My Take

One of my favorite sportswriters, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, occasionally presents his take on various new stories. I have borrowed his format, presenting my own take on the news of the day.

Jared Loughner, the alleged assassin of  Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, showed up in court today with a smirk on his face, and had a smirk in his mug shot, also,

My take: He won’t have that smirk for long where he’s going.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne is apparently mad at quarterback Peyton Manning for ignoring him during last weekend’s playoff game. Wayne had no catches.

My take: I am sick of whiny wide receivers. They talk big, but how many times do we see them drop balls thrown right into their million dollar hands.

Auburn and Oregon are playing tonight for the collegiate national football championship.

My take: ZZZZZZZ…I think the only people who care are those affiliated with the two schools.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are planning to picket the funeral of the 9-year-old girl killed by Loughner.

My take: True Christians ought to picket the so-called church of these crazies. They showed up in my town last year during the memorial to people killed in  a mass shooting.

An 84-year old Chinese man has a horn growing out of his head, as if he were a bull or unicorn.

My take: I see a potential business idea for this guy, especially at Halloween!

Der Spiegel has a story called “Life After the Americans”.

My take: I thought it was a story about our demise, which seem to be abounding in the media these days. Turns out it was  story about what the Iraqis will do when we leave Iraq.

A UK motorist was fined for not having complete control of his car when he was spotted blowing his nose in traffic.

My take: I keep telling my sons they have to be careful what they do when we go down the Interstate by all those cameras.

Middle Eastern countries are being depleted of their water supplies at a rapid rate according to The Majalla, a leading Arab world political magazine.

My take: Hey guys, I think we can work out a trade. Know how much I paid at the pump this weekend?

Over half of Finnish men between 18 and 24 still live with their parents, according to the Helsinki Sanomat, the country’s main newspaper.

My take: I was shocked, until the same story reported that over 90 percent of 18-24 year olds in Slovenia and Malta still live at home. Think about this the next time it comes to mind to kick your adult kids out of the house. Things aren’t so bad in the good ole USA.

Combined research by the Univerity of Texas and University of Massachusetts has revealed that you are what your father’s ate, according to the Russian magazine Pravda. A father’s lifestyle can apparently be passed on to his kids because it  reprogrammes the genes.

My take: My kids are in big trouble!

Things I will NOT miss about Finland

We are taught as youngsters that if we don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.  I am about to break that rule by mentioning some things I did not like while living here in Finland. I will be leaving the country for good early next week.  This is a followup to my post about the things I did like.

Before mentioning these things, let me add a disclaimer. Every country has their list of social ills. One of my former colleagues reminded me of that today when he mentioned that one of the things on my list is worse in my own country. He is right. By and large, compared to other nations, Finland is a nice place to live.  But here are some of my personal pet peeves about the place:

Public drunkenness — Winos are generally not aggressive here, but they are a nuisance.  It is difficult to ride public transportation when your part of the bus stinks of alchohol.  Plus, when people get drunk they are loud, something very uncommon in Finland.  The peace and quiet of the night is broken by sounds of a shrieking boozer at times.

Bullies, brats, and punks — I blame the parents for this one. In my own opinion, while Finnish parents love their kids many of them have forsaken the responsibility for disciplining them or have depended on the schools to do it for them. 

Dogs — I have nothing against man’s best friend. In fact, we have talked about getting one at times.  But I suppose my problem isn’t with the animal really. Again, I blame the human who is supposed to be controlling them. Generally dogs are well behaved in Finland, and that is to the credit of their owners. But the humans also let their dogs produce their droppings in some very aggravating places. There is nothing more irritating than walking out into fresh-fallen snow, only to have the ambience ruined by yellow or brown smears on or near the walk way.

Poor  management — I have worked in two different organizations over the years and both of them had higher ups who created havoc among their employees.  As a result, the morale stunk in both places.  Thankfully, my colleagues always made it pleasant to work in these places otherwise. (There goes my next job reference!)

Poor customer service — Many Finns act like they are doing the customer a favor when they are asked for help.  Or, they don’t help at all. Just today I was in an office where the employee seemed annoyed that the work I had asked them to do might involve a little extra trouble (at least from their point of view).

I will stop here. I still have family and friends in Finland. And most of them would admit to these ills in their country. But I could understand why the natives would take offense at a foreigner criticizing their c0untry. I don’t like it when foreigners do it when they visit my country either.

I intend to sum up my experience in Finland in one last post before I leave. I’ll make up to anyone who might be offended in that piece.