Up in Smoke - no more

This is an inspiring series of short movies. So cool innovation!



Oxfam has couple more of these videos on this topic. You can find them in Youtube.

What is health?

Last night I gave a speech to colleagues about global health issues. Some were surprised as I tried to answer the question above.

Patients as well as the media often think that you have a better chance to stay healthy, if you have easy access to healthcare. True, but not the whole truth I dare say.

Nomenclature is a bit funny here. We talk about healthcare and at the same time mean two rather different things. Firstly the system is there to keep healthy people healthy. Secondly it is supposed to cure the sick or otherwise give them aid. From a doctor's point of view the latter is closer to our education. Quite frankly I'd give more responsibility of the previous for personal trainers, dietitians, nurses etc. If you're healthy, they can help you to stay that way a lot better than a doctor.

What are the factors that affect to the health of an individual? Apart from age, genes and sex the environment plays an important role. Environment with it's physical and social elements have major impact on our health. Questions like sanitation, pollution, water supply and climate change area easily big globally. In Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator winter time is hard on one's lungs. Smoke takes over and you can hardly see your neighbour's house. Nearly everyone I met there complained about pulmonary symptoms.

In social sense economics, gender, social status and education are all major players on the health of individuals just as nations. Take for instance Non-Communicable diseases, which are a major health challenge globally acknowledged also by World Health Organization. These often result after series of choices done in previous years. Smoking, alcohol consumption, seat belts, sports etc. Fast food is cheap. Healthier food is usually expensive and takes time to cook. Or obesity, why do you think it is rather common in women coming from Arabic countries.

Adding to the list is of course access to healthcare services. But the above listing tells the secret why in so many countries grass root health work has done wonders. Barangai workers in the Philippines or community health workers in Nepal are doing the same work for the best of their country. I think in the West we are waisting our resources when trying to provide good health to our people. We've forgot what it takes to have good health.

Mongolia in pics

I experienced this wonderful country in June, which was an early summer for the locals. It is a big country. Trust me. Did some bumpy car travelling. But the people are warm and proud of their history. This is how I saw it.

And naturally found myself once or twice at a hospital. Just kept my eyes open.

No horses this time.

The song that won't stop playing in my head

Seasonal affective disorder

Sounds horrid doesn't it? Back here we mean Winter Blues. Why? Cause it gets so blimey dark.

Mental problems are not a very popular topic, but this one is an exception. Everyone's talking about it around this time of the year. At coffee breaks, with the family, in shops and among colleagues. We have to talk about it cause it affects nearly the whole nation.

Sounds crazy? Well imagine yourself driving to work in the morning and it's dark. The same happens in the afternoon while driving back. If you work indoors, you won't catch any sunlight during the week. If you're lucky, it might peek down on weekends. Before snowfall darkness feels really dark and that's not due in weeks. Meantime sun rises later and later every morning and sets earlier every afternoon.

How do we cope? We fight back!

A funny article made me realize how easily our way to face this time of year makes us feel even worse. A sigh comes out every time we look out the window. We give in to tiredness and slowly begin neglecting our own wellbeing. That's why I've come up with my own survival list.

1. Darkness is a good excuse to burn candles. Some people enjoy this time of the year, so I might give it a try and stop waiting for it all to be over.
2. Bright colors are allowed even though it's not summer. I'm investing on juicy colored nail polishes.
3. Friends are essential, just like laughter and good stories.
4. My girl Florence



I know it's dog days. But my singalong goes dark days.
5. Sports. My goodness how gyms, pilates groups, swimming pools and the lot are packed when we turn to November. And boy when the snow finally comes you can't go more hard core than skiing.
6. Spicy food. When it gets cold and dark outside get some fire in your mouth.. and belly.
7. Smiling is hard if you don't feel like it. But sometimes little bit of forcing is good for ya. At work I've realized that it spreads. Someone just has to lead the way.
8. Focusing on good things in your life. I should be a lot more grateful than I remember to be.
9. Light therapy. Philips I thank thee for building my loyal bright light lamp.

The New York Times on Light Therapy

It's a Girl

Black turns to white and white to black depending on the light. This I feel is the modern method into ethics. Those who are for abortion no matter what easily object abortion based on gender.

"It's a Girl." Someone said those words when I was born. Luckily my mom and dad felt joy.

Here's the answer, but what was your question again?

Where there is Christian mission there are also medical doctors. For centuries these colleagues have packed their belongings and shipped themselves to the other end of the world to do a noble and most of the time not so easy a job. Along with other things they've taken with them their western medicine and social thinking. It can't be beaten for sure.

