Finnish Proverbs

HELSINKI NOMINATED FOR POKEMON GO SAFARI ZONE EVENT

Helsinki has been nominated as a location for the Safari Zone event of the smash hit AR-based mobile game Pokemon Go by Niantic. Pokemon Go Helsinki published their nomination video on Tuesday the 24th of September.

The proposed location is the Töölö Bay area with its surrounding parks right in the heart of Helsinki with direct access to the Helsinki railway station and multiple attractions that host in-game locations known as pokestops and gyms.

Pokemon Go Helsinki ask for as many likes on their nomination video they can get in order to get Niantic's attention and be chosen to host the event in Helsinki in the summer of 2020. Hastag #NianticLive2020 is where the video was originally published on Twitter.

Similar events have been previously held in places such as Japan, Taiwan, Germany and Denmark, in around 3-4 locations around the world every year since the game's launch in 2016. The events have brought in players in tens of thousands from around the world and typically include special event-exclusive content such as boosted rates of shiny pokemon, rare pokemon, regional pokemon not typically found in the area and different forms of the always elusive Unown.

Pokemon Go is a highly popular and thriving mobile game in Finland, and globally with over 60 million active players. The summer and fall of 2019 has reportedly been the game's most profitable time period since their skyrocketing launch in the summer of 2016, mostly thanks to the introduction of new gameplay features such as player vs. player matches, pokestop submissions, and events such as the Safari Zone that have engaged players with new content consistently throughout the summer, and eventually built up the hype for the introduction to the Fifth Generation of new Pokemon earlier in September.

Helsinki City and the local players are pumped for the potential opportunity of hosting the event, and welcome you with their top notch cellural coverage, unlimited data of Finnish telephone carriers (upon purchase), excellent and accessible public transport, pleasant temperatures, practically nightless nights, safe and clean environment and a thick coverage of attractions and pokestops!

I used to live in a small town, where the people... Well, typically Finnish, they didn't exactly reach out to people, kept to themselves, the usual stuff.

It's easy to get cynical in such an environment, but time and time again people surprised me positively.

I was going grocery shopping, on foot, and was additionally carrying a plastic bag with library books, and a paper bag with a heavy potted rose I had just picked up from the florist to give my mom as a late mother's day/birthday present the next day when I’d go see her.

Unfortunately, wet as the pot was, it had leaked and the paper bag had torn on the way. I left them and the library books in the locker at the lobby, did my shopping and upon returning realized I had forgotten to buy an extra plastic bag for the rose, as had been my intention.

Puzzled, I stood there for a while wondering how I was gonna do it. Eventually I removed the torn paper bag, walked a few feet back to throw it in the trash; and people passed by, among them this older man, about 65-75, who didn't even look into my direction but stopped where I had left my bags and the rose--still looking the other way--took out a cache of plastic bags from his pocket, ONE of which just conveniently "happened" to "drop" and land exactly in front of my stuff, and he just stomped onwards, still not once looking my way, as if I hadn't just noticed he had deliberately done that.

Yeah, they may not have talked much and may have had a bit gruff and uninviting demeanor to them, but this and many other similar occurrences proved who they really were. They just didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. They knew it wasn’t about them but about doing what is right.

And if anyone is thinking he should have offered to carry my bags, well. First, I would've declined and he knew it--it would've been awkward for us both. Second, I'm probably stronger than he is, and he knew it. Third, that wasn't my problem and I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself, which he also knew.

All he needed was the satisfaction he didn't need to throw that particular bag in the trash, probably, and I respect that! There was no need for him to make a number of the fact that he was helping me, and that was literally the best thing anyone could have done for me in that situation.

All the credit go to Very Finnish Problems on Facebook.

All the temperatures are in Celcius.

People… You guys don’t UNDERSTAND how crazy this is.

As you may have heard, it has been incredibly hot in Finland lately, by our standards anyway. To give you a sense of proportion, this past week, it’s been hotter in Finland than in freaking LOS ANGELES!!!!! Aside, of course, places like Spain, a good portion of the Middle East, etc.

Why is this so crazy??

It’s NUTS because NO LESS THAN SIX WEEKS AGO WE STILL HAD ABOUT THREE FEET (~1 METER) OF SNOW, and were WAY BEHIND in the arrival of spring!!

Now, thanks to this FREAKING P MUCH ONCE IN A LIFETIME PHENOMENA, a heatwave this early IN MAY, we’re now about A MONTH AHEAD IN TEMPERATURES AND FULLY CAUGHT UP IF NOT AHEAD with the arrival of not only spring but summer!!!!

THERE WAS STILL RESIDUAL PILES OF SNOW HERE LESS THAN A WEEK AGO!!

It’s pure INSANITY, people!!!! THIS KIND OF STUFF SIMPLY NEVER HAPPENS HERE. You don’t have the faintest idea of how nuts this is!!!!

Important reminder on dire consequences of online bullying

Bullying, even on social media is a serious matter that needs to stop once and for all. Especially damaging is the filming and posting of videos that mock or otherwise misrepresent people in one way or another. One should remember what they film and show present only a fraction of what the person is truly like, and by posting it online you may not only end up making the person lose their face and reputation for good--but you may end up being the reason for their untimely demise.

This 72-year-old man was known as the "Stick-man" in the Finnish city of Kouvola, and soon in entire Finland and even abroad as a viral video where he yelled and swore at the person filming him was posted on Youtube. The filmer and his companion were mocking and patronizing the man for leaving a load of sticks and branches in a place that wasn't a public landfill - the forest. Technically illegal, but not a crime of any consequence to anyone. Still, the filmers saw fit to label him not only a criminal - but deranged.

