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EESTI ELU reedel, 20. augustil 2021 — Friday, August 20, 2021
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Employment opportunity The Estonian Foundation of Canada seeks an OFFICE AND MARKETING MANAGER who will lead marketing, communications and community/donor relations for this national charity. The successful candidate will manage the Foundation’s office and oversee and lead the funding applications program (as directed by the Board), create and manage fundraising and community awareness campaigns, and ideally plan and write content for platforms such as the EFC website and community news outlets.
Video still from ITN News.
“Ughh, sääsed!”: The summertime menace Vincent Teetsov It’s an unmistakably Estonian summer experience. You’re sitting around the fire as the sun lowers in the sky, and just as you remark on how lovely the scene is, the six-legged monsters move in. It starts with one. It bites the back of your neck without so much as a “palun” (“please”) or a “kas ma võin teiega õhtusöögile tulla?” (“may I join you for dinner?”). No, these beings are sly. They land quietly on your skin and poke through with their proboscis without you even noticing. Then their pals stop by, based on the recommenda tion of the last visitor. News spreads fast about good blood. Then another person around the fire gets a bite. “Ughh, sääsed!” they grumble. Some one will likely talk about how these insects go most of all for the host with the sweetest-tasting blood. Or the youngest, depend ing on what fable you’ve heard. Pretty soon, everyone is getting bitten, except for your dapper friend wearing the impenetrable denim of a Canadian tuxedo, along with that enigmatic indi vidual who never seems to get bitten at all. Note that I called them sääsed. Once you get acquaint ed with that Estonian word, saying “mosquitoes” will some how never compare. “Mosqui toes” are bumbling and not so culpable for their actions. But sääsed (or a solitary sääsk), are devious, conniving, tempes tuous. Yes, they are the same thing, technically. Yet, the Estonian word conveys some thing more bitter. We may question why on Earth these insects exist. What justifiable purpose do they serve? The truth is, sääsed are food for dragonflies, frogs, fish, birds, bats, and more. In addi tion, they are, like tens of thousands of other insects, pollinators, assisting in the re productive systems of plant life. The reason they consume human blood is to help with their own reproduction. To be clear, female mosquitoes are the only ones who consume blood, in addition to nectar. Males consume nectar primarily. Every meal of blood is a source of iron and protein to enable the
growth of eggs. The amount consumed varies from species to species, between 1 and 10 microlitres. Furthermore, differ ent variations of mosquitoes will have preferred hosts, but are capable of deviating if necessary. Humans are just one possible host among other mammals, as well as birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Knowing their purpose, are we wrong to swat at them with brute force during the depths of summer? There certainly are an overwhelming number of them. And they wreak havoc on people’s health, especially in subtropical or tropical regions of the world. The Anopheles genus, whose bites don’t swell up and are inaudible when they fly, can carry malaria. The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albo pictus specieses can carry dengue fever. West Nile virus is transmitted by the Culex genus. In the vicinity of Jõekääru Estonian Children’s camp, over zealous mosquitoes have even warranted an ongoing Mosquito Control Program in recent years. Across the Pefferlaw River floodplain, the Town of Georgina has used an insecti cide called Bacillus thuringien sis israelensis (Bti) to deal with the sääsed. The town has explained that Bti specifically targets the larvae of “dipteran insects such as mosquitoes and black flies” and nothing else. On the other hand, there are types that don’t pose a threat. In April 2015, Estonian scientists discovered a new species of mosquito named Neuratelia salmelai. Olavi Kurina, an entomologist from the Estonian University of Life Sciences, says that the species is “not harmful to people, it’s larvae eat fungus.” In 2010, a mosquito catching competition was organized by Triinu Akkermann in Tartu. The competition’s objective was to catch as many mosquitoes, alive or dead, in a plot of grassy land, over 10 minutes and place them in a container. Individuals or teams of up to three were permitted to compete. The win ner, Rauno Luksepp, caught 38 mosquitoes and won a trip to Lake Peipus. This was the first competition of its kind in Estonia, but similar events have taken place in Finland back in the 90s. In 2016, Kristoffer
The applicant must have excellent project management skills, good writing and communication skills, as well as a basic understanding of Estonian. Familiarity with the Estonian community in Canada would be an asset. This position can provide flexible hours and could evolve in future. We are interested in hearing from you if you have most of these skills or willing to learn. Com pensation commensurate with experience. Please apply with resume to new email: estonianfoundationpresident@gmail.com Estonian Foundation of Canada is a registered charity that supports Estonian cultural and heritage initiatives across Canada.
