Posteriority

« Plane and a big blimp at Malmi Airport. A few pictures from the Yokoso! visit to Malmi Airport. »

Last weekend, the Malmi Airport hosted the Yokoso! Airship on it's Helsinki stop while waiting for clearance to fly over Russia on its way to Japan. I wasn't all that motivated to go see a blimp from 100 yards away without there being some Hindenburg action, but they aren't filled with hydrogen anymore so that sort of marshmallow roasting excitement wasn't likely to happen. The airfield itself was far more interesting as it was built in the mid-1930s just as air travel was beginning to become popular and was still glamorous. Charles and Anne Lindbergh flew to Helsinki to help choose a location for the airport although the Malmi location was not their first choice. Long before the anal probe security checkpoints and the cattle class flights, there was legroom and an air of the exotic to flying. As we were leaving, we bumped into a bachelor party who were taking the soon-to-be groom on a flight while equipped with girly goggles and bunny ears. If he survived, I hope the wedding goes well. :)

Malmi Airport is apparently under threat of being replaced with something as dull as suburban housing. Considering that it was built on Tattarisuo swamp, it wouldn't seem very smart to build or buy a house in that area. It's extremely curious and likely politically motivated that in spite of the majority of people polled in the neighbouring community who have expressed a strong interest in preserving the airport and the sheer stupidity of building houses on land that has more in common with a sponge than a rock, that 'progress' continues to threaten the continued survival of the Malmi Airport. While I was looking for geologic studies of the Tattarisuo area I found, A reconnaissance flight: is there a shortage of building land in the Finnish capital region, which has a few short, but illustrative, videos of the airport and surrounding areas [one lighthearted note - 'posteriority' should be 'posterity' since the former might be something related to your butt, your posterior. :)]. There is a petition to show support for saving the airport which I hope will continue to gather signatures but, as a cynic, I think it will take a bit more than signatures to save such a beautiful and quaint piece of history even if it's on the World Monuments Fund Top 100 Most Endangered Sites List. The most wise advice ever given in the face of corruption was uttered by the famed Deep Throat [no, not the porn movie :)], "Follow the money." Find out who has the most to profit from building housing on the land and start from there.

In other news, the Hanasaari Vastavalo photos I mentioned earlier are available. There are more photos of Hanasaari than anyone would likely ever want but I suppose they're more interesting than pictures of food and feet. :)