Friday, July 06, 2007

Hang ten!


I've always been digging skateboarding culture. I mean I tried it in the mid 80's but I realized I needed a lot of rehearsing to master this sport and I chose music instead. But then again I really fell into it in the early nineties, when I discovered hardcore and punk of that time, and this all was kinda connected with skating. I used to hang around skate spots and read Trasher, vear Vans shoes, Gullwing t-shirts and blast Gorilla Bisquits or Descendents outta my boom box. Musically these times were very interesting, 'cos we used to mix some westcoast gansta stuff (NWA rocked) with some speed metal (Slayer) as well. Talk about variety...

But back to skateboarding. This summer I'm gonna learn the sport. I'm not gonna break bones with no small trick board, I'm gonna concentrate on cruising, carving and slow down hill riding with my new longboard, which should arrive any day now. 'Cos I sport style in the first place, I had to order it abroad, the ones available here were filled with modern surf graphics that didn't please my demanding eye. I went for pintail (of course) and simple design, like.... hmmm. yuh know, old skool?

Once I get by board I'll be reporting here, how my skills develope. Until then, skateboarders unite!

Monday, July 02, 2007

Wild Harmaakarhu spotted in Helsinki!


This blog has been about a lot of things, from consumer electronics to latest music rumours. We’ve written about luxury food and different types of beers that we support and diss, but I guess this is the first time we go into deep R&D in the drink section.

Last nite we had a little get-together among friends to celebrate my baby grrrl’s 1 st b-day. While opening presents and banging Spindbad’s cool 80’s mixtape we also experimented with some beverages. The outcome of this R&D session was Harmaakarhu AKA Grizzly. This simple refreshing drink resembles Clara or Shandy but it’s a bit more sour. So what is it you must be asking?

You could ask the bartender to give you a large, preferably a chilled glass and start filling it with:

• 1/3 Ice cubes
• 1/3 Karhu-beer
• 1/3 Lonkero (aka Harmaa, aka Gin Long Drink. A ready mixture of gin and grape juice, a strictly finnish thang)

You mix the ingredients and enjoy. It’s a purrrfect summer drink. And when the night approaches, you could add some extra gin to get your booty in the moody. Let Harmaakarhu take over!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Zeitgeist.


It's out. Leaked on 'teh internets'. What?

It's here.

Smashing Pumpkins' new album, 'Zeitgeist'. And Shepard Fairey made the cover art.
But is it any good?

Straight out the Freezer


Every once in a while I think about blogging new music on this page. it's like one of those things that got me excited about blogging in the first place. Also beacause i like to read other people bloggin about new ish they like.

But it's not so simple. Because i write about music for a living, it kinda gets too boring sometimes, that i don't really wanna do it in my spare time. But now, it's summer vacation, so i'll try and make a "new years resolution": i'll try and blog some new stuff that's hot at least once a week. Let's see how that goes...

Anyway, here's the new Freeway track "Big Spender" with uncle Hova on the feat. This banger is just toooooo hot. The beat is by Dame Grease, i think, and it samples Shirley Bassey's "Big Spender". The Philly Freezer is on fire and Hova''s not too bad either. In fact, this sounds like the Roc/ State Prop never fell apart in the first place. Put yo diamond signs and roca-chains in the air, "Free At Last" (the long awaited new album, to say the least) is gonna be hotter than Kanye's "Graduation". If it ever comes out.

Freeway feat Jay-Z: Big Spender

Thursday, June 28, 2007

What is a party?!



This is. Alppila a.k.a. Fiilin Myself, that is me, with Big Pimpin' boss DJ Henrikki spinning records at a nice bar atmosphere in Töölö, Helsinki. Well, at least, i'll be spinning records, Henrikki will be prob'ly spinning those Serato discs that i'm so jealous of him for. Fri the 29th of June. free to get in. Nyce, innit?

But this time it's not gonna be the usual "strictly bangers" law, cos it's a bar. Along with da usual hip hop, we'll play some indie disco, soul, reggae, remixes, 80's shit and whatnot. Special treatment, peoples!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Missing: A Lake


How scary is this?


"SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A lake in southern Chile has mysteriously disappeared, prompting speculation the ground has simply opened up and swallowed it whole. The lake was situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and was fed by water, mostly from melting glaciers. It had a surface area of between 4 and 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer pitches.

"In March we patrolled the area and everything was normal ... we went again in May and to our surprise we found the lake had completely disappeared," said Juan Jose Romero, regional director of Chile's National Forestry Corporation CONAF.

"The only things left were chunks of ice on the dry lake-bed and an enormous fissure," he told Reuters.

CONAF is investigating the disappearance.

One theory is that the area was hit by an earth tremor that opened a crack in the ground which acted like a drain. Southern Chile has been shaken by thousands of minor earth tremors this year."

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

What happened to sXe?

Whatever happened to Straight Edge? Veganism, drug-free lifestyles, Ian McKaye?

I dunno. But do yer-self a test, here. It's funny. No, it's not. You decide yourself.

Let the Afro go and rock a Caesar


Ladies and gentlemen, it is finally the time for da Kritons to go international. And we went straight to The Bay Area, where else!

I know, we have blogged about this earlier too, when it was still under construction. But now that it's ready and released, we have to give a special advertisement blog entry about our brand new track, "That Buddy Leezle Joint", or "The Arrival", as Buddy Leezle himself calls it.

It is a remix for Buddy Leezle, a mega talented MC from San Francisco, USA. He is also a part of the group 215: The Freshest Kids, and some other bands too. I dunno if you should really call it it a remix or an original track, since none of us have actually heard the original version. But it's safe to say, that our version blows the f***in roof off yer building. Try it, homie. But don't say we didn't warn ya!

It's gonna be featured on Leezle's new mixtape-album "Hipster Jesus" (probably the best album title in long while!) and you can of course hear it on our myspace site as well as Leezle's.

OR if you are really in need of this track, you just might be able to download it from here, at least for a while...

And as they so often say in heavy metal record covers: play that sucker loud.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Casios and various other stuff too to recycle


The Kriton Boys spent last nite cleaning up our old studio / rehearsal place, the classic "4th line studios" in Kallio. Apparently the neighbours couldn't take the punk rock anymore, 'cos I have rented the place to my good friends Fumble and some other damn well rocking bands too. So I got the eviction note some time ago and now it was time to see what we had left behind. I've had the place for over 10 years, so there were more old speakers and amps than in a jamaican soundsystem. Most of it was pretty beaten, so we had to dump the stuff to the local garbage dump.

The best part is that after sweating the whole night, the Alppilounge (the place where all hotness nowadays happes, our new studio) has now a lot more instruments to play with. First we got 2 keyboards from the 4th line studios: one Casio and one Yamaha DX-? (I'll update all models and makes next week,, can't really recall all of them now), one Ibanez RG-750 el-gitarro (Yepp, the speed-picking-god), a Laney AOR tube amp + a Marshall 4x12 stack, and small FBT-guitar amp, the classic Cry baby wah wah pedal made famous by Jimi Hendrix, and some other cool effect pedals (delay, fuzz, tremolo...)

And to top it all: from the garbage dump we picked another cool Casio keyboard! Couldn't believe how much good stuff peeps leave there. We were so stoked about this recycling thing that Young JzZi also picked up a blue pogo stick (!) and a rechargeable drill from the dump. There was an electric fireplace as well, but we had to leave it there, 'cos it would have been too much, I mean it's summer and all.

I hope all this stuff works too, it would have been a shame to throw all this away. I mean, now they can get a second life as Kriton tools... Can't wait to start tweaking and modifying those Casio babies...

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Legally Blend(e)



We like blends, we like doing blends. You already know that.
That's why da Hennyman and yours truly, Fiil Inc, decided to make some new party blends. Not just any party blends. But ones that fit summertime parties. The recipe is easy: step 1) Take a "older" portion, familar to most everyone from summer parties in the past. Step 2) take a newer portion, to make it current, just right for this season.

We took the time to throw together two new tracks by that recipe and here is what you get:

- Hennessy doing his thing with vocals from Ludacris' megahit "Stand Up" and the beat from Petey Pablo's recent banger "Get Me Out Of Jail". Uptempo banger alert!

