So, last night Spain were crowned (fairly) as champions of Europe.  This tournament, in my opinion, was much, much better than 2004 in the sense that attacking football was rewarded, not only for the Spanish, but also for the Turkish, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese and even for moments German teams.

Pity we can't have this kind of quality football every day.

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Café Bastvik on summer holiday
Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

Especially for people not used to it, the Finnish holiday season is quite an experience, if for nothing else, for its length.

Here in Finland, people take 4 weeks during July, which means that during this month the whole country is basicaly closed for business. This is the time when summer trainees and skeleton crews are responsible for the continued functioning of the nation while the majority spend their weeks in a summer cabin in the middle of the forest, preferrably next to a lake, but maybe without running water or electricity.

Only peace and quiet.

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Shortest night of the year
Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

So far north the seasonal changes are very, very obvious indeed, especially in relation to the amount of light you get depending on the time of the year. During the summer equinox we get almost 19 hours of non-stop sun (if it's sunny, that is), whereas in the darkest part of winter we have only around 6 hours.

These changes mean that also the seasons have very defined looks to them: summer is very green, autumn has two defined phases: ruska and dark and muddy, winter (if lucky) is white with snow and the spring then sees the melting of the snow and the greening of the land. The Finns also change quite a bit, as any local will tell you.

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The BBC has a hilarious list of office jargon used at workplaces around the world.  Any of the regular readers of now-jailed Martin Lukes will definitely appreciate it.

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Tijuana Sound Machine / Nortec

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We went to see the Foo Fighters concert at Provinssirock in Seinäjoki last weekend.  One of the best gigs of my life, and one I've been waiting for 13 years since I found their CD at a supermarket so long ago.

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I witnessed a very interesting event on the public transport a couple of days ago.  I was taking the bus on Sunday back to my place in Espoo when the bus driver started an argument with a man of dark complexion since he was having a beer in the bus, which is forbidden.
His answer was quite interesting, as he said "Why can't I do that, if you see plenty of Finns who do?" which regardless of being prohibited actually is the case, especially during weekends or holidays such as Vappu. Even I have done so on a couple of occasions in my student days.
This strengthened my resolve to follow the rules to the T even when some people might not, regardless of whether it is fair or not.  It's the easiest way to stay out of trouble.

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Belgian Beer Review: Gulden Draak
Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

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Wii users answer: Are you doing anything to counter global warming?
Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

I found this in the Everybody Votes Channel of my Wii. What worried me was that over 40% of the respondents aren't doing something about a very real threat.

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Cooking on TV
Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

I guess after all the stereotype is changing, as I saw this guy on MTV3's morning show and he was speaking flawless Finnish. From his name only I'm assuming he grew up here and has at least one Finnish parent.

Update: His name is Alex Nurmi and seems to be quite a popular guy, judging from his Google egosearch results. And yes, his mom is Finnish, his dad African.  We need more examples like him on the media.

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