I'm a MAN

Estonia

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
------------------------------------------------ Benjamin Franlkin

Saturday morning I boarded a Linda Lines express boat leaving behind a dreary and rainy Helsinki to find myself standing in Estonia's medieval capital city of Tallinn a mere hour and a half later. At the harbor I was greeted by a familiar face, Lisa Julius, a co-worker of mine from Florida, who is also a fellow participant in the GROW program. It was an awesome super fun packed weekend thanks to Lisa. She was like my very own tour guide filling me in on everything from architectural to cultural to historic facts about the city. Good times!! Craziness was dinner Saturday...we're sitting at this restaurant outside late night and I see this 300lbs. Asian dude giving me and for that matter everyone else around the stink eye. So I say to Lisa what is the deal with people having body guards.. and just as I say it.. the waiter moves and we both see Fred-freakin-much-shorter-in-real-life-Durst from Limp Bizkit.....haha. A little Florida reunion as they are from Jacksonville, small world. Waiter said he had just had a concert that night and was here for some grub. All around a great city which I definitely would recommend to anyone traveling through Europe to go visit.

Die Frau ohne Schatten

So Marjaana (Bonnier Finland's CEO) is not only a trailblazer in the publishing industry but also a genuinely cool person. When I first arrived she asked me about the things I was hoping to do while in Finland, amongst my answers was going to the Finnish National Opera (pictured above). This past Friday for the last performance of the season (mid-summer recess begins) Marjaana got us great tickets to see Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow). The 4 hour opera is considered by many today to be one of Strauss's most complicated and colorful scores, both musically and scenically.

The story itself has been interpreted endlessly from all kinds of perspectives including psychoanalysis. As a quick summary of the "basic" plot: An Empress learns about the human condition firsthand after being commanded by her father (the god Keikobad) to obtain a 'shadow' and the ability to bear children within three days. To save her husband from being turned to stone, with the help of her Nurse, the Empress descends from a spiritual realm to entice Barak the Dyer's wife to exchange fertility for riches...and then all the craziness ensues. It was a great show, but I'll be the first to admit the happy ending got a bit drawn out. Okay you're all happy and in love again... okay cool sing about it... we get it... one more love song... more happiness...okay enough already.

One of the coolest things was at the very end after our hands were starting to go numb from applauding everyone... they called an older gentlemen on stage who came up from the orchestra pit with his cello. After 46 years with the Finnish National Opera this was his last show before retirement. The announcement was greeted by roaring applause from within every corner of the opera house.

Anyways after the show we went out and I met some of Marjaana's friends and had another all around awesome night in Helsinki.

All the cookies and pie I want

So I just joined the Bonnier running club which runs 7-10K every Wednesday morning. Mats, who just ran a half marathon last week, led me on a great run starting in the city center then winding around beautiful lakes and through little neighborhoods lined with old school villas. Was nice speaking with him about his experiences with Bonnier (both in Norway and in Finland) and hearing that his family lived in Milwaukee for 3 years. At lunch Hannah was super cool and took me over to Idealfit gym and got me a membership through Bonnier for the next 3 months. Crazy cool place...huge sports complex, very similar to the Chelsea Piers Complex in NYC with one huge difference- it's ALL underground. After work I went and had my first workout there, which was great. Must be the fact that the underground gym isn't only a sport complex but also doubles as a bomb shelter. So not only am I staying healthy but I am also in the safest place in Helsinki! Nice. Anyways just happy to be able to get back into my "normal" workout routine so that I can consume all the tasty European cookies and pie I want :)

Weekend Discoveries

The weekend started off with a graffiti event. Much like in Chicago over the past few decades Finland has had a "no tolerance" policy toward street art/graffiti. So the city sponsoring a gigantic wall in a abandoned power plant complex was a major deal. With a beautiful day, loud hip hop filled the air, while free spray paint brought out a broad range of people from old school 70's and 80's taggers to the families with little kids holding a spray can for the very first time. Afterwards it was on to exploring the cities Design District with all its small boutiques, galleries and various shops. Definitely will take much more than a day to see all the craziness this part of town has to offer. Then Tiki and I saw my first American film in Finland (Angels and Demons)... haha which may explain why everyone here can speak such amazing English. None of the movies are dubbed. And yes inbetween all these happenings there were a varity of bars which were discovered as well ;)


Much of Sunday was spent at the Ateneum Art Museum, viewing an exhibition dedicated to celebrating 160 years of the Kalevala. The Kalevala is a book/epic poem which Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish folklore in the nineteenth century. It is held to be the national epic of Finland and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of Finnish literature, as well as, a driving force in the national awakening that ultimately led to the Finnish government's independence from Russia in 1917. It was an eye opening experience to see how the elements within Kalevala art spoke to one aspect of what it means to be Finnish. A representation of the bond between people and natural forces, great emotions and adventures, mysticism and tragedy.

