You can watch the video after accepting targeting cookies To use the chat, you need to accept functional cookies The Kalistanneva wind farm in the municipality of Kurikka in South Ostrobothnia has entered into production The wind farm’s 30 power plants generate electricity with an output of approximately 165 MW Helen is responding to the needs of our increasingly electrified society and significantly increasing the domestic content of wind turbines This also increases Finland's self-sufficiency in energy production "The commissioning of the Kalistanneva wind farm continues Helen’s significant investments in domestic and emission-free electricity production and strengthens Finland’s energy self-sufficiency are major steps towards Helen’s carbon neutrality target for 2030," says Pekka Tolonen Helen is the majority owner of the wind farm with a stake of 60 per cent The wind farm's other shareholder is Ålandsbanken Wind Power Fund Non-UCITS "We are very pleased to complete our fund’s first joint investment with Helen on budget and ahead of the original schedule after a construction project lasting less than three years a big thank you goes to Valorem and all the partners and contractors involved in the project This is also an important milestone for us in the sense that four out of five projects owned by our fund are now in commercial use," says Jimmy Forsman Portfolio Manager for the Ålandsbanken Wind Power Fund Helen increased its wind power capacity by 440 MW and wind power is expected to make up a significant share of the company’s electricity production this year as well when the share of emission-free electricity in Helen’s total production will increase to over 90 per cent Helen's annual wind power production will also exceed the amount of electricity previously produced using coal the commissioning of the wind farm will replace heat production based on coal combustion in particular VIENNA—Nine years ago, the Finnish band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest dressed as monsters of the underworld, stunning European audiences with gruesome makeup and other satanic accouterments, performing an elaborate fantasy titled “Hard Rock Hallelujah“ which set a high score record for the famously extravagant contest At Tuesday’s Eurovision semi-final here at the Wiener Stadthalle another remarkable Finnish entry managed to deliver the kind of performance the contest had never before experienced this year the country sent the unvarnished Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät Finnish for “Pertti Kurikka’s Nameday,” is a punk rock band made up of four men with various developmental disabilities Kurikka was discovered at a charity workshop which taught music to the developmentally disabled and with the charity’s help he eventually formed a band of four to play punk music The band draws its lyrics from the diary that Kurikka diligently keeps largely focused on the frustrations brought on by the status of himself and his bandmates I don’t want to live in an institution,” Aalto sings in one song “I want to live in Kallio [an upscale neighborhood in Helsinki] in the privacy of a bomb shelter.”  Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät first gained international attention through the 2012 documentary The Punk Syndrome, directed by Jukka Kärkkäinen and J-P Passi The film follows the band members’ musical careers including rock-doc staples like band infighting and the excitement of touring internationally But there are also personal moments more unique to the band like Välitalo’s parents trying to convince him that he should move into a group home or Aalto’s fit of rage at needing to attend a medically mandated pedicure The band’s gritty aesthetic shares little in common with the sequined pop contest Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät entered the Finnish network Yle’s competition to represent the country at this year’s Eurovision in order to raise awareness for developmental disabilities And with a dominant 36.2 percent of the televote the band won the nine-song final in a runaway with its entry “Aina Mun Pitää,” which complains about the endless cycle of life’s mundane tasks Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät attracted considerable attention and curiosity in Vienna but also the ever-loyal corps of Eurovision fans supportively decked out in their best punkishly studded denim lined up outside the Wiener Stadthalle before Tuesday’s semifinal “This is the place where we have to break rules and traditions,” Markku Uhlbäck a fan who sported a blue-and-white mohawk in his flag’s colors In a show that was opened by Moldovan backup dancers dressed as leather-clad police officers and featured a concentration of preachy ballads unusually high even for Eurovision through thick fog and flashing strobe lights Eurovision acts are given ample time to rehearse their performances right down to each facial expression toward the appropriate camera and indeed Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät looked much like it had in rehearsals all week: Aalto stood in the front But he also injected more growls and grunts into the song than he ever had before a subtle but startling veering off-script in a show built on careful After just a minute and 30 seconds “Aina Mun Pitää” finished with one long making it one of the shortest performances in the history of the contest (Most songs come close to the three-minute maximum length.) Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät were done and their fate fell to the viewers and juries of musical experts to decide and as smooth and commercial as Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät’s was weird and raw But he connected with the four men from Finland and their minute-and-a-half shout of rage There’s a rebellion in each and every one of us.” a master student from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki is very happy with their work experience at ABB “One could think that ABB is just for engineering students but there are also many possibilities for other emerging experts,” says Patryk who has concentrated on social research methodology “It has been such a great experience to see how I’ve been able to turn my knowledge in social data sciences into business benefit for a global technology company.“ Patryk’s expertise in analytics helps to provide statistics for Drives Communication’s reports to see how their content is received in digital channels globally Patryk's methodological competences have been used in a massive global cross business customer journey qualitative research Patryk has planned and managed Yammer activities and communications in other social media channels as well as supported the team in producing articles “What I like is the possibility to handle a variety of communication responsibilities besides the analytics,” Patryk says.  “It’s good to challenge yourself in different directions With a background in more qualitative sociology I have learnt entirely new skills in my master studies in social data science which is very rewarding I hope that this will encourage others as well – and it actually matches very well with ABB’s continuous learning initiatives.“ “Patryk’s knowledge in research methods has been very valuable for us They have brought great expertise and insights to the team,” says Anna Kurikka who has been Patryk’s hosting manager in Drives Communications since May 2022 “The most exciting moments have been those when Patryk has provided some beneficial information that we didn’t even expect to receive I value that Patryk is not afraid to voice their views and even question how things are done.”  