-Fiil Inc (aka Alppila) effing around with a sure fire classic beat from Was Not Was' "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" version (from 1990) and Pitbull's last year's party anthem "Bojangles". Loose and funky enough to fit a bmore style or a disco set. DJ's take notice!

Enjoy these little babies at www.myspace.com/kritonhigh
(and ask for quality mp3's if you wish)

and ps... The LONG AWAITED Buddy Leezle remix coming up soon!

Make Love Not War: Gay Bomb (and Killer Bees)



You probably all read about this already but it's so funny I need to post it here again:

"In December 2004, The Sunshine Project, a watchdog group based in Austin, Tex., and Hamburg, Germany, that opposes biological weapons, uncovered a "U.S. military proposal to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting."

The proposal came from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, which requested $7.5 million to develop a so-called "gay-bomb." Using the Freedom of Information Act, Edward Hammond, director of the U.S. office of the Sunshine Project, obtained a copy which was "part of a military effort to develop non-lethal weapons." If completed, the bomb would release a chemical aphrodisiac "and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical... soldiers would become gay." This would cause their units to break down as the troops "became irresistibly attractive to one another." In addition to a "gay bomb" the proposal also mentions using chemicals which could make bees angry so that enemy forces would be attacked not only by our troops but also swarms of stinging insects.

Defense Department officials have acknowledged that such ideas were proposed by the Air Force in 1994, and then "quickly dismissed." They played down the significance of the Sunshine report, stating that many proposals come their way that are rejected for ethical reasons."

It's even in Wikipedia.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

This is where I am coming from...



Ever wanted to know where you are coming from, dear fans of Kriton Music Blog (tm)?
Well, now yo'all can see it, thanks to our super secret high-tech visitor statistics counter system.
Just click on the map above to make it bigger, and remember that the map shows only the visitors today.

I just love maps.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

B-More = Jive Bunny


Last night I was listening to the Kovalevy show on Basso Radio where Mr. Fiskars was blasting B-More or Baltimore Club Tracks or whatever you wanna call that stuff.

You know what I am talking about, right? Look HERE and read up if you don’t.

Anyhow, he played several tracks which sampled heavily those ‘60s girl pop groups and similar stuff, like ‘Please, Mr. Postman’ etc. This made me realize one thing:

B-More = Jive Bunny.

Yeah, that’s right. Unlike many of those young jocks playing that Baltimore stuff, I am old enough to remember Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers in the 1980s, unfortunately. And I can assure you that the difference between the classic Jive Bunny tracks such as "Swing the Mood" and "Let's Party" and some of those B-More tracks, is next to non-existent.

So what? I dunno. I guess nothing. Carry on, sir.

Monday, June 11, 2007

I'm Back. Like Take That.


Hi! I’ve been taking a bit of a vacation from writing here for quite some time already. For no reason at all, apparently. Whatever, now let’s see what’s going on with everything/everyone related to the Kriton Universe ™:


The Kriton Boys

We’ve been quite busy on the Alppila studio lately, with a little help of some nice Keko, I guess. The MySpace RMX of Buddy Leezle’s track we been working on is basically ready finally. It’s gonna be da bomb. I promise.

And yea, the Kriton club night in the Vinyl Bar a while ago was a blast. So much so in fact that I guess we will not re-do it too soon again. Especially because of the regulars complaining about our sound not being smooth enough for their distinguished house music tastes.

Then Mr. Fiskars, of two of Helsinki’s most Excellent clubs TOP BILLIN’ & Kovalevy digs us too, check out his TOP 10! (Ok, you need to be logged in w/ your MySpace account to see it but we are #1 !!!)

And even more, the long-overdue video for our track ‘Scared Money’ by Fiilin.com & the BCN posse should/could be out some time soon. It will be dope yet scary at the same time. Watch out!


NAGA!marque AKA Sandal Flamenberg

Mark has apparently also been quite busy in the Kriton Studio/Hangout in Alppila lately. There are two new and new-ish tracks on his MySpace page, both of which include some secret vocal contributions from yours truly, BTW!

The latest one, ‘Hector the Scrambler’ was released on Sunday on his MySpace-page. It’s mad beautiful and very shoegazer-y -too. It’s his most melodic and even ‘pop’ track so far. Congratulations, man.

The rumour has it that the dude might soon finally have enough tracks ready for his debut mini-album to be released by Kriton Music. There’ll be eventually a special limited hand-numbered CD-R run for all yo’ll Wire-reading peoples out there in the Internets.

On the side note, I guess that the Keko is also to be thanked here for keeping our favorite Aussie sitting tight in the studios…


Interflug

Giacbot also has new lovely song, ‘Rosa Mota’ out there on his MySpace-page. It was incidentally released last Sunday just like Mark's new track. It was inspired by a long hot summer day at home in his wooden house in Kumpula, apparently. And some Velvet Underground too, I guess.

The trademark Interflug-style we all love is all there. CasioTone madness, acoustic guitar, the man himself and all, and in a very laid-back and summer-y style. Nice!


Yours Truly, Young jZ

Well, I have only one week to go here at work before going on the longest holiday of my life so far. Which is nice. My Jopo is fixed again, after being broken for months, my guitar fx pedal collection just keep growing and I have already begun growing a proper German-style moustache for the summer. Let’s see how far I can take the moustache project this time, I mean this time it’s 4REAL, maybe.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Get the party started


If you're around in Helsinki and wondering what to do next weekend, seek no further! Next friday the Kriton Trio will be operating on the turntables @ Vinyl Bar. What you'll get there is genuine banging Kriton sound: you really can not be sure what to expect. The sound will be fresh, that's guaranteed: lot's of new Kriton remixes will be played alongside r&b, reggae, hip hop and rock.

See ya there!

Friday, May 04, 2007

The Eagle Has Finally Landed - The first ever Kriton Mixtape is here!


Yessiiiiir, i'm not lying to you!

This is the first ever full blooded Kriton mixtape. This little baby contains a mini-set from each Kriton member - Alppila a.k.a. Fiil Inc, Hennessy a.k.a. Hennyman & Jzzi a.k.a. Young Jzzer. The sound is ghetto through and through, there are exclusive remixes and blends, celebrity shoutuouts and innovative vocoder breaks.

The styles vary from down south rap to r&b, dancehall to roots and lovers rock, old school hiphop to electro and hippie rock. So what i need you to right now is download this lil sucka, grab a bite of that on your iPod while sippin on dat Patron and have a GOOD OLD FASHIONED P.A.R.T.Y.!

64 mins / Hella many tracks / 192 kbs/ 88 mb Download it here playboys!

***
Hell, why not. i'll throw in the tracklist for all you bad boys and nasty gals out there.

Kriton High School Bangers: The Eagle Has Landed - A Kriton Partymix


Kriton High School Bangers: Scared Money (Alppila’s Mixtape Edit)
Crime Mob: Rock Yo Hips
Young Jeezy: J.E.E.Z.Y
Brooke Valentine feat. Dem Franchize Boyz: Pimped Out
MIMS feat. Junior Reid & Cham: This Is Why I’m Hot (Blackout Remix)
Mike Jones: Mr. Jones
Trick Daddy feat. Baby: Tuck Ya Ice
Collie Buddz: Come Around (When Kriton Come Around Remix)
Chuck Fender: Judgement
Chuck Fender & Cherine: Comin Over Tonight
Kiprich & Delishus: Joe Grind
Bone Crusher feat Too Short & Pimp C: Can't Get No Helicopter (Hennessy Blend)
Collie Buddz: Tomorrow's Another Day
Buju Banton feat. Pinchers: Don & Dupes
Buju Banton: Driver A
Clipse feat. Slim Thug: Wamp Wamp (What It Do) (Hennessy Blend)
Shaggy: Church Heathen
Gwen Stefani feat Pharrell: Yummy (Kriton's United Ghettos Remix)
The Stooges: No Fun
Stezo: To The Max
Eazy-E: Eazy-Er Said Than Dunn
ZZ Top: Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings
J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E.: Strong Island
Maggotron: Welcome To The Bass Planet
Faith No More: We Care A Lot
Cybotron: Clear
Public Enemy: Public Enemy #1
KRS-One: Sound Of Da Police
Sweet Tee: Show And Prove
Ultra Magnetic MC's: Funky
Op:l Bastards: Funking
Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times
Poppa Ron Love: I'm A Girl Watcher
3rd Bass: Steppin' In To The A.M.
Stezo: To The Max

Thursday, May 03, 2007

WeeMee to the rescue

This is really nerdy, but I had to blog this one... Weeworld is a new service that allows you to create a weemee, aka minime, an avatar that you can link to your blogs, e-mails and what ever you like. The fun part is that this is a live link, so once you alter your weemee, it automatically is updated wherever you have linked this little creature.

