i've been so bored the last couple of hours at the office that i decided to type some things that have been crossing my mind lately. but i'm also too tired to put these in any sort of an order, so i'll just rant.

 

first of all, forza calcio!! the results of the football-related trial in italy finally came out yesterday, and man was i happy.. juve, lazio and viola all went down, and with the -30 points that juve start the upcoming season with, it's hard to see them making an early return to serie a. of course, it's possible that they just buy their way.. wait, maybe they won't  anyway, i was a little annoyed that berlusconi's milan were not relegated, but that never seemed likely in my books anyway, if only because of the huge power that the owner has in the country.

 

it should be stated though that all the teams will probably appeal the verdicts, and knowing italy and it's legal system, it's totally possible that these verdicts will be overthrown, and that 'la vecchia signora' will win another scudetto next year. but i seriously hope this won't be the case.

 

the instant effects of these verdicts will probably include huge shuffling at the player market, which is always interesting to see. except if all the players decide to join real madrid or worse yet, chelsea.. the rumor mill is going strong as i type, and it's very likely that players such as cannavaro, buffon, toni, oddo, vieira, zambrotta, zlatan (w/ his oranges and tantrums), trezeguet etc. will have new luxury homes very soon.. and maybe even a couple of milan players decide to jump ship with no european action for next year. andrea pirlo is welcome at man utd, oh yes indeed.. not quite the 'next keano' but very much an efficient and inspiring player, in my opinion. zlatan would be a perfect fit for real, imagine him 'combining' with ronaldo in los blancos attack. the latter one wouldn't run, and the former wouldn't pass him the ball anyway.. watch out for the scissors! oh well, it is going to be really interesting to see what happens with all these players (as well as ruud and ronaldo at man utd..), the new season starts in five weeks already, so i'm expecting a lot of transfers in a rather short period of time. in fact, i'm drooling.. but i think thats enough calcio talk for now.

 

i had the last couple of days off from work, which was perfect because the annual tammerfest is taking place this week. it's a festival with bands and other program, these kinds of things are pretty common in finland because of the lovely weather here during the summer.. and that was for the random foreign person reading this. anyway, i've had the opportunity to see a couple of bands and hang out with friends.. and drink a lot, which seems to be taking it's toll today .

 

on wednesday i was watching finnish underground legend m.a. numminen perform with dj sane at the yo-talo. m.a. numminen was a huge cultural figure in finland back in the 1960s when all things communist and/or radical were the shit. but he hasn't really lost his appeal, and most of the people at the gig were about my age (26) or younger. and his weird poetry combined with dj sane's fat-fatty beats made for a really good show. besides, he was funny as hell.. the other act that played there, aavikko, was complete bullcrap. i know their fans would disagree, but i don't think the band has progressed in any way in the seven or so years that have passed since i heard them the first time. seems like they need a vocalist and maybe some depth in their musical ways.. besides, there's only one kraftwerk.

 

yesterday i spent the whole day at the kauppi beach, there were a couple of dj's playing nice and chill tunes and a lot of friends were present too. i have a load of pics from there, some actually succeeded, and i'll be posting them later today once i get home.. the only problem was that there was a rather strong northern wind blowing at us straight from näsijärvi, and as a result, we had to yell at each other just to hear what was being said. it was almost like being in a loud bar.. funny shit. luckily, as the evening progressed, the wind died down a bit..

 

the festival continues today, but i think i'll have to take a pass.. i need to come back to work at 06:45 tomorrow morning, and honestly i don't think i have it in me to drink for the fourth day in a row..  i must be getting old.. besides, i don't think i need a festival to do the things that i've done, so i'll still have plenty of time to enjoy the summer. looking at the calendar, we are only at the halfway point of the summer today, and i'm pretty sure the latter part will be as much fun as the first one. plus i don't have to watch as much football..

 

one thing that's going to alter my flow a bit is the fact that i'll be having a roommate in a weeks time. my girlfriend/not-really-sure-what-to-call-her saara is coming back to finland after a year as an exchange student in peru. i'm really looking forward to seeing her again, but honestly it's pretty difficult to say anything else about what's going to happen with her.. after all, a year is a long time in a lot of ways. anyway, she is that not-half-bad looking girl in my 'family' album, in case you were wondering. i still have a lot of cleaning up to do at home before she comes, it's funny what a year as a 'single' can do to one's living (and cleanliness) habits. i'm glad that i was able to get rid of a colony of ants that had set up shop in my balcony. the pleasure of aerosoling the fuckers dead was almost too much to handle.. after all, i am a very peaceful dude in general. but the poor bastards just didn't know who they were fucking with  and i do beg your pardon for using such foul language, but the tension between the ants and myself still remains, even if there's nothing left of the ants other than the.. remains.  

 

i think that should be enough ranting for now.. but be sure to check back later, because i'll be posting the aforementioned beach pics later today (or tomorrow..) and for the record, i spent about an hour typing this thing, and during that time i had three calls to answer. a busy day at the office indeed, i'm so glad i'm getting paid to write this.. 

 

kyösti