Twice the Size - You decide

Here is a quick thought about urbanism. People always think I hate St. Louis so perhaps this might explain why I don't really consider it a city. Perhaps I'm more a hater of sprawl.

St. Louis Population: 350,000
Helsinki Population: 600,000

So that makes Helsinki almost twice the size, but...

St. Louis Metro Area population: 2,800,000
Helsinki Metro Area population: 1,300,000

...and that makes St. Louis more than twice the size, so which city is bigger? I'm sure you guys know what I think. Here's the last of the numbers.

Percentage of metro area population living in city:
St. Louis: 12.8%
Helsinki: 43.8%

Helsinki - First Impressions

First off I'm sorry if I can't help but relate my early experiences in Helsinki to those of my time in Germany in 2003. Ive been tending to compare things considering there are a lot of similarities and it was the last time I spent a significant time in Europe and actually was part of the daily lifestyle as opposed to being a tourist. But Helsinki is its own place and hopefully I'll start to put things in its own context.

With that said I should say that its refreshing to be back in Europe and Helsinki seems to be a perfect medium sized European city. Helsinki has a lot of awesome parks and neighborhoods, and the transit system is pretty sweet too it has a subway line, a bunch of street trams and a lot of buses.
So far the city has come off a bit Jason Bourne-esque almost like when he is stumbling around Moscow right after that awesome car chase and asks that little old Russian lady about the Neski girl. It feels a bit Commi, because the architecture is kind of muted. Vac mentioned that he thought the buildings here lacked character compared to the Czech Republic, and I agreed. I'm sure the buildings are just as old but compared to Wiesbaden they don't have much detailing or ornamentation.
But the two main reason's is the weather and the language. Finnish is very hard. It's pretty impossible to understand, it doesn't sound nice and I think its silly, words tend to get really long. As for weather it's a bit sad saying this but I haven't seen the sun since I have been here and the streets and sidewalks are very snowy. The cloudy/glum lighting and icy sidewalks add to the stark facades giving some parts of Helsinki an eerie totalitarian feel.
That being a bit blunt, the main business and shopping district is really pretty and vibrant. The buildings along the pedestrian districts and around the rail station are a lot more antiquated. And my favorite thing about Helsinki so far is it's great number of awesome little parks. They come as a nice treat when walking around the city just trying to get used to it and are often filled with schoolchildren running around and sledding. One awesome and really efficient thing that I absolutely love about these parks is that some of them have soccer fields (you can see the goal covered in snow) and they turn these soccer fields into ice skating rinks in the winter. I find that so smart.

I'll leave it at that, there is still a lot of exploring to be done in and around Helsinki so I must warn that these initial impressions might be premature, and maybe things will change in the weeks and months to come.

Tunes 2008

All safe and settled in Helsinki, but before we get into that and too deep into 2009, I want to do a quick recap of my favorite songs from 2008. I was trying to figure out how the songs could be downloaded straight from my blog but I never found out how, so until then Ill post a link to the artist. And for finding the MP3, I would go with Elbows (http://elbo.ws/) just search for the song and you should be able to find the Mp3 posted somewhere

These might not have been originally released in 2008, but it's when I discovered them. I was kind of on a disco-techno craze so that might take theme to my list.

Here we go:

#10 Friendly Fires - On Board
Debut of hipster Brit's pumpin' it up.
Friendly Fires (Myspace)

#9 MGMT - Electric Feel
Hard time saying no to MGMT being in the top ten. Their rapid ascent to stardom can't go un-noticed.
MGMT (Myspace)

#8 Said The Whale - This City's a Mess
A bit biased considering Howe Sound is one of my favorite places in the world, but this band is quite talented and refreshing.
Said The Whale (Myspace)

#7 Los Campesinos - Drop it Doe Eyes
Hold on Now, Youngster is the most upbeat album of the year, so many tracks to choose from. These crazy Whales are playing at WashU this semester! Too bad I'm in Helsinki!
Los Campesinos!

#6 The Young Punx - Fire (Phonat Remix)
A bit repetitive but I never get tired of it.
Fire -Phonat Remix (Discodust)

#5 Brazilian Girls - Good Time
Perfect, simple and fun, can bring any situation into greater spirits, great beat.
Brazilian Girls (Myspace)

#4 Cut Copy - Nobody Lost, Nobody Found
I love these Aussies reinventing the 80's neo-disco. The bass line is so solid.
Cut Copy (Myspace)

#3 Breakbot - Summer Party
French electro-techno at its greatest, has a great buildup and process and so many levels of instrumentation.
Breakbot

#2 Junkie XL - Mad (Night) Pursuit (Anoraak Remix)
It was a tight race for first, unfortunately this Anoraak remix comes in second. I love the seductive female vocals and the bittersweet 80's glitter effect.
Anoraak Remixes (Discodust)

#1 Janelle Monae - Many Moons
Pure talent. I'm not sure how popular she is or how quickly she will be discovered considering she is signed to Bad Boy records, but when I first hear this song I was absolutely thrilled. The video is awesome as well. Be sure to check her out.
Janelle Monae

....in progress

Just trying to figure out how to work with the layout and template of the blog. Any ideas/suggestions?