Anna who has graduated from the Department of Language and Communication Studies in the University of Jyväskylä has a long career in global communications roles there are many interesting positions for non-technical interns and professionals “We need a variety of experts with a diverse background and experience to succeed and with a diverse workforce we gain a broader perspective and experience foster innovation and complement each other to serve our customers in the best possible way,“ Anna stresses Both encourage students to see ABB's open positions for summer interns and apply Earlier they have worked in academic research project and participated in various social movements “Working with ABB has differed a lot from activities I have been involved in so far,” Patryk describes Patryk feels that the ABB values of Courage, Care, Curiosity and Collaboration are lived in practice “People have welcomed me so warmly and I have the freedom to work flexibly and develop things to the direction I feel useful cares deeply about well-being of each team member She gives me lots of support to combine my academic and social goals in my work.“ “I greatly appreciate the encouragement and recognition that I have received from Anna and the whole team They are the most supportive group,“ Patryk smiles “I hope to have a chance for another summer internship with this team in order to continue collaborations in different projects and further develop myself.“ ABB's website uses cookies. By staying here you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more I agree Head over to our page on CBC Music for new episodes it doesn't get more punk rock than this - four guys on stage railing against the establishment and the discrimination they've faced The four guys are a band from Finland called 'Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät' and they're featured in a music documentary called 'The Punk Syndrome' The film was made by Finnish filmmakers Jukka Kärkkäinen and Jani-Petteri Passi and became a surprise hit on the festival circuit It follows the band as they start playing together tour Europe and return to Finland as national heroes The band's founder Pertti Kurikka has cerebral palsy they're like a lot of other bands - big dreams and big egos As cinevue.com writes "Amidst the fallouts there is a warmth and solidarity as well as a shared passion for punk music and live performance." they command the respect they deserve from their audience." The Guardian has an exclusive clip of the band in concert. You can watch that here They all know what it's like to live in shared residential homes - an experience which fuels their lyrics and their frustration Cinevue.com writes "the band's simple but emotionally raw lyrics and rough punk sensibility are a form of empowerment and a statement of angry protest." the film explores what it's like to live day to day with a learning disability In a review, littlewhitelies.co.uk describes a scene in which Pertti talks about "how he was abandoned as a child and how he once considered jumping in front of a Metro train." "that deep existential gloom is not beyond the reach of anyone." It also describes two other band members - Kari and Toni Kari wants to get married and have children while Toni has trouble "expressing his true feelings to a girl living in his home who sadly has eyes for another." As cinevue.com says "you can't help but be drawn in by the band's frank discussions about love Perhaps, the website The List sums it up best "There's nothing more anti-establishment as four disabled and fiery individuals literally sticking it to the institutions which they've been surrounded by making The Punk Syndrome a unique and touching depiction of some truly passionate outsider artists." How A Young Man With Down Syndrome Touched The Lives Of A Major League Baseball Team 35 Years Ago Today, The Sex Pistols Came To An End; Here's A Classic Chat Between Johnny Rotten & George Did Punk Rock Begin At A Cinema In Peru? These Psychos Think So Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised VALOREM the French pioneering independent renewable energy developer and operator on the divestment of the 165 MW Kalistanneva onshore wind farm to a Finnish consortium formed by HELEN Oy and the Bank of Åland Wind Power Fund Non-UCITS and the simultaneous approximately €135 million project financing of the neighbouring 148.5 MW Matkussaari onshore wind farm together with the negotiation and settlement of all related commercial arrangements "We worked closely with the Valorem team every step of the way to get this complex transaction across the line," said White & Case partner Carina Radford "Our multi-faceted role advising across each aspect of the transaction demonstrates White & Case's deep and broad knowledge of the renewable energy market in the Nordics where we have decades of experience advising clients." Both wind farms are located in the municipality of Kurikka and are expected to commence commercial operations in 2025 The senior debt for the Matkussaari wind farm is being provided by AIP Management "This transaction showcases how our international teams across jurisdictions can seamlessly assist our clients on their most demanding projects M&A and clean energy solutions," said White & Case partner Timo Airisto this investment is also an important step towards its aim of being carbon neutral by 2030 and our client VALOREM played an integral role in advancing that ambition." The White & Case team that advised on the transaction was led by partner Carina Radford (London) and included partners Mark Richardson Sandra Rafferty and Richard Hill (all London) Tanja Törnkvist and Timo Airisto (both Helsinki) Florian Degenhardt (Hamburg) and François-Guilhem Vaissier and partner of counsel Paule Biensan (both Paris) counsel Beate Treibmann (Hamburg) and associates Miles Tonkin Nick Falconer and Heidi Blomqvist (all London) Asta Tukiainen and Henna Viljakainen (both Helsinki) and Omar Sinaceur Baptiste Ferraud and Alain Chan Hon (all Paris) Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome Update: "The Punk Syndrome" won the SXGlobal Audience Award See pictures from the Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät concert 6:01 a.m.): A punk band from Finland is the focus of a film that’s showing at South by Southwest this week The band is also playing a gig in the SXSW Music festival The band is Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät – that's Pertti Kurikka's Name Day. And the film is “The Punk Syndrome” – called that because one special thing about these band members is that they are all mentally disabled in one form or another KUT's Laura Rice sat down with the film's director/cinematographer J-P Passi and a couple of members of the band: singer Kari Aalto and bass player Sami Helle “The Punk Syndrome” is showing this afternoon at the Alamo Ritz. Pertti Kurikka's Name Day is playing tonight on the patio at Headhunters The film is going to be available in the U.S Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Do you know what to do if you meet a bear in the woods?’ Martti Latva-Kurikka calls out over the roar of the river ‘Don’t try to look big – because the bear might see it as a challenge – and don’t look it straight in the eyes you should look humble and talk to it slowly you have to talk in Finnish: “Kiltti pikku karhu älä syö minua.” Please little bear It’s March and a thick layer of snow blankets the boreal forests of Oulanka National Park This last winter has been an unusually mild one for Finland but still there’s enough snow to cause the forest’s slender birch trees to bend double under its weight but they won’t cause the summer tourists – who come to walk the park’s many trails – any trouble ‘I have never seen a bear and I’m not expecting to see one,’ says Latva-Kurikka who has almost finished his seventeenth season as a park guide.  