Article from the Guardian

Good article from the guardian about how stags aren't really that much of a problem in Tallinn.

Playboy Arrives in Estonia.

Anyone who has been in Tallinn recently will probably know that Estonia now has its very own Playboy. There has been an amazing amount of publicity, including glitzy launch parties, TV stories and billboards placed all over town, as seen below. You'll also notice the rubbish bin on the pole on the left, featuring the rabbit logo.
However I'm guessing that someone is very anti Playboy, as they have been slicing up all of the rabbit logos, with the following results! I noticed today that this advertisement has been replaced and the defaced again, so it seems like it is a concerted campaign!


It really made me wonder, who was it who has been sneaking around cutting up Playboy ads? Religious fanatics, rival magazine publishers, the model's ashamed mothers?????
Well whoever it was, their campaign did not stop me exercising my market driven choice, and I headed down to Stockmann (the big department store just down the road) to make my purchase. Of course I only bought it for the articles... Well that excuse kind of falls flat when they're all in Estonian!!!!
All in all the magazine seemed better than I had expected. I would have read a fair few of the articles if they were in English. It seems a bit more like FHM/Ralph than Playboy, though the girls are topless.
In the end though I must confess, at the risk of being seen as a nerd, there are more interesting magazines out there that will win the opportunity cost battle for my hard earned Kroon.
Thanks to Sirli who indulged my weired sense of humour to take pictures of her boyfriend posing with Playboy!

Roof Top Hostel

I enjoyed a few beers the other night on the roof of the Hostel With No Name thanks to Aussie boy Jonathan. This isn't some sort of roof top bar, we just sat and drank stubbies on top of the pitched roof! The attraction was the view, as the hostel is smack bang in the middle of the old town, right next to the town hall square.

St Nicholas Church from the hostel roof

Town Hall, Town Hall Square bottom left

Weather

Yesterday was a disgusting windy day here in Tallinn. Walking down the street today I saw this, and could just imagine the situation when it happened to some poor sod walking down the street.

Anticipate Your Expectations

This poster is on the ferry going to Saremaa, Estonia's biggest Island. I thought that the marketing slogan for this hotel has to be the worst in the world. "Anticipate your expectations"... How can you not anticipate what you are expecting?????!!!

Keep Chickens Under Control

Here's some more graffiti I found on a wall in the old Town on Friday. It's fairly odd! The writing underneath means something like Keep Chickens Under Control. It's a play on words from Keep your hometown tidy (Hoia kodulinn puhas), the slogan which can be found on rubbish bins in Tallinn. In Estonian Kodulind = home bird = chicken.
I've got no idea what the political message behind this one is, makes you think though!



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Now playing: Hard-Fi - Suburban Knights
via FoxyTunes

More Videos for my Website

I've been using Animoto to make small slide-show videos for my website. I figure I might as well post them her as well! I highly recommend Animoto, it's really easy to use and I think it produces some pretty good results.


Estonian Manor House Tour



Communist Estonia Tour

Grand Final

Early Saturday morning I went pulled myself out of bed to head down to Nimeta Bar in Tallinn's Old Town to watch the AFL Grand Final. I wore a Geelong jumper to show my support for the Cats, but also wore a Richmond scarf, just to let everyone know that I'm really a Tigers fan deep down. The pub was full of Cats fans, and obviously the mood was very positive!!! It's the one week of the year in Estonia where it's legitimate to start drinking at 8.30!