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The Grump (fictional Character)
The Grump ( fi, Mielensäpahoittaja ‘a person who always gets upset’) is a fictional character created by the Finnish author Tuomas Kyrö for a causerie series. Personality and whereabouts The Grump is a man who writes letters-to-the-editor for various newspapers, full of complaints about all things imaginable. He basically has the attitude that "everyone is entitled to my opinion." ''Mielensäpahoittaja'' is a cranky old man of roughly 80 years of age, and he is from Häme, as his dialect is a variant of the Tavastian dialects. He lives in the countryside, termed ''Sysi-Suomi'', which is ironic portmaneau of various hyphenated Finlands (e.g. ''Sisä-Suomi'' ‘Inner Finland’) and ''sysimusta'' ‘pitch-black’; cf. " Dark Continent". Originally his complaints were heard on the Finnish radio, interpreted by actor Antti Litja. Later his writings have been published in Finnish in three books and also in '' Helsingin Sanomat'' from the Christmas of 2010 until the summer of 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuomas Kyrö
Tuomas Kyrö (born June 4, 1974, in Helsinki) is a Finnish author and cartoonist. He has written novels, columns, causeries and plays and drawn comics and cartoons. Kyrö has received a prize from the Kalevi Jäntti Foundation in 2005 and the Young Aleksis Prize in 2006. His novel ''Liitto'' was a candidate for the Finlandia Prize in literature in 2005. The Finnish Sports Museum Foundation chose the book ''Urheilukirja'' (‘Sports Book’) as the Sports Book of the Year in 2011. Kyrö's book '' Mielensäpahoittaja'' (‘The Man Who Gets Upset About Things’) appeared in 2010, and it was based on the radio drama series with the same title, broadcast by YLE in Radio Suomi, in which Antti Litja played the key character. Tuomas Kyrö was the first person to be granted residence in the Eeva Joenpelto authors’ home in 2005–2009. He lives in Janakkala, Finland, together with his family. Works Novels * ''Nahkatakki'' (‘Leather Jacket’). WSOY, Helsinki, 2001. * ''Ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George (given Name)
George () is a masculine given name derived from the Greek Geōrgios (; , ). The name gained popularity due to its association with the Christian martyr, Saint George (died 23 April 303), a member of the Praetorian Guard who was sentenced to death for his refusal to renounce Christianity, and prior to that, it might have been a theophoric name, with origins in Zeus Georgos, an early title of the Greek god Zeus. Today, it is one of the most commonly used names in the Western world, though its religious significance has waned among modern populations. Its diminutives are Geordie and Georgie, with the former being limited primarily to residents of England and Scotland. The most popular feminine forms in the Anglosphere, are Georgia, Georgiana, and Georgina. History Etymology and origins Its original Greek form, Georgios, is based on the Greek word ''georgos'' (γεωργός) 'farmer'. The word ''georgos'' itself is ultimately a combination of two Greek words: ''ge'' (γ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen (; born 4 November 1955) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, he was a journalist. Vanhanen is the son of professor Tatu Vanhanen and Anni Tiihonen. Career Vanhanen studied political science at the University of Helsinki, graduating as a Master of Social Sciences in 1989. He was chairman of the Centre Party Youth League from 1980 to 1983. He also served as a member of the Espoo City Council from 1981 to 1984. Vanhanen used to work as a journalist. He was an editor (1985–1988) and editor-in-chief (1988–1991) at the local newspaper ''Kehäsanomat''. In a column in ''Suomenmaa'' (the Centre Party's organ), he strongly condemned the ''Baltic Star'' pro-Estonian independence demonstration held in Helsinki in July 1985, calling the demonstration "provocative". Vanhanen was elected to the Finnish Parl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross-country Skiing (sport)
Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions include the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, and at the Winter Olympic Games. Such races occur over homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic (in-track) and freestyle events, where the skiers may employ skate skiing. It also encompasses cross-country ski marathon events, sanctioned by the Worldloppet Ski Federation, and cross-country ski orienteering events, sanctioned by the International Orienteering Federation. Related forms of competition are biathlon, where competitors race on cross-country skis and stop to shoot at targets with rifles, and paralympic cross-country skiing that allows athletes with disabilities to compete at cross-country skiing with adaptive equipment. Norwegian army un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pekka Vasala
Pekka Antero Vasala (born 17 April 1948) is a retired Finnish middle-distance athlete who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City he failed to advance from the first round of heats in the 1500 m. In Munich he won the 1500 m race in a time of 3 minutes 36.3 seconds, ahead of Kip Keino and Rod Dixon. His countryman Lasse Virén had won the 5,000 m earlier in the day, in addition to winning the 10,000 m in world record time earlier in the games. With a medal in every track event from 1500 to 10,000 meters, three gold and one bronze (Tapio Kantanen in the 3000 meter steeplechase) Finnish athletes achieved a level of success not seen since the era of the "Flying Finns" (1912–1936). His nephew, Samuli Vasala, also an athlete, won the 2003 Nordic Cross Country Championships The Nordic Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition that is contested between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lasse Virén
Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola in the 1920s. He was elected Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 1972 and 1976 and later became a politician and a member of Finland's parliament in 1999–2007 and 2010–2011. Biography Early career Virén began his running career in the United States at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. Virén ran on the Varsity Cross-Country team for BYU for one season, before returning home to his native Finland. A police officer from Myrskylä, Virén debuted on the international scene in 1971. His performances at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki were overshadowed by fellow Finn Juha Väätäinen, who captured gold medals in both the 5000 and 10,000 metres events with Virén settling for modest seventh and 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. The event was overshadowed by the Munich massacre in the second week, in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer at Olympic village were killed by Palestinian Black September members. The motivation for the attack was the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The 1972 Summer Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin, which had taken place under the Nazi regime, and the most recent Olympics to be held in the country. The West German Government had been eager to have the Munich Olympics present a democratic and optimistic Germany to the world, as shown by the Games' official motto, ''"Die Heiteren Spiele"'', or "the cheerful Games". The logo of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have been awarded in the arts, for example, by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, usually as a symbol of an award to give an outstanding student some financial freedom. Others offer only the prestige of the award. Many organizations now award gold medals either annually or extraordinarily, including various academic societies. While some gold medals are solid gold, others are gold-plated or silver-gilt, like those of the Olympic Games, the Lorentz Medal, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize medal. Nobel Prize medals consist of 18 karat green gold plated with 24 karat gold. Before 1980 they were struck in 23 karat gold. Military origins Before the establishment of standard military awards, e.g., the Medal of Honor, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Television Licence
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence fee paid. The fee is sometimes also required to own a radio or receive radio broadcasts. A TV licence is therefore effectively a hypothecated tax for the purpose of funding public broadcasting, thus allowing public broadcasters to transmit television programmes without, or with only supplemental funding from radio and television advertisements. However, in some cases, the balance between public funding and advertisements is the opposite – the Polish broadcaster TVP receives more funds from advertisements than from its TV tax. History The early days of broadcasting presented broadcasters with the problem of how to raise funding for their services. Some countries adopted the advertising model, but many others adopted a compulsory public su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen River, Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea's border with South Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like South Korea, its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and List of islands of North Korea, adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city. In 1910, Korean Empire, Korea was Korea under Japanese rule, annexed by the Empire of Japan. In 1945, after the Surrender of Japan, Japanese surrender at the End of World War II in Asia, end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Bernadotte
The House of Bernadotte is the royal family of Sweden since its foundation there in 1818. It was also the royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder, Charles XIV John of Sweden, was born in Pau in southern France as Jean Bernadotte. Bernadotte, who had been made a General of Division and Minister of War for his service in the French Army during the French Revolution, and Marshal of the French Empire and Prince of Ponte Corvo under Napoleon, was adopted by the elderly King Charles XIII of Sweden, who had no other heir and whose Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg thus was soon to be extinct on the Swedish throne. History of the house Following the conclusion of the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden lost possession of Finland, which had constituted roughly the eastern half of the Swedish realm for centuries. Resentment towards King Gustav IV Adolf precipitated an abrupt ''coup d'état''. Gustav Adolf (and his son Gustav) was deposed and his uncle Charle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Ham
A Christmas ham or Yule ham is a ham often served for Christmas dinner or during Yule in Northern Europe and the Anglosphere. The style of preparation varies widely by place and time. Despite the common claim that the tradition of eating ham is related to the Germanic pagan ritual of sacrificing a wild boar known as a sonargöltr to the Norse god Freyr during harvest festivals, this is highly dubious. In fact, in the United States, ham only became popular as a Christmas food in the 20th century.Stavros Macrakis, "How Old is American Christmas Ham?", '' Repast'' (Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor) 37:1:6 (Winter 2021full text/ref> The Romans were known to have eaten various foods during the Saturnalia, of which one was a roast piglet. Pope Sixtus III insisted in 435 that Christians should eat pork on Christmas to make a difference to the Jews, for which pork is forbidden. Swedish traditions The centerpiece of the cold cuts section of a traditional Swedish Christmas smörgåsb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
