finntimes

ROCKLAND THE OPERA: A FINNISH-AMERICAN STORY – VIDEO NEWS

February 22nd, 2012

thinkkanen

Video produced and directed by Tomi Hinkkanen (in Finnish and English)

Rockland the Opera, commissioned by the Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF), is an historically-based tragic opera in 14 scenes composed and written by Jukka Linkola of Nivala, Finland, first performed in 2011. It is based on a long-forgotten miners’ strike at the town of Rockland in Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s Ontonagon County. The story follows Finnish miners when they united to strike concerning wages and working conditions. During a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies, two miners were killed and several miners were arrested. Subsequently, many miners left Rockland.

One of the miners, Alfred Laakso wrote an account of the events. Years later his grandson Andy Hill read the account and thought it make for a good piece of musical theater.

The first production of Rockland was in Nivala, Finland on 9 June 2011 at the Nivala Ice Arena under the direction of Jussi Tapola with Timo Hannula conducting. It received generally positive reviews from audience members even though it did not draw as many spectators as the River Valleys Music Foundation of Nivala had hoped.

Its premiere in the New World was in Houghton, Michigan, United States on 15 and 17 July 2011 at the Rozsa Center For The Performing Arts as part of the Pine Mountain Music Festival. The premiere was under the direction of Jussi Tapola with Craig Randal Johnson conducting.

To promote the opera in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the PMMF collaborated with community artist Mary Wright on The Story Line Project. People in the community (mostly schoolchildren) were invited to write a one-page story about an ancestor who overcame hardship like the people in the opera. These stories were then transferred to dishtowel-sized pieces of fabric and hung from clotheslines to honor their ancestors and make them aware of the history on which their lives are built.

Role	Premiere Cast, 9 June 2011 (Conductor: Timo Hannula)
Alfred Laakso, miner and musician	Esa Ruuttunen
Johanna Ahopelto	Tiina Vahevaara
Pekka Ahopelto (Puna-Pekka)	Riku Pelo
William Jackson, foreman	William Joyner
Matti Kivi, miner.	Lassi Virtanen
Hilja, daughter of Heikki Järvenpää	Riika Pelo
Pastor Erkki Rantanen	Petri Pussila
Rauha	Katriina Leppänen
Otto, Rauha’s father	Ari Hosio
John or Jussi	Simo Mäkinen
Sven Polkki, union organizer	Mikko Himanka
Thomas Colton, Director of Mining	Robert Mcloud
Heikki Järvenpää, miner	Tom Häkkilä
Pete Casavino	Ilkka Hämäläinen

Links:

February 19th, 2012

thinkkanen

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES, NEWARK, NJ

DATE: Feb. 19^th,2012

Whitney Houston

The sudden death of Whitney Houston has shocked the world. The girl with the golden voice was laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery in New Jersey over the weekend.

Saturday evening, February 11^th, I heard the news about Whitney’s death at the Beverly Hilton. I live only about a mile away. That night I arrived at her death scene, as helicopters were buzzing above and journalists were scrambling to find new leads. Many were waiting outside the service entrance for the coroner’s van to take Whitney’s body to the county morgue (It didn’t happen until the wee hours of the morning). She lay there on the fourth floor, room 434. But apparently the show must go on. At the same time Whitney’s mentor, music producer Clive Davis’ star-studded annual pre-Grammy party was going full swing as scheduled. It was macabre and surreal. I caught up with two ladies dressed in evening gowns, singers Terry Jones and Helen Bruner, who were leaving the Clive Davis party. They told me that a part of the event was dedicated to Whitney. I could still see the confusion in their eyes about the party taking place at all despite Whitney’s demise just hours earlier. Both ladies had met Whitney during better times.

The Beverly Hilton - Photo by Tomi Hinkkanen

“She was wonderful – full of life, very warm and very real. Giving, not afraid to say hello, not afraid to stop and take a picture and not afraid to give a moment of advise,” Jones remarked. In the following days I visited the makeshift shire in front of the Beverly Hilton and talked with fans from all over the world. Some would spontaneously sing her tunes.

The Beverly Hilton - Photo by Tomi Hinkkanen

Houston’s last public performance took place Thursady night, two days before her death at the Tru nightclub in Hollywood. The club’s publicist Adam Ambrose gave me a full account of that last show. That night the club hosted a pre-Grammy party with 20 acts. Whitney’s entourage of seven arrived an hour before the start of the show, around 10.15 pm.

“She acted very confidently, the professional that she was. We sat them down downstairs. They had a bottle of Dom Perignon between them. It was a party atmosphere. They were chatting and having fun. About 11.15 she went upstairs. We cleared a little back area for her, so that people wouldn’t come up to her. We had a packed house, about 500 people,” Adam Ambrose recounts.

Tru Nightclub - Photo by Tomi Hinkkanen

To everyone’s surprise, Whitney gave her last performance right there that night.

“About midnight her friend called her and she was introduced to everyone. The crowd went crazy. Everybody was surprised. Suddenly she walks on stage with Kelly Price. We didn’t expect that. She took the mike and they sang a very short duet “Jesus Loves Me”. Then she suddenly turned and went off. She didn’t want to grab the limelight. I was there and would have loved to have seen another song.”

As days went on, more details surrounding Houston’s death started to emerge. In her last days, the hotel guests had witnessed Whitney acting loudly, drinking and carrying on. She even did cartwheels at the pool area. Finally the hotel security guards had to be summoned to calm her down. On that faithful Saturday, she had continued drinking in the morning, but then withdrew to her room to prepare for that evening’s Clive Davis event, where she was supposed to perform. People close to Whitney tell that they normally never allowed her to take baths on the fear that she might drown. It is unknown why this time nobody kept an eye on her. By the time her aunt entered Whitney’s room that afternoon, it was all over and she had passed away in her bathtub. Prescription pills, including Xanax, an alprazolam used to treat anxiety, were found in the room, along with an empty beer can and a champagne glass. According to experts, mixing drugs like Xanax with alcohol can be fatal. An autopsy was performed the following day, Sunday. On Monday, Whitney’s body was flown on film producer Tyler Perry’s private jet from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey.

Flags flew half staff in New Jersey in honor of Whitney (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

I flew there that Friday, the eve of her funeral.

Newark is a city of just under 300,000. The Manhattan skyline, with its new World Trade Center visibly rising in the distance, is only eight miles away. But it might as well be on a different planet. Recession had hit hard this rustbelt city. Many of the downtown buildings stood dilapidated and empty. I saw people wandering the streets as in a dream state, without work or any apparent destination.

A housing complex in Newark, NJ (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

I settled in the Best Western Robert Treat Hotel – named after one of the founding puritans of the city. It is a walking distance away from the New Hope Baptist Church. This is where Whitney first started her singing career as a teenager with a voice of an angel. She sang in the church choir, garnering early attention and then subsequently appeared on the Merv Griffin Show. On Friday, as the sun was setting, the church was a scene of a homecoming for the girl from the hood. Hundreds of people gathered outside the church, bringing flowers, cards and balloons.

A woman is holding Houston's picture near New Hope Baptist Church (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

The mementos filled the chain link fence around the church. Among the grievers was Donna Jackson, wearing a Whitney-themed T-shirt.

“I grew up with her music and my daughter was born at the same time as her daughter. This was my grandparents’ church. They saw Whitney sing during regular services. I always attended the annual gospel festival, where Whitney would often sing, even after becoming famous. I already got tickets for this year’s festival and was expecting to see her in March. But whether she is here physically or not, she will always be our angel,”

Donna whispered. The people congregating outside the church were playing her music throughout the evening. She was belting out “The Greatest Love of All” over a loudspeaker.

Most of the audience was African-American, but a white couple, Tanya and Hector from Pennsylvania, had also made the trek to be near their idol.

“She was the greatest singer of all times. This is a sad day. It is as if we had lost a relative,” Hector said with wife nodding next to him. Monique and Tanya, who live in the tri state area, were seen admiring the flowers and greeting fans had left on the fence. “We wanted to be as near as possible to Whitney. She had such a huge impact on our lives. We have known each other since we were five years old. We grew up with Whitney’s music. We would sing her songs in Tanya’s kitchen, sometimes dedicating the songs to guys we were infatuated with at the time,” Monique smiled. The young women had seen all of Whitney’s movies and the reality show “Being Bobby Brown”, in which she appeared with her then-husband.

Twenty something Quantil Alexander and Myriel Marshall brough balloons and a card with the text “With deepest sympathy.” Their friends and family members had signed it. “She was my idol. I saw her at the Newark airport a couple of years ago. She walked right past me. She seemed to be so full of life. And she didn’t disappear in any first class lounge, but headed to a regular restaurant to eat with the common folk,” Quantil reminisced. Larry Jones is a student and a single parent. He brought his two-year-old son Jaylen to see the funeral preparations.

“I used to live five minutes from here in a government housing complex. I remember when I first heard the name Whitney Houston as a young boy, and learned that she was from here. That brought us hope – perhaps something good would happen to us as well. I used to sing her son “I’m Ev’ry Woman”, many other guys did as well, ” Larry chuckled. Vasili is from Moscow and a student of the New York Film Academy. He and a friend Peter brought a tasteful-looking floral arrangement of purple flowers – Whitney’s favorite color.

“We both have been Whitney fans for at least a decade. I used to listen to her music back in Russia,” Vasili told. The young men were hoping that their flowers would be accepted inside the church. “We noticed that the best looking arrangements were accepted in the church,” Peter added. The guys are in luck – their floral condolences are taken inside by stern-looking security guards patrolling the main entrance of the church.

Arthur Jenkins and Dennis Mason are old buddies and war veterans. They both served in Vietnam. Arthur in the Marines, where he earned a purple heart, and Dennis in the army. ”We are both ’Norks’, born and raised here. I have met Whitney’s mother and love her music. Here we all look after each other,” Arthur explained. As it was getting dark, the crowd outside the church grew louder. People started dancing on the street to Whitney’s music. It was a party atmosphere.

That same Friday evening, away from the prying eyes of the media and the public, a private viewing of Houston’s body was held at a nearby Whigham Funeral Home.

Whigham Funeral Home (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

The next morning, the place turned into a mob scene. People wanting to be close to Whitney, came in droves, again leaving balloons, notes and flowers outside the funeral home. “The greatest cousin of all will be missed”, read the text on Brandi Brown’s T-shirt. She is not literally Whitney’s cousin. Here close friends commonly call themselves cousins.

Brandi Brown's family has know the Houston family for years (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

“Whitney and I sang in the same choir at the New Hope Baptist Church. Her mother was our choir director. I’m in the background in the old video, where Whitney is seen singing in the choir,”

Brandi pointed out proudly. She was 11 and Whitney 13. Grace James and Angela Binns had flown to Newark from their home in Bermuda – just for Whitney.

Grace and Angela flew from Bermuda to say farewell to Whitney (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

“We came here to pay our respects. We were hoping to get inside the church but understand the Houston family’s wishes,” Grace said. Together we take a cab and visit the cemetery, where she was to be laid to rest. The Fairview Cemetery is located a half an hour away from the city, in the affluent Westfield. Saturday morning the cemetery was empty. We spotted a service truck on one of the lanes. I stopped by to ask for directions to the Houston family grave, but the man sitting in the truck refused to divulge the location and asked us to leave. However, there was a turquoise awning in the middle of the cemetery. We figured that it may be the burial site but did not hang on to find out due to the groundskeeper’s reaction.

Whitney Houston was buried in Fairview Cemetery, Westfield, New Jersey (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

Instead, we headed to the city of East Orange, to Whitney’s old school, which has since been renamed as The Whitney Houston Academy.

Whitney's old school became a shrine (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

An American flag was flown half staff outside the school building.

The Whitney E. Houston Academy (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

A friend of the Houston family, Lisa Ventura, was standing by the door.

Lisa Ventura came to pay her respects at Whitney's school (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

“Our families have been close for a long time. I met Whitney 11 years ago when I was working at a doctor’s office. She came to see the doctor along with her then-husband Bobby Brown. She greeted me and looked fabulous,” Lisa recalled. Later on she saw Houston in concert in Atlantic City. She then left to her mother’s house to watch the funeral on TV. In fact, unless you were an invited guest, that was the only way to see the funeral. The taxi took Angela, Grace and myself back to Newark and we said goodbye. The Newark police had blocked off the streets leading to the New Hope Church.

Mounted policemen guarding the New Hope Church (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

That, of course, didn’t stop hundreds of fans lining the streets anyway.

Fans waiting to see a glimpse of a celebrity funeral guest (by Tomi Hinkkanen)

In order to get through the police barricade, one had to show an official invitation to a police officer.

A string of black limousines and SUV’s made their way to the checkpoint. I spotted talk show host Starr Jones and singers Roberta Flack and Jennifer Hudson among the VIP-guests.

So, along with millions of others, I watched Whitney’s poignant memorial on TV. It filled me with sadness. She was too young to die – only 48. On Sunday she was buried next to her father in a private ceremony at the Fairview Cemetery we had visited the day earlier. I wish there had been some kind of a public memorial for Whitney’s fans and friends in Newark. So many of them had followed her career – proud of the fact that she was one of them – a girl next door. To countless people down on their luck, Whitney Houston gave hope for a better future. Her success was a living proof that despite your background, if you had talent and worked hard, you too could achieve your goals in life. They felt like Whitney sang: “I found the greatest love of all inside of me.”

February 18th, 2012

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by Tomi Hinkkanen

Hancock, Michigan

The greatest concentration of Finnish Americans is in Michigan Upper Peninsula.

One of the most puzzling things about The Upper Peninsula is that Finnish-Americans still cherish their roots. The opening of several copper mines in the area brought thousands of Finnish emigrants in the area between 1900 and 1910. The descendants of those early Finns still live in the area and many of them speak Finnish, even though they may have never even visited Finland. Andrea tells me though, that it is a tradition among these Finns to make at least once-in-a-lifetime sojourn to the land of their ancestors. We met local Finnish retirees at Suomi Restaurant in Hancock. They came from various backgrounds, having made their careers in business, civil engineering and farming. They have also kept their forefathers’ faiths, whether Lutheran or Laestadian.

Most of the footage was taken at Hancock, Michigan, a city of 4,600 residents on the North shore of Portage Lake. It also has the title of the northernmost City in Michigan. Finnish influence in Hancock is everywhere. One can see it just by walking down its streets. The street signs are both in English and Finnish, and there are Finnish flags in each street corner. I would soon learn, that many of the locals also speak Finnish.

Also see: http://finntimes.com/?p=243 (U.P. (Upper Peninsula, I love you)

February 13th, 2012

Ava Anttila

VALENTINE’S DAY: US vs. FINLAND
by Ava Anttila (AROUND THE TOWN WITH AVA)

Valentine’s Day postcard from 1909

U.S. vs. Finland

America gave Finland a wonderful gift—Valentine’s Day. Ever the smart country that it is, Finland did the US one better. They improved it. While most of the world celebrates St. Valentine’s Day on February 14, Finland celebrates “Friend’s (or Friendship) Day” [Ystävänpäivä]. This tradition is a relatively young one in Finland –only since the late 80’s.

Rather than the American tradition that dedicates the day to love and romance, Finns celebrate all of their friends. I say we in the Finnish American community should take on the Finnish improvement, yet keep the love and romance part in our lives. Everyone needs some flowers and a little chocolate in their lives. N’est pas ?

Finns celebrate Friendship Day by giving cards, flowers, candy, and jewelry to friends and relatives. The official Friend’s Day flower is a pink rose (love it!). Of all odd things, Finns have made Kalakukko, a dish from the Savo region, the traditional Valentine’s dish (you have got to love it!). The Kalakukko literally: “fishrooster”, or “fishcock” [gee, that doesn’t sound right, does it?—oh well, it’s Finnish food] is something only the resourceful Finns could have invented. It is a fish, bones and all, wrapped in pork fat enclosed in a big wad of rye dough. When baked it, looks like a typical loaf of rye bread. The bones of the fish soften during the baking process and the filling becomes moist from the fat and fish juices. It is one of those iconic Finnish dishes that you do not tell your cardiologist about! If you choose to make a Kalakukko, it travels well for a picnic. [I have a better Valentine dinner venue recommendation at the end of the column.]

Friends

Friends are such an important part of life–especially here in our City of Angels. With its vast areas, huge multitudes of people, and the transient nature of the locals (moving all the time—except on the freeway), when you find a true friend it is special. Those of us in the Finnish community have a natural connection and should support one another, taking pride in and celebrating each one’s successes –as well as, being there in difficult and sad times.

A Road Less Traveled—or, Wilshire Boulevard on a Saturday Night

…Which reminds me of last Saturday night. I was driving back from downtown Los Angeles after attending the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Gala and Concert at the California Club with my friend and colleague, the eminent Probate Attorney to the stars, Bruce Ross. I was standing in for his wife, my friend Carol, who was ill. Since the hour was late (and people in LA do drink and drive), I figured the safest route home was Wilshire Boulevard, not the freeway. [By the way, if you have not been downtown lately, it is a very lively place on a Saturday night. The skyline and city view are just beautiful with the lighting on the skyscrapers, the new Ritz Carlton hotel, and the Staples/Nokia complex.]

Wilshire Blvd

Wilshire was moving along well. A few years ago, I would not have wanted to drive alone at night there. Tonight, even MacArthur Park was lit up–the lake and fountain looked peaceful and beautiful. It had been awhile since I took this nostalgia drive by my first law office, by Southwestern Law School where I began my JD studies, and by their Law Library building which used to be Bullock’s Wilshire Department Store where I spent way too much of my first ‘lawyer’ paychecks! You know the place–the gorgeous Art Deco building with the tower.

The Bullocks Wilshire Building on the campus of the Southwestern Law School

The green lights seemed to be cooperating with the ‘get home safely’ driving plan. Coming into Beverly Hills, there was a strange slowing and too much traffic for 11:30 at night. At the corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire [The Beverly Hilton] there were dozens of news trucks with satellite towers aimed skyward. People lined the sidewalks with cameras and flowers. Why? The Golden Globes were ‘history’. The Grammys were not supposed to be until Sunday. Since only freeway driving generally requires the “…every 6 minutes traffic reports”, the radio was not on. Quickly, I remedied that. The sad news about the death of Whitney Houston explained what was going on. She had just passed away a few hours before.

Whitney Houston’s aunt is Dionne Warwick. The lyrics to her song “That’s What Friends Are For” is appropriate today. Friends are there for one another through good times and bad. Yet, we get busy, lost in our work, isolated, and in the ‘pressure cooker’ and ‘fast lane that is Los Angeles. It is good to have a day, in the Finnish way, to say ‘thanks’ to our friends, to celebrate human kindness, and to re-trace the paths we traveled to get to where we are today.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

Things to Ponder

Los Angeles has some things that make one wonder why things are so. For those of us who have lived here for decades, strange things pop into your head. For me, I have wondered for years why, with the vast amounts of coastline and beaches, there is no nice restaurant where you can be in a lovely environment near the waves, have a delicious meal, and watch the sunset. It should be a no-brainer.

Well guess what, such a venue now exists! [And, no, it is not Geoffrey’s in Malibu, a mere 27 hours away!]. The ‘no-brainer’ is called the Strand House. It is located on the beach, by the pier in Manhattan Beach. Be a friend to yourself—and a loved one. Be your own Valentine –if necessary. Book a window table for sunset. Order the hamachi crudo and watch as the sun disappears into the Pacific. This is life in LA as it is meant to be!

Strand House restaurant in Manhattan Beach

Have I said: “Happy Valentine’s Day”?

P.S.: While you enjoy your Valentine’s Day with your loved ones and friends, I will be spending February 14th at the hospital welcoming the most wonderful Valentine’s present of all–a new grandson scheduled to arrive at sunrise! It will be OK with me to miss the sunset this time around.

February 12th, 2012

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The Pecks

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES
PHOTOS: TOMI HINKKANEN

Movie fans all over the world remember Gregory Peck (1916-2003) as the handsome leading man of Hollywood’s golden era. His first wife was Finnish-born Greta, née Eine Matilda Kukkonen. Although never a Hollywood star, Greta became a true star in her own right as she spread light on everybody she touched. Greta and Gregory were married for 12 years, had three sons, and remained life-long friends even after their divorce. Tragedy brought them together years later when their first-born son Jonathan committed suicide. She dedicated her life to her children and to charity and is fondly remembered by those touched by her kindness.

Greta Peck and her son Cary

I first met Greta at in 1996 at one of her famous parties at her home in Beverly Hills where old and new friends alike were invited. Later on we befriended and I wrote a few stories about her for Finnish publications. She had a lilting voice and would nod her head when making a particularly important point. Those were her twilight years.

“It’s a wonderful place to live,” She remarked about her Beverly Hills home. “If you can afford it,” I added silently in my mind. When I caught up with her a few years later, her beloved dog Monsieur was no longer alive, and she did not take another animal perhaps fearing that it might end up alone. At this point she no longer made her annual trip to her homeland either. It would be doubtful that any of her friends or relatives would have been alive there anyway.

Greta Peck and Ava Anttila

Gret Peck’s home was like a time capsule. God only knows how valuable was the lot her Beverly Hills house stood on. It was once a part of Pickfair: a property that belonged to the silent film star Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks built in the 1920’s. Later on, the vast lot was subdivided into smaller ones and Greta’s was one of them. It was a one story mid-century modern house with a great view of downtown LA. Around her house, the other 1950’s bungalows had been razed to make way for large and gaudy McMansions that filled up their entire lots. A 1980’s Cadillac was parked in front of her house, but she rarely drove it. Instead, she was picked up by friends to go to her charitable functions. Inside her home, there were several beautiful paintings on the walls, some sculptures and stacks and stacks of old photographs on tables everywhere. At my urging she sifted through them, trying to remember the people in several smart get-togethers the pictures depicted.

Gregory and Greta Peck

Eine Matilda Kukkonen was born at the old Helsinki railway station on January 25th, 1911. Finland wasn’t even an independent country then, but a Grand Duchy of the Tsar’s Russia.

“My mother was traveling to town by train from our country house, thinking that she would still have one month before I was to be born, but I decided to come into this world right there and then. It’s a good thing I was the youngest of four sisters, otherwise my mother would have had a difficult time,” Greta Peck reminisces. Her watchmaker father took the family to the U.S. when she was four. The family settled in New Jersey. At school the teacher always mispronounced her name Eine, so she changed it to Greta. The family name Kukkonen had already been shortened to “Konen” on Ellis Island. So the young lady was known as Greta Konen. At the time, girls were only expected to get married, bear children and become housewives. Greta tried to follow in that tradition. At 18 she married an American businessman, Charles Rice. They divorced after four years and had no children. After her marriage ended, Greta decided to get an education. She attended beauty school and, upon graduation, was hired as a make-up artist by ‘the first lady of American theater,’ Katharine Cornell, who had a touring theater group.

“We toured around the country, traveling by train, and visiting every state. Some performances were one-night-stands. Of course, we stayed longer in big cities, like Chicago. There were about 25 people in our entourage. Each tour lasted for 9 months,” Greta says. After the tour was over, the troupe returned to New York.

“Kathryn Cornell was such an elegant lady. She produced a new play every year with her husband Guthrie McClintock, who was a theatrical producer. They had a beautiful home in Manhattan with a garden overlooking the East River where they often entertained great writers and other interesting people.”

