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Mustasch on Tour!

Mustasch are starting their European tour this wednesday at Bastard Club in Osnabrück followed by many big summer festivals as Nordic Noise Festival (DK), Peace & Love (Swe) and Jurassic Rock (FI).

Upcoming Tour Dates:

04-May-2016 Wed Osnabrück (DE) Bastard Club
05-May-2016 Thu Karlsruhe (DE) Substage
06-May-2016 Fri Dresden (DE) Beatpol
07-May-2016 Sat Frankfurt (DE) Das Bett
09-May-2016 Mon Hannover (DE) Faust
10-May-2016 Tue Wien (AT) Chelsea
11-May-2016 Wed Dornbirn (AT)
12-May-2016 Thu Dortmund (DE) FZW Club
13-May-2016 Fri Kiel (DE) Die Pumpe
14-May-2016 Sat Copenhagen (DK) Nordic Noise Festival
21-May-2016 Sat Finland Helsinki (FI) Radio Rock Risteily XIX
10-11 Jun-2016 Fri Germany Loreley, St. Goarshausen (DE) RockFels Festival
07-Jul-2016 Thu Sweden Borås (SE) Sommartorsdagarna
07-09 Jul-2016 Fri Sweden Borlänge (SE) Peace & Love
16-Jul-2016 Sat Estonia Haapsalu (EE) American Beauty Car Show
22-Jul-2016 Fri Sweden Stockholm (SE) Kungsträdgården, Putte i Parken
05-Aug-2016 Fri Sweden Rejmyre (SE) Skogsröjet
06-Aug-2016 Sat Finland Mikkeli (FI) Jurassic Rock

with more to be added…

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Two new temporary exhibitions in Pärnu Muuseum (Estonia)

Two new temporary exhibitions in Pärnu Muuseum (Estonia):


„Resort Fashion”

From April 29th to August 31st

The resort fashion started to develop in bathing places of late 18th century France and England. A necessity for light and athletic clothing emerged from the development of resorts and the changing traditions and lifestyles. The first resort collections or cruise collections were developed by Jean Patou, Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli during the 1920s.

Resort fashion in Baltic states developed in the context of common European trends until the end of WWII. The ideology of communism and Soviet-type economic planning influenced and controlled all aspects of life, including fashion. Clothing is an eloquent historical evidence – it tells not only about the personality of the wearer, but also about the times – ideas, events, prejudices and achievements, about ideals which the society establishes in a certain point in time, and the dreams, hopes, expectations, and people’s views on beauty.

The exposition „Resort Fashion” acquaints with the fashion of clothing and accessories in resorts from the end of the 19th century until the 1990s. The stocks of Jurmala- and Pärnu Museums and private clothing collection of Ainars Radovics has been used in the exposition.

„People, Streets, Houses”

From April 29th to June 26th

The exhibition is made possible with the cooperation of Jurmala Society of History , Jurmala City museum ( Latvia), Sopot Museum (Poland), The Institue of the History of Architecture in St. Petersburg (Russia), Hanko Museum (Finland), Birstonas Museum (Lithuania) and Pärnu Museum (Estonia) . The exhibition is part of the project “The Northern Stars on the sea coast – the cultural heritage of the Baltic resorts”, and is financially supported by the Northern and Baltic States Mobility program “The Culture”. The exhibition intoduces the influence of resorts on architecture and everyday life in baltic cities.

Ticket price for temporary exhibitions:

– adult: 3€

– children: free

– pupils: 1€

– 2 adults + 2 children: 7€

– concession (ISIC card, pensionners, students) : 2

Pärnu Museum´s permanent exhibition is also open during summer time.

It provides an overview of 11,000 years of history in Pärnu County through exhibits and displays that introduce the life and conditions of the various eras. The main exhibit shows local developments from Neolithic times right up to the late 1980s, and includes a mini-cinema showing archival films. The institution’s pride and joy is the so-called ‘Stone Age Madonna’. At around 8,000 years old, it is the oldest known human-shaped sculpture in the Baltic Sea area. Other star attractions include a fragment of a 14th-century merchant ship and a glass floor that lets you look down onto archaeological remnants of one of the town’s historic gates.

