Sunday, May 30, 2010
Eurovision & Gay
For the uninitiated, Eurovision is something the generations of the 1970s and 1980s grew up with as a must-see event. It was one of the biggest talking points of the year. In the UK, families nationwide would stay glued to their TV sets as bands like Abba, Buck’s Fizz and Brotherhood Of Man became household names overnight and went on to forge successful pop careers.
Of course not all bands proved quite as successful. In fact most of them, including the winners, were generally quite shocking. Indeed they still are – which is why the popularity of Eurovision has waned. The music moved on but the contest didn’t. The novelty of the format and the voting system, where countries that hated each other wouldn’t vote for each other, made the whole affair a bit of a laughing stock.
But then as the show morphed from serious national singing competition into car crash TV it earned itself a cult audience. For viewers of a particular, erm, bent, the camp costumes, dated acts and the utter lack of self-regard of the singers involved made the show a hit.
The BBC have recognised the pink pound demographic by recruiting gay funny man Graham Norton (pic. 1) to host a show now adored by students, schoolgirls and gay men, who will be attending Eurovision parties throughout the UK and getting almost as pissed as the acts appear to be when embarrassing themselves on stage.
In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the Eurovision Song Contest, in a show to be called Your Country Needs You.
On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Terry Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.
Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. The Guardian noted his comments on Iceland's entry (pic 2), which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers (pic 3), who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor". The Times noted his highlighting of the arrest of thirty gay rights protesters in Moscow - "heavy-handed policing has really marred what has been a fantastic Eurovision". His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania (pic 4). She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before a young performer from Albania was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. There was even a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures.
The gay Paul Henri de Leeuw (pic 5) (born March 26, 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.
Paul de Leeuw is establishing himself since mid-1990s as a supporter of the Eurovision Song Contest. He presented the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2007. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, he presented on behalf of the Netherlands, the Dutch points. The intention was that he simply the presenters, artists, and fans would thank, and then he would call the points. However, instead Paul was trying, during the live broadcast, to give his mobile phone number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas. He also made other remarks that the presentation of the Dutch made points, took significantly longer. Paul has referred also to the gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and co-host Maria Menounos (pic 6) made him think of Will & Grace. Since all of these events in a live-broadcast, and a further contribution of Paul were necessary for the progress of the show, he could not be truncated.
This action caused a lot of negative reactions of many a commentator, including BBC commentator Terry Wogan, that called him a "idiot".
He should, despite the criticisms of last year, in 2007 the points out at the Eurovision Song Contest. Terry Wogan said when it was the turn of the Netherlands to the points and saw Paul on the screen: the Netherlands were evicted in the semi finals, and this man might be the reason why.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was won by Germany.
The 19-year-old, German Lena Meyer-Landrut from Hanover won with her song Satellite and got 246 points. It left the other 24 countries in the last round of the contest, far behind. Turkey was Second with 170 points and third Romania with 162 points. Fourth, the Danes ended with 149 points. Azerbaijan got with 145 points, on the fifth place.
The favorites were disappointing. Norway ended in the lower echelons, and Israel. Also Iceland was less than expected. Spain was not great in spite of the fact that they occur twice because a man earlier on Saturday evening the act impaired. She was previously a favorite. That is remarkable, as Lena has no vocals or stage experiments and her English, the language in which she is singing the song, is bad. According to a British journalist, sounds as "an Australian farmer in the outback".
Lena is the second German who wins the contest, after Nicole Seibert, with Ein bisschen Frieden was first in 1982. The 56th Eurovision song contest will now be in Germany next year.
Of course not all bands proved quite as successful. In fact most of them, including the winners, were generally quite shocking. Indeed they still are – which is why the popularity of Eurovision has waned. The music moved on but the contest didn’t. The novelty of the format and the voting system, where countries that hated each other wouldn’t vote for each other, made the whole affair a bit of a laughing stock.