“Gregory Peck was a recent graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, and had gotten an engagement with the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. He had been there a couple of years. The play in which Peck was in was closing. Guthrie McClintock just so happened to be in the last show. He was so impressed that he asked Gregory to join their theater group. And that’s where Gregory and I first met,” Greta recounts. Cornell’s group embarked on a new tour. Gregory joined them in Boston. The play was called “Doctor’s Dilemma”. Gregory Peck had only one line in the last act. He asked Greta for a date at the Merry-Go-Round bar in Boston. They began falling in love during the tour.

Gregory Peck

“Gregory was an ordinary, quiet, serious man,” Greta describes. As the tour drew to a close and the group returned to New York, their relationship began to deepen. In the earlier days Gregory had been so broke that he had to sleep on a bench in Central Park.

“My brother Paul and I shared a two bedroom apartment on 39th street. Gregory shacked up with us for a few months. Then he got an offer from RKO studio in Hollywood and asked me to marry him.”

It was an intimate wedding ceremony with just a few close friends present. Greta was 31 and Gregory 26. They took the oath in a Methodist Church in Manhattan on the fourth of October 1942 and then flew straight away to Los Angeles.

“I couldn’t have traveled with him, if we had not been married,” Greta points out. After the hustle and bustle of New York, arriving in Los Angeles felt like they had landed in the middle of a desert.

“There were only a few houses here and there and hardly any cars. We rented a house near Sunset Boulevard. Greg’s salary in the beginning was a thousand dollars a week, which was a lot of money back then.”

Gregory’s ample salary enabled Greta to remain at home. World War Two was raging on and many of Hollywood top male talents had been enlisted. So, there was a shortage of actors. Gregory Peck was discharged because of a bad back. The young and handsome actor found himself in high demand. He began to shoot movies back-to-back. Director Alfred Hitchcock cast him in his thriller Spellbound opposite to Ingrid Bergman.

Gregory and Great Peck

“We liked Hitchcock a lot. He was a very interesting man. He often invited us to dinner and we in turn invited him and his wife Alma to our house. Also, Ingrid Bergman was good company.”

At that time, the stars spent their lives isolated from the outside world. The already established movie star Gary Cooper and his wife, Sandra Shaw introduced the Pecks into the Hollywood high society.

“They held grand parties at their home for a couple of hundred guests – all top actors and actresses, producers and directors. After a grand five course dinner , there was entertainment and dancing to a live orchestra.”

“Due to Greg’s work we were always invited to many events. It made life interesting. We traveled often for months in New York and elsewhere. And we got our first son Jonathan very early on. So we were constantly living a full life.”

Soon they had two other boys, Stephen and Carey. The family moved to a mansion in Pacific Palisades with a swimming pool, tennis court, and guest house on three and a half acres. The staff included a butler, a maid and a nanny. Gregory’s working pace was intense – he filmed a couple of dozen movies during their marriage. Greta begun volunteering and supporting charitable organizations The war veterans’ cause was especially close to her heart. Their daily routines were interrupted by long trips to Europe, where Hollywood movies began to shoot after the war.

The Pecks

“We lived six months in England, France and Italy. I liked them all, because each country is special in their own way, and I love variety.”

The Peck’s never visited Finland together. Greta went to the Helsinki Olympics in the Summer of 1952 and Gregory visited the country a year later. Media at the time was much more gentle than today. Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper was constantly trying to fish Greta for news about Gregory, but she never told her anything. She remembers having given a few interviews to Finnish reporters. The paparazzi were an unknown concept. The movie studios had their own publicity machines that fed the press whatever they wanted. There was gossip going around about Gregory Peck’s involvement with his co-stars Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner and Audrey Hepburn. Greta did not admit to knowing anything about these alleged relationships.

“It never occurred to me. The way I looked at it was that it was just doing his work.”

Gradually, Greta and Gregory began to drift in their own separate ways.

“We just grew apart, there was no drama attached to it,” Greta points out. She neither blames Gregory’s busy schedule, nor any woman for the break-up of their marriage.

Greta Peck and her beloved dog Monsieur

After one trip to France, Greta and the boys returned home to California while Gregory remained in Europe. There he had met the French journalist Veronique Passani, who was 16 years younger than him. She had interviewed him for the newspaper France-Soir. After the interview, Gregory phoned her, asking her out. Veronique was so impressed that she cancelled her interview with the Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer.

“I heard about Veronique upon Greg’s return. It did not startle me in any way, since we had already decided to separate. There was no dispute about it.”

The couple divorced before Christmas of 1955. That same New Year’s Eve Gregory Peck married Veronique Passani. Greta was also to be remarried.

Greta Peck with Tomi Hinkkanen and Linda Brava

“I planned to marry a successful businessman and real estate agent named Howard Hodge. He was a very nice man from the east coast. We had known each other for about four years. But then he suddenly died of a heart attack,” Greta says quietly. Hodge, however, left her money in his will. Gregory helped Greta to buy a house and enlarge it. At first, she spent a lot of time with her ex-husband, their sons, as well as Gregory and Veronique’s children.

“Then Veronique wanted to put an end to it. She did not want me spending time with Gregory. After that, we only met on family occasions.”

A tragedy brought them together in 1975. The family’s first-born son Jonathan who had made a career for himself as a TV journalist committed suicide at the age of 30.

Greta’s sons, Stephen and Carey, helped her a great deal to cope with the tragedy. Stephen shared his mother’s interest in the cause of the war veterans and worked for the Veteran’s Administration. Carey, in turn, carved out a career as an executive in the Los Angeles school district. Greta and Gregory met for the very last time about four months before his death at their grandson Ethan’s football game.

Greta Peck loved to paint

“We enjoyed the game and exchanged greetings, nothing special,” Greta says. She never remarried. Gregory and Veronique stayed together until his death in 2003. Greta’s life after Gregory was filled with charity events, friends, travels, her sons and six grandchildren. Every summer Greta would travel to Finland to see her dear cousin Maire Lilja. At some point, she also owned a beauty salon and a real estate agency. In 1967, the president of Finland Urho Kekkonen granted her the Order of the White Rose of Finland medal for her work for the Finnish WW2 veterans. She was also a member of the Finnish-American Chamber of Commerce and received an honorary doctorate from Finlandia University in 1994.

Greta Peck at home in Beverly Hils

“I enjoy being single – I need my freedom. Gregory was a great partner and we had a good relationship through our sons ’til the end,” she summed up her life to me in 2003. She died five years later, January 19th, 2008 at the age of 96.

She is remembered in the LA Finnish community as an intelligent and charming friend, a devoted mother, and as a bright star who dedicated her life to helping others.

February 9th, 2012

thinkkanen

GameBook Oy:n kehitysjohtaja Sari Laitinen ja toimitusjohtaja Kalle Väinölä opiskelijatiiminsä kanssa

By Tomi Hinkkanen – Los Angeles

Global Access Program (GAP) is a highly successful endeavor between the Finnish Technology Agency Tekes and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Each year GAP brings Finnish high tech companies to UCLA where fully employed MBA students create strategic business plans for those companies. The program has been extremely successful. During the last 13 years, some 120 Finnish companies have participated in GAP with many been able to expand their operations to the United States thanks to the program.

Global Access Program 2011 Final Presentations:

Tarja Halonen, the incumbent president of Finland, has just acknowledged the importance of GAP by granting its director, UCLA Anderson Business School professor Bob Foster, a Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland medal.

Global Access Program Director Bob Foster the Finnish Knight White Rose Medal:

Global Access Program GAP 2011 Launch Event:

TEKES- Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, which promotes research and development in Finland, formally entered the Global Access Program in 1999 after reviewing many other US university programs. TEKES’ goal is to increase the competitiveness of Finnish industry by facilitating the creation of world-class technology and technological know-how.

Case study: A quick start in the USA for Finnish insoles

Links:

Tekes- Global Access Program
UCLA - Global Access Program

January 21st, 2012

thinkkanen

COMING SOON:
The fascinating story of John Hauli: a mysterious man who left his small eastern Finland town of Kuusjärvi at the turn of the century in search of a better life in America and whose legacy lives on in a little piece of paradise called Hauli Huvila.

John Hauli's Hauli Huvila

SUSANNA PUISTO: HOLLYWOOD’S FINNISH COSTUME DESIGNER

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES
PHOTOS: JONNY KAHLEYN

Susanna Puisto by Jonny Kahleyn

Costume designer Susanna Puisto is one of the very few Finns working in Hollywood film industry. Susanna works as a freelancer and is hired separately for each film production. A costume designer creates the clothes actors wear in movies and leads the costume department in any given production. The costumes for a movie are planned weeks before the cameras start rolling. The work requires an artistic eye and a healthy dose of diplomacy.

Susan receives the journalist and photographer at her home in Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. She lives on a hill in a detached house with stunning views of downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers. The home is warmly decorated in pastel colors. The living-room bookshelf is full of costume-design art books. Susanna plays one of the lastest films, MacGruber, from a dvd as a sample of her work. The film is a comedy, based on Saturday Night Live skits and a parody of the TV series MacGyver. It is set in the present time, but the main characters played by Will Forte and Kristen Wiig have remained stylistically in the 80′s.

- Some of the clothing was pre-determined, since they were based on well-established skits, so we had to use them. But there was only one piece of each garment and we needed a dozen. So, we had to have them taylor-made at a high price.

A common misconception is that a costume designer creates each and every piece of clothing by him or herself. In reality, they are obtained from all possible places – department stores, used clothing stores, from other designers, and from costume rental facilities. Only those clothes that are not available anywhere else are planned from scratch. A costume designer is a foreman with a budget and team. A typical studio film has a a costume budget that equals to about one percent of the total budget i.e., in a 10 million dollar movie, it is one hundred thousand dollars.

Susanna Puisto by Jonny Kahleyn

Susanna’s workdays are busy:

- I go to the office at eight o’clock in the morning. I start by having a meeting with my team, and give them their tasks which include shopping for clothes and making returns. We also do product placement, that is, we will contact clothing manufacturers and designers who want visibility for their clothes. The background actors need costumes as well. My principal assistant and I go to the first fitting at 10 o’clock. Afterwards, we upload images of the cast wearing their costumes and email them to the director. Then we go shopping for future fittings.

One of Susanna’s latest works include a drama based on a true story called “From the Rough”. She began designing outfits for it six weeks before the filming started.

- The film is about golf, so we had to learn quickly about everything related to golf. I did not have any previous experience of the subject, but that’s only a matter of studying. My motto is: there is no need to go to the outer space in order to make outfits for a space movie. You learn something new from each assignment.

A good costume designer understands and highlights the thematic content of the scene.

- I was costuming Josh Lucas for a movie “A Year in the Mooring”. He wanted to wear a colorful t-shirt in a very dramatic scene. Isn’t that an awfully happy-looking t-shirt for such a dramatic scene, I asked him. Bad things happen to people who wear happy-looking clothes, he responded.

Susanna is known in Hollywood for her good relations with major stars. Rebecca De Mornay is one her friends who constantly asks Susanna to design her costumes. Even Val Kilmer, who has a reputation of being difficult, succumbed to Susanna’s will.

- We didn’t have any problems. In the first fitting I started to hand him his costumes: ‘this is number one, number two, number three …’, and he just looked at me. Then I started going through the rack and removed the ones which I did not feel right for Val now that I had met him. “I usually do that”, Val blurted out. Oh really, I replied. ‘Doesn’t anyone tell you no’, he asked. I answered, ‘No, do you want to be the first?’ ‘No’, he replied.

Susanna Puisto by Jonny Kahleyn

Susan has also worked with Renny Harlin on the film The Cleaner.

- I love Renny, he is absolutely wonderful!

In the thriller “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”, she got to design for Michael Douglas.

- We talked on the phone first. Michael wanted to imitate the Republican politician Mitt Romney who wears tailored suits. I took it as a starting point. Douglas was used to wear specific brands, but I had a contact with the Italian clothing company Canali that makes fabulous suits.

They met for the first time at the Universal Studios.

- Michael is absolutely wonderful – a class act. They don’t make men like that anymore. He drove from his bungalow to my office in a golf cart. Michael was interested in my background. In the middle of the fitting, when my stomach began to rumble from hunger, he offered lunch.

- Once the costumes were tailored, I met Michael again in the Beverly Hills Hotel to make sure everything was ok. His wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones came along. ‘Good job,” she said, ‘Michael could use a change.’

After the filming was over, Douglas wanted and got to keep the outfits Susanna had created.

Once in a blue moon the designer can also influence casting. Susan proposed a Bulgarian-Finnish actress Vera Jordanova for a horror film Hostel II as a villainess.

- I was hired as costume designer on the movie. So, I met with director Eli Roth and producer Dan Frisch. I asked if they have already cast the part of Axelle. They said no. Then I spoke the famous words: I have a friend. They checked out Vera on the internet and called her to come to an audition. She got the part.

One cannot pin Susanna to say anything negative about any star. A large part of the job is to be able to massage big egos.

- They are all demanding. One can never say ‘no’ to anything. One has to be diplomatic. We are called the dream team. We want to please. After all, actors are the ones who have to wear the costumes. If they don’t want to, I cannot force them to do so. My job is to help the actors in their work, not make it more difficult. The costume department is often compared with the art department. I always say that they have nothing in common for walls don’t have opinions.

SUSANNA PUISTO
Born: in Helsinki
Parents: journalist-writer, Tuula Poutasuo and steel industry businessman, Raimo Puisto (divorced)
Background: The family moved to Spain in 1979. Since then, Susan has lived in Monaco, the Bahamas, New York and San Francisco, where she studied acting. Susan moved to Los Angeles in 1990 in order to become an actor. She got a job instead as an assistant costume designer for a TV series. She assisted a costume designer for three years. In order to become a costume designer herself, Susanna had to do free work on indie films and theater to prove herself. A theater play called Big Al spawned her first paid work as a costume designer for a TV pilot, and launched Susanna’s career.
Marital status: Divorced, no children
Hobbies: Traveling, nature hiking, going to galleries and playing with her dogs Misty and Scruffy.

November 14th, 2011

thinkkanen

G.A.P. BROUGHT 15 FINNISH COMPANIES TO L.A. THIS YEAR + UPDATED VIDEO
REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES

in Finnish with English Subtitles

GAP – Global Access program is a partnership between UCLA Anderson School of Management and the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, TEKES.
It works like this: Finnish high tech companies sign up for the GAP program. It costs $15,000 per company. In return, the fully employed UCLA MBA students study the company, meet with the executives and do a lot of market research. Then they create a business plan for the company.

This year 15 companies from Finland participate in GAP. That is more than from any other country. All are high tech companies specializing in various fields such as medicine, gaming, golf and telecommunications. Each company has been matched with a team of MBA students. There are five students in each team.

Most companies participating in the program want to find out if their product or service would sell in the U.S. with some exceptions (i.e., a medical company called Mylab found success through GAP in China on a previous year and now they are back for more good advice).

Global Access Program 2011 Video:

All the participating company representatives met with their student teams for the first time Friday, July 22nd. Everyone seemed to be enthusiastic and up to a good start. The work is completed in December when the student teams give their presentations in front of a three judge-panel and company executives.

Blancco Ltd.
Confidex Ltd.
DealDash
GameBook Finland
HLD Healthy Life Devices Ltd.
Idean Enterprises Ltd.
Lewel Group Finland Oy
Microtask Oy
Mitron
NEAPO Oy
Numcore
Oilon International
Pegasor Oy
RapidBlue Solutions

Tomi Hinkkanen
Photo Credit: Jonny Kahleyn Dieb

September 7th, 2011

thinkkanen

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – PHOENIX, AZ

very young students and parents at SWIMkids USA

Seven hundred children drown every year in the United States, most of them in their family’s swimming pool. The majority of the deaths could have been avoided if the children had known how to swim.

Swimming is the third most popular form of exercise in the U.S. after walking and exercising with equipment. There are almost seven million Jacuzzis and nine million swimming pools in the country which, compounded with natural waters, claim more than 3,000 people each year. Of those drowning victims, 700 are children. Accidental drowning claims a quarter of all children who die between the ages of one and four. More than one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger. For every child who dies from drowning, another four receive emergency care for submersion injuries. Near-drowning accidents may cause permanent brain damage to hundreds of kids.

Eighty-eight percent of children’s swimming pool fatalities could have been avoided if the children had known how to swim. Swimming skills have also shown to reduce children’s deaths in natural waters, such as flowing rivers, by 40 percent. Until recent years, pediatricians have recommended children to start receiving swimming lessons at the age of four. They now encourage children to be taught how to swim at the age when the child begins to walk, or at about the age of one.

In an Arizona-based children’s swimming school, kids start at an even earlier age. Swimkids USA, a swimming school in Phoenix, starts them out as young as at 3 months old. Swimkids was founded in 1971 by Lana Whitehead.

“I am a teacher by profession. I went to YMCA to teach my 4 month-old baby how to swim. At that time nobody was teaching babies how to swim. It was something out of the ordinary. YMCA saw me and asked me if I would develop their program in Northern California. I developed the program for them and went on my own after that”, Lana explains. Since those early days, approximately 50,000 children have learned how to swim at Lana’s swimming school. Former students are now bringing their children and grandchildren to her school. Lana’s rule of thumb is: The sooner swimming lessons begin, the better. However, the baby must first get a clean bill of health from a doctor. Lana taught her son to swim at the age of four months. At Swimkids, it all begins with relaxation in the water. Parent and child are constantly in contact with each other.

“It is very easy to teach babies to swim. It is very bonding. The water resistance covers the entire body. Water has 600 to 700 times the resistance of air. So, the pressure on the body actually encourages neurological development. The other thing about the water pressure is that it deepens the emotional bond between the parent and the child. They are skin to skin, face to face, touching in the water. Touching is very important. It actually supplies the child with emotional memory. So, there are a lot of good reasons to start early.”

The Baby is first taught to float on his or her back.

“We want to get them so that they can relax. We work with them on buoyancy and balance. We put them on their backs and work with them, teaching them how to float on their backs and relax in the water. That’s probably the safest you can be. If you are in danger, turn over to your back where you can breathe and relax.”

It will become a reflex for the baby to turn on their back upon exposure to water. Then the baby’s head is gently pushed under water and lifted up.

“We work with submersion. So, we push down and lift their head so that they can get a breath.”

student todler at SWIMkids USA

This way the baby learns the connection between the lifting of the head and inhaling. Lana says that sometimes babies are drowning even in small containers of water because they do not understand to lift their big and heavy heads up.

“Children especially in Arizona, California and Florida are drowning – not just in swimming pools, but in inflatable pools, buckets, bathtubs and toilets. They get disoriented when the face goes in because their head is so heavy. They don’t know that if they lift their head, they can get a breath. That’s very tragic. We teach them to self-rescue, to push down, and lift their head and get their breath.”

Then, little by little, the baby is taught to turn around his stomach and swim toward the edge of the pool. It will take months. Lana urges parents to train at the beginning of the baby several times a week.

There are things that the parent should never do with a child in the water. A popular game that parents play with their kids seems harmless at the outset: Jump into the water, Dad or Mom will catch you.

Lana Whitehead, founder and president of SWIMkids USA

“Parents play this game, not realizing that it is dangerous: Jump to mommy or daddy in the pool. They don’t realize that if you are not there, the child thinks he or she can jump in and be safe. They don’t realize that if there’s nobody there, nobody is going to catch them.
Children have to learn to swim first. They can’t just jump to mommy or daddy, get caught and think – what a fun game!”

Recently in California, a 35-year-old intoxicated father dropped his seven-year-old son from a tourist boat to the ocean in Newport harbor, because the boy was crying. Fortunately the boy was rescued by the people in a passing boat. The father now faces child endangerment charges. Lana Whitehead says that a child should never be forced into the water.

“That’s no joke, that’s awful: it is a matter of life and death!

Drowning is a silent and fast event. In one moment a child is on the surface, a moment later already drowned. In 70 percent of cases, children have been accompanied by an adult at the time of drowning. The majority of successful rescues have happened within two minutes of submersion. After ten minutes under water the majority of children will perish. Small children should never be let go further than an arm’s length of an adult in the water.

“Swimming lessons make a child safer around the water, but you always still have to have barriers, and layers of protection: you need to have a fence around the pool with a locked gate; you need to learn how to administer CPR; you need to practice touch supervision, and the child needs to learn to swim. If you do all these layers of protection, the chance of a problem is greatly lessened.”

For more information go to:
www.swimkidsusa.us

: Lana Whitehead, founder and president of SWIMkids USA

: student todler at SWIMkids USA

: very young students and parents at SWIMkids USA

September 10th, 2011

eltimo

Toivo Uuskallio:Visionary or Mercenary?
The story of Penedo, Brazil’s only Finnish community

By Jonny Kahleyn Dieb

Toivo Uuskallio in Penedo, Brazil

Visionary Toivo Uuskallio, his wife Liisa, Frans Fagerlund, Enok Nyberg, and Eino Kajander arrived in Rio de Janeiro on August 6, 1927. Soon after, they settled in a German boarding house in the city’s center and enrolled at a local school that taught Portuguese as a second language. Within months of their arrival, armed with a very basic vocabulary, they take an 82 mile train ride to the town of Barra Mansa where they find work at a farm named ‘Três Poços’ (‘Three Wells’).

Toitvo Uuskallio had left Finland with a mission: to find the perfect place for a religious, vegetarian and alcohol-free community where life could be spent in harmony with nature without the burden of a money-driven society blinded by consumerism, and drenched in the blood of war.

Penedoon lähtijöiden jäähyväishetki Helsingissä

“I received a divine call to leave the homeland and emigrate to the distant South. Certainly in the minds of many I was completely crazy to invent that sort of thing. It was not surprising that my followers and I were subjected to so many reproaches. Maybe they thought I was a bit soft in the head. To my great joy I also found friends whose minds were open to this brand new concept.”

Toitvo returned to Finland in 1928 where he published the book ‘Matkalla Kohti Tropiikin Taikaa’ about his experiences and his intentions to found a Finnish colony in Brazil. Aided by Lutheran pastor Pennanen and by Mikko Airila, he begins an intense and successful campaign to gather funds and followers.

Toivo Suni was amongst the first to arrive in Penedo

He returns to Brazil a year later with a considerable amount of cash and a handful of followers, and begins location scouting in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo. He then learns of a 3,500 hectare farm by the name of Penedo, then part of the municipality of Resende, that was for sale. Penedo had an abundant supply of natural water that could be used to irrigate a vast agricultural area and represented a perfect locale for an ideal society.

“We need to pursue a natural lifestyle without worrying about trade and consumerism. A family needs to be able to grow all their food in their own garden while breathing air with no pollution; enjoy the sunshine and live in peace, away from conflicts and wars”, Uukallio advocated.

Kyllikki Pohjola and Penedo founder Toivo Uuskallio

Nile Valtonen Penedo arrived in Brazil in 1932 at the age of 19. He had been sent by his father to collect money Uuskallio borrowed from him during the campaign of 1928. But, after failing to collect any money and with no means to return to Finland, he was forced to stay.

Martti-Aaltonen, Penedo, Brazil

The following is part of an interview Nile Valtonen gave to a local newspaper in 2007:

“I never wanted to join the colony. I just wanted to recover the money that my father had given him and that Uuskallio had already spent. It was meant to be a loan. I got the wind that Uuskallio was travelling in the United States to raise more money, so I decided to travel to Brazil to be there when he returned. But, he came back penniless. He did not get any of the money he was trying to get. And I had no money to go back to Finland. The money I had I spent trying to get from Rio to Penedo. I was hoping that he would pay me back, so I waited. But, I was never paid, not even after a hard day’s work.

