Monday, February 20, 2006

Work done, pt. 984


1. Sent a manuscript of a new name book to a publisher. It's about name proposals, both historical and current ones, including some of our own. We'll see what comments we'll have from the authorities (there's quite a strict law on names here in Finland - it would drive the Yanks crazy in no time). Heard also that the publisher would like us to make the index...

2. Finished the article on B movies. Fascinating stuff. Who knows the films of Joel Rapp or Peter Kass? Who can comment on Joseph Pevney's career? (Well, in the DVD age most can, but I don't think many will.)

3. Finished also a small article on new crime fiction websites, such as Hardluck Stories.

4. Shot two inserts for the TV show. The other one was good, the other one wasn't. Such is life.

5. Heard today that the crime paperback line I'm soon possibly editing is still in the development. Sigh...

6. Have to finish layouting the new issue of Ruudinsavu. Sigh... I still have to write two short articles myself (and maybe a third one to fill pages up).

6. Haven't been reading much of anything, but late last night, just to calm myself down, I read Hys! by Norwegian comics artist Jason. Great stuff! Sad and funny at the same time, very touching indeed. Comparison with Buster Keaton is close, but I was more reminded of Jim Jarmusch's classic Stranger than Paradise. (See the picture on the left.)

7. Listening to the great Finnish punk band Risto. Highly recommended. (Well, it's not actually punk. I don't know what it is.)

(8. Is it work to read comics and listen to punk?)

2 comments:

Jim Barker said...

YOU SAID:(there's quite a strict law on names here in Finland - it would drive the Yanks crazy in no time).

I ASKED: What does this mean? What is the law and what kind of names are you referring to? Are you not allowed to name children Arsey Windswept, or call your house "Crack-house"? or what?

Juri said...

Sorry, I should've been more specific about this. We - me and my wife - have written two books on rare first names and this is a follow-up to them introducing names that haven't been taken to use. So the law I was referring to is about first names. It's quite strict, as I said, and doesn't allow anything approaching your example "Arsey Windswept". It also (at least it should, but it doesn't seem to be working very well, with immigrants and their own naming cultures) inhibits people to use letters that are not part of the Finnish alphabets, i.e. B, Z, Q, etc.

Of course there are common names like Max that can be used. It means more that you can't use Yuri when you are going to name your son after me and you just will have to put up with Juri. In short, you have to write it the way it's spelled. And most certainly you can't act like Americans, with their Jaycon thing.

Is this now more clear to you?