Categories
Albums Music

Album review: Freeman 4

Leo Christer Friman, aka Freeman, is a legend in the Finnish music scene. Starting his music career in a band called Waterloo, he reached his peak of fame in the 70s with songs like Ajetaan tandemilla or Osuuskaupan Jane that are still very well known for the younger generations of Finnish audience.

Freeman only released three studio albums, the last one in 1986, dedicating himself later to other duties in radio and television. It does not happen every day that a legend releases a new studio album 25 years after the last one, but here we have Freeman 4. For celebrating such an event, Freeman gave a great release party gig at Tavastia where played old and new songs, with the good company of other Finnish famous musicians like Ismo Alanko or Lauri Porra. I was there, and I can say that Freeman is as much enjoyable live as when you listen to his new CD.

Freeman 4

Because yeah, Freeman 4 is highly enjoyable. Opposite to the melancholic feeling that dominates most of Finnish music, Freeman´s songs put you immediately I high spirit, a 60 years old musician who keeps the energy and cheerfulness of a teenager (maybe his predilection for running long distances in his free time keeps him like that). I would say that some of the best tracks of the album are just the initial ones, songs like Mitä sinulle kuuluu?, Sirkusihmisiä (my favorite one) or Mattiolaituri make you move your feet almost automatically, transporting you to a happy place with a cold beer in your hand and a smile on your face. I am sure they will become instant classics in house parties all over Finland during the next years.

Freeman looks and sings like a kind of nutty professor from a Disney movie who invites his pupils to leave the classroom and dance in the courtyard. And certainly it is an invitation to move your feet that you cannot refuse with such a brilliant comeback album! Very recommended!

Rating 5/5

Freeman – Ajetaan Tandemilla (1976)

Categories
Books Features

Estonian literature invades Finland

I just assisted to the new edition of the Helsinki Book Fair 2011 (Helsingin Kirjamessut), that as every year, is held at the huge Messukeskus in Pasila.

I had not been there for a few years, and I used to remember it more crowded and with some more stands focused on books; this year a big amount of the space is about music or food and wine (which on the other hand comes quite handy if you need to fill your empty stomach after wandering for a few hours there).

Kirjamessut 2011

I left a bit disappointed for several reasons. First, the marketing mind of the Finns in their stands could be better. They just sell like if it would be a normal shop, supposedly these fairs should be much more fun for the visitors, with a lot of competitions and prizes, free marketing items and little presents and gifts, etc. I saw almost nothing of that. The fair seems just focused on the appearances of guest writers to be interviewed in public or selling the same books that you find in the shops with almost the same price.

Secondly, it is surprising the lack of books in English or any other language that it is neither Finnish nor Swedish. Well, basically after wandering the stands for three hours, I saw nothing except of a few handful of English titles or books translated into English. And that was everything!

Sure it is a book fair held in Finland, sure that titles in Finnish or Swedish are going to be predominant… but still, it is certainly really poor the offer of books at least in English for putting the most clear example of foreign language, displayed there. Most of the companies that have stands there, at least the big ones, have a section in their usual shops with titles in English. So why are not shown in the fair? It looks like no foreign presence would be expected at all. So is it that the foreigners living in Finland have no right to read books unless they master Finnish or Swedish languages? Or what about the Finns who want to read books in other languages? No, it seems that those target groups are not important enough in the biggest book fair of the country…

It is an interesting topic about the use of English language in Finland that could be discussed much longer. At least in the big cities, English is accepted as a normal language to speak to foreigners, because the Finns recognize the difficulties of learning Finnish language. But that does not extrapolate to popular culture. Offer of books in English is poor, and most of the times, if you buy or rent a DVD, even if the movie was originally in English language, the subtitles will be only in nordic languages. So if many Finns or foreigners would like to read the subtitles in English at the same time than listening to the movie, forget about it…

The happiest point about the Book Fair was that the central point of this year was the focus on Estonian literature, maybe the recent success of “Purge” (that is being turned into a movie directed by Antti Jokinen, these current days being shot in Estonia) by Estonian-Finnish author Sofi Oksanen made the Finns look with more attention to the other side of the Baltic. Estonia is a country that has a special place in my heart, having lived there for 3 years, so I was happy to see that Finnish literature scene were giving them the central stage at the Fair. Unfortunately, once again, the books from Estonian authors could be found only in original Estonian or in Finnish translation… They create a leaflet to advertise the focus on Estonian literature in English and Finnish, and then you cannot find any book with the English translation of the Estonian authors; paradox?

5 Estonian authors to follow

Mihkel Raud

Mihkel Raud
3 years ago Mihkel published the book that every young Estonian citizen wanted to read: “Dirt in your Face”, an autobiographical tale of the rock years in Estonia. Drugs sex and rock & roll in the Estonian way. Now he just published “Blue in the Sky” and is judge of Estonian idols TV show. Bad boys can also sell books!

Jaan Kross

Jaan Kross

The most popular and international Estonian author, translated in more than 20 languages, he died in 2007. His works are often metaphor of resistance and a call for independency from the Soviet Union. Read for example his 13th novel, “Treading Air”.