A few of the park’s population wear GPS collars that were fitted by researchers from the University of Oulu When university students tried to track the bears One of the key challenges in wildlife conservation is knowing which species are living where is often a stressful experience for the animal – which must be caught sedated – and a labour-intensive job for the scientist less-invasive monitoring methods such as surveys and camera traps but these too have their disadvantages (time-consuming/costly and easily damaged or stolen respectively) scientists and conservationists are turning to new technologies to assess biodiversity from artificial intelligence to acoustic sensors that are used to record animal sounds (an emerging scientific field known as ecoacoustics) One method in particular has already demonstrated its potential to revolutionise wildlife monitoring: eDNA.  are constantly shedding their DNA in the form of dead skin and hair cells This organic matter accumulates in the animal’s surrounding environment – in the soil water and even the air – where the DNA can last for several weeks This environmental DNA – eDNA – can be collected in soil or water samples and thanks to the advancement of DNA-sequencing technology can be used to identify species that have recently been present in an area Scientists first started researching the possibility of using eDNA to assess biodiversity levels during the early 2000s One of the technique’s pioneers was molecular ecologist Kat Bruce co-founder of DNA-based-biodiversity-monitoring services NatureMetrics ‘We’ve been banging the drum about this for a long time so it’s very exciting to see it suddenly starting to scale and filter into the mainstream,’ she says after hosting a well-attended webinar on eDNA Bruce was approached by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which proposed a collaboration with their freshwater-species team ‘And so we sort of challenged ourselves to find the biggest most exciting idea that we could come up with for this technology which was basically to map the world’s biodiversity.’ The resulting project – named the eBio Atlas – promises to capture biodiversity data at ‘previously unimaginable scales’ starting with the world’s freshwater habitats.  freshwater habitats are currently experiencing biodiversity loss at a rate estimated to be two to three times that of terrestrial and marine habitats.  But Bruce says that without knowing which species are living in a location at any point in time it’s impossible to tell whether our conservation efforts are making a difference ‘The IUCN will tell you that they have the gold-standard datasets on biodiversity but some of their records come from the late 1800s,’ she says ‘They’re not up-to-date and they’re very patchy It has long been known that Oulanka National Park is an exceptional hotspot of biodiversity ‘The Oulanka area has always fascinated natural scientists and the oldest written document of the area is from 1770,’ reads a snow-topped sign next to the well-trodden Bear Trail senior research scientist and station manager at the Oulanka Research Centre (part of the University of Oulu) says that there are a number of reasons for this ‘Possibly the most important one is that most of the bedrock in Finland is slightly acidic by nature but in this area there’s also a large outcrop of calcium-rich bedrock which is very abnormal in this country.’ What this means is that within just 30–50 kilometres the acidity of a river can change from pH 5.5 to 8.7 ‘When you remember that pH is on a logarithmic scale one that automatically creates different kinds of living conditions for different species.’ Another factor is the direction in which the park’s rivers flow: east where they drain into Russia’s White Sea (most of Finland’s rivers flow south to the Baltic Sea) ‘The rivers have definitely acted as corridors of colonisation for a lot of plant species,’ says Paavola Standing on the riverbank and leaning out over the park’s turbulent Myllykoski rapids Latva-Kurikka scoops up river water with a sample collector It’s homemade – an empty cream cheese tub nailed to a length of wood A few more scoops and the sample bag is full and ready to be filtered It’s the third bag of the day; the first two were filled from the park’s Juuma lake We’d had to cut through 50 centimetres of ice with a hand-powered ice auger to collect the samples dark waters contained the tiny traces of the animals that live in it our group had arrived in the small town of Kuusamo he’d driven us almost an hour north to Basecamp Oulanka a wilderness resort at the southern tip of the national park where tourists can try ice fishing and cross-country skiing The park lies just south of the Arctic Circle and the snow-ploughed roads were walled in by dense spruce forest Occasionally we passed houses painted in primary reds blues and yellows – not that we could see them through the dark of the polar night.  Citizen science is set to play a big role in the development of the eBio Atlas ‘There’s a lot of stuff that you cannot do in citizen science because you need trained scientists,’ says Paavola ‘but bringing samples from hard-to-reach places is one way in which we’ve seen that citizen science can be highly useful.’ So far NatureMetrics has set a three-year goal of collecting 30,000 freshwater samples from areas of critical conservation importance philanthropic funder that will help to roll the project out across the world Collecting all of that data is going to require a lot of data-collectors.  where we’ve taken our samples for filtering things start to go wrong when we spill half of one bag over the floor We calculate how many syringes of water need to pass through each filter for it to have enough DNA material Gloves get forgotten and filters are put on back to front none of this has a significant impact on our results; when the sample report comes back two months later it notes that DNA from all four filters was successfully extracted and analysed ‘I’ve gone head to head with my colleagues’ five-year-old daughter and you can’t tell the difference between the data that came from her sample and the data that came from mine even though she stuck her hands in the sample and only filtered half as much water.’  NatureMetrics states that its eDNA kits have been specially designed to be used by anyone whether it’s citizen scientists on a holiday in Finland or researchers and conservationists who are already conducting their own biodiversity assessments ‘It allows us to put biodiversity monitoring tools into the hands of people all over the world and have good data that comes out of it,’ says Bruce.  eDNA surveying isn’t without its limitations ‘When you’re looking at environmental changes you often want more than just a species list,’ says Paavola It just shows the presence or absence of a species.’  Bruce sees the eBio Atlas as more of a scaffold ‘It won’t tell you about everything everywhere – it’s a snapshot it becomes this really enormous dataset that holds a huge amount of information about what’s where we can start to see patterns.’ Once the dataset is in place other researchers can plug in their own data or focus their surveys on areas of interest ‘It will become a sort of living database,’ she says.  Paavola oversees a number of research projects which monitors the impact of both climate change and human activity at two sites within the park researchers have been documenting local environmental changes one long-term data series reveals that in a little over 50 years the park’s Oulankajoki River has lost almost two months of its yearly ice cover but we are having the same problems as everybody else,’ says Paavola ‘And change is happening very rapidly.’  That change is having a big impact on freshwater species Timo Muotka is Oulanka Research Station’s resident freshwater ecologist he’s studied benthic invertebrates – species such as crayfish worms and insect larvae that live on lake- and riverbeds Many of these species are very sensitive to change; looking at future climate scenarios Bruce says that news such as this gives her work a sense of urgency they’re sent to be analysed at NatureMetrics’ molecular-ecology labs in Guildford Muotka expects us to find evidence of the park’s most common fish species but we’re also hoping to find some mammal DNA water samples are a more efficient way to collect non-aquatic animal DNA than soil samples and they’ve already proved an effective way to monitor some of the world’s most elusive species.  