Group Photo, Penedo, 1960

He was both a deceiver and an idealist. The idea of only eating vegetables did not work because there was nothing there. All we had were beans and rice he bought on credit at the store near the train station. Fagerland, who was a very close friend and arrived with him in 1929, gave all the money he had, more than 100 thousand marks, and never earned one piece of land. Toivo Uuskallio wanted to control everything.

I married in 1939 when I realized that I really couldn’t return to Finland and there was war. When I got married, I wanted a piece of land to settle down with my wife at the location I was already living, but Uuskallio would only give me a piece of land on the outskirts of the property. Later on a group of Finns sued and we won. I got the place I wanted. My friends and I deserved one-third of the farm (200 acres), but we were given 70 acres instead. The cost for my piece of land was based on the money my father gave him as a loan.

I never saw my father again. He died in 1960, and my mother followed him soon thereafter.

Toivo Uuskallio died when he was 60 years old. He died of starvation. He firmly believed in fasting and that not eating is a healthy thing to do. I remember one time I saw him with banged knees and scrapped elbows. He was very weak. He told me that he was feeling ill because of contaminated food and that after fasting he would get better. He ate a lot of bananas, but bananas alone can’t sustain a man.”

It is estimated that 300 Finnish emigrants joined Toivo Uuskallio in Penedo.

Penedo is located on the outskirts of the Itatiaia National Park in Brazil

After heavy cultivation of the soil and fires that devastated the region, Brazil’s only Finnish colony begun seeking alternative ways for making ends meet.

Tourism became an alternative that worked very well as the small town of Penedo is now a tourist attraction with a network of hotels, restaurants and an array of shops that attracts more than 240,000 visitors per year. In 2005, Penedo was chosen as one of the seven best tourist destinations in Brazil by the Brazilian Tourism and Culture Agency (Movimento Brasil de Turismo e Cultura).

Waterfalls in Penedo

Penedo, Brazil

References:

City of Penedo, The History of. (penenedo.com)
‘In the Finland of Brazil’ by Diego de Assis
Finnish Migration Institute

Thanks to Irene Nousiainen

Links:

Satumaata etsimässä – suomalaisia utopia yhteiskuntia http://www.helsinki.fi/jarj/polho/vanhat/sointula.html (in Finnish)
Kaikkoavat Paratiisit http://www.utu.fi/hum/historia/yh/kirjat/index.html (in Finnish)
Kaikkoavat Paratiisit http://www.utu.fi/hum/historia/yh/lisurit/melkas_eevaleena.html (in Finnish)
Finns Abroad http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/db/articles/art.php?artid=4 (in English)
Articles of Siirtolaisinstituutti http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/db/articles/index.php
Suomi-Brazil association http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/brasil/ (in Finnish)
Links of Suomi-Brazil association http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/brasil/linkkej%E4.htm

: Toivo Uuskallio in Penedo, Brazil

: Kyllikki Pohjola and Penedo founder Toivo Uuskallio

: Martti-Aaltonen, Penedo, Brazil

: Penedoon lähtijöiden jäähyväishetki Helsingissä

: Group Photo, Penedo, 1960

: Penedo is located on the outskirts of the Itatiaia National Park in Brazil

: Penedo, Brazil

: Penedo, Brazil

: Penedo, Brazil

: Penedo, Brazil

: Waterfalls in Penedo

October 5th, 2011

thinkkanen

: Maila Nurmi and Tomi Hinkkanen

STORY: MAILA NURMI
REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES

I had the pleasure of knowing the fascinating Finnish-born Maila Nurmi aka Vampira. She was perhaps the most unique Hollywood personality I have ever met.

Maila was a true character who loved animals and was in perfect tune with the 20-something crowd who idolized her. Even though she was living in poverty when I met her, there were flashes of elegance and glamour in her life. She was very comfortable in her role as a fixture in the cult circles of Hollywood where pop-culture icons are cherished and celebrated. In spite of the fact that her actual time in the limelight was short-lived, she remains a true Hollywood icon.

publicity photo for film 'Grave Robbers from Outer Space' (later called 'Plan 9 from Outer Space')

Our friendship began after Tim Burton’s biographical movie ‘Ed Wood’ starring Johnny Depp hit the screens in 1994. The film was about B-movie maker Edward D. Wood, Jr., who went down in history as the director of the worst movie ever made, ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’.

The release of ‘Ed Wood’ resurrected the career of one of the stars of ‘Plan 9’ who was portrayed in Burton’s movie: Vampira. The actress behind the original Vampira was Maila Nurmi. For years she had been leading a quiet life while living in a dilapidated apartment on Hudson Avenue (in a less than glamorous part of Hollywood). But now, because of the movie ‘Ed Wood’, Maila was back in vogue. She was interviewed for numerous documentaries and TV programs. Hollywood’s goth youth found a new idol in her. She was often picked up in a hearse to go to parties and premiers. It was then that I approached her to do a feature news story about her life for the Finnish television. That started a friendship that lasted for many years.

Maila Nurmi and her beloved pigeons

My first date with Maila Nurmi happened on a rainy and dreary January day in 1995. She had agreed to meet me at a diner close to her Hollywood apartment. I remember she wore her favorite color, black, and had a bow adorning her hair. On that first lunch she warned me about ordering French fries with my cheeseburger. “It makes your skin look bad”, she said. We negotiated a small 300 dollar fee for a one day shoot. I don’t usually pay for interviews, but in this case the fee was in order for she had no steady income. I later learned that she didn’t to go on social security because she feared that government would come after her for some back taxes.

We shot the TV story on various locations around LA that were meaningful to her: the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the exterior of her old apartment in the Hollywood Hills, a memorabilia shop in Hollywood where her pictures were sold, and the Griffith Observatory where sculptor Kenneth Kendall’s statue of James Dean stands. Maila knew both men.

We had an absolutely fabulous day during which she poured her heart out to me. After that day, I felt I knew her quite well already and we kept in touch. I normally visited her on Saturdays when we would go to Sizzler’s for lunch and talk. And boy, the stories she told!

Maila as a young girl with a little monkey

She was born in Petsamo, then a part of Finland, December 11th, 1922.

“My very first friend was a mouse who lived in the closet. I followed his movements, except when the closet door was closed and I didn’t see him.” That was her only memory from Petsamo. When Maila was two years old, the family moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts. In those days it was a small fishing village. Her father Onni Syrjäniemi was a journalist and an ardent demagogue for the temperance movement. Her mother Aina Sofia Nurmi was a newspaper editor and a translator.“My mother was an alcoholic, but a good mother”, she said.

Her first memory on the new continent was true to her nature which was both melancholy and macabre: “I was playing on the sand dunes by the beach when a local fisherman stopped by to chat with me. Later I heard that he had gone to the sea and drowned. I had been the last person to see him alive. I still remember that fine man.”

Maila was a born performer. At four, she sang hymns in a Finnish church. At nine she acted in radio plays. At 15 she won a scholarship to Oregon University to study drama. In 1941, at the tender age of 19, Maila traveled to New York to become an actress. She went to auditions and got small roles on Broadway as a choir girl. She supplemented her income by working as a hatcheck and cigarette girl in clubs. The high point of her New York years was a role in the comedy ‘Catherine was Great’ starring Mae West.

“Mae West was great. I was afraid of her, though, for she cursed a lot and I had never heard such language before.”

Maila left New York and headed west where, for a few years, she worked as a pin-up model.

Early pin-up photograph

“I was then married to my first husband and he wasn’t completely over his ex-girlfriend who was the most famous bikini model at the time. I was a little chubby back then but I lost weigh and decided to become one of the most popular pin-up girls of America. I never do anything half way. It took a lot of work since posing in front of a camera did not come naturally to me.”

While working as a model, Maila befriended Norma Jean Dougherty, who later became known as Marilyn Monroe. She was also close friends with James Dean. They would sit together in Googie’s coffee shop in Hollywood and talk for hours. When Dean died in a car accident at the age of 24, the tabloids fabricated stories that Maila had put a curse on him. She was distraught for years because of that.

In the 1950’s Maila Nurmi reached the peak of her career.

Early pin-up photograph

“I wanted to become a preacher and needed money. Television was new then. I thought I would do well on TV since I had been performing in front of people all my life.”

At that time cartoonist Charles Addams’ the Addams Family was not yet on TV, but appeared as a newspaper comic strip. Maila decided to parody one of the characters, Morticia Addams. Maila Nurmi’s alter ego Vampira was born. The local KABC-TV in Los Angeles hired Maila, or rather Vampira, as the presenter of Saturday night horror movies. They were shown at the midnight timeslot which was considered the worst possible. That didn’t bother Maila. She put all her energy into her character which she played to perfection.

“I was a romantic and a puritan. I wanted to create a character that was everything that I hate in a person: a personification of evil. I thought I would have to get people’s attention by giving them what they wanted: breasts, net stockings, and phallic symbols. Once I had gotten their attention, I could preach to them. But I never got to that point.”

Early pin-up photograph

The Vampira Show premiered May 1st, 1954. Despite the lousy time slot and poor movie selection (the TV station paid a hundred dollars for each movie), Maila’s program was a hit. She was rewarded by an earlier time slot. Maila grossed 60 dollars a week for her gig. To achieve the famous thin waistline, she didn’t eat a bite for two days preceding the show. And every week she would take a Turkish bath to further shed the pounds. Rigorous fasting later led to health problems, but nobody knew about the pain it took to bring Vampira on screen. She would appear at the beginning of the movie and during commercial breaks, always telling naughty jokes and making fun of the celebrities of the time. In the ‘50’s TV broadcasts were live so that, unfortunately, there are no videotapes of Vampira’s show, but some kinescopes remain and can be seen in a documentary called Vampire: The Movie. Her gig at KABC-TV lasted a little over a year. At that point the TV station wanted to acquire the rights to the Vampira character. She told me that when she fired when she refused. She went on to sat that she was blacklisted and could not get other TV or film work afterwards.

Publicity photo as Vampira

Desperate for money, Maila accepted an offer from Ed Wood to appear in his sci-fi thriller ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ on the condition that she did not have to utter a line in the film. It starred horror actor Bela Lugosi who died before the filming even began. That didn’t deter the entrepreneurial Wood. He had shot some footage of Lugosi while he was still alive and incorporated that into his movie. The rest of the time another actor played the Lugosi character while covering his face with a cape.

Maila Nurmi as Vampire in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) -Wikipedia

“Ed didn’t give me any other kind of direction except “walk there and when I say stop, stop.” He was a tender, caring, and friendly man who loved animals.”

It is ironic that Maila Nurmi became best known for ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’. The film earned the title ‘the worst movie ever made’ for a reason. The actors were given ridiculously pompous lines written by Wood himself. The sets look home-spun and there were flying saucers made out of car hubcaps. The script seems to have been written in the spur of the moment and is full of inconsistencies. After that, Maila appeared in a couple more horror movies and then retired from show business in the early 1960’s. She supported herself by working odd jobs (she once gave an interview where she called herself ’a lady linoleum layer’). Then she opened an antique store in Hollywood called ‘Vampira’s Attic’ which lasted for 15 years. In the 1980’s, she unsuccessfully sued Cassandra Peterson for copying her Vampira character.

At home in Hollywood

After the Tim Burton’s Ed Wood movie craziness of the 90’s died down, Maila made a living by making and selling her own paintings. She also appeared at horror and sci-fi conventions where she sold autographs and pictures to fans. There was even a collectable doll, an action figure made of the Vampira character. In 1998 Maila appeared in her final movie role, Aris Iliopulos’ ‘I Woke Up Early the Day I Died’ along with a star-studded cast including Billy Zane, Tippi Hedren, Christina Ricci, Andrew McCarthy, and Ron Perlman. The script was written by none other than Ed Wood who had died in 1978 at the age of 54.

The captivating smile of a true Hollywood legend

“I am a half recluse – and by my own choice, but because of the circumstances: poverty, illness and old age. But then I have these new young fans who have come into to my life. And I still appear in videos and play cameo parts in movies, so I have a little bit of a career left. My existence as a senior citizen is a small, mouse-like way of living.” Mouse-like as that mouse that was her first friend.

Maila Nurmi with director Aris Iliopulos and actress Karen Black at the premiere of her last film 'I Woke Up Early the Day I Died'.

Many a Saturday Maila and I would sit on the pavement in front of her apartment, talked, and fed the pigeons. She had named them all and knew every single one by name. An all white one was called Lana Turner. She would tell me stories about James Dean, her husbands, and the career that never quite took off.

One day her landlord announced that her house was to be demolished and that she needed to find another place to live. I was happy to find out that some of Maila’s friends managed to find her a nice place to live. We didn’t keep much in contact after that for one reason or the other.

Maila Nurmi by Tomi Hinkkanen

About eight years later, I read in the paper that Maila had passed away. She died on January 10th, 2008 of natural causes at the age of 85. That made me reminisce of the rainy January day 13 years before when our paths first crossed. Her body laid for some time in the city morgue before friends were able to collect enough money to give her a proper burial. Later on, I visited her grave at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where we had once filmed a segment for our TV news story.

Her tombstone is small but appropriate: it has her name, birth and death years and an engraving of the Vampira character that made her famous. The text on the bottom reads: ‘Hollywood Legend’. And that she most certainly was.

October 9th, 2011

thinkkanen

Mikko Meronen by Tomi Hinkkanen

STORY: MIKKO MERONEN
REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – IRVINE
PHOTOS BY TOM HIKKANEN PRODUCTIONS

Mikko Meronen designs children’s toys for fast food chains. The toys advertise children’s movies and attract kids to the hamburger restaurants.

Designer Mikko Meronen sits calmly in his office filled with toys of all kinds. The Strottman company is located in a nondescript office building, one of many similar looking, that dot Orange County’s City of Irvine. The phone rings constantly and the computer keeps beeping as new emails pop on the screen. It is an unlikely place to create whimsical kids’ toys. For years Mikko worked in a similar office but for a different company, Equity Marketing, which manufactured toys for the Burger King chain. A few years ago he changed companies but the work remains pretty much the same. His current employer, Strottman, designs for Wendy’s Hamburgers and other fast food chains. Mikko is the lead designer. He is like a conductor. But instead of musicians, his orchestra consists of art directors, graphic designers, industrial designers, as well as freelance illustrators and cartoonists.
“When I first started my career, my job was probably 90% art and 10% business. Now it is vice versa. We have to make well thought out business decisions. I no longer design the toys or necessarily have to invent them. But if the group produces something that is not good, I have to get involved”, Meronen describes.

Mikko Meronen by Tomi Hinkkanen

How does one become a hamburger toy designer? The Finnish-born Mikko’s journey into the hamburger toy world started by taking a bite of the Big Apple. He studied in the New York School of Visual Arts in 1987 – 1991.

“We studied everything: sculpture, drawing, painting and graphics. I got an A in each subject. My painting teacher said that I should be a painter, the sculpting teacher said that I am a sculptor, and so on. But an artist must have something to say. Van Gogh did not paint for money, but because he had a burning desire to do so. I told the teachers that I had nothing to say. It is mental masturbation to paint a picture, put it up, if it does not interest me. That doesn’t appeal to me at all. I realized that I am an entertainer of the masses. I am interested in pleasing the widest possible group of people as possible.”

After graduation, Mikko got a job as a studio assistant at Equity Marketing where he remained for 15 years,gradually ascending in ranks to finally become the head designer.

Sometimes a film is successful, but the toys are not.
“Shrek is a good example. Both Shrek movies made 300-400 million dollars at the box office, but the toys they did not sell at all. Why not? You have a donkey, a princess, the green man and a cat. There was no motif to tie them together and make children want the toys.”

Mikko Meronen by Tomi Hinkkanen

Over the years Mikko has designed thousands of toys. One of his favorite campaigns was for the Dreamworks animated feature ‘Stallion – Spirit of the Cimarron’.

“It was a movie about horses. They don’t normally interest boys. The team worked for a couple of weeks, but the end result was a fiasco. I found an old book of radio toys. There was a picture of a view master and a horse. At that moment the skies opened up and an angel choir sang. I knew immediately what the campaign would be. We made a horse whose legs moved. The horse was on a stand that had a landscape background. The background could be inserted into the base, from which images could be seen in 3D. The movie took place in the 1890’s, when that kind of a toy already existed. I got a creative orgasm of that.”

For years Burger King took bids from two toy designers from which only one was selected for each campaign.

“There were two dogs and one bone every time. And since every deal is worth millions, you can only imagine what pressure that created every single month”, Meronen sighs. After a while Burger King gave up on the monthly competitions and learned to rely solely on Mikko. Still twice the number of toys were designed for each campaign. The customer selected the ones to be used and the rest would go to the trash.
At Strottman, Mikko’s task is to keep the calendar full of toy campaigns year round. Each campaign takes a year to realize, so Mikko must be constantly one step ahead of the times and competitors. His job is to identify suitable films that are in production and negotiate tie-in deals with film studios. Then the designers hit the drawing boards. They create the toys from scratch and send them to be manufactured. A team of 10 people produce 20 campaigns a year. In other words, a toy per day.
Each campaign begins a week before the movie opens and lasts for a month. Toys sold in toy stores are carefully targeted to a specific gender and age groups, but hamburger toys have to please all children.
“For the longest time the aim was to find a popular children’s film that would sell as many kids meals as possible. Today, we listen to the mothers, fathers and children. The majority of parents want to spend more time together with their children. Today, every toy is designed so that the kid is able to play with it alone and together with a parent.”

Mikko Meronen by Tomi Hinkkanen

The toys must also meet stringent safety regulations. Under no condition should the child be able to swallow the toy, or stick it in his or her eye, ear or nose. An accident usually means a costly lawsuit.

“One other company made diving sticks. When they were thrown to the bottom of the pool, they stood there upright. When kids jumped in cannonball, you can only imagine where those sticks ended up”, Mikko laughs. In addition to safety concerns, there are also monetary ones. Each promotion usually consists of eight million toys. The production cost of each toy must be kept under 50 cents. The rise of oil price directly affects the production costs of oil-based plastic toys. The toys are manufactured in China. Now the country has begun to flex its financial muscles. “The pay for many years remained almost constant. Now the Chinese want more money. China has raised their minimum wages and continues to do so. Thus, the work becomes more challenging.”

Mikko Meronen by Tomi Hinkkanen

In recent years additional pressure has come from within the United States, a country that battles childhood obesity. A number of local laws now prohibit offering toys with kids meals, if they do not meet certain nutritional requirements. A couple of years ago a Finnish nature magazine named hamburger toys as the most unnecessary product of the year. The toyman is not swayed by the insult. “Families that eat fast food are generally not well-off. Take for example a family in LA with seven children where the father is a mechanic and the mother works as a dishwasher. That family does not have much money. My mission throughout the years has been, that even though these toys are free giveaways, they do not have to be crap. With the money that I am allocated, I do my utmost to create as cool toys as possible. These toys go into the hands of children who do not have a lot of toys.”

October 17th, 2011

thinkkanen

DUAL CITIZEN GRÖN
REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LAKE WORTH, FL

: EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

Singer Eino Grön has been a beloved Finnish icon for over 50 years. He recorded his first record in 1958 and never since faded from the music scene. Grön is especially well known for his renditions of evergreen tangos such as ‘The Walls Have Ears’. He is also known to embody the image of a working man.

There is a private side to Grön that the public hardly knows anything about. For 30 years he has been living his winters in tropical Florida where he and his wife Marjatta own a beautiful oceanfront home. We recently got together on his winter turf, when he was getting ready to release his latest album of pop standards.

We met at the Palm Beach Bakery Café, a meeting place for Finnish ex-pats. There are two tables on an outdoor patio. Women sit at their table and men at another. Here everybody knows Eino. He greets the locals with a smiley face.

“This is where we gather to talk about the topics of the day. We all have our own hobbies but we always have our siesta here. Out of the ovens of this bakery come some great, genuine Finnish food – most importantly rye bread, “Eino explains.

His musical journey began in Pori’s Reposaari, the island where he was born.

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

“I sang a lot already at school. We had a band on the island. We performed at birthday parties and such. At the age of 16 I began traveling to nearby Pori to sing with orchestras.”

He wanted to make a record, but there was one thing that had to be taken care of first.

“I volunteered to do my military service early to get it out of the way. I served in the Turku naval station.”

It was in Turku where he met Toivo Kärki, the most famous Finnish pop composer and record producer of that time.

“He discovered me at the singing contest that he had organized there. I won and got to travel to Helsinki to record the song ‘Russian Tango’.

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

Even though he got a six month record deal, nothing happened and Eino Grön grew restless. Then he got whiff of another singing competition, this time in Helsinki.

“Toivo Kärki was once again one of the judges. The other ones were the top singer of at that time, Olavi Virta and Seija Lampila. It went very well for me. I won the men’s foreign and domestic series, and even the audience vote!”

In the autumn of 1958, Eino Grön entered into a three-year contract with Finland’s leading record company, Music Fazer.

“The top female singer of the time, Laila Kinnunen, had recorded an Italian song ‘Maliziusella’. Since she was with a different record company, Fazer offered it to me. After that I recorded other Italian tunes, like ‘Marina’ and ‘Too Much Money’. I did many recordings in those three years.”

Grön formed his own quartet and started touring Finland.

“Those were fun times. I bought a 1952 Dodge, we packed our drums and bass on the car’s roof rack and off we went. On our longer gigs, we stayed at modest inns overnight.”

Finnish songwriter Juha Vainio, singer Eino Grön and singer Olavi Virta in 1965

The 1960s were the golden era of tango.

“In 1962 I participated as the Finnish contestant in the Baltic Sea Week Singing Competition in Rostock, East Germany where most European countries were being represented. The great 42-musician Leipzig Radio Orchestra accompanied us. It was definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

The climate of the’60’s favored traveling artists.

“Sports organizations gave concert organizers grants. They had built sports arenas that had a dance every Saturday night. Those venues could accommodate 1500-2000 people. There were over a thousand dancing halls in Finland back while now there are just about 200.”

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

At the end of the decade, tango’s popularity waned.

“People grew tired of the tango because they played it everywhere. It was then that the guitar bands entered the picture. They had been previously playing as our warm up bands. They took the youth audience by storm, and as a result of that, the overall audience attendance took a downturn.”

Eino Grön was able to hang onto his career by expanding his repertoire.

“I believe I was able to continue my career due to my vocal skills and versatility. I can work as big band soloist, perform Jazzy tunes, or go to a church and hold a gospel concert. My repertoire ranges from old standards to present day hits.”

One cannot help observing that,while Eino Grön’s career has endured, some of his old colleagues’ careers were cut short by alcoholism. The first one swept away was his boyhood idol, Olavi Virta.

“I got to know him well. Already as a boy, I went to see him on the sand dunes of Yyteri when he appeared at a dance pavilion there in 1955 and 1956. I admired his singing and his great band. In 1959, a record company manager invited me and Olavi to a sauna. We became good friends. Olavi was a high baritone, almost a tenor in the early days”

But at the ‘60’s progressed, so did Olavi Virta’s drinking.

“Yes, I did my share of partying with him. We all partied a lot back then. But then his physique gave in. When celebrated his 50th birthday, he was still in quite good condition. But then his health took a downturn. He was unable to perform for four years before his death. He died at 57.”

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

Another popular singer, the beautiful Laila Kinnunen, suffered the same kind of fate. Eino and Laila were the same age and started their careers at the same time.

“Laila recorded her first album in the fall of 1957, and I did mine in the spring of 1958. She was such a sweet girl. We worked together and were great friends. I think that the people she associated had a lot to do with it. It seemed quite odd to me that she got hooked on alcohol. She spent her last years in really sad, squalid conditions.”