I suggest that all Kriton boys blog here their weemees, so that you can get the picture what we either are like or what we would like to be. Here's Henny...



And yeah, it's also fun to play games with your own weemee as the character.


EDIT, this be me, Young jzZi:

Friday, April 27, 2007

Gwar, what is it good for?


Yuh know , in the time of web 2.0 hype it’s so humorous that every week there seems to come more and more new ridicilously named websites and services, like tubeflocks, wikibee, roomle or googster (these names were actually made up by using an web 2.0 name generator .
Most of these r rubbish obviously, but Joost seems quite promising. Ok it’s really hyped, but once they get it up and running for good and get some quality content, it’s gonna be a bomb.

I’ve been using the service for a few weeks now, and although it’s really bugged, it’s got a lot of potential. Last good kicks I got out of watching this Scottish hat wearing Canadian interviewer "Nardwuar" interviewing Gwar. I had totally forgotten the existence of this band, they really rock. I mean Lordi is like a wimp Swedish cousin of this band. I hope that when the Eurovision song contest hype starts to spread next week, we all remember that Gwar is the real thing, Lordi is the diet version. Look at the picture above and you’ll see it for yourself…

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

We invented the REMIX



Last friday we got into our little studio. The intention was of course the brand new Kriton High School Bangers remix for our man Buddy Leezle, but also to have a spring season bash. Mind you, the last time we had a party at the studio was "Jr. X-mas", when we did the Collie Buddz "Come Aroud" remix.

MPC's, vocoder, guitars and synths were heated. Beer and Jameson was flowing and even some odd herbal scent was in the air.
The results can be heard a tad bit later, when we get the time to record all that strangeness from the MPC. But as far as we remember, shit was real bangin... that trademark Kriton boom.

These pics were taken by yrz truly Fiil Inc and Mr Hennyman himself on his Nokia cell. So you know the picture quality's gonna be off the meat rack. As u see.

After the studio session we paid a visit to Top Billin club, this time at Kuudes Linja in Kallio. And, as usual, it was da bomb. Massive props to da TB set, they even played Boyfriend by Avril lavigne, as well as the usual bmore, electro and crunk bizness.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

New Kriton mixtape in sight, prepare for landing...


Yep. You heard it right.

Finally, the 1st ever Kriton mixtape, featuring a set from alla three Kriton dudes is now finished. It's called The Eagle Has Landed - A Kriton Party Mix. And it's a gem.

64 mins, shitload of trax.
Mixing style ranges from ghetto style to smooth, while the sound stays rugged.

Musical styles: far too many to mention... i'll just list some tracks, and you'll prob'ly get some sort of picture:

Kriton High School Bangers: Scared Money (unreleased mixtape version)
MIMS: This Is Why I'm Hot (Reggae remix)
Trick Daddy ft. Baby: Tuck ya Ice
Collie Buddz: Come Around (Kriton Come Around remix)
Shaggy: Church Heathen
Chuck Fender: Comin Over Tonight
Clipse: Wamp Wamp (What It Do) (Hennessy Blend)
Gwen Stefani: Yummy (Kriton Remix)
The Stooges: No Fun
JVC Force: Strong Island
Faith No More: We Care A Lot
Cybotron: Clear

...etc etc etc etc...

Download info coming later!
Watch this space and the Kriton Myspace (www.myspace.com/kritonhigh) for details, homie!!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Pack your beats an go



Although the weather is freezing again, I'm feeling the summer coming. And this summer I gotta get me a boom box. I could go for a traditional boom box, but cool 80's models ones are hard to find. And they eat a lot of expensive batteries.

But if you wanna act modern, you should check this out: Bags as boom boxes.
Just plug in your Ipod and your're banging. That's a perfect idea in my opinion. The popmaster seem cute in Ludacris' hands but the groove master would be my choice. Actually the Kriton Music Posse will build a full mobile studio system around this bag, a powerbook will fit in just fine...

Patrón my french, amigo!


The easiest way to spot trends in consumer culture is to follow certain forms of popular culture. If you can’t decide what watch to wear or what booze to sip, go for hip hop songs and videos. E.g. American Brandstand reports what brands are most mentioned in Top 20 hits, and it’s quite obvious that it’s the rappers who adore the bling, not the emo kidzz.

When it comes to alcohol it seems that after Hennessy, Courvoisier and Cristal the next big thing seems to be Patrón Tequila . What makes it interesting is that this must be the first time that a mexican thing becomes and icon of wealth…

In the year 2005 it was number 33 on the American Brandstand list topping e.g. Moet&Chandon and Grey Goose.There are no up to date facts on Patron’s rise, but it seems to get a lot of attention in recent songs in my opinion.

Patron-dropping rappers include

- Young Joc: Patron
- Young Joc: It’s going down
- Lil Jon & Three 6 Mafia: Act A Fool
- Bubba Sparxxx & Ying And Yang Twins: Ms. New Booty
- DJ Unk: Walk It Out

And, yes, Turtle and the boys drink it on Entourage as well.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Skulls are bad, mmmmkay!


The Kappahl clothing chain is Sweden has stopped selling some of their t-shirts, 'cos some motorbreath-head banging-fire-spitting-Hell's Angels have told that the prints on the shirts resembled the classic HA-logo (a skull with flames/wings).

Later today it was reported that the finnish Hell's Angels have not yet contacted the local Kappahl office. Does this mean that the finnish clothing industry white collar people are too tough to mess with, or are finnish bikers just wimps?

However the swedish clothing industry must be in a lotta trouble soon, 'cos skulls still seem to be a popular theme in the kids/youth clothing. Maybe the bikers should have started with Cheap Monday, they have more skulls than a colombian graveyard.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

"No, I won't be Christina Aguilera"



Whoosh, i'm finally posting this. yes, the Snoop/Diddy press, from march 9th in Helsinki, that i've been about to post ever since it happened.
But now, just to break the much too long radio silence in the kriton blog. Above you see mister Broadus and Combs in their press. and yes, that crap photo is taken by yourz truly.

Here's some of the best bits by bigg Snoop. Enjoy it, nephew!

***

"I stay ready so i aint gotta get ready. I personally try and always stay ready. I keep my guns loaded all times. Not real guns though"

+++

"why do we need to make diss records, when we could focus to make hit records. Those who last long, those like Puff and myself, those who make hit records, we dont build on a catalogue of diss records, saying i dont like you, i hate this rapper. "

+++

"We're live and you see us both together and you see us both having a good time, doing each other’s songs. "

Journalist: ...And you’ll be Christina Aguilera (as in Diddy's hit single "Tell Me")

"I won’t be Christina Aguilera. Unless she grew a nine inch dick on her."

+++

"Hiphop brings all aspects of the worlds together. You can take away rock’n’roll, you can take away country music, you can take away any style of music that you want to, except hiphop. The minute you take hiphop away from the world, you have no sponsorships, no commercials, no sports, you have no nothing. We’re the only style of music that brings all world together. Look at you all mothafuckas. Don’t none of you look alike. But ya’ll here for one reason: cos you love and respect hiphop. Ya’ll wanna get some conversation with 2 of the most dominant hiphop artists in the game pf all times, so i feel like the music that we make, if we didnt make it the world wouldn't move. "

+++

"this man (Puffy) employs maybe 500-1000 people, i do the same thing. Anytime you see a hiphop artist make it, you never see him by himself you never see him thinking for himself. You see him looking out for his whole team. "

+++

Journalist: You have crossed over from music to movies, clothing...