senior programme manager for West and Central Africa at Fauna & Flora says that eDNA water sampling has been a really useful tool for conducting mammal surveys in inaccessible areas of Liberia and Guinea In their first partnership for the eBio Atlas NatureMetrics worked with Fauna & Flora to provide eDNA kits to conservation teams in the West African countries who successfully identified two highly endangered species: the pygmy hippo and the white-bellied pangolin ‘Both these species are really difficult to detect and very rarely come up on camera traps we identified a total of eight species – seven fish (Atlantic salmon an invasive species that has spread throughout Central Europe NatureMetrics is only looking for vertebrate DNA in the water samples they collect ‘Vertebrates are the easiest to tie in with existing conservation priorities and initiatives,’ says Bruce ‘But the cool thing is that sitting in the rest of the DNA is everything else – all your invertebrates and microbes.’ In the longer term – depending on funding – the intention is to unlock these other data layers too ‘And that DNA has a lot of power to tell you about the state and condition of the ecosystem Filed Under: Wildlife Tagged With: , , , Click Here for SUBSCRIPTION details Want to access Geographical on your tablet or smartphone Android or PC/Mac image below to download the app for your device Copyright © 2025 · Site by Syon Media a zany comedy about a terrible Finnish rock group touring the States is that Kärkkäinen and Passi's film is a documentary about a real punk quartet called Pertti Kurikka's Name Day a genuine punk quartet made up of the autistic duo of Pertti Kurikka (lead guitar) and Karl Aalto (singer) and the Down's syndrome duo of Sami Helle (bass) and Toni Välitalo (drums) Sami and Toni are younger and more cheerful than Pertti and Karl whose songs are often angry and aggressive (eg I Need a Little Respect and Dignity in My Life; I Hate the World) But all four have a suitable punk wildness The film presents them in warm domestic settings making their first overseas visit (including an amusing gig on Hamburg's Reeperbahn) Nobody patronises them or laughs behind their backs This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Reviews “You Are Not Me” revels in the inherent loneliness of the holidays how there’s a particular type of isolation that cuts deeply when you’re surrounded by people on all sides and still feel alone It’s the balance of these two that elevates the film beyond standard holiday horror fare and makes this worth viewing even if the film meanders a bit too much before reaching its trippy Starting off like a Hallmark movie before descending into something resembling more home invasion with a twist of folk horror the film focuses on Aitana (Rosier Tapias) as they go to surprise Aitana’s family for the Christmas holidays Aitana has not seen her family in person for three years and is excited to introduce Gabi and João to her parents Their relationship was tense after Aitana’s parents refused to accept that their daughter was queer and Aitana hopes that seeing her family in person Nadia (Anna Kurikka) is staying at Aitana’s parents’ house with Aitana’s parents frequently babying her in front of their actual daughter This is exacerbated even further by how cold Aitana’s parents are to their daughter after the gift of her surprise arrival They can barely hide their annoyance or inconvenience and the parlance of gratitude is weaponized into something more sinister (“You shouldn’t have come” sounds less like a gesture of unexpected thanks and more like a hostile directive) Aitana and Gabi are resolved to spend the holidays together as a family despite such incivility but begin to suspect there may be something more to Nadia and her parents’ relationship than appears on the surface While Aitana spends most of the film trying to understand why her xenophobic parents have replaced her with someone like Nadia there’s no ambiguity to her parent’s thoughts about her sexuality: they disprove with the sort of barely quiet disregard that masks a deeper dissatisfaction whom they gift Aitana’s never-worn wedding dress is an obvious stand-in for their desire to have a daughter who fits into heterosexual norms but what’s most disturbing is that Aitana’s parents are so confident in their actions that it borders on delirium It makes moments like them matter-of-factly suggesting that Aitana and Gabi stay at a hotel while letting Nadia stay in Aitana’s room upon the couple’s first arrival feel like a disturbing sort of madness The central mystery revolves around Nadia’s identity and why Aitana’s parents have so willingly embraced her and the film struggles to find new ways to spin out this narrative thread in an engaging manner for its whole runtime Crespo and Romera keep the unease coming so that even if it feels a bit repetitive They craft some haunting shots through the way they let their camera linger for a beat too long in moments where it’d be natural to cut away almost as if encouraging us to dare something vile to come out from the darkness (a sequence where Aitana gets a glass of water in a basement like area is an example of a seemingly normal scene being stretched to a nail-bitingly tense length) Joan Vilà’s score masterfully employs strings to grating effect often sounding like a chorus of newborns that refuse to be comforted as if they’re plagued by an unseen force the film keeps its violence to one-off dream sequences and caustic words from families probing how those expectations can be wielded as their own kind of weapon Aitana maintains a steely confidence despite her attempts to accommodate her family (there’s a sense her days of forsaking who she is to please her family are long gone) and she captures so well how we can revert to our old selves whenever we’re back home the film is paced with a bit too much restraint “You Are Not Me” is one of the better feel-bad movies of this year’s holidays one that understands that family’s embrace may be more suffocating than loving Zachary Lee is a freelance film and culture writer based in Chicago Katja Karjalainen of Finland celebrating her silver medal in the Mixed Dressage - Freestyle grade Ib at the London 2012 Paralympic Games Russia and Finland have announced their team members for this year’s International Equestrian Federation (FEI) European Para-Equestrian Dressage Championships which will be held 17-20 September in Deauville London 2012 silver medallist Katja Karjalainen will lead the charge for Finland Karjalainen will be joined by Jaana Kivimaki (grade Ib) and Teija Kurikka (grade II) Finland will also field two of the youngest competitors at in Deauville with grade III rider Kaisla Osara taking to the arena just days before her 18th birthday and grade IV’s Jessica Kerttunen just after she turns 18 Russia has been making steady progress in the sport over the years they have a chance to win a medal with grade IV rider Natalia Martynova who has picked up a number of first and second-place finishes at international competitions this season Natalya Zhavoronkova will join Martynova in grade IV category Marina Vinogradova will take part in the grade Ia competition and Nina Anufrieva will represent Russia in the grade Ib The Championships will decide the final European team allocations for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games For more information on the 2015 European Para-Equestrian Championships, visit the FEI’s website. Humanity’s Last Breath will be dropping their new studio album “Ashen” on August 04th through Unique Leader Records The progressive deathcore faction have launched the song “Labyrinthian” as the first single from the record That video was co-directed by Riivata Visuals and the band’s own Tuomas Kurikka