gaiverruksia

Pelasin aikanaan yhdessä larpissa muinaisen Kreikan jumalten sanansaattajaa Hermestä. Hahmo oli niin hauska pelata, että jäi mainiosti mieleen. Siksi piirsin hänet yhtenä iltana viime syksynä, en ihan sellaisena kuin pelasin häntä vaan siten, kuin ajattelisin hänen olevan. Once I played Hermes, the messenger of ancient Greek gods, in a LARP . He was such a fun character to play that I still remember him fondly. Therefore, I drew him one night last autumn, not quite the way I played him but the way I'd imagine him to be. Pelissä minulla todella oli sulilla koristellut sandaalit, mutta ne eivät tietenkään oikeasti sallineet minun lentää. Mutta olin kiinnittänyt niihin kulkusia, jolloin kuului pieni helinä aina, kun kuljin ympäriinsä, ja se oli minusta hirveän hauska yksityiskohta. Pelipaikalla ollut kissa oli myös hirveän kiinnostunut Hermeksen kengistä. In the LARP, I really was wearing sandals decorated with feathers but of course they didn't actually allow me to fly. But I had attached jingle bells to them so there was this little jingling sound whenever I was walking, and I think it was a really fun detail. The cat who lived there also found Hermes's shoes very interesting.

WINTER TRIP 1: THE JOURNEY TO NORTH "Well. It seems to be the time to start organizing the traditional New Year's trip to Lapland. This time we could go the Urho Kekkonen National Park." (Up there!) // "I need to do a lot of stuff for it." Book a hut / Book snow shoes / Plan the foods / Check bus time tables / Call a taxi. "I've done almost everything, but still missing one..." // "Urgh. It's somehow always so dull to CALL to places. Especially since I need to ask about the keys and luggage and payment methods..." // "Luckily, nowadays you can almost always send an e-mail." // "Can you drive us?" "Yes." "Great." // "Ta-dah!" Book a hut / Book snow shoes / Plan the foods / Check bus time tables / ORDER a taxi "I already collected everything I need for the trip so it'll be easy to pack them." // "So now I can just relax during Christmas." // "Even though I did this dumb thing and just piled everything up on my bed..." // ...and left my backpack at the very bottom! // "But then it'll be easy for you to pack everything on top." // "..." // "This joke just never gets old, does it?" "No, it never will." Camelate: verb; to carry a big load like a camel. Stuff to be given to others / My own stuff / Four pairs of snow shoes / Three pairs of ski poles / Two more pairs of snow shoes // "At least now no one will try to sell me anything." 23.47: "I wonder if I get any sleep at all sitting here in this train?" // 3.30. "Do we still have beer?" (Ylläoleva on viittaus Juice Leskisen biisiin 3.30 , jossa lauletaan kaikista aamuyöllä mieleen tulevista asioista, ja loppukaneettina on "Vieläkö meillä on kaljaa?") (The comic above is a reference to the famous Finnish songwriter Juice Leskinen's song 3.30 , which, as far as I know, hasn't been translated to English. Anyway, it's a song about all kinds of stuff one thinks during the small hours, the last line being, "Do we still have beer?") "It's 2,5 kilometers to the hut from the parking lot." "Good." // "The road hasn't been cleared of snow. I'll leave you 12 kilometers away." "Oh." // "I'm tired!" "I can't!" "Are we there yet?" "I'm cold!" // "Let's stay and rest here in the previous hut." // "Thanks a lot for not clearing the road. I want to punch someone. Not sure whom, though..." Jatkuu... // To be continued...

WINTER TRIP 2: EVERYONE ASSEMBLE! "So, this is going to be a hike. We could be the Fellowship of the Ring!" "Eh, there's just six of us, it's too few." // "But -- we can be the Avengers!" // "Who's gonna be who, then?" "We'll find that out over time." // "Kati is carrying all the heavy stuff, Kati is the Hulk!" // "Snowhorse has all the orienteering technology, she can be Iron Man!" // "Ha, I found the wood shed!" "You have keen eyes, you get to be Hawkeye." "I can come and make the path again." "That's brave! You're like Captain America!" // "I can carry your backpack up." "You're strong, too, you can be Thor!" // "Who am I, now?" "Black Widow, not bad either." // "And there we go, everyone has a role." Avengers assemble!!! "My inner DJ would like to play The Uralic Rowan (and old folk song) right about now." "Well, we can sing it now that we're cooking." // (Singing the song) // "This image suddenly popped into my head where Hulk and Iron Man are singing The Uralic Rowan in a wilderness hut." // (Singing the song) "He he he." "Ha ha ha." "So, today we shall continue to that hut we rented. In daylight." // "This is pretty much just as hard like this, too!" // Thump! "You okay?" "Yeah." // "We should sing an uplifting song now." "What would you suggest?" // "Well, for example..." (Starts singing the Finnish national anthem) // (Singing the ending of the Finnish national anthem) // "That was surprisingly uplifting!" "Hehe!" "Haha!" "How do we get out of here, with 16 kilometers of uncleared snowy road on our way?" // "I think I can help." "Hulk?!" // BLAF! // "Ta-dah!" "Wow! Thanks, Hulk!" // "Too bad that was just a dream." "Yeah. We still have those 16 kilometers of snowy road there..." Jatkuu... // To be continued... The Avengers by Marvel

WINTER TRIP 3: THE REAL HEROES Social Media Hill = the closest place to the hut where you can access telephone network. "Argh, no one's answering!" // "I guess I need to call the taxi driver. He told me to call if we run into trouble, after all." // "Hello?" "Hi, it's Kati. The road is still blocked by snow..." // "...and the youngsters can't walk all the way back... and I can't contact anyone else right now... so would you happen to know whom I should call to get help?" // "Can you make it to that parking lot? I'll take a snowmobile along and come get you from there." "Really? Awesome! Thank you so much!" // "We might be the Avengers but this taxi driver is a real hero!" "What a nice sunset." // Crack! "!" "!" // "We're like wild animals, startled by every noise." "Yep." "A year ago I went to the winter trip wearing hiking shoes. It was a mistake." // My fell were constantly freezing so badly that it just hurt. "Moaaaaannn!" // "This time I willingly took skiing boots." // "They've got felt lining and three pairs of woolen socks inside." // "And I wasn't cold at any point!" "For years I wore an anorak on winter trips because of the front pocket where I could keep all things necessary at hand. Like my belt knife." // "But now my anorak is getting a bit old and worn out." // "So I bought this old satchel from a second hand store and modified it a bit." // Now I can wear it around my waist and put all those important little things in there." // "Belt knife, matches, headlamp, water bottle, snacks, map and compass... everything nicely at hand, even when carrying my backpack! This was the most useful equipment on this trip!" "Woo-hoo!" "The taxi driver comes with his snowmobile!" "We'll be saved!" // "Hey, at least try to play it cool." // "I can't take you all in one go but those who'll have to wait can make a fire from this wood." "Yay!" // "Well, this was a sort of an adventure again!" (The end.)

ORANGES "The first taste of this sea-buckthorn jelly is a bit like that of orange marmalade." // "Yes, maybe sea-buckthorn belongs to the same category of flavors as orange and rowan berry." // "Yeah, in the category of 'orange flavors'." // "Pffffftt!" "Hehehehe..." Herra Bronya harmitti, kun hänen huono vitsinsä ei saanut minua nauramaan ihan niin paljon, että tee olisi tullut nenästäni ulos. Minua tämä ei harmittanut lainkaan. Mr Brony was disappointed as his bad joke didn't make me laugh so much that my tea would have come out of my nose. I wasn't disappointed in the least.

WARNING Look out for children

"It's nice to watch The Lord of the Rings again." "Indeed, they are such good movies." // "...and here come the Riders of Rohan charging!" "Go Rohirrim!" // "They did well until the Haradrim joined the battle with their olifants." "Yeah, they're pretty nasty enemies." // "On the other hand, this is a pretty cool mounted troops vs mounted troops battle." "Except that Haradrim would be like..." // "You call that mounted troops? We've got mounted troops!" // "We've got a mount -- that can carry all our troops!" The Lord of the Rings written by J.R.R. Tolkien, the movies directed by Peter Jackson

SPUD The Adventures of MacGyver and Kati! // "Awesome, we got out of the shed! Let's quickly escape to the woods before the baddies notice us!" // "Let's sabotage their car first so they can't come after us." "How are you going to that?" // "I've got a POTATO! I'll stuff it into the exhaust pipe!" "Uhm, Mac..." // "...this is an electric car. It doesn't have an exhaust pipe." "!" // "Indeed... Are these people such bad guys after all? They drive an electric car which is better for the environment..." "They STOLE that car! And they locked us into that shed AND they're currently plotting a murder!" // "So could you please just go back into the shed to see if there's something there we could use to break the tyres, the old-fashioned way?" "Oh, yeah, good point." // "But I'm keeping the potato." "Great, we can eat it later." Kämppikseni oli jo sitä mieltä, että tämä sarjakuva herättää niin paljon kysymyksiä siitä, kuka aikoo murhata ja kenet, että minun pitäisi tehdä tälle jatko-osa. My flatmate already said that this comic raises so many questions concerning who is going to murder and whom that I should make a sequel. MacGyver created by Lee David Zlotoff

A CALL FOR HELP "...and when you click there you'll find the customer groups. Yes, there. That's it." // "If the group isn't in the system just scream at the top of your lungs and I'll come to help you." "Okay!" // ... The group is not in the system - OK // "AAAAAAHHHH!!!"

I CHOOSE YOU, OCTOMON! "I'm reading a book about octopuses." // "It says there that an octopus has been seen carrying..." // ...a coconut shell as it was 'walking' along the sea bottom. // And it didn't have just one half, but two compatible ones... // ...that it used to build itself a shelter when a danger appeared! // "I mean, this octopus was planning ahead and carrying with it a shelter it could assemble when needed! This is the only animal, alongside human, that can do such a thing!" // "It's like a Pokémon that caught itself in a ball!" "It's the BEST Pokémon!" // "Mwahahaha..." Lukemani kirja on Peter Godfrey-Smithin Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life . Kiintoisa videonpätkä erään tursaan kookospähkinäkodista löytyy täältä . The book I was reading was Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life by Peter Godfrey-Smith. An interesting video of an octopus' coconut home can be found here .

ONE CAN NEVER BE TOO TIRED TO CLASSIFY CORRECTLY "I just have no energy to do anything today." // "Like, seriously. If I was a fish today, I'd totally be a jellyfish." // "Jellyfish aren't fish." // "Okay, fine. If I was a cephalopod, I'd be a jellyfish." // "Jellyfish aren't cephalopods, either." "..." // "Well then, pray tell, WHAT are jellyfish?" // "Jellyfish are cnidarians." // "Soooo, if I was a cnidarian today, I'd totally be a jellyfish." "Oh, yes, I know the feeling."

