Slippery, then very snowy, now a bit below zero and even a glimpse of sunshine was witnessed. One day while walking around the coastline it became suddenly so foggy I could feel it while breathing, which felt nice. So what else is up?
Lovely winter scenery while walking around Seurasaari.
Taking a dip in the frozen sea
At work we all went out one afternoon to hang out together in the sea wearing survival suits, which are primarily meant for cargo vessel crew members to wear when abandoning ship in order to increase chances of survival (hence the name). While not the most comfortable of suits, it kept me well isolated from wind, cold and water.
Instructions how to dress a survival suit in case one has to abandon ship.
I was first unsure am I willing to have a swim in the sea with it, but once I had it on I was convinced the suit will keep me safe for at least half an hour (these are designed to keep the user alive at least six hours in the sea). Been there, done that too then.
There was also a lot of talk what health benefits there are in taking a dip in the cold water (winter swimming). I’ve personally never done that (although sometimes I have rolled in the snow while enjoying the sauna), but maybe I should start finishing my showers with cold water more to give my body a good kickstart. Not exactly eager to do so, however.
Co-workers chlling in the sea. In the background is the construction of a new bridge, that will be the longest in Finland.
Another movie by Ozu
The latest Yasujiro Ozu movie I watched now was Late Autumn (1960). Being the third movie I’ve seen of his later color film works, it was interesting to see how similar it was as Equinox Flower. Same actors and even same sets reused, I’m assuming both stories took place around at least one similar character. At least both are based on stories by Ton Satomi.
Still, it has well worth watching. It is a shame I was aware of this theme series at Kino Regina a bit too late, as there were also two lectures of Ozu’s themes and style earlier that would have been really useful to hear.
Minimalism sample
This post’s public art in Helsinki pick follows the style of minimalism. “Helsinki Arch” is quite an example of it and pretty much in anyone’s imagination what it is supposed to represent. According to the Helsinki Art Museum however, it represents a triumph arch upside down to give old traditions new forms. It’s so obvious now when you look at it, right?
Helsinki Arch (1983) by Bernard Kirschenbaum. Now in Meilahti, this was originally in front of the Ateneum art museum for a modern art exhibition taking place.
So a fair amount of being outdoors, but otherwise I’ve spent a lot of time indoors playing a video game (again). More about it in a future post once I’ve hopefully finished it.