Ene Mihkelson

Ene Mihkelson

Her latest novel “Plague Grave” accounts to be one of the most important Estonian works ever written. Her books focuse on the psychological aspect of history and the perception in human minds of the key events in Estonia´s recent past.

Viivi Luik

Viivi Luik

“The Seventh Spring of Peace”, her novel published in 1985, is considered a landmark in the Estonian prose of the past decades. The autobiographical tale offers a powerful description of the sensitive issues of the Stalinist era: deportation.

Kristiina Ehin

Kristiina Ehin

One of the best known poetess of her generation (born in 1977). She uses simple but figurative language. Her poetry also touches a social nerve, rising above the topics of love and nature.

Categories
Antonio's blog Articles Blogs Misc

Vincent Chase vs. Hank Moody

Well, obviously in the last couple of years, TV series have gained a lot of quality, popularity and budget (thanks in great part to the appearance of HBO channel). While when I was a child, the humor on the TV series was more related to theatrical situations, nowadays it is raw, sexy and closer to a Hollywood movie than any other thing.

Relationships and sex have a key role in some of the most successful series of the last years. Is there any young woman who does not list Sex and the City among her favorite TV series in any social network lately? Women and series for women have gained more and more space in the schedule of the big major channels, with the major companies wisely realizing that they are probably the most powerful sector at home (who controls the remote controller, controls the world indoors).

Adrian Grenier

However, because I cannot deny I am a man, I prefer to watch more “masculine” series (not meaning that those series are just for men and women, but certainly they have different target audiences in the producer’s minds). The ones that lately have caught my attention are Californication and Entourage.
I am not going to explain here the plot of every one of those, if you don´t know them, because you can easily check them out in Internet. But among other things, both series share a couple of features: they are full of beautiful women, and they both have characters that seem to get more pussy than George Clooney and Brad Pitt together: Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and Hank Moody (David Duchovny).

Honestly, although I do not complain about the abundant beautiful female presence in both series, it is not one of the main reasons I like them (although obviously I neither complain). I like series with good script, humor and a lot of winks and references to music and cinema; some things that the scriptwriters there had been able to create wonderfully, apart from choosing a great cast. Some of the secondary actors in Entourage like Kevin Dillon or Jeremy Piven are just awesome.

However, although both main characters, Chase and Moody, are always surrounded by beautiful women, there are quite a few differences between both of them. I feel like Moody could be like an older brother or a young cousin that you know it will be fun to go out with to a crazy trip, party or holiday. Even if he naturally attracts women, he is intelligent enough to make everybody have a good time, and apart from the good looks, he always has a witty comment and sarcasm. He does not need to get laid, but basically that makes him get laid.

David Duchovny

However, Chase is the typical pretty boy who has not read more than 10 books in his life, but has been favored by the gods having great looks and a puppy gaze that uses to “seduce”. Well, he basically does not need to seduce, women just throw themselves at him, and he just needs not to fuck the situation up keeping quiet. It is true that he is caring with his friends and not always shelfish, but he has those strange changes of moods proper of stars that sometimes do not live in the real world. While Moody would become a great experienced partner to hang around, Chase would be the typical case of the “pretty boy” of the gang of friends who would end up making out in the back door with the girl you had been dreaming about all night. But he is so charming that you would forgive him next morning.

Which one do you prefer as a comrade, partner in crime or potential lover, Moody or Chase?

Categories
Features Interviews Music

Interview with Tarja Turunen

Tarja Turunen is undoubtedly one of the most popular Finnish singers worldwide. This current year 2011 has been very special for her, with the release of her second official solo album What Lies Beneath and a chain of great collaborations and perfomances in a heterogeneous array of festivals around the world, having the cherry on top of the cream with the appearance together with the Brazilian metal band Angra at Rock in Rio festival. We reached Tarja who kindly explained to us more about her brilliant past, her brilliant present and her exciting future as an artist!

-Hello Tarja and first of all, thanks for being so kind to answer the questions!

Hi! No problem at all. Pleasure.

-You have had a pretty hectic summer. What of your concerts and appearances is the one you will remember as the highlight of the season?

I just wrote few days ago in my official blog that this summer was the best summer in my career so far. I had the opportunity to perform in several different kinds of concerts and jump into many new challenges, which I always love to do. To choose the best out of these it’s hard, but I feel that the concert with Mr. Jose Cura in Savonlinna´s Opera Festival, Finland was the exceptional one. It required a lot of work and preparation, but it was such an honor to sing with Cura.

Tarja Turunen

-You are the first Finnish artist reaching gold record in Germany both with a band and with a solo album. What do you consider that are the biggest advantages of a solo career? And on the other hand, is there anything you miss from your period with Nightwish?

I would say that everything is different when it comes to having a solo career than in being a member in a steady, already known band. I had to find my own wings in the world of music in the beginning and it wasn’t easy, but I am so happy I went through all that. I definitely feel more comfortable right now than anytime before. The freedom I have got to choose the people to work with, to write and produce my own songs is unbelievable. There are neither boundaries nor frontiers that I need to fight with…. nor egos, because basically I am making decisions for myself! And no, I don’t miss anything particular from my band years.

