Tuesday, 29 December 2015

Otherwise the driver would've stopped in vain...

Finnish Nightmares 20:14:00 1 comment Edit

Hyvää joulua, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

Finnish Nightmares 10:05:00 No comments Edit

Make sure not to touch anyone.

Finnish Nightmares 14:18:00 1 comment Edit

My name is Aino

Finnish Nightmares 10:07:00 1 comment Edit

Phew, it's been hectic! I'm a little late with this announcement.

You voted Aino to be Matti's wife's name. Aino is a traditional Finnish name with roots in Finnish folklore Kalevala. It's pronounced almost like "I know".

Everyone whose name was picked in the raffle for signed post cards has been contacted. Thank you for participating!

Touchy feely

Finnish Nightmares 11:51:00 1 comment Edit

Unfortunately I can't remember who told me this but I heard that a Finnish guy got in a situation where people were talking to him and standing really close to him. And he said that he had to fight a thought that he should kiss them. Why? Because he had never been so close to a person without kissing them.

Matti's wife needs a name - Final voting

Finnish Nightmares 12:00:00 No comments Edit

I've picked three names for the Final Voting - well technically four as one of them is a combined name. Combined name is a compromise. Maija and Liisa were really the two most popular names, but I would let Juhani Aho have Matti and Liisa as they're already popular couple in his Rautatie-novel. I wouldn't dare to compete with one of the most known Finnish authors. And besides, combined name is a very Finnish thing.

As promised I will do a raffle but since there are technically four names here I'll draw four people who have suggested the picked names and they'll get signed card from me.

And for the winning name I will do one more raffle where one person who suggested the said name will get the card pack.

I got soooooo many comments in Twitter, Instagram and Facebook I will randomly pick one commenter from each media to receive signed card too :)

So all in all there is 7 signed cards to be sent and one big card pack!

Matti's wife needs a name!

Finnish Nightmares 18:49:00 Edit

Some of you might saw the first appearance of Matti's wife in my Independence day strips. I've been thinking about a good name for her but since I got a good bunch of Finnish Nightmares post cards I decided that I'll combine two things and set up a little competition.

How to participate?

Write a comment under this post or send a mail to finnishnightmares(at)gmail.com. Include following details to your comment/mail:

Your suggestion for Matti's wife's name:
Your own name:
Your email (if you send a comment and not an email):

Don't worry - the comments are set to be private.

I will not publish your email address or full name or store them for any purpose after this competition has ended.

Every single comment and mail containing personal details are deleted after the competition.

The Prizes

I will choose three best names for Final poll. From all of them who have suggested those names I will draw three persons who will receive

a signed Christmas themed Finnish Nightmare card.

I will also draw one person who has suggested the final winning name. That person gets a package of Finnish Nightmares postcards containing all Finnish Nightmares cards available.

The cards!

The first phase of the competition is up from 8th December to 11th
And the Final Voting is from 11th to 14th December

Happy Independence day! Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!

Finnish Nightmares 12:35:00 4 comments Edit

I've made four strips in co-operation with Yleisradio. These strips show how Matti spends his independence day, embracing the traditions. You can see the Finnish versions of the strips at http://linnanjuhlat.yle.fi/

It's not true! At least not all of it!

Finnish Nightmares 10:59:00 1 comment Edit

What if he tells that to others and they believe it too?

Finns are very self-conscious people. There's even a joke describing this:

An American, A Frenchman and a Finn saw an elephant.
The American thought "How much I could get if I'd sell that elephant?"
The Frenchman thought: "What would that elephant taste like?"
And the Finn thought: "What does that elephant think of me?"

We like stereotypic jokes but when someone believes them and thinks that all of us are like Matti, for example, that's when it get frightening.

Finnish Nightmares post cards are here!

Finnish Nightmares 13:53:00 1 comment Edit

Finnish Nightmares post cards are here with three special Christmas themed cards! Send them before Dec 14th to make sure they'll arrive to their destination before Christmas. These cards are quality work by Paperikauppa Putinki.

