pm
Finns, how many times have you personally pillaged Christian monasteries?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Trill La Trill on June 28, 2014, 09:07:09 pm
Are Finns slavic? I'd like to know this without having to traverse those white nationalist message boards again.
(Did you know that south italians are all secret arabs? Of course you did, them filthy meditteranioids all got a touch of the tar brush (http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DzkrXPXEtD68&cd=1&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNFPmwyNBsfG6xrzEArsTImVaEmuFQ) if you ask me. A number of anthropologists who also are white supremacists can totally back this up.)
this is what was white nationalists actually believe p.s
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 28, 2014, 09:26:44 pm
Are Finns slavic? I'd like to know this without having to traverse those white nationalist message boards again.
(Did you know that south italians are all secret arabs? Of course you did, them filthy meditteranioids all got a touch of the tar brush (http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DzkrXPXEtD68&cd=1&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNFPmwyNBsfG6xrzEArsTImVaEmuFQ) if you ask me. A number of anthropologists who also are white supremacists can totally back this up.)
Finns predate the Slavs. They are probably the oldest extant language family in Europe.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 29, 2014, 03:01:27 am
Finns are actually pretty interesting genetically speaking. It would take way too long to explain here, but if you're interested I suggest you check out some of the studies that are available in English. We're supposed to be the group that's most like Cro Magnon humans craniometricaly, so take what you will from that. Oh, and calling a Finn slavic is not a good idea, since we kinda associate that with Russia and to a Finn the greatest insult imaginable is to be called a Russian.
Finns, how many times have you personally pillaged Christian monasteries?
None, since Finns are not actually Vikings. We'd occasionally trade with them, or sell them some magic, or get attacked by them, but Finnish people more concerned with forests than sailing.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on June 29, 2014, 11:17:22 am
Finns, how many times have you personally pillaged Christian monasteries?
None, since Finns are not actually Vikings. We'd occasionally trade with them, or sell them some magic, or get attacked by them, but Finnish people more concerned with forests than sailing. montrith, June 29, 2014, 03:01:27 am
Oh, sorry for my lack of knowledge!
Do you own an N-Gage?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 29, 2014, 11:30:37 am
Do you own an N-Gage?
What kind of a loser do you take me for? All the patriotism in the world couldn't convince people it was worth buying.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on June 29, 2014, 11:31:22 am
We'd occasionally trade with them, or sell them some magic, or get attacked by them, but Finnish people more concerned with forests than sailing. montrith, June 29, 2014, 03:01:27 am
Would you sell me some magic? What kind of magic would it be?
What is the grossest Finnish food and, conversely, the most delicious Finnish food that we furriners don't know about?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 29, 2014, 12:21:54 pm
According to traditional knowledge, Finnish wizards would make weather ropes that would have knots on them. They would then sell those to sailors who could use them to summon favorable winds.
The grossest food pretty much depends on your taste. Lots of people don't like salmiakki and the various tar-flavored treats that Finns quite like. In my opinion, the grossest food is mustamakkara ("black sausage), which is a sausage made with meat, blood and flour and is eaten with lingonberry jam. This is what it looks like.
(http://www.chilivaar.in/2013/musta_makkara.jpg)
Bon Appetit!
Best Finnish food to me is usually the simple stuff. Karelian pies, new potatoes with butter, blueberry pie, grilled fish, rye bread with cold smoked salmon etc. The food is usually pretty simple, what makes it good is that most of the time you can pick your own berries, catch your own fish or bake your own bread. If you want decent Finnish food don't bother buying anything ready made from the story. You pretty much have to make it yourself, or get it fresh from the market. I'm particular to fried vendace with dip, which is available at most market places during summer. The fish in cleaned, rolled in flour and fried in butter. You eat everything but the head, including the skin and bones.
You can also get really, really good candy in Finland. Maybe that's just my biased taste, but I much prefer Finnish chocolate to Belgian or other European stuff. If you ever get the chance, pick up some Fazer stuff, everything they make is great. Geisha is also probably the most delicious candy ever made.
(http://candyhero.com/static/files/3305.jpg)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on June 29, 2014, 10:30:39 pm
The grossest food pretty much depends on your taste. Lots of people don't like salmiakki and the various tar-flavored treats that Finns quite like. In my opinion, the grossest food is mustamakkara ("black sausage), which is a sausage made with meat, blood and flour and is eaten with lingonberry jam. This is what it looks like.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Bobalay on June 30, 2014, 01:29:34 am
"Heeheehee! It looks like poo poo!"
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: A Meat on June 30, 2014, 02:50:09 am
How xenophobic are most Finns? I understand your people mostly hate the Russians, but how much do they hate other nationalities?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on June 30, 2014, 09:13:55 am
How xenophobic are most Finns? I understand your people mostly hate the Russians, but how much do they hate other nationalities? A Meat, June 30, 2014, 02:50:09 am
It varies greatly. Young people tend to be pretty tolerant and interested in other cultures, while some older folks are still completely confused by anyone who's not lily-white. Just like everywhere else, level of education seems to be the most important distinguishing factor aside of age. The most xenophobic people tend to be those who feel directly threatened by the presence foreigners, aka "They took our jobs!" people. There are some upper-class racist assholes, but they tend to stay mostly silent about their opinions since voicing them invariably gets them in trouble. There is some gang activity in the bigger cities, but only a little of it seems to be racially motivated.
