Teens in ball gowns and tuxedos tackling the Lambeth Walk, Salty Dog Rag, the Tango and the Waltz! They're stepping back in time, dancing the dances of their parents' and grandparents' day. Why?

Is dancing these "old" dances a history or social studies activity for students in Finland's high schools? Or does it fall under physical education?

Ballroom dancing is certainly popular in the USA - at least as a spectator sport, judging by the ratings of the TV show "Dancing with the Stars".

Not for fun only, ballroom dancing gets you moving and is a good way to stay in shape and lose weight - remember Marie Osmond when she started the season! And how about Kirsti Alley? Mind you, they did more than the waltz to slim up.

And how about the First Lady of the United States, president Obama's wife Michelle? She's been working a national program to fight childhood obesity with the slogan "Let's Move!"

Seems the USA isn't the only country having to deal with a growing obesity health issue; Finland has been fighting the problem since 2005, when health professionals warned that "the increase in obesity among Finnish children and youth is seen as a major public health problem." (Helsingin Sanomat 6.4.2005).

Not sure how fit the classic waltz will get you...Finnish schools might do well to add some sassy Latin American dance classes to the curriculum! That'll get 'em movin'!

What is Air Guitar...it's big in Finland!!!

"Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching. Air guitar is generally used in the imaginary simulation of loud electric guitar music." (excerpted from Wikipedia)

...and what do Utubers think of all these gyrating gen-iuses?
As one viewer put it: "Well, can someone explain to me, and I know this may sound really dumb, but...why can't they just use all this energy to put into playing a real guitar?"

• Cross-country skiers do it for summer training.

Because of the extra involvement of muscles involved in applying force to the poles at each stride, leading to higher oxygen intake and more calories burned (up to 20% more than walking), Nordic Walking has been described by some as “Walking Aerobics”. It is an excellent cross-training exercise. You can easily reach 75% max. heart rate, and easily stay in your fitness zone.

• Scientific research suggests that everyone can benefit physically from the exercise.

In a summary of the research done on the benefits of walking with poles as compared to walking without, Professor Raija Laukkanen (Director of Exercise Science at Polar Electro Oy, Finland) concluded that “walking with poles improves mainly aerobic fitness, muscular endurance, deceases neck-should area disabilities and pain, and can have positive effects on mood state. In order to improve muscle power, uphill walking is required. Pole walking affecting body coordination and motor fitness has not been published. Walking with poles is a safe and fun exercise mode and fits everybody."

• It’s an affordable, fun, and easy sport if you have the right equipment.

You’ll need just a minimal amount of equipment: Nordic Walking poles with hardened steel tips for use on grass, trails, the beach, and with snow (plus removable rubber tips (paws) for hard surfaces); comfortable demi-gloves. No club membership; no ‘regular’ classes, though an introductory class is a good idea just so you get the basics down; no special “duds”; and you can walk pretty much anywhere! Using poles to walk up hills reduces the weight on your legs by as much as 25%! People who know say that Nordic Walking is great fun, and feels easier and less tiring than normal walking! Even walking up hills is easy. Makes sense! Using poles to walk up hills actually reduces the weight on your legs by as much as 25%!

• Nordic Walking is becoming quite the popular sport.

More than seven million Europeans (including 19% of Finns) Nordic Walk daily. According to some estimates Nordic Walking is “the worlds fastest growing exercise method”, and is growing in popularity in USA, Canada, Australia.

• Exercise “therapy?”

Many chiropractors / physiotherapists / osteopaths and GP's as Nordic Walking an exercise therapy, often following a course of treatment.

• And how about “Nordic Running!”

It’s true! There’s apparently a whole new breed of “Nordic Runners,” and this is fast becoming a sport in itself.

Associations:

INWA (International Nordic Walking Association) http://inwa-nordicwalking.com/
CNWA (Canadian) http://www.cnwa.info/

International Coverage in blogs:

David Downer: http://nordicwalkingnewsblog.blogspot.com/ and www.nordicwalkingecommunity.com
In his Blogger profile, Downer introduces himself as "an INWA Nordic Walking Instructor, author and publisher, who is passionate about serving the worldwide Nordic Walking community and providing quality information and services.”

Claire Walter: http://nordic-walking-usa.blogspot.com/
Walter describes herself as “a Colorado-based, award-winning travel, food and snow sports writer who was just bitten by the blogging bug late in 2006.”

