Things I did today: cabbage stew. Pretty spicy, pretty good. Things I'm not doing next week: @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social in Brighton. Pretty sad, pretty bad. I hope I can change my attending membership to a virtual one, though I'm not particularly keen online attender.

Pubträff I Kino @luncon-sfkongress.bsky.social

Posti toi paketin. Tai siis, itella toi paketin läheiseen noutopisteeseen ja ei viestinyt minua tästä asiantilasta. Koska kuitenkin seurasin paketin kulkua Hollannista Suomeen, saatoin lähettäjän antamalla informaatiolla kräkätä itellan estot ja löytää lähetykseni OmaPostin syövereistä.

Autumn season of the 2025 Geek Culture Quiz opened today and thanks to Heavy lean into Method Tapsa (always double-or-nothing the last round), Wrong on the Internet seized the day. Plethora of technical difficulties, but Maikko pulled through like a man with a mission. Well done!

Internet seems to have everything, especially all those things you didn't know you needed. Like this song Love's Friends by Virgin Dance, a band I'd never heard before today. Obscure synthy pop song from 1983. When chorus begins, it is recognizable as an early version of We Need Protection. (1/2)

Happy eleventy-one, Tove Jansson!

As much as I fully support penguin lust, surely there's a nod here for HHGTTG? “Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.”

Preston contemplates the world. Cottage life at Pine Ridge.

Kotona ollaan. That was a simply delightful long weekend in Mariehamn at @archipelacon.org Lots of lovely people, friends old and new, good programming, even couple with me in them, great food and some needed imbibing of local liquid produces. King of the continent signs out.

Jeffrey is a keen birder and a poet.

There can be only one. Wrong on the Internet reigns supreme over the Geek Culture Quiz @archipelacon.org Congrats to all other amazing teams and our illustrious quizmaster Maikko and Elisa! Great job and TOUGH questions.

Archipelacon Thursday night Quiz happening in Bouqerian. Wrong off the Internet fully present.

2026.finncon.org Financing goes back to Turku! w00T!

We’re in Mariehamn, in Åland Islands, taking part of @archipelacon.org Got me badge, booklet, work lanyard and Anni Swan’s sword. I’m ready.

In this day and age of countless reaction and various renovation videos, how come we don't have the Rory Bremner sings "Gordon Brown" with The Strangles video available? Sad.

Yes! The bestest little con in the world comes again next year, with another brilliant GoH. w00T!

Magnum P. I. L.

And I thought that the original Gladiator had issues with historical accuracy. Or decent storytelling. Or plausible characters. By Jove! With a budget the size of this one, I want properly unhinged emperors and actually thrilling combat scenes. What next?

John Maddox Roberts sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/robert... died on this day, so here are some of his book covers (Artist: Dean Ellis, Karel Thole, Kevin Eugene Johnson and Kirk Reinert):

Tähtifantasia2025 shortlist Robin Hobb: Taikuuden laiva (Ship of Magic) Classic Big read Vladimir Nabokov: Kutsu mestaukseen (Приглашение на казнь [Invitation to a Beheading]) Challenging boundaries Toni P. J. Saarinen: Kuolleita kukkia Miasmalasta (“Dead Flowers from Miasmala”) Unique humorous

Tähtivaeltaja Day has started. I introduced this year’s Tähtifantasia Award finalists, a great list of grand novels. Currently listening to an interesting @tadethompson.bsky.social interview via Zoom. Damn you Ilmailualan Unioni strike!

Would it be a proper visit to Mariehamn without some Ålands pannkaka? Even with hallon sylt instead of sviskon. #CafeJuliusBelongsToSyltGang

The traditional tapas dinner at Boquerian: herb-pea risotto with dill cream, mussels drowned in butter, and some fried halloumi. Honey beer from Stallhagen to avoid parching. Hope to do this again in 8 weeks @archipelacon.org - some of the more fun things to do in a demilitarised zone.