Speaking specifically about nationalities, Swedes and Russians are usually the ones most people complain about. There are some Romany people around and they are almost universally mistrusted, but other than that there's no specific nationalities that get focused on. "Muslims", aka anyone with a scarf, also get some grief from the racist assholes, but it's less about being a terrorist and more about "taking our jobs" again. Basically, Finnish xenophobia in my opinion seems to have its roots on the fact that people feel they've struggled hard to get this far and if they slack off someone is going to come and take it all away. Only very few would argue that there is some sort of genetic superiority that Finnish people have, but many are still suspicious of "outsiders" who they view as a threat to the current status quo.
I have to point out I'm not the best person to talk about these issues, having never been in the receiving end of racism or xenophobia. Generally speaking though, I feel that while individual Finns maybe capable of doing and saying nasty things, as a nation we're actually pretty tolerant people. That being said, there is this one asshole called Halla-aho, and if you ever see him you should hit him with a brick. He is the sort of dangerous racist who is very good at convincing people he's not a racist and is actually making sense.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: nigeline on June 30, 2014, 04:33:22 pm
How many people do you know who have family in Michigan or Minnesota?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on June 30, 2014, 05:20:39 pm
I've heard you guys have good bread, do you guys have good bread?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Schumin Capote on July 09, 2014, 02:57:08 am
Was Kekkonen as dreamy as we've all been led to believe?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 13, 2014, 07:45:11 pm
I'm not sure about dreamy, but the guy was fit as fuck. There's a whole bunch of anecdotes about him basically beating Soviet diplomats into submission simply by making them go on ski trips with him, or taking them to sauna and ice-hole swimming. One of the cities where I used to live had an indoor pool where across one wall there was a quote from him in huge letters. "Any reason that keeps us from exercising is just an excuse."
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Schumin Capote on July 14, 2014, 12:53:23 am
Kekkonen definitely comes across as a badass and I love the idea of him taking Soviet officials skiing and then wearing them down into submission. My grandmother hated Finns and used to tell my family that, "the Finns are clannish and carry knives." We all thought she was crazy, but after doing some research I came across the Puukojunkkari (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puukkojunkkari"), who seem to match what she was complaining about. I know there were a lot of Finns in Minnesota, but she never really elaborated on what triggered her hatred of Finns, but to be fair she hated a lot of people.
Were Husky Rescue or Kemopetrol ever big in Finland? I got to meet Husky Rescue once, they were really nice and Reeta-Leena was gorgeous.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on July 14, 2014, 01:04:25 am
Still waiting for an answer to my bread post. Also what sort of dogs do you guys mostly have up there? Runic, July 14, 2014, 01:04:25 am
Knives, hating Russians and Swedes, goaltending, and their weird version of baseball are what make them Finnish. I'm hoping to go to Helsinki at some point and I know that I'll be disappointed when it doesn't live up to the expectations set by Hel-Looks.
Edit: Fixed link.
http://www.hel-looks.com/
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 14, 2014, 02:28:06 am
Still waiting for an answer to my bread post. Also what sort of dogs do you guys mostly have up there? Runic, July 14, 2014, 01:04:25 am
I thought I answered you already, but here it goes again: We have bread and it's fucking delicious. My grandma used her stone oven to make bread until she had to move house.
The most popular dogs are retrievers, especially Labrador and Golden. Hounds are also quite popular in the countryside, as is the Finnish Spitz. In towns you see mostly smaller dogs. Corgies seem pretty popular, as well as different types of terriers. What you don't see as much are those fancy dogs with really long coats that take a lot of trimming to look nice, possibly because even in cities there's still lot of places for doggies to get mud all over them.
Were Husky Rescue or Kemopetrol ever big in Finland? I got to meet Husky Rescue once, they were really nice and Reeta-Leena was gorgeous.
Husky Rescue I know practically nothing about, but Kemopetrol is one of those things that were popular when I was younger. Not really my thing, but they were on quite a lot.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on July 18, 2014, 12:29:48 pm
What is going on in this map? Why is Finland the land without AIDS? (http://i.imgur.com/1QGJMOs.jpg)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Psammetichus on July 18, 2014, 12:48:24 pm
Finland doesn't need AIDS, they already got a ton of aid from Nazi Germany. Yeah, that's right Finland, I've seen your Air Force staff flag (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Suomen_ilmavoimien_esikunta.svg).
(By the way, of all the European countries fighting the Second World War, can you name the only three European capitals which were never occupied? London, Moscow, and... Helsinki.)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 18, 2014, 03:48:52 pm
I haven't seen that chart before, but I'm assuming the data for Finland just was not available. The estimated HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate for Finland is 0.1%, if my sources are correct.
Finland is actually one of those countries who suffered from the Nazis spoiling a well established symbol that had a different meaning before they adopted it. The swastika had been the symbol of the Finnish air force ever since they acquired their first plane and the actual logo was designed by one of our most celebrated artists, Akseli Gallen-Kallela. However, after WWII the flag you linked to was retired and the swastika was replaced with a golden eagle.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on July 18, 2014, 04:07:37 pm
How popular are beards in Finland? Because I keep hoping that they'll come back into popularity over here, so I'd like to know if our countries can be beard-bros.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on July 18, 2014, 04:43:57 pm
What are popular pet names in Finnish? Do you give pets people names or are there equivalents of "Fluffy" and "Buttface" and the like?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 18, 2014, 05:22:13 pm
Beards are really a question of taste. About 40% of the men in my family have facial hair of some sort. As for me personally, I'd say nothing suits a mans face like a neat beard, so I encourage you in your beard related activities.
