Peak time as far as autumn colours go in Helsinki. The weather has continued to be pleasant, but I’m prepared that November will slap hard in the face with its cold, wet towel.

But even if the weather turns too discouraging for running outside, I’ve already run more kilometers in one year than the previous three, so in that sense this has already been a good year as far as running goes. I’ve even managed to run 5 kilometers within a half an hour with relative ease a few times. Decent fitness, I guess.

Football spectator

Watching others do the running, I went to see a UEFA Conference League match between HJK and Dinamo-Minsk. HJK were quite awful, but somehow managed to scrap a win, thanks again to a red card and VAR denying a late equaliser to the opposition.

My main annoyance towards HJK’s gameplan was how they were clinging to time wasting dark arts with fake injuries from the slightest of touches, but I guess all tricks are permitted to ensure a whopping 400 000 euro prize for a win in the money league.

Movies and games

Back on the home sofa, I watched The Zone of Interest, which took a different angle to the holocaust by observing life of the family of a concentration camp’s commandant. I didn’t realize the director Jonathan Glazer also directed Under the Skin, which I saw a few years back and thought it also was pretty unique.

Gaming-wise, I’m finally taking a break from grinding in Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin. Instead, after learning that Moomins are visiting Sky: Children of the Light, I returned to see how things are going there.

Clearly a lot of technical improvements and content has been added during the past year, but I was left a bit wondering why would I bother with it again.

Yet I think I’ll see how the Moomin story unfolds as new chapters are released the following weeks. I’m not a Moomin fan, but it still is one of few known Finnish exports in the world and it is interesting to see how it fits into this game.

Tags: football, gaming, movies, running