Ask Me Anything: Live from Finland, North_Ranger

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North_Ranger

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You said Lapland was good for outdoorsy stuff during the winter.

Since I'm afraid of snow, are there any good places for outdoorsy stuff during the summer. Hiking, kayaking, etc?
Kayaking... not so much to my knowledge. Finland is a nation of lakes and rivers, and human habitation here has always centered around waterways (Turku has River Aura, Helsinki used to be a fishing village, Tampere sprang up from the harnessing of the Tammerkoski Rapids for industry, and so on). You might have better luck in Lapland during the summer, but bring your bug spray with you. The mosquitoes up there come in the size of small pets.

Hiking: Lapland, again, especially during ruska; the time in autumn when all the trees turn from green to gold, red and orange. Summers are good, too (save for the swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes). Eastern and Central Finland also offer good chances for hiking, and the "Everyman's Rights" allow the use of wood for warmth, berries and mushrooms for sustenance and the like when you go out camping on non-privately owned land. 'Cept in national parks and nature reserves, of course.

---------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 PM ----------

are you really serious when you think your naked flesh will scare whale hunters?

(bad japan, though, seriously)
As serious as I be aboot ninjas lurkin' in me 'ome.
 

fade

Staff member
When you imagine yourself (as a player in an average daily thought process), who or what are you?
 

fade

Staff member
The "you" in your head, who or what is he? You know. When a "play" or rehearsal goes on in your head, who's playing you?
 
Q

Qonas

Vodka preference?

Are you proud of the rich Scandinavian roots in heavy/death/symphonic metal music?
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
Vodka preference?
I'm more of a whiskey man, to be honest. But I prefer either Finlandia or Leijona. Support domestic alcohols and what not ;)

Are you proud of the rich Scandinavian roots in heavy/death/symphonic metal music?
Death metal, not so much: it's more of a Norwegian or Icelandic thing. Heavy and symphonic metal... well, a little. I used to be a big Nightwish fan until Tarja Turunen left the band. The current vocalist... well, she's okay, but she can't do that hauntingly beautiful voice as Tarja did.
 
O

Occasional Poster

Do you have any real hostility towards Sweden/Swedes or are you just being entertaining?
It's a kind of a friendly rivalry, to be honest. Though some of the Swedish-speaking Finns tend to be really snooty...[/quote]

Fair enough. It was just a little strange to me because to my knowledge, that friendly rivalry is completely one-sided. I've encountered the same thing with Swedes, but only against Norwegians or Danes. That might just be because I did not grow up in the northernmost parts of Sweden, closer to Finland.

New question! Did you laugh yourself silly when Conan visited Finland? :)
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
New question! Did you laugh yourself silly when Conan visited Finland? :)
Yes, I did. But I was also disappointed he did not visit Turku, even though the city council had offered him a summer cabin in the archipelago ;)

Maybe he was scared of the video invitation, since it was shot in a night club... with a Conan O'Brien theme that night... with people dressed up as him getting in free... myself included.
 
Q

Qonas

Whisky of choice? Do you go American with JD or is there a local distillery that puts out a good product? Also, since they're so related, how about scotch?
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
Whisky of choice? Do you go American with JD or is there a local distillery that puts out a good product? Also, since they're so related, how about scotch?
As something of a Hibernophile, I prefer my whisky as Irish uisce beatha ;) Jameson, to be precise. Besides that, I don't really drink.

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How proud is Finland of Simo Haya and the Winter War in WWII?
If you mean Simo Häyhä, one of the best snipers of WWII... then yes, I am. He's not that well-known hereabouts; Finnish war "myths" mostly focus on our bad-ass Field Marshall Mannerheim.

And yes, considering that the Finnish Army was underequipped and outnumbered, and still managed to keep Finland from being occupied and turned into a Soviet satellite... yes, I'm proud. Continuation War and the Germans in Lapland... not so much.

Also, welcome to the Halforums, mate!
 
Q

Qonas

I'm going right back to music, as I totally agree with you Ranger on Tarja and Nightwish:

Have you heard of the band Leaves' Eyes? If so, thoughts? If not go and buy a CD of theirs because holy shit.
 