In the video it seems like he is basically an entitled raging madman who thinks he can do what he will and seems to be attacking an innocent bystander. This was quite far from the truth. What wasn't shown in the video was that he had been heavily provoked by the filmer and his companion. His family knew him as the calmest person in the entire family, with a big heart who genuinely loved to help the less fortunate. The family testifies, that to get the old man so out of his mind mad would have required exceptional conditions.

The old man didn't understand anything about social media or Youtube nor didn't even know the film had gone viral until random people started recognizing him off the streets. People of all ages came to him, called him the Stick-man, mocked him, took pictures with him and of him for the shits and giggles, and even followed him to his home to play remixes of the video on his yard. This went on for years.

The man, who until then had been a liked and loved member of the family and a known storyteller who was always in a good-mood, became closed off, tense, fearful, and slowly succumbed into deep depression that made him wall himself into his house. According to the family, they could barely even recognize him anymore as everything had changed, down to his mannerisms.

Charges were eventually filed for slander, but the poor man never received justice as he passed away of a ruptured aorta during the trials--as a direct result of the stress he'd endured the past few hellish years of his life.

With Valentine’s day coming up, many people without a “Valentine” to celebrate it with may feel especially lonesome during this time.

In my home country of Finland, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated since the 1980’s, as Ystävänpäivä, which translates to ‘Friend’s Day’. This doesn’t hold any higher ideological purpose other than celebrating romantic love just doesn’t fit in the stereotypical stoic Finnish menthality; and since over 60% of our nation’s entire population live alone, it made a lot more sense to celebrate Friend’s day (yes, in singular because having more than one friend is “pushing it” :P) in its stead.

The traditional celebration includes making Ystävänpäivä cards to give all your friends, some even make or buy small gifts, and wishing a Happy Friend’s Day to your friends, family and sometimes even your co-workers or neighbors.

Thanks to the media, especially during the past decade some of the more traditional Valentine’s Day merchandise and traditions have entered and integrated in our Friend’s Day celebration. Many people consider them less legit and more superficial and poor in taste to fit in the theme of our Friend’s Day, thinking combining the two might lead the other taking over.

I disagree however. I see no problem in combining the two. See, it doesn’t need to be just one or the other. The day is still called Friend’s day, and if your loved one isn’t first and foremost (one of) your best friend(s), something isn’t right. It’s also not about one being more special than the other, friendship vs. romantic love, but they’re both equally special, valid, worth highlighting and to remember.

So, if any of you feel down today, you can remember your friends on February 14th and wish them a happy Friend’s Day. Give them a call, send them a little message, smile, make jokes, have fun, anything that makes you happy.

The Finns already know this, and it feels very silly to have to even say it, but your friends are equally important as your significant other; who is “just” another friend in addition to the others in the end.

The entire country of Finland rejoices as the newly re-elected President Sauli Niinistö and First Lady Jenni Haukio were thrilled to announce the birth of their son earlier this evening Finnish time.

The Presidential Office of Finland tells the First Son, unofficially dubbed young Prince by the overjoyed Finnish people, was born just before 8pm on February 2nd.

Both mother and son are well and healthy. President Niinistö was with the First Lady in the delivery room, likely giving moral support, as most fathers do in Finland.

The Presidential Couple received many congratulations already before the baby was born, and wish to offer their warmest gratitude.

December 6th is Finland’s Independence Day and this year we celebrate our first centennial of Independence from Russia.

The world has changed drastically since those days, but for us the change has perhaps been even more prominent than most. We’ve risen from total obscurity-- a country full of poor and uneducated peasants--into one of the most thriving and leading countries in the entire world, and we did it regardless of going through multiple wars and economic crises over the years.

How did we achieve this?

By not giving up, by marching uphill against the odds over and over again while biting our tongue and tasting blood, facing setback after setback, sacrifice after sacrifice, fighting each other but then fighting back against the enemy together, choosing to be united instead of divided, putting our differences aside and leaving them behind, silently accepting and respecting each other, working hard and helping each other, listening and supporting the poor and oppressed, choosing to live in a society where everyone is equal and nobody is left behind, learning (or at least trying to) from our mistakes and moving on.

Today is the day to be proud to be Finnish. We did this, and we did this together! Here’s for another 100 years, and God willing--many more!

http://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/201710090140543_u0.shtml

EDIT: LINK TO THE NEWS IN ENGLISH!

NO but seriously you guys, you don’t understand how big of a deal this is!

This is the first time in history a Finnish First Lady (sometimes called Maan äiti in Finnish, roughly translated “Mother of the Nation”) has been young enough to be pregnant! Ms Jenni Haukio and President Niinistö are deeply loved by pretty much the entire country of Finland and almost everyone (that I know of) was secretly hoping this would happen but nobody ever said anything anywhere-- because hey, you need to be respectful because nobody knew if it was her choice (because still no babies after like 8 years of being married and 6 of which her husband as the President). But, it turns out they’ve actually been trying for years with many setbacks along the way but now it was safe to announce their joy which is now celebrated by the entire nation! She’s due in February 2018.

Finnish people have always been a bit jealous to the other Nordic nations because they have royalties (aside Iceland) who are in the spotlight and bring such great publicity to a smaller country. In people’s minds, a king or queen is still often higher esteemed than a mere President due to historical reasons and whatnot. We’ve always been kind of playing second violin in this orchestra, plenty of reasons aside this. Anyway, whenever there’s royal weddings or royal announcements of next of kin we’re happy for them, especially if they're Swedish because that means they’re basically like our royalties too due to our shared history, but it’s never happened here.... Until now.

Stories on why these two are so popular could fill a book but that’s beside the point.