Snoop: "...Bitches..."

+++

"I aint good at not crackin a bitch. I mean, when its time to crack a bitch, that’s just some of the easiest shit in the world to me. And i have never been not good at that. "

****

Snoop. Man, he's still the man.

-- fiil inc --

Saturday, March 17, 2007

We on it, just like everyone else. Horns from Chi-Town

Oh, we must not sleep on this one.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, straight outta Chi-Town. So hot! Funky horns and gritty drums. This reminds me of the time I stole a trumpet from my school's music class 'cos I wanted to learn to play it but I only managed to learn only the three first notes of the MacGyver theme song.

However, I did return the horn later when my mom found it and started to ask me difficult questions, like where I got it from...

Friday, March 16, 2007

Dubplates, fresh cut, special price, home delivery!


If you're wondering what you should buy for that special person for his/hers birthday, look no further. Dr Dub can cut a full length vinyl record for 29 euros per piece using your mp3/wav/aiff files or such. That's an ideal gift for anyone: put your favourite Kriton traxx on one hot mutha, give it to the local dj and go dance the night away with your loved one!

My german is not too good, so I should get a dictionary to get into this in more detail, but I think it sounds like a good deal. And my birthday's coming up soon...

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Learn to dance and get to know the history of Techno in three minutes.


Are looking for new dance moves, you want to have “a personal style”, looking for new fashion tips & dress sense, hair style, are you already bored with all that New Rave crap? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, look no further. In order to get new ideas it’s always good to look back a lil’ bit. Yo, this video shows you how to do it on the floor. Mad styles, yo’all.

It’s a clip from 1982 TV dance program The Scene with some folks getting down to The Seminal Motor City Electro/Synth/Proto-Techno track: A Number of Names: ‘Shari Vari’. It’s also THE TRACK many people claimed to have spawned alone whole Detroit Techno way back in 1981, even if it is not as know as many other classic electro tracks of the time. As the urban lore goes, that track apparently had whole underground sub-culture around it in Detroit with the special style of clothing etc., much inspired by everything European at the time. The Lyric is the key here, and you can sing along with it too:

"Some bread and cheese and fine white wine
Designer chic is a matter of time
Could this be the real thing?
Or is this just another fling?
Seen by millions nationally
L'oumo Vogue, Playgirl, G Quarterly
Because he's down on his etiquette
Shari Vari is really it

Smoking on his cigarette
Listening to his car cassette
Cruising with his hot playmate
In his Porsche Nine Two Eight
Heading for the highest heights
For the climax of the night
The people there they just won't quit
Because the music's really it"

And hey Timbaland, do I hear a very familiar sounding arpeggio there, do I?

Second 'hey', the token white dude with snake like agility in hips who comes on at around 1.22 point in the video looks scarily like Napoleon Dynamite in the famous dance scene, doesn't he?

If you want to see more, look here for a similar performance to the beat of other true classic, sampled by everyone, Kano: 'Are You Ready?’.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Snoop Dogg arrested in Stockholm...


News from Sweden:

"The American rap artist Snoop Dogg was arrested in central Stockholm on Sunday night on suspicion of minor drugs offences.

At around 1.30am the star and a 23 year old woman were taken to a police station in the Södermalm area of the city, where they provided urine samples.

"The people we arrested showed clear signs of being under the influence of narcotics," said Lars-Erik Baarsen at Södermalm police to Aftonbladet.

Snoop Dogg performed on Sunday evening at the Stockholm venue Globen, along with fellow rapper P Diddy.

After the concert he was due to attend a party at the Scandic Anglais hotel in Stockholm's Stureplan - but he never made it to the bash. In what appeared to be a planned raid, the star's car was stopped with several others by police on Centralbron, a bridge in the city.

Earlier in the evening, according to newspaper Aftonbladet, a room at the Grand Hotel, where Snoop Dogg was staying, was searched by police.

On Monday morning the 35 year old star, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, was released.

"He is said to have behaved appropriately. Now the prosecutor can proceed with this. It's usually a fine," said Lena Baaki, Södermalm police spokesman, to TT.

The fine for a minor offence is usually based on the individual's earnings.

It is not the first time Snoop Dogg has been in trouble with the Swedish authorities. In summmer 2005 the American rapper caused a stir when he showed a soft porn film before his concert at the Hultsfred festival."

Monday, March 05, 2007

The Lauttasaari Clan Is Nuthin' to F**k Wit


Our academic friend had some nice incidents this morning (read below), but they all seemed to fit the particular place of Helsinki. My last saturday night had some elements that did not fit in their place.

I live in Lauttasaari, which is the equivalent of Staten Island NYC or such. I mean it's a reeeeaally quiet suburb on an island near the centre of Helsinki. Most of it's habitants are elderly people or families, not exactly a real favela in my opinion. A place where sex and drugs and rockn'roll a frowned upon.

Well, last saturday me and the misses had a pleasant nite out, some dining and cinematographic experiences. Once we were returning home we were passed by one, two, three, four, five or more cop cars. We kept joking that they could give us a ride home once they were heading about the same way. Ten minutes later we got home to find out that these cars had actually surrounded our house. According to the paper, there were 14 police units on the scene and the officer in charge tried to deny our access home. Apparently some guy had fired his handgun several times just a few meters from our building. The cop was reluctant to give me any more info on the subject, but it was pretty clear that there was some real threat - I mean I have never seen that many coppers on the Island.

After some discussion the nice officer let us enter our building and we could could carry on analyzing the situation from our living room.

I must say that the cops handled the situation well, they got the bad guy and so on. But the local C.S.I. -team was sloppy. I didn't see any proper crime scene investigation what so ever. Where is Gil Grissom when you need him.

My Monday Morning in Three Episodes


Ok, here we go. I feel the need to tell about how my Monday morning started today. I am doing this by recounting three episodes of life in my hood, Vallila and Sörnäinen districts of northeastern inner city of Helsinki. Everything happened within less than one hours' time.

1.) After having my morning coffee I kiss my baby girl and my baby-momma goodbye and leave my house around ten o'clock to go to work at the university downtown. I take a tram #7 but the first people I meet at the tram stop are this junkie couple in their thirties. They look kinda ok, except that their fashion sense is stuck on 1993 and they are all skinny and pale and trembling , quiet and spaced-out, and they have that creepy Skeletor look with dark eyes deep in their sockers etc. on them. I hope they were on their way to the needle exchange place in Hakaniemi, for their own good. Nothing so special about seeing junkies out & about on the streets of Kallio/Sörnäinen/Vallila but somehow this set the mood of the morning for me.

2.) Before going to work I visit the local Post Office in Kurvi, Sörnäinen to drop off a effect pedal I just sold on rather succesfully on Ebay but at the counter I realize that I left my wallet home and I need to go back home. There was also a freaky looking super-pale, skinny and dirty Heavy Metal dude in black leather outfit hanging around in the post office. He looked like he is planning a hold-up, or something. I head back home.

When I got back in to the tram #7 at my stop the second time to get back to the Post Office, there is another young couple sitting in the back. They look kinda normal, except for the fact that the dude is packing, and very openly too, a good old Missisippi Corn Cob pipe with a seriously heavy load of hashish & tobacco mixture. When they get off, I see the dude lighting the hash pipe immediately. I also see them heading off to the direction of the municipal Bailiff's Office.

3.) Next, when I finally get out of the Post Office the second time after sending the pedal, I see the old guy in red winter coat, as pictured above. He is trying to get over the Hämeentie, a big street with busy fast traffic, but he is so wasted that he cannot stand up, let alone walk. He falls down, rolls on the muddy street, tries to get up, his feet don't carry him, and he falls down again, rolls almost on to the tram tracks and finally ends up just sitting on the ground. I am scared that will get run over by a tram or a buss and I actually call the cops to come pick him up. The police sound very bored on the phone. Then someone helps the old guy a bit and drags his ass away from the car lane and the cops arrive pretty soon. I take my tram and go to work.

Friday, March 02, 2007

This is why we're hot!


