PhotoHunt: RIPPED

The cruise ship traversing the waters between Stockhom, Sweden and Turku, Finland is a place where one gets ripped, thanks to the duty-free sale of alcohol. The ship was by no means a mere vessel to ferry tourists to and from Stockholm; it was in itself a party place that was a bit too rowdy for comfort at times. I think some passengers were more interested with the cheaper booze than experiencing either Nordic country...

*** Special thanks to TN Chick for having hosted the PhotoHunt for the last five years. It's her last weekend to host this meme so head on over to her site for a proper send off =].***

Between Stockholm and Turku, September 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: WAITING

A lone serviceman sits at a bus stop, en route to somewhere from somewhere, hopefully homeward-bound and not off to violence and bloodshed...

Between Helsinki and Turku, August, 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: MISSING

This curious word adorns a rainspout in front of a building along Aleksanterinkatu in downtown Helsinki. Pohjola literally means "North" in the Finnish language. It is the name of a mythological location in the Finns' epic Kalevala, touted to be an inspiration for JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series. These, plus all the innumerable memorable bits and pieces of my Finnish sojourn around this time last year, is making my heart pine to be back there, where the sun is a midnight creature...

Helsinki, June 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: SQUARE

This is the Ateneum Art Museum, just across the main railway station of Helsinki. I've always wanted to visit this museum but schedules seemed to conspire and prevented me from doing so when I was on a five-week study break there in 2007. Last year, on the last day of my week-long stay in Finland, I finally got the chance to walk through its galleries. Only a building with a facade like this can call itself the home of fascinating Finnish masters as well as visual arts stalwarts like Van Gogh and Gauguin.

That it was a delight is a great understatement.

Helsinki, June 2010, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: KULAY ROSAS (Pink)

May mga bagay-bagay talaga na hindi magaya-gaya ng tao kahit na lubhang mahuhusay na ang ating mga kabihasnan, katulad ng katingkaran ng mga bulaklak, kanilang bango, kanilang kasutlaan...

KULAY ROSAS = PINK

There are just some things that humanity cannot mimic despite advances in technology, such as flowers' vivid colors, scent, and silkiness...

around the University of Tampere campus, August 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: SILHOUETTE

The Merchant offers passersby his ware as he stands guard on the Hameensilta Bridge, accompanied by the latter's three other sentinels- the Maiden Finland, the Tax Collector, and the Hunter. All four are creations of pre-eminent Finnish artist Waino Aaltonen.

City of Tampere, June, 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: ALIVE

Summer colors dot the landscape near Hameenpuisto, the flora happily soaking the sun until two hours before midnight in this part of the globe at that time of the year.

Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: MINIATURE

Li Mingzhu's "Digesting Mao" - tofu on porcelain, part of a traveling exhibit by young Chinese artists at the Sara Hilden Art Museum.

Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: MANIPIS (Thin)

Sumikat ito noong unang panahon, nang mas matatangkad, mas mapapayat, at mas matiisin pa ang mga tao... =]

MANIPIS = THIN

This became popular in earlier times, when people were taller, thinner, and had the capacity to endure pain more... =]

Velomania exhibit, Vaprikki Museum Complex, Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: NUMERICAL

Like stamps, a country's currency is one of the most tangible, iconic items any traveler can literally take home. More than just a printed collection of numbers, currency symbols, and security details, paper bills and coins offer a glimpse of what or who the nation holds dear and in high esteem. For me, they are wallet-and-coin-purse-sized history books and museums.

While preparing for a presentation about the Philippines in a course I took in Finland with Filipino classmates a couple of years back, I snapped a photo of our 500-piso bill. It contains the image and life and times of a modern-day Filipino hero- the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. He was at the forefront of the fight against the Marcos dictatorship that spanned from the late 60s to the mid 80s until their eventual toppling via the bloodless 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. Aquino's political savvy, sharp wit, excellence as a communicator, and all-consuming love for the nation inspired a whole legion of Filipinos to stoke the tiny embers of hope for a truly democratic Philippines.

He is widely hailed as the greatest Filipino to be not elected president- he was assassinated at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport (now named after him) exactly 27 years ago today- un/fortunately. His death in 1983 increased the rumblings of discontent on the ground until it became one gigantic push to overthrow the Marcoses in February '86. His widow Corazon became President and since then, the Philippines enjoyed a (relatively) stable democratic form of government. Ninoy's son Benigno III is now Philippine president.

He only had one life to live but he offered it up for the nation because he is the firmest of believers in these most important words he has ever uttered- The Filipino is worth dying for.

More on the Ninoy's life can be found in a colleague's blog here.

Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: CHASE

Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn, is prominently positioned in the grounds of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium where the Games of the 1952 Olympiad took place, embodying humanity's desire to be faster, higher, stronger, better.

along Paavo Nurmen tie 1, Toolo district, Helsinki, June 2010.

Wordless Wednesday: FINNISH LINE

This is a view of Helsinki as seen from our sightseeing boat approaching the port. The skyline is dominated by the Lutheran Cathedral, with the City Hall, Bank of Finland Museum, Swedish Embassy, and the Presidential Palace nestled at the foreground. Market Square, with its various tents and stalls, is abuzz with summer activity as vendors sell to willing tourists and locals anything from Baltic herring and wood carving to magnets, strawberries, and fresh flowers.

Often referred to as the Maiden of the Baltic Sea, this capital city of Finland is one of the most walkable cities I've ever been to. It has a city center that is a curious but tasteful mix of the past and the future. And in the event that I have to be somewhere quickly or I'm just too lazy to take a stroll, the extensive tram system readily whisks me off to where I need to be.

off the coast of Helsinki, June 2010, using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: ALOFT

The Helsinki Central Railway Station is an icon of Finland's historic art nouveau / nationalist romantic architectural heritage. In it flows some 200,000 people daily enjoying the amenities of a modern train service, including Pendolino trains that fly on the rails at speeds in excess of 180 kph.

Helsinki, June 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: HALF

Should you meet a Prince, please tell him that we found Cinderella's missing shoe. No wonder she took it off: this footwear's five-FOOT-high heel must really be a killer. Prince, head on over to Finland to claim it. And claim her heart.

Shoe Museum, Museum Center Vapriiki, Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: SPLASH

Array of cloths on display in the Textile Museum at the Vapriikki museum complex, a testament to Tampere's colorful history and leadership in that industry.

city of Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: FOREIGN

I wish I can tell you more about what's inside the museum but doing so may cause your computer to self-destruct in 5... 4... 3... 2...

Proceed here at your own risk.

Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

--==+==--

But here's something that knows no boundaries nor nationality and concerns us all:

Wordless Wednesday: SLEEPLESS

A pillow from the Song Dynasty in China (960-1279).

Chinese artifacts exhibition, Sara Hilden Art Museum, Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: BALANCED

My PhotoHunt entry for the week follows after this short appeal for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake from the UNICEF-USA. Please do take time to read and respond to the appeal by making your own (additional) contribution if you can.

The UNICEF United States Fund has been distributing more than 150,000 liters of clean water daily for the past several days in order to help make life better for the earthquake survivors in Haiti. According to Caryl Stern, CEO of UNICEF-USA, five truckloads of health and nutrition supplies have flowed into Haiti from the Dominican Republic, as well as 12,000 gallons of fuel just this Wednesday alone. Photos and other blog entries on how UNICEF-USA has been helping Haiti can be found here.

But still, a lot still needs to be done, including:

- Truck safe drinking water to survivors in tent encampments
- Distribute water purification tablets, water containers, hygiene materials, and soap
- Set up temporary water distribution sites
- Start to help rebuild Haiti's water and sanitation infrastructure

No contribution is too small to matter. They need all the help they can get. Today.

--==+==--


Everybody was rushing to get a good spot in front of the Parliament Building to watch what was arguably one of the highlights of the whole Night of the Arts: a performance by the outstanding Australian theater group Strange Fruit. Men and women from the group where doing their acting-cum-dance-cum-circus routines while perched on four-meter-high poles, moving, swaying, swinging perfectly with their musical accompaniment, eliciting not a few oohs and aahs and gasps from the mesmerized crowd gathered below.

Helsinki, August 2007, using a digicam.

--==+==--

PhotoHunt: MILITARY/VETERANS

A young Finnish man at the central railway station in Helsinki (Helsingin rautatieasema) coming from or going to his military duty. Finland practices universal male conscription where "All men above 18 years of age are liable to serve either six, nine or twelve months..." (from Wikipedia).

In the Philippines, we have a professional armed forces system where men and women get to be employed full time. There was a four-semester mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) training for all male university students until the early 2000s. Students- both male and female- can still choose to undergo ROTC but emphasis is now placed more on the National Service Training Program whereby they have to participate in seemingly more benign but nonetheless essential community service work, eg volunteering in hospitals, becoming teacher aides in pre-schools, helping in village clean-up drives, among others.

Helsinki, August 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: BAG

The Hunter hoists it newly bagged prey while standing guard on the Hameensilta Bridge, accompanied by the latter's three other sentinels- the Maiden Finland, the Tax Collector, and the Merchant. All four are creations of pre-eminent Finnish artist Waino Aaltonen.

City of Tampere, Finland, August 2007, using a digicam.