You can find pre-orders here The band’s current schedule runs as follows: "These bands are way too popular to be in arrears." "Guess you'll have to go Steal This Album if you want to hear it now.." Join the news democracyWhere your votes decide the Top 100 Reasons for you to sign up to our newsletter here Earlier this week Finland announced the release of national emoji which aim to showcase some of the country's most famous characteristics It's no secret that metal and punk is a thriving genre in Finland consisting of four developmentally disabled men which seeks to raise awareness of Down's syndrome and autism Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (or Pertti Kurikka's name day) consists of guitarist Pertti Kurikka bassist Sami Helle and drummer Toni Välitalo The band began in a charity workshop for adults with developmental disabilities in 2004 and have become a national sensation in the wake of ever-rising popularity They represented Finland in this year's Eurovision Song Contest 2015, but were sadly knocked out in the semi-final, and were the subject of a 2012 documentary, 'The Punk Syndrome' The band loudly proclaim on their website, pkn.rocks (awesome): just watch the full video to Aina mun pitää (in English 'I always have to') We bring a different kind of perspective into punk music; it’s our perspective We’re different; we’re four mentally disabled guys so our perspective on the world of punk is a little different the UK and the US in the past and is currently on tour in Finland (H/T The Circle Pit) More:Finland is releasing national emoji of naked people in saunas, Nokia phones and headbangers More:The only copy of this band's album just sold for £4,000 on eBay Investigation of built-in obsolescence for German environment agency finds percentage of products sold to replace defective ones has increased remarkably, reports ENDS Europe Electronic product life spans are getting shorter an investigation of built-in obsolescence for the German environment agency has indicated But consumers’ desire to replace products such as flat-screen TVs with newer model is also a major factor in what the research identified as increasingly wasteful consumption of electronic goods The environment agency asked Öko-Institut researchers to examine consumers’ reasons for replacing electrical and electronic appliances with a view to establishing whether manufacturers are purposefully shortening product life spans to prop up sales a phenomenon known as built-in obsolescence The researchers did not draw a firm conclusion on built-in obsolescence but noted that the proportion of all units sold to replace a defective appliance grew from 3.5% in 2004 to 8.3% in 2012 in what they deemed a “remarkable” increase And the share of large household appliances that had to be replaced within the first five years of use grew from 7% of total replacements in 2004 to 13% in 2013 This too was largely due to an increase in the proportion of recently purchased appliances replaced following a defect which may point to an obsolescence problem However consumer preference is also playing a role A third of all replacement purchases for products such as refrigerators and washing machines were motivated by a desire for a better unit while the old one was still functioning Consumers are also increasingly keen to swap their flat screen televisions for better versions with larger screens and better picture quality even though more than 60% of replaced televisions were still functioning in 2012 Policymakers are increasingly concerned about inefficient use of resources in resource-poor Europe, and about the environmental impact of this. The EU is looking to regulate product resource efficiency by including new standards such as durability and repairability in requirements under the Ecodesign Directive a law that is currently focused on energy efficiency for the most part the desire to upgrade a functioning device seems to have lessened over the study period They could not point to clear evidence that laptops now break sooner than before but they noted that a quarter of recent replacements were due to a defect The study is the first phase of a larger research project by the German environment agency aimed at identifying ways of increasing product life spans This article was published more than 11 years ago The Punk Syndrome follows the members of Finnish punk band Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat all four of whom have learning disabilities.Jussi Puikkonen The Punk Syndrome is a cinéma vérité portrait of a Finnish punk band Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat (Pertti Kurikka's Name Day) whose four members all have learning disabilities A cult act with a following in Scandinavia and Germany is the 55-year-old lead guitarist and main songwriter seeks to live independently with his girlfriend who shows up for various conservative political functions has a gift for getting on Pertti's and Kari's nerves the drummer and baby of the mostly middle-aged group is stressed about thoughts of leaving his parents and moving into a group home Apart from the issues related to their disabilities this is an entirely familiar behind-the-scenes portrait of a rock band whose members transcend their personal problems when they play and have a modest talent for expressing badass attitude with loud riffs and a steady beat That makes them like a lot of other rock bands out there Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Editorial code of conduct Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Liam Lacey is a film critic for The Globe and Mail Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate If you do not see your comment posted immediately it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons or for abuse. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions Scientists in Finland and Britain have built a computer model that visualises what water is doing underground.. They hope the new technology will help water companies extract groundwater sustainably and give a voice to people like farmers who rely on the groundwater for their livelihoods a senior scientist at the Geological Survey of Finland and Holger Kessler Video produced by Jennifer Green and Erika Benke Sign in Join now, it's FREE! Finland. Hanna passed away in her sleep the early hours of the morning on Saturday Hanna was the dedicated wife of her late husband Pauli Koskela.  Loving mother of Martti (Betty-Anne) Precious grandmother (Mummo) of Mika (Leane) Precious great grandmother (Iso Mummo) of Ella Marshall and Connor.  She leaves behind her older sister Eira Niemela and many nieces and nephews living in Europe A thank you to her longtime neighbour and friend Jack friends Raija and Leila for calling and checking up on her well being Special gratitude to Carmela who was always there to help and keep Hanna company.  We thank you Hanna Mummo was a generous spirit.  Having friends and family visit her at home brought great joy.  A baker for many years we were lucky enough to enjoy her sweet treats with every visit.  Always welcomed her table was laid out with delicious food and cups of coffee.  Conversation would flow as a mix of Finnish some Italian and Finnliskaa was shared.  In the summer fresh fruit and vegetables were picked from her garden and sent along with baking and leftovers still hosted at her home.  She was a very special person and is deeply missed.  