The reason Eino himself is still going strong dates back to a decision he made back in 1977.

“I have jokingly said that when Elvis died I put the glass down for the very last time. I guess it was not because of Elvis, but due to the conclusion that I had come to after much pondering. I was also surrounded by friends who had decided to quit drinking and that encouraged me. I told myself that I couldn’t be outdone by them and that decision has paid off.”

Eino had fallen in love with Florida a couple of years earlier.

“In 1974, I met a well-known Finnish businessman who owned a motel here. He asked me to come visit him. Then a good friend of mine had an exhibition in New York. I went there and continued onto Los Angeles, San Diego, and New Orleans. Then I came to Florida for six days.”

Eino immediately took to the balmy climate and easy-going life of the Sunshine State.

“The weather played a big part in it. I came here with the family in 1976 and 1977. On that second trip, I was offered a nice beach property which I made a preliminary agreement. We were able to move into our new Florida home the following year, 1978. We still live in the same place. It is a 6-story condominium-building. There is a sauna, a swimming pool, and stairs that lead to the beach. We can see the Atlantic Ocean from our condo. It looks different every day”

He has been married to her wife Marjatta for 50 years. They have one son.

“Ari is a musical guy, but did not follow his father on that career path. He is a physical therapist and lives in Helsinki. So he can give his father acupuncture treatments when necessary.”

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

Such treatments came in handy after two car accidents that Grön had in 1996 and 2010. In the first accident, Grön was blinded by late afternoon sun on a Finnish country road and hit a Caterpillar that was parked on the side of the road. He fractured his pelvis and was hospitalized for a long time. The second accident also happened on a country road in Finland.

“I was driving tired to our vacation house in Reposaari. Suddenly, a fox started crossing the road. I tried to avoid it by steering to the side. The loose gravel on the roadside grabbed a hold of the wheels and made me lose control of the car. The doctors had to remove a disc from my neck. Since then I have rehabilitated my self by exercising in the pool.”

Grön exercises and plays golf. He says that sleeping well is also good for the voice. In the spring of 201, he released his 40th record, ‘Lauluja rakkaudesta – Vuosikymmenten suosikit’ (Songs of Love – Favorites from Past Decades). “There are songs from post WWII war to the 2000s and they are all songs that I have not previously recorded.”

Eino plays some of the songs for me on his car stereo. His velvety voice has remained unchanged by time. There are wonderful tunes on the record such as Barbi Benton’s hit ‘Ain’t That Just the Way’, Anna Ericksson’s ‘When You Look at Me’ and Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’. The disc contains 16 songs.

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

Eino and Marjatta Grön’s year follows a familiar pattern. Early fall, winter and spring are spent in Florida, the rest of the time ‘Eikka’, as he is know to fans, performs in Finland. There are the Christmas concerts that he gives in November and December and the big summer season that is spent touring the indoor and outdoor dance arenas of Finland.

Not many people know that Eino Grön is a dual citizen – he has both Finnish and U.S. citizenships.

“I got a green card in 1996. Then in 2007 I had the opportunity to acquire American citizenship which didn’t affect my Finnish citizenship. Now it is much nicer to come home to Florida. In the past it always involved a lot of explaining at the airport.”

At 72, Eino has no plans to retire.

“The quality of my voice has remained relatively high. I do not feel that I should quit any time soon. And I love music, so I go on.”

EINO GRÖN by Tomi Hinkkanen

He mentions Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli as his favorite singers. His recipe for great singing:

‘I’ve been paying attention to the same issues as Frank Sinatra. He was brilliant in phrasing and pronunciation. In my singing, I’ve always strived to pronounce every word clearly. The rest is breathing technique and talent one is born with.’

October 23rd, 2011

thinkkanen

STORY: PIA PAKARINEN
REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES
PHOTOS: JONNY KAHLEYN
MAKE-UP AND HAIR: KRISTINA DUFF

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

The Finnish beauty queen was crowned Miss Finland in March, 2011, and by September she had abdicated her crown amidst terrible press. “What happened?” we asked Pia as she arrived in America for the very first time.

A year ago nobody knew anything about Pia Pakarinen, a 21-year-old country girl from Juuka, Northern Karelia. Then, last spring, she won the Miss Finland beauty pageant and became an overnight sensation. The beautiful and well-spoken blond bombshell seemed to be everywhere. With great triumph, the Nordic maiden was sent to the Miss Universe contest in São Paulo, Brazil. That’s when things started to go haywire. Reports began appearing in the media that Pia insisted that her entourage be brought along and that she demanded money for interviews. She returned from Brazil empty-handed and was said to be canceling and/or missing gigs that she had previously agreed to do. She then dramatically gives up her Miss Finland title in a live TV-broadcast and denounces the organization behind it. Pia Pakarinen was a persona non grata in Finland. There was only one thing to do: Go Hollywood!

Enter Maria and Paul Kizirian, a couple who work at the Network modeling agency in Los Angeles. The Finnish-born Maria happened to know Wille Wilenius, a friend of Pia’s.

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

“Wille Wilenius contacted me to ask if it would be possible to introduce Pia Pakarinen to the people of Network. Paul had written an article for the Network website about Pia while she was competing in Brazil.”

That set the ball in motion. Maria Kizirian decided to take the bull by the horns and created a full schedule of meetings and events for Pia on her week long trip. The beauty queen arrived in Los Angeles on Friday, October the 14th. That weekend she attended movie industry parties that led to other meetings.

I and photographer Jonny Kahleyn first met Pia the following Sunday at Temptu make-up studio in downtown LA where we briefly shook hands. At first glance, she looked like a girl next door with her hair pulled back into a ponytail rather than an international beauty queen. But as soon as make-up artist Kristina Duff started working her magic on Pia, her eyes started to take on deeper dimensions, and her cheeks were brought out with blush. Her face was airbrushed with an instrument that looked as if it belonged in a doctor’s office and her hair was teased and blow dried to look like a lion’s mane. And, all of a sudden, this gorgeous woman was standing in front of me, looking demure yet seductive in a sixties-inspired electric blue gown that left her knees bare. We sat down to talk. The second impression, after her great beauty, was the calmness about her. It was as though she had remained unscathed by all the negative publicity.

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

“It’s my first time in America. I am impressed how friendly and talkative people are here. I like it when people can just come up to you and start a conversation.”

When she entered the Miss Finland pageant, she still lived in Eastern Finland.

“Me and my boyfriend moved to Vantaa (near Helsinki), in May.”

She does not seem startled by the sudden publicity.

“Everything has happened quite naturally. One thing has led to another.”

Kristina Duff, Pia Pakarinen, and Jackie Fan at Temptu Pro Studios by Jonny Kahleyn (copyrighted)

Kristina Duff, Pia Pakarinen, and Jackie Fan at Temptu Pro Studios in Los Angeles

I ask her about the whole pay-to-play fuss, where she was being accused of trying to cash in on interviews while competing for Miss Universe crown in Brazil.

“While we contestants were there, all press interviews were supposed to go through the Miss Universe organization. They had press there and we were allocated specific times to be with them. Of course we gave those journalists interviews that were published all over the world.”

Things got a bit complex when reporters started calling her from Finland.

“Since I only had my own personal phone, I said to them that I should get some compensation. They did not ask how much or If I was asking for a few dollars or a million. Then the headlines appeared that I was demanding money for interviews. I only wanted to get my phone bills reimbursed. It costs even when you just answer the phone abroad. Former contestant had told me that after returning back home from pageants; they had to pay thousands of dollars in phone bills. And that’s not fair.”

The papers also claimed that Pia had asked for 5,000 Euros just to appear at a publicity party.

“I know nothing of that. Those matters are between Finnartists agency and the client, so I can’t say anything about that.”

Pia Pakarinen and Kristina Duff at Temptu Pro Studios in Los Angeles

There was also the incident where Pia had agreed to pose in a pin-up calendar put out by Maria’s Hospital in Helsinki. She was supposed to submit a publicity photo to the organizers. But Pia allegedly never responded to their repeated requests. Finally the gig was given to another model.

“I was in Brussels at the time and no one asked me for that promo photo. It was done and ready for them, so I could have sent it to them any time.”

She says she never received those emails or phone calls and that the whole thing was a misunderstanding.

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

On September 16th, Pia appeared on the live talk show “Korkojen kera” (With Interest). A tearful Pia, who showed up in the TV studio wearing her Miss Finland crown, took it off and resigned her Miss Finland title right then and there. The broadcast was on Friday. The next Tuesday she was due to meet with “Miss Baron” Eino Makunen to discuss her difficulties. Pia explains why the resignation could not have waited until after that meeting.

“I wanted to appear on the live TV broadcast because my words had been distorted and misconstrued in the past. I wanted to explain myself with my own words. It was not an easy decision. I had tried to talk to Finnartists (the organization behind the Miss Finland pageant) to improve things, but to no avail.”

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

She ponders for a long time when asked what this experience has taught her.

“Well, you always learn something new. There is always room for improvement – nobody is perfect. And I feel that I tried to improve things and get help. But it was never given to me.”

So, for better or for worse, Pia moved on and formed her own company, Luxury Promotions.

“I run it with the help of my boyfriend, professional footballer Niko Väyrynen. He has a financial background and takes care of the bookkeeping and other paperwork.”

The couple has been together for three and a half years. They make their home in Vantaa. Are we going to hear wedding bells anytime soon?

“We haven’t talked about it. We live together taking day by day.”

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

Through her company, Pia offers her services as a model and a hostess. She says she is working now more than ever before. I ask her if people who hire her will get a reliable working partner.

“There have been all kinds of stories in the papers, but I have received only positive feedback from people who have actually worked with me. They know what kind of a person I am. If someone wants to believe in the news stories, then go ahead. I let my work speak for itself.”

That’s a deal. We decide to test Pia’s modeling skills in practice. Our gang, producers Maria and Paul Kizirian, make-up artist Kristina Duff, photographer Jonny Kahleyn and I hop onto a rented minivan and head out to Malibu, the playground of the rich and famous, for a photo shoot. We chose Leo Carrilo State Beach where many famous movies, such as Grease, The Karate Kid, The Usual Suspects and Inception have been filmed. The reason for its popularity with Hollywood lies in its uniqueness from other Southern California beaches with its dramatic volcanic rock formations and the only sea cave within hundreds of miles.

Pia Pakarinen by Jonny Kahleyn ©

It is early afternoon and the tide is rising. Pia poses professionally for Jonny, while Paul and I take turns holding the reflector. Every now and then Kristina retouches Pia’s make-up and brushes her hair from her face. It all may seem very glamorous, but we had to avoid other crowds of people and other photographers while it was getting cold and downright stormy. We climb to the sea cave with the tide rushing in and gigantic waves washing ashore, flooding the place we were standing just seconds before. Even though Pia was cold and at times shivering due to the strong winds, she never utters a word of complaint. She takes the waves, wind, onlookers and arduous hikes on the rocks in stride. The long shoot ends at dusk. We climb back onto the minivan and head back to LA tired but happy. I found Pia to be an extremely professional, reliable, co-operative, smart and charming person to be around with.

Pia’s LA week was eventful. She was taken to industry parties, visited the taping of Dancing with the Stars at CBS Studios, met with the Network modeling agency people as well as producer Chad Oman at Jerry Bruckheimer’s office. Maria and Paul Kizirian also showed Pia the less glamorous side of town. She visited the Occupy LA encampment in downtown.

Pia Pakarinen and Kristina Duff on location in Malibu

“It was an interesting experience. I heard opinions from the people. They had camped out there in front of City Hall.”

Pia also attended a ride-along in an LAPD police car in the notorious South Central district. She saw the local police work in action – how they stopped and frisked suspicious characters, responded to domestic disturbance calls, and found drugs in one suspect’s car.

The purpose of the trip was to introduce Pia to Hollywood bigwigs in order to get her modeling career started in the United States. She sees herself more as a photographic model.

“I am perhaps not tall enough for runways (5’7’’), but there is plenty of catalogue work that I could do. Contacts are essential in this field. I would like to see how far I can get. I am very interested in working abroad.”

Pia was originally supposed to return to Finland on Friday the 21st, but she prolonged her trip in order to meet the CEO of the Nework modeling agency, Paul Fisher, who had been out of town. He is the man behind supermodels Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiefer. Her first visit to Hollywood couldn’t have ended on a better note.

Links:

www.piapakarinen.fi

www.thenetworktalent.com

www.kristinaduff.com

Temptu Pro Los Angeles

www.mariakizirian.com

October 31st, 2011

thinkkanen

Ritva Koukku-Ronde, Ambassador of Finland to the United States

AMBASSADOR RITVA KOUKKU-RONDE – QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Reporter: Tomi Hinkkenen – Washington DC

On September 1, 2011, Ritva Koukku-Ronde assumed her post as the appointed Ambassador of Finland to the United States. Ms. Koukku-Ronde is the first female Finnish ambassador to the United States.

Q. You have had a long career at the Foreign Ministry of Finland – what are your most memorable posts and experiences?

Actually, all my posts have been extremely interesting and memorable. It is impossible to single out any of them because they were all unique and rewarding experiences in their own ways.

Q. Have you submitted you credentials to President Barack Obama yet and if you have, can you describe the event and what was Mr. Obama like?

I submitted my credentials to President Obama on September 9 during a short ceremony at the White House. He was very sympathetic and interested in Finland.

Q. Oftentimes the world of diplomacy is shrouded in secrecy and regular people do not know much about what is going on behind closed doors, but could you talk about some of the things you are working on right now to further improve trade, culture and the collaboration between Finland and the U.S.?

I will focus on advancing the relationship between Finland and the U.S. in the areas of economy, education, security, environment, high technology and culture – to mention just a few. As a member of the European Union, Finland is also keen to see the transatlantic cooperation grow stronger.

Our work at the embassy happens on many levels, from having discussions with decision makers to organizing cultural events and policy seminars to communicating with the American public. All these activities help further improve collaboration between Finland and the U.S.

Q. Finland has been trying to get to the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member. As a permanent member in the Security Council, the U.S. has a lot of clout in selecting non-permanent members. How are you going to convince the U.S. to give Finland a term at the Security Council?

Finland has actively contributed to the UN’s unique role as the guarantor of peace and security, promoter of sustainable development, and advocate of human rights and democracy. In the international fora Finland has earned a reputation of an active and reliable actor. We Finns wish to carry our responsibility as a member of the international community. Our candidacy for a seat in the Security Council is a reflection of this objective.

Q. The tightening of the U.S. immigration policies has all but ended immigration from Finland to the U.S. It is now more difficult than ever to immigrate in the U.S. You can see this in a concrete way for example in Florida, where the once thriving Finnish community is slowly dying, because no new immigrants are coming in. Are there any bilateral agreements in the works between Finland and the U.S., or EU and US to facilitate the immigration both to and from the U.S. to Finland / EU?

The U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) is the appropriate agency to answer all questions regarding immigration to the United States.

President Obama and Ambassador Koukku Ronde

Q. One bright spot in the otherwise sagging economy, both in Finland and the U.S., has been the high tech sector. A good example of this is the GAP (Global Access Program), the collaboration between UCLA and Tekes. In the GAP program, Finnish high tech companies team up with UCLA Anderson School of Management students, who create business plans for the Finnish companies. This enables the Finnish companies to grow and expand into the U.S. and other countries. The program has been a smashing success. However, it seems to me that there is competition between Finnish semi-governmental and official organizations to vie with the same clients (the Finnish high tech companies) and snatch them away from GAP. Do you think it is time to close ranks and for all the Finnish organizations to work in collaboration rather than competition with each other?

I can’t speak directly to the example you mentioned but, in the case of our embassy, all the different Finnish actors —the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Forces, Finnode, Finpro, Tekes and VTT Technical Research Center—operate as a “House of Finland.” This means that we work together and make the best use of the wide variety of expertise and know-how that we have under the same roof to further enhance and deepen relations between Finland and the U.S.

Q. Finland has about 30 Honorary Councils in the United States. These unpaid individuals are supposed to represent Finland in their geographical areas. However, this writer has gotten a very inconsistent image of these honorary councils. Some are very active and helpful indeed, others, not so much. For example, I recall a cross country road trip from California to Florida that I made a couple of years ago. I e-mailed honorary councils in states along the way, asking about Finnish people and activities that I could write about in the media. I never heard back from most of them. Is it time to somehow revamp the whole honorary council system?

Overall, honorary consuls serve as an important and invaluable resource for Finland, and their service is greatly appreciated. Like you mentioned, honorary consuls are indeed unpaid and serve in their positions voluntarily. They assume the duties of the honorary consul in addition to all their other professional and private responsibilities, and I believe it is understandable that some have more time to devote to their consul roles than others.

Q. President John F. Kennedy famously said in his inauguration speech: “Ask not what the country can do for you. Ask what you can do for the country.” What can we Finns who live in The United States, do to benefit Finland?

In their daily lives, Finns living in the U.S. already represent Finland in many ways. From my perspective, all Finns, Finnish Americans, and Finnish organizations in the U.S. form a so called “Team Finland” that shares the same goal of improving and deepening relations between our countries. We may have different ways of working toward that goal, but we all benefit from a strong relationship between Finland and the U.S.

Also, I would like to encourage all Finns and Finnish Americans to visit our website, finland.org, and follow us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/FinnishEmbassyWashingtonDC) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/FinnEmbassyDC) to keep up to date on news regarding Finland and Finland’s role in the U.S.

Q. What is the most important thing you would you like to accomplish during your term as the ambassador?

During my term, I would like to see the manifold relations between Finland and the U.S. grow even deeper and more far-reaching..

Ambassador Ritva Koukku-Ronde’s Currilum Vitae:

1 September 2011 Ambassador of Finland to the United States of America

2009-2011	Under-Secretary of State, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
2005-2009	Director General, Department for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
2003-2005	Deputy Director General, Department for European Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1998-2003	Minister, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Finland, Bonn, Berlin
1996-1998	Director for the United Nations Development Issues, Department for International Development Cooperation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1995	Special Adviser to the Director General of the Political Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1994-1995	Counselor, Political Department, Unit for the European Union and Western European Countries, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1990-1994	Counselor, Deputy Head of Mission, The Hague
1987-1990	Second Secretary, First Secretary, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Finland, Nairobi; Focal Point to UNEP and UN Habitat
1987	Attaché, Department for International Development Cooperation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1986	Attaché, Embassy of Finland, Bonn
1985	Attaché, Press and Cultural Section, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1982-1985	Free lance Journalist
1982	Master of Arts (history), University of Tampere

Links:

www.finland.org

www.thisisfinland.fi

twitter.com/FinnEmbassyDC

www.facebook.com/FinnishEmbassyWashingtonDC

Embassy of Finland, the first LEED certified embassy in the U.S.

November 7th, 2011

thinkkanen

DARUDE, THE FINNISH STAR DJ TOURS NORTH AMERICA
REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – ATLANTA, GA
PHOTOS BY MICKEY McNULTY AND TIM WILSON

Ville Virtanen, aka Darude, is best known for his 2000 hit single Sandstorm. He has sold over five million records. For the past decade, Ville has been touring the world, doing DJ sets in more than 40 countries. Ville has been ranked as one of the top 100 DJ’s in the world. He has moved to Georgia with his lovely wife Michelle. They have a 2 year-old child. The family lives in an Atlanta suburb, Georgia, where Ville works in his home studio and collaborates with artists around the world with modern techniques.

Q. Tell us a little about your background. How and when did you get into music?

I’ve always been interested in music, been listening to dance music for years, started making my own music 1996 after some friends of mine showed me what they were doing with just a computer and some freeware programs. I realized that I could make my own music and decided to have a go at that. I bought my first PC and started fooling around with it and losing too much sleep… I never thought about ‘making it big’, I was just making music because I liked it so much. I tortured my friends with my early production and sent some demos to magazines and radio stations in Finland in ’97 and ’98 and also to some record companies and got some good feedback, but nothing more. I made music on my own and also had two separate projects with two of my friends. On a Wednesday night in August ’99 after his DJ set I gave my later-to-be-producer, Jaakko “JS16″ Salovaara, a demo CD (my third one for him actually) which included my original demo of ‘Sandstorm’ (and some other tracks of mine) which got Jaakko’s attention. All I wanted was his professional opinion of the tracks and some tips about better sounds and things like that. What I got was a phone call a week later. We met the same night in the same club in Turku, Finland, and agreed on working together. We spent two or three days in his studio and the next Tuesday Sandstorm (plus his JS16 remix) was ready as you hear it now on the single. It took a few weeks to get the track mastered and to get the singles from the plant and to get it on the Finnish Dance Chart. After three weeks it was number one and stayed there for 16 weeks. The things snowballed from there and I started touring in Finland, then Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, France, Spain, UK, US, Australia, all over the place.

Q. There is a funny story about how you got your stage name Darude. Could you tell that to us?

When I was studying my first year in Turku Polytechnic we had a party at my classmate’s apartment. We were eating and drinking and playing records and I guess I was feeling really, ummm, “happy” as I played one favourite track of mine of that time, ‘Rudeboys’ by Leila K, several times in a row. In short, it’s because of that my friends started kind of mockingly calling me ‘Rudeboy’. I started using that as a nickname online and as my artist name when I started making music. Later on it got shortened to ‘da Rude’ (I didn’t wanna be a ‘boy’ which was then put together by the graphic artist when the single cover for my first single ‘Sandstorm’ was made; it looked visually better like that so… ‘Darude’.

Q. When people think of musicians they think of a band with live singers but you work differently. Could you shed light on this to those who don’t know about it?

I’m the first one to admit that I’m not the greatest live instrumentalist on earth… My music-making is based more on my ears and my sense of style and sounds, and I work in the studio with computer software and synthesizer and effect unit and other gadgets. I DO compose, though, all the time, every day, even if there’s a general misconception that “that techno music” can be made automatically with a push of a button”… Not true. In a way, an electronic musician can be compared to someone composing for the whole symphonic orchestra, as the producer/composer is often making everything from drums and percussion to bass to lead instruments, their harmony counterparts and everything in between, singing (demo) vocals + they usually have at least partly studio engineer’s and producer’s hats on, too. I usually start from somewhere, whatever it is at the time, a rhythm, melody, a bit of lyrics, and start building from there, one Lego at a time, finding and creating bits that fit together and eventually will create bigger combos and parts of the final full track.

Q. You stuck gold with the hit single Sandstorm. What gave you inspiration to compose it?

In the beginning I tried to learn stuff from other peoples’ tracks, and now later on I still get kicks and inspiration from other people’s great music. The vibe is the key thing, the right mood. Sometimes it might be a track, sometimes it might be a single sound or a drumloop that does it for me. With Sandstorm it was a certain club in my hometown where the DJ played good uplifting trance. I went there 2-3 nights a week just to listen to the music and practically ran back home, switched on my gear and started to make music. After one of those nights and early mornings ‘Sandstorm’ got the basic form and sound it still has.

Q. Every four years or so you release a new studio album. Do you work alone in your studio composing the songs?

I’m usually alone in the studio, but I collaborate with artists around the world all the time via the internet. I make a basic track frame and send it over as separate instrument etc files, they work it further, send it back and I take it further again. We go on like this a couple of times, and every now and then we chat via email, AIM and Skype until we’re happy and get to the finishing part. The same goes for vocalists; they often have their regular studio, or their own one, where they record vocals and they send them over and I put them in the project, edit, mangle, and ask for more lines, like variations, ad libs, harmonies, or altogether new melodies, until we’re both happy.

Q. There is a whole secret world out there of star DJs who travel the world, playing in clubs. Teel us about your gigs: where do you play and who is your audience?