"Musti" is the dog name that's roughly equal to the English "Spot". Pets here usually either have slightly exotic people names or just general pet names. Our first dog was called Tupsu ("Bunch of hair/fur"), which is fairly common I'd think. I know a person who named their dog Delete and my cousins had a (male) cat called Snorkmaiden, so it's really up to the person doing the naming. Hint: Don't let a 6 year old kid do the naming or you'll end up with a dog with more names than anyone else in the family.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Baldr on July 20, 2014, 11:52:14 am
There's an international exam called the PISA, where 15-year-olds from different countries are tested on math, science, and language. Until 2009 Finland was pretty much ranked first on the PISA exam, and even though you've fallen in the rankings you still beat every western country. A lot of East-Asian countries also rank near the top, but they basically engage in child abuse to get those scores, and no one wants to emulate them. I see news articles all the time about Finnish schools and how we should be emulating them.
So what was it like to grow up with the Finish education system?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 22, 2014, 01:59:41 am
I'd imagine it's pretty much like in any other school in many ways. One thing I can imagine being different was that we spent a lot of time outside the classroom. Sometimes our teacher would give us assignments and then we'd be free to find a nice spot or nook inside the school to work on it. We also did lots of stuff outdoors, like camping or skiing. I don't know much about how schools are outside Finland, but I always liked the fact that we could do a lot of stuff at our own pace. My teacher would let me read books or work on extra projects while he spent time with the kids who were struggling with the main assignment. Teachers have a lot of freedom here concerning learning methods, so if you get someone cool you can actually get to know them and bond with them.
Oh, and lots of holidays. We've got 2 1/2 months of summer vacation alone.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on July 29, 2014, 11:52:55 am
Does Finland have any crazy Christmas characters like Black Peter or Krampus?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 29, 2014, 04:47:38 pm
Does Finland have any crazy Christmas characters like Black Peter or Krampus? Smoking Crow, July 29, 2014, 11:52:55 am
Actually a bit after Christmas, but we do have this thing called Nuuttipukki, although he's not really a part of modern Christmas celebrations.
On Tjugondag jul, there has been a tradition a bit monster cockogous to modern Santa Claus, where men dressed as a goat (Finnish: Nuuttipukki) would visit houses. Unlike Santa Claus, Nuuttipukki was a scary character (cf. Krampus). The men dressed as Nuuttipukki wandered from house to house, came in, and typically demanded household residents for food and especially alcoholic beverages.
There's also some folklore that indicates that the first version of Santa in Finland was actually a goat that brought you gifts, mainly because Nuuttipukki and Joulupukki (Santa) both include the Finnish word for a male goat (pukki).
Here is a Something Awful article that actually has quite a few facts in it, though it is slightly sensationalized.
Another Christmas tradition that's much more Christian in nature is the inclusion of a band of singing men in company Christmas parties etc. These men are known as Tiernapojat, and they sing the story of the Three Wise Men. When I was a little girl I actually played one of the characters, the so called "the king of the Moors", in the show. I was picked for the role because I was the only person willing to wear shoe-polish on my face. Yes, I did blackface, shut up, I was 9 and nobody told me better. I understand they've pretty much given that up though these days.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on July 29, 2014, 04:50:57 pm
I was picked for the role because I was the only person willing to wear shoe-polish on my face. Yes, I did blackface, shut up, I was 9 and nobody told me better. montrith, July 29, 2014, 04:47:38 pm
I think the joy you've provided to the internet at large is more than making up for unintentional blackface on a karmic level. (Besides, I knew a cosplayer once who STILL sees nothing wrong with making up his pasty white self to be the same shade of brown all over as the guy who played the Cat on Red Dwarf.)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Schumin Capote on July 29, 2014, 05:13:22 pm
Does Finland have any crazy Christmas characters like Black Peter or Krampus? Smoking Crow, July 29, 2014, 11:52:55 am
Actually a bit after Christmas, but we do have this thing called Nuuttipukki, although he's not really a part of modern Christmas celebrations.
On Tjugondag jul, there has been a tradition a bit monster cockogous to modern Santa Claus, where men dressed as a goat (Finnish: Nuuttipukki) would visit houses. Unlike Santa Claus, Nuuttipukki was a scary character (cf. Krampus). The men dressed as Nuuttipukki wandered from house to house, came in, and typically demanded household residents for food and especially alcoholic beverages.
There's also some folklore that indicates that the first version of Santa in Finland was actually a goat that brought you gifts, mainly because Nuuttipukki and Joulupukki (Santa) both include the Finnish word for a male goat (pukki).
Nuuttipukki is interesting. I dressed up as Krampus last year for Christmas and wasn't sure what to do next, other than spend way too much money on a better costume. I like the idea of a giant goat-like creature with two people in the costume and may need to deploy that at some future Christmas.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Baldr on July 29, 2014, 06:23:40 pm
Wow, that picture looks like concept art for an Ice Pick Lodge game. Also, over in the Kickstarter thread you wrote:
Or you could live in a country that values education and doesn't require you to pay to get it /smug. montrith, July 26, 2014, 02:27:54 am
So all higher education is free in Finland, or just college? There's no need for scholarships or anything? Are there open-admissions colleges, or if you fuck up in high school is your academic career over?