You can buy these cards here:

Order online: Perromania (Shipping world wide)

Paperikauppa Putinki, Korkeavuorenkatu 19, Helsinki
Paperikauppa Putinki, Runeberginkatu 44, Helsinki (starting from next week)
Rosebud Books Oy / Kaapelin kauppa, Makkaratalo, Kaisatalo, Helsinki
Harjun Paperi, Jyväskylä
Akateeminen kirjakauppa,Tampere
Akateeminen kirjakauppa, Helsinki city centre
Akateeminen kirjakauppa, Tapiola
Suomalainen kirjakauppa, Skanssi Turku
Turun Kansallinen Kirjakauppa Hämeenkatu 7, Turku

How long you have to wait until it's not rude anymore?

Finnish Nightmares 10:25:00 No comments Edit

The worst 20 seconds in your life

Finnish Nightmares 10:27:00 5 comments Edit

This is a true nightmare. People have suggested this to me a lot, I've got dozens of messages that state this as the worst nightmare ever. So here you go, the ultimate Finnish Nightmare so far.

By the way, this is also my first strip that was published in Ilta-Sanomat!

Starting this week I will be publish Finnish Nightmares every Friday on Ilta-Sanomat web and the strip will also be published in the print at the following Saturday. I'm so glad!

What if my question is stupid?

Finnish Nightmares 11:07:00 No comments Edit

This happened to me few months ago: I was in a lecture where the lecturer was an American. After he had finished everyone politely applauded and then he asked if anyone had any questions or would like to give feedback to his lecture. The whole auditorium went dead silent.

The lecturer was clearly abashed. After a while he asked ”Was it that bad? Was it shit? You can tell me. I don’t mind”. Then everyone shouted ”No no no!” and someone even dared to yell ”It was great!”.

Settling with this the lecturer ended the lecture. And right after when people started to leave about 50% of the students set in line to ask questions from the lecturer in person.

The ground is white and I have some updates!

Finnish Nightmares 10:20:00 4 comments Edit

This has been going on a little while but now I think it's safe to say that THERE WILL BE A BOOK! It's coming out next year full of deliciously awkward situations with Matti.

Also there will be postcards with Matti strips and some special Christmas-Matti post cards!

I'm so excited and I will keep you guys update with the situation. Follow me on Instagram. I'll post there the first sneak peeks of the postcards when I get my hands on one!

Take care
Karoliina

First snow!

Finnish Nightmares 09:46:00 No comments Edit

One extra comic because of the first snow that has arrived this week. Catch the snowflakes... but make sure nobody's watching ;) Have a great weekend!

When you're in a hurry and this happens...

Finnish Nightmares 11:00:00 5 comments Edit

This seems to be one of the ultimate horrors in for Finns. I've got over 20 messages from my fans and readers about this. I can't lie, it's horrible. Why it's horrible? I can't really explain. Can you?

If you like this comic please consider giving me a vote at SoMe Awards (click the ÄÄNESTÄ button).

The Uncomfortable Awakens

Finnish Nightmares 09:03:00 No comments Edit

I got mail last Friday. Someone had reported Finnish Nightmares to SoMe Awards 2016 and from all 600 reported social media phenomenons it was chosen as one of the finalists. I will be shy and uncomfortable to go there so let's make it double as uncomfortable and make me go to the stage as everyone's watching me to get the 3D-printed statue.

Vote

Oh, and if you don't speak Finnish, here's a guide where to vote:

Onnea Isälle! It's Father's Day in Finland.

Finnish Nightmares 11:01:00 No comments Edit

It's Friday!

Finnish Nightmares 17:09:00 No comments Edit

Happy weekend for you all! Go to sauna if you have one, I don't and I wish I had!

The sauna-emoji is provided by This is Finland - finland.fi

I went to instagram! ... but there's a but

Finnish Nightmares 08:38:00 No comments Edit

Dear people who use Instagram. I just joined in instagram by name finnishnightmaresmatti. The "finnishnightmares" username was already taken on instagram and the user of that account was not me despite the fact he/she's using my pictures.

:EDIT:

I got the situation handled and to prevent any further random copycats on Instagram, you'll find me behind the name finnishnightmaresofficial!

What if the driver can't hear you the first time?

Finnish Nightmares 11:02:00 8 comments Edit

Spooky Nightmares!