Medical aid promotes Christian faith and little by little locals want to know more. Motivation for this can be caused by a number of things. Churches are established and they grow by number. One day that congregation might be sending a missionary of their own to a far away land. This is the big picture.

I was surprised to discover how little research has been done of the role of medical work in the field of mission. These days our work and education is all about evidence based methods. But that does not seem to apply for the ones in the jungle.

I managed to get a hold of few articles criticizing western medicine and the inability for priests and medical doctors to work alongside. The publication used a particular African tribe as an example, but I think this can be applied to nearly anywhere.

As a representative of western medicine I listen and examine a patient usually with only one thought. What is the right diagnosis and then, how should I treat this. Sometimes I decide to see the patient later on again, but for most that one appointment is it. If I manage to answer those two questions in a way that pleases both the patient and myself, I'm usually content and forget the whole case. This is pretty much the method used by the doctors described in the article.

However for the locals, which this article describes, getting sick and cured was much more than that. They wanted to know the cause and understand it. They wanted to be cured in a holistic way and moreover the same should be prevented from happening later on. This way of approaching diseases was provided by the traditional healers and their methods pleased their customers. Needless to say the end results weren't always successful and the treatments sometimes cost a fortune.

With the arrival of foreign medical doctors the statistics got better. But a healthy patient was not always a pleased one. Western medicine felt so superb it kinda forgot there ever was any other sort. Or the possibility of learning from others.

I often find myself in a situation where the patient is somehow dissatisfied without either one of us being able to point a finger at a particular problem. It is likely that non-medical answers are expected from us and a wake up call could do good for the whole system of health care. Here the traditional method could be of aid. Maybe there's plenty to be found in the toolbox of the traditional healer as well as in his style of approach.

Never Sorry

The documentary starts with a story of a cat. One that is different from all the other numerous beasts living in the artist's home. This one can open doors. Just like the other cats it has seen humans do it many times. One day it decided to do the same.

What's the difference between a human and a cat? Only the former feels the need to close the door he has opened.

Genghis Khan

Mongolia blew my mind this summer. Though I had dreamt of travelling there one day, this trip came as a surprise out of nowhere. Some challenging planning, personal economy struggles and convincing my boss later I found myself in the middle on never-ending Mongolian planes inhabited only by some semi wild horses.

Besides nature the country is known by it's great leader despite the fact he's been dead for nine centuries. Genghis Khan was the first Great Khan, united the nomadic tribes and lead Mongolian army to occupy most of the, then known and not so well known, world. His army was bloodthirsty, obedient and heartless. They were ruled by fear of loosing their lives or staining their honour. Khan's name you can read pretty much all over the country and boy is his statue grand in Tsonjin Boldog, which could also be called in-the-middle-of-nowhere.

Scary as he must have been at his time Genghis Khan also had pretty original ideas. For instance the Great Khan should be elected by Mongolian leaders. (In reality this didn't happen.) He also used religious scholars from Buddhist, Christian, Taoist and Muslim backgrounds as his advisors. This was religious tolerance beyond belief at that time. Genghis Khan was convinced an end would come to his empire and he advised his successors to keep that in mind. How many leaders today would say that out loud?

Finally an end did come. Europeans gave a sigh of relief and Mongolians returned to their nomadic lifestyles occasionally bothered by the Chinese. Little is left from those days in modern Mongolia. The ruins of Karakorum are barely seen and the ancient temple of this former capital has been rebuilt thanks to Japanese aid.

I'd still like to say there's something to learn from this leader despite his cruelty. I mean how many Asian names are so famous worldwide as his dating so far in history.

Easygoing Sunday

This one is fun to watch. Guest appearances from various animals were slendid. The whole story is on youtube for instance.

I'm angry too!

Never quite made it to New York, but I did visit Occupy at St. Paul's in London. This is Sebastian Errazuriz's view. It's an actual chair to sit on.

If these walls could talk

Think you’ve attended the best historical tour? Meet this guy and say that again.

My friends, who were obedient followers of Lonely Planet, told me we should attend a tour by Carlos Celdran. (Never heard of him before.) This was the thing to do in Manila. I agreed mainly because the history proportion was ridiculously small in that amazing city. Every time the locals wanted to do something with us we ended up hanging out in a mall slightly bigger than the previous one.

Every now and then when abroad I’d like to wear a t-shirt saying “I’m not American.” Silly I know, but history usually means events that took place within the past fifty to hundred years and the Americans have kept themselves (or their army) busy globally within that time frame. Emotions run high when visiting historical sites and you don’t want to share them with someone whose nation caused some of the pain.