Also, what about textbook costs? This is what textbook costs have been doing in the states: (http://www.aei-ideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/textbooks-600x423.jpg)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on July 29, 2014, 06:49:03 pm
I know that this is Montrith's thread, but I would just like to note that textbook manufacturers can go fuck themselves. Every single one of them.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on July 29, 2014, 06:58:53 pm
All education is free from primary school up to university level. The state also gives out a small monthly stipend to all students who can prove they are advancing in their studies at the required speed. The state also acts as a guarantor for all student loans.
Textbooks at higher level are expensive as fuck, but luckily most major bookstores have a program where they buy and sell used coursebooks. You also get a 10% discount in most places if you have the Students Union card. In primary schools textbooks are provided by the schools up to 9th grade, after which the students divide into those who seek vocational schooling and those who continue with academic studies. Both options offer the opportunity to continue into universities and upper vocational schooling, provided you pass the tests and fill the requirements. There is a thing known as General Applying Period each spring, where students can basically use the same paper to apply to several schools of their choosing. Some of the schools have a separate test you have to take if you want to be admitted, but even the special schools are free. For example, I went to a music based upper secondary school, where apart from academic qualifications you also had to demonstrate knowledge of an instrument and the ability to sing in tune.
There are ways to make up missing high school credits by doing Open University courses and many towns also have things called "Folk high schools" which offer individual courses in various subjects from languages to quilting and computer skills. Both Open University and Folk high school courses usually cost a little bit, but there are different state aids you can apply for and usually the course payment includes the cost of teaching materials. Missing high school credit is hardly ever an issue though, as almost everyone finishes 9th grade and after that you can pick what you want to study.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Tiny Prancer on July 29, 2014, 09:14:51 pm
I would be lying if I said I haven't had wistful thoughts before about going to finland just to get in on the free schooling. I would be happy to move there and pay taxes just for the sake of free college. (unfortunately I am terminally incompetent at learning a second language.)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Baldr on July 31, 2014, 06:43:14 pm
This is going to be a weirdly specific series of questions. But they stem from the fact that I'm unhappy with how we do things, and I'm looking for a better solution.
All education is free from primary school up to university level. The state also gives out a small monthly stipend to all students who can prove they are advancing in their studies at the required speed.montrith, July 29, 2014, 06:58:53 pm
Does university-level mean just the first four years of college, or graduate education as well? If it means graduate education, does it include masters programs or just doctorates? How much is the stipend? If you picked 100 classmates at random, how many of them could be super-frugal and build up a modest savings of one month of livings expenses after three years? Can you pay rent and buy food with the stipend?
The state also acts as a guarantor for all student loans.
If you default on a loan, does that mean the government pays it back? Where I teach, some people will sign up for multiple student loans, never attend classes, and regularly run off with the money. I'm not sure you'd notice as a student, but have you ever heard of anything like this happening?
Textbooks at higher level are expensive as fuck,
Have you ever chosen not to buy a textbook as a result of its cost?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 01, 2014, 01:35:57 am
All education is free. There are some educational facilities that charge a fee for those doing classes without being primarily students at the institution, but the fee is usually quite reasonable. Those type of situations are mostly for adults who seek to get a professional qualification or a degree while working, so the modest fee is usually not a problem. The stipend is not great, but if you're very frugal it's enough to live on. The exact amount is decided on individual basis, according to your other sources of income and living situation. I don't think it'll stretch for savings, but you won't starve either.
I honestly don't know much about student loans. I've never known anyone to take the money and run, and I imagine it would be quite difficult. You have to register through Kela (which is the institution for all welfare) and by running you'd pretty much make yourself ineligible for any type of state support ever again. There are several fail-safes to ensure the money is paid back, but if you're having trouble repaying your loan you can apply for a payment plan at the bank or at Kela. I do know some people who'd live on the student stipend and take a loan for luxuries like travel, but I'm pretty sure those people still had to pay their loans back. You don't want to be on Kela's black list.
There are times when I've chosen not to buy a textbook. Most of the teachers at my faculty were pretty aware of the price of books and just made us handouts that only cost the price of materials. Other times I'd go to the university library and study for a test there. It's worse for IT students, my roommate used to curse teachers who made her buy expensive books. I've also relied on my magical Google skills to find books I was supposed to read. Did you know you can pass a test by only reading the Google preview of a textbook, if you have enough creative writing skills?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Isfahan on August 01, 2014, 07:20:41 am
Hi Montrith!
Straight up, what is the general Finnish impression of Americans? Are the stereotypes embraced? As a firearms enthusiast, I know I'm doing my part, but I need to know if I should get started on trending #NotAllAmericans.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 01, 2014, 01:21:01 pm
Well, if we're talking stereotypes there are a few depending on various things. There is a youth culture thing where USA is the holy land of all popular culture. Teens and Preteens especially embrace American music, TV and even fast food culture. On the other hand, among adults the stereotypes are sadly a bit more negative. "Stupid" is usually the first word when people talk about you good folk, along with "noisy" and "warmongering". Gun issues don't really get that much attention here aside from major incidents, since we have a quite rich hunting tradition and many people in rural parts have guns as heirlooms from the wars. On a more personal scale, the word that gets thrown around my small circle of friends is "melodramatic". In Finland public displays of emotion are usually frowned upon and considered something only drunks do, so your Jerry Springers and TV evangelists are really strange for us culturally speaking. Likewise, personally I don't really get the hysteria exhibited by people in shows like American Idol. Everyone is crying and screaming all the time, even the adults. Of course, I don't expect that real life in USA is like the TV shows, but even in Finnish TV there are things people just won't do. This is why Finnish versions of American format shows usually flop, or end after one of two seasons.
