Af-riikka

During the last few months, I have read four books by Paul Auster, watched one of his movies and seen him twice. Might sound a bit obsessed. The reading part was because I figured New York City would be the best place to really immerse myself in his books, although the fourth one ( Book of Illusions , 2002) I got as a Christmas present when already in Finland. In September I began with Brooklyn Follies (2005), on sale for 4 dollars at the Strand Bookstore at the Union Square in New York. Then I continued with his latest novel, The Man in the Dark (2008) which I bought for 20 dollars at the UN: the benefits of the sold books, donated by Auster's publisher, went for the UN staff Development Fund to build a library (hopefully to get some books in it, also!) in Uganda. When I moved from Manhattan to the Brooklyn side, I finished his most famous piece, New York Trilogy (1985) - Auster's breakthrough book which is composed of three mini novels. Coincidences, double lives, obsessi...

En tiennytkään, että osallistuin poliittisen elokuvan festivaaleille. Viime viikon aikana DocPoint -festivaalit täyttivät Helsingin elokuvateatterit, ja sekä työvuorojeni lomassa (olin toista kertaa peräkkäin vapaaehtoistyöntekijänä, nyt teatterivastaavana Bristolissa) että ehtiessäni niiden aikana onnistuin näkemään yhteensä 12 dokumenttielokuvaa, keskimäärin kolme päivässä. Festivaalilla esitetyt elokuvat heijastelivat tämän vuoden teemaa, joka oli "Totuus". On ymmärrettävää, että dokumentit herättävät jotenkin enemmän ärsytystä, tuohtumusta ja ahdistusta kuin tavalliset fiktioelokuvat. Ovathan ne, ainakin jollain lailla, "todempia": tunteet nousevat pintaan eri tavalla, kun tietää tuon kaiken tapahtuneen oikeasti, oikeille ihmisille. Samalla dokumentit ovat aina jonkun ihmisen - yleensä ohjaajan/käsikirjoittajan - näkemyksiä kuvatusta aiheesta. Kuinka ollakaan, monella katsojalla on eri käsityksiä asiasta, ja mitä kiistellympi aihe on, sitä varmemmin hän haluaa...

Olin eilen pitkästä aikaa katsomassa flamenco-tanssiesitystä. Edellinen kerta oli viime helmikuussa, jolloin ihan oikea espanjalainen tähti esiintyi Aleksanterin teatterissa. Eilen olin lähiössä, Kanneltalossa, ja hintakin oli opiskelijalle kohtuullinen, vain 10 euroa. Esityksen nimi oli "Rojo - punainen", koreografina Maija Lepistö , musisoimassa bändi La Pandilla ja tanssimassa 13 Lepistön oppilasta, jotka olivat harjoitelleet vuoden ajan erityisessä koulutusprojektissa - tuloksena tämä esitys. Eturivin paikka saattoi vaikuttaa siihen, että musiikki, tanssi ja tunnelma tempaisivat mukaansa. Vaikka tanssijoiden tekniikka ja koreografioiden vaativuus olivat - ymmärrettävistä syistä - eri luokkaa kuin viime vuonna näkemässäni teoksessa, olin todella otettu. Sen, mitä saattoi vielä puuttua teknisistä taidoista, tanssijat korvasivat tunteella. Seurasin tiiviimmin esiintyjien kasvoja kuin kantapäitä. Ilmeet ja tanssijoista huokuva asenne kertoivat enemmän kuin itse liikkeet; hei...

Although I'm not physically in New York City anymore, I'll probably keep on writing about it a few more posts. The previous post implied that there is a niche for every possible country or culture in New York - that is the essence of that city. Being an Africanist, I 'had to' get acquainted with the African-ness of New York and found it in very different places, some by coincidence, some I was really looking after for. African Music Night at St. Nick's Pub 773 St. Nicholas Avenue at 149th st. (subway A to 145th st.) Review on Not-For-Tourists website ; somebody's blog entry on the night with some blurry photos; on the history of the pub on their website I spent my last night in New York, a Saturday night, in St. Nick's Pub. Mainly because I was exhausted after all the packing and going around Brooklyn, rushing through the last places I still wanted to see and didn't want to go somewhere two-hour subway-ride or an expensive cab-ride away. St. Nick's...

Either I was deliberately searching for them or I just happened to bump into these things. Little traces of Finland in New York, in places I did not expect to see them. Nokia. I know, it's global, but where else do they have a whole theatre sponsored? NOKIA Theatre Times Square is according to its webpage " New York City's finest concert venue featuring the hottest rock shows in Manhattan". I dare to doubt this, however - for example, I'm not sure how hot or rock is LL Cool J, one of the upcoming artists there. Nokia just can't be cool - Apple is cool, Nokia is just...well, you know. Teuvo Tulio. Yes, our very own Latvian-Persian-Turkish-Polish film director Theodor Antonius Tugai, born in St. Petersburg but later grown up in Finland and known as Teuvo Tulio (1912-2000) was consecrated a 4-movie series called "Master of Melodrama" in the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November. I went to see two of the movies which were very cute and nostalgic to me...