-They usually say that for an artist, the second album is the most difficult one to put together if the first one was a success. Was that the case with What Lies Beneath? How would you compare it to My Winter Storm?

Not that is common, but my first record My Winter Storm was the hardest one for me for sure. After being in a band for 9 years and not having composed one single track before on my own, I went through a rollercoaster of feelings and challenges with the first record. I managed pretty well even though during the production happened things that made me constantly nervous. For example the fact how I needed to make all the new people around me, including the record label, producer and musicians, understand how I wanted my music to sound and who should play what and why. My Winter Storm was a huge learning process for me as an artist and also as a woman, since I faced several new challenges with it, but I loved all of it. In the end I can only say that I took a great step into unknown, meaning by this, to myself. I don’t have any regrets.

My second album What Lies Beneath sounds more secure and mature, so I cannot say I was having a hard time with it. Actually the whole process was such a fun time for me, since I even ended up producing it myself. I guess this tells a lot about my will to develop myself as a musician constantly.

“I don´t miss anything particular from my band years”

-You are really a versatile singer; you can both perform in an Opera festival like recently in Savonlinna or please a hardcore heavy metal crowd. Being the audiences so different, where do you feel more comfortable on stage? Do you prepare yourself mentally in any different way before going to the stage depending on the venue you perform?

As these styles are extremely different, also my preparation for them differs. I am definitely still more nervous in performing classical music, since I had not done it professionally before my career in rock started to bloom. Before a classical concert I do some breathing exercises and vocalize much more than before a rock show. I need to be sure that I can give my best from the start.

Also mentally my concentration is 100 % focused in thinking the technical parts of the program I am up to perform.It took me several years to learn how to use my classically trained voice for rock. I kept on taking lyrical singing lessons in the University and tried out different things before everything just clicked and I felt that I’ve found my way. Anyway, still today I keep on taking singing lessons privately because I feel it is vital for me. I feel very comfortable where I am today as an artist because I love singing rock and classical music. In rock I can have fun, do whatever I feel in the moment and just go with it. I love seeing the crowd excited about the performance and the people truly gives me a lot of energy.

-Being one of the most international famous Finnish artists, you spend a lot of time outside Finland. Because this publication is read by many foreigners, what is what you miss the most from your country when you are out, and what are your favorite places or activities to do when you are back in Suomi?

Finland is the country of incredible silence and the space of living. It is so easy to fall asleep in Finland! No sounds of traffic, or people, maybe you hear only mosquitoes in the summer time! When I return to Finland, I usually go to meet my family in Northern Karelia, because I miss them the most when I am away. That means a lot of laughing, cooking, sauna going and enjoining every minute giving to us. I also love to go out for a run in countryside of Finland, if the weather is suitable for it.

-If I am not mistaken, you are planning to release a CD/DVD at the end of this year from a live performance in a Christmas concert recorded in 2009. What can you tell us about this project? Is there any specific date of release set?

The CD/DVD is a live recording from one beautiful Christmas concert HARUS made in Sibelius hall Lahti, Finland in 2009. We haven’t done any overdubbing nor recorded anything again, so it is a real live performance. I wanted to give people the chance to listen and see what HARUS is all about. HARUS is the name of the line up of Finnish musicians including organist Kalevi Kiviniemi, guitarist Marzi Nyman, percussionist Markku Krohn and me. We have done concerts together since 2006, but having this first CD/DVD release opportunity now in hand, we wanted to give a name for the line up. HARUS is not based on only Christmas music performances, so you will hear us doing something else in the future too. Unfortunately, I have not been informed with the exact date of the release of the CD/DVD yet.

“I dream of sharing stage with Peter Gabriel”

-To put the cherry on top of the cream to the summer gigs, you are going to join Angra on stage in the huge Rock in Rio festival in Brazil. How this collaboration happened? Did Angra offer you to join them.. (Did you know them beforehand?)?

It is rather incredible to be able to stage Rock in Rio this year! I have known the members of Angra for quite many years already and even worked closely with their guitarist Kiko Loureiro on my first record. I was very happy to receive the invitation to take part in their show in Rio, so I immediately said yes! It’s going to be so much fun to perform together and to meet my beautiful Brazilian fans.

 

Tarja Turunen

-Can you tell us a bit more about how many songs you will sing with them together during Rock in Rio, and if you have previous experiences with Brazilian audience?

I am invited as a guest vocalist in Angra´s show, so I will be performing only few songs. I have been lucky to have several shows in Brazil before on my own. Not only rock shows, but also classical concerts. Brazil is a huge country and I have been able to see quite a lot of it through my visits. I also have important fan clubs in Brazil who are very actively supporting me.

-Is there any other artist of band you would really dream of joining on stage to perform together?

Peter Gabriel is my hero! I just adore him, that’s all. He has the voice, the charisma, the amazing career…all of us need to have dreams, right?