Ticket price for permanent exhibition:

– adult: 4€

– children: free

– pupils: 2€

– 2 adults + 2 children: 10€

– concession (ISIC card, pensionners, students) : 3€

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-6:30pm

Pärnu Museum
Aida 3, Pärnu 80010, Estonia
Tel: +372 44 33 231, +372 44 30 585

E-mail: info@parnumuuseum.ee
www.parnumuuseum.ee

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Articles Concerts Misc Music

Imagine Dragons live in concert in Helsinki at Hartwall Areena. 27.01.2016

Just a few years ago, if a rock band would introduce themselves to the audience playing in a big venue as coming from Las Vegas, Nevada, most of the people would have thought automatically of The Killers. But not anymore, Imagine Dragons, the young Americans from the city that never sleeps, have suffered a meteoric raise with just 2 studio albums released, Night Visions (2012) and Smoke + Mirrors (2015) that led them to appear in the capital of Finland for first time as show headers.

I was really curious to see them live also for first time ever, having heard so many good things about them, and not forgetting that if you are just a normal human being who watches movies, sees TV or play video games during the last 3 years, at some point you are going to recognize easily their 4 or 5 biggest hits once they start being played.

Imagine Dragons

As other compromises did not allow me to check the opening band Rival Sons and just arrived to Hartwall Areena a few minutes before Imagine Dragons started, I cannot give an opinion about them. Around 15 minutes after 21 Imagine Dragons stepped onto the stage and from there on that was madness coming out of the throats of hundreds of fans that would turn crazy on every movement or wink that Dan Reynolds would dedicate them on stage.

The venue had around 3/4 of capacity fulfilled, which is not bad taking into account that the concert took place a Wednesday and the weather in Helsinki did not really invite to go out. As I said, a lot of female teenage fans among the audience, but also audience pretty mixed with all kind of ages and looks. I even saw myself sitting close to me an old couple in their sixties that were really thrilled with every song. And that seems to be the strong point of Imagine Dragons, although sometimes they may sound too edulcorated (there were moments in the show when I was really thinking that they sound as some kind of Black Keys for teens) and aimed at young fans, they do not overdo it and they have the enough amount of good doses of rock to reach a wider audience. The vibe is always positive, soft indie rock with touches of funk, electronic music, ska… Listening to them live automatically transports you mentally to a warmer place, like watching a sunset during a beach party.

Undoubtedly their vocalist Dan Reynolds is the one where most of the eyes are focused on. Dan looks in general like a good boy with a touch of hipster mischief, the kind of pal that you could share a smoke in the terrace of a bar or accept as the new girlfriend of your sister. But the same with their style, the band does not overdo that “cool pose” and that is something that makes the difference. They really seem honestly flattered with the chance given to play for bigger audiences, they are humble and grateful in their interaction with the public (Dan commented that “he was blushing” when some female shouted a spicy comment at him in the middle of the show) and they had the small detail after the show to stay a couple of minutes throwing guitar picks, drum sticks and greeting goodbye to the audience, small details that make the difference.

Imagine Dragons

About the concert itself, the scenography was decent but nothing mind-blowing, the quality of the sound was ok taking into account that Hartwall Areena does not have the best acoustic eve for live shows and although I got a bit cold at the beginning, once they started to play hits like It’s time, I found myself rising from my seat dancing with the rest of the crowd. The big fireworks came at the end of the show when they linked anthems such as Demons, On Top of the World, I bet my Life and Radiactive with a very fun cherry on top of the cream as all the members were switching position onstage while hammering mercilessly big drums.

Things to improve? Maybe the setlist was a big short in general, and also the guitar solo Wayne Sermon did not provoke any special reaction on me (that could be cause once some months ago one sees a master as Joe Satriani, it is impossible then to measure with same standards). But all in all, I left the venue happily surprised and satisfied with a band that probably will have a lot to say in the indie rock scene during the last years. Not a bad plan to fight with positive energy and good music the gloomy cold weather of Helsinki.

Setlist:

Shots

Trouble

It’s Time

Forever Young
(Alphaville cover)

Roots

Hopeless Opus/Polaroid

Guitar Solo

I’m So Sorry

Gold

The River

Bleeding Out / Warriors / Amsterdam / Tiptoe / It Comes Back To You / Smoke and Mirrors

Demons

Drum Solo

On Top of the World

I Bet My Life

Friction / Radioactive

Encore:

The Fall

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“Choke”, probably the best documentary on MMA ever made

Nowadays Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a well recognized sport that provokes admirationa nd moves a good amount of money and fans around the world. Right at my office we can have a discussion with my co-workers about Ronda Rousey´s defeat or Emelianenko coming back from retirement like if we would be talking about the latest football match. UFC is a big organization in USA, you can see reality shows in TV channels where future fighters are getting prepared to go pro, the fighters are multidisciplinary athletes that can both perform great standing up, kicking, punching or going to the ground and working on submission techniques…

But if we take a look back not so many years ago, mixed martial arts were pretty much unknown to the great sports public and most of people who had heard about it would consider it a brutal activity done by some crazy violent people. The Gracie family was one of the pioneers to expand MMA to the big audience, and at the same time promote their Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu style, and Rickson Gracie was the jewel of the crown for the family, never officially defeated in any fight before.

