Category: Personal

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Kirsten Young on Depression

Kirsten Young wrote excellent piece about depression.  I felt a tremor in my body when I read this. Because for long time I have been feeling almost exactly the same.

Sometimes I need a break from people. Usually the people who I don’t yet know completely, but like, and with whom I want to hold some kind of friendship. I’m already tired of feeling anxious and sad and don’t want you to grow tired of me feeling anxious and sad. I’m sure you care and would be happy for me to confide in you, but I’ve confided in friends before and been burned and heartbroken in return. I can’t bring myself to take that kind of risk again. – Kirsten Young

People who suffer from depression know very well the reality of their condition. However, this illness is a very hard to understand for those who have not had it. Asking a depressed person to join a party is like asking a man with broken leg to run a marathon. It’s unreasonable request.

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Only Us

don’t be ashamed
water also changes shape
and we are mostly water, you know
always we are hugging the river bottom
embracing each turn

-jaakko

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Wolf

My son watched the story Wolf and the Seven Young goats. I was surprised about the racism and prejudice of this folklore. It’s worth noting that the wolf was only guilty of kidnapping (or attempt of killing by digesting the child goats) while the mother effectively and decidedly murdered the wolf. It’s a revenge story. The wolf is simply just bad and no mention is made about the obviously severe life conditions of the wolf, so the ‘justice’ is one sided at best.

Children need stories to help them to develop their soul. We have a choice of what we tell them, but also we have responsibility of teaching them media literacy.

(Moomin is pretty high on my list.)

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Jaakko

I spent a good day with a photographer Kayo Yamaguchi . She took my photo. It was a good experience to be in front of her camera. Her attitude and manner really moved me.

Photography is like a silent conversation.

Photos by Kayo Yamaguchi

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Ave Maria

I’m listening Ellens Gesang III, D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6, ‘Ave Maria’ while I’m editing my photos.

I love this music.

Maybe I want to live this way.

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Hotaru

 
I went to see hotaru (firefly) with my family in Shikinomori Park.

I was moved about the gentle movement of glowing hotaru that felt so natural and silent. In my country there is no hotaru. It feels like a miracle for me.  There is something powerful and determined about the way they move. Although they move peacefully they seem to really know where they go.

It was crowded in the darkness. 

It is really annoying how people bring their digital cameras and glowing screens of mobile phones and children wear LED decorations in their shoes. It is even more rude how adults encourage children to capture these fragile creatures in their hands, and take picture of them.

Beauty of nature should be observed with more serious and respectful manner. Fleeting miracle of life is reduced to attraction like in Disneyland..

But when I walked deeper to the forest, I saw young couple who were silently staring to the dark edge of the forest. Young woman’s hand was held tightly by the man. “Look… how beautiful”, he said quietly.

I wish to live with same passion as hotaru.

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About my photography

I wrote in my old blog about my photography;

I used to hang out in bars and one of the most common question I was asked regarding my photos was “did you get a hard on?”. I try not to mind, and I sometimes just laughed and said “Of course!”. But in my heart I guess those comments always hurted me. These people have no idea.

and,

I was born naked to this world and my mother held me against her breasts. So I became alive. I became Jaakko. Without my mother’s love, I would not exist. There would be no world of Jaakko.

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Breastfeeding

This caught my eye yesterday. Response by Mummyspitsthedummy is worth to read. (+!) It’s astonishing that in this era there are still those who oppose public breastfeeding, although undoubtedly they are a tiny minority.

It should go without saying, but I say it anyway, of course and absolutely breastfeeding must be allowed anywhere and everywhere. Woman’s breasts are a sacred source of life on earth. (and they are also remarkably beautiful!).

 

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Old posts are now live

Old posts all the way from 2012 are now live. I made a classic mistake of forgetting to disable twitter integration with my wordpress blog. Sorry my twitter followers for gazillion tweets as the engine decided that everything I have blogged from 2012 are all new posts.