-After these busy months, will you take a break, or what are your future plans for the rest of the year?

Actually in the meantime I am practicing already for my first classical album recordings that are going to happen in the end of November in Finland. It is going to be an Ave Maria album. I will be singing along with organist Kalevi Kiviniemi whose idea this album originally was. It is a huge challenge for me, but I feel comfortable with the theme of the album. I have always loved to sing Ave Marias and now I feel that it is time for me to give my voice to few of them.

Right after the recordings I will have a long Christmas concert tour in Finland in December. When this tour is over, it’s time for the Christmas itself and that I will be spending with my family in Finland, hopefully with lots of snow!

-Anything you want to add for the readers?

I just want to say thank you for the amazing support you’ve been giving me through many years already. I really appreciate that. I hope that I can give a little bit of love back to you with my music.

With love, Tarja

Tarja Turunen & Angra. Rock in Rio 2011

Categories
Outside Finland Travel

Outside Finland: Visiting Vegas

For many people, having the chance to visit the city of Las Vegas in Nevada can be a once in a lifetime opportunity. With this in mind, here are a few tips on how you can make the most of your stay.

As with any holiday, it can be a good idea to plan your trip before you go. Research the area, and find out which attractions are nearby that might be of particular interest to you. This can help you to plan your time, as well as your budget, during you stay. You will also be able to better prioritise the activities which are available to you.

Many people who visit Las Vegas are keen to experience the casino scene for which the area is renowned. The Las Vegas strip, in particular, has become one of the most famous casino locations in the world, so it’s unsurprising that many visitors are keen to experience what this area has to offer. However, if you’re keen to get involved with the action, then it can be a good idea to brush up on your game skills before you do. If you don’t happen to live close to a casino, then you can always try playing online at sites like partypoker in order to perfect your playing techniques. You may also want to look into what each of Las Vegas top casinos has to offer, so that you can be sure to visit those which best cater for your personal preferences.

In addition, it can be a good idea not to simply get caught up in the casino culture of this area, unless that is the only reason for your visit. Why not book yourself into one of the great restaurants, or buy tickets for a show? Las Vegas is brands itself as ‘The Entertainment Capital of the World’, so make sure you don’t miss out on everything else this area has to offer.

Categories
Art Books Exhibitions Features

Comic Exhibition in Helsinki: “Futuro Primitivo”

Portuguese artist and old colaborator Marcos Farrajota visited Finland during the Comic Festival hold in Kamppi, so we had the chance to talk to him about his views on Finland and his current exhibition in Helsinki Comic Centre:

Hi Marcos. You are currently in Finland for the comic fair, and you have visited this country a few times in the past. Can you tell us your impressions about Finland, and what brings you here so often?

I come because of the comics fest. I like Finland culture: music and comics, and I think Finns funny…. They are more latins somehow that look at first sight!

Were there any works-artists that you especially liked during the comic fair in Helsinki?

I think this year the festival looked more commercial so I actually missed some older artists of the Finn scene and didn’t found brand new blood or something that blow my head like in the past. But the best one should be OLIVIER SCHRAUWEN

You told me that you are going to spend time in a residence for artists near Turku. What are you going to be doing there during the next weeks?

I’m doing my new comic book. It’s about people that collect stuff, archives and piracy. Should look like an essay but as usual with autobiographical episodes…

futuro Primitivo

You have a new comic book, where you have put together the works of many artists that send you stories. Can you explain a bit more in detail about the project?

For starters it’s called Futuro Primitivo (Primitive Future in English, Primitiivenen Tuleivassus in Finn) , ripping off a Sepultura song, hahahaha! Well, I fed up of doing anthologies and decide to make a new concept for this… So I decide to make somekind of “narrative DJing” which means that I ask to 40 artists to send comics with a “post-apocalitic” theme but in 2 strips per page so that then I could remix the sequences and turning 40 stories in just one story. I guess nobody made this and this opens a new way to work in comics in the future. Also, you can download for free the soundtrack of the book /exhibition on the net-label You Are Not Stealing Records.

You have a current exhibition in Arabia in Helsinki. Can you say a bit more about what the visitors can find there, and until what date will be running?

Until 1st October, you can see the original work / drawings of the book, so it can see a contemporary comix from Portugal authors. You have all kind of images and graphic styles, I guess this is good for starters, then you can see / buy also Chili com Carne (the label of the publisher of the book) editions and the silkscreens – some also are “graphic DJing”, we ask some graphic designers to pick up images of the comix book to make a new image / poster / silkscreen.

What are your next projects after your stay in Finland?

Actually the show goes to Mälmo (Sweden) to open there in 14th October… I try not to think about the future (primitive or not) because I’m focusing in my new book so going to Sweden is already something real… And then in December is the Independent Edition Fair in Portugal – in Porto, at Maus Hábitos venue. Go there!

