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MINNESOTA SPORTS DAD
Trying to re-find the magic of youth sports, one tough discussion at a time.
Let's do it for the kids. Let's do it for us.
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Laajis Thunder
Warning: this is a skier-geek post, but it has everything to do with skiing in Finland, so if that's in your wheelhouse, read on. In one...
csalmela
Dec 4, 202011 min read
Live From Crazy Town
I was in my hotel room in Stamford, CT, right after the holidays, when I heard a news update about a strange sickness in Wuhan, China,...
csalmela
Nov 25, 202010 min read
Vuokatti & Ruka
Morning from my room in Vuokatti I wanted to get my very expensive Madshus skate ski boots here from Duluth. That's how it started. I...
csalmela
Nov 24, 202011 min read
Design From Finland
We had a lot of Brio-style toys before Brio was probably common. They were art toys—abstractions of real things. I mostly remember cars...
csalmela
Nov 15, 202012 min read
Veep
You understand why I’ve been in dispose from blogging for a brief stretch here. I’ve had a few, lighter Finnish-centric topics clicking...
csalmela
Nov 9, 202010 min read
49
I turned 49 yesterday. Kind of an odd one. You have all these birthdays once you become an adult; 21, 30, 40, that kind of mean...
csalmela
Oct 28, 20207 min read
Doc
Surprise! Two-fer post today! The only real Finnish connection to this post is hockey. While Finland is the backdrop for the loose...
csalmela
Oct 21, 20205 min read
Studs
The template on my blog host page says at the top, “Add a Catchy Title.” No, this isn’t a post about male strip clubs in Finland. It’s...
csalmela
Oct 21, 20206 min read
As Far As The Eye Can See
America’s diversity of special, spectacular landscapes is really like no other country on earth. From the geysers of Yellowstone to to...
csalmela
Oct 14, 20206 min read
Sports Capital
I just got done with my first bike ride in several days. The weather has been rainy and cold—deeply overcast and dark. The days off from...
csalmela
Oct 7, 202011 min read
Liiga
Liiga is everywhere. We’re being bombarded with TV ads. I heard at least 6 ads on the radio in the commute to school and back this...
csalmela
Oct 1, 20209 min read
Into The Darkness
It’s easier to be smitten with anything cast in its best light. When all you’ve ever really known of a place is seen through rose-colored...
csalmela
Sep 26, 20208 min read
Karkki Päivä
When you’re a new parent, you think of all the things that can harm your child, and most seem to hit you in the first 48 hours after the...
csalmela
Sep 20, 20207 min read
What's In A Bottle?
On a sunny, fall Sunday afternoon a few days ago, I sat with Taavi and Iita next to our bikes on Jyvaskyla’s harbor, working at my pear...
csalmela
Sep 17, 20206 min read
Salmiakki
Flavors are a window into the soul of a culture. Curry and saffron on the Indian subcontinent. Ginger and garlic in China. Miso and...
csalmela
Sep 14, 20205 min read
L-I-V-I-N
Life. Living. The meaning of life. Elämä on Laiffii. I don’t think one can make a move with their family to another country mid-way...
csalmela
Sep 10, 202012 min read
Ruis Leipä
At any point in life prior to marrying Mimmu, if you’d have told me some day I’d be extolling the wonders of rye bread, I’d have called...
csalmela
Sep 7, 20207 min read
Logs Buried in the Grass
Somewhere around Oulu it struck me. I was about to see where my family came from. The farm that is there was built in a hamlet called...
csalmela
Sep 5, 20207 min read
The Bathroom Squeegee
If you think you can live here without a squeegee, think again. Most Americans are familiar with the squeegee. We have one at home in...
csalmela
Sep 2, 20203 min read
Bike Thievery
Having a bike in Finland is to worry about it being stolen. This seems like an overstatement, but it isn’t. Finns, by and large, ride...
csalmela
Sep 1, 20205 min read
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