Kira Poutanen (born 1974) is a Finnish writer, translator and actress. She holds a Master of Philosophy and is currently living in France.
In 2001, Poutanen released her first novel, Ihana meri, which was awarded the Finlandia Junior Prize. The book tells the story of an anorexic girl named Julia and the novel has been translated into Danish, Dutch, Hungarian and Latvian. [1]
Aila Johanna Sinisalo is a Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer. She studied comparative literature and drama, amongst other subjects, at the University of Tampere. Professionally she worked in the advertising business, rising to the level of marketing designer.
Finlandia is a brand of vodka produced in Finland. It is made from barley distilled into a neutral spirit in the village of Koskenkorva in Ilmajoki, operated by Finland's Altia Corporation. The distilled alcohol is then transported to a production facility in the village of Rajamäki in Nurmijärvi, about 45 kilometers north of Helsinki. In Rajamäki, the spirit is blended with glacial water, flavored, and bottled.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the Gundam franchise, Gundam SEED takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has developed into two subspecies: Naturals, who reside on Earth, and Coordinators, genetically enhanced humans capable of amazing feats of intellect who emigrate to man-made orbital colonies to escape persecution by natural humans. The story revolves around a young Coordinator Kira Yamato who becomes involved in the war between the two races after a third, neutral faction's space colony is invaded by the Coordinators.
The Finlandia Prize is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious in the nation, they are awarded annually in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and children's and youth literature. The prize was first awarded in 1984.
Angel Sanctuary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. It was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume from July 1994 to October 2000. It follows Setsuna Mudo, a human teenager who, as the reincarnation of a prominent angel who rebelled against Heaven, becomes entangled in political machinations between the angels and demons. The 120 chapters were collected and published in twenty bound volumes by Hakusensha from February 1995 to February 2001. Titled Coming of the Seraphim in the early stages of its development, Angel Sanctuary was inspired by the Japanese fantasy novel Nocturne and was originally slated to be only ten chapters long, which led Yuki to worry about being able to properly end the story. Angel Sanctuary made cultural references to various mythologies, including Greek and Norse, as well as to real-world people, music, literature, and places.
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is an anime television series, a direct sequel to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the Gundam franchise. It retains most of the staff from Gundam SEED, including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. Set two years after the original Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, the plot follows the new character Shinn Asuka, a soldier from the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, or ZAFT, composed of humans born genetically enhanced labelled as Coordinators. As ZAFT is about to enter into another war against the regular human race, the Naturals, the series focuses on Shinn's as well as various returning characters' involvement in the war. The series spanned 50 episodes, aired in Japan from October 9, 2004, to October 1, 2005, on the Japan News Network television stations Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System.
Death Note is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006, with its chapters collected in 12 tankōbon volumes. The story follows Light Yagami, a genius who discovers a mysterious notebook: the "Death Note", which belonged to the shinigami Ryuk, and grants the user the supernatural ability to kill anyone whose name is written in its pages. The series centers around Light's subsequent attempts to use the Death Note to carry out a worldwide massacre of individuals whom he deems immoral and to create a crime-free society, using the alias of a god-like vigilante named "Kira", and the subsequent efforts of an elite Japanese police task force, led by enigmatic detective L, to apprehend him.
Mars is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fuyumi Soryo. Initially serialized in Bessatsu Friend from 1996 to 2000, the series spans 15 tankōbon volumes. It follows the teenage romance between Kira Aso, an introverted artist, and Rei Kashino, a troubled playboy who is a professional motorcycle racer. A single volume prequel, Mars: A Horse With No Name was released in 1999.
Maija Johanna Vilkkumaa is a Finnish pop rock singer-songwriter. Beginning her musical hobbies playing piano at an age before school, Vilkkumaa studied in high school where she and her friends set up the band Tarharyhmä in 1990, which broke up in 1995. While studying Finnish language at the University of Helsinki, she started to take singing lessons and went on to start her solo career in 1999.
Kiira Linda Katriina Korpi is a Finnish figure skater. She is a three-time European medalist, the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard champion, the 2012 Rostelecom Cup champion, a two-time Cup of China medalist, and a five-time Finnish national champion. She retired from competitive skating in August 2015.
Parker Blair Pennington is an American figure skater. He won silver medals at the 2006 Nebelhorn Trophy and 2007 Finlandia Trophy, three gold medals on the JGP series, and bronze at the 2002 JGP Final. Pennington won U.S. national titles on four levels—junior (2001), novice (1998), intermediate (1996), and juvenile (1995).
Alexander Sergeyevich Uspenski is a Russian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2006 Finlandia Trophy silver medalist and 2004 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist.
Johan Kristoffer Berntsson is a Swedish former competitive figure skater. He is an eight-time Swedish national champion and the five-time Nordic Champion. Berntsson was the first Swede to land a triple Axel.
The Finlandia Trophy is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Since 1995, it is held annually in Finland in Greater Helsinki region, including Helsinki, Vantaa, and Espoo. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. Medals may be awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating, although not every discipline is included every year.
Anna Cappellini is an Italian ice dancer. With partner Luca Lanotte, she is the 2014 World champion, the 2014 European champion, the 2015 Cup of China champion and a thirteen-time medalist on the Grand Prix series, and a seven-time Italian national champion (2012–18).
The Nordic Championships are an annual elite figure skating competition. It was originally open only to representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. However, representatives of any ISU member nation may enter the senior-level event since 2011 and in the junior-level event since 2020. The novice-level competition remains restricted to the Nordic countries. Medals may be awarded on the senior, junior, and novice levels in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing, although the latter two disciplines are often omitted due to lack of entries. Prominent Nordic champions include Olympic champions Gillis Grafström, Magda Julin, and Ludowika Jakobsson-Eilers / Walter Jakobsson.
Akiko Suzuki is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2012 World Championships bronze medalist, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalist, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist, the 2007 Winter Universiade champion, and the 2013 Japanese national champion. She placed eighth at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Sofi-Elina Oksanen is a Finnish writer and playwright. Oksanen has published six novels, of which "Purge" has gained the widest recognition. She has received several international and domestic awards for her literary work. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than two million copies. Oksanen has been called "Finnish-Estonian Charles Dickens" and her work has often been compared to Margaret Atwood's novels. Oksanen is actively involved in public debate in Finland and comments on current issues in her columns and various talk shows.
Finnish national symbols are natural symbols or Finnish national works and prominent figures that are commonly associated with Finland. The most recognized national symbols include the flag of Finland and the lion featured on the Finnish coat of arms.