99% of my gigs these days are DJ sets, consisting of up to 50%, or sometimes even more, of my own material, either my own tracks and my remixes and the rest is great banging music new and old. I play all over the world, I’ve played in over 40 countries, but the last couple of years my main territory has been North America. I play mainly in clubs, but every now and then also bigger arena and outdoor events. My audience is quite broad, usually from 18 or 21 to people in their 40s and 50s, and I’ve even got a couple of grandmas & grandpas showing up here and there, too, which is amazing! I also love doing underage shows, but unfortunately those are not as common as the usual club nights.

Q. For years now you have played various discos, clubs and dance events in the United States. What does the club scene look like these days?

I think US has a great dance music culture, though it still is way more underground in general than it is in Europe, but there’s been growth and breakouts to Top40 the last decade, especially the last two or three years. Mixing and matching sounds and artists from different genres has been the trend the last couple of years, and I like that a lot. These days the DJs seem to be playing a wider variety of styles in their sets and not only ‘trance’ or ‘house’ etc, so the sets are more interesting and also that way might be of interest for wider audience as well. I think the electro house wave of the last couple of years has brought a breath of fresh air to dance music because there has been several top40 breaking tracks so the general public has been exposed to the sound as well, not only the clubbers. Trance has been merged with all kinds of things like electro, rock, r’n'b and it’s all exciting, it keeps the music alive and approachable for both long-time producers and new-comers. I think the US has always had a great scene, but it just hasn’t gotten widely recognized until recently. Dance music is not just “that techno” any more, but accepted and cherished by mainstream media and people outside the usual clubbing crowds.

Q. As an outsider to the club world, I have to ask you: Why does the music have to be so loud and how do you protect your ears?

The best clubs create a full audio-visual sensory tickling experience, where the music is heard and the bass is felt in your body, and the visuals, lights and lasers support all that with rhythmic movement, mood affecting and ambience creating colours, images on screens… I’ve worn professional ear protection since the very beginning, custom-molded earplugs with -15dB near-flat frequency response filters. I love my earplugs, and I’m almost religiously spreading the word about them. Granted, the custom molds are costly, in the +/-$200 range, but if you work in a club or other noisy environment, you owe it to your ears to get them, they’re a perfect fit, comfortable, protect your hearing really well, yet you can hear the music and people speaking really well. Contact your local audiologist for details, there are a lot of places who can do the molds, and many of them use Etymotic Research filters (Google it! )

Q. There has been a lot of press about drug-related incidents in clubs, such as a death of an overdose at the Electric Daisy carnival in LA about two years ago. Do drugs flow freely at these venues?

There are definitely drugs in the club scene, sure, and I in no way support any kind of drug use, I’ve never touched any of that stuff, but I think it’s unfair to label electronic dance music “drug music”, like I often hear, because there are drugs in every genre and every profession. Take rock’n'roll, reggae, goth and numerous more, you name it, I’m sure you’ll find both users and suppliers… And check out behind the scenes in the medical world, med students and doctors self-medicating… Or to the business suits world, where some people work 18 hours a day, I don’t believe it for a second that it’s only caffeine they’re on… I KNOW, the above sentences are big generalizations, and I don’t mean that EVERYONE uses something, so my apologies to anyone offended, but I’m just trying to make a point.

Any overdose, fatal or not, is horrible; but I, as a producer and a DJ, performer of an event, can’t be held responsible if someone that I don’t know decides to pop pill that are known to be not the safest thing in the world. It’s their call, and I have nothing to do with it. I don’t make music on drugs and I don’t make music to be specifically listened on drugs, either.

Q. When is your next record coming out and what are your future plans?

My next release will come out very soon. It’s a DJ compilation called ‘Salmiakki Sessions Vol. 1′ mixed by me and consisting of several remixes by me, a couple of previously unreleased ones, too, and some Finnish favourites of mine from the last year or two. I’m also working on an original artist album, but it’s way too early give any kind of deadlines, let alone release date, yet. It’ll definitely go to the 2012 side. Before that there’ll be a Darude & Randy Boyer remix on our label EnMass Music’s latest release ‘Welcome To The Future’ by Kristina Sky & Randy Boyer feat. ShyBoy, which got its first ever airplay on BBC Radio 1 exclusively by none other than DJ legend Judge Jules. The release date is November 15th and you can already pre-order from iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/preorder/welcome-to-the-future-feat./id474392104) and take a listen to it there or on www.soundcloud.com/enmassmusic.

Q. Finally, can you give us a little peek into your private world – are you married, dating, single, any kids?

I keep my private and public music life pretty much separate, but it’s no secret that I’m married and I have a 2+ year old kid. We currently live in Roswell, GA, USA, and we also have a place in Turku, Finland, where we stay a couple of months every year.

Links:

www.enmassmusic.com
www.darude.com
www.facebook.com/darude
www.youtube.com/darude
www.twitter.com/darudevil
www.myspace.com/darude
www.soundcloud.com/darude

Photographs by:

Ekat kuvat – Mikey McNulty
www.mikeymcnulty.com

Kaks viimeist – Tim Wilson
www.amfek.com

November 12th, 2011

Ava Anttila

‘AROUND TOWN WITH AVA’

Ava Anttila by Jonny Kahleyn

REPORTER: AVA ANTTILA – LOS ANGELES

Finn Fest Organizers and Performers Feted

Consul General Kirsti Westphalen chose a perfect California night, October 12th, with a full moon over the Consul residence in Bel Air to celebrate the FinnFest 2011 organizers and performers. Also, the spectacular night of Southern California weather welcomed Inspectors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Helsinki, Finland who shared in this special evening as significant guests.

Ms. Westphalen opened the festivities by thanking all the FinnFest crew for their spectacular dedication and successful efforts to put the spotlight on Finland today. The Consul General saluted the teamwork that put on such a wonderful event featuring modern Finland. The Consular staff and FinnFest crew were honored by her touching words of thanks and praise.

Those in attendance included Henry and Eeva Syvanen; Honorary Consul in San Diego, Kathryn Mautino; and actress Anna Easteden who had delighted all at the FinnFest Gala as Master of Ceremonies. In continuing dedication of the theme of FinnFest, a special ribbon cutting celebrated the Consular residence’s official “greening”—newly installed solar panels. The delicious cornucopia of Finnish Fall fare featuring cabbage rolls, beet salad, salmon and fabulous salad was enjoyed by all.

LAFF Annual Luncheon

The Los Angeles Finlandia Foundation held its Annual Luncheon to celebrate its 37th year on November 6th at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. Kriss Larson and the Scandia Gammaldans Band. Linnea Jackson, Katirilli Finnish Folk Dancers and the Kalifornia Kanteles provided entertainment. Christina Lin presented Honoree Award of the Year to Marilyn Kujala. Pastor Rueben Perttula announced after the invocation that next Sunday, November 13th, the Finnish Lutheran church will be celebrating its 94th anniversary. All are welcome to the event beginning at 1 p.m. A special musical tribute will feature a bell player who previously moved the audience to tears with the rendition of Finlandia.

Spotted in the audience, surprise visitors from the homeland, novelist/chef Eino Nurminen and his wife Anja. Also in attendance was former head of Finnair in New York, the ever-dapper Pentti Rosenberg with wife Dolores.

The stirrings in a Finnish soul are always satisfied with the appearance of the beauty of the sounds of the Kanteles, the deeply moving melodies that are so meaningful to the fabric of the nation. The pageantry, the playfulness, the costumes of the Katirilli dancers delighted us with the joy of our heritage. The treat of these performances showcased the remarkable dedication of these volunteer efforts that keep these precious traditions alive for the Finnish community.

Note of Loss

One of the great local Finnish ladies, an “angel of the kitchen” at Suomi Kerho Finnish Center, has left us and will be remembered on December 11 at a memorial service. Rauha Loponen was the ever-present force and muse of Finnish heritage cuisine for so many of us. For countless years she tirelessly put together the menus for Suomi Kerho, the Veterans, the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce and others with their events. There was always a smile and a hug, a helpful hint a deference and the quiet modesty of a Finnish hostess. For the ‘epicurious’ of us, a poke into the kitchen yielded the reward of a nugget of wisdom and the true comfort of our homeland. Rauha (a name which means “peace” in Finnish), you will live in our thankful hearts and kitchens as inspiration.

Michael Jackson’s MD Found Guilty

LA is a great town. For the past several weeks in one ‘eyeful’ I have taken in the breathtaking beauty of Disney Hall walking into the solemnity of the courthouse for a hearing and in one ‘earful’ was distracted by the ever present airplanes circling with banners and cheering factions of crowds for the media ‘circus’ outside for the Jackson matter. All within the same few blocks.

Now it is over; another celebrity trial. The convicted felon hauled off in handcuffs likely won’t be in jail for long. The airplanes will return to where they belong –at the beach advertising beer and suntan lotion. I love LA!!

November 24th, 2011

Ava Anttila

Thankgiving: How and why we celebrate
Ava Antilla – Los Angeles

Thanksgiving is the holiday that best represents what is great about this country. It has a beautiful history that has a special meaning for immigrants, people coming to a new land. It is about loving, sharing, appreciating one another, teaching and helping newcomers to a new place. Sharing the bounty of the earth was the beginning. When the Pilgrims came to America, their new home, they knew nothing about how to get by in the harsh and challenging world. The Native American Indians not only shared their harvest, they taught them their survival skills.

As newcomers to America, our small Finnish family was also warmly welcomed and helped along by our new neighbors. And, we were invited to share in this special annual celebration. Hospitality on Thanksgiving focuses on a food feast, but rejoices in the friendship and support shared throughout the year for which we are so thankful. Now, as we welcome family and friends to our home for Thanksgiving we always try to include those who are new to a place far away from ‘home’.

For many years we have made a special effort to welcome the Finnish Consular staff who do so much to take care of matters of importance for our fellow Finns. Many on short ‘posting’ cycles get to experience a uniquely American celebration for the first time—they usually come back the next year! And, this is a family event unlike many of their duty assignments.

The Thanksgiving celebration begins with a toast of welcome to our guests. Every year there are newcomers: new to America, new to the community, new to our circle of friends. There are some who come from out of town, out of state, or out of the country. All who have been with us know they are always welcome to return—and they do.

Our family cherishes the ‘purity’ of the Thanksgiving holiday which has no purpose other than to pause and be grateful for the good people and good things in our lives. By tradition, we all join hands for the blessing–giving thanks for our bounty, for fellowship, and for the food we are about to share. It is also a quiet time for remembering those loved ones who are not with us. Then, the feasting begins.

Tables are set under several hundred year old oaks for the repast. The usually warm California sun makes everyone feel happy—this year it may require man-made heaters.

We call ours a Southern California Thanksgiving because the food includes the bounty of California: artichoke dip with parmesan and garlic, root vegetable soups and salads, desserts from the citrus trees. Turkeys are usually prepared 3 to 4 different ways: oven roasted, rotisseried, smoked, and sometimes deep fried. The baked ham is always tasty—and graavilohi makes the Finns feel at home. Side dishes are stuffing (an American mixture of bread cubes, ground sausage, celery, onions and variations of mushrooms, water chestnuts and the like), mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes (a family recipe always requested by guests), green beans with applewood smoked bacon, and balsamic glazed onions. The ‘chefesse’ adds other items prepared from ingredients that may be calling out her name at the local farmer’s market that week. A bountiful dessert buffet follows …

While everyone relaxes, or goes back for seconds or second seconds, most feel the need to take a nap as they slip into the comfortable ‘food coma’ of the day. [Americans have been known to disappear into a room with a TV to check the football score of the game they missed.] While overeating is not required, it is traditional! Diets are not permitted to exist on this day.

At day’s end, we are so happy to have celebrated a day of joy, sharing, fellowship, remembrance, and thanksgiving. This is a holiday with nothing commercial, no gifts, no expectations, no fussiness–just appreciation for life, for friends old and new, for goodness and kindness. On this day it is good to be an American—or to know one who can cook!!

November 29th, 2011

thinkkanen

SUVI KOPONEN by Jonny Kahleyn Dieb - copyrighted 2011

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES
PHOTOS: JONNY KAHLEYN

SUPERMODEL SUVI’S GREEN HAVEN

Suvi Koponen’s modeling career got started at 16 when she won a Finnish modeling TV show. The top prize was a contract with modeling agency which led to quite a splash at a Prada show in Milan. She then moved to New York City where she fell in love with a tall and handsome model named Tyler Riggs. Last summer the couple moved to Los Angeles and purchased a house in the leafy Sherman Oaks area. Life is smiling at the young couple as they look forward to welcoming their first Christmas in their beautiful new home surrounded by lush green vegetation.

Tall, gorgeous Suvi Koponen, 23, was born in Helsinki and grew up in Vantaa. She is the oldest of three children. Her mother is a kindergarten teacher and her father is the manager of an assisted living facility.

“Our home had goats and horses, Suvi remembers fondly. She led the life of a normal school girl until one day she spotted an advertisement in the paper calling for young people to audition for a reality TV show called Mallikoulu (Model School).

“I was supposed to go audition for the show with a friend, but she could not take time off from school, so I went alone and was accepted as a contestant. The show taught us how to be better models, and we weren’t humiliated if we didn’t do well as I’ve seen in some shows in America. A model must have a natural ability to be photogenic and be able to act natural in front of the camera. The more one works at it, the easier it becomes. I ended up winning the competition. The prize was a contract with a modeling agency Paparazzi”, Suvi recounts.

Suvi Koponen and Tyler Riggs by Jonny Kahleyn Dieb - copyrighted 2011

Suvi and Tyler

“Already during the taping of the show, they took us to a modeling school in Milan. There I signed with the modeling agency Women. Later on I signed with the Women of Paris as well. The following Summer I went back to Milan for a month followed by a month in Paris.

Even though Suvi is currently being represented by several modeling agencies, she has not abandoned her very first one: Finnish Paparazzi agency which is led by the grand old lady of the Finnish modeling world, Laila Snellman.

“It is my mother agency and they have always been very supporting”, Suvi acknowledges. She quickly started getting modeling gigs on the world’s runways. At 18 she made quite a splash at a Prada show in Milan, a turning point in her career. After modeling for Prada, everybody wanted Suvi for their fashion show. She then moved to New York to better be able to pursue her career.

Fall is the busiest time for a model. That’s when New York, London, Milan and Paris have fashion weeks.

Suvi Koponen in Michael Kors

“Some people may think we just get there and walk the runway. What people don’t know is all the background work a model must do in addition to that. First you go to casting to meet the people who make those shows and then you will be called for a fitting which may be at any time of day or night. You must show up at each show hours earlier so that they can do your hair and make-up. Then you have to run to the next show. Models do not sleep at all during that month. You are constantly on the move and flying from city to city”, Suvi describes.

In the fashion world, there are three different types of modeling jobs: runway, editorial and catalogue. Runway models are not paid extremely well, but runways are extremely important for models because that’s where they are seen by fashion moguls. So, runway gigs can lead to editorials. Editorials are photo shoots for fashion magazines such as Vogue and they take place in a studio or on location. Pictures from catalogue shoots will appear either in designers or department store’s catalogues.

Suvi Koponen in Herve Leger

“When you do good shows, you get good editorials and that will lead to catalogue work which pays the best money, Suvi clarifies. Some catalogue work can pay ten thousand a day.

She is at a point now where she does not have to do all the runway shows – people know her and like her. However, runways remain in her repertoire.

“The fashion moguls want to see whether you have gained or lost weight. Some girls do not eat at all and will become too skinny. Or they have gone through a lot of stress which may result in acne problems. No one wants a model that doesn’t look her best”, she blurts out. “As far as exercising, a runway model gets so much exercise by running from place to place that no further workout is necessary during the fashion weeks”, she says with a smile.

Common afflictions in the modeling world are bulimia and anorexia nervosa.

“Of course I have seen both. When you go from a fashion show to another and run into the same models, one can only notice that some of models don’t eat at all. But what do you do? Everyone has different schedules. I try to look after my closest modeling buddies.”

SUVI KOPONEN by Jonny Kahleyn Dieb - copyrighted 2011

Suvi and Joyce

It hasn’t been all work and no play for Suvi, though. A young man by the name of Tyler Riggs caught Suvi’s eye.

“We met a couple of times while working in Milan and just hung out together. We met again a few years later in New York and started dating. We’ve been together now for over two years”, Suvi says with gleamy eyes. Tyler Riggs, 25, is originally from Florida. He is a successful model in his own right and has aspirations of becoming an actor, something that played into the couple’s decision of moving to Los Angeles.

“Tyler has been going to drama school for two years and wants to be an actor. And I had been wanting to move from New York for quite some time because life there was so stressful.”

They made the big move last Summer.

“We drove here from NYC in mid-June. It was a great experience. We took our time, made some stops such as in the Grand Canyon and slept in motels along the way. After arriving in LA, the first couple of months we lived at my boyfriend’s manager’s place. We started looking for houses. We found this house and moved here in August.”

The Mediterranean house is located on a quiet residential street where gigantic trees provide well needed shade in the hot San Fernando Valley. Restaurants and shopping are within walking distance. The house has a large living room with a fireplace, and an equally spacious dining room as well as a well-equipped kitchen and three bedrooms. There is also a good-sized backyard perfect for the dogs Joyce and Stevie.

Most of her work is still booked via New York. Since she now lives in Los Angeles, I ask her if she has gotten local modeling gigs.

“My looks are not suited for the Los Angeles market – I do not have fake boobs!”
Nowadays she flies to New York and elsewhere for work, and the LA home offers Suvi a much needed respite from the hectic modeling world.

“We try to cook as much as possible at home. The food in Los Angeles is a lot healthier, and we get to buy a lot of locally grown vegetables and fruits.

Suvi and Joyce

They are eagerly waiting for the holidays when Suvi’s family will come to visit.

“My parents and my siblings are coming here for Christmas. I’m so excited because it is my mother’s first trip to the States. And they will get to see my house.”

At the conclusion of our chat, I ask Suvi to give advice to a young person interested in becoming a model.

“Don’t listen to what others say. You must be a really strong person to be able to take all the criticism. We models basically sell our face and body. It is a difficult career for young girls and boys. You just have to keep your head up and be self-confident.”

December 5th, 2011

Ava Anttila

FINNISH INDEPENDENCE
by Ava Anttila – Los Angeles

On December 6, 1917, the fiercely independent Finns became self-governing. Independents became Independence. Much with Finns and about Finland happens quietly. At 6:00 p.m. [properly 18:00], 2 lights appear in windows all over Finland and in Finnish homes here in Los Angeles. If you are looking – and if you know what you are looking at, you will know that Finns are celebrating their freedom and independence.

Finland has celebrated Independence Day for 94 years. The United States has celebrated for 235 years — since July 4, 1776.

Finland is such a young country that we who are the 1st , 2nd , 3rd , and 4th generations of free Finns can feel the recentness of our Independence, revel in the security of freedom, and feel the joy it has brought to the great people of Finland who live, create, and thrive wherever they are living.

There is a connection to Finland’s history and how/why she has delivered to the world such amazing world class leaders in so many demanding fields. Finland’s ‘story’ is the reason, I believe. Part of that ‘story’ runs like this:

In 1155, the first missionaries arrived in Finland from Sweden. Finland became part of the Swedish realm (those street signs in the two languages have a legitimate history!) In 1809 Sweden surrendered Finland to Russia, with the Czar declaring himself as a constitutional monarch over an autonomous Duchy. In 1917, Finland declared its independence and was recognized as a new state by the Soviet Union, France, Germany, and Sweden –with Finland soon becoming a Republic, with a President as its head of state.

Venäjän kansankomissaarien neuvoston päätös tunnustaa Suomen itsenäisyys

In 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland and the Winter War was fought.

In 1941-44 (in what was called the Continuation War) fighting between Russia and Finland resumed, with some territory ceded to the Soviet Union at the war’s end.

Finland was never occupied by the Russians and, thanks to the warriors we honor on Independence Day, Finland preserved its independence and sovereignty.

Our history is part of how we think and live as Finns. Yet, the ‘story’ is so recent it is ever fresh in our minds. How many people in the world can say they personally know some of the people who are responsible for the freedom of their country? Very few, indeed.

Even here in Southern California, we have local Finnish war heroes and heroines who preserved Finnish independence in the two wars with Russia still living among us. On December 6th each year we get to personally thank them for fighting for the independence and the freedoms Finns everywhere enjoy. My beloved father is a war Veteran and my dear mother is a Lotta—both are in their late 80s. The Veterans who are still mobile meet bi-monthly under the Veteraani Tuki Ry (a support group) banner with Suomi Kerho as their quiet hosts.

Source: Koti-Rintama Sotavuosien Suomi Naisten Ja Lasten Silmin

Whenever I take my father to meet with his contemporaries at those Veteran meetings, at the Finnish Lutheran Church services, or at the too frequent Memorial Services, I am reminded of how truly fortunate we are to have grown up under such strong, though often silent, heroes. In my decades of Finnish activism, I can think of no event that was more satisfying than helping organize the various disparate Finnish groups in a cooperative salute to our Finnish War Veterans and Lottas on the occasion of Finland’s 80th Anniversary of Independence. We had a grand, formal Gala! And, the Finnish community turned out in record numbers to salute our national heroes as they marched down a grand stair case into a cheering ball room with their medals shining and their chests puffed out in pride as their accomplishments were remembered—not so quietly on that evening in 1997! Even then, many were using walkers and canes. Now, there are far fewer of them and they are a bit frailer, but their Sisu remains as always. When we celebrate Independence Day each year, I hope all local Finns will take the opportunity to seek out and thank those Veterans and Lottas who are still with us for their legacy all Finns enjoy. But, please speak up—the hearing ain’t what it used to be!

Polkupyöräpataljoona

On Independence Day, here and in Finland, we thank and honor those surviving heroes and heroines, the Veterans and Lottas. We gratefully remember the many others who served: our fathers, uncles, brothers, and grandfathers, as well as our mothers, aunts, sisters, and grandmothers. We remember with reverence those who paid the ultimate price and those now at rest in the cemeteries of Finland and elsewhere.

Whether fighting to preserve Finland’s independence against all odds, leading the high tech world into a new millennium, guiding the planet into responsible green living, creating the world’s premier educational system, conquering the arts or athletics, finding solutions to the riddles of science, or conquering cuisine, there are certain Finnish qualities her history has created in its people that stand out: values, hard work, quiet dignity, integrity, Sisu, and a dedication to quality. These are the qualities we see in the Finns in Finland. These are the values Finns are brought up with to respect and to live by. These are the attributes of the great Finns that have made Los Angeles their home, for whatever period, that have made Los Angeles claim them as theirs.

Air surveillance Lottas on duty (Image source: Koskimies 2)

I am a long time resident of this great City of Angels –Los Angeles. At this time of year I ponder how fortunate we have been and continue to be the Mecca for such Finnish greatness. Los Angeles has drawn the leading people in modern history in the fields of music, medical research, academics, diplomacy, education, technology, entertainment, business, industry, athletics, and other exotic endeavors. Yet, at the core of contributions lies the strong core of skilled trades people, merchants, entrepreneurs, and adventurous Finns who have come here, thrived in this environment, and given this world so much with so little fan fare.

Independence Day is a great time to hail Finland and the character of her people. So, as you drive around Los Angeles–by Disney Hall at the Music Center, by the Olympic Stadium at USC, by the UCLA Genetics Building, by the UCLA Anderson School of Business, by the Nokia Theatre, by the hockey rinks, and by the many other venues that celebrate Finnish contributions, remember the Finnish character (and characters!) that brought greatness and creativity to Los Angeles. Then, when you get home, light a blue candle and a white candle in your window. Be thankful for the gifts that freedom and independence create in the human existence. Reflect on your heritage. And, look outside and wave to that person walking by quietly with their eyes down—most likely a Finn with a smile of recognition!