What “Choke”, a documentary shot during a Vale Tudo fighting tournament in Japan in 1995 and released in 1999, shows is a period where mixed martial arts was growing and in development, where the fighters were still not so well rounded in multiple disciplines but were more defending their different styles of fighting and where you could see a more brutal way of fighting than nowadays, where the rules are much more measured. At that time, pretty much everything except of hitting the genitals of the opponent would be allowed between fighters.

“Choke” counts with a wide array of memorable moments for the spectator. Apart from the usual and a bit boring ranting from Gracie family members always self promoting their style, you see the real Rickson gracie backstage between fights. The documentary revolves about his figure: masculine, handsome, dominant. But he also shows that outside that facade, he is also like the rest of the fighter human, nevous before a fight, sometimes humble, sometimes big-mouthed.

As some mythical scenes and moments to remember we can see Rickson godalike enjoying the energy of the freezing water under a cascade in a Japanese river, his umbelievable training and movement of his abdominal muscles like they would not belong to his body (maybe you remember to have watched exactly the same if you saw “The Hulk” movie with Edward Norton training with Rickson in Brazil), the recognition in front of the camera of holding the rule not to have sex with his wife 2 weeks prior a fight, the moment at the fighting venue when he surprises his brothers telling he literally needs to take a crap seconds before having to go to the arena to fight, Rickson throwing Yamamoto during his first fight out of the ring noticeably pissed off at him for holding on the ropes all the time, his cat flip on the air during his fight with Kimura (his son Rockson, sadly deceased years after this documentary on a motorbike accident, commenting in the dressng room that he saw him flying like Superman) the moment before the final of the the fight when suddenly he says he wants next time to get a belt as a champion instead of a trophy…

Choke Rickson Gracie

The show however gets partially stolen from Rickson by the other finalist of the fighting tournament, the small but brave Japanese Yuki Nakai. A small wrestling specialist that subsequently will lose the vision in one eye due to his fight with Gerard Geordeau (who will pass to the history as one of the dirtiest MMA fighters ever stepping onto a ring) who soccer kicked him on the head and gouged on his right eye. Nakai shows a total lack of concert about his own health, and as a true samurai, challenges guys double his size. He also became a legend by hiding for years that this tournament provoked him to be blind in one eye for the rest of his life just to protect the reputation of mixed martial arts. On favour of Rickson Gracie, we have to say that he avoided as much as possible punching Nakai on the face and moved the fight just to a grappling match.

The documentary is not the best technically shot, neither has the best structure or dialogues. But nowadays you cannot deny is an instant classic to understand the roots of MMA sport. And the best is that is fully available for free in Youtube to watch. Enjoy:

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Do not miss the next incoming X Games in Oslo on February 2016!

Tickets to Norway’s biggest action sport event ever are now available online. The world’s best snowboarders, skiers and skateboarders will meet in Oslo to compete for prestigious X Games medals, to the backdrop of a musical and cultural extravaganza in the Norwegian capital.

Ticket prices are being kept accessible so the entire family can watch X Games Oslo together.

Some of the events at the inaugural X Games Oslo will have facilities to accommodate large numbers of spectators, while others are limited. The biggest arena is located at Tøyen, where 15,000 tickets are available for the Big Air finals, at which skiers and snowboarders will compete on the same day. There is seating for 9,000 spectators at Wyller for the Skiing and Snowboarding SuperPipe finals. The smallest arena is Skur 13, at the Filipstad wharf, where only 1,000 tickets are available for Skateboard Street (indoors).

The event will also feature concerts and entertainment at the Tøyen arena, the X Games Oslo Village and its collaborative partners will offer innovative fun activities for the public, and parties will be held all over the city.