Hanna Mummo will live on through love In keeping with our mothers' wishes there will be no funeral instead a celebration of life will be held this summer Arrangements entrusted to the Arthur Funeral Home - Barton & Kiteley Chapel (492 Wellington Street East 705-759-2522) Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.arthurfuneralhome.com for the Koskela family More In Memoriam > This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This article was published more than 2 years ago A previous performance of The Days by Finnish dancers Maria Nurmela and Ville Oinenen it toured internationally before arriving in Sointula Finnish dancer Maria Nurmela had often heard about the town of Sointula where Finnish miners fleeing horrific working conditions in nearby Nanaimo settled and attempted to build an idyllic socialist community at the turn of the last century performing and judging a choreography competition when she met Mary Louise Albert of the BC Movement Arts Society at a restaurant which is based out of Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre and includes performance dates in nearby ‘Namgis First Nation The event is co-funded by organizations in six countries within the Article Circle (More Nordic Bridges events will be held throughout the year in Toronto Sointula is tiny – fewer than 600 residents – and somewhat remote But in recent years it has been enjoying an academic and cultural revival in Finland “We all know Sointula because of its heritage Its fame of having been the utopian community in the beginning of the 20th century in Canada,” Ms and Nurmela at Bere Point on Malcom Island during their trip where they performed at Sointula’s historic Finnish Organization Hall.Mimi Abrahams The seaside town was part of a wave of Finnish attempts to create utopian colonies around the world charismatic utopian socialist Matti Kurikka fresh off a failed colonization attempt in Australia led a group of miners off Vancouver Island to Malcolm Island where they attempted to establish a colony and carve out a living The utopian ideal is reflected in the town’s name: Sointula roughly translates to “place of harmony.” A series of questionable business decisions community tensions and a devastating fire rocked the town in its early days Kurikka left with about half the community five years later But the remaining settlers persevered and rebuilt the community around fishing The socialist and communal ideas Mr. Kurikka brought to Sointula are still here. Residents are more likely to start a co-op than a solo business initiative, and many prominent organizations on Malcolm Island are led by volunteers. The Sointula Co-op store is the oldest in the province and serves as an important meeting place. When the pandemic hit, residents relied on sisu the Finnish concept of perseverance to get them through the lockdown Vern Aro is a Sointula resident who can trace his roots back to one of the founding families just as four generations of his family have – as fishermen and boatbuilders Aro estimates there are about a hundred people in town like him – descendants of the original Finnish settlers Finnish immigration practically stopped in the 1960s and now most residents are big-city retirees remote workers and aging draft dodgers who came to Sointula from the U.S Nurmela and Oinenen brought their dance duet to Sointula as part of the Nordic Bridges cultural exchange.Victor Dmitriev Interest in Sointula was revived largely by the efforts of Mika Kaartinen who made headlines in 2013 in both Canada and Finland when he brought a 25-member theatre troupe from Finland to play at Sointula and helped organize a well-attended conference focusing on the community’s utopian past Kaartinen has since become Sointula’s unofficial ambassador in Finland accompanied by a throng of Finnish journalists a rock band and a delegation of Silicon Valley Finns “We’ve had an avalanche of tourists after that,” Mr have flocked to Sointula to study everything from linguistic drifts to sauna culture a group of Finnish researchers published a new book on Kurikka Sointula’s museum has taken advantage of pandemic lockdowns to do an inventory the records of a long-forgotten farmers’ institute and books written in the early 1900s about birth control and women’s rights (Kurikka was a champion of the women’s movement in Finland.) the remote island community has parlayed its Finnish roots into economic development transitioning from a resource-based economy into a more tourism-oriented one There’s a now a summer population in Sointula attracted to the island’s natural beauty and slow-paced life Kaartinen is hoping to feature the island in a film about Kurikka something he has promised Kurikka’s great-granddaughter Money for the project has been hard to come by We have a weekly Western Canada newsletter written by our B.C. and Alberta bureau chiefs, providing a comprehensive package of the news you need to know about the region and its place in the issues facing Canada. Sign up today Credit: ReutersA Finnish punk band whose members have autism and Down's Syndrome has been chosen by the public to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest PKN - which stands for Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivatwere (Pertti Kurikka's Nameday) - were selected this weekend and will perform the song Aina Mun Pitaa (Always I Have To) at the Vienna showpiece in May deals with doing things in life you might not enjoy “If Finland wasn’t ready before for a punk Eurovision entry, they are now," one of the band's members, Sami Helle, told the Guardian before the result We don’t want people to vote for us to feel sorry for us we are not that different from everybody else – just normal guys with a mental handicap The band formed in 2009 around guitarist Pertti Kurikka So far PKN have released five EPs and an album and toured internationally - including visits to the US and UK They have already been ranked among the favourites for the competition by a number of bookies and could follow the success of controversial metal band Lordi - which famously won the competition for Finland in 2006 HELSINKI FINLAND JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 42 The concept of Culture Shock turns out to have a fascinating history THERE can’t be many expatriates in Finland who haven’t come across “Culture Shock” But few realize that it was thought up by an academic who was raised in a Finnish national romantic commune on a wild Canadian island and that it actually keeps alive some of that commune’s utopian ideology Culture shock can ultimately be traced back to that great cause of it: Finland The first stage is that you begin with a ‘honeymoon phase’ of naïve fascination exclusively befriend fellow foreigners (often to moan about the ‘natives’) and irrationally romanticise your own culture This is the second stage after which comes the breakthrough and the final stage You realise that the new culture is ‘just another way of living.’ After that it all makes sense and your culture shock evaporates This was the three-stage model of culture shock presented by Canadian-born anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1901-73) and published in academic journal Practical Anthropology in 1960 Exchange students and expatriate business people are told that they will experience culture shock Even British soccer players talk about undergoing culture shock when they transfer from one soccer team to another And considering Oberg’s extraordinary background we can understand why culture shock should have fascinated him even more than other culture experts Not only was this commune the epitome of stage two of culture shock but Oberg strongly defended the commune’s ideology and his culture shock model reflected it in many ways There is a tragic (Finnish) ‘cult’ behind culture shock It is a little-known part of Oberg’s life and it may well partly explain why he was the one to the develop culture shock and develop it as he did The commune would be called Kalevan Kansa (“Folk of Kaleva”) a reference to Finland’s national epic Kalevala published in 1831 and a central part of the country’s growing nationalist fervour Kalevan Kansa rejected the native culture and romanticised the homeland The records imply that August Oberg was a rather mysterious man he changed his surname from Mikkola to Wuorinen (Vuori meaning “mountain”) Upon arriving in Nanaimo he flipped between this and Oberg a rough Swedish translation of his surname but his son