But then as the show morphed from serious national singing competition into car crash TV it earned itself a cult audience. For viewers of a particular, erm, bent, the camp costumes, dated acts and the utter lack of self-regard of the singers involved made the show a hit.
The BBC have recognised the pink pound demographic by recruiting gay funny man Graham Norton (pic. 1) to host a show now adored by students, schoolgirls and gay men, who will be attending Eurovision parties throughout the UK and getting almost as pissed as the acts appear to be when embarrassing themselves on stage.
In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the Eurovision Song Contest, in a show to be called Your Country Needs You.
On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Terry Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.
Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. The Guardian noted his comments on Iceland's entry (pic 2), which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers (pic 3), who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor". The Times noted his highlighting of the arrest of thirty gay rights protesters in Moscow - "heavy-handed policing has really marred what has been a fantastic Eurovision". His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania (pic 4). She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before a young performer from Albania was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. There was even a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures.
Paul de Leeuw is establishing himself since mid-1990s as a supporter of the Eurovision Song Contest. He presented the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2007. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, he presented on behalf of the Netherlands, the Dutch points. The intention was that he simply the presenters, artists, and fans would thank, and then he would call the points. However, instead Paul was trying, during the live broadcast, to give his mobile phone number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas. He also made other remarks that the presentation of the Dutch made points, took significantly longer. Paul has referred also to the gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and co-host Maria Menounos (pic 6) made him think of Will & Grace. Since all of these events in a live-broadcast, and a further contribution of Paul were necessary for the progress of the show, he could not be truncated.
He should, despite the criticisms of last year, in 2007 the points out at the Eurovision Song Contest. Terry Wogan said when it was the turn of the Netherlands to the points and saw Paul on the screen: the Netherlands were evicted in the semi finals, and this man might be the reason why.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was won by Germany.
The 19-year-old, German Lena Meyer-Landrut from Hanover won with her song Satellite and got 246 points. It left the other 24 countries in the last round of the contest, far behind. Turkey was Second with 170 points and third Romania with 162 points. Fourth, the Danes ended with 149 points. Azerbaijan got with 145 points, on the fifth place.
The favorites were disappointing. Norway ended in the lower echelons, and Israel. Also Iceland was less than expected. Spain was not great in spite of the fact that they occur twice because a man earlier on Saturday evening the act impaired. She was previously a favorite. That is remarkable, as Lena has no vocals or stage experiments and her English, the language in which she is singing the song, is bad. According to a British journalist, sounds as "an Australian farmer in the outback".
Lena is the second German who wins the contest, after Nicole Seibert, with Ein bisschen Frieden was first in 1982. The 56th Eurovision song contest will now be in Germany next year.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Open Minds Party
The theme of the Friday party at Open Minds was, Eurovision Song Contest.There where already two semi finals. The second semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was held May 27. 17 acts competed and ten of them were chosen by juries and televoting to compete in the grand final this Saturday. One of the countries that did not qualify was the Netherlands.
The final is scheduled to take place today, 29 May 2010 at 21:00 CEST in Telenor Arena, Bærum, Akershus, Greater Oslo, Norway.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Eurovision Song Contest 1956 - 2009
Fifty-seven songs have won the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual competition organized by member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. The Contest, which has been broadcast every year since its debut in 1956, is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. The Contest's winner has been determined using numerous voting techniques throughout its history; centre to these have been the awarding of points to countries by juries or televoters. The country awarded the most points is declared the winner. The first Eurovision Song Contest was not won on points, but by votes (two per country), and only the winner was announced.
There have been 54 Contests, with one winner each year except the tied 1969 Contest, which had four. Twenty-five different countries have won the contest. Switzerland won the Contest on their debut—the first Contest, in 1956. The country with the highest number of wins is Ireland, with seven. Portugal is the country with the longest history in the Contest without a win; it made its forty-second appearance at the 2009 Contest. The only person to have won more than once as performer is Ireland's Johnny Logan, who performed "What's Another Year" in 1980 and "Hold Me Now" in 1987. Logan is also one of only five songwriters to have written more than one winning entry ("Hold Me Now" 1987 and "Why Me?" 1992, performed by Linda Martin). This unique distinction makes Logan the only person to have three Eurovision victories to his/her credit, as either singer, songwriter or both.
Winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a unique opportunity for the winning artist(s) to capitalize on their success and surrounding publicity by launching or furthering their international career. However, throughout the history of the Contest relatively few names have gone on to be huge international stars. The most notable winning Eurovision artists whose career was directly launched into the spotlight following their win were ABBA, who won the Contest for Sweden in 1974 with their song "Waterloo". ABBA went on to be one of the most successful bands of their time. Another notable winner who subsequently achieved international fame and success was Céline Dion, who won the Contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi", though her international singing career came some years later and is not generally directly associated to her winning the contest.
Best way to watch and listen to the video is to turn off the Flash Player on the bottom ][ of this page by clicking the II button ]
The Winners from 1956-1980, the songs that received first place in
Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
Best way to watch and listen to the video is to turn off the Flash Player on the bottom ][ of this page by clicking the II button ]
The Winners from 1981-2009, the songs that received first place in
Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
You're Missing Karl
One day Linden Lab frozen your account and you ask Linden; "why?" But you get no answer. I live in a free country and I was thinking that Second life is to. But it seems Second Life is ruled by dictators. We are all avatars here at Second Life but behind the keyboard are real people. Oh, when you missing me after this post, I am at Montana Bay or in Siberia. LINDEN, GIVE KARL HUET A ANSWER ON HIS QUESTION!!!
You're Missing - Bruce Springsteen
Shirts in the closet, shoes in the hall
Mama's in the kitchen, baby and all
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing
Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair
Papers on the doorstep, but you're not there
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing
Pictures on the nightstand, TV's on in the den
Your house is waiting, your house is waiting
For you to walk in, for you to walk in
But you're missing, when I shut out the lights
You're missing, when I close my eyes
You're missing, when I see the sun rise
You're missing
Children are asking if it's alright
Will you be in our arms tonight?
Morning is morning, the evening falls I got
Too much room in my bed, to many phone calls
How's everything, everything?
Everything, everything
You're missing, you're missing
God's drifting in heaven, devils in the mailbox
I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops
Monday, May 24, 2010
Swaying Bridges
The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the first incarnation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. It opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, and dramatically collapsed into Puget Sound on November 7 of the same year. At the time of its construction (and its destruction) the bridge was the third longest suspension bridge in the world in terms of main span length, behind the Golden Gate Bridge and the George Washington Bridge.Construction on the bridge began in September 1938. From the time the deck was built, it began to move vertically in windy conditions, which led to construction workers giving the bridge the nickname Galloping Gertie. The motion was observed even when the bridge opened to the public. Several measures aimed at stopping the motion were ineffective, and the bridge's main span finally collapsed under 40-mile-per-hour (64 km/h) wind conditions the morning of November 7, 1940.
And the Millenium Bridge in London did.
The London Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City. It is located between Southwark Bridge (downstream) and Blackfriars Railway Bridge (upstream). The bridge is owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Construction of the bridge began in 1998, with the opening on 10 June 2000.
Londoners nicknamed the bridge the Wobbly Bridge after participants in a special event to open the bridge (a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children) felt an unexpected (and, for some, uncomfortable) swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It was reopened in 2002.
Now in russia they have a there own swinging bridge.
And the Millenium Bridge in London did.
The London Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City. It is located between Southwark Bridge (downstream) and Blackfriars Railway Bridge (upstream). The bridge is owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Construction of the bridge began in 1998, with the opening on 10 June 2000.Londoners nicknamed the bridge the Wobbly Bridge after participants in a special event to open the bridge (a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children) felt an unexpected (and, for some, uncomfortable) swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It was reopened in 2002.
Now in russia they have a there own swinging bridge.
Pirate Party at Sweetgrass
Jenna and I went to the party at Sweetgrass yesterday. Again they did a great job to style the club in to the theme.
