Taking it easy

Sitting under a maple tree in my back yard for 4'33" (actually 4'34").

Location: Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

A Finnish poet par excellence

The launching of Notes For Soloists by Cia Rinne at the Arkadia Bookshop.

Ms Rinne was introduced and interviewed by Leevi Lehto, who called her, amazingly but indeed appropriately, a "Finnish poet." ("Amazingly," because in her writing she doesn't use any Finnish; and "appropriately," because, in Leevi's view, this is the future of Finnish poetry.)

Location: Arkadia Bookshop, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Market Square

Walking around Market Square and along the Esplanade with Josefin.

Route:
(see map) (see track only)

Work of arc 2

Walking in Hesperia Park with Josefin.

Location: Hesperianpuisto, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

What a ride

Josefin riding the rollercoaster with her friend, Laura.

Location: Linnanmäki, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Tero's confirmation

Josefin, Mom and I on our way to Tero's confirmation at the Lauttasaari Lutheran Church.

Route: Etelä-Haaga-Meilahti-Lauttasaari, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Movie time

Renting a movie with Josefin.

Route: Etelä-Haaga-Munkkiniemi-Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Three loops

Picking up Josefin and her great-aunt, Maikki, from the Pasila railway station.

Route: Munkkiniemi-Pasila-Töölö-Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Benched

Reading by the sea.

Location: Munkkiniemenranta, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Reading

Reading on my favorite bench by the sea.

Location: Munkkiniemenranta, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

After a poetry reading

A midnight walk on the shores of Vanajavesi, in Hämeenlinna, with Tytti, Pauliina and Maria.

Location: Hämeenlinna
(see map) (see track only)

A pastiche-colored sky

Kari Aronpuro reading from a series of pastiches on the works of Cavafy and Borges at the Bar Suisto.

Also performing were the poets Johanna Venho and Juha Siro, MC'd by Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen, with Ville Hytönen, Tytti Heikkinen, Ville-Juhani Sutinen, Pauliina Haasjoki, Markku Toivonen, Kai Kyösti Kaukovalta, Katariina Vuorinen, among others, in the audience.

Location: Bar Suisto, Hämeenlinna
(see map) (see track only)

A chance meeting

Driving with Tytti from the restaurant Tawastia Bank to a poetry reading at Bar Suisto.

Location: Hämeenlinna
(see map) (see track only)

Stretching it 2

Drawing a 3 mile long straight line on the E12, (this time northward bound).

Pauliina, Maria and I were on our way to celebrate the real Midsummer's Day, with friends, in Hämeenlinna.

Location: E12
(see map) (see track only)

The year the Taj Mahal was finished (1653)

Sitting on a bench, reading Notes on Conceptualisms for 16'53".

"...a word is worth a thousand pictures."

Location: Munkkiniemenranta, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Work of arc

Walking in Hesperia Park.

My steps following the shoreline are doubled by the arc-shaped path on the left, something I only found out afterwards looking at the map.

Location: Hesperianpuisto, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Walking thru walls (just to see art)

After seeing a Markus Lüpertz show at Galerie Forsblom, I walked from Cafe Esplanad to the Amos Anderson Art Museum, only to find out it's closed on Tuesdays.

Route: Pohjois-Esplanadi-Yrjönkatu, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Julia, 29

Visiting Julia, Maya, Julius and Millie.

Route: Etelä-Haaga-Lauttasaari, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Sunday walk

Crossing the two bridges leading into Seurasaari.

Location: Seurasaari, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Caught up in sunlight

A long, leisurely walk, enjoying the beauty of Midsummer.

While strolling, I listened to a Grateful Dead recording that took me back to April 1972. At that time, I was living right around here, in a house located along the southernmost zigzag of my route.

Route: Pikku Huopalahti-Munkkiniemi-Pikku Huopalahti, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Midsummer's Eve

On my way to spend the Midsummer's Eve with Jepa, Sampo, Minna, Mikko and friends.