Good news for all Mims fans. His "This Is Why I'm Hot" single went from last weeks 32 nd position straight to number one. And I'm talking Billboard charts here, baby!

We here at Kriton Music know who's the man, and who's gonna rule the charts. That's why we've had a remix version of Mims' chart topper for a quite some time already. The og beat is awesome, but we wanted to make one with some twanging guitars and fat bass. Check it out by downloading your copy from here!

Spend it like Beckham


According to Sky TV Victoria Beckham and her ball chasing metro sexual hubby are one of the worst enemies of mama earth. This couple has been chosen as the most unecological celebrities, for they have spent their cheese, gouda and kraft in the most unethical way for the terra.

It was reported that The Posh Posse..
- has 15 cars
- is looking for their 5th house at the moment
- released 15 000 kg of carbondioxide to air last year alone

So what. I guess there are much worse celebrities in the world than this. I mean 15 cars… That’s nothing compared to real playaz, I bet Jay Z has bought 15 cars to his mom alone…

Thursday, March 01, 2007

I likeee.... guitars!


I like electric guitars, a lot. So do I like this like 12 times or what? I am not sure but it really looks great. Pity that I have always hated stratocasters as the most boring guitar there is. Anyhow, the 12-neck Stratocaster in the picture is apparently functional too. It's built by Japanese contemporary artist Yoshihiko Satoh, who had been building other cool stuff too, click here and check this out too

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Britney please!



I was just checking out some yellow newspapers' web sites to catch up on what's going on in the world after being on holiday last week and all the news about Britney are just getting too much.

Cutting the hair and getting a tattoo, yeah, but then ‘the alleged suicide attempt’ by throwing herself onto a coming car, running away from rehab several times, attacking a paparazzi’s car with an umbrealla (see pic above) and claims of being hooked on cocaine, E’s and Xanax. I mean, who knows which of these news is true but whatever. Can we get the old nice Britney back, please?

Friday, February 23, 2007

Anna Who?



The Idols (same format as American Idol, but without the "American" in the name obviously) is still a big phenomenon here in Finland. Over 920.000 people watched the semifinals last friday on the telly. That's over 20 % over the adult population, mon... Most of the finalists are heavy/hardrock singers, which kinda sucks, but hey, this is the land of Lordi and Nightwish. However I guess there is one rivaling talent who could very well be the winning horse. This view is based solely on Youtube's ability to engage masses behind this young girl.

Let's get into more detail. Since last friday her tv performance has been viewed over 140.000 times, that's like a lot of watching in 5 days. That vid is in the top-50 of the most viewed videos. Her two videos have been viewed over 300.000 times altogether. That's more than the metal competitors. Which is nice.

But the funniest thing are the comments on the video. Peeps are arguing on 2 themes

1) Is this gal better / worse than the sisters and brothers on the American Idol
2) Are all americans american idiots and war making and Bush lovin' criminals

It's pretty funny stuff.

But who is Anna?

Drugs are bad, mmmkayyy?


Yes they indeed are. Especially bad if you're a magazine editor in Finland. 'Cause you can't write about them.

Well maybe you can, if you remember to point out that everybody who ever tries drugs, will die because of that.

To put it short, the publisher of a certain free paper (to which at least two Kriton family memebers are actually writing for) decided to take back the every single copy of the latest issue. An issue that had already distributed around city. And then take another printing of the whole paper without this following drug-related story.

So this following piece really has nothing to offer you if you dont understand finnish. But here it is for all you drug loving finns out there anyway: the infamous V-lehden Huumejuttu!

*************

"Se tuntuu niin hyvältä"

Huumeiden viihdekäyttö on suomalaisen juhlimisen arkea.

JOKAINEN 80- ja 90-luvuilla koulunsa käynyt oppi, että huumeet tuhoavat elämän. Diilerit väijyvät koulujen porteilla ja antavat ensimmäisen annoksen ilmaiseksi. Kokeilija jää koukkuun ja muuttuu neulalla itseään piikittäväksi narkomaaniksi, joka tekee rikoksia, jotta pystyy jatkamaan huumeiden käyttöä.

Seurakuntatädit maalasivat uhkakuvia siitä, kuinka pilvenpolttoa kokeileva nuori päätyy helvetin esikartanoon. Jokaisella addiktilla on se ensimmäinen kerta, varoitettiin. Kannabiksesta edetään kovempiin aineisiin, jotka tappavat. Ja huumeisiin kajonnut on väistämättä tekemisissä järjestäytyneen rikollisuuden kanssa.

Meille tehtiin erittäin selväksi, että huumeet ovat yhteiskunnan vihollinen numero yksi.

Huumeista aineina ei kerrottu juuri mitään. Kukaan ei oikein tiennyt, mitä ne ovat, mutta niitä opittiin pelkäämään ja vihaamaan.



Kun huumeidenvastaista propagandaa täyteen ahdettu nuori alkoi käydä bileissä ja kohdata huumeiden käyttöä, hän oli ymmällään. Käyttäjät näyttivät ihan tavallisilta nuorilta. Ekstaasia popsivat tai pilveä polttavat tyypit eivät tehneetkään kuolemaa. He eivät varastelleet autoja tai ryöstelleet kioskeja. Kun aineiden vaikutus lakkasi, he eivät lähteneet kartoittamaan kotikaupungin heroiinitarjontaa.

Eivätkö huumeet olleetkaan niin vaarallisia kuin koulussa kerrottiin?

Vuodesta 1997 huumekulttuureja tutkinut, aiheesta pro gradu -tutkielman ja väitöskirjan kirjoittanut valtiotieteiden tohtori Mikko Salasuo hymähtää vastatessaan.

- Ne eivät varmasti ole niin vaarallisia kuin aikoinaan on peloteltu. Suurin ongelma muodostuikin siitä, että huumeet maalattiin hirvittävän vaarallisiksi, aivan fataaleiksi. Kun nuori tajusi, että asiat eivät olleetkaan kuten hänelle oli kerrottu, kaikki niiden oikeistakin riskeistä ja haitoista opittu työnnettiin syrjään.

Niin. Huumeissa todella piilee vakavia riskejä. Miksi haittoja tarvitsee suurennella?

Vaikka valistus on viimeisen kymmenen vuoden aikana järkevöitynyt, huumeet ovat edelleen tabu. Käyttötuomio voi jättää elinikäisen leiman tavalliseen, hauskanpidosta nauttivaan nuoreen. "Huumausainerikollinen" ei kuulosta hyvältä.

Puolitutuille ei uskalleta mainita, että ei oltu pelkän viinan voimalla liikenteessä, kun viikonloppuna nähtiin. Yritykset testaavat työntekijöitään, jotta julkisivu säilyy puhtoisena - "meidän palkkalistoilla ei narkkareita roiku".



Kaikesta huolimatta huumeista on tullut olennainen osa juhlimiskulttuuria myös turvallisessa pohjolassa. Yökerhojen vessoissa valkoiset viivat katoavat sieraimiin putkelle rullatun 50 euron setelin läpi. Ympyrässä seisoskeleva trendikkäisiin vaatteisiin sonnustautunut porukka polttaa puistossa oudonmallista savuketta, joka haisee makealle. Juuri ostetun asunnon tupareissa juodaan ehkä yksi tai kaksi olutta. Ennen kuin lähdetään ulos bilettämään, huitaistaan pillerit huiviin.

Huumeiden viihdekäyttäjät tuntevat käyttämiensä huumeiden vaikutukset ja riskit. He ovat tavallisia työssäkäyviä suomalaisia, pääosin nuoria aikuisia.

- Viihdekäyttäjien periaatteena on, että käyttö on satunnaista eikä aiheuta fyysisiä, psyykkisiä tai taloudellisia ongelmia. Aineet ovat yleensä mietoja ja käyttö liittyy juhlimiseen. Suonensisäinen käyttö on täysin poissuljettu vaihtoehto, Salasuo sanoo.

Hänen mukaansa suonensisäinen käyttö luokitellaan ongelmakäytöksi. Suomessa suurin osa ongelmakäytöstä tapahtuu suoneen piikitettävällä amfetamiinilla, kun muualla Euroopassa "ykkösaine" on heroiini.

