A Mysterious Winner.

'Mysterious Black Box'

I recently entered a contest hosted by Theodora Dimitrijevic on the art website Fine Art America. The contest entitled 'Mysterious' gave me the chance to enter one of my more obscure images called 'Mysterious Black Box'. And it turned out to be the winning entry.

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Alan

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World Cup 2010 - Vuvuzelas for pan pipes anyone?

As the soccer World Cup invades our livingrooms I recently received an interesting theory from my brother.

Mathematic Calculations To Determine the 2010 World Cup Winner

Mathematicians have worked out a formula to determine

who will the 2010 World Cup.

In 1970 and 1994 the winner of the world cup was Brazil

And when you add 1970 and 1994 together you get 3964

In 1978 and 1986 Argentina won the world cup.

And when you add 1978 and 1986 together you get 3964

In 1990 and 1974 Germany won the world Cup

Again when you add 1990 and 1974 together you get 3964.......

So to work out the winner of the world cup,

you need to take 2010 away from 3964,

which leaves you with 1954......

And who was the winner in 1954: Germany!

So logically you should all put your money on Germany

to win the 2010 World Cup!

We shall have to wait and see if it comes true. From what I have seen of Germany so far, it may be a good bet. It's early days though!

I haven't got into this 2010 World Cup as much as I'd like to, especially as my home country Ireland didn't qualify. Neither did Finland, the country where I now live. I followed every match in Finland's World Cup campaign on television with the same passion I normally reserve for Ireland. It was a special treat to watch two of my favorite ex-Liverpool players Sami Hyypiä and Jari 'The King' Litmanen play together in the Finland jersey.

Unfortunately we will not see Ireland or Finland in South Africa, and I thought they both deserved to be there.

Nevermind, for the moment I have placed my hope in Chile, a team I'm not that familiar with. I do know they have a few skillful players and I would really like to see them do well.

As we have withnessed, there seems to more and more money issues entering the game of football these days. The latest news being the eviction of a group of female Dutch fans for wearing mini skirts. Apparently they had something to do with 'ambush marketing' for a beer company. As far as I know they were only wearing plain orange dresses, although I heard they wear designed by the beer company. Anyway, haven't the Dutch been wearing orange for many years now at World Cups, the girls were simply wearing the colours of their country.

I know soccer has had money interests and involvement for decades. It needs it just the same as any other professional sport, otherwise the sport just wouldn't be worth watching. And what sort of supporters would travel half way around the globe to watch a bunch of amateurs play?

I do feel however that the more and more of a role money has to play in this sport, the sooner we will see an implosion of what soccer is all about.

To me soccer is a great game. A game enjoyed by many nations around the world. A game that can make a star out of the poorest child who starts his talent kicking an old can around dirty streets. It's not a sport one needs to have wealth to go forward. Soccer is also a sport that can unite and uplift the spirit of an entire nation. As an Irish citizen living in Dublin during a remarkable spell for Irish international soccer, I witnessed how a country can be transformed by a few balls kicked in the back of the opposition's net. Between 1988 and 1994, Ireland had qualified for one European Championship Finals and two World Cups Finals. A remarkable feat for a small country. Such was the excitement of being on the world stage of soccer, the whole country was sent in to a state of massive euphoria.

O'Connell Street, Dublin City, Ireland

2.30pm, 12 June 1988

This is a painting I made back in 1988.

It depicts the scene on Dublin's busiest city street at kick-off time

during the Republic of Ireland and England match at the

1988 European Football Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

I made this drawing from a newspaper photograph later that week.

I was a little busy to paint 'plein air' at the time!

Just ask any Irishman what it was like in Ireland at this time and they will give you a long and detailed answer. I believe it was this happiness and positivity that set the wheels in motion to creating a better country and the hope of a better economy. Times were hard in Ireland in the eighties, politicians were more reckless than usual, but public spirits were high from 1988 onwards. Once the Irish football team were playing well, people had a reason to cheer and be optimistic.

This in a way is why I would like to see Chile get a few good results. The country suffered a lot earlier this year when a massive 8.8 earthquake occured there. I think one or two good results and maybe a few magical goals will unite it's people and give a little hope and encouragement to make things better again. So throw away those awful vuvuzelas and let's hear the pleasant sound of the Chilean pan pipes instead! (Surely these vuvuzelas should be banned after players from both the Netherlands and Denmark complained they could not hear each other over the deafening sound)

Incantation - Cacharpaya 1982

This is a great tune by a band that features an Irishman, a Scotsman, two Englishmen and three Chilean musicians. You may remember their music from the 1986 film 'The Mission' starring Robert De Niro.

Chile begin their World Cup 2010 campaign today,

so Go Chile!!

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-Alan

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Down By The River - Billnäs Bruk

Down by the river

- Billnäs -

I took a visit to a photo exhibition last week in a nearby village called Billnäs.

Situated on the Svartå Mustio river in the south of Finland this area is well-known for its old ironworks founded in 1641.

This small village is not just any old industrial site full of old memories and history, it's also a wonderfully picturesque place to relax or go for a stroll, full of nature! In fact, the whole collection of old stone buildings and wooden houses in Billnäs compliment the already present natural beauty of the area.