Route: Etelä-Haaga-Kallio, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Shopping

Driving home after shopping for groceries and stopping for coffee at Max's Cafe on the way.

Route: Tapiola, Espoo-Munkkiniemi-Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Failing at failure

Reading Notes on Conceptualisms for 4'33".

Conceptual writing, according to the book's authors Vanessa Place and Robert Fitterman, is all about failure. But, judging by the minimalistic dash shown in "track only", my GPS tracker either fails to acknowledge it or scoffs at the idea. Either way, I will be going for my next failure soon enough and be doing so over and over again.

Location: Cafe Torpanranta, Munkkiniemi, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Going down memory lane

Driving back home with Mom and Dad after funeral services at the Klaukkala Lutheran Church.

Anneli, a brisk octogenarian, was a close friend of our family, going back 53 years. In the summer of 1956, right after my first birthday, my parents rented a small one-room house from Anneli's father-in-law. The house stood right next to theirs and that's how the two families became acquainted, building up to a life-long friendship. (The house is no longer there, but we passed the site just minutes after our starting point.)

We moved away from the house after a year, but the friendship stayed and we visited them every so often all through my childhood. I have a ton of fond memories staying at their house, playing with their two sons, Risto and Mauri. In those days, the neighborhood looked very different, of course. What is now a busy suburban center, with shopping malls and apartment houses sprouting everywhere, was a sleepy country village surrounded by woods and farmlands. For a city boy like me there was always plenty of exciting things and places to be explored. And, judging by my feelings today, I guess part of me never left.

Route: Klaukkala-Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Check-up

Appointment with my dentist.

Route: Etel-Haaga-Länsi-Pasila, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Life 101

Sitting home for 1'01".

The trace on the "map" looks a lot like a handle; the "track only" dances to a tune of its own, as usual.

Location: Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Mäntsälä on my mind

Passing Mäntsälä with Markku Kaskela and Tomi Kontio, on our way back to Helsinki from the International Writers' Reunion, in Messilä.

Location: Mäntsälä
(see map) (see track only)

Ampersands

Listening to the discussion at the International Writers' Reunion, in Messilä, for 4'33".

Location: Messilä
(see map) (see track only)

On a summer's day

Driving home after breakfast at Cafe Delivo.

Route: Munkkiniemi-Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Night ride

Driving home after a night out in Kallio.

Route: Helsinginkatu-Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Double loop

Circling two roundabouts.

It seems the satellites don't exactly agree with what I'm doing. Anyway, the "track only" certainly looks interesting.

Location: Pitäjänmäki, Halsinki
(see map) (see track only)

A cup of joe with (almost) Cagean proportions

Drinking coffee, a little impatiently, at Max's Cafe for 4'32".

The image resembles a bird, I should think, although it is mysteriously drawn across the street from where I was actually sitting.

Location: Munkkiniemi, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Putting on a smile (and then some)

Trying to make a half circle by negotiating a roundabout. Note the striking difference between the map and the track "only."

Location: Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Lookout island

Jouni Tossavainen walks around Vartiosaari, showing me the sights of an island with Viking history.

Location: Vartiosaari, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Dinghy

Jouni Tossavainen takes us to Vartiosaari in a rowboat.

Location: Vartiosaari, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Stretching it

Drawing a 3 mile long straight line on the E12, doing 92 mph.

Location: Highway E12
(see map) (see track only)

Chez Satu

Satu Kaikkonen shows me the sights of her home town, making a nice kite-like shape in the process.

Location: Vesilahti
(see map) (see track only)

Lorca goes Strindberg

Walking from the carpark to Cafe Strindberg, where I had a nice chat with Katri, about Lorca and other things poetic.

Route: Central Railway Station-Cafe Strindberg, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Troy's magic box

Pickin up Troy's package from the post office and driving downtown for coffee at Tin Tin Tango.