Suonensisäinen käyttö aiheuttaa fyysisen riippuvuuden, jonka hallitseminen tuottaa vaikeuksia. Lopettaminen on hankalaa, sillä aineeseen tottunut keho vaatii sitä lisää. Nimenomaan suonensisäinen käyttö voi johtaa pelättyyn huumehelvettiin, jossa elämä pyörii vain aineiden käytön ympärillä.

Suonensisäiseen käyttöön ajautuu vain harva huumeiden kokeilija. Toisin kuin meille on opetettu, huumeiden käyttö voi myös pysyä hallinnassa.

Mauno, 26,

on ammatiltaan peruskoulun opettaja.

- Yläasteella oli huumevalistusta ja vaikka se oli yhtä pelottelua, näin sen läpi jo silloin. Tajusin, että kannabis on varmaan siisti juttu ja sitä täytyy kokeilla, hän naurahtaa.

Hän poltti pilveä ensimmäisen kerran 16-vuotiaana. Sen jälkeen hän on kokeillut myös ekstaasia, amfetamiinia, sieniä ja LSD:tä.

- Essoja olen ottanut puolenkymmentä kertaa, mutta niistä minulle tulee seuraavana päivänä paha krapula. Spiidiä kokeillessani luulin, että tulen hulluksi. Olo oli aivan liian stimuloitu, se ei sovi minulle. LSD-tripillä jumituin sisätilaan ja alkoi ahdistaa. En voinut nukkua ja sälekaihtimet näyttivät partaveitsenteriltä. Ei ollut siistiä.

- En kuitenkaan kadu yhtään huumekokeilua. Kaikista olen oppinut jotain. Jos ei muuta, niin tiedänpä ainakin mistä puhutaan.



Kokeilujensa jälkeen Maunolla ei ole ollut hinkua käyttää edellä mainitsemiaan huumeita uudelleen. Se on periaatepäätös, sillä ne ovat synteettisiä ja hän haluaa pysyä luonnollisissa päihteissä. Synteettisiä huumeita hankkiessa ei aina tiedä, mitä saa.

- Poltan pilveä nykyään ehkä kerran parissa viikossa. Pössyttelen kotioloissa, ihan rentoutuakseni. Sieniä saatan syödä kaksi kolme kertaa vuodessa, jos niitä on saatavilla. Viimeksi söin niitä Jenkeissä, ja oli niin pirun hauskaa. Pilven yhdistäminen seksuaaliseen kanssakäymiseen on aina yhtä juhlaa.

Onko huumeiden käyttö ikinä vaikuttanut normaaliin arkeen?

- Ei mihinkään velvollisuuksiin. Poltin pari vuotta päivittäin pilveä, ja silloin huomasin itsessäni siitä johtuvia oireita. Unohtelin asioita, koska lähimuisti kärsi. Silloin ymmärsin, että polttamista täytyy vähentää ja teinkin sen. En kokenut olevani huumekoukussa. Elimistö vaan varoitteli, että vähennä. Täytyy tuntea itsensä, siinä kaikki.

Aikooko Mauno sitten lopettaa huumeiden käytön joskus?

- Miksi lopettaisin? Asiaa täytyy punnita uudelleen, jos elämään tulee suuria muutoksia kuten perhettä tai muuta. Tällä hetkellä lopettamiseen ei ole tarvetta eikä syytä, varsinkaan näin vähäisellä käytöllä.

Heikki, 29,

huoltaa työkseen hissejä. Hän poltti pilveä ensimmäisen kerran 16-vuotiaana kaverin luona. Sittemmin hän on kokeillut kokaiinia, ekstaasia, amfetamiinia, oopiumjohdannaisia pillereitä sekä sieniä.

- Nykyään käytän huumeita ehkä kolme, neljä kertaa vuodessa, yleensä essoja tai kokkelia. Niistä tulee paras olo, molemmat toimivat aina. Käytän ainoastaan bilettäessä, eli viina on aina mukana kuvioissa.

Muutama vuosi sitten Heikki käytti huumeita useamminkin.

- Välillä tuntui, että psyyke pettää. Tosin se saattoi kyllä johtua liiallisesta alkoholin käytöstäkin.

Hän ei pitänyt eri päihteiden haittavaikutuksista, joten hän yksinkertaisesti vähensi niiden - alkoholinkin - käyttöä.

- Sellainen on itsestä kiinni, käyttöä voi todellakin vähentää omalla päätöksellä.



Heikki käyttää kuitenkin synteettisiä, viihdekäyttäjien keskuudessa kovina pidettyjä huumeita. Hän tietää, että niihin liittyy riskejä mutta käyttää silti.

- Niistä tulee niin vitun hyvä olo. Känni ei aina tunnu hyvälle. Silloin tällöin kaipaa lisäkicksejä. Tiedän kuitenkin, etteivät ne ole kovin terveellisiä pitkällä tähtäimellä, joten pidän käytön kurissa.

Eikö niistä ikinä tule huonoja kokemuksia?

- Psykedeeliset huumeet eivät sovi minulle. Testasin sieniä, ja se oli melkoinen trippi: tunsin olevani välillä 15 metriä, välillä 15 senttiä pitkä. Menin baarin nurkkaan istumaan ja tuijotin seinää. Se oli hieman liikaa, en halua sitä enää, hän puistelee päätään vaivaantuneesti hymyillen.

Tunteeko Heikki ikinä minkäänlaista riippuvuutta?

- En ikinä. Essoista tulee kyllä helvetin hyvät fiilikset, ymmärrän jos joku jää koukkuun siihen oloon. Huumeiden kanssa täytyy pitää tiukka itsekuri.

Elina, 25,

on koulutukseltaan kokki. Elina poltti kannabista ensimmäisen kerran 17-vuotiaana.

- Olin kuullut siitä ja kiinnostus heräsi. Kokeilin heti, kun sitä oli tarjolla.

Hän polttaa pilveä useamman kerran viikossa, jos siihen on mahdollisuus. Yleensä hän ostaa sitä kavereiltaan, jotka kasvattavat kotona.

- Siitä tulee hyvä olo, sen vaikutuksen alaisena on kiva hääräillä kotioloissa. Se toimii hyvänä relaksanttina, jos on stressiä tai kiireitä.

Elina ei käytä huumeita bilettämiseen.

- Kannabis passivoi minua, eli suu menee kiinni seurassa, eikä se ole kivaa. Siksi poltankin yleensä kotona. Kylvyssä polttelu on parasta.



On erittäin epätodennäköistä, että kannabikseen kehittyy fyysinen riippuvuus, mutta Elina myöntää kärsineensä psyykkisestä riippuvuudesta.

- Poltin päivittäin muutama vuosi sitten. Kun vähensin, oli aluksi hankalaa päästä normaaliin unirytmiin, kun ennen nukkumaan menoa ei polttanutkaan savuja.

Porttiteoria, jonka mukaan yhden huumeen kokeilu johtaa kovempiin aineisiin, on Elinasta "täyttä paskaa".

- Minua ei kiinnosta enää kokeilla mitään muita huumeita. Siihen ei liity mitään pelkoa, en vain tarvitse sellaista pään sekoittamista.

Hänen ystäväpiirissään on useiden eri huumeiden viihdekäyttäjiä.

- Minulle on aivan sama, mitä ihmiset käyttävät, kunhan elämä ei pyöri vain huumeiden ja huumeihmisten ympärillä. Sosiaaliset suhteet täytyy pystyä säilyttämään ja velvollisuudet pitää hoitaa.

Kaikki eivät siihen pysty.

- Tunsin kaksi heroiinia käyttävää tyyppiä. Toinen on mullan alla ja toisesta ei ole kuulunut kolmeen vuoteen mitään.

Välittääkö hän, kuka hänen omasta käytöstään tietää?

- Välitän. Työ- ja opiskelukavereille en puhu asiasta, ellen tiedä heidän olevan samalla aaltopituudella. Vanhemmille haluaisin kertoa, mutta he eivät ymmärtäisi. He ajattelisivat huumekoukkua saman tien, koska eivät tiedä asiasta mitään. Heille huume on huume.