Food For Thought:

"Nowadays popular also in Japan."

“And in China; pole manufacturer Exel is building a new factory there."

Surfing Comments On Nordic Walking:

“My dad came back from Finland with a set of these poles. One day when he was walking around the block one of the neighbors called out ‘Hey Pentti, you forgot your skis.’”

“Anyone in China nordic walking? I am in Shanghai and surrounded by high buildings, where can I nordic walk?”

“Although some people in the US have expressed the opinion that walking with two poles is silly, my question is whether walking with one pole, or a cane looks better? The answer is an unequivocal - No way! “

“As an American Nordic walker who lives in Norway, I see, even here, one of the biggest drawbacks to the sport becoming more widespread: it's seen as an 'old people's' sport.”

“Until Nordic Walking gets itself out of this stereotype and is positioned along the same lines as skiing and other more 'youthful' sports, it won't become anything but the marginal sport it is. It doesn't matter if there is an excess of 'stick choice' or tiffs about nomenclature, once people see what the sport DOES they'll make their own choices. It needs to become trendy. It needs to be marketed as a total body workout, with no mention of age or infirmity. And, after all, it's just walking, it's not brain surgery or anything. Sometimes the Nordic Walking sites make it look so much more complicated than it is.”

Melancholic, pessimistic, taciturn (and 'alcoholic') Finns! I just love this video satire (right: today's "video gem" by KalervoOtso) of the TV news feature done by reporter Morley Safer for the US news program "60 Minutes" in the 1990s.

The usually eminently credible Mr. Safer certainly put together some entertaining, if totally one-dimensional - not to mention, mis-leading - evidence of what he observed to be the pervasive mentality of Finland - my Finland.

Response to the Youtube clip is fierce into the 21st century! :

yankeejake wrote:
"Hahaa, this is some bleep bleep bleep. Bit of truth there too, but I don't agree with any of it. To Merthville I strongly suggest to visit Finland. It aint so bad and we do say "I love u " every now and then. Right now I live in southern Germany and I see no difference. Even the faces on the street and in the underground are the same or even worse occasionally. :D Peace!"

VesqVj wrote:
"Well, I really didn't recognize my country :P, but as you might see, the documentary had only one issue, so it's really one sided view. They also filmed just elder people. And "the backyard of russia", eh..? But yeah, a lot was true in this clip."

talvikki81 wrote:
"Wow...filmed in the early 90s. A bit of a biased report from 60 minutes! It's not all doom and gloom, Finland is a gorgeous place, we just like our privacy--and we never say I love you! All my American friends are horrified when I tell them my parents have never said it to me :P. We know it without having to say it."

_________

Hey - I just got this sinking feeling that maybe I was reading something into our "video gem" that wasn't there! Maybe that little guy and girl practising the tango really were feeling terribly melancholic and pessimistic, and "gloomy!" Sure fooled me if that's true!

Then there's the fact that I'm a Finn, and I say "I love you" quite easily to people I love (mind you, my dad found hugs distasteful...or was he just shy, as Safer might say?); still, that proves my point, doesn't it, and that of many of the commentators on the Safer video! You can't paint the whole of Finland - or the whole of any country or nationality one color - any way you look at it!

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0E7CzrpCBU

Planning a trip to Finland this summer? Why not consider spending a couple of days in Punkaharju, Savonlinna?. That’s where (August 22/09) the 10th Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships (MPTWC) will be held this year, and you wouldn’t want to miss that good bit of zany Finnish family fun, now would you?

Finland, as probably the whole of ‘cyberville’ knows, is home to Nokia, one of the foremost cell phone manufacturers /suppliers on the planet, a company renowned for its regular introduction of new models to the market. Is it any wonder then, that many fashion conscious Finns make an annual habit of chucking out their old mobiles for new?

"Where Have all the Cell Phones Gone?
So where do all these hundreds of thousands of old mobiles – once, so ‘in’ – end up? Rumor has it that the bottoms of Finland’s myriad lakes are lined with the wrecks of these discarded cell phones, but I understand this is indeed, only rumor. Finland is, after all, an eco-conscious country, and its people appreciate the need to protect the beauty and pristine quality of their homeland’s lakes and forests.

