Lapland Calls

I'm leaving to Lapland tomorrow morning. My Grandpa's funeral is on Saturday. I'm sure there will be plenty of tears, but it is a happy occasion: he died a hero. Next post, Monday.

December Tan

Pretty gross, eh? My scalp and chin never caught up with the rest of my body. (My brother's wife, Sirkku, is on the right. This was taken in Oulu in 2005.)

This was the first tan of my life, imported from Malaysia. It took "only" 45 days. I'm moving to Tanzania soon, December 1st or 2nd, hopefully, for 6 months or so. I'll return to Finland when the Celcius degrees are more tolerable and, above all, when the sun returns from hibernation.

Kalevi Lepojärvi (1920-2008)

(Kalevi Lepojärvi, 1920-2008)

In memory of my Vaari who passed away a few days ago, I'm re-posting an old post from March 21 earlier this year. I think it said it all:

My paternal Grandpa, Kalevi, is a very old man. He is a father of eight. As a young man, he uses to work at a saw-mill. It was important to keep your back straight when handling heavy pieces of wood. Many years of that left my Grandpa with an impeccable posture. In this photo he is, what, some 80 years old? and still standing proud and handsome. He and my Grandma, Kaija, became farmers and dairy producers. I still remember the smell of the barn. Years went by; they retired; shut down the farm. Later Grandma died, and Grandpa's health deteriorated. Loss of memory, yes. But he still stands straight, I believe. Good man.

As Uncle Jason's...

...solemn philosophical analysis took all the excitement out of the picture book, Simon's farts provided occasional entertainment.

(I'm still in Varkaus. I pre-set the publication of this post. Simon, I promise to start picking on someone else soon. But I made fun of myself here too, right? Besides, you know I love you, as you're my favourite brother-in-law.)

Gone Hunting

I'm off to Varkaus, central Finland, for the second time in two months. Today's drive will take about 4 hours. We'll warm up the cabin later tonight, eat a late snack, hopefully sleep well, and head out early the next morning at 6 am, or just before sunrise. Looking forward to three days' hunting. Last month the weather was perfect, but I fear that this time we'll have some rain. On the plus side, we have the autumn colours lifting our spirits. All those shades of red, orange and yellow. Sometimes the terrain becomes impassible as can be seen from the photo below, taken from our hunting trip last month. Click on it to take a better look! And because of the rain, the swamps, too, may prove more difficult this time around.


Next post, Tuesday.

Media Hypocricy?

Does the media reflect popular sentiment or produce it?

The question of the media's relationship with reality, whether it is reality's faithful mirror or one of its chief architects, resurfaces every now and then, especially after tragedies that are human in nature. The question is posed as a simple either/or question, but the truth, one suspects, is much more subtle and complicated. The answer to the question is certainly: both. But the more precise in and outs of the relationship remains unexpressible, at least for me.

However, one curious phenomenom can be detected.

When the question is asked in a frustrated or angry manner, as in -- "Do you not realize that your yellow journalism, your conflict-seeking headlines etc., cause strife in society and undermine public wellbeing, especially that of the young?" -- the media responds by denying responsibility and seeking refuge in the "the media reflects reality" answer.

This is a half-truth, which is to say it is a lie. The media does, indeed, reflect reality, but it also creates it.

On the other hand, when the question is asked in a sympathetic and praising manner, as in -- "What role did you have in exposing the misuse of public funding?" or "The media has helped to advocate tolerance, hasn't it?" -- the media responds by "humbly" accepting responsibility and concurs with the "the media effects reality" assertion.

So by alternating between two part-truths, two sides of a greater truth, the media can avoid blame -- yet attain praise.

But you cannot have one and not the other, because blame and praise are interdependent, and they both imply freedom, freedom to act in a proper or improper way. If you are nothing but a faithful mirror, you can earn neither praise nor blame. But if you are something more than a simple mirror, if you wield responsibility, it is possible to praise you. But if you can be praised, you can be blamed too.

Happy Birthday, Gramma!

(Lori and Lynn, sisters)

My mom turned 48 yesterday. She has three grandchildren. My brother and his family sent her this Bible passage (1 Cor. 13:4-10), slightly modified, as a birthday poem:

Gramma on kärsivällinen,
Gramma on lempeä.
Gramma ei kadehdi,
ei kersku,
ei pöyhkeile,
ei käyttäydy sopimattomasti,
ei etsi omaa etuaan,
ei katkeroidu,
ei muistele kärsimäänsä pahaa,
ei iloitse vääryydestä vaan
iloitsee totuuden voittaessa.
Kaiken Gramma kestää,
kaikessa uskoo,
kaikessa toivoo,
kaiken se kärsii.
Gramma ei koskaan katoa.
Mutta Vaari vaikenee,
Cathyn puhuminen lakkaa,
Jasun tieto käy turhaksi.
Danny tietäminen on näet vajavaista
ja osaaminen on vajavaista,
mutta kun Gramma tulee,
vajavaisuutemme katoaa.