Still, at least you're not Russians.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on August 01, 2014, 01:39:59 pm
To be fair, there's a pretty good chance that both the people on Jerry Springer and the TV Evangelists are in fact drunk.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on August 01, 2014, 01:47:57 pm
Well, if we're talking stereotypes there are a few depending on various things. There is a youth culture thing where USA is the holy land of all popular culture. Teens and Preteens especially embrace American music, TV and even fast food culture. On the other hand, among adults the stereotypes are sadly a bit more negative. "Stupid" is usually the first word when people talk about you good folk, along with "noisy" and "warmongering". Gun issues don't really get that much attention here aside from major incidents, since we have a quite rich hunting tradition and many people in rural parts have guns as heirlooms from the wars. On a more personal scale, the word that gets thrown around my small circle of friends is "melodramatic". In Finland public displays of emotion are usually frowned upon and considered something only drunks do, so your Jerry Springers and TV evangelists are really strange for us culturally speaking. Likewise, personally I don't really get the hysteria exhibited by people in shows like American Idol. Everyone is crying and screaming all the time, even the adults. Of course, I don't expect that real life in USA is like the TV shows, but even in Finnish TV there are things people just won't do. This is why Finnish versions of American format shows usually flop, or end after one of two seasons.
Is that the reason why Finland's suicide rate is do high despite economic and social safety?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: A Meat on August 01, 2014, 02:05:04 pm
In secondary education in public schools in Finland, are students divided into classes where a group of 30-40 students take all their classes together, or do they take all their different classes with different people? How many kids are usually in a classroom during a lesson? Are after-school clubs/sports teams a thing in Finland?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 01, 2014, 03:11:08 pm
Repression might be a reason for high suicide numbers, especially when it comes to men. The fact that there's so much dark and drink is probably an influence too.
Students from grades 1 to 9 usually stay in the same ap. 30 person groups, apart from electives. From 1st to 6th grade they usually have an assigned class teacher who does most of their classes. After school activities are not really tied to schools like they are in the USA. Usually the city/town/municipality organizes sport clubs and whatnot. There are some classes that you can take as electives in some schools that kinda double as after school activities, like band or choir or computer classes, but at least when I was young we didn't have anything like school teams for anything.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Tiny Prancer on August 01, 2014, 05:29:54 pm
Part of the reason for everyone being emotional on american tv is emotional melodrama sells really well here, especially when combined with the idea of someone trying to follow their dreams or live their life the way they want. Because nothing will tell you you're supposed to care like someone crying and talking about following their dreams. It's a pretty good explanation as to why there are so many "talent discovery" shows, along with reality tv shows. Emotional intensity in media is something that carries over to advertising a lot too, it's not unusual for advertisements to sell themselves by using cues that you're supposed to get worked up in some way or other about what they're selling.
Same thing with heterosexual sexual tension, basically if a male and female character are alone together at any time on a drama show it becomes about the "will they or won't they" aspect of their relationship, because no, they can never be just friends. Americans are both really obsessed with and really scared of sex at the same time. Blame the puritans I guess.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Fanzay on August 01, 2014, 07:24:58 pm
Well, if we're talking stereotypes there are a few depending on various things. There is a youth culture thing where USA is the holy land of all popular culture. Teens and Preteens especially embrace American music, TV and even fast food culture. On the other hand, among adults the stereotypes are sadly a bit more negative. "Stupid" is usually the first word when people talk about you good folk, along with "noisy" and "warmongering". Gun issues don't really get that much attention here aside from major incidents, since we have a quite rich hunting tradition and many people in rural parts have guns as heirlooms from the wars. On a more personal scale, the word that gets thrown around my small circle of friends is "melodramatic". In Finland public displays of emotion are usually frowned upon and considered something only drunks do, so your Jerry Springers and TV evangelists are really strange for us culturally speaking. Likewise, personally I don't really get the hysteria exhibited by people in shows like American Idol. Everyone is crying and screaming all the time, even the adults. Of course, I don't expect that real life in USA is like the TV shows, but even in Finnish TV there are things people just won't do. This is why Finnish versions of American format shows usually flop, or end after one of two seasons.
WHAT THE FUCK love from a concerned neighboring country. (emphasis mine, obviously)
Otherwise it's pretty the same view as most Norwegians have on Americans, as well as most people here think Americans are the most courteous people in the world (we don't do small talk either), somehow.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Bobalay on August 01, 2014, 08:09:18 pm
Is there a stigma against people who choose to go to vocational schools? Here in America, tech/vocational schools are viewed as "you need to get a good four-year degree so you DON'T have to go to a tech school to get a job," which has landed us a shortage of skilled welders, electricians, etc.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Admiral Cavindash on August 03, 2014, 10:08:47 pm
Well, if we're talking stereotypes there are a few depending on various things. There is a youth culture thing where USA is the holy land of all popular culture. Teens and Preteens especially embrace American music, TV and even fast food culture. On the other hand, among adults the stereotypes are sadly a bit more negative. "Stupid" is usually the first word when people talk about you good folk, along with "noisy" and "warmongering". Gun issues don't really get that much attention here aside from major incidents, since we have a quite rich hunting tradition and many people in rural parts have guns as heirlooms from the wars. On a more personal scale, the word that gets thrown around my small circle of friends is "melodramatic".
