This Is Why Wisconsin Elections Are So Crazy

These are our delegates.

A Clinton delegate from Wisconsin is now behind McCain, according to the Journal-Sentinel.

Btw: Normal service will be resumed on Monday.

Broken News

If you are a regular watcher of New York news, then you know that a crane collapsed (again) on the Upper East Side.

Sadly with one dead and two injured.

That's the whole story.

So how come the local news channels have gone wall-to-wall with coverage since the accident occurred?

I would understand if it was a story that is continuously developing, but there really can be no further developments. Bloomie has registered his Napoleonic rage, Patterson registered his own measured thoughts, and that should've been all until 5 PM.

What has been filling in the time since then?

• Assorted Upper East Siders saying variations of "I knew this was going to happen" and "It was like an earthquake."
• Street closures and bus re-routing information.
• Reporters repeating the above.

Without a doubt, there is a story here, but it will take days, weeks, and months to really find out what exactly could've prevented it.

So why are the newsrooms treading the same water? I have no clue.

That Lawsuit

I understand the appeal of wanting to right the wrongs after "a dream vacation" got off to a bad start.

I understand the desire to supposedly make a statement against poor airline service.

Yet, I do not understand the point behind suing for much more than you are out-of-pocket for.

That is greed, full stop.

You are not making a statement, you are purely being greedy.

It also begs the question of how much value do you place on the vacation rather than the people you travel with.

There's Something Kind of Patronising Going On Here

As Suzanne Sugarbaker said on Designing Women: "Anytime someone says they want to see the real something, they mean hanging out with a bunch of poor people."

Apparently, that is the case in Rio. 

If it was held by the community, then I'd think it was good, but the idea of having drug-run and militia-protected parties in the middle of the slums where any supposed protest aspect of the music is lost by perpetuating the same cycle of exploitation. 

Granted there seem to be exceptions, but as with many things in life, it's all about the money trail.

Eurovision 2008: The 3rd Hikaruland Post-Show

Well...he won, and I won't get into a geopolitical analysis, because that is just opening up Pandora's box.

Norway had a good song, but did running order help it to 5th?

Onto the post-show fun!



Surprising news: Sweden was saved by the jury vote on Thursday! Macedonia was 10th. Poland got the jury save on Tuesday. Russia came in 3rd on Tuesday, while Portugal came in 2nd on Thursday. There's some grist for the mill.

Eurovision 2008 The Final: I Have No Idea

The recap is playing right now, and I seriously have no idea who could win.

Some observations:

• Thank god, there was little of Boris & Natasha, unfortunately we were burdened with this blonde woman in "the" Belgrade's city centre who quite honestly added nothing to it, except to my lingering suspicion that Serbian schools are failing in teaching English grammar.
• I kind of like Sebastien's "up yours" presentation; that said, those camera shots were woeful. What exactly was he drinking, or was he inhaling helium?
• I'm tempted to think Kristina & Bane had a kilo before they appeared in the green room. They were that manic. If you were watching Wogan, I would love to hear what he thought.
• No Angels were not as horrible as the previews suggested, but they looked like drag queens.
• For someone whose native language is English, Isis Gee had atrocious pronunciation, ergo, Kalomira gets the honour of being the "unofficial" US entry.
• Kalomira was actually more polished than in the semi.
• Georgia was good but cloying as hell. (WE GET THE POINT, hippies!)
• Andy did well.
• If I really had to put it down to battle for top 3: Ukraine, Greece, and Iceland, with Russia, Portugal, Bosnia, and Turkey as dark horses. (In other words, any of those 7 could win this.)
• As I type, Jovana just hyped the website by saying "I hope people are writing nice things about us." Oh, if she only knew.
• marija lang has morphed from shy into Lea DeLaria.
• Goran Bregovic is about the only decent interval this week.
• Everytime they cut to Ani Lorak in the green room, she seems to want to say "GIVE ME THE DAMN TROPHY ALREADY!"
• I bet we have a winner on countback this year.
• I miss Beatriz, Uribarri isn't bitchy.
• I don't think RTS's presentation of Eurovision has done Serbian tourism any favours, but they haven't been hurt badly either.

And now onto the voting.

Is this Carravision?

I'm watching the TVE pre-show, which is always a bit of an interesting animal, as it is fascinating how TVE can easily fill up 2+ hours of television with what is part-pep rally and part-Spanish Eurovision retrospective. (And they manage to do another version of this for an hour after the contest wraps up!)

Given the way that Raffaela Carra' is swanning about the show, you'd think they've asked her to perform next year.

