This week, the Finnish tabloids and popular media are delighted because Conan O' Brien mentioned the Finnish president, Tarja Halonen in his talk show. The Finns love getting mentioned in almost any context and are often found to be fiercely defending their rightful "ownership" of such concepts as meatballs and sauna (both of which are not Finnish inventions, but are certainly found to be well treasured and the best in Finland), or making a case for why the Finnish Lapland is the real home of Father Christmas and how Nokia really did start from a small Finnish company making rubber boots.
I say almost any context, but when the Conan O'Brien hates my homeland item in Late Night with Conan O'Brien finally featured Finland some time ago, the response from the Finnish public was overwhelming. Hundreds of letters and postcards landed at the NBC studios and this may have sealed the unlikely relationship between one small, cold country and the ginger-haired talk show host for good.
Conan revealed this image during the show:
Someone, somewhere must have observed the striking resemblance between Tarja and Conan. The Finnish general public speculates that sending actor Lauri Nurkse to the talk show audience was a clever ploy to plant pro-Tarja election propaganda to the proceedings. It appears to have worked: some polls suggest that Tarja's popularity shot through the roof afer SubTV aired the show, early Wednesday morning Finnish time. Not entirely coincidentally, I'm sure, party political broadcasts for Tarja's election campaign were shown during advert breaks.
The Finnish presidential election starts on the 15th of January 2006.
ed/Pub:NB
Article comments
1 - Nancy
Well, if you lived in someplace like Finland or Lithuania and had a name like Piraakaaula Piraakiia, you'd be gratified to be mentioned, too.
2 - Nukapai
Oh, I know, Nancy. After all, I'm Finnish and my old, full name was: Pia Pauliina Palminkoski. ;)
3 - Arhi
Things Conan should know about Finland
- Check it out -
4 - alienboy
Hi Nukapai, I didn't know Palminkoski was Finnish?
5 - Nukapai
Alienboy - yes, it's Finnish, and anyone by that name is related to me by blood or marriage, as it's a restricted surname. Do you know it from somewhere? :)
6 - alienboy
Nuka, no, I'd never heard it before, it just seemed to lack the multiple Ks and As of Finnish names like Piraakaaula Piraakiia!
I don't know what a restricted name means but it sounds a little more Russian or something.
7 - keptor
I don't know what "Piraakaaula Piraakiia" is, but it definitely isn't a finnish name.
Just for your delight, here's a list of somee of Finland's most popular names:
(First names, Male)
Juhani
Johannes
Olavi
Antero
Petteri
Tero
Mikko
...
(First names, Female)
Maria
Helena
Anneli
Johanna
Kaarina
Marjatta
Elina
Susanna
...
(Surnames)
Virtanen
Korhonen
Nieminen
Mäkinen
Mäkelä
Hämäläinen
Laine
Koskinen
Heikkinen
Järvinen
...
(source: www.vaestorekisterikeskus.fi )
8 - Miette
I'm an American '20 years old' and my interest in Finland has skyrocketed since the gags on the Conan Show, and I think that's just a wonderful thing!