Yea but Americans say that about Americans. I've literally had to say to 3 people on the bus today, "At least you're not Russians". What do you REALLY think?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 04, 2014, 04:28:20 am
The youth culture thing is mostly teenagers going "Finland sucks, I want to live in America where everyone drives fast cars and mom never tells them to shovel the snow out of the driveway."
I don't think there's a big stigma when it comes to vocational schools. People are leaning more and more towards university education, but that's at least party because the opportunity of putting off deciding what you really want to study, at least for 3 three years. There's also the thing that many high paying professions have a lot of competition going on for available jobs, so you'll need at least a master's degree in order to have a shot at getting in. My own family is about half and half university and vocational school, so it's not an issue at least as far as I've seen. Of course, family does play an important role when it comes to education (every person in my family with university educated parents has also gone to do a degree), but it's not like my psychiatrist aunt will refuse to have a beer with my nurse cousin.
I'd answer Admiral Cavindash, but I don't know what you're really asking. Are you asking for my personal opinion? If so, the USA is pretty much like every other country: There are some shit people, there are some good people. I can't say I think you're doing everything right, but I can't say that about my own country either.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Tiny Prancer on August 04, 2014, 05:54:07 am
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Psammetichus on August 05, 2014, 12:18:13 pm
Here's my question: Who are traditionally seen as Finland's geo-political or cultural "friends"?
To clarify, many countries seem to have a historical affinity, like the USA and UK (Special Relationship) or Russia and Serbia, or Hungary and Poland (Wikipedia sez: Relations between the two states date back to the Middle Ages, with the two peoples enjoying a traditional close friendship.)
So who are Finland's traditional friends? Do Finns see Hungary or Estonia as natural friends since all three Uralic languages?
And speaking of Uralic languages, is Finnish mutually intelligible with Estonian or Hungarian? Is Finnish mutually intelligible with local non-Uralic languages like Swedish or Norwegian or Danish?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 05, 2014, 01:28:02 pm
I think most people think Sweden as our most natural ally. We may have a rivalry thing going on and make fun of each other all the time, but it's more like a sibling rivalry than any kind of real feud. Even though Sweden stayed neutral during WWII lots of Swedish men fought in Finland as volunteers. Even today our armies do practice battles together and collaborate on defense plans. Estonia is considered an ally too, but more like your cousin that's good for partying and holiday fun, but should never be relied on in a crisis.
Finnish is not really mutually intelligible with anything, though Estonian would be the closest in terms of vocabulary. If you speak Estonian you could ostensibly make sense of some Finnish, though this would be much like trying to read Japanese kanji with only working knowledge of traditional Chinese. There's also much room for misunderstanding, since there are some words that are used in both languages but with different meanings. For example, Estonian for "Where is the bathroom?" is "Kus on WC?", which in turn is Finnish for "Piss is the toilet". Likewise, "I have lost my bag" in Estonian is "Ma kaotasin oma koti", which a Finn would interpret as "I've misplaced my home". Hungarian, on the other hand, is almost completely different apart from some root words that maintain phonetic similarity. This also applies for Scandinavian languages such as Swedish, with the exception of a dialect speech near the Swedish border and slang speech in the capital region. The so-called "stading slangi", or "capital slang", is a weird mixture of mangled Swedish and Finnish. For example, here we have the sentence "Close the door so it won't blow in" first in (rough) Swedish, then Finnish and finally in slang.
Stäng dörren så att den inte kommer att blåsa in
Pane ovi kiinni ettei puhalla sisään
Pane döre kine ettei blosa ine
Note: This is an older example of slang. As language is constantly developing, I cannot guarantee you won't look like an idiot if you try this in 2014.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on August 05, 2014, 02:47:30 pm
Now I've heard that Swedish and Danish are mutually intelligible, is that true?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 05, 2014, 03:06:46 pm
All Scandinavian languages are to a point, some more than others. Nevertheless, you're not going to be fluent in Swedish if you only speak Norwegian. The phonetic side is different too. I know some Swedish, but I can barely make out some Norwegian based on that.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on August 05, 2014, 03:55:51 pm
On a tangentially related note, what part of your country does the rest of your country look down on? Here in America people crack jokes at the expense of places like Florida, New Jersey, Alabama, and California with varying levels of justification and actual malice. Up in Canada I am told they like to make fun of Newfies. Is there any Finnish equivalent? Some area that is, according to national lore, full of inbreed hicks or just crazy motherfuckers?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 06, 2014, 09:18:56 am
There are stereotypes for all regions, but nothing really about rednecks or hicks. People from Häme are supposedly slow (as in speed, not stupid), people from Pohjanmaa are violent ("It's not a wedding if nobody dies"), Savonians are talkative and glib. Those are the types of things people joke about when it comes to different areas, though these days people move around so much the old stereotypes don't really get brought up that much. Many jokes are still made based on a supposedly old feud between the cities of Turku and Tampere, where they take turns trying to make the people of the other city seem as dumb as possible. There are also lots of jokes made about Hölmöläiset and Laihialaiset. Hölmöläiset are the supposedly the people of a village called Hölmölä (Dumbville), which is located in an unspecified part of Finland. They're featured in old folk tales describing the folly of mob mentality and human stupidity in general. Laihia, on the other hand, is an actual place whose people have somehow acquired the reputation of being extremely stingy, kind of like the Scotland of Finland. This is likely due to the fact that the name of the place roughly translates to "skinny", but can also be interpreted as "having lean times".