Finnish Nightmares 09:18:00 2 comments Edit

In Finland we really don't have the Trick or Treat tradition. If you're in Finland I suggest you to visit your local graveyard tomorrow evening - not for the spooky atmosphere but the sea of candles. That's the more common way to celebrate as it's All Saints' Day in Finland.

Things are clearing out

Finnish Nightmares 08:09:00 4 comments Edit

It's been 10 days since I published my very first Finnish Nightmares comic. What has happened in these 10 days has been beyond my wildest dreams. It's been a heck of a ride. I didn't prepare for this and it took me a while to get myself back together and sort things out.

Now that I've sorted some things out, eg. getting some sleep, I can safely say that big things are indeed happening. All thanks to you guys! I'm so excited and happy! And I'd like to thank you all who have sent me your Nightmares or experiences and memories of Finland and Finnish people. They have been great read and inspirational, keep them coming!

I will publish Finnish Nightmares once in a week from now on. Aside from this week. I already published one but will give you one more because of Halloween / Pyhäinmiestenpäivä / Kekri / Samhain / Día de los Muertos or whatever you like to call it.

Karoliina

Story behind the hat

Finnish Nightmares 13:51:00 17 comments Edit

Matti wears this round little kalotti-hat with blue stripes. Most of you have probably realized that it resembles Finnish national flag. The others who are a bit more familiar with Finnish national art might recognize that the hat is similar to the one Väinämöinen, the main character of Finnish folklore Kalevala, wears in some paintings. The others might know the hat from scouting activities.

These are all true but the main reason I picked this hat for Matti comes from my own childhood. My father used to wear this kind of hat every time we were travelling abroad. The farther we were, the more public places we'd visit, the more he'd wear it.

I was so ashamed. SO ashamed. How dare he reveal our nationality to other people. What if other
Finns saw us and get mad at us? What if someone would laugh at us and think that we or my father looks ridiculous? Needless to say, my father didn't care. And I think he secretly enjoyed that he made us children so embarrassed.

Matti has my father's hat and his attitude.

I love you iskä.

EDIT: I added my father's photo here because he wanted it so bad. He even wanted to do his own face-censoring.

I want to clarify few things.

Finnish Nightmares 16:02:00 5 comments Edit

This is something I wrote to my Smile-picture as a comment but I feel like it's something I need to state properly:

Not all Finns fit the stereotype of Finn. Just like not all Americans fit stefeotype of an American or Swedes fit stereotype of Swedish people. These are stereotypes that I portray in these comics as I do identify highly with these stereotypes and Matti is basically me.

I hope everyone following and liking this page and my comics understands that there's no country that has homogeneous people. I'm actually glad that not all Finns are as stereotypical as me.

--- Suomeksi ---
Kaikki suomalaiset eivät ole stereotyyppisiä suomalaisia. Aivan kuin kaikki amerikkalaiset eivät sovi amerikkalaiseen stereotypiaan ja kaikki ruotsalaiset eivät ole ruotsalaisen stereotyypin ilmentymiä. Tässä sarjakuvassa käsitellään stereotypioita, koska itse koen olevani melko stereotyyppinen suomalainen ja kaikki Matin kokemat tilanteet ovat kirjaimellisesti omasta elämästäni.

Toivon että kaikki, jotka tätä sarjakuvaa seuraavat ja lukevat, ymmärtävät että yhdessäkään maassa ei ole kansaa, jonka kaikki ihmiset ovat samanlaisia. Minä olen vain iloinen, että kaikki suomalaiset eivät ole yhtä stereotyyppisiä kuin minä.

22-07

Finnish Nightmares 07:38:00 No comments Edit

Something positive for once. It's friday after all.

Finnish Nightmares 08:30:00 No comments Edit

This is unbelievable

Finnish Nightmares 08:50:00 12 comments Edit

That's all I can say.

Thank you.

I'm slowly getting back together and maybe this weekend I'll do something cool for you guys. Thank you so much for support and likes. This is awesome.

And for those who saw briefly the new-looking website. Oh yes, it was awesome. But unfortunately it couldn't handle the traffic. So back to blogspot for now until I get some professional help with these kind of things.