UPSIDE-DOWN BIRD Piirsin kokouksessa muistiinpanojen kulmaan hassun pienen linnun, joka oli ilmettä lukuun ottamatta samanlainen sekä oikein päin että ylösalaisin. Tämä on viimeistellympi ja väritetty kuva aiheesta, ja digitaalisesti myös käänsin linnun ylösalaisin ja peilikuvaksi, jotta kuva toimisi hauskemmin. Oikeanpuoleinen lintu on alkuperäinen. In a meeting I drew a funny little bird that was the same upside-down as it was the right way up, with the exception the facial expression. This is a more finished and colored version of it, and I digitally turned the bird upside-down and into a mirror image too, so that the picture would be more fun. The bird on the right is the original one. Käytin tämän kuvan värittämiseen huonompia vesiväreijäni, joiden koostumuksesta en pidä (ne ovat selvästi halvempaa tavaraa kuin tavallisesti käyttämäni). En myöskään oikeastaan yleensä pidä niiden väreistä, mutta tähän värit olivat juuri täydelliset. To color this picture, I used my worse set of water colors. I don't like their texture (they're clearly cheaper stuff than the ones I normally use), and I'm not usually a fan of their colors either, but for this picture they were perfect.

MY TASTE IN MUSIC "We'd still need some energy conservation tips for this quiz." "There are some here already." "This water question still lacks one." // "Hmm, yes, something about saving water." "Along the lines of, 'take a shorter shower'?" // "Or in a more positive way... 'Limit your shower to be as long as your favorite piece of music'?" // "Well. My favorite piece of music is Bach's St Matthew Passion. It's three and a half hours." Liikun pyörällä ja julkisilla, vältän lentämistä ja uusien asioiden turhaa ostamista ja olen kasvissyöjä, mutta ai että tykkään lämpimistä suihkuista. I move around by bike and public transport, avoid flying and buying unnecessary stuff and am vegetarian, but I really like hot showers.

OF FLAT MATES AND OCTOPUSES "Lately, I've been reading a book about octopuses." (Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith) // "And cephalopods just are the best creatures in so many ways! Like, they can change the color and surface structure of their skin to almost anything!" // And thus they can hide pretty much perfectly. // "For animals this colorful octopuses have one really peculiar characteristic: they are color blind." // "Apparently they can sense color through their skin somehow. But what it feels like to them is a complete mystery." // "Good luck with thinking about this." // Most people: "Huh?" "What?" "Why are you telling us this?" // My flat mates: "Wow! Please tell more!" "That's so cool! Octopuses are awesome!" No, aika moni muukin on ollut sitä mieltä, että mustekalat on siistejä. Well, quite a few other people agree that octopuses are cool.

CAMOUFLAGE A Saturday night: "Would you have a cigarette to give to me?" "Nope." "What about you?" "Sorry, no." "...I wonder if he'll ask me?" // "..." // "Could you spare me a cigarette?" "No." // "Hah, this book was the perfect camouflage!" "How about you?" "No." Mitä kirjaa luen? Peter Godfrey-Smithin mustekalakirjaa Other Minds. Mutta tämä on viimeinen postaus siitä aiheesta. Ainakin toistaiseksi. What's the book I'm reading? The octopus book Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith. But this is the last post about this topic. For now at least.

MONSTER Huvitti piirtää hirviö. Se on ehkä jonkin sortin minotauri. I felt like drawing a monster. It looks like a minotaur of some sort.

ONE MAN'S CEILING IS ANOTHER MAN'S FLOOR ...mutta päteekö tämä myös Himalajalla eli maailman katolla? ...but does this apply also in the Himalayas, the of the world? "If a snow leopard has lived a good life and it dies, what would a snow leopard's heaven be like?" "Well..." // ...probably high, snowy mountains... // ...with lots of markhor goats to hunt! // "But the markhor wouldn't think it's a heaven, would it?" "No, it definitely wouldn't." // A markhor's heaven would also be one with high, snowy mountains, where it could live in peace with its herd... // ...and no snow leopards in sight! // "So, actually, snow leopard's heaven is markhor's hell?" "...and bad markhors go to heaven, too, just not their own?" // "A fool's heaven is a wise man's hell." "Or here, of course, a predator's heaven is a prey animal's hell."

FIRST SNOW

GUIDE QUALITIES "Hello, we had booked a guided tour for our preschool group. I think we're a bit early, though." "Welcome!" // "Your guide Annie will be here in just a minute. You can wait here at the playground." "All right, thank you." // "Who's Annie?" "Annie is a guide, she's going to give you the tour." // "Is this Annie pretty?" "What? Well, yeah. Why?" // "OK." "?"

IN CASE OF RAIN THE REVOLUTION WILL BE HELD INDOORS "I'm gonna save the world today!" // "..." // "I'm gonna save the world tomorrow..." Otsikko on napattu jostain lapusta, joka kaverillani Julialla on ollut seinällä iän päivää. The title of this post is from some poster my friend Julia has had on her wall forever.

IF YOU CAN'T CATCH A WAVE THEN YOU'RE NEVER GONNA RIDE IT "It's awesome to watch Spirit again!" "Yeah, proper childhood nostalgia! Here we go!" // 30 seconds later... "Boo-hoo!" "There, there, cry all you want..." // "-- And it is this manner of small thinking that would say this horse could never be broken." // "Discipline, time, and patience --" // "-- are the three great levelers." "Shut up, Colonel!" // "Spirit's gonna show you where you can shove your discipline, time and patience!" "Right! Because Spirit is not patient, he's undisciplined and he's timeless!" Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron by DreamWorks

SAY CHEESE! "Now we can see the otter very well as he's swimming there." // "Now, if you look at the otter's face closely, what can you see growing around his muzzle?" "..." // "A smile!" // ... // "I was looking for 'whiskers' but you are not wrong!"

EMPERORS

CHAOS GATHERING "I cleaned up the kitchen and marked it in our home chores list." // "..." // "That was in the morning. Now I've had enough time to make a mess again."

A BURROW OF DUST BUNNIES "It's like we have to be vacuuming the kitchen constantly." "Well yep." // "I fell like there crumbs just appear on the floor all the time." "Indeed." // "Though I can't understand where all those crumbs come from." "Yeah..." // "...me neither." "!"

IT'S OVER Before the election // After the election

MONDAY'S POWER ANIMAL (This one doesn't translate, (un?)fortunately.) Kunnia tästä sanaleikistä menee herra Bronylle.

CHICKENS "Those chickens! Please remind me that I need to ink those chickens!" // "Heh, my first thought was you going in to the hen house and -- " // "Cluuuuuuuccckkk!!!" "!" // "Nooo, that would be animal torture!" "Or..." // "You could go to the restaurant and ask them for a chicken." // "Yes... you can do what you please with a dead broiler." // "Now I really need to ask: what are you three talking about?" "Why, well, coloring pictures. Coloring pictures for Easter..."

(This one doesn't translate, sorry.) Jatkoa edellisen viikon pystykorvalle . Kiitokset kämppikselleni ja herra Bronylle hauskasta illasta, jolloin keksimme näitä.

IN THE CLOSET, FROM THE CLOSET, INTO THE CLOSET "Question." "Yes?" // "If someone suffers from claustrophobia, can they really be in the closet about it?" "Hmm." // "Counter question." "Yes?" // "If someone suffers from agoraphobia, can they come out of the closet about it?" "Hmm." // "Maybe, if they come out from the back, going to Narnia." "Well." // "Narnia is a pretty big place." "It's still all inside that wardrobe." // "Hmm." "Hmm." ' Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

(More untranslatable dog puns...) Kiitokset kaikille koiraideoita heitelleille! (Näitä on vielä lisää...)

THE STAR WARS UPDATE OF MAY THE 4th 7th grade: "Do you like Star Wars?" "Yes!" // Summer of 8th grade: "We should have a Star Wars marathon!" "Are we gonna watch ALL of Star Wars?" "Of course, all the six movies!" // 9th grade: "What color should this character's lightsaber be?" "Blue? What will these guys say here?" // As adults: "Everything sucks." "Wanna watch Revenge of the Sith?" "Sure." // In my 30th birthday party: "I made you a High Ground cake !" "Best!" // The other night: "I wonder why Echo's CT-number was changed?" "Don't know but just imagine Rex and Jesse trying to sort it out!" "Haha, yeah :D " // "Our friendship is old enough to go to a bar but our conversation topics haven't really changed." "Yep." Ihan vain mainitakseni, että olen huomannut bathan huoneessa: mulla on ristiriitainen suhde uudempaan, Disney-kauden Star Warsiin. Osa siitä on täyttä rautaa ja beskaria (Clone Warsin 7-kausi ja Bad Batch esimerkiksi), osa taas pettymys (Obi-Wan Kenobi), ja jatko-osaleffat oli täysi huti mun kohdilta. Mutta mikään ei muuta sitä, miten hyvää alkuperäinen Star Wars on (ja etko-osatkin, jos jättää huomiotta dialogin, ja Clone Wars -sarja), eikä mikään voi pilata minulta niitä - tai sitä, kuinka mun ja Lumpparin ystävyys kirjaimellisesti alkoi Star Warsista ja edelleen jatkuu samoissa merkeissä Just to address the bantha in the room: I have very mixed feelings about the newer, Disney-era Star Wars stuff. Some of it has been diamond and beskar (season 7 of Clone Wars and Bad Batch, for example), some have been a let-down (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and the sequel movies totally missed the mark with me. But nothing can change how good the original Star Wars movies are (and the prequels too if you skip the dialoque, and the Clone Wars series as well), and nothing can take those away from me - or the fact that Snowhorse and I literally became friends because of Star Wars and is still continuing in the same way Star Wars created by George Lucas

(Yes, these still don't translate...)

LACE GREEN "My favorite season is spring, especially mid-spring. The days when birch leaves emerge." // "I once named that time 'lace green' because it looks like the forest was clad in light green lace." // "Lace green only lasts a few days so you have to enjoy it when it is at its best! When this comic comes out it might already be over where I live."

MEETING NOTES Jos käy töissä, on käytävä kokouksissa. Kokouksissa tulee joskus tehtyä muistiinpanoja. If one has a job, one has to go to meetings. In meetings one sometimes makes notes. Alareunan sammakon pipo ja kieli ovat työkaverini piirtämät. "Käänteislintu" oli ensimmäinen idea konseptiin, josta piirsin kunnollisen kuvan myöhemmin. The tongue and beanie of the frog at the bottom were drawn by a co-worker. The "upside-down bird" was the first idea for something I made a proper drawing of later on.