was registered as Kalervo Wuo-rinen when he was born But his eccentricity was nothing compared to that of the commune’s leader Matti Kurikka (1863 – 1915) was a celebrity for Finns Kurikka was a vehement critic of the Finnish Lutheran Church railing in favour of a religious community based around love and equality one of Finland’s biggest newspapers (avidly read by Finns in Nanaimo) and even marriage as “a capitalist license to rape” He strongly criticised the Finnish authorities Kurikka set up a Kalevan Kansa commune amongst Finns in Australia but it was then that August Oberg and his fellow miners paid for Kurikka to come to Canada and lead them Only a fraction of the articles are available to public please subscribe to be able to read whole article on the digital paper Please check our subscription periods and prices from here. Read Helsinki Times with a subscriber codeHelsinki Times's digital paper has moved to our partner's website, LEHTILUUKKU.FI Helsinki Times can be read with a subscriber code provided by the publisher or subscription office If you have received a subscriber code from the Helsinki Times, you may attach it to your Lehtiluukku user account to gain free access to Helsinki Times. The same subscriber code is valid for iPad and iPhone Helsinki Times' application Advertisement inquiries and other after-sales issues: info@helsinkitimes.fi Helsinki Times is the first and only English language newspaper providing news about Finland in English A weekly print edition of Helsinki Times was published from March 2007 up until Feb Helsinki Times is an online-only publication and other groups and individuals interested in Finland from all around the world © Helsinki Times All rights reserved.  Terms of Use | Privacy Policy Kimmo Mäki overlooks the Port of Helsinki’s iconic South Harbour from his Managing Director’s office in the historic Olympia Terminal building The Tallink Silja Line’s Helsinki-Stockholm ferries moor just outside the building as towering reminders of the port’s importance to the Helsinki economy a 50-metre-tall observation wheel will soon go up reminding Mäki of the many forces and interests at play in the economic development of Helsinki “We make growth possible in the Helsinki region,” he points out presenting impressive facts and figures of the port’s economic impact one-third of all Finnish exports and imports pass through the port 40 percent of the exports and imports transported by sea Close to 11 million people pass through every year – twice the Finnish population The port-related economy represents 5 percent of the region’s economy and 7 percent of Helsinki’s total workforce The port’s indicators are a sensitive measure of the overall state of the global economy as freight volumes fluctuate with demand for Finnish exports as far as in the United States and the Far East and the port continues to serve as an important agent that enables further growth in the region,” Mäki says “My mission is to ensure the port the means to develop.” With these words he underscores his role in securing one of the economic cornerstones of Helsinki Most of the port’s passenger traffic on the regular Helsinki-Tallinn route and all passenger traffic on the Helsinki-St Petersburg route today a total of 5.5 million passengers in a year The number is expected to grow to 6.5 million in 10 years The pace of activity at the West Harbour is breathtaking The terminal is operating at full capacity A tram line extended to the terminal a few months ago offers some relief to the high numbers of passengers on their way to and from the terminal but cars and trucks carried by the ferries form long lines on the exit road construction yards are in full swing right next to the terminal site building the new Jätkäsaari residential district on land that used to belong to the port’s container harbour “Our largest ongoing task is to develop the West Harbour operations to accommodate the growing volumes,” Mäki says The port has plans for a second terminal to be completed in 2016-2017 added parking and upgrades to the sea channels The harbour development project is a joint effort by the port and the Helsinki City Planning Department “We collaborate closely to integrate the port operations and the rest of the Jätkäsaari district into a functional whole.” The Port of Helsinki took a major leap toward a sustainable future when freight operations were focused in a new and modern port in Vuosaari Today only the freight carried by trucks on the Helsinki-Tallinn and Helsinki-Stockholm ferries passes through the city centre The Vuosaari harbour meets the region’s and some national export and import needs far into the future “Vuosaari could easily handle a bigger share of the national flows including some from northern Finland,” Mäki suggests envisioning an even larger role for the harbour The City of Helsinki has made many efforts to rebuild sections of this cherished but contested heart of Helsinki – with museums including Guggenheim Helsinki The City recently sought new concepts for the area with a city planning competition The exact identity of the South Harbour area remains to be defined but all plans keep the harbour securely in place “The role of the harbour here is understood very well,” Mäki says confirming that the area’s port operations proceed in harmony with their neighbours Value of freight passing through the port 5% of the Helsinki region’s gross domestic product Money left in Helsinki by passengers passing through the port: €348 million A powerful marker of summer in Helsinki is international cruise ships The city hosts hundreds of them over the summer season which carried a total of 368,000 passengers several ships moor at the South and West Harbours allowing their passengers to explore the city The cruise business even features large in Helsinki’s city plans and the development of the West Harbour area Port of Helsinki Managing Director Kimmo Mäki puts the cruise business in perspective He points out that the international passengers carried by all ships to Helsinki left almost 350 million euro in the city last year Less than 30 million of the sum came from cruise passengers “The cruise business is a fine addition to Helsinki’s economy but the real impact comes from our regular passenger traffic,” Mäki affirms the ferries of the Tallink Silja and Viking Lines are approaching the South Harbour on their last leg of the overnight journey from Stockholm and 10 departures and arrivals on the Helsinki-Tallinn route proceed according to their winter-time daily routine << contents Helsinki Info index was a straightforward attempt to build a basic urban vigilante feature and even though it by no means conveyed any sense of originality in narrative or characterization whatsoever Rendel ticked all the trope checklists: witnessing the death of his family turns a common man into an masked avenging angel one-man battles against a powerful criminal empire and the darkened path of violence and vengeance doing a number on the psyche of the protagonist—all the expectations fans of the genre might have had were fulfilled the same cannot be said about its lackluster sequel which fails to convey any cohesive sense of direction from the beginning to the end Leaving aside the problems with the plotline or characterizations the movie cannot even follow and justify a plot point throughout the course of the narrative Aside from the psychologically troubled protagonist character writing is non-existent for the most part and all of this contributes to a farcical production The production problems that led the director to end his filmmaking career are possibly the reason for this haphazard treatment of the sequel The movie begins with a really cool animated sequence as the narrative voice guides viewers through the scenes of Muromachi period Japan wandering loner samurais who served no daimyos the Tsujigiris were the most violent and unpredictable This doomed ronin had a vicious killstreak and the disgraced samurai ended his life by committing seppuku using his katana the one he had used to wreak havoc on the lives of others the katana turned black afterwards as it reflected the sin of its wielder we learn Vala conglomerate chief Christopher Smiley Cox is after this sword—and apparently has a personal connection with it as well It should be mentioned that the katana has been encased inside a stone for safekeeping the movie begins by introducing the sadistic who runs his crime ring using the pharmaceutical company as a front the malpractices of Vala in the form of releasing an untested vaccine with profiteering motives were discovered by Rämö which led to the company targeting him on the suspicion of him being a whistleblower and his wife and daughter paid the ultimate price as a result traumatized Rämö molded himself into the brutal vigilante Rendel to avenge the deaths of his family and eliminate the members of Vala who were responsible for it Mikkeli’s superhero Rendel’s war against Vala continues as he targets the head of the snake who is already pretty riled up against the vigilante for causing major disruptions in his operations.  