Same in English:

Gramma is patient,
Gramma is kind.
Gramma does not envy,
does not boast,
is not proud,
is not rude,
is not self-seeking,
is not easily angered.
Gramma does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth.
Gramma always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Gramma never fails.
But Grandpa's ramblings will cease;
Cathy's tongue will be stilled;
Jason's knowledge will pass away;
and Danny's understanding is limited.
But when Gramma comes,
our imperfections disappear.

John Paul II Truck

The Tanzanians carry the flags of their heroes wherever they go. In Dar, for example, it is not inordinary to see a truck or a "dalla dalla" (mini-busses, the Dar residents' main means of transportation) named "Jesus Christ" or something like that. Knowing that I'm a fan of John Paul II, Danny sent me this photo today.

Economics of Two Cows

Most of you have probably seen this, but here is the updated 2008 versions of 21 economic models explained with cows:

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead.

ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public then buys your bull.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called
'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but
you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five
cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of
them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high
bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you
and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part
of a Democracy..

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.

David Berlinski and His Critics

I met some very interesting people at the TriaLogos festival in Tallinn last week. One of them was Dr. David Berlinski. I had not heard of him before, even though I kind of follow the Darwinism vs. Intelligent Design dialogue, but after the festival I did a more in depth study of the guy and found out that he is one of the leading and most outspoken Darwinism critics there are.

David Berlinski is a Senior Fellow for the Discovery Institute think tank. You can find his impressive CV along with a short bio here. His latest book, The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions, sounds counter-cultural to say the least.

What makes Berlinski stand out is that he is a self-proclaimed "secular Jew" and agnostic, not a Christian. Some say he is a "zealous sceptic, more concerned with false gods than with real ones".

Having a tendency to lose academic positions with what he himself describes as an embarrassing urgency, Berlinski now devotes himself entirely to writing. In Tallinn he said he has been fired from every professorship he's ever had. The reason? His anti-Darwinism.

Ben Stein's new documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed includes numerous Darwinism critics - professors and scientists - who have been ousted from the "scientific community" for daring to question the status quo. A trailer of the documentary - which probably will never air in Finland (purported "low sales" as censorship justification) - can be seen here.* In the trailer, Berlinski is the man with the umbrella Stein shakes hands with and he is seen a few seconds later leaning back in an armchair in thought.

I must add that though Berlinski says that "everyone knows the evolution theory is a gas-bag" and calls evolutionary psychology "an enormous wasteland", he is not wholly impressed with the ID movement's attempts at explaining the questions that Darwinism quite obviously fails to explain. In Darwinism Versus Intelligent Design he states his independence from both. I recommend reading both the Darwinists' and the ID scientists' response to his critique. Halfway through the piece the podium is given to Berlinski who gracefully replies to each one.

I intend to attend a lecture given by the Dean of the Polytechnic University, Dr. Matti Leisola, titled Has Science Buried Religion? in Lahti this upcoming Wednesday at seven o'clock. The talk is part of a apologetic series offered by Studia Generalia.

* I checked the Amazon reader ratings for the documentary. It got 3 out of 5 stars. How so? If you look more carefully, it got only either ones or full fives, nothing in between. The pro-Darwinists gave it ones and the others a five.

Texting to Tanzania

A Sunday morning text-message correspondence I had with the Tanzanian branch:

Danny: ”Skipattiin Benjy kanssa Amana [kirkko] ja käytiin pyöräilyretkellä ja sen päätteeksi SeaCliffin rantakahvilaan virvokkeille. Mitä sinne?”
Jason: ”Aiaiai mahtavalta kuulostaa! Moi Benjy! Jasu-setä tulee jouluksi sinne. Mitä tuon teille tuliaiseksi?”
Benjy: ”Karkkia ja hedelmäkarkkia ja sitten lelun. Danskulle ei mitään.”
Danny: ”Heh... Voi sillekin jotain tuoda.”

Same in English:

Danny: “Benjy and I skipped Amana [church] and after a bike-ride are enjoying sodas at the SeaCliff beach cafeteria. What's up?”
Jason: “Wow ... sounds great! Hi Benjy! Uncle Jason is coming over for Christmas. What should I bring you guys?”
Benjy: “Candy and fruity candy and then a toy. Nothing for Daniella.”
Danny: “Heh... You can bring her something too.”

"Screw this," thought Joshua ...

"I asked for Gucci sunglasses and a Kalevala bracelet. Who do they think I am, a one-yeard-old dummy?"

TriaLogos in the Old Town of Tallinn

Taking the ferry across the Gulf of Finland today to attend the TriaLogos festival in the Old Town of Tallinn. The festival's program is very interesting again this year (last year I didn't make it).

I'm looking forward to many presentations, especially: Jeffrey Langan's "St. Augustine's City of God: Empire vs. Civilization", Robert Sungenis' "The Effect of Secular Philosophy on Art, Architecture, Culture, Music, Movies, Television and Literature, from Kant to the Modern Age" and "The Religion of Scientism", and James Larson's "What is Truth?".

TriaLogos is more than a seminar, it is a festival, and as such it includes plays, concerts, etcetera. I'll be back late Friday night.