Postcards from the Netherlands!

I have altogether 41 postcards from the Netherlands so there are many yet to come... While waiting for the rest, enjoy these typical multiview postcards from the Netherlands.

Flower postcards from Germany, the Netherlands & USA!

Personally I hate flower cards. They are the most boring postcard theme there is. But despite the fact, I will show you the few flower postcards I have received through postcrossing. Hopefully people don't send me those anymore.

And the Oscars went to...

Last night (it was night here) the 84th Academy Awards was held at Los Angeles. The brilliant host Billy Crystal and the other great performers made the night memorable. All the awkwardness from last year's ceremony was gone. All the Oscars were picked up by their new happy owners except for one. Woody Allen did not attend the ceremony this time either so he wasn't there to accept his Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. You can see the whole list of winners here.


This year I was very satisfied with the winners. Those people really earned their Oscars with their hard work and dedication. I was extremely happy when Meryl Streep earned her third Oscar. She was not only the best winner (if you ask me) but she also gave the best acceptance speech. Watch the video so you'll know why.

Alltogether, I got scored 16/25 which is a very good result considering the fact that I guessed nearly half of the winners. Most importantly, I was right about all the main categories :) I'm getting good at this! :D

Finally, some words about my Oscars night. I was awake and excited the whole seven hours it lasted. I watched the Oscars with a friend and we had a great time :) Again, I was prepared to cry my eyes out when the in memoriam part came but again they made me disappointed. I wish they hadn't played the music and showed only the pictures of the deceased because that didn't make me cry. I wanted to cry because that's my Oscars tradition. Hopefully they'll change that in the future. 

 

 

And the Oscar goes to...

Finally the moment you have been all waiting for - may I present to you my Oscar predictions!! This year the winners seem to be quite clear. I have followed many news and discussions about this topic so I will probably be quite accurate with my predictions. So I hope. Here we go:


Best Motion Picture of the Year: The Artist
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Best Achievement in Directing: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

:

Midnight in Paris

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: The Descendants

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: A Separation
Best Achievement in Cinematography: The Artist
Best Achievement in Editing: The Artist
Best Achievement in Art Direction: Hugo
Best Achievement in Costume Design: The Artist
Best Achievement in Makeup: The Iron Lady
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: The Artist
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: "Man or Muppet" (The Muppets)
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Drive
Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Hugo
Best Documentary, Featured: Pina
Best Documentary, Short Subjects: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Best Short Film, Animated: La Luna
Best Short Film, Live Action: The Shore

There they are. Honestly, after the Original Song -category I just picked a name from the list without much considering it. So it's no wonder if my guesses weren't accurate in those categories. 
You may also wonder why I chose The Artist in so many categories even though I haven't seen the film. I have just simply heard so many good things of the film that I believe that it will win in most of the categories where it was nominated. 
At the end I would like to remind you that even though I think these nominees will win, I don't necessarily believe that they should. For example, I don't think Rango should win in Best Animated Feature of the Year -category, I think The Adventures of Tintin should win! Unfortunately, The Adventures of Tintin wasn't even nominated :(


However, I wish you all a great time with the Oscars tonight! The actresses, actors and other people attending the ceremony are getting their hair and make up done at the moment and I'm trying to do million things still before the ceremony and still get some sleep. Wish me luck! And wish them luck!

Movies: Hugo

Hugo was the last movie I was able to see before the Oscars. I went to see it in the movie theaters earlier this day in 3D and it was incredible! The movie, which was set in 1930s Paris was about "--an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton" (imdb). 


The movie was very unrealistic but I think the whole idea of the movie was to be unrealistic. You see, one of the characters of Hugo was Georges Méliès who was probably the most remarkable filmmaker of his time (his works include eg. A Trip to the Moon). In the movie he said that movies are supposed to be like dreams (those may not be his exact words, correct me if I'm wrong). With the magical-looking Paris and always so perfect looking people the film was like a dream.


I will always remember this movie as movie that celebrates movies. Sure the movie wasn't only about movies, it was also about a boy trying to find his place in the world and about other issues. This movie didn't have just one single theme which bothered me. However, other elements of this movie such as the visual effects make up for what the plot lacks. 

Movies: The Iron Lady & Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Only two more days before the Oscars and I still haven't seen enough movies. But I try my best. I will publish my Oscar predictions on this blog during this weekend. During the last two weeks I have seen only these two movies: The Iron Lady and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Here's what I think of them.