Anyway, most of the Finland was still extremely rural right up to the 20th century, so if we'd started making redneck jokes it'd just been like making fun of your own family.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Down10 on August 07, 2014, 05:13:09 am
I found this. I figured Montrith would appreciate it.
(http://pics.kuvaton.com/kuvei/finnish.jpg)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 07, 2014, 05:42:37 am
Fun fact, Finnish for "user friendly" is käyttäjäystävällinen, which is not a very user friendly word.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on August 07, 2014, 01:23:46 pm
Is the "-laiset" suffix at all a part of surnames, or is it just how people refer to each other in terms of where they're from? Like, are there guys named John Q. City-over-there-laiset, or is it just "oh, John Q. Public is a City-over-there-laiset"?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 07, 2014, 02:05:32 pm
I can't think of any surname that would use "-laiset", probably because it's a plural. You do occasionally see "-lainen", which is the singular form of "person from place X". Fun fact: Suomalainen (Finnish/Person from Finland) is a perfectly valid, if not that common surname.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: A Meat on August 07, 2014, 02:14:51 pm
I know quite a few languages have "place person is from" as a somewhat common type of surname. It's just that Americans don't really have ones that are in English.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on August 25, 2014, 07:17:21 am
Are the discounted Russian cheeses you guys are getting any good?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 25, 2014, 08:26:41 am
Not now that Putin is trying to starve us all by his sanctions.
Seriously though, I wouldn't know since I never by Russian food. Call it a prejudice if you will, but there is a serious lack of trust between me and Russian farming industry.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on August 25, 2014, 08:51:37 am
Wait, so you're facing sanctions from Russia? Reddit had me believe the Russians were selling you guys food at deep discounts because of Western sanctions.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on August 27, 2014, 05:14:30 pm
We've got some sanctions cause Putin doesn't like it when we don't like his fighter planes flying over our borders. Mostly the whole thing has just caused Russian shoppers to rush into Finnish shops for luxury items, at least as far as I can tell.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: KingKalamari on September 13, 2014, 05:01:02 pm
???
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on September 13, 2014, 06:35:01 pm
I'm not even going to click that. I already know the voice acting is terrible beyond anything you could imagine. Let's just say we didn't like dubs much so nobody wanted to spend time or money on them.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on October 09, 2014, 12:29:53 pm
Montrith, do Finns have any resources for DIY saunas? I can only find plans for one certain style of wood-fired heater, and it's super inefficient.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on October 09, 2014, 10:46:24 pm
What is it about Finland that makes you so good at finding weird shit on the internet?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: cyclopeantrash on October 09, 2014, 11:37:47 pm
What's it like being one of the most metal countries on the planet?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on October 10, 2014, 05:08:40 am
Montrith, do Finns have any resources for DIY saunas? I can only find plans for one certain style of wood-fired heater, and it's super inefficient.
As in sauna with specifically a wood stove or just general sauna construction instructions? There are loads actually, as there are many DIY sauna "packages" you can buy to instal your own sauna. Unfortunately, most of the instructions are only in Finnish. If you give me some more info about what you're looking for, I can provide you a translation of some of the stuff I've seen.
What is it about Finland that makes you so good at finding weird shit on the internet?
I suspect that's less of a Finnish trait than just me being very bored, very unemployed and very fascinated with human failure. That and we don't go out much during the winter cause it's cold and dark and depressing. Got to have some way of wasting time.
What's it like being one of the most metal countries on the planet?
Well, imagine a country where parents look at their newborn offspring and hope s/he grows up to be just like Jack Chick.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on October 10, 2014, 07:45:30 am
I'm more specifically interested in the stoves, small wood or charcoal ones (if such a thing exists). If you can link me to a sauna-build album, I might not even need the translation because carpentry is a universal language. What I would love the translation for, though, is any DIY instructions for building/installing a stove. What I'm running into here in Canada is a total lack of regulations/instructions because all the codes were written for big stoves meant to go into structures that are over 108 square feet.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Runic on October 10, 2014, 10:52:19 am
I like to talk about cats, so I'm going to give you an excuse to talk about your cats. That excuse is this: What do your cats names mean? I've actually meant to ask you that for a while now on skype or something but I've never gotten around to it.
Also are they good kitties? With good and fluffy tummies? How fluffy are their tummies? Do they like it when you rub their fluffy tummies? Post pics please.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: A Meat on October 10, 2014, 10:55:44 am
How well does Sweden/Finland Hetalia fanfiction represent the relationship between the two countries and their people?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on October 10, 2014, 01:58:54 pm
How scary are Finnish ghost stories? Do you spend part of your summers putting together monster-defense kits for the long, dark winters?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Rust on October 13, 2014, 07:38:55 am
The ghosts blend in with the snow, so you can imagine how spooky they can be. One moment you're walking outside, minding your own business and all of a sudden someone goes BOO next to you and you turn around to see what it was and all you see is snow. And it's all around you and you can't escape it.
Edit: I totally registered an account just to take Montrith's spotlight and join in on the discussion.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on October 17, 2014, 12:43:14 pm
Whoops, forgot about this thread. Let's get some answers here.
I'm more specifically interested in the stoves, small wood or charcoal ones (if such a thing exists). If you can link me to a sauna-build album, I might not even need the translation because carpentry is a universal language. What I would love the translation for, though, is any DIY instructions for building/installing a stove. What I'm running into here in Canada is a total lack of regulations/instructions because all the codes were written for big stoves meant to go into structures that are over 108 square fee.