Jenna was one of the winners
Gany send me the picture he made of the winners and .............
....a snapshot he took of me.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Roaring 20s Party at T.R.A.C.S.
It was not an easy theme, especially for us guys, to find clothes that would fit with the theme. After some search I found these zoot pants and had a hair cut.
After we decorated the club, Rod and I danced on the empty dance floor.
Jenna, or DJ, made a great mix of jazz, 20s and modern music.
Maybe it was because of the theme but we not had a big crowd.
But everybody seamed to enjoy him or herself.
Because of that hair, that new tattoo attachment, I had to use viewer 2. I still not used to that interface (will I ever?) and had much work to find all the buttons and also a lot of anger to send a note with the landmark.
The after party.
Love is Dead
Today when I was exploring SL. I saw this some how wierd video of Kerli.
The video of her single 'Love is Dead', directed by Josh Mond, the title track from the pop artist's debut album. The haunting piece presents Kerli in a reverse journey through time, beauty, and love. Influences from Kerli's affinity for creepy fairytales and darkness appear throughout the artistic video. Watch it below.
'Love is Dead'
Kerli Kõiv (born February 7, 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian singer-songwriter who is known for her pop style and her album Love Is Dead which charted in the Billboard 200 at #126 in the summer of 2008.
Love Is Dead is the debut album by Estonian recording artist Kerli, released in the United States on July 8, 2008 by Island Records. Produced mostly by David Maurice, the album mixes different styles of music throughout the record, such as alternative rock, industrial, electronic, metal, and trip hop. Kerli wrote the album in over five years. During an interview with entertainment website andPOP, she mentioned the album's subject:
“ A lot of the songs I wrote when I was really depressed, and then the later songs I wrote after coming out from my depression, so the theme of the album pretty much is overcoming obstacles and overcoming the darkness. I’m really grateful for all these experiences because I believe that until you are absorbed by darkness you can't overcome it and face the light. ”
Originally due to be released in April 2008, the album was pushed back to July 29 and then pushed up to July 8.[4] It eventually gained a wider European release in 2009 with a release in Italy in February, in Germany in April, and in Austria and Ireland in summer 2009.
The video of her single 'Love is Dead', directed by Josh Mond, the title track from the pop artist's debut album. The haunting piece presents Kerli in a reverse journey through time, beauty, and love. Influences from Kerli's affinity for creepy fairytales and darkness appear throughout the artistic video. Watch it below.
'Love is Dead'
This is the hardest part
when you feel like you're fading
All that you have has become unreal
collapsing, and aching
All I want, all I want is right here
but love don't live here anymore
(love is dead, love is gone, love don't live here anymore)
love don't live here anymore
(love is dead, love is gone, love don't live here anymore)
I know that you think of me when you're
beside her, inside her
It must be so hard for you to
deny it and hide it
Oh, all I want
All I want is right here, but love don't live here anymore
(love is dead, love is gone, love don't live here anymore)
and love don't live here anymore
(love is dead, love is gone, love don't live here anymore)
x2
love don't live here anymore
(love is dead, love is gone, love don't live here anymore)
love don't live here anymore
(love is dead, love is gone, love don't live here anymore)x4
Oooh,love don't live here anymore
Kerli Kõiv (born February 7, 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian singer-songwriter who is known for her pop style and her album Love Is Dead which charted in the Billboard 200 at #126 in the summer of 2008.
“ A lot of the songs I wrote when I was really depressed, and then the later songs I wrote after coming out from my depression, so the theme of the album pretty much is overcoming obstacles and overcoming the darkness. I’m really grateful for all these experiences because I believe that until you are absorbed by darkness you can't overcome it and face the light. ”
Originally due to be released in April 2008, the album was pushed back to July 29 and then pushed up to July 8.[4] It eventually gained a wider European release in 2009 with a release in Italy in February, in Germany in April, and in Austria and Ireland in summer 2009.
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