It made me think about the countless artists (over the centuries) who have sought to counteract the restlessness and brutality of life in works that inspire to a genuine and harmonious experience. Especially in our current predicament with a horrible economy and numerous wars wouldn't it be nice to once again search for a connection to the authentic, to an age in which man wouldn't expect to control the world through mere logic.

New Challenge

Where do I start in explaining the brilliance of this concept.....Tuomas purchased 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die and now the challenge is to listen (via the web) to every single song (though I must admit song #1 by ABBA we agreed we could skip)! From The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra to Lester Young, author Tom Moon has created the musical adventure of a lifetime. As well as a great and varied soundtrack for design inspiration during a magazine launch.

From Noh to Jenny

Last night was packed with all sorts of crazy fun goodness. One of my coworkers Tiki, had the awesome idea to check out the Asian Festival and got tickets to a Japanese Noh theater performance for us. Noh is a major form of classic Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Only to be topped off with a slice of cheesecake and wine at intermission ;) Following the show we met up with Tuomas and saw the Swedish electro influenced band Jenny Wilson (pictured above). Definitely a distinct sound and a great way to end my first Thursday night in Finland!

Hel Looks

The other night I briefly met Liisa and Sampo, the creators of an awesome website devoted to Helsinki street fashion, called Hel Looks. Definitely worth checking out.

Inner workings

Fascinating statistic: Per capita Finland has/creates more magazines than any other country in the world! This all seems to make perfect sense when you hear that Finns read more than the average individual.

My first week has consisted of mainly meetings/presentations, which Virve (head of HR) has been kind enough to organize for me. From the ground up we started with logistics and distribution, how the various Bonnier branches work with one another throughout the Nordic countries. Then we progressed to marketing and subscriptions for both their own brands, as well as, the numerous cross border titles which Bonnier licenses (Nat Geo, Science Illustrated, etc.). On to sales (which was very intriguing in our current economic climate) how to entice prospective advertisers through new and innovative ways. Everything from planned events where the advertisers get face time with the brands thousands of readers, to special inserts and custom covers for sale in the clients stores. Everyone has been super forthcoming in letting me ask any and all questions large and small as they come to mind. It has already become quite clear that this amazing experience will enable me to have a much greater insight into the inner workings of the magazine publishing industry in Europe and beyond.

Okay I haven't even begun to talk about Bonnier Publication Finland's own brands. Let's first start by saying the competition is stiff. Divaani their shelter publication has not 1 or even 5 top competitors but atleast 10! In the short time in which it has been around (a bit over a year) it has already caused quite a stir. Making the larger publishing houses rethink their own approach from design to execution.

I truly believe that this is one overarching aspect of Bonnier companies worldwide, we employ passionate individuals, work with a streamlined and tight staff, all while thinking outside the box with our budgets to enable us to compete effectively with larger publishers everywhere. Not only that...but I have seriously become convinced that when the staff size grows too large there inevitably starts to be a lack of ownership. This may not be the rule, but by and large it creates a atmosphere where everyone resides only in their own small world not as a cohesive unit. Magazines are living, breathing entities which constantly need to evolve in order to keep their relevance/focus while engaging the viewer in an ever growing and competitive visual field. (Okay got sidetracked but much more to come about Olivia, as well as, the future launch project of Evita soon)

Make Meaning, Not Stuff

Tonight Tuomas (Bonnier's design director) took me to various openings around town. We began the night with the MOA09 Exhibit (Masters of Arts Festival from the University of Art and Design Helsinki). It was a diverse display of creativity best described by words: surprising, high quality, international, intimate, bold and all around a leap into the unknown. From the attendees fashion to the the art itself it was a visual feast for the eyes. We followed that up by visiting, Jenni Rope's painting exhibit, one of Tuomas' friends.

A week of "firsts"

So its been three days and I don't even know where to start. I figured best way to introduce the city is from its highest point.... the Olympic stadium tower. From its rich cultural past to its creative community, Helsinki is a treasure trove of adventures waiting to be experienced. I have seen my first Finnish sunset dip underneath the coasts horizon during my first 6 mile run...had my first day at work with an amazingly dedicated and welcoming Bonnier team. Had my first traditional Finnish shot called Salmiakki (salty liquorice) ummm... yeah first and last, which I washed down with my first Finnish beer, Karhu grade A. And yes the Grade A stands for ultimate goodnesss.... the beer has varying grades to represent its stength. I think I am almost over my jetlag and then I plan on being better at keeping everyone updated on my latest Skandinavian adventures.

Replacement

So I was fortunate enough to meet my replacement for the next 3 months the night before my departure. Seemed like a nice enough guy...