X Games 2016

The world’s greatest athletes are ready for Oslo

50 action sports superstars have already qualified for competition, and among them are the Scandinavian Ståle Sandbech, Silje Norendal, Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen and Kjersti Buaas from Norway and Peetu Piiroinen and Roope Tonteri representing Finland.

The world’s best skateboarders are making their way to Oslo: Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole and Curren Caples. In addition, the lists of competitors for snowboarding and skiing are full of world champions, Olympic medal winners and stars of action sport films.

“We will be bringing together the most experienced athletes from all around the globe at our world-class arenas, so this is going to beat anything that’s ever been done in the past on the Norwegian sports scene,” said former pro snowboarder and head of the sports committee at X Games Oslo, Stine Brun Kjeldaas.

The countdown has already begun. The world’s toughest action sport event is on its way to Oslo, with banners flying: X Games Oslo, February 24 to 28, 2016.

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London Rockers Reverted Announce Intimate Launch Show

London based hard rockers Reverted have announced a very intimate release show for their upcoming new record “Stripping The Worms”; an acoustic re-recording of their debut record “Sputter The Worms”, on November 3rd.

The band are set to appear at the legendary Shaka Zulu, a lush African themed bar and restaurant in Camden Town, where they’ll be premiering their new video “Time” and performing live renditions from “Stripping The Worms”.

Vocalist Tony Vega had this to say on the record and its launch:

“Stripping The Worms” is, for us, an intimate voyage of sorts. We aimed to preserve crucial elements of the songs while giving way to new gripping and exciting structures.

Herod

Fans can check out the band’s open invitation and choice clips from “Stripping The Worms” here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCErXm7swEA&feature=youtu.be

Completed by guitarist Danny Ruiz, drummer Ozzy Preciado and bassist Luis Lopez; Reverted formed in 2010 and quickly set to work putting together their debut EP “Tolerance” in 2011. They followed “Tolerance” up with the successful “Sputter The Worms” in 2012, which elevated the band to higher levels; selling thousands of copies independently and scoring the band coverage in Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Powerplay Magazine. The band also gained airplay on Total Rock and countless other stations across the UK, Europe and the US with the single “Die My Saint”.

The video for “Die My Saint”, their first music video, was released later that year with appearance on national TV such as Scuzz, Kerrang & MTV. The clip captured both the band’s explosive energy and their commitment to storytelling. In 2013 the band began working with acclaimed producer Pedro Caparros (Breed 77, The Answer) on their latest record “Stripping The Worms”; an acoustic re-imagining of “Sputter The Worms”.

Alongside their incredibly output, the band have secured support slots with American Head Charge, Evile, Fozzy, Kill Devil Hill and countless others. Not content with ruling the London scene, the quartet are set to hit the road throughout 2016 with tours in Central & South America, and Europe before heading home for a headline UK tour.

With a new album in tow and an insatiable hunger to hit the road, Reverted are looking to end 2015 with a band and lead a trail of fire through 2016. Book your ticket for November 3rd now, before they sell out!

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Raging Speedhorn Announce Support For Winter UK Tour

UK Sludge legends Raging Speedhorn have announced Ten Foot Wizard & Telepathy as the support acts on their upcoming UK tour this November!

The band are set to embark on a six date UK tour in support of their upcoming, as yet untitled, new record which is set for release in early 2016. Their first release since 2007’s “Before The Sea Was Built” and their first to feature new guitarist Jim Palmer.

The dates for the tour are:

Thu, 26 Nov 2015 – The Globe, Cardiff
Fri, 27 Nov 2015 – The Underworld, London (Support acts – Gurt, Ten Foot Wizard & Telepathy)
Sat, 28 Nov 2015 – Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton
Sun, 29 Nov 2015 – The Corporation, Sheffield
Mon, 30 Nov 2015 – Star & Garter, Manchester
Tue, 1 Dec 2015 – The Exchange, Bristol

Herod

The band, who launched a Pledge campaign earlier this year for their new record, have recently announced that fans participating in the Pledge will received a free live EP as a thank you.

Fans wanting to contribute to the Pledge can do so here – pledgemusic.com/projects/raging-speedhorn

Raging Speedhorn formed in 1998 and went on to release four records, the most successful being their second release “We Will Be Dead Tomorrow”, recorded by Billy Graziadei & Danny Schuler of Biohazard fame. The band achieved chart success with ‘The Gush’ in 2001, toured continuously with acts like Slipknot, Ill Nino, Rammstein and Will Haven, and performed at countless festivals across the globe, including main stage at the inaugural Download Festival in 2004. They split in 2008 following the release of their last record “Before The Sea Was Built” and a subsequent tour of Japan.