Q

Qonas

They're symphonic metal as well. They aren't Finnish, obviously, but Norwegian. The singer has an AMAZING voice; not haunting like Tarja's but just as beautiful. And, of course, they f'ng rock.
 

Cajungal

Staff member
I'm assuming that your favorite fantasy race is Dwarf. What's your second favorite?


Is there a song you listen to to get pumped up?


Ideal job?


Who's the funniest person you know?


What's the saddest/funniest movie you've ever seen?


Do you prefer blondes, brunettes, or redheads?


Do you ever wear hats? If so, what kind?


Do you prefer sweet or salty snacks?


Are you squeamish about anything like spiders, snakes, blood, etc?
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
I'm assuming that your favorite fantasy race is Dwarf. What's your second favorite?
I'm actually quite partial to humans in fantasy settings. But to answer your question... I would have to say elves. The woods-dwelling hippy kind, not the stuck-up, magic-farting kind. 'cept in World of Warcraft: there I just LURVE the Tauren and the Trolls.


Is there a song you listen to to get pumped up?
There's a few, actually.
Fields of Glory, sung by the High Kings (Irish trad).
Over the Hills and Far Away, a cover version by Nightwish.
Galway Girl by Mundy and Sharon Shannon.


Ideal job?
Realistically? High school English teacher, especially in an IB programme.
Of course, if it would happen that I would actually publish a fantasy novel or two and be hailed as the next Tolkien, I wouldn't mind :D


Who's the funniest person you know?
Probably a friend of mine from the Medieval Market. He's this tall, lanky fellow with a wicked sense of humour. We call him "Jesus" because that was his role in a church Easter play a year or two back.


What's the saddest/funniest movie you've ever seen?
Well... the only movie that has ever made me cry was Schindler's List. My God, when Itzhak Perlman starts playing that violin my heart just bleeds.

Funniest, though... That's a tricky one. I'd probably go with Iron Man, specifically the parts where Tony Stark is building his armor and manages to all but destroy his lab. I laughed my ass off when I saw that. And more recently, Hangover. Gotta get that on DVD...

Do you prefer blondes, brunettes, or redheads?
Mmmm... In all honesty, I don't think I have much of a preference hairwise. Just as long as it ain't green, purple or blue :p It's the package, not the toppings.


Do you ever wear hats? If so, what kind?
Cajun, have you seen my noggin? It's frickin' huge. I'd love to wear a nice-looking fedora or a rimmed hat, but there just isn't any around in my sizes. Usually I go bare-headed, or when it's too cold, I use a black woollen cap.


Do you prefer sweet or salty snacks?
Sweet, unfortunately. Chocolate pudding is yummy, but not as good as homemade strawberry rahka.

Are you squeamish about anything like spiders, snakes, blood, etc?
Slimy things like snails and slugs creep me out. I can watch a zombie movie while eating ketchup-laced spaghetti carbonara, but show me a close-up of a garden snail and I'll lose my apetite for the rest of the day.

Also, for some reason suede makes my hair stand up, my skin going all goose-pimply. I don't know why, but there's something about that texture that makes me go all "getitoffgetitoffGETITOFF!".
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
So you write. How many projects ya got goin right now, if any?
Nothing creative, to be honest.

Writing (or at least trying to) my Master's Thesis, 'Many Faces of Caliban: Marina Warner's Indigo, or Mapping the Waters'. I fear it's about as interesting as it sounds.

Making a custom Token (a magic item) for our current WoD campaign. Playin' Changeling: The Lost.

And of course, gaming at night time. Storytelling RP...
 

Cajungal

Staff member
I dunno, sounds intriguing. :D

So aside from writing a great fantasy novel, what's another dream of yours I might not know about?
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
I dunno, sounds intriguing. :D

So aside from writing a great fantasy novel, what's another dream of yours I might not know about?
Don't tempt me, I might ask you to proofread it.

As for the dream... *sighs* Well, I guess I've mentioned this before... I would love to be a good husband and father.
 
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