It is 400 days until 2026 Ascension Day. Which is my favourite time and weekend of the year, since it usually means that I'm in Mariehamn at Åcon. No Åcon this year, since Archipelacon 2, but next year? Of course. Yes.

Post the first video game you remember playing.

Really looking forward to this one. Åland islands are a beautiful place, Mariehamn mysig little town and I can’t wait to meet all those wonderful people coming there! Like Ann and Jeff. 97 days to go! If I can’t have my annual Åcon, this’ll be appropriate substitute for it.

Today was the annual Finnish science fiction cooperation meeting in Tampere. It was very nice to meet a bunch of good friends and chat about all things sfnal. After the horrors of book lottery, a swell NoFF auction by @nitessine.bsky.social and a relaxing cigar session with @teroyks.bsky.social

My cure? The.

Hei @sarip.bsky.social !

Someone blocked me, no idea who he is. I’ll get over this. Eventually.

It has been too long since the last, but here we go again! One day free SF-minicon in Helsinki in 17th May. With @tadethompson.bsky.social as GoH. Brought to you by the people behind the Best SF Magazine You Can't Read! Unless you read Finnish, of course. Then it IS the Best SF Mag You Can Read!

Wrong on the Internet is victorious, again. Our team @Geek Culture Quiz starts the new season with comfortable win over adversaries. Looking forward to our... damn, I don't even remember how many cups we've won! BIG Thank You! to Mikko and Elisa for quiz mastering and score counting. #FandomIsLove

Geek Culture Quiz! Here we go again. www.youtube.com/@GeekCulture...

I post this image I saved because it made me laugh. You can do the same, if you want to. #Freethought

The banality of evil.

I did this!

World Fantasy Con will be in Brighton next year, from October 30th to November 2nd. Adam Ant has a concert in Brighton the very next day. #dadiddleyquaqua Delta hoy max 9!

Has it really been six months since I last blue-skied? I guess so. Proper SoMe fasting can be a good thing, I deactivated Facebook roughly a month ago, too. Haven’t even posted dog pics to instagram for a while.

Lovely tapas at the Bouquerian with the usual suspects and the Åcon 13 Guest of Honour Fiona Barnett and a spousal unit.

The amount of new Long Drinks is getting sillier each passing year, but the Original ones are the best. Like this Orange.

Åcon 13 opened (I’m the chair apparently) and first program item done. I interviewed our Guest of Honour, Fiona Barnett, funny person, interesting answers and good quips. You should read her novel, The Dark Between the Trees. Weird Horror. Shades of Mike Harrison, Holdstock, JeffV and Chris Priest.

One of the most memorable fannish moments of my life was my 2016 GUFF trip to Australia. A joyous travel and a chance to see the Fandom Under. Being a fanbassador for Europe at Contact2016 and the weeks of traveling across the Great Southern Land was a great honour. Vote GUFF!

"Get me a celebrity, I'm out of here!" There, fixed.

I made some bell peppers.

Whereas that "Branagh does Christie part Three" was not that entertaining. Had the right look for what they were after, but lacklustre dialogue and acting didn't help with the plodding plot and the "surprise" ending. I'll say ho-hum and humdrum. Even the 'stasche was bland.

That was well entertaining episode of Doctor Who. 10/14 is very good with this kind of dialogue-rich fun action and DoctorDonna is equally entertaining when given lines like these. And the supporting cast and aliens were delightful as well. A solid mix of fun romp and issues. More, please.

Oh good, the Ice Age is here again. I felt like an explorer trekking thru the Antarctica when taking them doggies out. Vast sheets of ice where them puppers were popping on happily with their paws of fur and claws, while I was treading on carefully, trying to stay up and find a way back home safely.

Dindin at Capperi.

Read the an article on Hernán Díaz, Pulitzer winner earlier this year, who had been @Helsinki Book Fair this yr. Solid article, made the novel sound interesting in a sort of johnirving/michaelchabon kind of way. Apparently Díaz is a huge Tove Jansson fan. And has translated her short stories. Que?