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Steven Tyler and the street musicians

The charismatic leader of Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, seems to enjoy surprising street musicians wherever he goes. If not so long time ago, you could have seen him in the heart of Helsinki replacing a street musician in a curious set of bottles (which you can still see nowadays played every day if you walked around Aleksanterinkatu street), there are other famous viral videos circulating in Youtube where he joins a couple of beautiful classic street musicians in the streets of Vilnius, the capital or Lithuania, or more recently, when he surprises another musician in Moscow and starts to sing his hit “I do not want to miss a thing“. Steven, what a legend both on stage and on the streets!!!

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Nordic Thrashers Dienamic Announce Japanese Tour

Norwegian thrashers Dienamic are heading to Japan for the second run of dates! The band are heading over to support their new record “Afterlife” which will be released in Japan on September 3rd.

Dienamic

The band are to play the following dates:

Sept 3rd – Flying Son, Sendai
Sept 4th – Tight Rope, Nagoya
Sept 5th – Wild Side, Tokyo
Sept 6th – Wild Side, Tokyo

Straight from the heart and right in your face! Dienamic has a super energetic and intense live show, with unique audience contact and a great atmosphere. The band first saw the light of day in 2010, and ever since the first live show following the release of their self titled EP they have been bringing it on the stage.

With over 60 live shows to date, they have become a bone crushing five piece metal act that will definitely leave a mark on the world. The band has already toured Japan, most of central and eastern Europe along with their home country Norway. This band is addicted to touring and get out there every chance they have!

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The Rise of the Finnish Poker Pro

Considering the size of Finland and the fact that the local casino and poker room scene is virtually non-existent, the fact that Finland is home to some of the most respected (and feared) poker players on the planet, says a great deal about the character and perhaps even the fierce competitiveness of Finns.

 

Poker history is filled with breakout players dating back to the early 1970’s, except in the case of Finnish players. The internet poker boom in the early part of the 2000’s gave birth to the Finnish pro. Universally the Finnish players brought a wildly aggressive style to the table. For some time, the other internet players referred to them as “fish” a poker term for weak, exploitable players. They also had a tendency to lump them all into the “Scandinavian” category. Those players soon learned (usually as they saw their chips being pushed to “fish”) that their read was totally incorrect and that the Finns, while technically Scandinavian, were in a category of their own.

 

Determining who the top players in the poker world are is a somewhat tricky problem. The only reliable and verifiable method is to rank players based on their tournament results. Tournament poker, however, is only a part of many players’ poker career. Finnish players have excelled in both.

 

Juha Helppi

Juha Helppi

Like many poker players, Helppi got his start in gambling as a dealer; unlike many of those professional players, Helppi was a croupier, not a poker dealer, in Helsinki. Prior to be introduced to poker by some friends, he was a champion paintball player. Like many other poker players around the world, he was also an avid Magic: The Gathering Player.

 

Many poker fans and players got their first introduction to Finnish players by Juha’s appearance on one of the first World Poker Tour broadcasts from Aruba. After winning his seat in the Aruba tournament, he bested a field of amateur players in Aruba, which earned him a seat in a single table tournament where he faced five professional players. His aggressive style earned Helppi his first major victory after he defeated poker pro Phil Gordon in heads-up competition.

 

His victory convinced him to try poker professionally, which has turned out to be a very good career decision. His tournament earnings are approaching $5.5 million.

 

Patrik Antonious

Patrik Antonius

Patrik Antonious’ is arguably the best-known Finnish poker player in the world. He came to poker after a career in professional tennis and, not surprisingly, modeling. While Antonius has tournament winnings which near $7 million, he is better known for his skill and aggression at the cash tables. He excels at both Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. He holds the title for winning the largest single pot in online poker history ($1.35 million). He plays in some of the largest cash games in the world in Macau. The combination of his skills, aggression, and good looks has also made his a regular on televised poker broadcasts around the world.