THE NEEDS OF THE MANY... "Katiiiiiii! Time for morning tea!" "Coming!" // "Let me take some water from there, will you?" "Wait a little, I'm washing the coffee pot." // "But we need water for tea." "And there are two of us and only one of you." // "Indeed! 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the needs of the one!" "Seriously?" "Exactly!" // "You do know that you totally misused my line, don't you?" "Yes, Mr Spock." "But I need my morning coffee!" "And I my tea!" (Viimeistä ruutua lukuun ottamatta tämä keskustelu oikeasti käytiin.) (With the exception of the last panel, this conversation actually happened.) Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

I SEE! "Do you know stereograms? Those weird, colorful pictures..." // "...where you should see something if you look at it the right way? Like this one." // I had never understood how stereograms work or how you could see anything in it..." "Don't see a thing." // ...until one day... "Ha! There's a fish there!" // "And whe I saw one, I suddenly saw all of them!" // "This one's an airplane." // "This one's a running dog." // "This one's a shark." // "This one's... not suitable for children." // "I still don't really understand how stereogams actually work or what the 'right' way to look at them is. But it's fun to see them now!" Sarjiksen stereogammin pöllin Wikipediasta . I copied the stereogram above from Wikipedia .

SKULLS Ostin uutta paperia ja halusin testata, kuinka se toimii pullotussin kanssa. Toimi hyvin. I bought some new paper and wanted to try how it works with liquid ink. Worked well. Mistä tempaisin yhtäkkiä malliksi kauriin ja mäyrän kallot? No olohuoneen seinältä. Minä ja kämppikseni olemme molemmat innokkaita retkeilijöitä ja raahaamme kotiin vaikka mitä luontoroinaa. Meillä on ihan päättömästi metsistä löytyineitä kalloja. Where did I get a deer skull and a badger skull to use as a reference? From the living room wall. Both my flatmate and I love hiking and have brought home all sorts of nature memorabilia. We have quite a few skulls we've found from the woods. Vielä meriharakan kallo parin vuoden takaa: And an oystercatcher skull from a couple of years ago:

ANIMALS IN A HEAP "Oh look, those mongoose are so cute!" "Yes, sleeping adorably in a heap!" // "Yuck, those cockroaches are so disgusting!" "And in a heap like that, gross!"

THESE UNICORNS WERE NOT OKAY Pelasimme kavereiden kanssa pitkästä aikaa Sankariakatemia-roolipeliä. Hahmolleni Thranonille sattui muutamia hienoja hetkiä. My friends and I played our Hero Academy RPG again. My character Thranon had some quite awesome moments. "All right, you can roll two dice." // ... // "Well, look at that." Muutamia nopeita kuvia samasta pelistä: Thranonin ja hänen kaverinsa Terryn jäähyväishalaus ennen kesälomaa, sekä Thranonin ja Onnin yläfemmat. Some quick illustrations from the same game: Thranon and her friend Terry's good-bye hug before summer holidays, and Thranon and Onni sharing a high-five. "See you in the autumn, Thranon." "Take care of yourself, Terry." Jos Thranonin pitää mennä sankaroimaan jonnekin, missä hänen erikoinen ulkomuotonsa herättäisi liikaa huomiota, hänet voidaan myös muuttaa kissaksi: If Thranon has to go be a hero somewhere where her appearance would be too weird, she can be turned into a cat:

MY FLATMATE IS REALLY SMART SOMETIMES "Foot therapy? Is it like..." // "How have you been feeling lately?" "Well, now..." // "Oh, I think it's more like..." // "Where does the shoe pinch?" "Well, now..."

OCTOPUS Olenko maininnut, että pääjalkaiset ovat mahtavia? Have I mentioned that I think Cephalopods are awesome? Olen viime aikoina tykästynyt sävytetylle paperille piirtämiseen. Erilaiset värit toimivat esimerkiksi ruskealla paperilla jotenkin todella hyvin ja luonnollisesti, ja tukevalle paperille voi käyttää eri tekniikoita sulavasti yhdessä (tässä on alkoholipohjaisia tusseja, mustaa vesiliukoista tussia, lyijykynää, puuvärejä ja värillistä pullomustetta). Näiden piirtäminen on todella hauskaa ja jotenkin vapauttavaa. Lately, I've really come to like drawing on colored (or mid-tone) paper. Different colors work really well and naturally on, for example, brown paper, and on sturdier paper I can easily mix different mediums (here I've used alcohol markers, black water-based fineliner, pencil, colored pencils and colored liquid ink). Drawing these is a lot of fun and somehow liberating. Minusta on joskus hirveän hauskaa ottaa kuvia teoksista, kun ne ovat vielä kesken, jotta voin katsoa jälkikäteen, miten työprosessi on edennyt. I sometimes like to take pictures of my artworks while working on them so that I can check them afterwords to see the working process.

DISAPPOINTMENT "...another car parked so that it took two parking slots! Like -- it can't be that difficult to park properly, can it?" // "How come people can't even park anymore?" "I really don't know." // "I am disappointed." "Well excuse me for being stupid." // "You are not stupid, just a disappointment." // ... // "That was a good one, I'll be using that, too!" "From now on I'll introduce myself with, 'Hi, I'm Violet, I'm a disappointment.'!" On tilanteita, jolloin en osaa pitää suutani kiinni. Onneksi niissä tilanteissa, kun ihmiset oikeasti loukkantuisivat, yleensä pysyn hiljaa. Tämä "pettymys" nauroi noin vartin putkeen. There are times when I just can't stay quiet. Luckily I can usually keep my mouth shut when people would actually be hurt. This 'disappointment' laughed for about 15 minutes at this.

ORIGIN STORY Okay, let's go through this one more time. // When I was eight years old, I was bitten by a squirrel. "Ow!" // "It wasn't radioactive, so I didn't turn into the amazing Squirrel-Girl. Since then, I've also been bitten by..." // ...a horse... "Ouch!" // ...a tick... "..." // ...a dragonfly... "Ow!" // ...a gerbil... "Ouch." ...a barnacle goose... "There, there." // ...an oystercatcher... "Easy now..." // ...a goat... "Hey." // ...and a classmate's grass-snake. "Could you please let go?" // "None of them was radioactive, so I didn't turn into a superhero." // But I did become a biologist. Kiitos Lumihevoselle termin "origin story" suomennoksen pohtimisesta! (Ja ennen kaikkea siitä, ettet edes kysynyt, miksi pyysin mielipidettä asiasta <3)

I SHINE LIKE A STAR ON THE DARK TUNDRA Eläintarha järjesti keväällä koululaisille konferenssin, jossa pohdittiin arktisen luonnon haavoittuvaisuutta, ja tunturipöllö oli konferenssin teemalaji. Kulosaaren yhteiskoulu teki aiheesta videon, jossa esiintyi lause "Minä loistan kuin tähti tummalla tundralla". Kehuin nuoria hyvästä videosta ja siitä, että saivat minut melkein itkemään kesken työpäivän. Lause inspiroi myös tämän teokseni. Video löytyy täältä . In the spring, the zoo organized a conference for middle-school students where the topic was the vulnerability of arctic nature, and the snowy owl was the theme species of the conference. The students from Kulosaari school made a video where there was this sentence: "I shine like a star on the dark tundra." I praised the students for their good work and almost making me cry in the middle of my work day. That sentence was the inspiration for this artwork, too. The video (in Finnish) can be found here .

DARK CLOUDS AHEAD Yleensä en koske politiikkaan blogissani pitkällä tikullakaan, mutta Suomen uuden hallituksen aikeet ovat sellaista menoa, että teen poikkeuksen. Normally, I avoid politics in my blog, but the plans of the new government of Finland are such garbage that I'll make an exception. "Do we have to go there?" "I think we do. We can't really turn back, either." (The future: consumption is the most important thing - rights away from employees - no money for unemployed - climate & environment don't matter) // "We've got rough times ahead." "At least they're not planning to shoot you." // "Would you happen to know a nice barricade somewhere around here?" "Well now, buddy."

THREE DAYS WITH ONE STONE "Hey. What day is it?" "Well, that depends. For ME, it is Thursday, Friday AND Saturday." // "Huh? How is that in any way possible?" // "Well, if we look at a proper calendar, it is Saturday." // "But I've got six days of work without days off, and it's day five now, so it's Friday." // "However, I've got one more day before I've got a day off, so in that sense it's Thursday." // "You are so weird." "Irregular work times make people weird."

SUMMER PLANTS "I think I've got enough house plants now. I won't plant other balcony plants than these marigolds this year either." // "Is it okay if my Mum brings her house plants here for the summer?" "Yeah, sure!" // "..."

RUBBER BAND WAR

WISE WORDS "My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is!" // "Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us... and binds us." // "Sooo... the Force is like duct tape, right?" "?" "Who are you?" // "Duct tape is the best and most powerful ally in the world, and it binds everything together. And it, too, has a dark side and a light side!" // "Out. Get." "But... we are outside." // "Out of this planet, meant I." "Oh... okay." "Wait a second... Can you fix a hyperdrive with this 'duct tape'?" Star Wars created by George Lucas

VACATIONING TIME

(Sorry, this one doesn't really translate.)

MOSQUITO "Jos tunnet olevasi liian pieni vaikuttamaan asioihin, yritä nukkua yksi yö huoneessa, jossa on yksi hyttynen." - Dalai Lama “If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven't spent the night with a mosquito.” - Dalai Lama "Dalai Lama, eat your head."

LORD OF THE HIMALAYAS Markhor eli kierteissarvivuohi ( Capra falconeri ) on Keski-Aasian vuoristoissa elävä vuohieläin, joka on helppo tunnistaa korkkiruuvimaisesti kierteellä olevista sarvistaan. Pukin sarvet voivat olla puolitoista metriä pitkät. The markhor or screw-horned goat ( Capra falconeri ) is a species of goat native to the mountainous areas of Central Asia. It is easy to recognize by its corkscrew-like horns. A male's horns can be up to a meter and a half long.

USELESS "..." // "Do you guys need me here or shall I go do something else?" // "There are three of us here at the moment... an the evening shift will come and help at half past. " // "So... you're actually pretty useless right now." // "..." // "Huzzah! I've done it!" // "I've managed to teach the new guide team so well that they don't need me anymore. Just like it should be." // "You don't suppose I can just go and sip tea for the rest of the day though, do you?" "No."

Katsoin Star Wars Rebels -animaatiosarjan loppuun, ja piirsin pienen kuvan Zebistä torkuilla Lothalin suden ja kissojen kanssa. Tätä kohtausta ei ollut sarjassa, mutta Zeb on sellainen kärttyilijä, josta eläimet tuntuvat pitävän, että tämä voisi tapahtua. Ainakin minusta se olisi mukavaa. I finished watching the animated show Star Wars Rebels and drew a little picture of Zeb taking a nap with a Loth-wolf and some Loth-cats. This isn't a canon scene but since Zeb is a grumpy dude whom the animals seem to like, this just could take place. At least I think it would be cute. Tämän kuvan toinen nimi on "Kun 'piirrän ihan nopeasti jotakin ja menen sitten ajoissa nukkumaan' epäonnistuu loisteliaalla tavalla". The other name for this drawing is "When 'I just draw something quickly and then go to sleep early' fails gloriously". Star Wars by Lucasfilm

A HANDSOME GUY "How come warthogs are so handsome?!?" // "Because you have a very weird taste." // "But I mean, gotta admit, they are handsome alright." // "So your taste is weird, too." "I've never claimed otherwise." Huomautus: me todellakin puhumme pahkasioista, niistä eläimistä siis. Note: we are really talking about warthogs, the animals.

