Tolkien and the Finns/Elves

Kaaos's bulletin of a poem or song with a Finnish title (I believe it means "temporary":

Väliaikainen
	Nothing lasts forever not this day, not tomorrow everything is temporary my friend Nothing lasts forever not my love, not my life everything comes to an end my friend Nothing lasts forever not tears, not sorrow even friendship comes to an end my friend

led me to thinking about Finnish, which reminded me of Tolkien, because Finnish was a large influence on his development of the Elvish languages.  A little googling brought up this article, which touches on the Finnish Runesingers, Tolkien, and the Kalevala:

The Kalevala "is fundamentally a story of a sacred object which has power, and the pursuit of the mythic heroes who seek that power, to seek a way of understanding what that power means." Väinämöinen is a wise old man with a long gray beard who has magical powers. He must destroy a forged magical mill called the "Sampo." The bearer of the Sampo is given great wealth but becomes greedy. Therefore, for the good of everyone, the Sampo must be destroyed. If you've seen the latest Ring Trilogy movies or read the books, this should sound very familiar. Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings, is a wise old man with a long gray beard (Väinämöinen!) who has magical powers. He must destroy the forged object of power, a ring, for the good of everyone. Whether through the Kalevala or the Ring Trilogy, it is gratifying to know that the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, so sorely needed in today's world, is being passed down to today's generation.

For the link to the National Geographic special, you'll have to click to the original article, which is worth reading anyway.   What, you want me to do everything for you?