Friday, June 16, 2006

Input/Output Brush

In the age of Amiga ~13 years ago, me and my brother happened to get our hands on an exceptionally good drawing program, Deluxe paint. The most notable feature was that you could cut a brush from any part of the picture you were editing, and use that brush to draw anything. That made especially all kinds of textures much easier to draw. In addition, you could pile various effects to the brush. It was years ahead of its time, best reflected by the absence of similar features in PC drawing programs.

Now, someone has made a comparable brush device for editing videos. Seems to have an infinite potential for highly psychedelic virtual illusions. Or at least draft versions of them.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Statue Spotting: Interlude

Noticed that there is another page listing less human-centric monuments (Thanks to Mette). These seem much more interesting. The Mannerheim statue - the king of military status in Tampere - is most suitable ending point for war monuments.

Statue Spotting 6: Mannerheim

Mannerheim


Name: Mannerheimin patsas
Place: Mannerheiminkallio, Leinola (Mannerheim Cliff)

Mannerheim was desevedly voted as the greatest Finn ever, thanks to saving 5 million people from communism - twice. That kind of achievement is hard to beat.

tiekyltti

Instead of being in a visible place, statue is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by somewhat messy suburban sprawl. There were 6 signs like this, and they were all needed to find to the statue.

They say that the city council didn't want to put the statue to a visible place, since it depicts Mannerheim in war garments. The opponents should learn more about Mannerheim, since he was more than a rugged general. Speaking fluently 5 languages, he also made a two-year expedition to China. The expedition started from the Central Asia, where the 'stans currently are, continued through the Xinjiang hinterlands of China all the way to Beijing. I'm not sure if any expeditioner in Finnish history has done better.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Statue Spotting 5

suru

Place: Pyynikin kirkkopuisto
Name: Suru (Sadness)

It is questionable, if this can is can be considered a military memorial statue or not. The Vapriikki page told that this statue has been sculpted less ~15 years after the WW II. The sculptor has also made other monuments with the same theme, some of them explicitly war monuments.

The reason I concentrate on war monuments is that the nonmilitaristic monuments in Tampere are so boring, and don't even have funny texts. There is one notable exception though - the unnamed technophallocratic monument in front of the Viikinlahti water treatment plant. I'll save it to the last post.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Statue Spotting 4

patsas



Name: Punakaartilaismuistomerkki
Place: Vesisäiliönmäki, Pispalanharju

Unlike most military statues, this one was erected full 65 years after the war had ended.


Täällä Pispalan harjulla työväen joukot
Tampereella viimeksi seisoivat ase
kädessä asiaansa puolustaen vuonna 1918.


Here is the from scenery behind the statue:


patsas

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Statue Spotting 3: Stubborn Determination Can Take You Through Solid Granite. Explosives Also Help.



Name: Sodanaikaisen talkoohengen ja yhteistunnon muistomerkki
Place: Asevelikylä, Jokipohjantie 51, Nekala (Brothers-in-arms village)


Talkoohengen ja yhteistunnon voimalla,
Läpi Harmaan Kiven,
rakensivat tamperelaiset kodin
rintamalla 1939-1944 taistelleiden omaisille.
Näin syntyi tälle alueelle Asevelikylä,
käsittäen 13 kahden perheen taloa.

Tampere - auta itseäsi.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Statue Spotting 2

patsas edestä


patsas edestä


Place: Pakkilankulma, 500m from Lidl towards Pirkkala
Made by: Vapaussoturien huoltosäätiö


Jääkäreille,
joiden uskon, uhrausten
ja urheuden voimalla
Suomi vapautettiin 1918

Monday, June 05, 2006

Statue Spotting 1

Patsaan kuva


Name: Monument for the wars 1939-1945
Place: The Messunkylä Cementary

Kesken jos kalpamme katkeaa
ja kentille jäämmekin kerran,
täys´ onni on sen, joka maatansa saa
ees palvella hivenen verran.