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING BEGINS! "Hi everyone! In Febryary 2020..." // "Goodness! That was a long time ago!" // "...I had A Month of Moving here in my blog introducing my favorite (mainly fictional) methods of moving from one place to another." // "The logical continuation would of course have been to tell about places you could go to by those means of transportation. Instead, I had months for the best fictional friendships, families and nonsense words." // "But now begins A Month of Travelling! That is 29 fictional places I'd like to travel to." // "These are in alphabetical order, one place for every letter. The Finnish weirdos Å, Ä and Ö are special chapters." // "And I promise, these are not just planets from Star Wars!" // "So hop on to your favorite method of transport, we'll take off tomorrow!" "Hey!" // "Warn me next time, will you?" "Sorry!"

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - A ATLANTIS (Atlantis: kadonnut kaupunki - Atlantis: the Lost Empire ) “10 000 years before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Atlantis had electricity, advanced medicine, even the power of flight. Impossible, you say? Well, no. No, not for them.” Atlantis on ikivanha myytti mereen kadonneesta valtakunnasta, ja on esiintynyt lukemattomissa uudemmissakin tarinoissa (esimerkiksi Asterixissa, Aku Ankassa ja Walter Moersin Zamonia-kirjoissa). Yksi omista suosikeistani on kuitenkin Disneyn Atlantis-leffan kadonnut kaupunki, koska se oli aika iso osa omaa lapsuuttani (meillä ei ollut montaa piirrettyä DVD:llä, niin tätä tuli katsottua monta kertaa - ja se on hyvä raina!). Tässä Atlantiksessa on hieno design, ja siellä on jänniä eläimiä ja siistejä lentäviä aluksia. Ainoa huono puoli on se, että se sijaitsee syvällä maan alla, joten siellä asuessa ei koskaan näkisi taivasta. No, olisi mielenkiintoista kuitenkin käydä siellä! Atlantis is an ancient myth of an empire lost in the sea, and it has appeared in countless more modern stories as well (such as Asterix, Donald Duck and the Zamonia books by Walter Moers). One of my favorites, however, is the lost city in Disney’s Atlantis movie because it was a big part of my childhood (we didn’t have many cartoons on DVD so I’ve watched this one a lot - and it is a great movie!). This depiction of Atlantis has a nice design, and there are interesting creatures living there, and cool flying ships, too. The only downside is that the city is located deep underground, so if I lived there, I would never see the sky again. Well, it would be an interesting place to visit nevertheless! The quote above by Milo Thatch in Disney’s Atlantis Atlantis: the Lost Empire by Disney

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - B 221B BAKER STREET (Sherlock Holmes) “I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street, which would suit us down to the ground. You don’t mind the smell of strong tobacco, I hope?” 221B Baker Street on ilman muuta konsultoivan etsivän Sherlock Holmesin ja hänen kaverinsa tohtori Watsonin koti. Siellä he ottivat vastaan asiakkaansa ja päättivät, alkavatko tutkia kyläilijän kuvailemaa arvoitusta. Kaikista tämän listan paikoista 221B Baker Street on toiseksi ainoa, jossa voi tosimaailmassa vierailla! Tässä osoitteessa Lontoossa sijaitsee Sherlock Holmes -museo, jossa Holmesista ja Watsonista kerrotaan kuin he olisivat oikeita historiallisia henkilöitä! Kävin siellä itse viime vuonna, ja se oli todella hauska paikka, mutta haluaisin tietysti käydä myös tapaamassa oikeaa Holmesia viktoriaanisessa Lontoossa. 221B Baker Street is famously the home of the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion, Dr Watson. In their apartment they met their customers, listened to the case they had to offer and decided whether or not they’d take it. Out of all the places on this list, 221B Baker Street is one out of two you can actually visit! In this address in London is the Sherlock Holmes museum where Holmes and Watson are talked about as if they were actual historical figures. I visited the museum myself last year, and it was a really fun place to go to, but of course I’d like to go and meet the actual Holmes in Victorian London. The quote above by Sherlock in A Study in Scarlet Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - C CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX (STARGATE COMMAND) (Tähtiportti - Stargate SG-1 ) “Can we determine what threat they pose?” “Apparently all desserts on base are in grave danger.” Tähtiportin komentokeskus sijaitsee syvällä maan alla Cheyenne Mountainin tukikohdassa. Minua kyllä ahdistaisi olla kovin kauaa armeijan tukikohdassa kokonaisen vuoren alla, mutta toisaalta siellä on Tähtiportti, jolla pääsee näppärästi muille planeetoille, jos kaipaa uusia maisemia. Cheyenne Mountainin armeijatukikohta on muuten oikeasti olemassa oleva paikka Coloradossa. mutta koska se on armeijan tukikohta, sinne ei noin vain kävellä kyläilemään. Virallisten tietojen mukaan siellä ei ole toisille planeetoille madonreikiä luovia laitteita, mutta yhden siivouskomeron nimi kuulemma on “Stargate Command”. The Stargate Command Centre is located deep underground in the Cheyenne Mountain army base. I wouldn’t really be thrilled if I had to spend lots of time in an army base under a whole mountain but on the other hand, there’s a Stargate through which you can get to other planets in case you need new views. The Cheyenne Mountain base is an actual place, located in Colorado, but since it is an army base, one does not just walk in for a visit. According to official records, there are no devices that create wormholes to other planets, but apparently there is a broom closet called “Stargate Command”. The quote above by General Hammond and Jack O‘Neill in the Stargate SG-1 episode Urgo Stargate SG-1 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - D ANKKALINNA - DUCKBURG (Aku Ankka - Donald Duck ) “I don’t have any attachment to this town!” “Well I do! Although it… it looks different from up here. I remember when I paved each of those streets and built each of those buildings. This is my home!” Ankkalinna on Calisotan (Kalifornian kesät, Minnesotan talvet) osavaltiossa sijaitseva kaupunki, jonka perusti Julle Ankanpää ja jonka liikemies Roope Ankka pitkälti rakennutti. Sen kuuluisimpia maamerkkejä ovat Julle Ankanpään patsas, Roopen rahasäiliö ja Peikonhammas-vuori. Tämä Carl Barksin luoma kaupunki on myös Aku Ankan koti ja ankkasarjakuvien tärkein tapahtumapaikka. Siellä olisi hauska käydä kävelemässä ja tutustumassa paikallisiin nähtävyyksiin huolimatta kaikista niistä erikoisista katastrofeista (luonnollisista ja muistakin!), joiden kohteeksi kaupunki epäsäännöllisen säännöllisesti joutuu. Duckburg is a town located in Calisota (summers of California, winters of Minnesota) that was founded by Cornelius Coot and mainly built by businessman Scrooge McDuck. Its most famous attractions are the statue of Cornelius Coot, Scrooge’s Money Bin and Old Mount Demontooth. This town, created by Carl Barks, is also the home of Donald Duck and the most important location of the duck comics. It would be a fun place to walk around and see all the attractions despite all the peculiar disasters (natural and otherwise!) that more or less regularly hit the town. The quote above by Blackheart Beagle and Scrooge McDuck in A Little Something Special by Don Rosa Donald Duck by Disney

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - E EDORAS (Taru sormusten herrasta - The Lord of the Rings ) “A dike and mighty wall and thorny fence encircle it. Within there rise the roofs of houses; and in the midst, set upon a green terrace, there stands aloft a great hall of Men. And it seems to my eyes that it is thatched with gold. The light of it shines far over the land…” Edoras on Rohanin pääkaupunki, ja minä niin haluaisin käydä Rohanissa. Onhan se sentään rohirrimin, ratsuruhtinaiden maa, jossa, no, on paljon hevosia ja ihmisiä, jotka rakastavat hevosia, ja laajoja tasankoja, joilla voi ratsastaa hevosilla. Edoras itsessään on myös komea paikka, ja sen arkkitehtuuri (ainakin Peter Jacksonin elokuvissa) on todella hienoa. Edoras is the capital of Rohan, and I’d really want to visit Rohan. After all, it is the home of the rohirrim, the horse lords, and it is a country with, well, lots of horses and people who love horses and plains where you can ride horses. Edoras itself is also such an awesome place, and its architecture (at least in the movies by Peter Jackson) is really cool. The quote above by Legolas in The Two Towers, describing the town from afar The Lord of the Rings written by J. R. R. Tolkien

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - F FANTAASIA - FANTASTICA (Tarina vailla loppua - The Neverending Story ) “In Fantastica there are no measurable distances, so that ‘near’ and ‘far’ don’t at all mean what they do in the real world. They vary with the traveler’s wishes and state of mind. Since Fantastica has no boundaries, its center can be anywhere - or to put it in another way, it is equally near to, or far from, anywhere.” Fantaasian satumaassa on kaikkea: ihmeellisiä metsiä, hurjan korkeita ja valloittamattomia vuoristoja, kirjavia aavikoita, lampun henkiä, lohikäärmeitä, nelinaamaisia peikkoja… Mutta ei yhtäkään karttaa. Fantaasian maa kun ei toimi fysiikan lakien mukaan, vaan pikemminkin tarinan lakien mukaan: kaikki on siellä, missä sen kuuluu olla, ja paikka vaihtuu kun niin on tarinan kannalta sopivaa. Mutta maailmassa, joka toimii tarinan ehdoilla, on oltava varovainen, tai voi menettää todellisuuden… In the magical land of Fantastica there is everything: wondrous forests, really high and unclimbed mountains, colorful deserts, djinnis, dragons, four-faced trolls… But no maps. The land of Fantastica doesn’t operate according to the laws of physics, but rather according to the laws of story: everything is where it needs to be, and the place can change if it suits the story better. But in a world that follows the laws of story, you have to be careful not to lose reality… The quote above from The Neverending Story (the novel) The Neverending Story written by Michael Ende