Wow, how quickly can one week pass by? I'm leaving New York City tomorrow, for those who did not know. I had so many things I was supposed to do this week - some of them I did, most not. I was hoping for more time to sit, enjoy New York, to read and to relax, but instead I slept late, went around Brooklyn, tried to pack my things in my bags and failed (until now, with a new bag) and just...didn't feel like I was leaving at all. I've gathered a small photo collage here to show some of the things I did this week: Snow. It had snowed before, too, but the flakes had always melted when hitting the ground. Yesterday (Friday) it snowed the whole day, and last night New York was one big slush zone. Today it has been more icy snow and freezing - colder than in Helsinki at the moment. It was funny to see people's reactions to snow: in the Bronx, where I visited the arts museum and just had a look around as Otto did when he was here, people were filming their children throwing sn...

I went to the taping of the Conan O'Brien Show this afternoon. The tickets had to be reserved something like 6 weeks in advance, today being the first date with available seats. Since the maximum amount for one person was four tickets, I booked them all and advertised the extra ones on our UN intern Googlegroup. To my surprise they were all gone in about 20 minutes - and I thought that Conan O'Brien is famous only in Finland... Due to lack of time (or a two-hour lunch today, last office lunch with my colleagues in a nice Spanish restaurant) and forgetfulness, I didn't even check tonight's guests online. I was happily surprised to hear that Hugh Laurie was the other guest to be interviewed, whereas the other's name I still don't remember. But besides guests and the show itself, even more interesting was to see the big machinery working behind it. Probably a dozen employees were just guiding the audience to our seats, counting and re-counting us and giving us orde...

Viime viikolla Amerikassa juhlittiin yhtä vuoden suurimmista juhlapyhistä, Kiitospäivää eli Thanksgivingiä. Ainoan täysamerikkalaisen kollegani mielestä Kiitospäivä on ehdottomasti paras juhlapyhä, koska se ei ole uskonnollinen, sillä on hieno ajatus ja yleensäkin, on vain mukavaa syödä yhdessä ja kerätä ihmisiä pöydän ääreen. Hän kysyi omista suunnitelmistani ja ehdotti illallista ystäviensä kanssa, vaikka olikin itse pois kaupungista tänä Kiitospäivänä - olin kuitenkin sopinut jo suunnitelmia, joten sinänsä houkutteleva tarjous täysin tuntemattomien ihmisten kanssa illallistamisesta jäi käyttämättä. Matkustin keskiviikkona töiden jälkeen Metro-North -radalla Hudson-joen länsipuolella pari tuntia pohjoiseen, Otisvillen asemalle. Alunperin tshekkilainen, 1970-luvulta lähtien amerikkalaistunut perhe otti minut lämpimästi vastaan, tarjosi kanagulassia ja valkoviiniä (kalkkuna odotti varsinaista Kiitospäivä-ateriaa seuraavana päivänä) ja matkan lähimpään isompaan kaupunkiin, Port Jervisii...

Kysymys, joka iskee aina ensimmäisen viikon aikana ulkomaille muuttaessa, on "mitä minä oikeastaan täällä teen?". Vastaus siihen löytyy ennemmin tai myöhemmin, tai viimeistään siinä vaiheessa kun on palannut takaisin kotiin. Koetan tässä postauksessa vastata tuon yleisluontoisen kysymyksen yhteen osa-alueeseen. Kysymys, jota useimmin kuulen - niin YK-harjoittelijoilta kuin ulkopuolisiltakin - on "mitä sinä tarkalleen ottaen teet töissä?". Tiedän, että monet harjoittelijat tekevät jotakin projektia: raportteja, selvityksiä, nettisivuja, tiedotteita tai julkaisuja. Omat työpäiväni kuluvat harvoin vain yhden asian parissa. Viime viikolla esimerkiksi kommentoin ja kirjoitin juuri julkaistulle erikoissivulle ihmisoikeusjulistuksen 60. juhlavuodesta . Aloitin myös etsimään artikkeleita ja mielipiteitä seuraavaan Civil Society Observer -uutiskirjeeseen, joka ilmestyy parin kuukauden välein ja jota tehdään yhteistyössä useamman ihmisen kanssa. Edelliseen elo-syyskuun numero...

The next post is written by my dear boyfriend who visited New York for six full days and nights this week. Text is his, photos and captions mine. Enjoy! I Feel Safe In New York City The following is a collection of notes and tidbits from my brief stay at NYC, New York as requested by my gracious hostess. Since I am a pretentious ponce, I think I shall call them Vignettes of America. 1. I Have Nothing To Declare Except That I Am Awesome Are you tired of waiting for an eternal damnation in Hell? Fear not, you can simulate your future in the Netherworld at the John F. Kennedy Airport immigration queue. A cramped cattle drive of tourists carrying their screaming offspring, the line that moves approximately a yard in minute, just long enough that you want to put your bags down, but just short enough that you must pick them right up to drag along a step or two. The room is heated but not air-conditioned and naturally the people standing before me at the queue have filled their Visa Waivers w...