Route: Etelä-Haaga-Töölöntori, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Happy birthday, Elena!

Picking up Mom on our way to my sister's house, to celebrate Elena's first birthday.

Route: Etelä-Haaga-Meilahti-Tapiola, Espoo
(see map) (see track only)

Tre

Visiting the Tampere Cathedral.

Route: Annikinkatu-Tampere Cathedral, Tampere
(see map) (see track only)

Annikki

Listening to poets at the Annikki Poetry Festival, in Tampere.

Location: Annikinkatu, Tampere
(see map) (see track only)

Fishing

Poetry Slam at Vastarannan kiiski.

Seeing a lot of friends: Jukka Viikilä, Heli Slunga, Jaana Seppänen, Sanna Karlström, Pauliina Haasjoki, Sinikka Vuola, Eirikur Örn Norðdahl, Jukka Laajarinne, Juho Nieminen, Eeva Turunen, Joona Kivirinta.

Location: Töölö, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Go west

A second westbound drive through the Hakamäentie tunnel.

Location: Hakamäentie, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Kiasma traces

Watching poet friend, Jonimatti Joutsijärvi, who is unawares of my presence on the second floor balcony, watching a performance in the museum's main lobby.

This was a chance meeting. After the performance, I called Jonimatti by his name, and we went upstairs to look at the show by Kimmo Schroderus, Markus Copper, and Jari Haanperä, called Horror Vacui.

Believe it or not, the other big show at the museum was called Tracking Traces... Here's a quote from their web page:

"The world that surrounds us is full of signs and messages – traces of the world that contemporary art makes use of by copying, recycling, sampling and commenting on them. Traces can be found near and far: on the human body, in advertising images, on cereal packets and in the urban space. The traces can be physical imprints, visible signs, actions or memory traces. Some of the traces are left consciously, others are accidental. The one thing shared by the traces in the exhibition's works is that they transmit as well as shape our idea of ourselves and of the world. They are about life and the need for interaction."

Location: Kiasma, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

A first

Meeting Juri Nummelin, an old friend and colleague, for the first time, at the launching of Kevin Wignall's novel, Who Is Conrad Hirst?, in Finnish translation. Also present: Mika Tiirinen and Ville Hänninen.

Location: Lasipalatsi, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Shopping for my Erika

Driving back home after getting some stationary items and a new ink ribbon for my typewriter.

Route: Downtown-Etelä-Haaga, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

The tunnel

Driving through the Hakamäentie tunnel.

The tunnel that passes underneath Mannerheimintie, at the intersection of Hakamäentie, was opened for traffic yesterday, after a three-year construction effort. Today, I drove through the tunnel twice, first eastbound and then westbound. As seen in the track below, the satellite lost me briefly on the second run, making it look like I drove around the small wooden cottage stranded on the northeast corner of the intersection.

Location: Hakamäentie, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)
(see map) (see track only)

Déjeuner sur l'herbe

Having a déjeuner sur l'herbe, of sorts, and planting herbs, greens, and vegetables with Jepa at Annala Garden. Lunch at Lemon Grass, in Kallio, and coffee at Max's Cafe, in Munkkiniemi.

Please note how the tracker cuts corners, making a nice, wide-open V-shape, when producing the "track only."

Route: Annala-Kallio-Munkkiniemi, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)

Swann's way

Tommi Nuopponen sits outside at Max's Cafe, in Munkkiniemi.

Most of the lines in the figure are caused by the fact that we were sitting right next to tall buildings. But, for the record, he did also take a few deliberate, and mindful, steps out and around the venue. The result could be interpreted--at least in our eyes--as either depicting the blossoming chestnut tree that we sat under, or the lonely swan, spreading its wings, that we watched on the shore nearby. As for the title, it was chosen because Proust's name came up at least a few times during our five-hour conversation, as is usually the case whenever the two of us convene.

Location: Max's Cafe, Munkkiniemi, Helsinki
(see map) (see track only)