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - G GALLIALAINEN KYLÄ - GAULISH VILLAGE (Asterix) “The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely…” Asterixin, Obelixin ja heidän kavereidensa kotikylä sinnittelee vapaana roomalaisten valloittajien piirittämänä. Kylä - jolla ei ole sen kummempaa nimeä, kuten muillakaan pikkukylillä siihen aikaan - sijaitsee rannikolla ja sitä suojaavat vanhat, villisikoja kuhisevat metsät. Villisiat näyttelevät yleensä kulinaarista pääroolia kylän juhlissa (kasvisvaihtoehtoja lienee harvemmin tarjolla). Minusta olisi mukavaa päästä tutustumaan gallialaiseen kylään, sen lähiseutuihin ja kylän asukkaisiin - vaikkakin vaara saada jonkin tappelun tuiskeessa kala naamaansa on aika suuri. (Tämän kuvan piirtäminen vei aika kauan, koska jäin ihailemaan Uderzon piirroksia…) The home village of Asterix, Obelix and their friends survives free though it is surrounded by invading Romans. The village - which has no particular name, just like other small villages back then - is located near the shore and protected by old forests where wild boars roam. The wild boars play the culinary main role in the village parties (vegetarian options, I assume, are not that often available). I’d really like to get to visit the Gaulish village, its surroundings and its inhabitants - even if there’s a high chance of getting hit in the face by a fish whenever a fistfight breaks out. (Drawing this one took quite some time because I got stuck admiring Uderzo’s drawings…) The quote above from the “intro” of every Asterix comic Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - H HUNAJAKENNO - HONEYCOMB (Ruohometsän kansa - Watership Down ) “It’s a wonderful idea to have a place underground where everybody can be together - talk and tell stories and so on. What do you think? Could it be done?” Pähkinä, Viikka ja muut kaniinit oppivat monia asioita matkallaan uuteen kotiinsa Watershipin vuorelle. Yksi niistä oli ajatus isosta maanalaisesta pesästä, johon kaikki yhdyskunnan kaniinit voisivat kokoontua viettämään aikaa huonolla säällä - ja niin syntyi Hunajakennoksi kutsuttu Watershipin kaniinien “olohuone”. Siellä vieraillakseen pitäisi toki itsekin muuttua kaniiniksi. Minulla ei kyllä olisi mitään sitä vastaan, ja sitä paitsi kaniinina saisi kyhjöttää kylki kyljessä muiden kaniinien kanssa ja kuunnella Voikukan tarinoita. Hazel, Fiver and other rabbits learned many things on their journey to their new home on Watership Down. One of them was the idea of a large underground burrow where all the rabbits of the warren could gather to spend time if the weather is bad - and thus Honeycomb, the Watership “living room” came to be. To visit it one would of course have to turn into a rabbit as well. I would definitely have nothing against it myself, and as a rabbit I could snuggle in with other rabbits and listen to Dandelion’s stories. The quote above by Hazel Watership Down by Richard Adams

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - I RAUTAPIHA - ISENGARD (Taru sormusten herrasta - The Lord of the Rings ) “They’re taking the Hobbits to Isengard!” “What did you say?” “The Hobbits, the Hobbits, the Hobbits, the Hobbits to Isengard, to Isengard!” Rautapiha on yksi Keski-Maan kuuluisimmista paikoista. Siellä olisi kiva käydä joko a) ennen kuin Saruman muutti koko paikan Mordorin sivukonttoriksi ja hautoi siellä örkkejä valloittamaan Ihmisten maailmaa, tai b) sen jälkeen kun entit olivat häätäneet Sarumanin ja örkit sieltä pois. Jälkimmäisen jälkeen paikka oli koko lailla kehnossa kunnossa. Voisin mennä sinne tekemään puutarhatöitä enttien avuksi. Se olisi mukavaa. Pitäisi vain varoa, ettei putoa johonkin niistä syvistä, veden täyttämistä montuista. Isengard is one of the most famous places in Middle Earth. It would be nice to visit it either a) before Saruman turned the place into Mordor vol 2 and used it to spawn orcs to conquer the world of Men, or b) after the Ents had chased Saruman and his orcs away. After the latter the whole place was pretty much a mess. I could go there to help the Ents on gardening. It would be nice. I would just wave to watch out not to fall into one of those deep, water-filled holes. The quote above by Legolas and Gollum in the legendary Taking the Hobbits to Isengard song by Erwin Beekveld from the glorious early days of the Internet (I’m not sorry about this getting stuck in your heads for the rest of the day!) The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - J JEDITEMPPELIN KIRJASTO - JEDI TEMPLE LIBRARY (Star Wars) “If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist.” Minä pidän kirjastoista. Minä pidän kaukaisista galakseista ja minä pidän jedeistä. Jeditemppelin valtava kirjasto olisi mahtava paikka! Voisin täyttää repun eväillä ja leiriytyä jonnekin nurkkaan lukemaan Kashyyykin metsien eläimistä tai Kaminon aaltojen alla vaanivista pedoista. Mahtaisikohan Jeditemppelin kirjastossa olla sarjakuvia? Ehkä avaruuslänkkäreitä? I like libraries. I like far-away galaxies and I like the Jedi. The huge library in the Jedi Temple would be an awesome place! I could just fill a backpack with food, set up a camp in some corner and just read about animals in the woods of Kashyyyk or the beasts lurking under the waves of Kamino. I wonder if they’d have comics in the Jedi Temple Library? Space westerns, maybe? The quote above by Jocasta Nu in The Attack of the Clones Star Wars created by George Lucas

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - K KASHYYYK (Star Wars) “What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?” Kashyyyk on wookieeiden kotiplaneetta. Sitä peittävät valtavien puiden muodostamat metsät, joissa asuu kaikenlaisia erikoisia eliöitä, ja puiden latvassa on wookieeiden kyliä. Eli siellä on kaikkea, mistä pidän: puita, eläimiä ja wookieeita! Kashyyyk olisi ehdottomasti harkinnan kohteena, jos saisin valita jonkin fiktiivisen paikan, johon mennä oikeasti käymään. Kashyyyk is the home planet of Wookiees. It’s covered with forests of gigantic trees where all sorts of curious creatures live, and there are Wookiee villages built in tree tops. So there’s all the things I like: trees, animals and Wookiees! If I could actually visit some fictional place, I would definitely consider Kashyyyk. The quote above by Ki-Adi Mundi in The Revenge of the Sith Star Wars created by George Lucas

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - L LOTHLÓRIEN (Taru sormusten herrasta - The Lord of the Rings ) “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater. Some there are among us who sing that the Shadow will draw back, and peace shall come again…” Lothlórien on yksi Keski-Maan haltioiden viimeisistä asuinpaikoista, jota valtiatar Galadrielin sormus ja mahti suojaavat Sauronin pahuudelta. Lórien on ihmeellisen kaunis metsä, jonka puihin rakennetuissa majoissa haltiat asuvat ja jossa aika kuluu oudolla tavalla. Menisin hyvin mielelläni katsomaan niitä puita ja majoja, mutta koska en ole haltia, saattaisi vastaanotto olla jokseenkin kylmäkiskoinen. Lórienin haltiat eivät kummemmin nimittäin piittaa turisteista. Lothlórien is one of the last living places of elves in Middle Earth, protected from the wrath of Sauron by the ring and powers of Lady Galadriel. Lórien is a magically beautiful forest, where alves live in houses built in trees and where time passes in weird ways. I’d really like to see those trees and houses built up there but beacause I’m not an elf, the welcome might be somewhat chilly. The elves of Lórien don’t really like tourists. The quote above by Haldir in The Fellowship of the Ring The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - M MUUMILAAKSO - MOOMINVALLEY (Muumit - The Moomins ) “However, I’m not bored with Moominvalley.” “Then why do you always leave?” “I don’t really know. I guess I have to. If I didn’t leave sometimes, I might forget that Moominvalley is the best place in the world.” Muumilaakso olisi oikeasti tosi kiva paikka käydä tai asua. Ilmasto on mukava (kesät lämpimiä ja talvet lumisia), rikollisuutta ei käytännössä ole mutta poliisi löytyy, ja naapurit ovat mukavia. Joskin toisinaan tosi outoja. Meressä asuu merihevosia ja lohikäärmeitä, mutta nekin ovat enimmäkseen aika kivoja. Sitä paitsi Muumitalosta saisi varmasti pannukakkuja ja vattuhilloa, jos nätisti pyytäisi. Pitää vain muistaa varoa pyrstötähtiä. Muuminvalley would actually be a really great place to visit or to live in. The climate is nice (warm summers and snowy winters, there is practically no crime but there is a police officer, and the neighbors are nice. Though sometimes really weird. There are seahorses and dragons living in the sea, but they’re generally gentle creatures. Besides, you could probably get pancakes with raspberry jam from the Moominhouse if you just asked nicely. Just remember to dodge those comets. The quote above by Snufkin and Little My in The Moomins tv series episode Musta kreivitär (I translated this from the Finnish version) The Moomins created by Tove Jansson Itse asiassa pohdin pitkään Muumilaakson ja Makunian välillä, mutta päädyin lopulta Muumilaaksoon, koska olen jo tehnyt sarjakuvan siitä, miten kiva Makuniassa olisi asua . Actually, I had a hard time choosing between Muuminvalley and Spice Land (Makunia) but ended up choosing Muuminvalley because I've already made a comic about what a nice place Spice Land would be to live in .

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - N NARNIA (Narnian tarinat - The Chronicles of Narnia ) “Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.” Narnia on maailma täynnä puhuvia eläimiä, yksisarvisia, kentaureja, velhoja, jättiläisiä, tutkimattomia saaria ja seikkailuja. Ja sinne pääsee, jos sattuu olemaan tuuria, mutta ei koskaan tarkoituksella. Jos pääsee Narniaan, se on aina lahja Aslanilta, Narniaa hallitsevalta leijonalta. Mutta tuskinpa on ketään, jolle olisi lapsena luettu Narniaa, joka ei olisi koittanut, josko omasta vaatekaapistaan pääsisi tähän satumaahan. Minä ainakin kokeilin. Narnia is filled with talking animals, unicorns, centaurs, witches, giants, unexplored islands and adventures. And you can get there if you’re lucky, but you can never get there by trying. If you get to Narnia, it’s always a gift from Aslan, the lion ruling Narnia. But I doubt there’s any child who hasn’t tried to get this fantasy land through their wardrobe after having heard the Narnia stories. At least I did. The quote above by Aslan when creating Narnia in The Magician’s Nephew The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S Lewis

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - O OZ (Ihmemaa Oz - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ) “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Oz on paitsi ihmeellisen maan myös siellä asuvan velhon nimi. Ozin maassa melkein kaikki on mahdollista: variksenpelättimet ovat eläviä, eläimet puhuvat, taikuus on todellista, ja mistä vain saa aterian ja yösijan, jos nätisti pyytää. Ozin maahan ei pääsen muuten kuin taikuuden avulla tai ilmateitse, joko kuumailmapallolla - tai pyörremyrskyn kyydissä! Kuvassa on Ozin Smaragdikaupunki, joka ei muuten oikeasti ole ihan niin vihreä kuin voisi luulla. Oz is the name of both the wondrous land and the wizard living there. In the land of Oz everything is possible: scarecrows are alive, animals talk, magic is real and you can get a meal and a place to sleep anywhere if you just ask nicely. The only ways to get to the land of Oz are by magic or air, either by a hot air balloon - or carried by a cyclone! In the picture I drew the Emerald City which is actually not as green as you might think. The (very often mis-quoted!) quote above by Dorothy in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum Bonus quote! (From The Avengers, because old man Steve is so proud of himself to understand a reference in the modern world.) Nick Fury: “And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.” Thor: “Monkeys? I do not understand.” Captain America: “I do! …I understood that reference.” More bonus quotes! (All by Jack O’Neill in Stargate SG-1 which is famous for its Oz references. They’re everywhere. Also, I show way too little love to Jack O’Neill’s character. Seriously, I could have a whole “Month of Jack O’Neill quotes”...) “What's the bad news? 'Cause unless we've redecorated the gateroom, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.” (Solitudes) “Ah, where's that yellow brick road when you need it, eh Dorothy?” (The Tok’ra) “Daniel! Try to keep it in Kansas, huh?” (Absolute Power) “Just when you think you're not in Kansas anymore, turns out you are.” (2001)

