Lordi and anonymity / Some links / A decent restaurant / Bike fever

When I grow up I want to be a little boy. Joseph Heller

Lordi and anonymity

Lordi wants to keep his and his band members real faces and identities secret, for they do not add anything to the show. Or they actually take away the magic. Of course, the yellow press here in Finland and elsewhere tries to break the magic and publish pictures. I am not linking to the stories, because I find them stupid.
Real anonymity is possible, however. The band called The Residents (another site) has been able to conceal the identities of its members for more than 30 years. According to wikipedia, their reasons are philosophical:

The Residents have always cloaked their lives and music in obscurity. The band members, always shown as being four in number, refuse to grant interviews, and do not identify themselves by name or even individual pseudonyms. Concerts and photo shoots are always performed in full disguise, most recognizably in white tie tuxedos, top hats and giant eyeball masks. For their part, The Residents may feel that artists do their best work without the influence of an audience, should only be judged by their work, and that a band members' genders, ethnicities, line-up changes, and most importantly daily life outside of the band should be irrelevant to listeners. Given that their members speak only through their work, however, even their attitudes can only be inferred.

The Residents have always been one of my favourite bands although I do not own many of their recordings. They were hard to find when I was (last time) actively buying records. Now I intend to buy some of their record. I find the music of the Resident very interesting and important. Check it out!

Some links

• A story about Mustafa Setmariam Nasa, one of the main architect of the terrorist war. Rather long, but interesting.
• Tim Cavanaugh proposed a radical solution to the US immigration problem: just let people cross borders without visa, as they did in the past. Worth considering.
• Spiegel's analysis on Lordi's victory. Emphasis on how Lordi is excellent, first class entertainment, no more no less. And the others competitors were not.

A decent restaurant

The restaurant Veeruska, 100 meters from our home, is more than decent. We had a very nice dinner there to celebrate certain scientific endeavours: liver, fish, and superb chocolate fondant. Well worth a tram ride from a far.

Bike fever

So, I gave up my dream of becoming a happy Smart-owner. It is too expensive for my taste. Today, then, I caught the next madness: the bicycle fever of spring. Now, I want to buy a Brompton folding bike. I could either ride it to the office or to the train station. The bikes are quite much cheaper in UK than in Finland. I just to have to get someone pay me a trip to London.
If I had not studied in MIT and spend piles of money, I would buy a Moulton bicycle. Right now their prices are beyond my reach. Their prices range from 1300 euros to more than 10000, about the price of a Smart ForTwo.

Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs March to June 2006".