 

Ilari Sahamies

Ilari Sahamies

Like many Finnish players Ilari Sahamies, who is better known as “Ziigmund” in the poker world, was introduced to poker by playing at a friend’s house. In his case that friend was Patrik Antonious who he met while playing billiards. While Sahamies tournament earnings are “only” in the $1.5 million range, his has earned that amount many times playing cash games and he is considered on the best high stakes Pot Limit Omaha players in the world. Like Helppi and Antonious, Sahamies is an active online player, where he has over $4 million in online cash game winnings. Ziigmund is one of Finland’s more colorful players. In addition to his aggression, on both the virtual and real world, tables he is one of the most talkative players at the table and takes particular delight in verbally taunting his opponents.

Ziigmund is in many ways the more typical Finnish player, as most are cash game specialists. Players like Jani Sointula, Ville Wahlbeck, Sami Kelopuro, and Jens Kyllonen pop up on the tournament circuit from time to time but do not have as high of a profile with poker fans as the others on the list. However all are respected by the players at the cash games both online and in casino poker rooms.

Gambling is a major part of Finnish life. The ubiquitous slot machines are everywhere and the low minimum age for playing means that Finns learn to gamble at an early age.

One recent incident may be an indication that there is more to the success of Finnish players at casino games than just availability.

Sara Chafak

Earlier this year, former Miss Finland Sara Chafak participated in Shark Cage, a broadcasted poker tournament powered by PokerStars. The Shark Cage pits professional and amateur players against one another for a $1 million top prize. In one of the first hands of the tournament Chafak made major bets on every betting while heads up against a seasoned pro will on a total bluff. While most of the table, even her opponent to a degree, wanted to have the beautiful Chafak at the table as long as possible, a million dollars is a lot of money and the pro eventually folded the best hand to Chafak’s aggression. The hand instantly became an internet sensation as poker players worldwide watched the amateur make a play that would be commonplace for Antonious and Sahamies but almost unheard of from an amateur.

 

So perhaps, there is something in the basic Finnish DNA or the cultural makeup of the country that leads to players who are not only aggressive but also incredibly successful. Taking into account that the history of professional poker in Finland is only slightly more than a decade, poker players may well be advised to protect their bankroll and avoid taking a seat at the table if they are facing a Finn now or in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

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NIPT – Non Invasive Prenatal Test

The Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) is a DNA test on maternal blood to safely and reliably screen pregnancies for the most common fetal aneuploidies Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and Trisomy 13 (Edwards syndrome).The fetal sex can also be determined.

Although NIPT can be performed without specific indication, it might be most appropriate in pregnancies with an increased risk for fetal aneuploidy based upon a high maternal age (> 40 yrs) or abnormal result of the first trimester screening. In these cases NIPT is an alternative for invasive tests, where there is a risk of a miscarriage. The reliability of NIPT results is very high (more than 99% for Down syndrome), which is much higher than the reliability of first trimester screening (80 %)

The maternal blood can be taken from week 10 of the pregnancy. The sample has to be sent by Express mail to GENDIA‘s lab in Antwerp, Belgium, and arrive there within 2 days of withdrawal.
NIPT takes 1-2 weeks to complete from arrival of the sample in the GENDIA lab.

For more information: see our website www.DOWNsyndromeNIPT.info

If you want NIPT, please email us at NIPT@GENDIA.net

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Finns know how to gamble!

Finnish people love gambling. That is a fact. You can see slot machines in every supermarket and the casinos are always full of people. For many young Finnish people, playing onlinevhas become their number 1 hobby or even their most steady source of economical income. It is notorious the cool temperament of Finnish in their everyday life, not easy for a foreign person to read their thoughts. That behavior extrapolated to gambling makes them really ferocious opponents that mix an attitude cold as ice together with a determination hot as a sauna.

Among those players, there are some professional poker players ranked among the best in the world. Probably the top Finnish player is Patrick “Pate” Antonius who resides nowadays in Monaco and has earn more than 5 million dollars during his career, having won among other titles the European Poker Tour.

Sara Chafak

It is also common for some players to alternate playing both live and online tournaments. That is the case of Juha Helppi who started working as a dealer and combines online with real tournaments, being the only Finn who has won the WTP.

One video that has gone viral lately is the one showing ex Miss Finland Sara Chafak during her participation in the Shark Cage poker TV show held in Barcelona that features celebrities and professional poker players battling for a price of 1 million dollars. Following the tradition of aggressiveness that Finnish poker players tend to show, she was able to win with an amazing bluff to pro player Ronnie Bardah while the other players and the audience got astonished by the performance of the beautiful lady.