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - P JYLHÄMAA - PRIDE LANDS (Leijonakuningas - The Lion King ) “Aww! We’re gonna fight your uncle for this?” “Yes, Timon. This is my home.” “Oh. Talk about your fixer-upper! Well, Simba, if it’s important to you, we’re with you to the end.” Olisipa kiva saada käydä Jylhämaassa ja jutella kaikille sen asukkaille: leijonille, antiloopeille, gepardeille, norsuille ja muille eläimille. Voisi toki olla, etteivät asukkaat muuta tekisi kuin valittaisi siitä, että heidän valtakuntansa hallitsija kirjaimellisesti syö heitä… mutta jos unohdetaan se, niin Jylhämaa olisi aika mahtava paikka käydä. Toki ihmiselle siellä voisi olla vaarallista, joten olisi parempi vierailla eläimenä. Jos saisin valita, haluaisin olla sihteerilintu. Ihan vain siksi, että sihteerit ovat siistejä. It would be so cool to get to visit Pride Lands and talk to all who live there: lions, antilopes, cheetahs, elephants and other animals. Though it might be that all they’d do would be complaining about the fact that their ruler literally eats them… but if we forget that, Pride Land would be a pretty awesome place to visit. Of course, it might be dangerous to a human so it would be better to go there as an animal. If I could choose, I’d be a secretarybird. Just because secretarybirds are amazing. The quote above by Timon and Simba The Lion King by Disney

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - Q Q-ULOTTUVUUS - THE Q CONTINUUM (Star Trek) "I traveled the road many times, sat on the porch, played the games, been the dog, everything! I was even the scarecrow for a while." "Why?" "Because I hadn't done it." Q:t ovat Star Trekin maailman käytännössä kaikkivoipia ja kuolemattomia olentoja, jotka ovat jo nähneet ja kokeneet kaiken ja ovat siksi tylsistyneitä. Heidän maailmansa, jota meidän tavallisten kuolevaisten aivot eivät voi käsittää, näyttää meidän silmiimme vain pölyiseltä tieltä keskellä tylsää erämaata. Ei kovin kiinnostava paikka itsessään, ja lisäksi siellä asuu ainoastaan rasittavia, tylsistyneitä kaikkivoipia tyyppejä, jotka joko tappelevat keskenään tai tekevät mitä mielivät muulla maailmalla ihan vain saadakseen aikansa (jota heillä on ikuisesti) kulumaan. Mutta Q-kirjaimella on vaikea keksiä näissä haasteissa mitään, niin pitää ottaa se, minkä saa. In the world of Star Trek, the Q are practically omnipotent and immortal beings that have already seen and experienced everything and thus are bored. Their world, which cannot be comprehended by the brains of our regular mortals, only looks to us like a dusty road in the middle of a boring desert. Not really an interesting place, and also inhabited by no one but annoying, bored, omnipotent dudes who just fight amongst themselves or do whatever they please with the rest of the universe in order to pass their time (which they have endless amounts of). But coming up with anything for the letter Q in these challenges is hard so I’ve got to take what I can. The quote above by Quinn and Captain Janeway in the Voyager episode Death Wish Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - R REDWALLIN LUOSTARI - REDWALL ABBEY (Redwallin taru - A Tale of Redwall ) “See here, this is the outer wall, with its gatehouse, small wicket gates and big main threshold. Here is the main building - bell tower, Great Hall, kitchens, dormitories, infirmary, store rooms, cellar spaces… I have thought of everything that a proper Abbey needs.” Kukaan minut tunteva ei varmasti ole yllättynyt siitä, että Redwall on mukana tällä listalla. Tämä hiirien, myyrien, oravien, saukkojen ja muiden metsäneläinten rakentama luostari ja sen asukkaiden seikkailut ovat niin oleellinen osa lapsuuttani ja nuoruuttani, etten missään nimessä voinut jättää Redwallia pois. Lisäksi Redwall on upea paikka: siellä riittää salaisia sopukoita tutkittavaksi, arvoituksia ratkaistavaksi, lähimetsiä (ja kauempiakin paikkoja!) koluttavaksi, seikkailuita käytäväksi - eikä edes aloiteta kaikista niistä juhlista ja herkkuruoista, joita niissä tarjoillaan! No one who knows me probably isn’t surprised that Redwall made it to this list. This abbey, built by mice, moles, squirrels, otters and other woodland creatures, and the adventures of its inhabitants is such an integral part of my childhood that there was no way I’d leave Redwall out of my list! Besides, Redwall is an awesome place: there are so many secrets to uncover, riddles to solve, nearby woods to explore (and places further away, too!), adventures to have - and let’s not even get started with all the feasts and all the delicious food that is served there! The quote above by Abbess Germaine, working on the first drawings of Redwall Abbey in the novel Mossflower A Tale of Redwall by Brian Jacques

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - S SALAINEN PUUTARHA - THE SECRET GARDEN (Salainen puutarha - The Secret Garden ) “I think the roses have climbed and climbed and climbed until they hang from the branches and walls and creep over the ground—almost like a strange gray mist. Some of them have died but many—are alive and when the summer comes there will be curtains and fountains of roses…” Maryn ja hänen ystäviensä salassa hoitama ja vaalima puutarha on muutakin kuin ruusuja, yrttejä ja punarinnan pesiä. Se on paikka, jossa voi parantua niin henkisesti kuin fyysisestikin ja aloittaa alusta. Ihan jo puutarhana se olisi ihana paikka käydä, mutta minusta tuntuu, että tyydyn kirjan (joka muuten on erinomainen ja suosittelen sitä kaikille!) kuvauksiin. Oikea salainen puutarha kuuluu nimittäin lapsille - Marylle, Dickonille ja Colinille - ja minä olen jo aikuinen, joten saisin käydä siellä ehkä vain kutsuttuna. Mutta antaa lasten pitää salaiset puutarhansa. Antaa heidän nauraa. The garden that Mary and her friends secretly cherished and cared for is more than just roses, herbs and robin nests. It is a place where you can heal both mentally and physically and start again. Just as a garden it would be a lovely place to visit but I think I’ll have to settle for the descriptions in the book (which is really good and I recommend you read it!). The real Secret Garden belongs to children - Mary, Dickon and Colin - and since I’m an adult, I could only maybe visit it if I was invited. But let children keep their secret gardens. Let them laugh. The quote above by Mary describing the Secret Garden to Colin The Secret Garden by Frances Hogdson Burnett

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - T TULEVAISUUS - THE FUTURE “Marty, the future isn't written. It can be changed. You know that. Anyone can make their future whatever they want it to be.” Tulevaisuuteen matkustetaan monissa tarinoissa, joskus tarkoituksella, joskus vahingossa, ja joskus tarina sijoittuu jonnekin ihmiskunnan tuleviin päiviin. Välillä tulevaisuus on parempi kuin nykyisyys, toisinaan taas täysii dystopia. Tulevaisuudessa olisi mielenkiintoista käydä, mutta se, kuinka mukavaa se olisi, riippuu a) siitä, kuinka kauas tulevaisuuteen pääsisi, ja b) siitä, kuinka kiveen hakattu tulevaisuus olisi. Jos tulevaisuus olisi kamala, eikä siihen voisi vaikuttaa, olisi juttu aika kurja. Se, kuinka paljon tulevaisuuteen taas voi vaikuttaa, riippuu ihan tarinasta. Joskus jo pieni muutos muuttaa koko tulevaisuuden, joskus taas kaikki, mitä teet, johtaa tulevaisuuteen, jota yrität välttää. Vähemmästäkin saa päänsäryn. Ehkä ihan hyvä, ettei aikamatkustusta ole vielä keksitty… In many stories people travel into the future, sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident, and sometimes the story is set in the days yet to come. At times the future is a better time period than what we’re living now, at times it is a total dystopia. It would be interesting to visit the future but how much fun it would be would depend on a) how far into the future you’d get to go and b) how much that future would be set in stone. If the future was terrible and there’d be no way to change it, that would not be fun. How much the future can be affected, then, depends on the story. Sometimes the smallest of changes changes the entire future, yet sometimes everything you do causes the future you’re trying to avoid. I just get a headache from thinking about this. Maybe it’s for the better that time travel hasn’t been invented yet. The quote above by Doc Brown in Back to the Future part III Back to the Future part III directed by Robert Zemeckis Bonus quotes! “I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” (Albert Einstein) “The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.” (William Gibson) “If someone who knew the future, pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives... could you then kill that child?” (The Fourth Doctor, in Doctor Who episode Genesis of the Daleks) “This world… this future… it’s a nightmare.” (Donatello, in the 2003 TMNT series episode Same as it Newer Was) “I prefer to look on the future as something which is not written in stone. A lot of things can happen in 25 years.” (Jean-Luc Picard, in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode All Good Things) “I don’t think time travel will ever be possible. If it were, we would have been overrun by tourists from the future by now.” (Stephen Hawking) "Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future." (Yoda, in "The Empire Strikes Back) "Tulevaisuus shmulevaisuus." (Helsingin Sanomien Nyt-liite joskus teinivuosinani)

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - U UNIMAA - THE DREAM COUNTRY (Iso Kiltti Jätti - The BFG ) “This is where all dreams is beginning.” Unimaa on unien kotipaikka, viileä, väritön sumun täyttämä maa, jonne Iso Kiltti Jätti matkustaa joka päivä nappaamaan unia puhaltaakseen ne sitten yöllä lasten iloksi. Unimaassa pitää olla aivan hiljaa, jotta kuulee näkymättömät unet lentämässä ympärillään ja voi napata niitä kiinni. Monet unet ovat muljumieloja, hyviä unia, ja joskus saattaa napata myös taikakultaunen, jotka ovat niitä unista parhaita. Mutta unien maassa saavat alkunsa myös pahnarääkät, hirvittävät painajaiset, jotka IKJ:n mukaan saavat uneksijan hampaat kääntymään nurin ja ihon ryömimään pitkin lattiaa! The Dream Country is the home place of all dreams, a cool, colorless and mist-filled land where the Big Friendly Giant travels every day to catch dreams and then at night blows them for children to enjoy. You have to be very quiet in the Dream Country so you can hear the invisible dreams flying around you and catch them. Many dreams winksquifflers, good dreams, and sometimes you might even catch a golden phizzwizard which is the best kind of dream. But the Dream Country is also the home of trogglehumpers, terrible nightmares that, according to the BFG, make your teeth stand on end and your skin go creeping across the floor! The quote above by the Big Friendly Giant The BFG written by Roald Dahl