The batteries of old cell phones are clearly toxic waste, but…before landing in the growing graveyard of yesterday’s high-tech ‘Top 10’ as do almost 99% in the USA, these hot little handhelds will have a final fling at fun & fame, thanks to the creative imagination of Christine Lund, managing director of Fennolingua, a small Finnish translation/interpretation company. Lund conceived the mobile phone throwing competition in 2000 as a public relations event for the opening of Fennolingua’s Savonlinna office; since that time, mobile phone throwing madness has spread to a number of other countries, including Norway, Estonia, UK, and the USA.

Does Competition Encourage Recycling? One Would Hope So!
Now, it is not entirely true that you can get rid of your old cell at the MPTWC, because in fact, competitors must use phones provided by competition organizers (why?); however, you are definitely encouraged, if you are fed up with your old cp, to chuck it in the appropriate, eco-friendly fashion – recycle it! Studies in the USA alone, suggest that over 65,000 tons of waste could be eliminated if all the people with cell phones today recycled their ‘old’ cells before purchasing new ones.

The whole notion of recycling is, I believe, becoming more acceptable to people the world over. In the USA at least, an obscenely bloated marketplace has, curiously, made consumers slaves of what should have been a really 'good thing' - choice! Well, have we taken it all too far? Perhaps in the 21st century, for our own good and the good of our planet, we need less, not more, choice!

Time to Bring on the Product that Endures?
Perhaps, the truly terrifying global recession will make wiser consumers of us all, and bring us back to an appreciation of the product that ‘lasts’, rather than the one that is ever more fashionable than the one we happen to have at the moment.

Nokia’s fourth-quarter sales in 2008 dropped 19 percent to $16.5 billion compared with the same period a year earlier with a drop in profits of 69 percent. That’s not good news for Nokia, its shareholders, or the ‘tech-shion-istas,’ but ultimately it may teach some that ‘holding on’ – though perhaps not as much fun – is healthier for us and our planet - than ‘hurling!’

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3MYC97M4uM
by s60online
(Markku at Finnish Mobile Phone Throwing Competition)

In August 2007, Finnish pop singer Gregorius (a.k.a Esko Nick), together with choreographer Jari Sumulin, and the Noel Lahti Orchestra, made a video parody (today's gem) of the Village People's (left) huge 1979 hit - YMCA!

"Finland", reported YLE News. "suddenly has 'humour', a strong export product."

The music video, posted on Youtube, MySpace and Google, quickly became the world's most popular netvideo.

Gregorius NMKY, as the video was called, is still in cyberspace today, but where is pop star Gregorius? Rumor has it that he is working as a librarian somewhere in Espoo!

"Sic transit gloria..."

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glxlfq1yzVU

Gregorius NMKY (Finnish YMCA cover)

I am ashamed to admit that I have NEVER attended a Finnfest event! I have Finnish friends who go every year and report that it's a fabulous affair - in short, a heck of a lot of 'Finn2Finn Fun!' that's been going on all around North America with crowds of up to 7,000 and more every year since 1983!

In fact, the location for Finnfest 2010 is going to be in my own Canadian province - Ontario! I say 'my own' because it's sort of where I grew up; I went to high school and university (where I met my husband) there, and I lived there until I was in my early 20s. Got married and moved to Hong Kong (where I gave birth to twins - a phoenix and a dragon - a girl and a boy!). So...God willing...see you in Sault Ste. Marie in 2010?

Hey, what about Finnfest 2009? Anyone out there reading this know where that is going to be held?

2010 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
2009 (To be announced)
2008 Duluth MN (University of Minnesota - Duluth)
2007 Ashtabula, OH (Kent State University)
2006 Astoria, OR & Naselle, WA (City of Astoria/Naselle High School)
2005 Marquette, MI (Northern Michigan University)
2004 Lake Worth, FL (Bryant Park)
2003
2002 Minneapolis, MN (University of Minnesota - Twin Cities)
2001 Philadelphia, PA (Villanova University)
2000 Toronto, Ontario (Mel Lastman Square)
1999 Seattle, WA (University of Washington)
1998 Gorham, ME (University of Southern Maine - Gorham)
1997 Minot, ND (Minot Fairgrounds & All Seasons Arena)
1996 Marquette, MI (Northern Michigan University)
1995 Portland, OR (Lewis and Clark College)
1994 DeKalb, IL (Northern Illinois University)
1993 Thousand Oaks, CA (California Lutheran University)
1992 Duluth, MN (University of Minnesota - Duluth)
1991 Lake Worth, FL (Bryant Park)
1990 Hancock, MI (Suomi College-Finlandia University)
1989 Seattle, WA (University of Washington)
1988 Newark, DE (University of Delaware)
1987 Livonia, MI (Schoolcroft Community College)
1986 Berkeley, CA (University of California - Berkeley)
1985 Hancock, MI (Suomi College-Finlandia University)
1984 Fitchburg, MA (Fitchburg State University)
1983 Minneapolis, MN (Leamington Hotel and Loring Park)

