Exposition Park in Dallas is one of my favorite sections of the city. Now some people have made a short film about the area.

You can view the film here.

That’s all I have today.

While I was visiting Helsinki, I saw a lot of people wearing different color jumpsuits. I kept thinking to myself, “They sure do look too young to be working in construction or lawn care or in jail.”

On my last day there, I found out that students wear them as part of their degree groups on special days. For example, all the engineering students wear a certain color, all the math students wear another color, etc.

One of the guides on the trip wrote me the following email because I wanted to know what the literature or film students (both of my majors) wore.

“Hope you are feeling better. On your recent trip to Suomenlinna we discussed the jumpsuits that the students wear on some occasions and you asked about the colors of the literature and film students. Well, I’m afraid it turns out neither group uses them. The literature students seem to be more interested in reading books than partying and don’t have a very active organization. The film students are too individualistic and artistic to use such a uniform dress code. However, happily the journalism students are neither busy studiers nor very individualistic, so they use yellow jumpsuits. The picture attachments shows what they look like.”

I took photos while I was in Helsinki. These are some of them.

The Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square

A visit to Helsinki’s Ice Bar

Public nudity

The Palace of Nobility’s main hall

Sebelius Monument

I don’t normally participate in the kind of surveys found online (e.g., Myspace) that ask all sorts of random (and sometimes silly) questions. Why? Maybe like how I don’t sing solo at karaoke bars, I refuse to do them out of principle. Don’t ask me which principle. I haven’t gotten that far in my philosophy.

Still, scruffylooking‘s recent post about books enticed me. Since I love books, and since I’m procrastinating writing an article for work, I’ll fill this one out. I’m not tagging anyone else for participation, but feel free to do your own on your own blog if you have one.

A book that changed my life

I’ll admit it: Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsh. Growing up Lutheran and going to church every week with my grandmother installed a lot of fears and beliefs that were holding me back in life. This book, a distillation of several different religious beliefs and philosophies, caused me to be more aware of life, what’s going on around me, and how I’m ultimately in control of everything.

A book I’ve read more than once

Silk by Alessandro Baricco. This novella about a 19th-century silk merchant in France is one of the most poetic books I’ve ever read. I love the repetition, the quietness of the narration, and the ending. It’s a book I recommend to anyone I can.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island

The Best American Short Stories of the Century. There are enough stories in this collection to read one a day, and hopefully by the end of the book I’ll have been rescued.

A book that made me laugh

Any story in any book by David Sedaris usually causes me to laugh.

A book that made me cry

No books have caused me to cry. Movies, yes. Books, no.

A book I wish I had written

Any book by Hermann Hesse. His constant theme of duality is of a great interest to me in all aspects of life.

A book I wish had never been written

I believe we can learn from all books, even if some in the world deem them to be bad. Still, I wouldn’t mind having the hours back spent reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.

A book I’ve been meaning to read

Have you seen my book collection?! I have a hundred books that I’m meaning to read. On deck, though, is Notable American Women by Ben Marcus as part of my 52 books a year project.

I’m currently reading

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon. I’ve read his The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and liked it. However, it’s still too early in the book for me to comment on my feelings about this one.

Song of the Day

It’s been a busy time since my return stateside, so please forgive me for any lack of blog entries.

In the meantime, a shout out to these two new (to me) good blogs. Check ’em out when you get a chance.

Spark of Madness

and

And This is a Girl I Know

Song of the Day
Now, I’m not the biggest Sufjan Stevens fan in the world. I think that title belongs to Chris of Gorilla vs. Bear fame. Still, I admit that Stevens every now and then composes some extraordinary songs, and this song, “Sister Winter,” is one of those times.

“Sister Winter” by Sufjan Stevens

• Survival of the harmonious

  “Mounting evidence suggests that human beings are hard-wired to appreciate music. What researchers want to know now is why our distant ancestors evolved music in the first place.”

• Humans “hardwired for religion”

  “The battle by scientists against ‘irrational’ beliefs such as creationism is ultimately futile, a leading experimental psychologist said today.”

• Why Hemingway Is Chick-Lit

  “‘When women stop reading, the novel will be dead,’ declared Ian McEwan in the Guardian last year. The British novelist reached this rather dire conclusion after venturing into a nearby park in an attempt to give away free novels. The result?”

Song of the Day
“Leaves and Sticks” by Romp Almighty

A new thing happened that has never happened to me before on a trip. I woke up sick. Aches and a sore throat and I don’t want to get out of bed sick. Still, I pushed myself, visited Porvoo and Suomolina (an 18th-century fortress on an island), and even found a pharmacy where I purchased some Ibuprofen mixed with Vitamin C. By the way, is there a product in the United States that is half Ibuprofen and Vitamin C? I’ve never seen any if there is.

So, for my last night in Helsinki, I’m staying in, watching some Conan O’Brien, and packing my bag.

Fifth observation: Soup is hard to find. Maybe it’s because it’s summer, but I never did find any plain old chicken soup for sale anywhere.

Overall, it was a good trip.

Another day of hotel inspections. The one that appealed to me the most is the Hotel Klaus K. Just opened this year, the hotel is artsy, chic, and features three totally different themed restaurants. Check the link for more information about the place. If you’re into staying at boutique hotels, I highly recommend it.