Ava Anttila by Jonny Kahleyn

December 12th, 2011

Ava Anttila

‘AROUND TOWN WITH AVA’

REPORTER: AVA ANTTILA – LOS ANGELES

Veterans’ Meeting

The Veteran’s support group met at Suomi Kerho on November 9^th . Seppo Hurme, President, opened the meeting with Pauli Majamaki serving as Secretary pro tem. Several Veterans were in attendance along with one Lotta, Elma Maisac, and her son. A topic of discussion at the meeting was the possibility of a joint Finnish event featuring the military orchestra that performed at Finnfest 2011. They would like to come out to Los Angeles in November 2012.

Following lunch the members watched Härmästä Poikia Kymmenen, director Ilmari Unho’s 1950 film with Tauno Palo in the starring role. The film deals with 1860 West Pohjanmaa themes.

Finnish Church’s 94^th Birthday

The congregation gathered in the afternoon of November 13^th at the Finnish Lutheran Church to partake in the celebration with worship and music. Michael Armstrong played the organ, Wesley Radlein played violin, and there was a special presentation with bells.

Patti Lamb on the kantele is always a special treat.

All enjoyed the refreshments that included salmon soup.

FACC Pikku Joulu

The warm glow of a traditional Finnish Christmas greeted members of the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce last Sunday afternoon. Winter presented itself here in Los Angeles –not by a snow storm, but by a brutal windstorm causing power outages from downed trees and branches.

The sounds of Finnish Christmas carols welcomed guests who gathered around the piano, glogg cups in hand, for a sing along. Michael Armstrong performed as pianist. The traditional buffet included lanttulaatikko, porkkanalaattikko, imelytettyperunalaatikko, rosolli, and salads, as well as, a whole poached salmon and home smoked trout. A Finnish meat pie was personalized with the F.A.C.C. initials. Luumukiisseli and riisipuuro were accompanied by joulu torttu and traditional cookies.

Independence Day-Helsinki

The most romantic Independence Day news ever: On Independence Day, before proceeding on their way to the Presidents Palace for the Gala, long time Los Angeles resident and former FACC Board member, the renowned doctor Pertti Rintahaka and his beautiful Diana became engaged!

December 14th, 2011

thinkkanen

FINNISH EDUCATOR PASI SAHLBERG TOURS THE U.S.
Reporter: Tomi Hinkkanen
Photos by P. Shalberg, Antti-Juhani Kaijanaho, Karri Huhtanen and ’Tungsten’

Finnish education system has repeatedly been ranked as the best in the world.
We asked Paul Sahberg, one of the most qualified experts in the area, what is so good about it and what could be done to improve schools in the United States.

Q. Could you give us your title in English, explain what Cimo is (what does it do, who is behind that organization, etc.), and what do your duties there include. Also, if you could tell us a little about yourself – your background, family, etc?

My title is Director General at CIMO. CIMO is the Finnish Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation that operates as an agency of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. CIMO advances internationalization of Finnish society by offering students and youth opportunities to international exchange, internships, development cooperation and joint projects. CIMO serves as an information service point for foreign people who are interested in studying in Finland and supports teaching Finnish language in foreign universities, e.g. Columbia University and University of Madison in Wisconsin. CIMO has 110 staff in Helsinki and 22 in foreign universities around the world. I am director of CIMO.

I was born in Oulu, Finland and studies in Turku and Helsinki universities before receiving my PhD in Jyväskylä university. I have worked as teacher, teacher educator and policymaker with the Finnish government. I lived in Washington, DC, for five years in early 21st century working for the World Bank and have been back home now for two years. I am author of Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn for educational change in Finland? Teachers College Press, 2011).

Team work in action

Q. Finland has been ranked the best country in education. Could you talk about the criteria, what organization did the ranking and what was found to be so exceptionally good in the Finnish education system?

I would be careful to conclude that Finland has the best education system in the world. First, there is no commonly agreed criteria for making such ranking of education systems. People and especially media often use the Programme for International Student Assessment or PISA by the OECD (based in Paris) to compare education systems internationally. PISA is a useful tool to learn more about how education systems are working but it is just a part of the story. We need to look at participation, drop-out and graduation rates, too. How equitable education systems are, in other words, how they provide opportunities for different learners to succeed is important. And, of course, we need to look at how much education costs for tax-payers and parents before we can say whether education system is good or not.

Second, we have more comprehensive and comparable data only for about one third of worlds education systems. So, being best in the world only refers to this part of the globe. Finally, PISA only deals with school system upto age 15 trhat is in the U.S. the end of junior high school. We have very little data of the performance of high schools or universities in the world.

Finland has been successful with its K-9 school system in all respects mentioned above. Finnish education system is probably the most equitable, accessible and affordable in the world. It also produces high learning outcomes. But since we can not say much about high schools or universities in Finland in the international perspective I would say that we have very good basis for our education but would remain silent about the education system as a whole at this point.

Q. In the United States, much emphasis is put on evaluating each school and ranking all schools in terms of academic success. Parents even move to areas with good schools. Some people would like to give students / parents vouchers so that their children could attend a better school. Now, could you explain us, how this is done in Finland and how does it differ from the American system?

Well, the first think in Finland is that we don’t measure our schools using external standardized test as is done in the U.S.. These test almost solely assess academic achievement and in very few subject areas. Therefore Finnish parents don’t know where the good schools in the sense of academic performance are. Actually, most Finnish parents don’t think that this is the most important issue in the first place. For many it is more important to be sure that the school offers programmes and support that their children need. Parents offen choose school that is in the neighborhood and if they don’t, they look for a school that has more arts or sports or foreign languages for their child. Academic achievement in primary schools is secondary issue. It turns to primary issue in upper secondary school.

Q. What do you do in Finland, if one particular school is found to have problems, like bad teachers, violence on campus or poor academic success?

Schools are governed by municipalities. Therefore all these issues must be processed and solved within and by the municipality. Finland has systematically worked over the last two decades to upgrade school leadership to the level where school principals are able to deal with most of these issues independently. In some cases they need support and advice for other schools or the municipality. The government never intervenes in these matters unless there is a serious legal matter that requires more thorough authority. Finnish schools are also closely networked in the municipalities and are able to help one another when difficulties emerge.

Q. There is a tendency in the U.S. to reward good schools and good teachers and punish bad schools by withdrawing funding from them and dismissing bad teachers. Is this kind of “carrot and stick” method used in Finland?

Because we don’t have data from standardized test, we are not able to label schools or teacher ‘good’ and ‘bad’ as is done in the U.S. commonly. Rather than punishing teachers or schools we concentrate on identifying those who are struggling and likely to end up in troubles early and then make support and resources available to help them out of that situation. This is a very different policy than ‘carrot and stick’ that you mentioned. We think that merit pay to teachers based on students’ standardized test scores is a bad idea. However, we do think that teachers who work more should be paid more. And this is what we do here. All teachers are paid the same throughout the country. When teachers progress in their seniority path, their salaries also gradually increase.

Q. There have been school shootings both in the U.S. and Finland. What have you there learned from these incidences – can anything be done to prevent them?

First of all, these are very very sad incidences regardless of where they happen. I think that these acts of crime are not motivated by school alone but, at least in two Finnish cases, more by the society in which young people live. I have noticed here in Finland that we have an increasing number of young people, often boys or young men, who spend much of their free time with the Internet, computer games or TV and thereby away from other people. We have, unfortunately, more and more single-parent families where children lack proper parental love and care. To prevent any further bloodshed in our societies or schools by anybody we need more love, caring of one another and humanity in our schools. I think we should seriously reconsider our thinking about technology in schools and whether increasing it in schools is really a smart thing to do. Instead, I believe, we should transform our schools as places for social interaction, mutual responsibility and well-being where all young people would belong to a community. If we let things go and leave it upto the world of entertainment to decide, I am afraid we are doomed to a road of more violence and sadness in and out of our schools.

Q. You have visited the U.S. several times and toured schools here. What do you see are the major problems in the American education system and what kind of advice could you give to remedy them?

Indeed, I have seen schools in different parts of the U.S. and learned a lot. First of all I want to say that we in Finland have learned a lot from American educators and schools. Teaching methods, innovative schools and teaching self-confidence in schools in American schools have been inspirations to the Finnish education system. We all have problems in our schools, even we here in Finland. I think American education today suffers from three main deficits. First, I think you rely far to much on standardized data from academic knowledge tests. In this respect American education system is over-tested and under-assessed. By this I refer to classroom assessments that teacher do and use for monitoring the progress of their students. Current testing system is expensive, focuses on narrow part of curriculum and leads to teaching to test as several American research projects have clearly shown. Second, in many states you have moved to hyper-accountability in schools where individual teachers are held accountable for their students’ performance. Teachers’ pay is tied to this accountability system that has led to massive misconducts and corruption in schools and districts as we have seen in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. I think that as accountability gets stronger in school system, responsibility and trust get weaker. When we lose trust in schools and school systems, only bad things are ahead. Third, there is a serious devaluation of teaching as a profession in America. Half of teachers leave their profession before the end of their fifth year in service. Teaching is a primary career choice for decreasing number of high school graduates. This is kind of catch-22. Poorer intake in teacher education leads to lower-than-expected quality of new teachers who are not able to convince younger generations that teaching is a noble job. Although Teach for America may help some schools and be an experience for some young professionals who teach in that program, I doubt it will ever be able to solve the deeper rooted problem of teachers in America. Charter school movement and involvement of larger corporations in public education will further jeopardize the moral of teachers and ethos of teaching profession in America, I am afraid.

Q. How would you rate the American school system?

American school system will in any case remain an inspiration to others. It is an innovation-rich system with some of the best schools in the world operating in it. Unfortunately, as I see it, American school system today is moving to wrong direction. It is moving away from whole child idea where well-being, happiness and health of children would matter the most. It gives too much value to numeric data and misses the human side of schooling. And by doing so, American schools are able to serve only some of the youth in their communities, not all of them. I think American school system can make the transformation that its current leaders are hoping to see but it requires rethinking of some of the core policies and reforms of today.

Q. You give lectures in the U.S. about the Finnish school system. Could you talk about that. Where do you give these lectures and to whom, what has the reception been and what are the most often asked questions that your audience members ask you?

I speak to very diverse audiences in the U.S. ranging from State School Officers to superintendents, principals, teachers, students, parents an business leaders. Most people know very little about Finland or Finnish education. They often ask how do we test our students, how do we find bad teachers, what children do after school day, and how to build trust in the school system. I often hear also comments about Finland being homogeneous and small and therefore not comparable to the U.S..

Q. Finally, could you share an anecdote about your own family, perhaps something interesting about your own school days or if you have children, about their school?

I often tell people about my son who has already completed his schools successfully. When he came home from school I often asked him about homework he got for the following day. His regular answer was ‘I did it already on my way home in the bus’. And that is true. Finnish schools don’t believe in homework. They rather provide children time during the school day to completed whatever they are asked to do for the next day. My son did all sort of other things after school that he found interesting: played music, played basketball or just hanged around with his friends. I think it is very important to hang around without any plan when you are young.

Mr. Sahlberg is currently on a speaking tour in the U.S.

Here is his schedule:

12/5 Chicago, Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago
12/7 Washington DC, Finnish Embassy
12/8 New York, Columbia University
12/9 Nashville, Vanderbilt University

1/12 Washington, DC Education Week Conference
1/13 New York, Harvard Club
1/17-18 San Francisco, Stanford University

December 19th, 2011

thinkkanen

EDITORIAL: SAVE THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF LOS ANGELES
By Tomi Hinkkanen, Los Angeles, CA
Photograph by Jonny Kahleyn

Plans are in the works to move all or some functions of the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles to Silicon Valley, some 350 miles (550 kilometers) north of LA. The worst scenario would be the complete shutdown of the consulate in Los Angeles. This is a very bad idea that should be soundly rejected. You can help by signing the petition below this message.

Finland has had representation in the Los Angeles area in one form or another for over 60 years. The Office of the Vice Consul of Finland opened in Los Angeles in 1948. The first Honorary Vice Consul, later Consul, was the legendary Yrjö A. Paloheimo. The Consulate General offices have been located in the Century City section of Los Angeles since the early 1980’s. Over the years the consulate has promoted Finnish arts, education, technology, businesses, culture, tourism, and even Santa Claus. The Consulate General in LA represents 13 Western States that have 70 million inhabitants. Some 7,500 to 9,000 Finnish citizens live in its close proximity. Out of those, about 4,000 Finns call Southern California home (versus approximately 2,000 in the Bay Area).

Southern California has a highly motivated, dedicated, caring, and diverse Finnish community encompassing individuals of many professional and socio-economic backgrounds that range from regular hard working Finns to artists, painters, sculptors, actors, filmmakers, musicians, researchers, scientists, students, educators, business people, lawyers, medical professionals, retirees and, yes, even us journalists. The Consulate General of Finland has been the magnet that has brought all these people together. Gatherings sponsored by the Consulate General have been extremely beneficial as they offer Finnish and American experts of various fields a chance to meet and interchange knowledge and experience. Under Consul General Kirsti Westphalen, the consulate has been especially active in organizing events around various themes important to the success of Finland and it played an essential role in promoting FinnFest in San Diego, held in August 2011.

Trends come and go, and the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles has always adapted accordingly. The ex-Consul General Maria Serenius was instrumental in starting the Global Access Program (GAP) in collaboration with the Finnish Technology Agency Tekes and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Each year GAP brings Finnish high tech companies to UCLA where fully employed MBA students create strategic business plans for those companies. The program has been extremely successful. During the last 13 years, some 120 Finnish companies have participated in GAP with many been able to expand their operations to the United States thanks to the program. Tarja Halonen, the president of Finland, has just acknowledged the importance of GAP by granting its director, UCLA Anderson Business School professor Bob Foster, a Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland medal. Furthermore, the GAP program has been extended for the next three years. This would not have happened without the help of the Consulate General.

Recently, the Consulate General has recognized the emergence and importance of green economy and green technology that offer great possibilities for Finnish companies, and it has acted as a liaison between the Finnish clean tech cluster and the American know-how in the area. The Consulate General has also been a major promoter of the Finnish education model (which has emerged as a new Finnish export) by organizing seminars and gatherings on the theme.

The Consulate General of Los Angeles has, for many years, worked closely with all Finnish public and non-governmental entities such Finnode, Finpro, Finnish-American Chamber of Commerce, FinnFest as well as many others in the spirit of House of Finland. All parties have been extremely satisfied by this co-operation and with its quality and direction. The Finnish community has been served outstandingly by the competent staff of the Consulate General.

California is the eight largest economy of the world. Los Angeles particularly as the second largest city of the United States and the second largest media market offers the best possible location for the Consulate General of Finland in the Western United States. Los Angeles has a large and diverse population. Trends are born here. It is estimated that over 50% of the internet content is generated here. Hollywood, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and vast array of institutions of higher education such as UCLA and USC are all in Los Angeles. The lovely residence of the Consul General in the Bel Air section is fully paid for and owned by the Finnish Government and offers an excellent showcase for Finland. Los Angeles is the place to be. Without putting down the good people of Silicon Valley, it is clear that Finland would not get anywhere near the visibility, attention and results there it gets in Los Angeles. A consulate in the far reaches of Silicon Valley wouldn’t even be practical to a casual Finnish tourist visiting San Francisco. It would only serve the interests of high tech industry (who are already represented there by Finnode and Finpro). We recognize the need to save money, but it would be penny wise and pound foolish to close down the Consulate General in Los Angeles which best embodies the direction all Finnish representations abroad are aiming for, namely promoting a very competitive Finland. The closure of the Consulate General in Los Angeles would not be in the best interests of Finland. Therefore, I urge you to join me and reject these plans. The Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles is near and dear to us and we want to keep it right here, where it rightfully belongs.

Please sign the petition below this message to save the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles.

Sincerely,
Tomi Hinkkanen
Publisher – Finntimes

http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-the-finnish-consulate-general-in-la

December 23rd, 2011

Ava Anttila

AROUND LA WITH AVA
by Ava Anttila, Los Angeles

The 2011 holiday social season has been a real whirlwind here in Los Angeles –quite literally. The recent ‘huff ‘n puffs’ were no ordinary Santa Ana breezes. The winds were heavy duty, scary, destructive gusts causing havoc around every corner. Among the worst hit areas was in Pasadena where the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl star each New Year. The maintenance and utility crews are still working on the cleanup/fixup. There was considerable damage at the local, world famous Arboretum and Huntington Gardens. Over 250 old trees were lost creating future problems for the renowned camellias that require shade.

The Rose Parade began at a Pasadena Valley Hunt Club meeting in 1890

On December 2, as I was heading toward Pasadena’s historic Valley Hunt Club for an annual ladies Christmas luncheon, the bleachers were already up for the Rose Parade on January 2. Instead of anxious spectators camping out to be sure they had a front-row-seat for the flowered floats and marching bands, huge trees lay like spilled toothpicks along Orange Grove Boulevard. It looked like a war zone.

Luncheon hostess and dear friend, Mona Mapel, was ever-gracious despite having lost power at home and her concern that the Club could go at any minute. She just ‘kept calm and carried on’ as if nothing had happened. The luncheon was a lovely, festive event even though the choir slated to sing Christmas carols could not make it through the debris to perform. To my delight, I was seated next to legendary director Roger Corman’s wife, Julie, who always has exciting things to share. This year’s gems included warm and fun advice about caring for aging parents, referencing her 100 year old dear mother.

The following week Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel about the incredible career of the indie film ‘godfather’ was set to have its opening at the Nuart Theater. Corman, now 85, is known as “…the king of the Bs”. The LA Times ran a concurrent series of articles noting that he has produced and directed horror movies and biker flicks, distributed foreign films by Fellini and Truffaut and nurtured the early careers of Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, and Francis Ford Coppola—among others. [Of course, most Finns know that Francis Ford Coppola used some of his profits from the Godfather films to buy and restore Inglenook Vineyards in Napa Valley originally created by Gustav Niebaum—a Finnish sea captain.]

Later that same week, some of our Pasadena/San Marino friends [including Mona—still without power but ‘calm and carrying on’] gathered for another ‘annual’ Christmas tradition—moniker’d the “Bel Air Dinner”. The event is called that because almost the same group has met for dinner one night in December at the famed Bel Air Hotel every year for over 25 years. Historically, the Bel Air Hotel has been a secluded hideaway for celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, politics, media, industry, and the like. They usually feel at home…at peace. However, through the years, our group has had some great, rollicking times. Presidential candidates, TV anchors, and other lesser luminaries have marveled at the fun we always have, but each has declined the opportunity to join us. Despite rumors to the contrary, we were welcomed back each year.

When the Bel Air closed for renovations several years ago, the dinner moved to the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. Next year will be the 4th year the “Bel Air Dinner” will be held at the Peninsula. I think we are welcomed back to these fine establishments each year because the staff has almost as much fun as we do!

The Belvedere at the Penninsula Beverly Hills

The Belvedere Dining Room at the Peninsula is like one of the great hotel dining rooms of Europe where the service is well directed and one can actually carry on –and hear, a conversation [unlike many of the ‘hot spot’ restaurants that come and go]. The Peninsula, like the Bel Air, is a place well known individuals (aka celebrities) appreciate and frequent. [Was that really John Cusack I spotted across the room? Was he there for some great food—or just hiding out from the paparazzi?]

Pikku Joulu

The Finnish American Chamber of Commerce Pikku Joulu held at my home was a great success despite the wind damage –no power outage, but fence and branches down, landscaping ripped out, and debris rather than decorations in the yard.

It is always nice to have visitors from Finland. Sari Raittila, Scientific Product Manager for LYMPHAtouch, HDL Healthy Life Devices LTd., attended the Pikku Joulu with Robert Herzstein, US representative and FACC Board member. Sari and Robert were also spotted at the Consular Residence on December 6th at the Independence Day celebration.

UCLA

The long and successful partnership between the Finnish Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Andersen School of Business at the University of California at Los Angeles [UCLA] was celebrated with a reception at the Consular residence at the conclusion of the Fall 2011 GAP program. The participating Finnish companies joined UCLA faculty and administrators in meeting with local and international leaders from business, industry, education, and government, including representatives of TEKES and the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce.

Anderson School of Management at UCLA by J. Kahleyn

UCLA Andersen School Professor, Robert Foster, who manages the GAP Program for the University was decorated by Finland for his contributions. Bob’s wife, Joyce, a woman of great accomplishment was there, as were former GAP Program judges, Heikki Ketola and Ava Anttila.

European American Sheriff’s Advisory Council Annual Luncheon

Finland was prominently represented at Los Angeles County Sheriff LeRoy Baca’s Annual Luncheon for the European American Sheriff’s Advisory Council on December 12th. Finland’s Consul General Kirsti Westphalen was in attendance, as were journalist Tomi Hinkkanen and Vice President Ava Anttila, Finland’s EASAC representative and a Founding Member of EASAC.

Keynote Speaker Errol Southers discussed current issues concerning Homeland Security. EASAC Vice Presidents Jim Lynch and Ava Anttila reported on past and current EASAC activities.

Sheriff Baca welcomed the Consuls General, other European national representatives, and members of the international media. He shared his thoughts on the role and importance of EASAC, as well as, his perspective on global outreach and educational programs.

Suomi Soiree

Huge, life-sized ‘Nutcrackers’ bathed in Hollywood klieg lights welcomed guests at the Beverly Hills residence of the Suomi family. Marvin, an Order of the Lion of Finland decorated philanthropist, entrepreneur, and education visionary and his wonderful wife, Marieclaire, certainly know how to throw a party.

A trio of beautiful snow covered trees with blue balls immediately invoked Finnish pride. A heated patio tent, draped in Christmas tartan plaid, festively enhanced the children’s Christmas wonderland theme. The adorable younger Suomi children moved through the assembled guests spreading cheer in the best spirit of Christmas –especially Grace with her pet ‘Labradoodle’ capturing everyone’s hearts.

Marvin introduced us to American friends who are doing business in Finland. My heart was singing as I heard of their positive business and personal experiences there. His friends enthusiastically shared endearing stories of snowmobiling in Lapland, of singing crayfish songs, and of the pleasure of doing business with people you respect greatly.

Rauha Loponen Memorial Service

The Southern California Finnish community paid their respects to Rauha Loponen in a Memorial Service on December 11th at the Finnish Lutheran Church. The Church was standing room only. There were beautiful eulogies by Rauha’s children and friends. Michael Armstrong’s rendition of Finlandia was truly heartfelt by all.

Rauha faithfully passed the Finnish language and traditions on to the next generation. What a joy to keep this a priority in the local Finnish community. Rauha, with her dear friends Eila Korpinen and Annikki Wiikari, was always hard at work making events run smoothly and successfully. Daughter Lea, you continue in your mother’s tradition and make all of us proud.

Suomi Kerho Christmas Party

Suomi Kerho had its Annual Christmas party on December 10th and it was wonderful fun, as usual. The secret buzz around the Finnish community is the preceding bazaar where homemade Finnish ‘goodies’ are available for purchase. It is always a sellout. People come early. Spotted were actress Anna Easteden and her husband Rob heading home with some of the homemade Finnish specialties. It will be hard for Anna and Rob to keep their delicacies away from their newly adopted pet kittens, Jagger and Star, even if they are not herring filled!-

Los Angeles Finlandia Foundation Christmas Meeting

The San Gabriel Valley ‘whirlwind’ came full circle last Sunday, December 18th, at LAFF’s Christmas Meeting at the Pasadena Historical Museum. The ‘potluck’ luncheon, gift exchange, and singing of carols were such fun. Elissa della Rocca and Christina Lin of Finlandia Foundation National told of activities and scholarship programs.