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmhwfxGetWA

A recent study co-authored by human bio-mechanics specialist Federico Formenti at the University of Oxford, provides evidence that Finns were the first people to use skates - 5000 years ago! - and they made them out of BONES? Anyone who has lived in the boonies of Finland through a winter can understand why Finns might well lay claim to what is today a wildly popular snow sport in many parts of the world. Five thousand years ago, however, it was not for 'fun' that resourceful Finns invented 'bone skates'. It was, according to Fomenti, to save travel time!

Finland is a land of lakes. Lakes freeze over. Snow is deep. Ice is sleek. Get stuck in snow walking, or glide swiftly over the ice? Glide - good idea! How to do that? Brainstorm! Bones! And from a pile of bones (horse? reindeer?), and dried leather (straps), the first skates were fashioned.

For more on the evolution of the "skate", click here.
Photo credit: Federico Formenti

Video Gem: Ever tried cross-country skating? Now this does look like fun!

If you would like to discuss this entry, please post a comment on Finn2FinnChat (right sidebar).

So...what did you do New Year's Eve? Hope you had a good one, wherever in the world you live!

Okay. Let's get serious here. Those of us Finns who have actually experienced a sauna - and even maybe have one at home - know what a splendid experience heating your blood to the boiling point can be...and then running out into the frigid air to do 'snow angels' in the buff!

We know - don't we? - that it's fun, fun, fun! Not painful, as in the competition video (right). I mean, I've been taking saunas since I was 4 years old and I can't remember any of the folks in my sauna set ever going 'extreme'! But then, I guess that happened when sauna became a 'sport'! Competition!!!

Did you notice? Men? Women too smart maybe?

FINNISH SAUNA FACTS

• Finland's population = 5 million; saunas? 2 million!
• Saunas were utilitarian inventions - best place to wash in cold winters when houses had no running water.
• Women did - and some actually do today - birth babies in saunas!
• Even apartments come with saunas in Finland.
• The 'smoke-sauna' is the original (heated by wood burned in a stove) and is still considered the best.
• You are supposed to be totally naked in a sauna (I remember wearing a swim suit, along with the rest of the folks)
• One of the best parts of sauna is the 'vihta' (birch branches). You dip these in water and slap yourself with the bunch. The birch smells wonderful and the self-flagellation along with the rising heat, get the blood circulating...
• Cleansing and healing - now THAT's a sauna!

So, if you haven't already - do it soon! A sauna is a 'good thing!'

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omzQCFEzZKw

Complaints Choir is a community art project that invites people to sing about their complaints in a choir together with fellow complainers. The first Complaints Choir was organized in Birmingham (UK) in 2005 followed by the Complaints Choirs of Helsinki, Hamburg and St. Petersburg in 2006. The project was initiated by artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen. A video installation comprised of the documentation of the public performances of the four choirs were shown at Kiasma (Helsinki, Finland), S.M.A.K. (Ghent, Belgium) and Museum Fridericianium Kassel (Germany) among other venues. When the video clips of the choirs were distributed through online magazines and video sharing websites, the idea spread quickly to many other countries. To date additional Complaints Choirs have been organized in Bodø (Norway), Poikkilaakso primary school (Helsinki, Finland), Budapest (Hungary), Juneau (Alaska), Gabriola Island (Canada), Melbourne (Australia), Jerusalem (Israel), Breslau (Poland), and Philadelphia.

(excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXV3DzKv68

Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. The equivalent in English is "to have guts", and indeed, the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However, sisu has a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain the same. To anthropologists^{[citation needed]}, it is an appropriate invention for a cold northern land, dotted by thousands of lakes, and long under threat of being overwhelmed, militarily, linguistically and otherwise, by more powerful neighbours. Similar concepts exist among other cold-weather peoples, such as the Inuit and Chukchi.^{[citation needed]}

^{(excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)}

Video Gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqz3_5ekjBw