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The Finnish Dream: Winning the Lottery

Every Saturday night hundreds of thousands Finns gather around their TV sets for the national Lottery draw. The lottery is organized by the national betting company Veikkaus and it’s quite simply called “Lotto”. Lotto has been played since the end of 1970 and it has created around 1 500 millionaires along the years (large share of those naturally during the time before euro). Nowadays there’s also the Viking Lotto, drawn on Wednesdays and played also in other Nordic countries and the in Baltic states. Another popular newcomer is the Eurojackpot, played in altogether 16 European countries. The largest jackpot in the history of Eurojackpot was won by a Finnish player based in Espoo, in September 2014 – 61.1 million euros!

Of course there are other ways for Finns to chase their millionaire dream. Finland really offers only one true land-based casino, based in Helsinki. Taking this into account, it’s no wonder that Finnish casino players direct their interest to the Internet when looking for gaming options. And that naturally multiplies the available options. Problem is that it’s hard to know which online casino are not only reliable but which offer services tailored specially for the Finnish market. There’s a number of so called netticasino sites offering useful information to those who want to try their luck, like for example www.netticasinosuomi.info. There are plenty of different types of lottery games online, too, if lottery really is the way to get your fix of excitement.

Lottery winning

And although Finland is pretty restrictive country when it comes down to gambling, the Finnish authorities have at least so far taken pretty relaxed or at least passive stand for playing on foreign-based sites. Finland is ranked pretty much on top positions when talking about press freedom, freedom of speech and related topics. Blocking access for legally operating websites wouldn’t really fit into that image, and that’s one reason such drastic measures haven’t been taken in regards to accessing online casinos from Finland.

There’s a modern Finnish proverb: “On lottovoitto syntyä Suomeen” which roughly translates as “Being born into Finland is like winning in the lottery”. Whether that now might be true or not depends on your perspective. But one thing is certain: Finns love their lotteries.

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Street Hockey Tour 2014

Street Hockey, also known as ball hockey, dek hockey or road hockey, is a variation of ice hockey where the players play on the ground with sneakers or rollerblades instead of on ice with ice skates. This is why this sport is easy to play and everybody can participate, regardless of their skill level. This year 144 team were chasing the Finnish Street Hockey championship title.

Street Hockey is usually played on asphalt which is why helmet and ice hockey gloves are mandatory equipment. Although it’s also recommended to use protective cup and knee pads. In Finland the Game time is 2 X 10 min. and in this sport the gaming time doesn’t stop during the game breaks. Street Hockey is played with a small plastic ball.

Street Hockey Tour 2014

Street Hockey Tour has been arranged in Finland already for ten years, and the popularity is increasing year after year. This summer Street Hockey Tour celebrated its eleventh year touring around in Finland. This also means that there are eleven happy teams with the Finnish championship title in Street Hockey. This year the tour started in the beginning of June, with the first qualifier arranged in Helsinki 7-8.6.2014. Altogether the tour was arranged in 7 different cities, and in total there were 14 eventful days during the Finnish Street Hockey championship tour. The tour was culminated with the Finals in Helsinki 1-2.8.2014, where the four best teams of each city, altogether 24 teams, competed against each other to win the Finnish championship.  The title of The Finnish championship in Street Hockey year 2014 was won by Jaybirdz team from Tampere. The second team was American diner and the bronze was won by a team called Joukkue. You can check out pictures from the whole tour here.

The tour this year was arranged in following cities: Turku, Rauma, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Oulu and the finals in Helsinki. From these cities the following teams were able to struggle their way to the finals in Helsinki: Killeri, Joukkue, Vallox Rednecks, American Dinner, HC Puutuneet Jalat, Minnesota Viltti, Texas Pete, Myyrät, Punakone, DPHD, Turtles Hockey, Raimonlätty, Jaybirdz, Örh, HC Nahkanuoliaiset, Radio City, Vuorelan Veikot, HC Nahkatorvi, Pasilan Pyrkijä, HS127, Dynastia, Haamujengi, Hc Kings, and G.G.G.

Tour with 14 eventful days

In addition to the tour and the exciting games, the gaming area was filled with entertainment and events for the audience. Throughout the whole tour the audience had the possibility to test their own strength with the hockey shot radar. One of Finland’s most known hockey players: Jarkko “Rudi” Ruutu tested this hockey shot radar in Helsinki with the result speed of 153 km/hour. And of course the aim of many hockey fans was to beat Rudi in the hockey radar. The speed of the best shot during the whole Street Hockey Tour was over 190 km/hour. Another partner to Street Hockey Tour in Finland was the Finnish online casino Netticasino.com, which provided the audience entertainment in their tent with their roulette and blackjack gambling tables. Netticasino also had a raffle throughout the tour where one lucky winner from Oulu won a season ticket to Kärpät ice hockey team for season 2014-2015. Read the interview with the winner here.