FUTURO PRIMITIVO exhibition in Helsinki Comic Centre – Sarjakuvakeskuksella 5.9.–1.10

Categories
Concerts FREE! Blog Music

The Jayhawks – Pics & Video. Tavastia gig. 14/08/2011

Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet

The Jayhawks – Two Angels at Tavastia 2011

Categories
Concerts Music

Rihanna – On the Beach Helsinki 15.08.2011

American super star Rihanna visited Helsinki for the joy of thousands of fans, many of who had already enjoyed a long weekend of good music at Flow festival in the Finnish capital.

Of course it is not easy to arrange the perfect date for a concert, but maybe the date was not the most appropiated one to hold an “On the Beach” festival at “Hietsu” beach in Helsinki. The 15th of August in Helsinki is almost like autumm time in South Europe, and what should have been a parade of bikinis and swimsuits turned into the audience wearing jackets and gloves to fight the cold wind that beats on the shore of the Finnish capital. There were missing some bonfires around to warm the atmosphere.

Rihanna in Helsinki

Even though the climate was not the best for a summer festival, still some brave members of the female audience have the courage to step into the water and refresh themselves dancing while waiting for Rihanna to step on the stage. Her presence was scheduled at 21:30, but the American did not appear on stage until 1 hour late, another misfortune for many people who had to work next day (tuesday) and could not even wait to see the end of the gig.

All in all, the Finnish fans are patience, and the charisma of Rihanna made them soon forget the awaiting. Rihanna started the concert using heavy artillery to put everybody to dance with hits like Only Girl (In the World) or Disturbia, and the young teenagers of the first rows turned crazy. Rihanna was moving from one side to another of the stage dressed with tight purple shorts and a green jacket, easy to be spotted even by the last spectator on the beach, very well accompanied all over the show by professional dancers. Special mention for the amazing riffs of Nuno Bettencourt, the ex guitarist of Extreme that puts a rock touch during the current Rihanna´s tour. The acoustic on the beach was good, but there were quite a few moments during the show where the volume of the music and micro bounced considerably up and down.

Rihanna in Helsinki

There was also some time for romanticism in the middle of the concert with ballads like Unfaithful or Hate that I Love You that made the couples to melt in hugs instantly to pass again to more danceable rythms with Don´t Stop the Music or Rude Boy, ending the first part of the show.

The artist came back to the stage to perform a couple more of songs, putting the cherry on top of the cream with the archifamous hit Umbrella. The fireworks announced that the cold summer night in Helsinki had been flown by a great show where Rihanna displayed all her charm and magnetism going through her discography. A good concert that could have been memorable if organized 1 month ago in a weekend day. Time for most of the audience to rush home and get a few hours of sleep before the alarm clock was sounding on tuesday morning.

Rihanna – Helsinki – 15.08.2011

Categories
Blogs Books Features FREE! Blog

Competition – The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

FREE! Magazine and Random House Group bring you the best of the best in fantasy literature!!!

Get one of the three amazing packages we are giving away for free as a present to our readers with the full 5 books published so far of the saga The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by The New York Times bestselling Michael Scott:

The Alchemyst
The Magician
The Sorceress
The Necromancer
The Warlock

books for free!

Just send the correct answer to the following question below by email, writing in the subject field “Michael Scott competition”, to free(at)freemagazine.fi or to the editor antonio.diaz(at)freemagazine.fi and the books can be yours!!!

Question: The author Michael Scott is:

a) Finnish
b) Swedish
c) English
d) Scottish
e) Irish

Categories
Antonio's blog Blogs Cinema Features

Game of Thrones – Will George R.R. Martin finish the saga of Song of Ice & Fire?

The first season of the TV series Game of Thrones is over. Yes, I confess, I am also a fan. I was already a fan of the books before the series started, so as many others, I was expecting it with joy and fear. And the result, I must say, has been superb! Congratulations to HBO, because it was not an easy task to comprise the first book in just 10 hours (10 chapters of 1 hour), and they did an amazing job with a great script, decoration and cast.

Of course, there will be always fans that won´t be totally happy with everything. Some complained that the werewolves were not much shown, others that there were important scenes cut, etc. I think that all in all, you cannot ask for much more in a TV adaptation of such a twisted saga of books. The cast was mostly nailed (maybe I am not totally satisfied with Catelyn Stark, but well…) and the extra scenes added that did not appear in the book, such as the fight between Jamie and Edward Stark, did really give some extra value there. Besides, the intro is one of the best I have ever seen in cinematographic history, and the soundtrack really gets you hooked, I already have the intro song as ringtone in my mobile phone ;)

Daenerys

Now the sad part is that we will have to wait for another year for the second season, that it is reported to being shot in Ireland this summer. The task becomes bigger and bigger, the plot in the books gets more diversified, with more characters added, more magic, more important situations that are keyword to understand for what is coming next… Will HBO be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat again? It is a difficult question, taking into account that more special effects will be needed. And even more important, how would it develop in the series, as in the 4th and 5th book, they narrate the story of only half of the characters? Will the fans have to wait one year for example if this reaches season 4 to see later what Tyrion is up to?