The Iron Lady


I absolutely loved this movie! Mostly because of Meryl Streep though. Meryl Streep as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher did a perfect job. No wonder that she received her 17th (?) Oscar nomination because of it. 
If Meryl Streep convinced me, the rest of the movie didn't. The plot was little confusing especially at the beginning and some of the other actors didn't quite reach the level set by Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent. Nevertheless, I did love the movie because it was educational and touching. And because of Meryl Streep. (If you wonder how many times I mentioned Meryl Streep in these past two paragraphs, the number is 6)

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy


This movie, on the contrast, was a huge disappointment. Not that I had high expectations of it to begin with. To begin with, I didn't understand the movie at all. For more than an hour I watched the movie without understanding a word. Then I gave up. My dad is reading a book that the movie was based of, and he doesn't understand it much either. So my advice to you is that if you're time is valuable, don't waste it on this movie!

Funny postcards from Belgium & Italy!

These two funny postcards were both bought by me. Needless to say where I bought the first postcard from. While Italians may not find this card funny since it shows the destruction of one of their most recognisable sights, I find this card humorous :D

This second card introduced me to the world of stereotypes when I bought it many years ago. I still can't recognize most of the stereotypes in this card. Who knew that the perfect European should be patient as an Austrian?

Ship postcards from Finland, Germany & Portugal!

Beautiful ships from three European countries. It's interesting to notice how different the northern European ships and the Portuguese ships look. However, maybe these ships have different functions and that would why they look so different.

The first postcard is from Germany and the second one is from Portugal.

The third postcard is also from Portugal and the fourth one is from Åland Islands, Finland. Åland Islands is located in the Gulf of Bothia and it has autonomy. 

Sunset postcards from Brazil, Finland, Germany & USA!

As I said before (or I believe I did), I have many sunset postcards. Here's another set of four sunset postcards for you to enjoy. Again I'm not 100% sure about the origin of all the cards but I'm good at guessing ;)

The first postcard is from Germany as you can figure from the text, which seems to be from the Old Testament. This is how Google translates it: "Anyone who is well traveled, has rich knowledge and understanding of the experienced talks." That translation is surprisingly good, considering the fact that is was made by Google. The second postcard is from Ruka, Finland.

The third card is from Brazil and the fourth, presumably, from USA. 

Postcards from Norway & USA!

Blue is my favourite color and that's why all of these four postcards are my favourites :) Oh, by the way, I finished my postcard scanning project, all my 687 postcards. Now the only postcards I will scan are the ones I haven't yet received. 

Nordkapp, Norway, the most northern place in Europe and Split Rock, USA. I love that letter "o" which is replaced by the moon :)

Colorado and some other place in the USA. Honestly, I can't remember where the other card is from and unfortunately I can't even find it right now. But I believe it's from the USA.

Happy Valentine's Day!

To celebrate Valentine's Day I present to you a card I received from a Norwegian postcrosser couple years ago in Valentine's Day. Since it has that pink color, I consider it to be a Valentine's Day card. 
Valentine's Day in Finland is a celebration of friendship - even the word "Valentine's Day" is translated into "Friendship Day" in Finnish. Besides posting this postcard here, I also remembered some of my friends with Valentine's Day wishes and a little piece of chocolate. And now I'm also wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Movies: The Descendants & Albert Nobbs

Last week I saw another two movies that are Oscar nominated this year. Once again the other exceeded my expectations and the other one... didn't. Warning, spoilers ahead.


The Descendants
If someone would ask me what was so good about this movie, I couldn't probably give an answer. I just simply don't know why this movie is as excellent as it is. Maybe it's Hawaii, maybe it's George Clooney or maybe it's the humor that makes the movie so good. Who knows. All in all, I would recommend this movie to everyone. This is a movie that doesn't make you wonder what time it is. For those who don't know anything about the movie The Descendants, you can watch the trailer here:

Albert Nobbs
And then comes the disappointment. I had somewhat high expectations on this movie even though the rate from metacritic was only 57/100. I was excited about seeing Glenn Close's performance as a man in this movie. Glenn Close and Janet McTeer, who also played a man in this movie, were nominated for Oscars. Unfortunately, their performances in this movie were almost the only good things in this movie. I wasn't happy with the plot that had a sad ending. If I had written this screenplay, I would have allowed at least that one happy moment for Albert. In this plot all his efforts were pointless. Poor Albert :( Here's also the trailer for this movie:

Map postcards from USA!

Here's another set of my state map postcard collection: California, Massachusetts, Oregon and South Dakota.

Postcards from Croatia, India, Italy & Taiwan!