Tomorrow, I leave the city to visit Porvoo. It’s a medieval town, so it should be interesting.

Fourth observation: Everyone looks like that go to Mystic Tan, if they have a tan. I noticed this in Stockholm, as well. It must be a Scandinavian trait. Or maybe they really are going to Mystic Tan. I doubt it though.

Today, the tourist board set up a ticket for me on a bus sightseeing tour complete with audio information. Now, I know some people think sightseeing tours are cheesy and mainly for tour groups just passing through a city; I’m usually one of those people who thinks that. However, I really enjoyed the one I took today. If I hadn’t taken it, I would have missed some sites and not known the historical significance of some others. The tour wasn’t really that long (90 minutes), and it included two stops for pictures. Another great thing about the bus tour was that it helped me figure out the lay of the city. If I want to go back to a site that the bus drove by, I know exactly how to get there. Now, if only the bus tour showed me where all the cool bars are, I’d really be happy.

All this wining, dining and touring comes with a price: work. For the curious, here was my schedule for today after the bus tour.

12:35 p.m. Transfer to Marina Congress Center
12:45 p.m. Inspection of Marina Congress Center
1:05 p.m. Transfer to Finlandia Hall
1:15 p.m. Inspection of Finlandia Hall
1:45 p.m. Transfer to Paasitorni Historic Conference Center
2:00 p.m. Inspection of Paasitorni Historic Conference Center
2:35 p.m. Transfer to Hilton Helsinki Strand
2:40 p.m. Inspection of Hilton Helsinki Strand
3:15 p.m. Transfer to the Palace of Nobility
3:30 p.m. Inspection of the Palace of Nobility
4:00 p.m. Transfer to hotel
6:45 p.m. Dinner at the Kulosaari Casino

Tomorrow is pretty much the same, but with more hotels and less conference centers.

Observation number three: Everyone that wears eye glasses here has cool, stylish, artsy-fartsy ones. I feel like I’m at a never-ending art show opening.

Oh, and I finally found a convenience store. It was in a mall, underground and by the bus stops. It was closed at 10 p.m., FYI.

I’m currently in Helsinki, Finland, and I’m hungry, jet lagged, and seriously in need of some ice cream. Those who know me know my love for ice cream. I have a ferocious sweet tooth. But here in Helsinki, I’ve yet to come across a convenience store. I’ve walked all around the city center and have found several bars, design stores, McDonald’s, a grocery store in the mall, etc., but not once have I walked past the equivalent of a 7-11. Maybe they’re not located here in this area. Maybe I need to walk a couple a miles away from my hotel room. But I’m jet lagged and tired, and I’m just going to have to wait for some sort of pastry in the morning at the hotel breakfast buffet.

First observation of Helsinki: It reminds me of a smaller New York City, but more blonde.

Second observation: There are tons of people younger than me walking around. It’s almost like walking around college again.

What is up with 40-50 year old men wearing Hawaiian shirts? Seriously, everywhere I turn nowadays, a guy is decked out in one, with the top button unbuttoned just enough to expose his graying chest hair. Is this the latest fad for middle-age men?

Sure, the shirt looks comfortable and loose and casual, but I can think of several other types of shirts that exhibit those qualities. Why Hawaiian? And get this: some of these men even wear them with pleats.

I’ve been waiting awhile to document this, and I feel it’s finally time to print it publicly.

This past weekend, I visited a swinger’s club with the plus one. Let me just get it out the way: We did not swing with any couples. We were purely voyeurs.

The club is actually a private party. Normally, couples have to pay US$55 to enter. Our friend is dating one of the DJs, so we got in free, which made the opportunity to watch people have sex even more appealing.

Yes, people were having sex in front of others. Not on the dance floor or at the tables, but upstairs in–for lack of a better name–the sex loft. The loft had some bed cushions pushed together and some huge sofas. On the beds were couples making sweet sweet love to one another, while on the sofas, several varieties of oral sex were taking place.

What struck us as odd was the fact that there was actually no swinging going on. We expected to see group sex or at least some mid-coitus swapping. Nope. Didn’t happen. Couples stuck together (no pun intended), whether eating, dancing, drinking, or fucking.

We did see three couples that we termed “the beautiful people.” They were younger than us and more fit than 99.9 percent of the room. Visually, their sex acts looked hot, but we kept asking ourselves if they were really enjoying themselves. Not once did we hear a moan, scream or grunt. It was almost as if they were paid to come have sex in front of people. I guess they weren’t paid to show emotion. Another couple to our left were emotional. Even though they weren’t as good-looking as “the beautiful people,” their sex act was much more appealing because you could tell they were into one another.

After our fill of up-close sex, we finished our beer (which we had to bring ourselves, by the way) and finished off the night at another bar, known more for its strong drinks than its libido.

Things we learned from our visit to the swinger’s club:

Swingers like hot dogs. And store-bought cookies. The buffet table wasn’t large, but hot dogs were well represented.

Several clean sheets were available for the beds upstairs. And they were nicely folded and held together with ribbons.

We think we saw Janet Reno dancing. Topless.

Swingers don’t smile. Or like jokes about llamas fucking you in the ass.

Song of the Day
“Theme for Swingers” by The Soundtrack of Our Lives