Paavo, 34,

on it-alan yrittäjä. Hän vietti vuoden vaihto-oppilaana Yhdysvalloissa 17-vuotiaana.

- Olin aivan kauhuissani, kun näin koulukavereiden polttavan pilveä. Suomalainen huumepropaganda oli tehnyt tehtävänsä, hän nauraa.

- Jonkin aikaa seurailin muiden toimia. Kun tajusin, että tyypit eivät kuolleetkaan tai alkaneet ryöstellä viinakauppoja, halusin itsekin kokeilla.

Hän kokeili myös LSD:tä, kokaiinia, ekstaasia ja amfetamiinitabletteja. Kaikki ovat jääneet kokeiluiksi.

- Sanoisin, että kokeilen huumeita vieläkin silloin tällöin. Voi tietysti kysyä, missä menee kokeilun raja. Viime kerrasta on tällä hetkellä puoli vuotta.

Paavo käyttää huumeita useimmiten ulkomailla.

- Reissuilla tulee silloin tällöin otettua ekstaasia ja kokaiinia, kerran pari vuodessa. Suomessa en viitsi niiden kanssa pelleillä, tulee liikaa ikävyyksiä jos jää kiinni. En tosin kieltäydy, jos niitä sattuu kohdalle.

Suomessa yleisintä huumausainetta, kannabista, Paavo ei käytä ollenkaan.

- Huumeiden käyttö liittyy kohdallani aina sosiaalisiin tilanteisiin, joissa pidetään hauskaa. Pilvestä tulee väsynyt ja laiska olo. Jumittaminen jossain kämpässä toljottaen Pink Floydin The Wallia videolta ei nappaa.



Parhaasta huumekokemuksesta on jo aikaa.

- Edellisestä LSD-tripistä on 18 vuotta, mutta muistan vieläkin elävästi kuinka hauskaa oli.

Paavo pohtii, että hän on saattanut jo lopettaa käyttönsä, muttei tiedä sitä vielä. Hän ei ole koskaan tuntenut riippuvuutta mihinkään aineeseen eikä suunnittele käyttöään. Mikä hänet saa käyttämään huumeita aika ajoin?

- Se on vaan niin saatanan hienoa. Miksi jotkut juovat itsensä känniin? Päihteitähän ne kaikki ovat, niillä haetaan hyvää fiilistä. Paitsi että viinasta menee enemmän sekaisin kuin yhdestäkään huumeesta, jota olen kokeillut.

Mies korostaa kohtuutta ja itsensä tuntemista huumeita käytettäessä.

- Kaikkien aineiden kanssa olen ensin tarkkaillut, kuinka ne vaikuttavat muihin. Nuorena kaverit imppasivat ja näin mitä se tekee. En koskaan impannut.



Kaikki edellä esitellyt ihmiset ovat tavallisia veronmaksajia. He käyttävät huumeita satunnaisesti, mutta eivät anna niiden vaikuttaa normaaliin elämäänsä. Rahat huumeisin he saavat töistä, eikä kukaan tunne olevansa rikollinen, sillä käytöllään he vahingoittavat vain itseään.

Porttiteoriaan heistä ei usko yksikään, vaikka jokaisen huumekokeilut ovat alkaneet kannabiksella. Miksi uskoisivat, hehän ovat itse eläviä esimerkkejä siitä, että huumeita voi käyttää silloin tällöin ja pitää elämänsä raiteillaan. Kun tuntee huumeet ja niiden vaarat, tietää pelisäännöt. Itsekuri pitää erossa ongelmista.

Mutta miksi asia on niin, että nämä ihmiset menettäisivät työnsä ja saisivat elinikäisen ristin kantaakseen, jos he esiintyisivät tässä jutussa omilla nimillään? Miksi huumeisiin liitetään edelleen kaikki yhteiskunnan paha?

- Yhteiskunta tarvitsee aina vihollisen, jota käyttää syntipukkina. Huumeet on helppo demonisoida: ne eivät ole kukaan, niillä ei ole nimeä, ne ovat hämärämiesten tuomia, aiheuttavat kummallisia oireita eikä kukaan oikein tunne niitä. Niitä on helppo syyttää ongelmista, jotka eivät edes oikeasti liity niihin. Kukaan ei uskalla puolustaa niitä, sanoo tutkija Mikko Salasuo.

Aivan. Huumeet ovat huumeita, kannabiksesta heroiiniin, ja poliitikko tekee poliittisen itsemurhan asettuessaan muulle kuin jyrkän vastustamisen linjalle. Salasuo viittaa Markus Draken tapaukseen, jossa kansanedustajaehdokas kannatti mietojen huumeiden laillistamista. Media ja poliittiset vastustajat syöksyivät oitis huumeidenvastaiseen populismiin ja Draken peli oli pelattu.

Drake tosin ilmaisi kantansa turhankin radikaalisti polttamalla jointtia Vihreiden vaalikopilla.

Samanlainen haloo nousi, kun toinen vihreiden kansanedustaja, Rosa Meriläinen, tunnusti polttaneensa pilveä kansanedustajakauden aikana. Olisi vain kannattanut pitää turpa kiinni.

Salasuo siteeraa tunnettuja päihdetutkijoita Nils Christieta ja Kjetil Bruunia: "Huumeet ovat vaarallisimmillaan politiikassa."



Huumeet ovat pohjimmiltaan aineita, jotka saavat aikaan erilaisia reaktioita ihmisissä. Kannabista, amfetamiinia, opiaatteja ja ekstaasia on käytetty paljon lääkinnällisiin tarkoituksiin. Salasuon mukaan löytyy paljon dokumentaatiota siitä, kuinka Yhdysvaltain ilmavoimien pilottien keskittymiskykyä parannetaan amfetamiinijohdannaisilla valmisteilla. Morfiini on yleinen kipulääke. Suomeen saatiin juuri ensimmäinen kannabiksen lääkekäyttäjä. Brittiarmeija kokeili toisen maailmansodan aikana, olisiko LSD:stä hyötyä sodankäynnissä. Salasuo kertoo, että ekstaasia on käytetty lääkkeenä terapiayhteyksissä vielä 1980-luvulla.

Lista on pitkä.

Huumeet voi siis nähdä eräänlaisina lääkeaineina, joissa on havaittu vapaa-ajanviettoon soveltuvia sivuvaikutuksia. Miksi ne ovat sitten kiellettyjä, kun niitä ei käytetä lääketieteellisiin tarkoituksiin tai sotatoimiin?

- Perimmäisenä ajatuksena on vallankäyttö. Valtaapitävät ovat nähneet, että kansalaiset eivät pysty hallitsemaan tällaista nautinnonhankintaa ja se on päätetty kieltää. Kiinnostavaa asian kehityksessä onkin, että niin kauan kuin jokin aine liittyy ylempiin sosiaaliluokkiin ja pysyy lääketieteen kehyksissä, se on hyväksyttyä. Kun siitä tulee tavallisten ihmisten omaan nautintoon liittyvää, se kriminalisoidaan, Salasuo sanoo.

Suomessa myös huumausaineiden käyttö, ei ainoastaan hallussapito, välittäminen tai salakuljetus, on rangaistavaa. Tästä päätettiin eduskunnassa vuonna 1972 heittämällä kolikkoa, kun äänet menivät tasan. Siitä lähtien huumausaineen käyttörikoksesta on tuomittu niin kannabiksen polttajat kuin heroiinin piikittäjätkin. Saman rikosnimikkeen alla.

Monday, February 19, 2007

To Baldly Go Where No (Wo)Man Has Gone Before.


In the series of past pop princesses gone sad and weird, Britney is number one at the moment. A few marriages/divorces, almost dropping a baby, public flashing, constant drunk and disorderly have kept her in the headlines for some time now. And now she went Sigourney Weaver and cut a true Sinead O'Connor. What's up with that??

I bet Paris ain't gonna be sipping Cris with her that often after this stunt. I mean, sporting the "12 year old catholic school boy" -look ain't that hot, at least in the world of bling and fame.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Badgers are cool


Sometimes it's a good idea to rest your mind and stare at stuff. If tv seems too challenging for your limited capabilities then simple animations work pretty well for this purpose. Check out my new little friends made by an anonymous Flash Gordon: badgers.

