World Hum | Travel | Conan O’Brien: “Once I Conquer Finland, I’ll Head South Through the Baltics and On To Belarus”

Travel dispatches from a shrinking planet

World Hum’s Most Read: Aug. 2-8

What We Loved This Week: Paul Theroux, the Bombay Club and Summer in Chicago

World’s Longest Yard Sale: 654 Miles of Bargains From Ohio to Alabama

Inside the ‘Cuisines of the Axis of Evil’

J. Maarten Troost: Enduring Pollution and Reptile-Laden Lunches in China For Our Benefit

David Farley chats with the author of “Lost on Planet China” about the Olympic Games, Tibet and eating not-so-well in the Middle Kingdom

‘The Monster of Florence’: Murder and the Pursuit of Truth

Douglas Preston’s latest book, the true story of a serial killer in Italy, shows that the world is far from exhausted for those who want to travel deep. Frank Bures tells why.

My Travels, My Feet

After taking one too many headless torso shots of herself, solo traveler Sophia Dembling started snapping photos of her feet around the world, from the Grand Canyon to Red Square

Affairs to Remember—On-Screen and Off

From “Roman Holiday” to “Before Sunrise,” Hollywood has understood the appeal of the overseas fling. Eva Holland explains the staying power of the big screen Euro-romance.

Seven Reasons to Have a Foreign Fling

Sure, having an overseas romance is fun. But Terry Ward points out seven other benefits to cross-border love, mon petit chou.

As a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

Break Bread and Brie in France

Great cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation’s famed fromage with savoir faire.

TRAVEL BLOG

2.9.06

Conan O’Brien: “Once I Conquer Finland, I’ll Head South Through the Baltics and On To Belarus”

I’m betting that Conan O’Brien’s visit to Finland next week will prove to be some of the best travel television programming of the year. Or at least the most amusing. The host of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” will broadcast all week from the country and even meet with newly-elected president Tarja Halonen, whose candidacy O’Brien had endorsed based in large part on their resemblance.

Some Finns had expressed concern that O’Brien, whose show is broadcast five days a week on Finnish cable channel SUBTV, was unduly influencing the election. But others thought it was a good development—for U.S. residents. “I think it’s quite funny,” Mia Myllymaki, a 28-year-old elementary school teacher, told the AP last month. “Of course we are proud that Conan O’Brien talks about Finland and Finnish people...People in the USA don’t even know where Finland is, so maybe it helps if he talks about it.”

Posted by Michael Yessis • 2.9.06
Categories: Weblog • Finland

Permalink • Comments (3)

COMMENTS

I’m French but I live in Finland. Yeah, Conan O’Brien is very popular here, I watch the show sometimes and it’s indeed very funny even if you’re not Finnish. I think it could be succesful in other parts of the world if it was broadcast elsewhere, yep, even in France. The show is funnier than other US comedy programs we get on the cable such as SNL and Mad TV, Conan’s humour is perhaps more international !

By sanjuro on 2.9.06 at 12:12 PM

i remember watching cover the Olympics in Sydney (picture him in huge sunglasses and safari shorts, holding a huge microphone). Even in the US, he wasn’t that popular back then (still isn’t), and he was making of fun of the fact that not a single person in Sydney knew who we was.

Then, lo and behold, along came a group of drunk 14 year old Austrialian boys, who exclaimed “OH MY GOD, IT’S CONAN O’BRIEN!!”. Turns out they watched him on some cable channel, and he was a kind of cult favorite in Australia. So yeah, I could see how he would have international appeal..

By on 2.10.06 at 08:57 PM

I like Conan a lot, and I’m a 20 year old man.

By on 8.23.06 at 05:04 PM