Questions with no answers yet, for the moment we will have to pray that at least the series continue offering the same level of quality. And if somebody can do it, those are the guys of HBO, who by the way also deployed a super official site for the series, sometimes even offering the chapters to see fully for free there.
I had the chance to interview the author of the books, George R.R. Martin, a couple of summers ago, during his visit to Tallinn. And I have to say I have a bittersweet memory of the encounter. First, he held a meeting with the fans, and was all sympathy and jokes. Somebody asked about the possibility of he not finishing the saga, and he just joked that he was keeping at a safe distance of the buses. But when I repeated politely the question in the interview, he was quite cold about it. And let´s be honest, it is the question that everybody is wondering about. We wish George a long happy life, but he is not a child anymore, and the last book had continuous delays. My interview took place in summer 2009, and he said that the new 5th book, A Dance with Dragons, would be released that September. Well, it has been released just some weeks ago, 2 years after he announced that. And magically, it happens to be released at the same time that the TV series first season is over.

Was the book ready for 1 or 2 years, and they preferred to have the marketing strategy of making the fans wait, to take more advantage for the sales of the heat of the TV series? It looks like, which was not very polite and considered for the fans that had been years waiting for an update in the saga.

George R.R. Martin in Tallinn

Martin also dedicated himself in the middle of the interview to sign books that were on the table, which I do not consider a very polite gesture towards the interviewer. He has been journalist himself, so should have a better notion about these things. And the cherry on top of the cream came when at the end of the interview, his wife came very angrily to tell me she had not liked the question about his future and the possibility that he would not finish the saga, and I should erase it from the interview. Martin was a few meters away, and he did not open his mouth to try to smooth the situation.

Was it not polite to ask him? Well, it is what all the fans are wondering about, and I only asked if he had any other author in mind that he would like to continue his saga if for any reason he could not finish it (does it ring a bell the unfortunate death of Robert Jordan and his amazing Wheel of Time saga?). It shocked me that they showed their best friendly face to the fans who asked the same things, and then with me, a journalist from a small media (who is basically a fan), they were so annoyed and not totally polite. Reality is the way it is, if it takes 3-4 years for him to release a new book, and there are still at least 2 to be written, what would happen when the TV series, that it is broadcasted 1 season per book, reaches the stage where the last book was published?

Good news could be that while the release of the fifth book was procrastinated, maybe Martin was already advancing the work for the 6th book. But probably nobody knows except of himself and his publicists.

All in all, I think that a fantasy and science fiction writer like him owes respect and seriousness in his work to the fans, who are the ones that made him famous and gave him money. So maybe instead of embarking in long tours around the world to have a full stomach eating well and get bathed by the adoration of masses, and assisting HBO with the series, he should do what he can do best as a one of the greatest fiction writers nowadays: to sit and write and end the saga. Millions of fans are craving for it, and they have been waiting already too long.

Game of Thrones – Trailer

Categories
Antonio's blog Blogs

Ostrich running free in the city centre of Tartu (Estonia)

And when you thought that drunkards, skin heads, crazy students crossing the bridge and hot girls in mini skirts were the only thing to see in Tartu…

Ostrich in the city centre of Tartu

Categories
Cinema DVD

Review: Winter´s Bone

Winter´s Bone is one of the nicest surprises of the year in film releases. A well rounded film that starts slowly but traps you step by step. It seems that nothing is advancing, but many things are happening around the life of young 17 years old girl Ree (superbly portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence), an inhabitant of the region of Ozark Mountains. Following her through her odyssey of finding the corpse of his drug dealer father to save his house and family is an unique experience to get immersed in a sub-culture where the normal rules do not apply; tradition, family bonds, special slang, a particular way of living of those tough people… Everything is cared to the detail by director Debra Granik.

Winter´s Bone

More than finding answers to the fate of Jessup, Ree´s father, this is a little homage to the Ozark region, with its good and bad sides.

Mention apart for the character of Ree´s uncle, Teardrop. John Hawkes really owns the show every time he appears on screen. I do not remember for a long time to see a character that can display so much power and danger just with the presence around. In fact, he hardly portrays any violent moment during the whole movie, but one has the feeling from the first second you see him in his house that he is a guy you do not want to mess around in a bar if you want to continue breathing.

A great story with great acting skills, and a very well adaptation of the original book.

Rating: 5/5

Winter´s Bone – Trailer

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Books Features Interviews

Interview with Matt Potter featuring his new book Outlaws Inc.

Outlaws Inc. is the new book by Matt Potter, a British journalist, editor and broadcaster. An exciting fun to read chronicle of his real adventures following the crews of ex-Soviet army men (especially “Mickey” and his gang) that fly monster planes like the Ilyushin-76 delivering all kind of legal and illegal goods around the world. If you are curious to discover more about the dark side of aviation, this book is a must to have!

FREE! Magazine contacted Matt and he kindly answered our questions where he explains with a great sense of humor more about his crazy adventures in some of the most dangerous areas of the planet and the tough lives of those mercenaries of the air.

Outlaws Inc.

Thanks for your answers Matt!!! How long did it take in total the research for Outlaws Inc.? Was it difficult to combine it while working in other articles-projects?

