#wtf I’m doing in belarus

[taiwantalk]

Um… I’ll do some digging. Without seeing any news directly about wagners yet, I’m guessing, if I’m Wagner, I’d be very paranoid like ok, prigozhin is dead. Are we next?

Prigozhin is fucking dead!!!

They just announced it here on national TV!

You beat me to it. Lol 😂

He was begging for it. flying back and forth like a fly has got to be getting on Putin’s nerve.

That or this is staged to allow prigozhin to disappear.

I kind of doubt that this is staged. it’s a passion job. 😭 meaning, putin wanted prigozhin dead with a passion.

Now that prigozhin is dead, wagners are really going to ask themselves, “what the fuck now?” Like seeing double rainbow, “what does this mean???!”

[icannotreadcursive]

So we all know JKR is a moron, and one of the places that shows is in the official Wizarding Schools list. Mostly because there are way too few of them

There are officially 11 of them, and we know 8: 3 in Europe (one of which is in the British Isles), 1 in Russia, 1 in Japan, 1 in Africa, 1 in South America, and 1 in North America. That's a ridiculously tiny number, and almost all of them cover ranges that are ridiculously huge and with such diverse cultures and magical traditions within their range. So let's run through what I consider a sensible distribution of wizarding schools.

Starting with the British Isles, we know we have Hogwarts in Scotland.  There would also be one in Ireland—because of the way Irish history has gone, this school likely would have taken a side in the Troubles and therefore be, at least unofficially, either very Catholic or very Protestant. Irish wizarding kids whose families are religiously opposite to the school, or not particularly religious, may then choose to go to Hogwarts instead to avoid conflict. I think there used to beother schools—1 in Wales, and as many as 3 in England, 1 in or near London, and 1 each associated with Cambridge and Oxford universities. The Cambridge and Oxford schools I think would have evolved over time into magic colleges, because I do not believe for a second that there is no such thing as post-secondary wizarding education. The London school can't still exist and have it still make sense that all our Hogwarts friends end up at Hogwarts—if it's a fancy private school, Draco is there not at Hogwarts; if it's a public school Hermione and all the Weasleys are there, not at Hogwarts, and so on. I'm not sure exactly why or when I think it closed, but sometime before the 1990s, probably before the 1950s, Hogwarts absorbed the London school's student pool. The Welsh school I think was a victim of the English destruction of Welsh culture. If it still exists, or has been rebuilt, I think it's very small and teaches at least partially in Welsh.

Moving on to the rest of Europe. We know we have Beauxbatons in France, and I buy that. Then we have Durmstrang, which is allegedly in Scandinavia. “Durmstrang” doesn't sound Scandinavian to me, it sounds German, because it is German. It's obviously derived from the German phrase “Sturm und Drang” which means “storm and stress,” so I feel like Durmstrang must be somewhere that is or has been German-speaking.  I'm inclined to put it in Poland in one of the areas that used to be in Prussia, possibly near Danzig. Durmstrang would then serve most everywhere that has ever been part of that which is now Germany, so most of the middle of Europe.

I do think there is also at least 1 school in Scandinavia. And there's going to be 1 in Spain, 1 it Italy—specifically Rome—and 1 in the south-east of Europe, probably Romania or Bulgaria.

That brings us up to a total of 8 major magic schools in Europe, 2 of them in the British Isles, not counting any magic colleges.

You may note I sort of left out most of Eastern Europe. That's because I think there's probably a school somewhere between Moscow, and Minsk in Belarus that serves Eastern Europe and Western Russia. That is still a very large geographical range, but a lot of that area is quite sparsely populated so I think it works out, especially if we expect that there are smaller, more local schools and/or homeschooling coalitions going on. We'll say this is Koldovstoretz, the canon Russian school. But also, Russia is freaking enormous, there's no way there's only one magic school in all of Russia. I think there must be ant least 1 more, out east, but probably there's 2, one out east and one more toward the middle, possibly near Krasnoyarsk.

I'm willing to believe that there is 1 major magic school in Japan, and that's the canon Mahoutokoro School of Magic. That cannot be the only school in Asia.

There has to be 1 in China. Now, despite China's size, I'm actually okay with the idea of there only being 1 major official magic school. China has a long history of centralizing government and education and its vast bureaucracy. I can see there being one school that's been there since, like, the 800s AD. If there is only the one official school, though, there will also be smaller local less prestigious schools, and again homeschooling.