An unnamed little boy becomes a witness to Smiley’s viciousness as the kingpin murders the entire crew who delivered Kuro Fukushu’s katana to him from Japan Fugu expresses her willingness to take Rendel head-on but deeming the stone-fused katana to be more important by beating the living daylights out of Smiley’s thugs and taking him to the hospital As the kid tries to initiate a conversation with him he sees a reflection of his late daughter in him.  Smiley goes on to punish one of his deserter lackeys in his fighting pit by killing him in combat and later it is revealed that he is forcing his scientists to concoct a resurrection serum to bring his late grandfather back to life used to be a Yakuza boss back in the day and had managed to take complete control over the Japanese underworld by killing leaders of the rival gang the rest of the Yakuza clans gifted him the cursed katana of Kuro Fukushu Edward Cox was obsessed with the idea of immortality Smiley desperately wants to reawaken his grandfather as he feels there is a secret connection Edward shares with the stone-fused katana and he tests experimental serums created by his scientists on a number of hapless victims—to no avail.  Smiley tries to manipulate people’s perceptions by putting the blame for the kid’s traumatic experience on Rendel and pretending to be a guardian figure to the kid to avoid suspicion the kid has forgotten everything he saw that night and barely recognizes Smiley The kingpin also brings the chief of police onto his payroll instructing him to go against Rendel in exchange to use as a test subject for his resurrection serum as he was responsible for Rämö getting fired from his previous job and working as a Vala employee in the first place Kurikka gets killed by Smiley’s scientists only to be resurrected again with the serum sample Smiley decides to kill him for good by drowning him in the waterfront.  From his trusted journalist acquaintance Niina Rendel learns about Kurikka possibly being in danger hoping to report the incident to the police and gives his lair a makeover with the money Rendel had seized from the baddies previously Niina fails to convince the corrupt officer about Smiley’s actions and the fact that they haven’t found Kurikka’s body doesn’t help her case either.  Rendel’s broken psyche constitutes a major part of his character He blames himself for the death of his family and his late daughter’s favorite fantasy heroine becomes his alter ego when he needs to strengthen his resolve Rämö as a person is totally dominated by Rendel’s presence to such an extent that his sense of self has been obliterated.  Niina once again meets Rendel and informs him that Vala’s illegal vaccines are about to make their way back to Finland after already taking over a number of Asian countries Smiley goes to the hospital to pay a visit to the kid (a witness to his crimes) in order to keep the kid from getting riled up mentioning the bond he shared with his grandfather Smiley subdues him and chokes him to death and he has no option but to tearfully mourn the loss of the kid.  Infuriated and filled with a desire to take revenge Rendel gets restless in his lair while awaiting an opportunity to strike at Smiley advising him not to go headfirst into a crisis situation and that he should bide his time Kurikka mentions that Rendel can avenge the death of the child by taking down Smiley when the opportunity arrives Smiley decides to get rid of the snoopy journalist Niina and Huskey manages to lure her into infiltrating the Vala headquarters for a scoop who had installed surveillance systems connected with Rendel’s rig across the city notices Niina walking straight into the lion’s den and warns Rendel about the situation Kurikka goes with Rendel as well to assist him.  who helps him open the stone-encased katana by using his blood Rendel arrives at the nick of time to protect Niina from Smiley’s thugs As Rendel/Marla runs a gauntlet through them and Fugu decides to leave the scene as abruptly as she had appeared Rendel takes cover in a room where a resurrected Edward Cox tries to kill him but as his connection with the serum gets severed the founder of the Vala organization finally breathes his last.  Smiley appears and injects a heavy dose of anesthetic into Rendel’s body As Smiley tries to pry open Rendel’s tar-infused mask and torture him to death inside Rämö’s subconscious and his own personality Smiley reveals that he is aware of the fact that Fugu is a descendant of the legendary ronin Kuro Fukushu who allied herself with Smiley to get a hold of her family heirloom who surround Vala headquarters from outside to capture Rendel and Kurikka manages to distract them for the time being sedated Rendel struggles to hold his ground at first but eventually his Marla personality gains strength and allows him to counter Smiley’s attacks Smiley finally decides to use the cursed katana on Rendel’s mask allowing Rendel an opening as he takes the broken katana to kill Smiley then and there.  is impressed by Rendel’s bravery and strength and Rendel decides to return the broken katana to Catherine and the movie ends with Smiley’s thugs chasing him outside Rendel has successfully avenged the deaths of his family and the poor kid Vala will perish as an organization in no time.  Home » DVD and VOD Release Dates » ‘Rendel: Cycle of Revenge’ VOD and DVD Release Date Revealed The film will be available to buy or rent on digital HD platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, and Google Play Movies & TV on July 9 The DVD release date for ‘Rendel: Cycle of Revenge’ is scheduled for July 30, 2024, and you can pre-order it on Amazon for $15.89 the masked vigilante RENDEL is caught in a cycle of revenge destroying the VALA organization piece by piece VALA’s ruthless leader Christopher “Smiley” Cox is about to release a harmful NH25 vaccine worldwide Rendel gets help on his crusade from investigative journalist Nina who uncovers the dark side of the VALA organization Rendel is also sharing a common goal with a petty hustler allowing the nightmarish Marla to take over leaving Rendel to wonder the difference between a hero and a vigilante when the town he is trying to save turns against him has left a legacy of cruel and ruthless ways in which Smiley keeps the VALA organization under his command They have also long explored the secret of immortality Smiley has partnered in his quest for mythical powers with the mysterious female warrior Fugu A spiral of violence finally awakens the ghosts of the past and forces Rendel to face his demons in a battle against mythical enemies Sophie Williams contributes original content to Maxblizz as a freelancer. Sophie enjoys watching movies and playing video games. Sophie provides up-to-date information on video games and movies.