'Shrooms are bad, mmmmmmkayyyy.

Friday, February 09, 2007

This is how I spent my Friday afternoon


Being a white collar salaryman during daytime it is a nice to have changes in the daily routines. Today my highlight was the assembling of some nice Ikea furniture to store my office supplies in. So, some real men’s work for change.

I had a strict goal: my colleagues had done this in a hour, so I had to beat them or at least be as fast as them. I have assembled a lot of Ikea stuff in my time, some my own and some of friends. And I have always hated it. I mean, you don’t actually need tools, which a so cool to use, especially power tools. And the material is often so weak that if you don’t read the instructions (RTFM!) you will bend and break some parts, that’s fi jeezy.

So here is a short photo collage of the process, it took me exactly 59 minutes, so I beat the 1 hour limit. I guess now I’ve earned that Cobra beer I had during the lunch.

Last Of The Famous International Playmates


R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith.

Despite being one of the weirdest and most f*ed-up american celebrities of the last decades, XL Playboy Playmate and cash money widow Anna Nicole Smith seemed always really really sad and unhappy. Even when she was having fun. And she was having fun a lot lot, if you consider drinking cheap cham while popping pills as fun.

I mean - did you ever watch her reality? She was just so out there it was amusing, entertaining and heartbreaking at the same time. I dont think it's even possible to have a life THAT full of unhappiness and misery. So that marriage with the 100-year old dude who died away was obviously a scam to get the dough. But to have your 20-year old son die a couple of days after the birth of your baby girl? And then pass away 5 months later. C'mon, even the Melrose Place writers would've scraped the hell out of that plot line as being far too unrealistic.

So even if 39 is REALLY young, the death was kinda no surprise. Still, my heart goes out to that 5 month old baby girl of hers. She's gonna have one fuc'd up life with her not-confirmed-father and the Hollywood paparazzi vulture set hanging around her.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man


In deed he is. The CEO of hip hop, mr Carter, is known for his large variety of businesses. He's obviously the co-founder of the Rock-A-Fella empire and part owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets and Armadale Vodka, co-brand director of Budweiser / Anheuser-Busch to name a few. Lately he's been the spokesman for Hewlett-Packard notebook computers and Yukon Denali SUV by GM.

To top this all, he has now made a deal with Coke to re-design the new cherry coke can with his Rocawear posse. And much like the Bud Select ads, a Jay-Z song will serve as the soundtrack for this sweet sweet cherry treat.

So he is a business in deed, but when will he cross the line when this all seems ridicilous? I mean, owning businesses and making business is another story, but being a mannequin may not seem so cool after seeing one's face all around on ordinary products and ad campaigns.

And Jigga's effect may already be wearing out - even with his influence late in the year, Bud Select's shipments were down about 8% last year

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

AdSense Goes Gay



We have been blogging about those AdSense –ads on our page before but now is maybe the time to bring this up again – even if this is strictly against the rules and nondisclosure contract of AdSense. But since AdSense earns us only about 10 U.S. cents a week, of which we still haven’t see a single penny actually, I don’t really care if they kick us out of the program.

But yeah, it seems that the gay music-themed entry from last week has been registered by AdSense as well. They are offering all of you these interesting sites:

Are People Born Gay?
Learn more with 100s of expert pros & cons in a nonpartisan format
www.BornGayProCon.org


Gay Travel in Alaska
Alaska Trips for Adventurous Gay & Lesbian Travelers. Sign Up Today!
OutInAlaska.com


But to balance things back a bit we also seem to have a link to a very interesting German web-store, Yo! T.H.U.G.:

Makaveli Branded Store
the one and only official clothing line of Tupac Amaru Shakur
www.makaveli-store.com


No, but wait, wasn't Tupac on that list too?

Thursday, February 01, 2007

"You guys know of a lot more Gay Bands than I do."



From http://lovegodsway.org/

“One of the most dangerous ways homosexuality invades family life is through popular music. Parents should keep careful watch over their children's listening habits, especially in this Internet Age of MP3 piracy.”

“Bands to watch out for:” (and I am only listing the best ones here, check the site for a longer list)

* Marilyn Manson (dark gay)
* Morrissey (?questionable?)
* Ted Nugent (loincloth)
* DMX
* The Grateful Dead (AIDS)
* Elton John (really gay)
* Jay-Z
* Barry Manilow

How gay are there artists? For Elton John this makes sense as he is really a homosexual and makes it very obvious too, and maybe Barry Manilow’s music could be considered as being ‘gay’, if you are Cartman from the South Park.

And then they write like this:

“In Our effort to keep this list up to date we'd appreciate your help. If you know of a band that is Gay or propogating a Gay message please email us so we can update. Donnie is handling this his email is: donniedavies@gmail.com. The response is overwhelming. You guys know of a lot more Gay Bands than I do. I can't keep up. Hopefully soon we'll have it so you can add them by yourself.”

Monday, January 29, 2007

On profits and margins of music industry.



The Global music industry trade body said a few weeks ago that:

”Global online music sales nearly doubled in 2006 to about $2 billion, or 10 percent of all sales, but failed to compensate for an overall decline in sales of CDs”.

The fact that online is the fastest growing sales channel is no news, everybody knows that CD is taking its’ last breaths. CD may not die next year, but the signs are clear, like we have blogged here before. But instead what is not so well known is the fact that the record companies must be making better profit distributing music via web than the oldskool way. I mean, take a look at the value chain. In the offline world they had to pay billions for manufacturing, storing, logistics, and resale costs. To simplify a bit: in the online world the webstore is the only player between the record company and the customer, am I right? And once the record company is the webstore, you're actually getting your music straight with no middle men. Ok, the real problem seems to be that the volumes of (legal) online music are still quite low, but hey, that side of the industry is still young.

They keep whining that the total sales are declining, but they don’t admit that their business is actually getting healthier and better once they move online. If you have any info on this matter, I’d like to know. e.g. what is the estimated profit margin on cd’s vs. online music, let me know.

There is one more dark cloud hanging over record companies: albums might be a thing of the past soon. It could easily be all about singles, peeps don't wanna pay for songs they don't wanna listen to. What comes around comes around, the big industry was based on singles and if was only in the 60's when albums became a standard.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Brooklyn Brewskis Spotted!



Finally. It was last summer when we first reported about Koff's promise to start importing Brooklyn Lager into Finland, but despite the marketing blurb, no Brooklyn's finest brewskis were to be found anywhere at all around here.

But now, today, I found 'em. So I can now report that yeah, they do exist. In the Alko (the state monopoly liquor store chain, yeah, we still have that upon us) of the Arabia shopping mall, hidden away on the top self between all those wierd Druid-brewed beers from Belgium. And it's damn expensive too, one bottle is about 5 times the price of any local lagers. But who cares?

Thursday, January 25, 2007

You finally know you are starting to get old when:


You finally know you are starting to get old when:

Bands you used to love start doing re-union & comeback tours.

1.) Diamond Dave, who’s had his share of trials & tribulations during his career for sure, is going to back together with Van Halen for summer of 40 concerts. After 20 years of being on a solo career. I always reallyreallyreally hated Sammy Hagar so that’s cool in a way, but there’s more:

That strangely your-dad-like-looking-beardy-wierdy Michael Anthony is not playing bass in VH anymore but instead Eddie Van Halen’s 15-year old son Wolfgang will be on the bass. ‘Scuse me? And wasn’t Wolfgang actually also the name of Eddie’s guitar somewhere along the way? I am too disgusted to look that up now but who cares.

2.) I am not sure if this is even worse or not but apparently Zack de la Rocha is going back together with Rage Against The Machine for some gigs, or at least for the Coachella festival.

Audioslave sucked from beginning so it’s good if that stops them from existing but didn’t Zach leave RATM for some hard-core political agenda against commercial everything etc.? So what’s up with he joining them again? You ran out of money (and your political agenda) or what, dude?

EDIT!

Apparently Audioslave broke up today, February 16th! Hooray! But wait, does this mean that Soundgarden will reunite?