There's definitely at least 1 in India. Mongolia and Kazakhstan are both traditionally nomadic enough that I expect magic is taught much more on a familial, elder-to-child basis without any large centralized schools. I feel like there would be 1 in Korea, because while Korea is relatively small, it is culturally very distinct from both China and Japan and has historically made a point of maintaining that distinction, so I don't think they'd be sending their wizarding kids to either of the neighboring magic schools.

I am going to very conservatively say there's 1 on the Indochinese Peninsula.

That gives us 5 in Asia. With the 8 in Europe and 3 in Russia, we're already at 16 major magic schools.

There's at least 4 in the middle east: 1 in Turkey, 1 in Iran, 1 in Saudi Arabia, and 1 in the vicinity of Israel that focuses on Judaic magic tradition. Exactly where that one is—whether it's within the modern state of Israel or not—is going to depend pretty significantly on how old it is, whether it's born of Jewish cultural revival and reclamation or if it's ancient. It's quite likely there would be more schools than this, it's a large region with longstanding emphasis on education, but let's just go with these 4.

We're at 20 schools.

Africa. Canon gives us Uagadou School of Magic in Uganda. The idea that there is only 1 school to serve the entire African continent is insane. And I don't think there's any way around the fact that it derives from the colonialist and racist idea that Africa and African people are uncivilized and uneducated.

In North Africa, I'm saying there's at least 2: 1 in Morocco, and 1 in Egypt. Because of regional histories, there's definitely 1 in Ethiopia and definitely 1 in Zimbabwe. I expect at least 1 in Western Africa, probably Nigeria. I was thinking that is there's 1 in South Africa (the country specifically, not the region of Southern Africa) there'd be 2, one white one black, because of Apartheid, but on second thought I highly suspect that until quite recently, most or all white wizarding kids in South Africa would have been sent to Durmstrang or Hogwarts, depending on their parents' backgrounds and socialaspirations, so I'm not sure what magic schools there might be in Southern Africa other than the one in Zimbabwe.

This puts us at (a minimum of) 6 schools in Africa, 26 worldwide.

Hopping the Atlantic to North America where it's just as ridiculous to think there's 1 school for the entire damn continent. There's going to be at least 8 in the U.S. alone. An old affluent white one up east that looks a whole lot like its European cousins (that's Ilvermorny), 2 in the south (one that started off whites only, one historically black), 2 in the midwest (again, one white one black), 1 in California, 1 that at least used to be girls only (this one is probably also East Coast), and 1 that focuses on Native magic traditions that's either west/midwest or in or near the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina.

There's at least 3 in Canada: an English speaking one probably east of middle, an English speaking one in the west that probably also gets kids from Alaska, and a French speaking one in Quebec.

I'm thinking another 3 in Mexico and Mesoamerica, one of which was or is closely tied to the school in Spain, and all 3 of which teach different, even conflicting, magical traditions.

We're at 40 schools worldwide.

In South America, we know we have Castelobruxo in Brazil, which allegedly serves all of South America, but that's also stupid, in no small part because Brazil speaks a different language from the entire rest of the continent. So that gives us bare minimun 2 schools: Portuguese speaking Castelobruxo, and another Spanish speaking school. I'm gonna say there's actually 2 Spanish speaking schools, for a total of 3.

Finally, Australia's gotta have 1.

So, using my numbers, which I fully recognize leave out a lot of places and still give most of these schools impractically large ranges, even taking into account home schooling and community-based education, we get 44 Wizarding schools. That's four times the official number.

Like, wtf.

[residentraccoon]

✨ esc 2014 top ✨

the flags were so cute this year wtf,,

Love them!!

1. Sweden - it's just so emotional i can't

2. Switzerland - how to win me over at esc - bring a violin

3. Austria - magnificent, outstanding

4. Norway - ok the nordics killed it this year, what a voice he has...

5. Slovenia - that flute is magical, one of the most underrated songs ever

6. Ukraine - man in a hamster wheel

7. Romania - circular pianos and paula dissolving, typical romemenia

8. Ireland - amazing celtic sound

9. Portugal - love the chilling party vibe

10. Finland - finland bringing rock at esc 💖

11. UK - magical athmosphere on stage

12. Montenegro - balkan ballads are the death of me

13. Hungary - touching message

14. Denmark - bruno denmars

15. Iceland - how did the teletubbies get at esc

17. Lithuania - loved that sassy chaotic attitude

Like them!!