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - V VULCAN (Star Trek) “Why don't you tell me what an attractive lady I am? Or how your planet looks when the moon is full.” “Vulcan has no moon, Miss Uhura.” “I'm not surprised.” Vulcan on vulcanolaisten kotiplaneetta, joten herra Spock on kotoisin sieltä (toki hänen äitinsä on kotoisin Maasta). Vulcan on aika kuiva, kuuma ja karu planeetta, joten sitä ei ehkä kannata mennä katsomaan jännittävän luonnon tai kasvillisuuden takia. Toki Vulcanin kulttuuri on hyvin kiinnostava, loogisesti. Ainakin voisi mennä käymään logiikan historiasta kertovaan museoon. Oletan, että Vulcanilla olisi sellainen. Vulcan is the home planet of the Vulcans, so it’s Mr Spock’s home planet, too (though his mother is from Earth). Vulcan is a pretty arid and hot planet so it may not be worth a visit if you only want to see interesting nature or plants. But, logically, Vulcan culture is very interesting. You could always go the Logical History Museum. At least I’d assume there’s one on Vulcan. The quote above by Uhura and Spock in the Original Series episode The Man Trap Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - W VILLI VONKAN SUKLAATEHDAS - WILLY WONKA’S CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Jali ja suklaatehdas - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ) “Everything in this room is eatable. Even I'm eatable. But that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.” Olen käynyt parissakin suklaatehtaassa elämäni aikana. Villi Vonkan suklaatehdas on vielä hienompi kuin oikeat. Oikeissa suklaatehtaissa ei ole suklaaputousta tai kurkkivia karkkeja tai edes oravia kuorimassa pähkinöitä (toisaalta orava suklaatehtaassa ei oikeassa maailmassa varmaankaan olisi terveysviranomaisten hyväksymä, eikä edes aloiteta muiden työntekijöiden palkkatasosta!). Toisaalta oikeissa suklaatehtaissa ei ole kaikkia niitä vaaroja, jotka vaanivat Vonkan tehtaassa liian itsekkäitä lapsia… Mutta pääsisipä edes maistamaan jotain niistä herkuista, joita Vonkan suklaatehdas valmistaa! I’ve visited a couple of chocolate factories in my life. Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is even cooler than real ones. Real chocolate factories don’t have a waterfall made of chocolate, ar square candies that look round, or even squirrels that open walnuts (in the real world, a squirrel probably wouldn’t considered hygienic enough to work in a chocolate factory, and let’s not even get started on the salary of the other workers!). On the other hand, a real-life chocolate factory doesn’t have all the dangers that can hit children who are too selfish… But I wish I could at least get to taste some of the treats that Wonka’s Chocolate Factory produces! The quote above by Willy Wonka in the 2005 movie directed by Tim Burton Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - X XANADU/TRALLA LA (Aku Ankka - Donald Duck ) “...And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery…” Tralla Lan onnellisten laakso oli täydellinen, Himalajan vuoriston kätkemä idylli, jonne Roope Ankka sukulaisineen vahingossa toi kapitalismin pullonkorkkien muodossa. Myöhemmin Ankat palasivat Tralla Lahan, joskin tällä kertaa vahingossa etsiessään Xanadun kadonnutta valtakuntaa - tosin kävi ilmi, että Tralla La ja Xanadu, maidon ja hunajan maa, ovat sama paikka. Siellä voisi olla mukava asua - kunhan vain jättäisi pullonkorkit ja muut metalliesineet pois muuttokuormasta. The valley of Tralla La was a perfect, peaceful utopia hidden by the Himalayan mountains, until Scrooge McDuck and his kin accidentally brought in capitalism in the form of bottle caps. Later on, the Ducks returned to Tralla La though this time they were looking for the mythical Xanadu - and it turned out that Tralla La and Xanadu, the land of milk and honey, are one and the same. It would be a nice place to live - you’d just need to leave bottle caps and other metal items out of your moving van. The quote above from the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Bottlecaps for Tralla La by Carl Barks, Return to Xanadu by Don Rosa

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - Y YODAN MÖKKI - YODA’S HUT (Star Wars) “Look, I’m sure it’s delicious. I just don’t understand why we can’t see Yoda now.”’ “Patience! For the Jedi, it is time to eat as well. Hmm? Heh heh. Eat, eat. Hot!” Kun jediritarikunta kaatui, suuri jedimestari Yoda joutui lähtemään maanpakoon ja vetäytyi soiselle Dagobahin planeetalle. Siellä hän kökki parikymmentä vuotta opettelemassa uusia juttuja Voimasta, kunnes nuori Luke Skywalker saapui hänen oppiinsa. Dagobahilla Yodan asumus oli pieni mökki, aivan liian matala ihmiselle, mutta oikein hyvä ja kodikas Yodan kokoiselle olennolle. Kun oli viettänyt melkein 900 vuotta ihmisten mittoihin rakennetussa maailmassa, mahtoi olla mukavaa, kun sai oman kokoisen kodin ja ylsi pöydälle ilman tikkaita. Yodan mökki kyllä näyttää oikein kotoisalta paikalta, missä mielelläni istuisin takan ääressä kuuntelemassa jedimestarin juttuja. When the Jedi Order fell, the great Jedi Master Yoda had to go into exile so he moved to the swampy planet of Dagobah. There he sat some twenty years learning new stuff about the Force until a young Luke Skywalker arrived to hear his teachings. On Dagobah Yoda lived in a small hut, way too low for a human but quite nice and cozy for a creature as small as Yoda. After spending nearly 900 years in a world built for human-sized beings it must have been nice for Yoda to be able to reach the table without ladders. Yoda’s hut does look like a really homely place, and I’d like to sit there by the fireplace and listen to the Jedi Master’s stories. The quote above by Luke and Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars created by George Lucas

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - Z ZOOTROPOLIS - ZOOTOPIA (Zootropolis, eläinten kaupunki - Zootopia ) “Just 211 miles away stands the great city of Zootopia! Where our ancestors first joined together in peace and declared that anyone can be anything! Thank you and good night!” Zootropoliksessa olisi niin hauskaa käydä! Tietenkään se ei ole täydellinen paikka - eihän mikään ole - mutta se on kaupunki, jossa oikeasti yritetään huomioida kaikki sen asukkaat, pienistä sopuleista suuriin kirahveihin, vedessä viihtyvistä virtahevoista kylmästä pitäviin jääkarhuihin. Niin monta paikkaa tutkittavaksi! Mutta, kuten kämppikseni sanoi: “Mä arvaan, että sä haluaisit olla saukko tuossa maailmassa, mutta mitä sä tekisit siellä työksesi? Siellä tuskin on eläintarhoja, joihin tarvitaan oppaita.” Zootopia would be such a fun place to visit! Of course it’s not a perfect place - nothing ever is - but it is a city that really tries to take into consideration all its inhabitants, from the small lemmings to tall giraffes, from the water-liking hippos to polar bears that prefer ice and snow. So many places to explore! But, as my flatmate said, ‘I guess you’d want to be an otter in that world, but what would you do for a living? I doubt they’d have zoos for you to work as a guide in.’ The quote above by young Judy Hopps Zootopia by Disney

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - BONUS 1 PUNAINEN AUTIOMAA - THE RED DESERT “I keep giving you weapons and you keep not using them.” “Who’s idea was it to play MacGyver’s theme when Bast first entered the game, huh?” Punainen autiomaa on tärkein tapahtumapaikka roolipelissä, jota pelaan yhdessä kavereideni Douxin, Abun ja Sparkyn kanssa. Koko maailma sai alkunsa pienestä, nimettömästä autiomaan kylästä, jonka oli tarkoitus olla vain näyttämönä pienelle yhden kerran pelille. Mutta me kaikki tykästyimme hahmoihimme, joten maailma on kasvanut aika paljon - nyt Punaisesta autiomaasta löytyy useita kyliä ja muun muassa muinainen labyrintti, ja kauempana on vuoristoja, kaupunkeja, meri ja vaikka minkälaista porukkaa. Olemme jokainen vuorollamme olleet pelinjohtajina ja kasvattaneet maailmaa peli kerrallaan suuremmaksi. Tosin se alkuperäinen pieni kylä - joka sai Sparkyltä nimekseen Hiekkakylä - on edelleen sankareidemme kotipaikka ja pelimaailmamme keskipiste. Kylän vieressä on taatelipalmupelto, koska pelimme kestovitsi on alusta alkaen ollut se, että autiomaassa syödään vain maissileipää ja taateleita. The Red Desert is the main location in a role playing game I play with my friends Doux, Abu and Sparky. The whole world started off with a small, unnamed desert village that was originally only supposed to be the location for a short one-off game. But we all started really liking our characters so the world has grown quite a bit - in the Red Desert there are now several villages and an ancient labyrinth, among other things, and further away there are mountains, towns, a sea and all sorts of people. We all take turns in GMing and we’ve built the world game by game. However, the original small village - that Sparky named Sand Village - is still the home place of our characters and the central point of our game world. Next to the village there is a data palm field because we’ve had this ongoing joke since the beginning that people in the desert only eat corn bread and dates. The quote above by GM Abu and I about me/my character Bast coming up with creative ways to solve problems in the game PS. Hiekkakylän kartta löytyy täältä . PS. A map of Sand Village can be found here .

SANKARIAKATEMIA - THE HERO ACADEMY “The virtues of a hero are criticality - also towards yourself - compassion, and diplomacy. And f*cking epic battle skills!” Monta vuotta sitten kaverini Mäyris pisti pystyyn roolipelin, jonka keskipisteessä on Sankariakatemia - koulu kaikille sankareiksi haluaville. Ja sinne on tervetullut jokainen, jossa on sankarin ainesta, riippumatta koosta, väristä, lajista, jalkojen määrästä tai siitä, hengittääkö ilmaa vai vettä. Joten hahmokaartimmekin on sen mukainen, ihmisistä alienoraviin ja astmaattisiin ranskanbulldoggeihin. Akatemiasta sitten matkustellaan muihin maailmoihin seikkailemaan ja sankaroimaan. En panisi pahakseni oikeaa visiittiä Akatemiaan - mutta onneksi pääsen sinne peleissä. Years ago my friend Mäyris set up a role playing game centered around the Hero Academy - a school for anyone who wants to become a hero. And everyone with any heroism in them is welcome to this school, no matter their size, color, species, number of legs or whether they breathe air or water. So our cast of characters is also rather varied, from humans to alien squirrels and asthmatic French bulldogs. From the Academy they then travel to other worlds for adventures and heroisms. I wouldn’t say no to a real visit to the Academy - luckily I can get there in games. The quote above by the Hero Academy headmaster, played by Mäyris

