Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Sampo Rassi's LiveJournal:

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Friday, September 7th, 2007
9:33 pm	And now, for something completely different. Heh, I'd almost forgotten I still have this thing. Oh well, a lot has happened, no sense in trying to recap it. Instead, here's some great music from Finland: "Punainen komentaja" by CMX, complete with a great animated video, in a sort of Warhammer 40k-ish techno-gothic style. It's nice to run into a song every once in a while that makes you want to buy an album. It's bloody rare these days. Current Mood: recumbent Current Music: Juice Leskinen - Pyhä toimitus (16 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 13th, 2007
1:42 am	At last, normalcy has been reasserted Well, it's now proven that what happened at Eurovision 2006 was a statistical fluke and can't be replicated.  This, I feel, is a good thing since it means Finns will stop gushing about the stupid thing and will go back to considering withdrawing from the inane contest altogether. (We even started a petition in early 2006, before Lordi was chosen) I'm a bit peeved that UK's abysmal performance didn't reach a well-deserved nul points. I have never experience three minutes filled with more auditory and visual horror. Compared to it, "Vampires Are Alive" is a musical masterpiece. On a related note, we have a snowball's chance in hell at beating Canada for the hockey world championship. Never. Going. To. Happen. Thank gods for that, Finns become absolutely intolerable whenever they succeed at something. Current Mood: indifferent Current Music: DJ BoBo - Vampires Are Alive (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 4th, 2006
10:20 am	Crikey! Aussie TV personality and nature documentary buffoon Steve Irwin has gone up and joined the choir invisible, following a lethal encounter with a stingray. Nature documentaries will never be the same again. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/crocodile-hunter-reported-dead/2006/09/04/1157222051512.html Current Mood: quixotic (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 14th, 2006
3:26 pm	And now, for something completely different I'm back at work following the Ropecon weekend. It sucks. The work, that is. On the other hand, staying awake for 43 hours in a row wasn't all beer and pretzels, either. I was at the Con from the moment the doors opened on Friday, to about 6:40 AM on Sunday, which is a damn long time between naps. Several of my neck vertebrae have called it quits, my back feels funny and and all the junk food -related nausea left me incapable of eating any breakfast today A funny thing was that I left for home so early no Sunday buses were running, so I walked the 70-minute journey. Not a bad weather for it, nice and quiet. What did I get to show for it? Some books, some MTG cards, a generically good time and a lingering sense that there's nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs until the next one. One thing I didn't get was a copy of the Star Wreck RPG, which was due to me finding a decent deal on those MTG cards (dual lands, 25e a pop). It's the first RPG ever based on a Finnish movie, and only the second Finnish RPG ever to be written in English for international distribution. And a whole lot of other "firsts", like the first RPG to have characters with Inability scores instead of Ability scores. Also watched Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning with a live crew commentary, which was cool. Current Mood: listless Current Music: Bal-Sagoth - Dreamer in the Catacombs of Ur (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
11:10 am	Stuff A sort-of meme snagged from knighthawk, telling you more about me than you really wanted to know. ( Clicka-click ) Current Mood: "meh" Current Music: Billy Idol - Neuromancer (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
4:54 pm	Today in the news... Apparently, the British have selected J.K. Rowling and Terry Pratchett as their top two "most significant novelists of all time". So says my local newspaper. It's astounding. Current Music: Rocky Horror Picture Show - The Time Warp (Comment on this)
Monday, June 12th, 2006
9:32 am	Heavy My uncle died of a stroke. Heard about it last night. Creepy. I suppose every kid with more than one uncle has a favorite uncle. He wasn't mine. He lived too far away, got me too strange presents for my birthdays (he was my godfather, and so was kind of obligated to, I suppose), and so on. For my 15th birthday, he got me a taxidermied duck. I hated it. It's still on my bedside table now, some 8 years later. We met about three, four times a year, as our summer houses are only a short way away from each other. Used to go fishing with his kids. Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
9:31 am	Movie ramblings I watched V for Vendetta yesterday. Took me long enough, but I'm glad I finally had the time.  The movie was truly enjoyable and refined to the last detail. Usually, when a dystopian setting is portrayed in fiction, it tends to be "de-nationalized", lacking connections to reality for fear of insulting consumers. This one was different in that everything about the horrible, dark and fascist world of V was distinctly British, and as such, the movie rose above the typical action tripe merely on that credit alone. I also don't think I've ever heard the phrase "bollocks-ed up" in a movie before. In the lead role, Hugo Weaving was faced with the hard task of acting with his voice alone, and in my opinion he pulled it off just fine, delivering each line with just the right amount of dramatic flair. It didn't feel real, but a movie of this kind doesn't have to. In contrast, Stephen Rea in the role of Inspector Finch is perhaps the most human out of all the characters, a world-weary man living as a part of a society he feels uncomfortable with. And the ending, well, that was truly theatrical, and one of those cathartic, fist-in-the-air moments that makes it all worthwhile. All in all, I was left with a very similar feeling than I had after watching Equilibrium, a sort of quiet pondering mood combined with an overt appreciation for excellent filmmakers. Current Music: Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
1:22 pm	We are the Winners! It took 40 years, but Finland finally won at Eurovision! Not to mention the fact we won with a record-breaking 292 points! That'll show 'em! The only downside is that Finland will have to arrange next year's contest. An additional congratulations for Lithuania, who ended up as 6th. Current Mood: good Current Music: LT United - We are the Winners (Comment on this)
Friday, May 19th, 2006