Seriously, this show is 50% Raffaela, 50% Rodolfo, and it's only 50% Rodolfo because Raffaela keeps on mentioning him. (Everyone else just keeps on heaping praise on Raffaela--I don't know why, she's not doing anything that spectacular beyond acting like the camp diva that she is.)

Don't get me wrong, this is rather funny and enjoyable television, but it is rather interesting how TVE has turned the pre-show into all about Carra. That said, I still miss "Don't-Fuck-Me-With-Fellas" Paula, batshit crazy Patty, and Carlos "I'll sleep with anything with two legs" Lozano. La Carra doesn't quite reach those heights in my book.

For those who are watching this:

• Even though that Pitingo twink butchered "Killing Me Softly," I reckon TVE is hunting him down to represent them as well.
• If I have to see that damn dance one more time...! They are just repeating it constantly and I'm surprised La Carra hasn't gone postal yet.
• Who's this Alaska woman? Is she even a woman?

Eurovision 2008: The 2nd Hikaruland Post-Show

Honestly, could we please do a switch between the hosts? I don't think I can hack Z&J (who are unintentionally coming across as Boris & Natasha) for one more show.

That said, congrats Portugal, Turkey, and Ukraine, now will one of you (or France, Spain, or the UK) please ensure that Dimaland doesn't win this.

All that and more in the medicated craziness that is the 2nd ESC 2008 Post-Show.



PS> Bulgaria & Malta got screwed. Switzerland...not so much. (Did they think it was 1980?)

Kalomira is Lindsay Lohan

TVE is not airing the 2nd semi-final, and--to be very honest--I'm on too many pills to focus in on a streaming broadcast.  Plus, it's still season finale week. 

Speaking of which, Lindsay Lohan is on tonight's Ugly Betty season finale.

Question of the day: have Kalomira & Lindsay Lohan been seen in the same place at the same time? I doubt it. That raspy voice isn't that ubiquitous!

(By the way, get some rest, girl. You sound like you've been up--chemically--for 2 days straight.)

Video courtesy of esctoday.com

When in doubt, blame television

Dear Lisa,

Of course, Sex & The City turned you into a cigarette-smoking slut at 14. 

Not the fact that you were an easily impressionable woman incapable of independent thought.

I mean, why else would you join that bastion of individualism, the Mormon church?

Signed,

Delusion

Wednesday Jukebox Wonders Where That Itch Came From

Kalomira's performance at last night's Semi final in Belgrade. She's all Disney-esque until the dance break...

eurovision GREECE 2008 - Kalomira - Secret Combination
Uploaded by jief75

That's straight up LI hoochie those moves.

I wonder what the logic was behind this...

Eurovision.tv had the first semi-final artists say their thoughts immediately after performing.

Uh-oh.






My thoughts on the artists: Dima Bilan is still a twat (albeit with improved English skills), Rebeka is Slovenia's answer to Bette Midler or Sandra Bernhardt (get her a show on tv now), Andy Kaufman isn't really dead--in fact he's hiding right out in the open as this year's Bosnian entry, The Belgians were delusional --and it's funny, The San Marinese were delusional--and it's kind of sad, and Isis Gee can go all pious as she'd like, but she still looks like she's dressed for the Playboy Mansion.

Eurovision 2008: The 1st Hikaruland Post-show

First and foremost, I'm recovering from surgery (was intubated--or whatever the term is for having tubes down the throat, ergo the hoarse voice).

Secondly, Kalomira skanked up that song!! If there's one thing we Americans do well, it's knowing how to shake it in order to sell it.

Thirdly, Dima Bilan shirtless...oddly unimpressive.

All this and more in the first Eurovision 2008 post-show. (Conveniently in two parts because I forgot about Andorra--apparently so did the voting public--and Azerbaijan).

Happy Eurovision Week

Yes, it's this week.

TVE Internacional doesn't appear to be showing any of the semis, but I will remain optimistic. (I used to watch this on a computer, and I can tell you, it is no fun at all unless you're an optometrist.)

A bit of a change this year, I will be doing a vlog pre-show and post-show instead of live blogging.

Now to kickstart Eurosong Week, here are three of the Big 4: Spain, France, and the UK. Surprisingly, Germany is the weak link in this year's Big 4.

I've said my reservations about Spain, but there is an odd comedic appeal there.



I like M. Tellier, he looks like he just stepped off a ELO video shoot circa 1980, and dammit if the song doesn't make you stop and ponder "what exactly does he mean by 'chivers'?"