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING - BONUS 3 SINUN LUOMASI MAAILMA - A WORLD YOU’VE CREATED “I wonder what’s in a book while it’s closed. Oh, I know it’s full of letters printed on paper, but all the same, something must be happening, because as soon as I open it, there’s a whole story with people I don’t know yet and all kinds of adventures and deeds and battles. And sometimes there are storms at sea, or it takes you to strange cities and countries. All those things are somehow shut up in a book. Of course you have to read it to find out. But it’s already there, that’s the funny thing. I just wish I knew how it could be.” Minä tykkään matkustaa uusiin maailmoihin kirjojen, sarjakuvien, elokuvien, tv-sarjojen ja muiden tarinoiden kautta. Hyviä tarinoita ei ole koskaan liikaa, ja tutustun mielelläni aina uusiin. Monet ystävistäni ovat hyviä tarinankertojia, ja ilokseni olen jo useita kavereideni keksimiä tarinoita päässytkin kuulemaan tai lukemaan ja näin matkustamaan heidän luomiinsa maailmoihin. Ja minun mielestäni on aina hirveän rohkeaa jakaa luomansa maailma ja tarina muiden kanssa. Minne aiot viedä minut seuraavaksi? I love traveling to new worlds through books, comics, movies, tv series and other stories. There are never too many good stories, and I’m always happy to get to know new ones. Many of my friends are good story-tellers, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to hear or read their stories and thus travel to places they’ve created. And I think it’s always very brave to share a story and a world you’ve created. Where will you take me next? The quote above from The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

A MONTH OF TRAVELLING ENDS! "And we're back!" // "Thanks, friend!" "By all means." // "Well, that was quite a few places to go to." // "Some would be interesting to visit but not to stay. Some would be merely 'interesting' to visit. Some I could move to live in." // "As per tradition, the question is: what fictional places would you like to visit?" // "Share you thoughts in the comments!" // "And do tell if you have ideas for new "Month of X" challenges. These take quite a lot of work but I do like these challenges - I hope you do, too!" Kurkkaus kulissien taakse! Tämä lappunen sisältää suunnitelmani paitsi Matkustamisen kuukauteen, myös Perheiden kuukauteen . Kuten huomaatte, ideointiprosessini on, öh, mitä on. Myös ehkä huomaatte sen, että Matkustamisen kuukausi on itse asiassa ollut suunnitelmissa jo ennen Perheiden kuukautta. Lapun kääntöpuolella on mm. suunnitelmia Yhteismaan ongelma -runon suomennokseen. Behind the scenes stuff! This piece of paper includes my plans not only for A Month of Travelling but also for A Month of Families . As you can see, my planning process is, um, what it is. You may also notice that A Month of Travelling has been work-in-progress even before A Month of Families. On the other side of this paper are for example plans for the Finnish translation of the Tragedy of the Commons poem.

ANIMAL MASH-UP "Hey, I've got a drawing challenge for you!" "Yes?" // "Draw a mash-up animal that is a combination of human, panda and zucchini!" "Okay!" // ... // "Here's the result. It looks pretty much like a Tyrannosaurus... except that it spits pickled cucumbers!" // "It doesn't have much human or panda in it, though..." // "..." // "That was one dumb dream."

WORK PLACE MOM "..." // "What's up?" // "I've just totally run out of energy." // "Do you need chocolate?" "Well, actually..." // "...right now I'd need someone to firmly but gently tell me to go home." // "Kati. Go home." // "Yes." // "Would you like that chocolate, too?" "Yes

ROACHES COME TO THE HOUSE "I again worked in the zoo throughout the summer and showed cockroaches to people every day. And many really liked them, despite of not expecting it!" // "And, well, I like them, too." // "I've always liked animals, but I can't (at least for now) have a cat or a dog. I wouldn't have the time to take care of one." // "Nut roaches! They're really easy to take care of, and at the same time they're fashinating little creatures!" // I got a used terrarium for them. // "Cockroaches don't eat that much. One apple is enough for a bunch of them for two weeks." // "After decorating the terrarium I was ready to get some new friends." // "But, many might ask... what are these roaches like?" "There are approximately 4,500 species of cockroaches in the world! That's about as many as species of mammals." // Cockroaches have a rather bad reputation even though they're mostly totally harmless and important decomposers. // "My roaches are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, often just called 'hissers'. They are popular pets." // Madagasgar hissing cockroach ( Gromphadorhina portentosa ) - Smells and feels its surroundings with antennae - Has no wings, therefore doesn't fly. - Can climb up a class wall with the hooks and suckers of its feet. - Females can reproduce without males so I only got males. These roaches don't lay eggs but give birth to live young! - Eats fruit and other plant material. - The head is under the body. Poor eyesight. - Males have humps in their front back, females lack the humps. - One of the largest species of cockroach - up to 8 cm long! - When they get scared they let air out of the breathing tubes in their abdomen producing a strong hissing sound - hence the name! - Coloration varies from mahogany brown to all black. Torakoiden seikkailut jatkuvat... // The roach adventures will continue...

THE ROACHVENGERS "Most roaches are apparently bought for food for pet lizards...." "Well, then you can be like..." // "You have been chosen! You have been saved!" " "Years ago we zoo summer guides had our own 'summer roaches'". Someone had named them Wanda, Thor, Black Widow and Hulk." // "So they were all super heroes, which I found hilarious. I named my own roach boys according to the same principle." // "Bruce, after Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk; Steve, after Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America; Tony, after Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man; and Clint, after Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye." (Hawkeye is a bit ironic name for a creature that sees very little.) BRUCE - all black - the largest of the roaches - the left antenna has broken - a feisty fellow with very loud hissing STEVE - easy to recognize by the brown splotches on his sides - broken antennae - almost as large as Bruce - hisses a lot and often jump out of your hands TONY - all black - smaller and wider than Bruce - very long and elegant antennae - pretty calm personality CLINT - dark brown back - very skinny abdomen - rather calm fellow - possibly the brain of the bunch

ROACH SCHOOL "Hey, easy now..." "Heeeeeellllppp!!!" // "My roaches are not at all used to be held on hand so they really freak out about it. I'm sure they get used to it eventually but maybe I could train them a little." // "If they could connect being held to something nice... Maybe they'd like to eat jam if I put some on my hand." // Tony didn't care about jam. "There's jam." "Oh. Well, I'll just sit here." // Bruce didn't even notice the jam. "There's jam - "Ruuuuuunnn!" // Neither did Steve. "There's j - " "Aaaaaahhh!" // But Clint... "Hey, what's this --?" // "Oh boy, JAM! Munchmunchmunchmunchmunchmunch..." Clint might be the brain of the operation.

FAREWELLS "I'm going to the store. Good bye!" // "Bad bye!" // "..." // "Neutral bye!!!"

THE BALI ANTRILL Paluu eläinyhdistelmähaasteen pariin! Tällä kertaa ihan oikeasssa elämässä... Tämänkertaiset internetin ihmemaan satunnaisgeneraattorin valitsemat eläimet olivat balinkottarainen, muurahaiskarhu ja mandrilli. Tapani mukaan aloitin piirtämällä kuvia oikeista eläimistä. Return to animal mash-up challenges! This time in real life... The animals that a random animal generator somewhere in the Internet gave me were Bali myna, anteater and mandrill. As usual, I started off by drawing pictures of the actual animals. Seuraavaksi suunnittelin, miten nämä eläimet muodostaisivat yhden eläimen, jossa olisi kaikkien kolmen piirteitä. Next I planned how these animals would merge together into one creature with characteristics from all three. Ja tässä on lopullinen balinmuurdrilli! And here's the final Bali antrill! - can lift and lower its crest according to its emotions - thick tail help in keeping balance while climbing - males have more brightly-colored facial patterns than females - catches insects with its long tail - flexible toes and opposable thumbs help in climbing and strong claws in ripping tree bark - walks on its knuckles to prevent its claws from wearing - a young individual is grey and its face less colorful than adults' Jos jollain lukijalla on hyviä ideoita eläinyhdistelmiin, niin kertokaa toki! (Kesäkurpitsa ei ole eläin.) If some of you readers have good ideas for animal mash-ups, feel free to tell me! (A zucchini is not an animal.)

PELLET TASTING "These roaches are pretty cute alright. What do they eat?" // "Veggies, I often give them apple. And these bunny pellets, too." // "What do those taste like?" "I don't know, I haven't tested." // "Well, I'll taste them." "Me, too!" // "Hmm...grainy. Not bad." "Surprisingly salty." "Like a meadow pressed into a block." "Piquant! Green..." // "Like some sort of tea powder." "Yes. Kinda, like, forest-y." // "The aftertaste is rather long." "Let's have more." "Hey seriously now."

NEW INTRODUCTION TEXTS Blogini vanhat esittelytekstit olivat vuodelta 2017, joten oli jo korkea aika tehdä uudet. Löytyvät tuolta yläpalkista Mitä kummaa? -osiosta. Alla ne vanhat vielä muistoksi. My blog's old introduction texts were from 2017 so it was time to make new ones. You can find them in the Mitä kummaa? (What on Earth?) section up there. Here are the old ones just for fun. "We start by placing a large cauldron on fire." // "First, bring three liters to boil and season with black pepper, rosemary, ginger and cardamom." // "And then we add..." // "One hat and some feathers. Preferably a cowboy hat and owl feathers, but other kinds will do as well." // "One and half libraries of books..." // "A couple of bottles of ink and some water colors." // "One pocket knife and tent ropes to taste..." // "A large bucketful of science fiction and a house plant. Or two." // "Lastly, a pair of binoculars and some griffin tail hair." "Let simmer for a quarter of a century and stir every now and then." // "And - TA-DAH!" "What is this book, anyway? ' How to make your own comic blogger '? Yeah, nice..." // "Well, good work! I guess..." // "So, anyways, hello! I'm Kati, a biologist, student, nerd, camp leader and the person writing this blog." // "I started my blog 'Gaiverruksia' in the autumn of 2015 as I went to study in Scotland for a year, and now I'm keeping it just for fun." // "English translations for my non-Finnish friends!" // "Luckily, I'm not alone in this world or in this blog. Here are some people who have appeared in this blog..." Mother: Likes carrots and her balcony. Big Brother: Plays tennis and bakes buns. Dad: Calls me every now and then, cooks often. Snowhorse: An artist and my mental twin. Mr. Brony: A birdwatcher and my camp leader partner. Wiivu: One of the reasons I like scifi. Julia: A camp friend and one of the reasons for me to star this blog. Romeo: Dragged to the woods by Julia. Also, a fellow nerd. Julia's big brother: Camp master. Not actually related to Julia. Knitter: Often found climbing walls.

A BRAND NEW LOGO Vanha logoni oli ollut minulla jo kuutisen vuotta, joten päätin vaihtaa sen, vaikka kyllä pidän siitä. I'd had the same logo for six years so I decided to change it, even though I still do like it. Saukko tosin sai jäädä uuteenkin logoon. I kept the otter in the new logo, though.

ONE THOUSAND "Guess what? This is the ONE THOUSANDTH article in the Gaiverruksia blog!" // "I started this blog on September 3rd, 2015. It took a little over eight years to get to 1000 articles." // "I wouldn't have believed back then that my exchange blog would keep on living this long. But I'm glad it did." // "This is what I looked like in the very first post! There has (luckily!) been some development. Especially for the hair." // "So... Thanks to all of you who've been reading this silly little blog." // "I hope reading Gaiverruksia has brought you joy, as keeping it brings to me. Because... Thise were the FIRST one thousand articles."