Orange Grove Boulevard was finally cleared of the debris of the past few weeks, the sun was shining, and plans for the future of the Finnish American community were on the minds and in the spirit of the Finlandia organization.

Olsen’s on Pico

Christmas preparations get some ‘ole time’ Scandinavian help with a visit to Olsen’s Scandinavian Delicatessen on Pico near downtown Los Angeles. From Fazer chocolates to fresh hams, you can find lots of familiar foods. Their live patė is to die for and can be singlehanded consumed while waiting at red lights before you get home in L.A. traffic. [Bring cash—they do not accept ‘plastic’.]

Olsen's on Pico Blvd in Los Angeles

Celebrities and Superstars

It is always fun to see what our Finnish [and other] celebrities and superstars are doing at holiday time.

We have given some idea of the hectic pace maintained by the ranking Finn in Los Angeles, Consul General Kirsti Westphalen—she is definitely not lounging on ‘Silicon Beach’ as the rapidly emerging Southern California high tech market is sometimes called.

Consul General Kirsti Westphalen

And, you have probably seen the wave of publicity that again followed Esa-Pekka Salonen on his December return visit to Los Angeles. The “Violin Concerto” Salonen composed in his last months in Los Angeles after 17 years as the holder of the baton at the Los Angeles Philharmonic earned him the prestigious Grawemeyer Award—the ‘Nobel Prize’ of music composition. In talking about Los Angeles, Salonen told the Los Angeles Times that: “L.A. somehow liberated me… That was unbelievably important in my own development, because finally I had the possibility of becoming the kind of composer I wanted to become. …This is a good place to find oneself because of the open-mindedness of this place.”

Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks

Another December ‘reunion’ involved Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks who returned to Winnipeg [Canada] to play the Jets where he set rookie NHL records with 76 goals and 132 points in the 1992-93 season. Now a 41 year old veteran, Teemu has 10 goals and 23 assists to lead the Ducks so far this season. The Jets presented a video tribute to the “Finnish Flash” during the game and the fans cheered “Teemu” before the national anthems were played and when he scored or got an assist—or even touched the puck, while his Duck teammates were booed.

Here locally recently:

Pamela Anderson has had a postage stamp featuring her issued by the U.S. Post Office.

Helena Lumme and Mika Manninen who earlier took Hollywood by storm with their books Screenwriters and Great Women of Film while living in Los Angeles, returned recently to pick up their ‘Oscar of the Food Industry’ for their Simpli Oat Shakes—‘Best in Class’!

Helena Lumme & Mika Manninen Accept BevNET Award

Christmas time is a very special time for Finns. We want to feel the vibe of our homeland even in the land of palm trees and swimming pools. The peace of Christmas is quintessential in our hearts and spirits as Finns. Let the peace of Christmas envelop you as you hear tip tap tip tap and smell the aroma of the rutabagas boiling on the stove. Read the Jouluevanlkeliumi as you sit down for Christmas Eve dinner.

Let us be mindful of the Christmas story, the great gifts we have been given with our heritage, the ever present next storm, the Sisu instilled in us.

The Finnish spirit is a great gift. Let us celebrate it and pay it forward.

Ava Anttila

January 3rd, 2012

thinkkanen

Vivi Friedman at the LA premiere of 'The Family Tree'

Now cracks a noble heart.
Good night, sweet princess.
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!
(Hamlet, V.ii.359-360)

It is with deep regret and profound sadness that we inform you of the passing of Vivi Friedman yesterday, January 2nd, 2012, after a long battle with cancer.

Our condolences to Vivi’s partner Steven and relatives. Ha-Makom yenahem etkhem be-tokh avelei Ẓiyyon vi-Yrushalayim.

Here is a story we ran just a few months ago on the premiere of Vivi’s first feature film in the United States:

Vivi Friedman at the LA premiere of "The Family Tree'

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – WEST HOLLYWOOD
PREMIERE PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONNY KAHLEYN/TOMI HINKKANEN

Finnish Vivi Friedman’s first feature film ‘The Family Tree’ premiered on the big screen last weekend in Los Angeles and New York. The film boasts a star-studded cast: Dermot Mulroney, Hope Davis, Chy McBride, Selma Blair, Jane Seymour, and others. Vivi Friedman is not yet a household name, but she is well-known in the advertising world. The 43-year-old director has had a long career in TV commercials. She has directed spots for both Finnish and international companies and is represented by an agency in Germany. In America, ad agencies don’t seem to bother much with subterfuge while European TV commercials often tell a clever little story with a twist (revealing the advertised product or service at the end). Vivi became known for these kinds of story-driven commercials. Vivi Friedman came to the United States 20 years ago. She studied at Rochester University in New York and at UCLA in Los Angeles. However, she admits that school was not really something for her and that she got most of her training in the field. In Hollywood, Vivi familiarized herself with the production process of American movie-making by taking on production assistant jobs here and there. Then she made a short film called ‘Certainly Not a Fairytale’.

Vivi Friedman directs Dermot Mulroney and Hope Davis

“My agent sent copies of the my film to various producers and agencies, and one of the recipients was screenwriter Mark Lisson’s manager who was looking for a director for Mark’s script. I then met with Mark and we got along great. That’s how it all started,” Vivi recalls. Along with the writer, Allan Jones produced. Alan didn’t divulge the exact budget amount, but said it cost less than five million dollars to make. The Ohio-based movie was actually filmed in Los Angeles in 2008. The tight budget allowed for only 25 days of shooting.

‘The Family Tree’ is a dark comedy about a family in crisis. The parents are on the brink of a divorce, the teenage son is mixed up with a fundamentalist church and its gun-worshipping pastor, and the daughter struggles with her sexuality. The Burnetts get a second chance when the mother (played by Hope Davis) loses her memory due to a head concussion and starts believing that everything is fine with the family. This reboot starts the chaotic sorting out of the whole family mess.

Vivi Friedman at the LA premiere of 'The Family Tree'

Before the cameras were able to start rolling, Vivi had to ‘sell’ her film to some top Hollywood names. With the help of a good casting director, she succeeded in attracting a stellar cast to her first directorial effort. The first one hired was Dermot Mulroney for the role of Jack Burnett, the husband and father of the family. Mulroney is perhaps best remembered from Julia Roberts’ 1997 film ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’

“Dermot has a dry sense of humor. He is fantastic as an actor. He totally put his heart and soul in a role that required him to be less than his usual handsome leading man,” Vivi describes. Dermot is reunited with his ‘About Schmidt’ costar Hope Davis who plays the mother and his wife Bunnie.

“Hope is aware of her talents and she has an enormous scale as an actor. She took the young actors under her wing. She says that once you have made a movie together, you are like family members with them for the rest of your life.”

Dermot Mulroney and Hope Davis in 'The Family Tree'

Brittany Robertson, Max Thieriot and Jane Seymor complete the Burnett family as the teenage daughter, son, and grandmother.

“Jane is fantastic. She appears at the end of the film in a scene that requires her to cry. When we were discussing that, Jane asked, if I wanted her to cry from the left eye, from the right eye or from both eyes.”

Chy McBride plays Bunnie’s neighbor and lover. He agreed to show an intimate body shot for the film.

“Chy said that he would rather not appear naked. I said that I just want to show your ass. He replies, oh that? Go ahead, it’s in good shape!”

Vivi Friedman at the LA premiere of 'The Family Tree'

The featured cast is also full of familiar names. Keith Carradine is the gum-chewing, gun-toting priest. Christina Hendricks of the TV series Mad Men is cast in a similar office manager’s role. Selma Blair portrays a lesbian teacher.

“Selma is just as wild in real life as in her roles. She is an incredibly wonderful person. She questions everything but agrees to everything as well.”

The premiere night at the Laemmle 5 Theater in West Hollywood attracted a great audience who applauded enthusiastically at the end.

Vivi Friedman at the LA premiere of "The Family Tree'

VIVI FRIEDMAN

Family background: Vivi was born in Helsinki in 1967. She spent her childhood years in Nummela, Southern Finland. Her brother Sami works for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).

Education: University of Rochester, NY, UCLA, CA. Career: Started making TV commercials in 1989. Has made spots for Aktia Bank, Asuntopörssi (a real-estate company), Lumene (cosmetics) and Valio (dairy products). Directed a short subject ‘Certainly Not a Fairytale’ in 2003.

Personal life: Vivi is in a relationship with Steven Kaminsky, a post-production supervisor.

‘The Family Tree’ movie trailer:

Links:

http://www.thefamilytreemovie.com/ (Official website)

http://www.vivifriedman.com/

January 6th, 2012

thinkkanen

SFFLA

The 13th SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL L.A. (SFFLA) offers a smorgasbord of Nordic cinema at the Writers Guild Theater (135 S. Doheny/at Wilshire) in Beverly Hills January 7, 8, 14, 15. The program focuses on the five Nordic Oscar submissions in the context of additional current feature films, shorts and documentaries from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The annual immersion course in Nordic film is part of the crescendo of film activity leading up to Academy Award nominations and the Awards themselves.

Juha Wuolijoki’s Joulutarina/Christmas story

Opening day, Saturday Jan 7 begins with Finnish Director Juha Wuolijoki’s feature film “Christmas Story.” It’s a film for “kids of all ages” and is preceded by a Norwegian animated short “The Last NorwegianTroll.” “Labrador (Out of Bounds)” from Danish Director Frederikke Aspock follows. “A cinematic chamber play under the open skies” the work wrestles with humanity’s efforts to keep up appearances, and clumsy ways of dealing with secrets.The day continues with an entertaining exploration of issues of gender and of justice– identity and isolation. A delightful Norwegian short, Bald Guy sets the tone, followed by a Norwegian documentary Gender Me. Then comes the Norwegian Oscar submission Happy, Happy from Norwegian filmmaker Anne Sewitsky, whose directorial debut made her a World Cinema Jury Winner at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

The festival opening gala leads into the evening with a reception and buffet preceding a screening of the Swedish Oscar entry– Beyond. Know for her on-screen work, the film is Pernilla August’s directorial debut and stars among others Noomi Rapace who garnered attention for her work as The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo, in the Millennium Trilogy.

Day two– January 8– doesn’t depart from issues of gender and justice as the day “kicks off” with the Norwegian documentary “A Balloon for Allah” from Director Nefise Ozkal Lorentzen followed by an award winning Swedish short “Bekas” from Glenn Lund. Iceland’s Oscar submission follows as “Volcano” from Director Runar Runarsson smolders, rumbles and erupts on the screen. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it has been called “a mature and emotionally devastating film directed with extraordinary sensitivity.”Nefise Ozkal Lorentzen’s A Ballon for Allah

The day continues with a special screening of an American film from Finnish Director Renny Harlin. Harlin, who is at home in Hollywood, is an American success story with many blockbuster films. He will present his film “Five Days of War” and be “on board” for Q & A. Next in line is the Finnish Oscar submission “Le Havre” from the inimitable Aki Kaurismaki. Is it any wonder in a global world that the Finnish Oscar submission is a film in French!?

Renny Harlin’s Five Days of War

The day comes to a comic climax with the Danish Oscar submission Superclasico from Director Ole Christian Madsen. Known both on-screen and as a director, Paprika Steen stars in the mad-cap film about a Danish wife and mother who absconds to Buenos Aires to become a sports agent and falls in love with one of Argentina’s biggest futbol stars, where she is pursued by her estranged husband, who is determined to win her back. “The film is risible proof that all Nordic films are dark and dreary!” says SFFLA Founder/Director James Koenig.

Ole Christian Madsen’s Superclasico

The second week-end unreels on Saturday January 14 with a beautiful Swedish feature documentary “Women and Cows.” Director Peter Gerdehag and shows that also in film making “the cream rises.” Once the cows are out to pasture, the day continues with an Icelandic feature film “Either Way” the feature film debut of Director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson. The film which took top prize at the Turin Film Festival is said to be reminiscent of Aki Kaurismaki’s early style–“at one and the same time” comic,naive, and semi-surrealistic. A Finnish historic period piece follows with Juha Wuolijoki’s “Hella W.” a biopic about a complex and widely talented Finnish woman of influence who as entrepreneur, playwright and politician collaborated with the likes of Bertold Brecht and Maxim Gorky and was ostracized by Finland’s intelligentsia, which disliked the popularity and incendiary politics of her plays, which are now regarded as modern classics. The afternoon continues with Finnish director Zaida Bergroth’s “The Good Son,” the story of a an actress, who after a scandalous premier takes refuge at the old family summerhouse with her two sons. After a raucous week-end party one guest stays on to arouse– in one, love, in another, suspicion.Zaida Bergroth’s The Good Son

The evening starts with the presentation of the now annual SWEA (Swedish Women’s Educational Association) film grant. This year’s recipient, Hanna Andersson, will be awarded the grant and offer her short– Erika & Sally to the SFFLA audience. Finally, the day ends with “A Rational Solution” from Swedish Director Jorgen Bergmark, whose film is described as “Two-thirds belly-laugh comedy to one-third precisely observed tragedy…a smart, funny film made for adults that focuses on passion between middle aged protagonists– one of whom played by Pernilla August whose directorial debut (Beyond) is the Swedish Oscar submission.

Sunday Jan 15 starts with “A Journey in my Mother’s Footsteps” from Danish director Dina Rosenmeier, sets out on a journey in the footsteps of her mother Jessie Rosenmeier who since the 1970’s has worked as an activist to improve the lives of orphans and street children in India. Then “Epoca” a short by Danish born Soren Hellerup leads to Danish feature film “Room 304,” Birgitte Staermose’s multi-plot drama which revolves around a mysterious gunshot resonating in the hallways of a Copenhagen hotel. Finnish director Johann Karento’s short “Liv” leads us into the incredible Finnish feature film “Priest of Evil” from Director Oli Saarela, following a serial killer with incredible performances from Peter Franzen and Irina Bjorklund whose work is well know to SFFLA audiences. Then it’s “Headhunters” from Norway and Director Morten Tyldum in which an accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.

The festival wraps up with Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjarne Nilsson’s award winning Swedish-French comedy-crime film “Sound of Noise.” It tells the story of a group of musicians who illegally perform music on objects in various institutions of a city. The film is a follow up on a 2001 short screened at SFFLA call Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers. The title comes from the Italian futurist Luigi Russolo’s 1913 manifesto The Art of Noises.

Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson’s Sound of Noise

Parent organization of Scandinavian Film Festival is the American Scandinavian Foundation of Los Angeles. Support for the festival includes individuals, organizations, and corporate sponsorship, with the assistance of The Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Finnish Film Foundation, and the Icelandic Film Centre. The festival is proud to partner with ELMA—European Languages and Movies in America, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, SWEA (Swedish Women’s Educational Association), the Royal Norwegian Consulate, and the Finnish Consulate, with help from the local honorary Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic Consulates in the concerted effort to bring Nordic film culture to the Los Angeles/Hollywood cultural scene.

For further information, and a complete schedule of all films and events, and information on becoming a donor or purchasing tickets, log on to:
http://www.sffla.net or http://www.scandinavianfilmfestivalla.com

or call 323-661-4273

COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF FILMS:

January 7, 2012
10:30 The Last Norwegian Troll (Animation 12 minutes 23 seconds)
11:00 Christmas Story (Finnish feature film) Juha Wuolijoki

1:00 Labrador/ Out of Bounds (Danish feature film 72 minutes) Frederikke Aspock

3:00 BALD GUY (Norwegian short 12 minutes)
GENDER ME (Norwegian documentary)

4:30 Happy, Happy (Norwegian Oscar submission Anne Sewitsky

6:30 Opening gala– reception, buffet

8:00 Beyond (Swedish Oscar entry) Pernilla August

January 8, 2012

10:30 A Balloon for Allah (Norwegian documentary 58 minutes) Ofize Okal Lorentzen

11:30 Bekas Short Sweden Glenn Lund
1:00 Volcano (Icelandic Oscar submission) Runar Runarsson

3:00 p.m. Five Days of War (Presenting Finnish director Renny Harlin with his American film).
In conjunction with Cinema Without Borders

6:00 Le Havre (Finnish Oscar submission 93 minutes) Aki Kaurismaki

8 p.m. Superclasico (Danish Oscar submission) Ole Christian Madsen

January 14, 20121

10:30 A Journey in my Mother’s Footsteps” Danish feature documentary 77 minutes Dina Rosenmeier

12:30 Either Way (Icelandic feature film) Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson

2:30 Hella W. (Finnish feature film) Juha Wuolijoki

5:00 Good Son (Finnish feature film 83 minutes) Zaida Bergroth

7:30 SWEA film grant presentation and screening of recipient’s short film
Erika & Sally Hanna Andersson

8:00 A Rational Solution (Swedish feature film) SWEA Reception after screening Jorgen Bergmark

January 15, 2012

10:30 Women with Cows Peter Gerdenhag (Swedish feature/documentary) 93 minutes
12:15 Epoca Danish short– Soren Hellerup
12:30 Room 304 (Danish feature film 88 minutes)
2:30 Liv (Finnish short Johann Karento)
2:00 Evil Priest (Finnish feature film) Oli Saarela

5:00 Headhunters (Norwegian feature film) Morten Tyldum

7:30 The Sound of Noise (Swedish feature film) Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjarne Nilsson

January 15th, 2012

thinkkanen

Sheriff Lee Baca, Consul General of Finland Kirsti Westphalen and Ava Anttila, Esq.

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SHERIFF LEE BACA
REPORTER/PHOTOS: TOMI HINKKANEN – LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is the largest sheriff’s department in the world. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. People from every country in the world live in the county. Therefore the sheriff keeps tabs with all nationalities – Finns as well. I recently met Sheriff Baca at a European-American Advisory Council luncheon in the sheriff’s headquarters in Monterey Park.

The 69-year-old Sheriff Leroy “Lee” Baca, was born in East LA. His own ethnic background is Mexican and Spanish. Lee Baca has had a long career in law enforcement. He began at the LA County Sheriff’s office in 1965. He has been Los Angeles County Sheriff for the past 13 years. Sheriffs are elected and Baca is currently serving his fourth term. The first thing that catches one’s eye about Mr. Baca appearance is his terrific physical shape. Baca wakes up every morning at 5.30 and goes for a run. He calculates having run an equal distance as that of three times around the Earth over the last three decades.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca

The European-American Council is the forum to by which the sheriff keeps in touch with the local Finns. There were Consuls General of several European countries present at the luncheon – Finland was represented by consul general Kirsti Westphalen and a prominent member of the council, attorney Ava Anttila. The council is not just about PR. For example, if a particular country’s citizen is suspected of a crime here, the sheriff can turn to that country’s representative for information. The sheriff has similar information sharing networks with other world countries as well. In this spirit of sharing information, we sat down for a frank one-on-one interview.

Q. Thank you, Mr. Baca for taking time to talk to Finntimes. Have you ever been to Scandinavia?

Yes, I have been to the Netherlands as well. The whole point of those visits is the connections between Los Angeles and the Scandinavian world.”

Q. Have you been to Finland?

Yes, I have. I find Finland to be fascinating, because we all know that Helsinki is a very important city. Internationally speaking it is very diverse. I believe that the Finnish society has made significant contributions to the western world.

Q. About the LA County jail system – can you give us a picture of how many places for inmates do you have and how many actual inmates?

Well, we have capacity for 20,000, we have 16,000 inmates. The important thing about it is, 80% are pre-trial – they have not been tried or convicted yet. It makes it interesting and challenging to me that many of them are in jail for serious drug dealing crimes, crimes of violence obviously. We have about 700 murderers waiting for trial. Sometimes they are in jail locally for 2-4 years. A couple of them have been in there for five years and they still haven’t been convicted. So, it is a challenging responsibility. But I believe that education is an important part of incarceration, so I’m offering education courses for these individuals, so they can improve their lives while they are in jail.

Sheriff Lee Baca with the European-American Council

Q. One of your celebrity inmates is Dr. Conrad Murray, who is probably going to sit his entire sentence in your jail system. Being a high profile inmate, he needs special protection from the other inmates and that means more tax payer dollars, correct?

It’s interesting. We have 24 sheriff’s stations. We have smaller jails. I believe his sentence should be served in one of those stations. It would be with less security obviously, because he is not a security risk. I think you are correct in saying that he is someone who is a target of some perhaps more aggressive inmates. But in a smaller sheriff station jail he would be best suited.”

Q. There has been some trouble especially in Men’s Central Jail. Former commander Robert Olmsted has emerged as one of your toughest critics. He said in a recent LA Times interview, that he tried to warn you that deputies were getting away with using unnecessary force, beating up inmates. He says you ignored his warnings. What do you say to his allegations?

We, his allegation is completely out of context. I knew of the force issues, because of six deputies that got into a fight at a Christmas party. He tells me after I learned already. That’s not a very good warning. He should have told me before he retired. And that’s my response to his concern. He and I spoke. He told me he tried to warn his supervisors, but when I spoke to his supervisors, they said he didn’t try to warn them. So, the guy strikes me as being a little odd. If he knew about these things, why didn’t he tell me while he was working there instead months later when he is retired and left the department.”

Q. Maybe he was afraid that there would be retribution if he came forward before his retirement?

Well, he should be strong enough to understand that anything that is under his command, he has the responsibility to correct himself and not blame others above him.

Q. But in one way or another, there was a communications error and the information did not reach you in a timely manner?

That’s correct.

Q. You mentioned the Christmas party brawl between the deputies. Those were the deputies who worked at Men’s Central jail?

Correct, which Robert Olmsted was the captain there and he was also a commander over that captain. So, it was totally in his control. If he knew about this, he should have done something.

LA County's Sheriff Lee Baca and journalist Tomi Hinkkanen

Q. KTLA did a report about the so-called 3000 block gang of deputies, who have their own hand signals just like members of street gangs. Those were the deputies who got into this Christmas brawl. How have you dealt with?

Well, those deputies, first of all, they were not a gang. And secondly, they didn’t have hand signals for themselves. They took a photograph off duty and used what were commonly thought of as gang type signals. But it is not a fact that they were operating like a gang in jails. We don’t have gangs in county jails. Every deputy has specific assignments. They don’t work together as a group. They are spread out to all the different cells. So, they were friends. The KTLA report with even the allegations that they were a gang are completely false. They were just new deputies assigned to the sheriff’s department – been on for 2,3 years. You don’t have a chance to form a gang under those circumstances. So, my answer to this is that the news took it upon themselves to make this sound like this is worse than what it really is. Nonetheless, I fired six of the deputies for getting into the fight. You initiate a fight, that’s unacceptable. That’s where they made their mistake and now they are gone.

Q. The former commander Olmsted also claimed that in Men’s Central Jail there was a culture of disobedience – writings on the office walls saying “don’t feed the animals”, things like that. Have you heard of this kind of a culture prevailing in Men’s central Jail?

It’s not a culture as much as it is an act of wrong doing by – who knows who. When this happened, commander Olmsted was the captain of the Central Jail. He should have done a criminal investigation. He did not. He basically said, let’s just fix the problem in terms of painting over graffiti. A report was made, but in my opinion a crime report should have been initiated. And in that place we would try to find out who did this and then severely discipline this person who did it. So, you see, a few mistakes have been made along the way. But this is not me trying to be critical of commander Olmsted, but at the same time I rely on captains and commanders to fix problems. And it appears to me that commander Olmsted, then captain Olmsted didn’t fix the problem to the extend that he should have. That’s all I’m saying.