Was it difficult? It nearly killed me, haha! Actually, the sort of passive research had been going on for many years – not that I knew it. I’d happened to be in a lot of the right places at the right times (or wrong places, wrong times, depending on how you look at it) over the years – Russia in the anarchy of the collapsing USSR; Serbia under Milosevic, just before the NATO bombing; Central America in the months the cocaine drops by air intensified)… and I’d always been curious about the airmen who seemed to flit in and out of those trouble spots so easily, despite all the UN embargoes and no-fly zones you could throw at them. I hopped onboard as soon as I could (Afghanistan, 2003), but it wasn’t I decided to write the book – and chase those same airmen across the world – that the size of the task I’d set hit me. That phase – the detective work, forensic tracking etc, side by side with the international monitors chasing these crews – took about a year. And yes, everything else sort of fell by the wayside for that year. I sort of entered the Twilight Zone. I remember I even spent New Year’s Eve monitoring radio chatter in the skies over Africa! All my friends figured I was dead, I think. And boy, were they surprised when they got the launch party invite.

In approximately how many trips did you join Mickey and his crew all over the world?

Well, the book was made up of maybe eight major trips. But not all of them were with Mickey. And plenty of those where I met Mickey, he wasn’t exactly pleased to see me.

Was it easy to convince Mickey and his crew about joining them in their wanderings around the world? Were they not suspicious for having a journalist onboard asking questions? Did you try also to join some other crews before or after getting acquainted with them?

No, it wasn’t easy, though the fact that the first time we met I was on another assignment entirely – flying into Afghanistan with a mate, just to see how far we could get – sort of took the tension off. I pretended I didn’t speak or understand Russian too, at first, so they spoke more freely than perhaps they would otherwise. To be honest, I don’t think they cared what I wrote. They aren’t bookstore kinds of guys. And aside from being threatened with all manner of retribution if I ever revealed their identities or exact business, they were OK, really. That’s not to say they liked it. They just let me get on with it. The odd bribe helped.

Ilyushin-76

Were there situations during your adventures narrated in the book when you felt your life was in a very real danger?

Yes, a few – but where life is different from movies is that in life you usually only realize it in retrospect – at the time you’re just thinking hmm, what to do now. The dive-bombing landing in Kabul was probably the moment where I thought my number had really been called with the most certainty. I mean, getting to the point where impact with the ground is so close you kick your legs out involuntarily is too close for comfort. But then again, there were incidents in Africa that were creepier – where you get followed and threatened by people you can only assume are government stooges or secret police. They could do what they wanted. I was lucky – and foreign, probably, which helped – so they didn’t. But there are African journalists and dissidents and ‘snoopers’ who disappear every month. The spooks don’t show as much caution around them. Oh yeah, and there was a point when I accidentally took a piss on an old landmine in Afghanistan. That could have been messy.

I notice when reading the book you cannot hide a lot of sympathy for these aviators. Do you think they are more “victims of a harsh” destiny than real part of a smuggling problem? How would you define them after your experiences with them for a person who would have never been in contact with such kind of aviators?

Yes, they are victims of a harsh destiny: anyone who condemns them should probably ask what they were supposed to do when they came home from fighting a war they never wanted, for a USSR that no longer existed, and got betrayed by an armed force that had promised them eternal security in exchange for their lives. I don’t think they’re good men, or bad men, but men. I’m a journalist. Some people work in advertising, or drive trucks, or make shoes, and plenty of them get up to no good too. Do they know there’s some bad stuff going in the hold occasionally? Sure. Then again, you and I know some pretty bad stuff goes into the sports trainers, hamburgers or whatever we buy, and we switch off to the big picture, just like they do.

“The truth about who pays the ransoms for the Somalian pirates was my personal WTF moment in the book”

All over the book, there are a lot of references to hidden powers from above that are pulling the ropes of the smuggling goods business all over the world, but did you get to know any specific information about what “those powers” would be?

Yes. Let me put it this way, without naming names: the trail never stops going upwards, and most of the time there’s state complicity – I’m not just talking about African mafia states, but the former Soviet countries these guys operate from. Just after the book was published in the UK, word reached me that three Ukrainian former gunrunners who’d been either lured or extradited back to Kiev to stand trial or testify, had been killed. Word is they could have tied the so-called illicit trade firmly to the very top of the government there. One was strangled with a towel, one knocked down in a hit-and-run in a pedestrian mall (!) and the other fell out of a building. You have to be careful not to talk too much, but you’d have to be blind not to see just enough.

Did you receive (apart from that phone call in Africa narrated in the book) any threat or pressure not to publish the book or parts of information in the book?

Well, yes, some – but really, not as much as I’d feared. I’m sure if I’d betrayed assurances of anonymity, or been an asshole and just laid into the guys in some holier-than-thou way, people would have been pissed off. But I’ve been so careful not to betray anyone’s trust – and I think, oddly, the book benefited as a result. It made me really think (and I think more journalists should) about consequences, not just to me, but to the sources who spoke to me. And that led me to a much more empathetic view of everyone, from Viktor Bout to Mickey.

