Happy New Year ... and remember these words: A new law »

For ten days, I’ve been pulling stuff out of the archives, but as is the nature of these lists, I saved the best for last. Ladies and gentlemen, the Best of the Decade. The envelope, please…

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Almost there. Aaaaalmost there. Tomorrow, at 6:00 CET, I will unveil the Best Story of the Decade here at ristopakarinen.com. But now, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, the runners-up.

Oh, oh, one more thing: remember, these are the stories that will assume the duties of Best Story of the Decade if the titleholders for some reason cannot fulfill their responsibilities.

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We've reached the final three in my Top Ten countdown of the best stories of the past decade, in five different categories. Get the RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve.


Ladies and Gentlemen, in the third place:

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Getting closer to the medal positions as I count down the Top Ten stories of the past decade, in five different categories. Get RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve.

Ladies and Gentlemen, only 4 you:

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Five down, five to go as I count down my Top Ten stories of the past decade, in five different categories. Get RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve.

Ladies and Gentlemen, mambo number five:

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Aaaaaand, here we go, approaching top five on my Top Ten list of stories of the past decade, in five different categories. Get RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the sixth best stories of the past decade.

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Zero days 'til Christmas Eve, but a few more to go on my Top Ten list of stories of the past decade. Get the RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve to see the best in five different categories.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the seventh best stories of the decade:

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Two down, eight to go, as I count down my Top Ten stories of the past decade, in five different categories. Get the RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve.

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Moving on, counting down my Top Ten stories of the past decade, in five different categories. Get the RSS feed, or check back every day until New Year’s Eve.

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The Aughties are almost over, and what a decade it was. We lived through Big Brother, reality TV’s emergance in general, the Bush era, five Olympics, and were disappointed by the true 2001 Space Odyssey.

None of those things made the Best of the Decade list here at ristopakarinen.com. Instead, I will count down my Top Ten stories in the last ten years, in five different categories, between today and New Year’s Eve. Get the RSS feed, or check back every day. Now, you can search the archives for your own favorites if you want to, but the Official List is here.

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Specialists from New Zealand plan to recover two crates of Scotch whisky left more than 100 years ago by the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and trapped deep in Antarctic ice.
– New York Times, November 17, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen,

Well, who am I kidding? “Ladies”? Good one. Gentlemen, welcome to the New Zealand Explorers’ Club. It is that time of the month again, and I am happy to see so many of our distinguished members here tonight. And even happier to see all the rest of you! HAA!

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Dear Hannes,

Last night after you’d fallen asleep, I had one of my hockey games again. We lost, which is never fun, but I scored a goal which is always fun, so all in all, it was more fun than not.

Skating is so much fun. When I was eight or nine, a little older than you now, I used to dream that it’d get so cold in Helsinki that all the streets would freeze over and I could skate to school. Skating was so much more fun that walking, or running. (For some reason, inlines don't do it for me).

But I did have to to walk to school and back. If I didn't walk with my best friend, I was always kicking pieces of snow and ice, and after school I’d play ball.

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Ten years ago today, I put my hand on J’s knee when we were sitting at a bar just around the corner from the office. The bar, Krokodil, was a gay bar that served cold beer and good food for the people that could fit in the eight tables it had.

We were there, a group of us, and at some point, late that night, I rested my hand on J’s knee, a gesture that - I have been told later - sent shock waves through her body. At the time, I was unaware of this.

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Today, Dec 6, is Finland’s Independence Day. I will spend it on a ferry to Sweden. How appropriate.

I have never been as Finnish as during my first two years living in Sweden. I moved to Sweden in April, and by Christmas, I was an ultrafennomaniac. I read only Finnish classics, I listened to Finnish music, and I basically spent my weekends on those ferries, going back to the old country, to the old hood and the old buddies.

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They say that the more something changes, the more it stays the same. In case you’re wondering who “they” are, the answer is Huey Lewis and the News, who had that line in “I Know What I Want“ on their Fore! album.

I can now tell you that the reverse is also true. The more something stays the same, the more it changes.

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