What Carlos Celdran took us through was heart breaking, controversial, interesting and amazing. I didn’t have that t-shirt with me, but because of my appearance I didn’t feel the need of one saying “neither am I Japanese or Chinese.”

The Philippines is a wonderful country. Best part of it is the people. (Nature comes close second.) My Filipino friends were shocked during the tour just as I were. They hadn’t heard all the historical back rounds to some of the most bewildering events in their country. It was not all in what was said but rather how it was said. There was an artist at work.

In Vietnam and Cambodia I have felt numb, empty, sad and ridiculous after getting to know how cruel a human being can be to another. This is why I have to regulate my original venue history doses. However Mr. Celdran tried to avoid that. His tour had a message of hope and an idea of a better future. He did not cry for help from abroad, he believed in the country he loves. The wonderful Filipinos.

My Green Thumb

For years I've dreamt of it. Every spring when I realize winter's been beaten, first rays of light peak in and the snow turns to mushy ponds the idea creeps to my head. I'd love to do it. This year for the first time ever I made it happen. Got myself a garden.

Some phone calls and bribing of my sister later I was a happy farmer. Out came rubber boots and tools from my parents shed. Loved it. I went crazy with buying seeds. There was no stopping me.

Then I got to the hard part. I wasn't afraid of getting my hands dirty. But boy how stiff and painful my back and thighs were. For days. One could have started a pottery business with that soil. I ended up carrying bags of dirt and recruiting one innocent preacher for the job as well.

What else is there to do after planting? I thought to myself and flew over several time zones. Coming back I had to separate the wilderness from my cute small saplings. Another stiff and painful back.

Nature did most of the watering and I thought this is going splendid until I had to declare a war. Bloody snails invaded my garden. What did I do? Gave them beer.

A friend at work told me the only way to get rid of the bastards was to drown them and the smell of beer attracts them like mad. Turned up these were all members of the temperance association. What a waste of lager. Eventually I gave up. And my plants have done fairly well.

Tomorrow we'll collect the harvest, have a party and I'll brag about it to any poor soul come my way. Made my dream come true.

What I drank today

Doesn't really matter. If you've got a cup like this.

Cute 'eh. Reusable, sustainable and frankly nice to show-off. For more here's their website.

Sigh..

Just as I was planning to write something about gardening.

Well done Danny Boyle!

For once an opening ceremony that was fun, exciting and worth watching 'till the end. I knew that Brits would have it their way. But please, never again sportscasters commenting on such occasion.

As the athletes began marching in I couldn't help but thinking all the associations their countries are linked, at least in my head. Yes it is supposed to be a celebration of sport, determination, success, peace and so on. And yes the athletes themselves probably have nothing to do with these issues, but it is rather unbelievable that for example Afghanistan and USA were both there. Or imagine that these countries, in stead of healthy and fresh looking athletes, had brought the worst of their culture on that stadium. "Next we have Liberia led by Charles Taylor and his child soldiers. Here comes Cambodia with old Khmer Rouge leaders who managed to escape justice. This country you all know, they're the biggest human rights violators in the world."

I'm not a sports fan, but somehow you get sucked into these mega events. So most likely I'll be following London these upcoming days. Big emotions are what we're looking for, I think, and there's plenty to come. In the midst of it all I hope that the viewers could have their eyes open to more than that one amazing performance. After all it's the result of years of hard work in a certain culture, country, society and piece of history.

Never mind the Pollocks here's the Stone Roses

That was a long summer break. I've kept myself busy and away from home. Time to start typing again.

Since they're back and oh so good I post this song. Though I think it's time for music magazines to find new topics.  Yes they're great and the gigs like a dream come true, but time to move on eh?

Love the moves, clothes and haircut. And the title which is NME cover 1989.

SCSL big judgement

Much expected by many. Here it is, the verdict.
Special Court for Sierra Leone was established in 2000. This I presume is because ICC was only a plan back then.
Albeit there are several other high class crooks, you've got to start somewhere. Hope this brings some atonement for he victims and their famlies.

Memories of the Sun

Though this time I'm not complaining. It's come to a long term stay on my neighbourhood.

Blue Friday

This was the first rap song that made me wanna hear more. And still hard to beat.

 


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Loads of Foam and Paint

Now this is how you make album covers. Foam sculptures by Dave Konopka of Battles. Ice cream anyone?

One more

Have I ever mentioned how much I love glass paintings?

By who?

Lisää kuvateksti

I spotted it from Facebook. My friend likes it. It's published on a personal page of someone who fancied it. If you google it you can find it from several blogs. And then Creative Commons, No rights reserved. Finally a name, Kai Krause.

It's big. I know. Perspective eh.