There are loads and loads of guides out there on how to build a sauna, and many more on how to instal a stove. What you won't find are many instructions on building a stove, since the manufacturers all have their own little tricks that they don't really want to spread around too much. Doing a Google search for "saunan piirustukset" , "kiukaan asennus", "kiukaan rakennus/rakenne" or "kiukaan piirustukset" might give you some useful results. Meanwhile, here are a couple of links with pictures that might be of use to you.
I like to talk about cats, so I'm going to give you an excuse to talk about your cats. That excuse is this: What do your cats names mean?
Our cats are called Mökö and Luru, and they are named after characters appearing a series of children's books, Kiljuset (The Screamers). The family Kiljuset is an extremely loud family who gets into all sorts of trouble. Mökö is the short and fat son of the family and Luru is the tall and thin one. Very appropriate when you consider the build of our cats.
Here are the brothers washing their little sister.
Most of them seem to involve someone walking home through a dark forest and meeting a troll or something, so not really that scary considering modern sensibilities. Googling "Finnish horror story" brought up "Finnish bronies", so that's probably enough said about the modern Finnish horror scene. I guess we've mostly figured out that real life is scary and depressing enough without having to make up stories. If I come across any original Finnish horror stories I'll be sure to post them for all to see.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: crow on October 18, 2014, 12:09:59 am
So, does anything actually happen in Finland
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Rust on October 18, 2014, 02:17:49 am
Honestly, I spend most of my time inside or at work so I'll try to answer this as best as I can.
Well, there are a bunch of rock and metal festivals every year, especially more towards the summer. There's the Nummirock, Qstock, Ruisrock, Provinssirock and what have you. If that's not your thing there's also a bunch of jazz festivals around the year and probably some electro oriented ones too. And some country and tango ones too, but those are for silly old people. There's also a LAN party event thingy each summer called Vectorama. Speaking of the summer, a lot of Finnish families go to their summer cottage each year. A summer cottage is built away from cities and towns, usually in the middle of the woods and near a lake. They don't usually have running water or electricity, but a sauna is a must. Good times, a lot of grilled food and alcohol is pretty much guaranteed. Ice hockey gets really popular during the winter so everyone's staring at their TV's to follow the SM-Liiga (Finnish Elite League. Not some weird sadomasochism thing)
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on October 18, 2014, 07:50:57 pm
Montrith, you have no idea how much I appreciate those links. I'm totally going to google search the keywords you gave me, but at least now I've got the idea behind the physics of sauna stoves! I'm going to have to phone my city and find out the legalities of this, because I don't think anyone here has an authentic sauna.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on October 19, 2014, 11:26:11 am
Montrith, you have no idea how much I appreciate those links. I'm totally going to google search the keywords you gave me, but at least now I've got the idea behind the physics of sauna stoves! I'm going to have to phone my city and find out the legalities of this, because I don't think anyone here has an authentic sauna. TacoChillocko, October 18, 2014, 07:50:57 pm
Always glad to be of use. I found a few sites in English about building saunas, though I'm not sure how useful they are for your purposes.
Let me know if you come across any Finnish material you want translated and I'll be happy to do that for you.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on October 19, 2014, 08:54:42 pm
You're way better at Google than I am, apparently! Those links are great. I like how the Finnish guides get into the stone heating physics but the English sites are like "eh, just buy a heater or something"
edit* Oh man, the more I read about you Finns the more I'm totally jealous. It's like Canada is still a baby country, unable to really enjoy winter. Apparently you guys still make your own cross country skis, out of wood? Are there clips for this too?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on October 20, 2014, 10:38:05 am
It's not that common these days, but there are still some craftsmen and hobbyists who are able to make their own skis. Here are some winter DIY links for you, including a picture blog of a guy making his own skis. You can do your own Google searches again, but keep in mind that in Finnish skis ("sukset") usually means cross country skis. If you want info on downhill skiing you need to specify you are looking for "laskettelu sukset".
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: TacoChillocko on October 20, 2014, 02:29:19 pm
Thanks again! By the looks of things I'm going to have to contact a ski maker personally, no one wants to post their camber process online. I had no idea Finland had such a rich skiing history!
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Baldr on November 20, 2015, 09:20:16 am
I hear you are guys are starting a large-scale basic income experiment. What's the general feeling about it inside the country? Have you signed up to be a potential participant?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on November 21, 2015, 05:23:50 am
I hear you are guys are starting a large-scale basic income experiment. What's the general feeling about it inside the country? Have you signed up to be a potential participant? Healslime, November 20, 2015, 09:20:16 am
There's been dialogue about it and fighting for and against it. Overall it's supposed to make things easier for regular people, which is a good thing, but I'll believe it when I see it. Personally I'd like to see them take more personal interest in people who require financial aid, instead of just moving things around and cutting staff to make things "smoother". Plus I don't think the public has been informed about the changes enough. There's been so much infighting between government parties people are still confused as to what actually is going to happen.
Just my opinion though, I got to admit I haven't been paying this much attention.
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: Sherman Tank on November 23, 2015, 09:59:57 pm
What kind of impact will these new basic income programs have on the Sampo?
Title: Question for Finns
Post by: montrith on November 24, 2015, 12:04:01 am
What kind of impact will these new basic income programs have on the Sampo? Sherman Tank, November 23, 2015, 09:59:57 pm
As far as I know it will continue to produce grain and salt. We've been having trouble with the gold nozzle for a while now.