Musical sustenance In these trying times, confined to one’s house and property except for essential trips, the slender one has been enjoying the company of gifted musi cians more than perhaps ever before. And that is saying something. From sheer lazi ness the majority of back ground aural pleasure is delivered by our national broadcaster, CBC radio. Following their programming example gave the slimster an idea. You see, mornings are classi cal, actually up to 3 P.M. Then the incomparable Rich Terfry, a Haligonian rapper who per formed under the stage name of Buck 65 (if the lean machine ever rapped it’d be under the name of “dritset kopeck”, or thirty russkie pennies) hosts Drive, an eclectic blend of popular music, enhanced by interesting stories. And then in the evenings, on weekends at least, there is jazz. So the thought came up. Why not dig into the CD col lection, and set up a solely Estonian musical menu? In the morning, for breakfast, classical. For lunch, popular. And after the evening meal, when in order to
keep the body shape in fighting trim, a perambulation and then jazz, listening to all supine on the couch. One does get tired of virtual communication, Zooming as we do. Mõeldud, tehtud (Done). The early part of the day was filled by CDs from Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Lepo Sumera as com posers, and from the wonderful conductor Anu Tali. A break was needed, and taken. Intense, some of our classical music. Soothing, stirring, at times, as Pärt can be with his mysterious tintinnabulation. The afternoon saw some cheating. More than half of the massive iTunes collection is Estonian, played on random scramble selection from the venerable Mac. So Ott Lepland, Kolumbus Kris, Tõnu Raadik, Jaan Tätte, Zetod, Tõnis Mägi, Bonzo, others had a 50% plus chance of being heard. OK, a few Tony Bennett songs inter rupted (hey, don’t mock the toothpick – Bennett may be 95 and have, alas, Alzheimers today, but in the past, could the man ever croon, following the example of those other famous Italian-American predecessors). And just like radio, some Great Big Sea, John Prine, Mumford & Sons, Nick Drake, Buddy Guy, Warren Zevon. But aver ages and statistics do not lie. More quality esto rock and pop
Ekersund won the equivalent of almost $1,500 CAD in a world championship held in Över torneå, Sweden. In 15 minutes, he nabbed 135 mosquitoes. A few hundred sääsed doesn’t make much of a difference, but the fact that this is an interna tional trend shows that mosqui toes have a lot of diplomatic work to do with Nordic countries. If you’re not into competitive sports, you can still make your outdoor experience at dusk or dawn much more pleasant by applying these verified tech niques. Forget anything you’ve ever heard about “sweet” blood attracting sääsed. This is a myth. However, wearing sweetscented perfumes or using similarly fragrant hair and skin
products can attract them. If you’ve been doing strenuous exercise, cool off a bit before heading outside: sääsed are drawn to the warmth emitted from bodies. Sääsed stay away from light coloured clothing like beige and white. This could be an exten sion of their sensitivity to light ness and darkness, such that they avoid intense sunlight during the day. Hues like bright orange, red, or pink will lure them in, as will dark clothing. Mosquitoes lay eggs around standing water, so avoid bogs and ponds. Of course, insect repellent is also effective. However, if you’re going for the big prize in a säsk catching contest, then go ahead and ignore all of those tips.
reached the aural passages than from elsewhere. Post-dinner digestion, exer cise completed, it was back to the CDs. Raul Vaigla, perhaps Estonia’s greatest jazz bassist, was a no-brainer. Riho Sibul and the Estonian Dream Big Band. Their work is classic. Toomas Rull. Tanel Ruben’s recording with the sultry one name chanteuse Victoria. And for good measure, Rondellus’ Gregorian chant-style yet oddly jazzy covers of Black Sabbath hits, sung in Latin. Called Sabbatum, this recording must be heard, purchased, if still available. A most enjoyable musical day. The desire by any fan of quality music, no matter the genre, is to play radio disc jock ey. This was achieved, the menu and sustenance was satisfying, even more so the challenge of winnowing what to play. And in what order. For the slimster there are more choices when CBC does not deliver. For instance the rap show, from everywhere, not just Canada, is less than satisfying. Even Odario Williams’ “After Dark” show on CBC Radio 2, having replaced the wonderful Laurie Brown’s show “The Signal,” which aired contem porary music in all its forms for the musically curious, plays some questionable cuts. But in general, Williams delivers on soul and soothing “night time is the right time” tunes that are not played on mainstream popu lar stations. Hence, after 9 P.M. a good choice on your radio. But returning to Estonian – there is another day of possi bilities. Folk for breakfast. War refugee, expat for lunch. The two Kopvillems, for example. Winding up with choral choices in the still of night. Sure to satisfy tired old ears, and a recommended approach for those who are getting squirrely in isolation. (And let us not forget YouTube on the third day of such programming. One great cut just leads to another). The world of sug music is most definitely a mental health saviour. The lean one urges those feeling lonesome these days to follow the above advice. OTEPÄÄ SLIM