A collection of postcards from the places I'd like to visit. Two of those places - Plitvicka Jezera in Croatia and Sirmione in Italy - I have already visited but I wouldn't mind going to those places again some time...

I have never visited India and I have very few postcards from India which makes it a little mysterious place for me. But ever since I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire, I have wanted to visit India :)

Unlike from India, I have received several beautiful postcards from Taiwan. Through those postcards I've seen how beautiful place Taiwan can be so naturally I'd like to visit that place. Besides that, I have a friend who has visited Taiwan couple times and that is one reason why it fascinates me, too. But until I win the lottery, I have to settle for this Finnish ground which isn't that bad either :)

Postcards from Germany!

These four postcards present the typical German postcards I receive every now and then. As you can see, the "typical German postcard" is a multiview postcard with the name of some small town that is unfamiliar at least to foreigners. These postcards are fine, as long as they don't include those annoying colors from the '90s and '80s.

Movies: A Separation and War Horse

Only 18 days left before the Oscars which means that there isn't much time to see all the Oscar nominated movies. However, I'm trying my best and hopefully I will see all the Best Picture nominees before the big night. 


Within a week I have seen these two movies, A Separation and War Horse, and I have something to say about them. Warning, some spoilers ahead.


A Separation
The plot of this Iranian movie is described the following way in imdb: "A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimers." If you ask me, that is not what the movie is about. 
Sure that's the setting in which the movie begins with and the reason for many problems. However, there is much more to it. I would describe the plot the following way: A married couple decides to divorce and as a consquence many horrible things happen and nobody is happy.
Honestly, I didn't understand what was so great about this movie that the rating in imdb was 95/100 by critics, and 8,6/10 by audience. Sure the screenplay was little surprising but I did know from the very start that woman had miscarried before Nader pushed her. If somebody can tell me why this movie deserves an Oscar, please tell me.


War Horse
Unlike before watching A Separation, I did not have high expectations before watching War Horse. I was a horse maniac as a young girl and I did watch many horse movies back then but as I grew up, I got bored with them. That's why I had rather low expectations of this movie. 
Fortunately, the movie exceeded my expectations. 
I loved it how the movie concentrated more on the horse, less on the owner. The horse, Joey, was sent to war where he ended up serving in both sides. The way Joey affected so many lives and made even enemies to drop their guns for a while was very touching. 
I was satisfied with the happy ending, too. It's important for me that the movie has a happy ending because otherwise it would haunt in my head for a long time. Sure I appreciate movies that have sad endings, too, like The Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan but as I said, they still haunt in my head.

Postcards from Hungary & USA!

I'm not a big fan of postcards that have a lot of black or white color but nevertheless, I receive those cards occasionally. Here are four of them.

Postcards from Australia & Finland!

After couple days break, the postcards are back again! This time I will present to you two biggish postcards again, one from Australia and one from Finland. Both of the cards have this beautiful purple color :)

Learning Italian, vol.2

It has been a month or so since I announced that I had started learning Italian. Back then I already knew some greetings and phrases and the numbers from zero to twenty. But what have I learned during this month?


The answer is... not much. I've been either too busy or too lazy to learn Italian for the past month so that's why I haven't made much progress. I have only learned few phrases:


Qual è il tuo numero? Qual é il Suo numero? ("what's your number")
Qual è il tuo indirizzo? Qual é il Suo indirizzo? ("what's your address")
Molto lieto/lieta. Piacere. ("nice to meet you")
Buonanotte! ("good night")
Come sta? Come stai? Come va? (variations of "how are you")


It's important to know the proper way to address other people in Italian. If you're talking to someone older or of higher rank, you should use "Suo" instead of "tuo". When you're saying "nice to meet you" in Italian and you're using the first alternative, use "lieto" if you're talking to a man, and "lieta" if you're talking to a woman.


Ok, I have learned some Italian during January :) But what's bothering me, is that I still haven't learned to ask "where do you live". The order of words in that sentence is just too difficult for a native Finnish speaker to learn just like that. So let's hope that next month I'll be able to ask you where you live!

Sunset postcards from Germany, Thailand, Switzerland & USA!

Couple years ago I mentioned in my Postcrossing profile that I like sunset/sunrise postcards and I did receive quite a few of them. Most of them came from USA where they seem to have the prettiest sunsets if you ask me :)

The first postcard is from Krabi, Thailand, and the second one is from North Carolina, USA. 

The third card, probably the most amazing sunset card I have, is from Switzerland. The fourth card is from Germany even though the photo of the card doesn't really seem to represent any part of Germany. I have no clue where the photo of that card was taken but nevertheless, it looks amazing, too :)