Q. So, have you looked into this “don’t feed the animals” signs and other forms of disobedience, or wrong doing?

I have, but you cannot go back three years and say, we sufficient timeliness. It should have been done at the time it was discovered, when Olmsted was captain. He should have commenced a criminal investigation.

Q. I have seen some reports, where inmates have come forward, who have said that they have been beaten up by the deputies in the jail system. Is that still happening?

Inmates say they’ve been beaten up, but they don’t say, what were the circumstances in which they were involved in fights with deputies. It’s easy to say that they were beaten up, but those who have not reported the force – the deputies are supposed to report all the force they use – we discharge those deputies who don’t report all the force. No one has been harmed to the extent that they are permanently incapacitated, or even killed in the hands of deputies. The biggest concern that the inmates have is other inmates attacking them. Most of the fights that the deputies get into are provoked by the inmates. But I do believe that we can do a better job. That’s why I have a force prevention policy, because some of the inmates, who the deputies themselves have used the force, tell me, are people, who have mental issues. And they don’t have any context as to how to control themselves. So, when the deputies try to move them from one place to the other, whey resist and then force is used and then there is a fight. Of course, let me make clear that in a jail operation, where inmates are violent, the deputies must always win. If we don’t have control a hundred percent during fights, we wouldn’t have anyone that we would be able to protect within the jail system, particularly inmates on inmates. So, every inmate that attacks a deputy or gets into a fight with a deputy, is ultimately going to lose. That’s the reality. And for some that have lost, they say, I was beaten up. But they never say what they did to strike the deputy.

LA County's Sheriff Lee Baca

Q. There is also an ongoing FBI investigation into the jails and officer misconduct. What is the status of that FBI investigation and when can we expect results?

I don’t know what the status is and when the results will be, but we welcome the investigation.

Q. You mentioned in the beginning of the interview that you have implemented policies, where inmates are being taught. Can you tell me about that?

Yes, we have several programs. The first is the merit program where we teach them life skills and they enjoy learning about these. How to build a stronger character in relationships with their loved ones – children in particular. That’s one of the most successful programs we have. The other is the Imagine 21 program, which also builds stronger self control tools – people, who are addicted, people, who have violence in their background – they learn to live life in a more positive way. But it takes a lot of steps and a lot of communication with our instructors to build that confidence. Most people in jail are depressed and stressed and have anxiety. And what we do is we teach them how to live a positive life and not a negative life. Those are very successful programs. And that’s going on now, as all these other issues you mentioned have happened, we still have other alternatives for the inmates. But the biggest factor is, in my judgment, a person in jail or prison should be educated when they come out and be better prepared to go back into the community and live a productive life.”

Q. What is the average time an inmate spends in one of your facilities?

The average ones that are sentenced – now remember, only 20% are sentenced, the other 80% are awaiting trial, like I mentioned earlier – they spend about 45 days. And that’s generally long enough to make a change.”

Q. Are they normally young people?

No, they are of all ages. They run from young to old.

Q.Finally, what would you like to see happen with the jail system, if you got your wish?

Two things, I would like to have more staff, because this is part of the problem. If you have less supervision, then there is a likelihood that you will have more force. I need 91 more sergeants, more deputy personnel and then I would like to have every inmate have an educational plan, so that their time spent in jail is more productive than just serving punishment.

January 24th, 2012

thinkkanen

Finnish Language Study Opportunity, Summer 2012

SISU (Suomen Innokkaat SISUkkaat Ulkosuomalaiset) is offering its ninth Finnish Language & Culture Seminar at the University of Minnesota, Duluth from July 29 to August 4, 2012. The seminar is a one-week course of Finnish language study (25-30 hours at three levels) directed by teachers Sirpa Tuomainen, Eija Ojala, and Anna Leppänen. Presentations relating to specific aspects of Finnish culture and other activities will be included.

SISU (Suomen Innokkaat SISUkkaat Ulkosuomalaiset) is an independent, non-profit organization formed in 1996 to foster study of Finnish language, heritage, and culture. Its primary activity is to offer biennial Finnish Language and Culture Seminars. Membership and/or participation in seminars is open to all interested adults. Current officers (elected volunteers) are Marie Godell Fowler, President and Treasurer; Myrna Wells-Ulland, Vice-President; and Kathleen Ristinen, Secretary.

Classes are interactive and informal. Teachers are native speakers of Finnish, trained and experienced in Finnish language instruction. Participants include adults of all ages and backgrounds from all areas of the U.S. as well as from other countries.

The seminar fee is $425 plus $20 SISU membership; on-campus housing including food service is $300 (single room supplement: $200). Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) are available from UMD (approximately $25).

Registration deposits are due before April 30; for more information and registration information please contact: Kathleen Ristinen, Secretary: kaisa@eurekanet.comor 740-592-1157. Our Facebook group is: SISU Finnish Language & Culture Seminar.

January 25th, 2012

thinkkanen

REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN – REEDLEY
PHOTOS: JONNY KAHLEYN DIEB

This mysterious Finnish man left his small eastern Finland town of Kuusjärvi at the turn of the century. After decades of exploring, traveling and creating a career for himself as a tailor, Hauli found his little slice of heaven near Reedley in Central California. It was a half an acre grape farm alongside Kings River. His little farm grew into a gathering place for Finns from all over California. In his will Hauli left the parcel to all Finns to enjoy. Today the place is known as Hauli Huvila (Villa Hauli), and it is still very much a part of Finnish history in California.

Finns had first settled in Reedley, the lush San Joaquin Valley in Central California around 1905. They had given the areas names such as Astoria Kontri, North and South Kontri. Kontri is, of course, a Finnish version of the word ‘country’. Reedley was indeed a home for hundreds of Finns. Even as late as in the 1930s the place was known as ‘New Finland’.

Kings River view from Hauli Huvila

In the early 1940s, a Finn known as John Hauli arrived in Reedley. He purchased a small parcel of land along the Kings River, just outside the city limits. His intention was to grow grapes there. Soon after, John Hauli erected buildings and a stage where sing-alongs, theatrical performances, and events that promoted worker rights were held.

The political climate of the early 50’s America was marred by anti-communist hysteria, and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunts extended all the way to the remote half acre of land that John Hauli inhabited. People, who visited or did any business at Hauli’s ranch, were spied on by informants, their car license plates were recorded and the information given to the FBI. It was then that, according to local legend, the FBI got wind of a Finnish man who often visited Hauli Huvila and was known to travel from one Finnish organization to another, and recruited a local businessman who went by the nickname of ‘Bozo’ as a spy. Bozo was a local businessman who held many important positions in Reedley and spoke both Finnish and English. The legend tells that Bozo would go to Hauli Huvila and patiently listen to what people, and particularly to what the suspected Finnish man spoke. He would then write down all he had heard and reported back to the FBI. But, as it turned out, Bozo’s reports did not contain any mention of subversive activity or anything to do with overthrowing the government. In fact, the mysterious Finnish man was not a communist at all, but a union activist and a member of the Democratic Party. Even though Bozo himself proudly told the story of his one-time gig as a spy until the end of his life, the FBI denies any involvement. They responded to my freedom of information request by saying that Hauli Huvila was never under observation.

A picture from Hauli Huvila from October, 1962

John Hauli continued to run his grape farm, relinquishing much of the work in his twilight years to trusted workers. John Hauli died in 1956 at the age of 73. Hauli had offered his place to Los Angeles Finns who thought it was too far away (over 300 miles) from LA since, at that time, there were no interstate highways. The only Finnish group that showed any interest was the based in Berkeley and was called the 10th Street Haali Finnish American Cultural Society which leaned towards absolute socialism. The Berleley Finns, as they were known, built a club house and a new two-story main building. In the evenings they would showcase films that praised their far-left ideology on an outdoor screen and even hold political rallies. Such activities only added to Hauli Huvila’s already tarnished reputation amongst the conservative townsfolk of Reedley. By the 1980s, 10th Street Haali Finnish American Cultural Society was a defunct organization the whole place started to resemble a retirement community. Members lived on the grounds in their RV’s and trailers for months or even years at a time and held notorious drunken parties that didn’t go well with their neighbors. Then things literally exploded: One of the men living at Hauli Huvila (who was not a Finn), who suffered from depression, went into his trailer, turned on the gas oven and stuck his head in it. And explosion followed, but the man miraculously survived. After that incident, long-term living was banned at Hauli Huvila.

John Hauli dreamt of Hauli Huvila as a place where Finns and friends are always welcome

By the early 1990s, it was time for a change. By this time the Berkeley Finns were too old and feeble to be able to maintain Hauli Huvila. In 1991 a new generation of Finns from Los Angeles and San Francisco took over the place. They bought Hauli Huvila for 25,000 dollars. A non-profit organization with no ideology behind it (except the Finnish identity) currently runs the place. Under the new treasurer Henry Aspen, things improved considerably as he got the finances in order. That in turn made it possible to start a large scale construction project. The old cabins, worn out by termites and slugs were torn down and were replaced by four brand new cottages. They were mostly by volunteers and were completed last year. One of the cottages has a living room and a bedroom, a small kitchenette and a toilet; the other three cottages are divided into two identical separate rooms. They all are modern, bright, furnished with Nordic-style furniture and adorned with beautiful photographs. Hauli Huvila also has a sauna and a club house that houses a bar and a dance floor. The grounds can accommodate tents and RV’s. The only original things left from John Hauli are grapevines he had planted.

Hauli Huvila comes to life at summer time. The season opens at the end of May on Memorial Day. Other major events are the Fourth of July weekend, a golf weekend in August and the end of the summer season celebrations on Labor Day in early September.

I spent a couple of days around Christmas time with my friend photographer Jonny Kahleyn at Hauli Huvila. We were greeted by the resident caretaker Randy Cameron and his brown Labrador retriever Candy. We were the only visitors and basically had the place to ourselves as winters are quiet there. Everything was spotless and the sauna was heavenly. It was relaxing and atmospheric to walk along the banks of the foggy Kings River surrounded by large bare cottonwood trees in a temperature of about 13 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit). We made a day trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains which took a good hour drive. The mountains were covered with snow as we reached 6000 feet/two-kilometer altitude. We got to see the gigantic, 3000 year-old Sequoia trees. They are so large that we could even walk through the trunk of one fallen tree. Back at Hauli Huvila, we checked out the clubhouse walls and viewed photo collages from decades past. In the pictures, Finnish folks with their families are shown in different kinds of get-togethers, having fun. As I said in the beginning, Hauli Huvila is indeed the only place in Reedley that reminds us of the town’s Finnish background. And most importantly, it is still there for all of us to visit and enjoy.

THE RETURN OF JOHN HAULI

When I started to investigate John Hauli’s background, hardly anything was collectively known about him. We only knew he was born in 1883 and died in 1956 (only because his tombstone says so). Not much else was known. Through a considerable amount of research and the help of many, I was able to put together a comprehensive view on John Hauli and his enduring dedication to the Finnish people.

John Hauli

John Hauli’s birth name was Juho Hakkarainen. He was born August the 29th, 1883 in Kuusjärvi, (now Outokumpu). It is a small mining town in Northern Karelia near the Russian border. Hauli’s parents were Maria and Mikko Hakkarainen, and he had at least one sibling: a sister named Mari. Hauli studied in Liperi and St. Petersburg to become a tailor and then worked in Helsinki. Hauli first traveled to the United States in 1906 with eight other tailors. He lived for a while in New York City and then later in the often cold and foggy San Francisco where he became afflicted with severe rheumatism.

Kirvu Sanatorium in Karelia (now part of Russia) where Hauli was treated for severe rheumatism

Hauli decided to return to Finland for treatment and was interned in a sanatorium located in a part of Karelia that now belongs to Russia where he fully recovered. He returned to America in 1915, this time to the more pleasant climate of Hawaii. He adopted the name “Hauli” from Hawaiian natives, a nickname for white man. In his 1918 U.S. conscription card, Hauli gives his home address as 159 South King Street, Honolulu, located near the Honolulu harbor. He worked in Honolulu as a tailor for a Scottish national whose name I believe to have been Leo McInerney.

Grape vines surrounding Hauli Huvila

Hauli had pale blue eyes and light brown hair. He was of normal weight, and medium height. Hauli names his sister as his closest relative – Mrs. Mari Leppänen. She lived in Finland, first in Lahti and later in Savonlinna. Hauli traveled very frequently between the U.S. and Europe which was rather unusual for those times. Consider that at the time it took a week to cross the Atlantic by ship. Between 1923 and 1934 John Hauli would sail regularly from New York to Gothenburg, Sweden and then back. From 1934, he traveled about once a year either from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Vancouver to Honolulu and then back to the west coast.

During World War II, Hauli donated money to the Finnish war effort, and shipped as many wooden crates filled with raisins he could to the Finnish Army’s headquarters in Helsinki.

Cabins constructed by volunteers onthe grounds of Hauli Huvila

At some point in the 1930’s he moved back to California and worked on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles for a Finnish tailor whose name was August Ahonen. According to the legend, Hauli went to ask him for a job, but was told that there was no work available. Hauli then promised him that, if he were hired, the shop would never have a shortage of work, but to no avail. He then sat outside the tailor shop, on the curb, until Ahonen finally agreed to hire him.

By the summer of 1947, records show that John Hauli’s citizenship changed from Finnish to American, and that his occupation changed from a tailor to a farmer.

In the early 1940s, the 57-year-old John Hauli bought just over a half acre of land in Fresno County, right next to Reedley, for 1,400 dollars where he settled down. He planted grapes and turned them into raisins under the California sun. That’s how Hauli got the nickname ‘Rusina-Jussi, or ‘Raisin-John”.

View from Hauli Huvila

He had very close Finnish friends who became his adopted family since he had no family of his own, and in Hauli Huvila he had his own little ‘Finland’. To Reedley resident Oliver Vuori who is now 61, John Hauli was like a grandfather. Oliver reminisces fondly of childhood summers spent at Hauli Huvila. John Hauli used to take him and his sister Helen on his row boat on the Kings River to a sandbank to play and swim. When Oliver fell ill with polio, Hauli set aside a room in near the sauna where the boy could rest. Hauli himself slept in an old Airstream-trailer. During his years in Hawaii Hauli had taken to wearing floral patterned Hawaiian shirts and leis, especially on holidays. On regular weekdays Hauli would be seen without a shirt or wearing a tank top. He could play the ukulele, sang Finnish folk songs with his friends, and told children stories about Finland. He didn’t smoke, and as far as we know, hardly drank any alcohol.

John Hauli

In 1953, he made his final voyage to Hawaii on the ocean liner MS Lurlise. As he was aging and had no family, Hauli started to look for a successor to Hauli Huvila. He approached the Finnish organizations in Los Angeles, but they felt that Reedley, located 300 miles north, was too far away . Eventually, Hauli found a taker. The Berkeley Finnish American Cultural Society agreed to take over hauli Huvila. Hauli stipulated in his will that Hauli Huvila should always be made available to the Finnish community, specially children and the elderly.

John Hauli spent the last three months of his life in the Lone Palm Rest Home, a nursing home in Fresno. He died at 73 at four o’clock in the morning of September 6th, 1956. Hauli was buried in the Reedley Cemetery.

Hauli Huvila visitors from the early 70's.

After I had done most of my research as I prepared to write an article for Suomen Silta (Finland Bridge Magazine), I was pleasantly surprised to find out that a story about John Hauli had appeared in that very magazine back in the ‘50’s. So, I contacted the editor-in-chief Leena Isbom. She found the article which was published two years before Hauli’s death, in 1954. In the article, at the request of the magazine, John Hauli tells about his life, where he was born, about his parents, profession and about coming to America. He says:

“I’ve been to Finland seven times, and six times to Hawaii.

I have always been involved in the assistance of Finland. I went to Finland in this capacity in 1947. I belong to the association of the war blind. I have donated my ranch to the Finnish children and the elderly as a place for summer vacations and I have given a thousand dollars for a fund to support this. Now I am spending the rest of my life as a retired gentleman. The young generation takes care of the work.

I hope the best of luck and future for the entire Finnish nation. I have been lucky in America and I am very happy with my fate.”

I would like to thank the following individuals whose contributions made it possible to write this story:

Henry Aspen
Vicki Bittner
Randy Cameron
Ray Halme
Kimmo Heinström
Olli Hämäläinen
Catherine Lark
Carol Krehbiel
Ahvo Linnala
Mikko Viljanen
Tiina Purtonen
Oliver Vuori

Looking over Reedley, CA

Other sources:

The Reedley California Finns – A Verdant Haven in the Sun, by Frank Stohl 1982
Ancestry.com
County of Fresno – the Hall of Records
John Haulin interview, Finland Bridge, 1954

Hauli Huvila/Hauli Villa
Address: 8802 Kings River Road
Reedley, CA 93 654
Phone: +1-559-784-1500
www.haulihuvila.com

February 1st, 2012

Ava Anttila

Already February? Earlier this year, we made grand resolutions, started our paths for the year with goals to rise to our greatest good, to sustain our health, to be our best physically, to grow emotionally, and to do our best to help those around us in meaningful ways. For me, this annual catharsis always begins with channeling my inner ‘Greta Peck’; re-visiting her life and reflecting on her example. Before launching poetic about our former Famous Finn, I will detour to her movie world.

Greta and Gregory Peck

In Los Angeles, this is the ‘awards’ season. We just watched the ‘kickoff’ Golden Globe Awards spectacle with all its fashion, style, and glamour. Driving to the Finnish Consulate in Century City on Finnish election voting day two days before the event, neon warning signs flashed about upcoming traffic problems associated with the Golden Globes about to be held in the neighborhood. I took a turn from Wilshire though the former Robinson’s Store parking lot as a short cut to Santa Monica Boulevard. [Locals know this as the route the stars’ limousines take to enter the Beverly Hilton Hotel.] Trucks with rolls of ‘red carpet’ were lining up for laying the foyer that is the gauntlet soon to be traversed while millions watch on television around the world. The stage was being set for the Awards.

January has just passed. We lost a great Finn in January 4 years ago —Greta Peck). [And sadly, this January our dear, far too young, Finnish film talent Vivi Friedman left us for a greater stage.] While years have slipped by since Greta’s passing, virtually every day I remember her. She remains an inspiration, a role model, and a spiritual mentor in my life. Her goodness has left an eternal legacy for all of us in the Finnish community where she remains an icon. She was a treasure to those who knew her. Since one of my life’s greatest personal gifts is having been a close friend of Greta Peck, this will be the first of a number of columns introducing you to my dear friend.

Greta Peck

Greta and I shared thoughts, ideas, secrets, and some really good times. Despite the age difference of over 30 years, we were almost as close as teenage ‘BFFs’—sometimes giggling as if we were! We had fun things in common: our love for Finland, the arts, music, entertaining, travel, and having raised great sons as single mothers in Los Angeles.

In this season of glitzy award programs, the world is reminded of the awesome physical beauty of the Hollywood women. While many are intimidated by Hollywood glamour events, Greta always smiled, looked great, put her best foot forward, and enjoyed every minute of any occasion. Not a spotlight seeker, she really enjoyed a good party, non-the-less!

The Finnish American Chamber of Commerce established the Greta Peck Award in her honor to recognize individuals who care enough to make a difference in the community and who reflect positively on Finland by their good work. Fitting.

Greta never had an unkind word that I ever heard. She inspired all who knew her. She was always up for anything, she kept her commitments, and she had a sense of fun and mischief.
Greta had incredible stories from her incredible life—some of which I will share later on.

Our local War Veterans (Veteraani Tuki) met at Suomi Kerho for their January gathering. Seppo Hurme led the meeting which was followed by a lunch of traditional ohraryynikeitto (barley soup). All enjoyed a movie from the 1930’s Nainen on Valttia written by Mika Waltari. The film featured actors from the Finnish National Theater: Ansa Ikonen, Uuno Laakso, Aku Korhonen and Unto Salminen. Veteran Ari Anttila reminisced about seeing these actors on the stage as a youngster in Helsinki when he attended the Finnish National Theater performances with his father Aarne Anttila. Aarne Anttila was Dean of Helsinki University, sat on the Board of the Finnish National Theatre, and had season tickets annually. It is interesting how a new year brings old memories.

The Los Angeles Finlandia Foundation held a January potluck luncheon meeting at the Gidding Room of the Pasadena Museum of History. Ava Anttila presented the work of the Nominating Committee and introduced the slate of Officers for the next term: Ellen Harju, President; Renato Della Rocca, Vice President; Christina Lin, Vice President; Al Jokela, Treasurer; and Valerie Jokela, Recording Secretary. The members enjoyed a wonderful documentary movie about Finnish education The Finland Phenomenon. An impressive number of teachers were in the audience. Current President Janet Santiestevan (a former teacher herself) led a lively discussion comparing and contrasting education trends in Finland and the US.

February 5th, 2012

thinkkanen

PRESIDENT ELECT SAULI NIINISTÖ

STORY: SAULI NIINISTÖ
REPORTER: TOMI HINKKANEN

PRESIDENT ELECT SAULI NIINISTÖ

The conservative National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) presidential candidate Sauli Niinistö defeated his opponent, the Green Party (Vihreät) and first openly gay candidate Pekka Haavisto by 63% – 37% today.

A career politician, Niinistö, 63, was born in Salo, Southern Finland. He studied to become a lawyer and had his own law practice in his home town for 12 years before getting elected to the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta), in 1987. He served as Minister of Justice and Finance in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. In 2006 Niinistö unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent Social Democrat Tarja Halonen in presidential elections. Subsequently he became the Speaker of the Parliament, a post which he left last year.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PEKKA HAAVISTO

There was personal tragedy in Niinistö’s life. His first wife, Marja-Leena died in a car crash in 1995. As a widower, he dated the former beauty queen and later Minister of Culture, Tanja Karpela. They were engaged but never married and separated with a mutual agreement. Niinistö remarried14 years later. His current wife is 29 years younger than him. Jenni Haukio, 34, is a poet and publicist for the same National Coalition party that her husband belongs to. The attractive brunette is known for her conservative style in clothing and hairdo that make her look more mature than her years. Some have compared Jenni with the long-time president Urho Kekkonen’s wife Sylvi, who was also known for her modest black outfits. In 2004 Niinistö narrowly survived the Indian Ocean tsunami by climbing up a utility pole in Thailand with his son Matias.

PRESIDENT ELECT SAULI NIINISTÖ

Niinistö is known as a serious, no-nonsense politician with a dry sense of humor. Some people have lamented his grey, bureaucratic style and lack of personal charisma. In journalistic circles Niinistö is known as a sometimes uncooperative subject, who frets over being photographed without his specific approval and often turns down interview requests. He is a strong supporter of the European Union and stressed his experience and the importance of putting people to work in his presidential campaign. He is open to the possibility of Finland joining the NATO, but says it should not happen at the expense of maintaining good neighborly relations with bordering Russia. He is worried about the growing gap between the haves and have nots and sees the Occupy movement as a warning sign of this. Niinistö supports the LGBT-rights but would reserve the word “marriage” to opposite sex couples.

An election canvassing tent for the Greens in Finland, in Iso-Roobertinkatu, Helsinki

Over the last decades, the office of President of Finland has been stripped from most of its former powers. Today it is largely a symbolic post while the Prime Minister is in charge of daily politics.

Sauli Niinistö will be officially inaugurated as the 12th President of Finland on March 1st, 2012. Presidential term in Finland lasts six years.

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