I actually didn't believe this was possible. But it is. America will have a half-black, African/American (because I refuse to say that he would be black or African-American, just a matter of principle...) president next year. Tonight I went to two different places to follow the elections results: first to a huge Democrat party in midtown Manhattan, where there were just too many people and I had to escape to a smaller bar in Lower East Side. The fist photo is from the big party, and the other one is from Stanton Street in LES (Lower East Side) where somebody (maybe a Republican?) apparently lit a motorcycle on fire, causing two fire trucks to rush on the street. In the subway a couple was reading a fresh copy of the Daily News with a cover of a smiling Obama - very quick action for the press if they really released it at 1 a.m. already! I just returned to my home in Harlem and I can still hear people shouting "Obama!!!" outside on the street six floors below me. Overall, ...

I enjoy observing people. One of the best places in the world for people-watching must be New York City, with its 8 million inhabitants, hundreds of languages and cultures, crowded subways and bright-lit streets. But since I tend to spend a lot of time in the subway - around two hours per day - most of my people-watching is focused on that area. Based on my perceptions during these hundreds of travel-miles so far, I listed ten possible things to do in a New York subway, depending on your skills, interests and energy level. 1. Watching people is obviously the number one thing. After that, I like to spend my time just for thinking. 2. Reading the free newspapers in the morning: my commute seems to be perfect for reading both Metro and AM, to catch up the latest gossips about presidential elections or the financial crisis. 3. Sleeping, especially during the late-night traveling. Just don't miss your stop. 4. Knitting seems to be in fashion now when the days are getting chillier. 5. Si...

Incredibly enough, I'm now in midway of my New York experience. Although tomorrow marks the beginning of my 7th week at the UN, I still have difficulties telling people what I'm exactly working on there. The work part will most likely be easiest to wrap up after I've finished my internship, so that will have to wait. But something I would like to share at this point are my musical encounters here in New York. I will just list them here, by date, place and performer, with a few comments on each of them and links (MySpace or homepages), if available. Tue 30th September, Garage restaurant (West Village): un-known jazz band. My first live music experience in New York was in this restaurant/bar offering free jazz concerts every night. Not bad. I liked the atmosphere (not too classy, not too hipster); the band whose name I have already forgotten played enjoyable jazz, nothing too unique, but just nice. Wed 1st October, Drom (East Village): Ansambl Mastika & Watcha Clan. One...

Oh well, I'll just continue with the topic of politics. Besides the economic crisis, there is obviously another main topic in the news here - and all over the world - The Elections, with only three weeks to go. It annoys me a little bit that I'm here, in the heartland of the Obama zone with no real competition from McCain, which makes discussions quite boring. As for the campaign paraphernalia, Harlem is definitely the ultimate place for Obama-shopping, you can find practically everything around the 125th street... Particularly Sarah Palin is relentlessly mocked in the NY free newspapers (yes, unfortunately I don't have time to read the NY Times during my subway ride to work, so I must content myself with the free ones) - but you've surely had the chance to read all about her in Finnish or whatever countries' newspapers. It seems that the US elections are perhaps even more passionately followed abroad, or at least Obama is embraced with an amazing fervour. I attende...

Finally, a short report on the meeting with H.E., the President Ahmadinejad of Iran. Him being labelled after Osama bin Laden as the most dangerous enemy of the USA, I have to say I was quite surprised when all UN interns (we are 270 or so in the fall) were invited for a "friendly meeting" with Ahmadinejad. After all, he is commonly being referred to as "terrorist", and even liberal newspapers in New York were comparing him with Hitler - no doubt because of his anti-Zionist leanings. So, there we went, to the glistening Manhattan breakfast room of Grand Hyatt hotel, to enjoy our free pastries, cakes and fruits and eventually to listen to the distinguished guests addressing us. Besides UN interns, there were also other (American) students who looked ridiculously young and asked somewhat silly questions during the discussion part. I'd estimate that we were around 400-500. The event began with several hig-level people, Iranians or affiliated with Iran, speaking. Th...

The 63rd General Assembly began this week at the United Nations. This meant more than 130 heads of states, prime ministers, their royal highnesses and so on in the UN premises, and accordingly, fairly strict security measures. Two blocks around the UN headquarters were barricaded and the entry was possible only with a UN id, entrance ticket to a specific event or a proof of residence in that area. Besides dozens of NYPD cars on the streets, one could even see snipers on the UN rooftops, as in the photo. It felt a bit surreal, like walking in a movie set or something. Then again, during a few days I walked by a number of famous people, such as our President Tarja Halonen, UN's Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, musician Bob Geldof or economist Jeffrey Sachs. Bono with his friends was also around the corner, but I was working while he was flaunting around, unfortunately (see for example http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/813598.html ). One of the most interesting occasions was our meeti...