Throughout the whole, almost two months lasting tour, many famous faces were seen and also many hockey players participated the tournament. In Jyväskylä the audience could enjoy games watching Stanley Cup winner Ville Nieminen playing in the Blockfest team. The northernmost city in the tour also provided the audience excitement with a “star game” with Finnish known hockey players such as Juhamatti Aaltonen, Julius Junttila and Joonas Donskoi.

Helsinki finals in August was popped with people and no wonder, since the “star game” at Saturday 2.8.2014 was played with hockey stars such as Esa Tikkanen, Jarkko Ruutu, Leo Komarov, Veli-Matti Savinainen and Juha Koivisto.

Be ready for the next year’s Street Hockey Tour, since for sure there are going to be even more teams participating, and it’s going to be bigger and of course better, so sta

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Gambling Culture in Finland

Finland is a country in which the people enjoy gambling. Statistics have shown that a large percentage of Finns have either gambled playing cash games or other games of chance such as the lottery. While Finnish people enjoy various gambling games, the choice is somewhat limited.

Gambling Oligopoly in Finland

While it is not quite a monopoly, but rather an oligopoly that dominates the Finnish gambling market. The main players, each with a monopoly in their specific areas, are RAY, Veikkaus, PAF and Fintoto. Fintoto runs the country’s horseracing. With the introduction of mobile gambling, there are certain changes that are slowly taking place in the gambling culture in Finland.

RAY, Finland’s Slot Machine Association, not only provides gaming entertainment to the Finnish people, the association also helps to support both health and social welfare organisations as well as war veterans. RAY runs its own arcades, and also offers slot machines in a total of 8,000 locations, including hotels, markets, service stations, restaurants, and other locations that are frequented by the general public. RAY operates the only land casino in Finland and offers both online and mobile gaming too.

The Finnish Lottery, Veikkaus, operates a number of games including instant games, pools, and of course, lotto games. Many Finns play the lottery games that are offered in a large number of locations around the country. Veikkaus helps to support arts and culture, science, and sports.

The Alands Penningautomatforening (PAF) company has been offering legal online gambling in Finland. While online gambling has been legal since 1996, it took until 2010 for RAY to get the necessary permission to enter the online gambling market. Fintoto and Veikkaus were also given permission to offer their lottery and horseracing betting online.

Land-Based Gambling and Online Gambling in Finland

Since Finnish people are surrounded by legal gambling games there is clearly a high demand from players. The gambling culture in Finland is thriving and many children are with their parents when the parents play slots around the country. While gaming is familiar and part of life, the Lotteries Act passed a law in 2011 making 18 the minimum gambling age. While children had been allowed to play slots if they were accompanied by an adult, this changed in 2011 with the introduction of this law. Those who are gambling now were introduced to gambling games from a young age.

Gambling culture in Finland

As more households have one or more computers, smartphones or tablets available, online and mobile gambling is becoming more popular. While the percentage of Finns that gamble online is still smaller than that of land-based Finnish gamblers, it is likely that the number of online players will increase over time since Finnish people enjoy games of chance. The EU has ruled that all member countries should allow online gambling across EU borders, however, Finland is resisting this change. Should more online gambling companies be introduced into Finland, it is likely that there will be a rise in the number of players who choose to play online.

Statistics Show How Entrenched Gambling is in the Finnish Culture

In 2011, the National Institute for Health and Welfare designed a survey regarding gambling in Finland. The survey was conducted between October 2011 and January 2012. The survey showed that 78% who responded to the survey had gambled during the past 12 months. The percentage is only slightly up from the 74% result in the 2007 survey. There have been no significant changes between the 2007 and the 2011 studies that took place.

85% of respondents showed that there is a general feeling that raising the legal gambling age to 18 has been a good move and will reduce the number of problem gamblers. 75% of those who were polled feel that it is a good thing that gambling is controlled by the state.

Related articles:

http://www.freemagazine.fi/top-5-gambling-locations/

http://www.freemagazine.fi/estonia-is-not-only-about-cheap-booze-easy-women-and-gambling/