You mentioned that your Russian language skills are not perfect, but can you manage to understand and hold a conversation in Russian?

Haha, yeah, it’s deteriorated like MAD since the 1990s though – I was pretty good then, at least good enough to write job applications in Russian etc. Now I’m good enough for the pub, I reckon, but not a great deal more than that. Oh well, it’ll come back when I’m next over there I hope. So yeah, the conversations with the crews were increasingly of the hybrid-English-Russian-German-drunken-bollocks variety.

In some stories narrated in the book, it seems like the crews would make a lot of money with some services they provide, but at the same time, many of them seem desperate for new jobs and patching old planes again and again. Is it really a profitable business for them? Are there cases where they could retire with a good sum of money earned, but they prefer to fly and take risks because is just the only style of life they know?

It depends what you mean by profit. Like all of us, they get the occasional fat one, and a lot of being jerked around and not paid by clients and minimum-paycheck stuff in the meantime. The answer, I think, lies in the fact that they really all wish they’d never had to leave the military. Let’s face it, if 1992 hadn’t happened, they’d still be airmen, or retired airmen, in the soviet air force. They didn’t plan to be freelance fliers, and most of them probably don’t thrive under those conditions. As one Russian guy I speak to in the book says: they grew up as military; they still think that way. An order comes, they do what needs to be done.

A tank being loaded in an Il-76.

After you saw the dark side about how easy is to pass borders and smuggle all kind of things all over the world, what is your opinion about the security restrictions most of the passengers have to face in their normal flights? Do you think that it is just for the governments to give a false sense of security, while at the same time the “dark” side of the aviation system also operates?

It’s a brilliant question. The answer is, I guess, that the governments know a lot more than you and I think about this ‘dark’ side. They don’t stop it because most of the time it’s the governments themselves who want to use them. (I mean, how do we think all those ‘extraordinary rendition’ suspects got spirited out of Afghanistan? How do we think arms get to rebels our governments would like to arm but can’t afford to politically? So yes, the very idea of a hermetically sealed border is a comforting fiction that some people like to buy into. Others accept there’ll never be a way to regulate he dark side of the global aviation trade, so use it to their advantage.

What are your current and future projects after this book?

Well, it’s out in the States in September, then I’m doing speaking trips there and in Europe through autumn. I guess by New Year’s Eve I’ll have become obsessed with the next topic and have to stay in writing up a new outline! Seriously though, a couple of things are in the pipeline – some stuff I stumbled upon while researching this book, though in a completely different world. You’ll be the first to know!

Is there anything else you want to add for the readers?

Just that the truth about the Somali pirate trade – and who really pays their ransoms – was my personal WTF moment in the book. Well, that and going fishing with a rod and line for 12kg sacks of cocaine. And if that doesn’t whet their appetite, nothing will! Thanks a lot!!!!

Ilyushin-76 using until the last inch of the runway to take off

Categories
Books Features

Review: Embassytown by China Miéville

Embassytown, the new novel (his 9th so far) by British fiction writer China Miéville, is not your stereotypical story where aliens, humans, good and bad characters, battles, lasers, swords… appear as in one million novels before and you guess what the next chapter will be about. Miéville´s fiction is fresh, discovering a new world, Arieka, home of the Ariekei and adopted home of the humans in a twisted colonization process.

The reader can feel a bit lost at first with the amount of new jargon and the rules of the “Immer” outside world where Avice, the main character, moves smoothly, apart from never catching a real description of how many characters or the Ariekei themselves look or behave. Here and there, it is brushed some certain behavior of a character that ends up forming a complex palette in a world advocated to destruction unless that old rules and habits get broken.

China Mieville

As I said, this is not the typical non-stop action story, but a very intelligently built up exercise where semiotics, propaganda, duality, freedom and politics get mixed masterfully by the hand of Miéville (no wonder that the author wrote his PhD thesis on Marxism and International Law).

Embassytown is not easy to swallow during the first pages, but it traps you in spiral where characters are not totally evil or good, where people have to take decisions for both their personal interests and the interest of their communities, and where sometimes, telling a lie is the only path to a new truth. A great book that also hides a great exercise of semiotics that would make probably proud to Umberto Eco himself!

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Blogs Books Features FREE! Blog

We give away 5 copies of Peter James newest novel: Dead Man´s Grip

FREE! Magazine and Pam Mcmillan Publishing brings you the last amazing thriller from one of the most acclaimed British authors: Dead Man´s Grip by Peter James.

Peter James

To celebrate that summer is here, nothing better than relaxing with a good book in your hands while taking the sun on the beach or close to the pool. Answer correctly to the question below, sending an email with the right choice and “Peter James contest” written in the subject of your email to free(at)freemagazine.fi, or to antonio.diaz(at)freemagazine.fi, and get one of the 5 copies we have for our readers!!!

Question:

To what police force does detective superintendent Roy Grace belong?

1. London police force
2. Brighton police force
3. Sussex police force
4. Liverpool police force

Good luck!!!