10:51 am	Kudos to Lordi For those of you who didn't watch the Semifinals to the Eurovision Song Contest last night, Finland made it into the final. With "Hard Rock Hallelujah", Lordi has a very real chance of being a serious contender, something Finland last managed by coming in 7th in 1989. Out of a cavalcade of beautiful dancers in their underwear, banal choreography and absurd dress decisions, five people in latex monster suits stood out to their advantage. Additional kudos to Lithuania for selecting "We Are the Winners" as their entry this year, a gamble that seemed to pay off, securing them a place in the finals as well. It seems people across Europe have a sense of humor after all. A tongue-in-cheek anthem is infinitely more preferable than any of the generic performances that a lot of other accomplished nations came up with. And finally, to anyone from Iceland: What were you thinking? A crowd of 15,000 spectators booing a contestant is, in my belief, a hitherto-unseen event in Eurovision history. Not to mention that the song was tacky and the floor show jaw-droppingly hideous. I'm sure there was a joke in there somewhere, but the public just didn't connect with it at all. Current Mood: jubilant Current Music: Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 4th, 2006
10:01 pm	Happy birthday to me! That's right, I'm 23 now. I wonder when the feeling of existential dread will kick in. Current Mood: happy Current Music: Ozzy Osbourne - Running out of Time (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006
6:27 pm	Musik Quiz Gotten from arabwel. Knock yourselves out. Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random. Step 2: Post the first line(s) from the first 30 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song. Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from. Step 4: Bold out the songs when someone guesses correctly. Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING! ( Read more... ) Current Music: Juno Reactor - Mona Lisa Overdrive (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006
8:22 pm	A meme, for your amusement This is how it works: Comment on this entry and get a letter. Write ten words beginning with that letter, including an explanation of what the word means to you and why. I got a P from arabwel, so I'll try to make the most of it. 1. Procrastrination - I'm damn good at it. 2. Phantom - Of the Opera, of course. 3. Perfection - Well, it's something to aim for in life. 4. Pistachios - Love 'em. 5. Paris - Want to go there someday. 6. PC - My number one tool, aide and nemesis. The source of more frustration than joy than just about anything else. 7. Pudding - What can I say? I love a good pudding. 8. Pop - A breed of vile audio garbage that rots the brain. 9. Perspicacity - It's what I lack from time to time. 10. Puzzlement - My state of mind when thinking about what kind of odd people think up these memes. Current Mood: quixotic Current Music: Tanz der Vampire - Der Unstillbare Gier (Comment on this)
Monday, April 24th, 2006
5:44 pm	Fun things to do if you have a kid: Name 'em after someone famous! In my job, I see a lot of names in that I have to input hordes of people to a database. Today was the first time I saw someone who'd literally been named after a great man. His name? Greatman L------- (last name censored to protect the victim). Needless to say, I chuckled to myself for a good half an hour when coming across this one. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Tanz der Vampire - Tanzsaal (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 22nd, 2006
12:48 am	James Lipton's 10 questions, nicked from Knighthawk 01. What is your favorite word? -"Serendipity" 02. What is your least favorite word? -"Capitalism" 03. What turns you on? -Music 04. What turns you off?7 -The painfully unambitious Weltanschauung of my fellow man 05. What is your favorite curse word? -"Bugger" 06. What sound or noise do you love? -Pipe organs 07. What sound or noise do you hate? -Speed garage 08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? -The opera 09. What profession would you not like to participate in? -Venture capitalism 10. What would you like to hear when you arrive in Heaven? -"Sorry, Mr Gates, you're not eligible." Current Mood: Whimsical Current Music: Phantom of the Opera - Angel of Music (3 Comments |Comment on this)
12:01 am	It's been a while Heh, sometimes you start something, then lay it down for what is supposed to be a brief interval and whoosh, tempus fugit. It'd be pointless to deconstruct all that's passed between then and now, and if I'm known for anything, it's for being exceedingly bound in a kind of efficiency-consciousness that stems mostly from a complete lack of self-critique and an inflated sense of self-worth. Suffice it to say that during the past aeons I've been on what one might call a Gnostic quest of sorts, trying to find a sense of knowledge from within. Discovering new things for the first time never ceases to be intriguing, whether it be music, art, obscure chapters in history, novels or what have you. My personal Gnosis is nothing more than the pursuit of happiness, mundane as it seems. And therein you find my central conflict, a simple person who strives to complexify themselves for the fulfilment of individual ego. Certainly, these rows you are just at this moment reading are more of a meta-comment than an actual journal entry. Future revelations may change this. Current Mood: Gnostic Current Music: Tanz der Vampire - Ewigkeit (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 9th, 2005
1:05 pm	Well, this is it. Tomorrow, I'll be off... damn. Just when I was getting the hang of life. Current Mood: melancholy Current Music: Frank Sinatra - My Way (Comment on this)
Monday, December 20th, 2004
1:36 am	Well, here again. It irks me that I don't have much time. On the tenth of January, I get to begin my six-month stretch of compulsory armed service, feh. Where does the time go, I wonder. The weather is absolutely horrible, hence I'm not too upbeat, myself. Current Mood: grumpy Current Music: Manowar - Carry On (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 10th, 2004
7:27 pm	nothing really matters It doesnt. I'm tired of everything, breathing, sleeping, studying a topic I'm not interested in. If only I could write and nothing but write, that would not be a bad life. Current Mood: melancholy Current Music: Blind Guardian - Age of False Innocence (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 13th, 2004
12:49 am	The last minute Today I managed to send in my research plan, 75 minutes before the deadline... Somehow, writing is always easier when there's a Sword of Damocles hanging over your head. Maybe that's why writing here is something I find hard... There needs to be a "finish your entry in 60 seconds or be slapped on the face" type thing to speed up my efforts. Current Mood: thoughtful (Comment on this)