The exhibition I went to see featured a collection of old photos from various stages of the area's history. Photos of the land, it’s buildings and many of it’s inhabitants and workers over the years. All these old photographs were blown up to a large scale especially for the exhibition and were presented in one of the many old buildings on the site of the old Ironworks. So this exhibition was a great opportunity for me to get a feel for what life was like here in days gone by. Billnäs has it’s own website with more detailed information on it’s history here.

The ironworks in Billnäs was incorporated into to the well-known Fiskars group in 1920, who kept up the manufacture of tools etc.

However with modern industry evolving over the coming years the more traditional practices at the ironworks became obsolete.

Nowadays this area is a hub for small enterprise and development. It has become a tourist hotspot with events, exhibitions, cafes and restaurants.

Only a 30 minute walk from where I live in Karis, Billnäs is a place I like to visit quite frequently, especially in the summer months. It’s also a chance for me to get out and grab some well-needed exercise. It's a pleasant place to walk around on a warm summers day, especially along the river. I always start humming this favorite song of mine by the singer Neil Young everytime I go there.

While visiting the photo exhibition last week I noticed that a new outdoor entertainment area was under construction. A nice area for a band to play and a large decking area for dancing was already in place. There was even an outdoor bar almost ready. The only things missing were a few beer taps! It wasn't a perfect day after all!

Situated next to a scenic river this place is just what the area needs. I just hope they don’t have a cover charge when it’s finally up and running. A good evening out can be expensive enough when just ordering a few drinks and a taxi.

For anyone interested in seeing the wonderful photo exhibition at Billnäs, you're too late.

Sorry but it's over, it finished on May 23.

But thank you for reading my blog.

You are welcome to look at my art at The Art Garage 

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-Alan 

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Lady Mosquito Makes Me GaGa!

Forget about your bats, vampires or other blood-sucking stereotypes, when it comes to getting down to the business of sucking blood there's no finer diner than the much-loved mosquito!

While I pause to let that little bit of sarcasm melt, yet another one of the little feckers has bitten me. Little ba$*@rd!!!

And it’s the lady or female mosquito who does all the biting on us humans.

Of course, here in Finland they have been telling me that it's way too early for mosquitos.

But just last evening while enjoying a barbeque at home guess who dropped by for a bite.

Yes, they're here again!

I reckon it's because of the unusually good weather we've been having here recently. I read that Finland has been one of the warmest places in Europe for the last week or so, so it's no surprise that the mosquito eggs have hatched early.

Today I am counting 9 mosquito bites on my arms, legs and ankles. And that's not many for me. I usually get a lot more.

Before moving from Ireland to Finland my experience of mosquitos was zero.

We are not accustomed to dangers from any of nature's little creatures. The only creature I ever feared while living in Ireland was the wasp, who will only ever attack if provoked. So basically, if you get stung by a wasp, you most likely upset him in some way and deserved his sting. On occasion however, you will just meet a wasp with a bad attitude. We have a few of them back in Ireland. So if you happen to have a jam sandwich in your mouth, be alert!.

I have not forgotten my first summer visit to Finland, I still suffer from the trauma of my first Finnish mosquito encounter.

Wonderful weather gave me an excuse to throw on my shorts and enjoy a Finnish summer evening by the sea with friends. Finnish sausages, barbeque, sauna, beer and chilling-out was the order of the day. The food tasted great and the beer was going down quickly. So much so that I neglected to put on some long trousers, advice given by friends but ignored by me of course. We Irish can be a stubborn lot after a few drinks. Afraid of nothing! .....What's that?...Mosquitos?.... No problem! ....Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah!

Well, next morning just as my friends had predicted, my pale white Irish skin was looking more like a raspberry cheesecake with the constant irritation us Irish normally get from politicians just before a general election. I reckon the mosquitos decision to focus all their attention to my brightly coloured legs was not caused by accident. It was definately not an act of gaining a more comfortable environment to start drilling for blood. Unlike most Finnish people, I happen to have a lot a hair on my legs, so unless the mosquitos can grab onto those hairs as means of support I don't see why they wouldn't share their attention elsewhere. I do have a notion as to their concentration on me however. I reckon it has something to do with my Irish blood. Maybe I'm just talking rubbish, but perhaps this old celtic blood flavoured with the hint of Guinness and all things Irish over many years appeals to the Finnish mosquito. Maybe those mosquito connoisseurs judge Irish blood like a fine Beaujolais wine. A Château Margaux perhaps? And it's not like they can bottle it and keep it in a cellar. No, I reckon if they get the opportunity to wine and dine on Irish blood they'll take it. In fact they'll most likely invite the whole family over too.

Anyway, I won't linger with my 'memories', I don't want to discourage anyone from visiting Finland. It's a great place and you do get used to the mosquitos no matter how much of a nuisance they can be.

I am presently trying to concoct a low-cost recipe with household items for a mosquito-deterrant spray. The sprays they have in shops can be quite expensive and they don't last very long. If anyone has a suggestion or advice let me know.

Have you read my most recent mosquito blogpost called

 'First Blood: No Man, No Law, No War can stop him!'

Thanks for reading my blog and please share it with all your friends.

-Alan

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