And finally, Andy Abraham seems to be strong vocally and the stage is apropos for a funk song, but they've got to: a) lose the pyros, and b) get some different shots, the man is an engaging performer. Use it!

Marriage in California

Quite frankly...Wow.

Freeman Endorses Shrugged Shoulders

Edwards Endorses Obama

The question remains, does he endorse the cult or the man?

A Tale of 50 Nations and 6 Federal Colonies

Some food for thought during this election-mad year.

Fun debate of the day: Was George Washington the real first president of the United States?

Not quite.

George Washington was the first president under the present 1787 Constitution. The honour of being the actual first president of the United States falls to John Hanson, at least according to Washington as well as Thomas Jefferson, but even they got it wrong, according to some.

Say what?

Well, there's a few little gaps in US History as it is taught in many schools:

• 1776: The signing of the Declaration of Independence.
• 1777: The drafting of the Articles of Confederation.
• 1781: The final ratification of the Articles of Confederation.
• 1787: The ratifying of the Constitution
• 1789: George Washington elected as president.

So who was president from 1776 to 1789? Turns out there were a slew of presidents before Washington came into power, and if you include pre-Declaration of Independence days, they stretch all the way back to 1754.

If you just include post-Declaration days, the first president of the United States (meaning the person in charge on July 4, 1776) was...John Hancock! (Although he himself was only the 2nd President of the 2nd Continental Congress.)

Several more present day fun facts to win a round of Trivial Pursuit :

• Who was the president when the United States hit its present border (meaning Puerto Rico all the way to Guam)? Not William McKinley, who was president when the US took over Cuba, Guam and The Philippines (since Cuba & The Philippines are now independent and have been so since 1902 and 1946 respectively); Not Jimmy Carter, who was president when the Panama Canal Zone was dissolved, but Bill Clinton, who was president when The Trust Territory of the Pacific ceased to exist. (Even so, you could argue that as a UN trusteeship, the Trust Territories weren't really a part of the United States, but the Compact of Free Association still binds them to the US.)
• Have DC residents been able to participate in national elections since inception? No. DC residents have only had the right to vote since 1961 (Thank you, 23rd Amendment!). Residents of Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands cannot vote in national elections, however, residents of some US territories and commonwealths can be drafted and pay some federal taxes that other US citizens pay as well.
• Which US Territory's residents aren't US Citizens? American Samoa. Although they do send a representative to the House of Representatives, American Samoans have to apply for actual US citizenship.
• Which US Territory or Commonwealth doesn't have any representation (voting or non-voting) at all in Congress? The Northern Mariana Islands. (Interestingly, with the exception of Puerto Rico, all of the Commonwealth/Territory members of the House are Democrats. The Representative from Puerto Rico caucuses with the Republicans.)

Truly, the US is more like a collection of 50 nations and 6 federal colonies (9 if you include the COFA nations) than one country with equal rights for all.

Eurovision 2008: Rehearsals of the Day

(Although Russia actually performed yesterday.) It looks like the stagers for Dimaland have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at it. A skating rink? A skating rink?

 

Now onto rehearsals that actually happened today. 

Turkey looks less menacing (drat!), but vocally even better. Still it is just the first rehearsal, so tweaks are likely to happen.

Miss Lorak looks like she's prepared to take everyone out.

By the way, Finland rehearsed yesterday. Apparently they plan to perform bare-chested. This leads to a rather interesting interpretation of the lyrics. If that wasn't reason enough to like Teräsbetoni, they are also rather bitchy about Lordi.

The First Bosnian Rehearsal

I can best describe this as Four Brides for One Brother and his deranged "sister?" or one three minute long epileptic fit.

Eurovision.tv has a Youtube channel. Makes a lot of sense, frankly.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Belgrade

And I don't just mean because Serbia just went through a nasty election, just like we're prepping to do.

No, I mean that it is Eurovision time. 

Eurovision in Serbia, but I reckon this is not quite the old international pariah Serbia, but rather one in transition (especially if the elections are an indicator). If they're willing to forgive us the bombing of the Chinese embassy, as well as send a lesbian as their representative last year (who proceeded to win the whole thing), then I'm going to make nice and build a new rapport.

Since I'm not going (after all the travelling I've been through, I'd like to not live out a suitcase for a few weeks), any coverage on here will be gleamed from online or via TVE internacional. 

For more day to day coverage with a funny, sharp, fans' POV, take a gander at All Kinds of Everything and OnEurope, both of which are blogging the controlled chaos of the rehearsal period.