16. The Netherlands - I take it back, it's so beautiful and soothing <3

18. France - yes i actually like this

19. Italy - italian rock 💖💖

20. Armenia - okay i'm not alone, if you say so

21. Germany - i need a live orchestra version now

22. Israel - on what planet did this deserve 2nd to last??

23. Estonia - wow she sings so well being carried like that

24. N. Macedonia - where do we go now? home bcs they didn't qualify

26. Azerbaijan - the instrumental is ❤❤

25. Poland - so much trash

27. Greece - the kind of song I'd hear at untold tbh

28. Spain - gorgeous

29. San Marino - queen valentina finally qualified

They're good

30. Georgia - that guy jumping out of the dark is mood

31. Malta - really cheerful, I like it

32. Latvia - haha funny campfire song

33. Moldova - a lil weak

34. Belarus - indeed, cheesecake

35. Russia - it's good I think

36. Belgium - great message and vocals, weak song

Not my thing

37. Albania - really underwhelming,,

[hannawatchesesc]

So hi! I wrote that rant few days ago, and decided to watch Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga just for… fun(???) This is my edited live reactions, and serious not spoiler free nit picking.

Here you go, so you don't have to watch it. These are in the order of appearances.

This is made with EBU???

Why the fuck Americans cannot play Europeans without terrible accents

Not really sure if Iceland has this terrible electric grid? If the power will cut if you use two keyboards and disco lights, maybe you should be worried about your infrastructure…

Picturing Icelanders as wool/fur dressing people living in the 1950’s, seriously.

Yep, for sure the Nordic way of life, living with your parents as 50-year-old.

I think these names aren't Icelandic

Iceland: whales, wool, fur, knitting, Vikings, glaciers, and icebergs. Elves. Lava fields. Northern Lights. So many jokes about being relatives and everyone knowing everyone.

I think only thing they forgot is Blue Lagoon and the football chant.

The after recording of the dialogue is terrible????

 

Ja Ja Ding Dong is really kinda good. It should have been in Icelandic, and it could have been "the iconic national winner which never qualified for finals, but everyone back home loves”.

What is that 1950’s buss? This movie makes Iceland seems like a third world country, not the 16TH RICHEST in the world based on GDP per Population.

People not caring about national final…

I'm going to die of second hand embarrassment.

I don’t understand this “Iceland is in the middle of nowhere, so they have never seen modern stuff” narrative. I’m surprise they didn’t travel to Scotland in Viking ship.

Like Icelandic people, have you seen minifridge and hotels before? Based on this movie, you haven’t.

There aren’t any pre-Eurovision things at all for performers.

Oh god I hate these accents.

Why they talk like toddlers all the time? It's like adult people in Europe don’t use adult vocabulary when speaking English. (Like, they just used word "club dancing"?)

 

I feel like this Russian song isn't really the song Russia would send...

I see the homophobia commentary, but he is so stereotypical Russian oligarch type of character.

Pls. Shouldn't there be a little more people in rehearsal? Press and audience maybe?

They haven't rehearsed at all? Have they sat at home for two three months doing nothing?

They just casually decided remix their song and start rehearsing it DAYS before semifinal.

No costumes, no staging, no choreography?

"Everyone hates UK so zero points" à THEY EVEN MADE A JOKE ABOUT THIS, AND STILL ESC IS HELD IN UK

I think Iceland has champagne glasses.

How they don’t know other competitors? Lars is supposed to be ESC superfan.

 

I this sing along part was kinda fun.

In the bigger context just a fan service kind of feeling, like “see, these people are legendary right, here you go, have Alexander Rybak for like 5 seconds.”

And why they started it with Madonna and Cher? Very Eurovision related. Not at all used for Americans to understand even something. How about using ABBA and Celine Dion if you wanted something familiar for US audience?

Think how amazing this could have been if they would have talked their own languages!

Mark "second hand embarrassment" as my cause of death.

These American tourists are like one jab on Americans, and rest of it is making fun of Europeans being mean to them.

This movie is sooooo slow

 

Why Scottish hosts are from Eastern Europe?

As a Finn I'm not going to accept that cheap copy of Lordi was representing Belarus, mixed with 2015 Belarus???

And as a Finn I can say for sure Wonderfour would never qualify from our National Final.

Didn't they read the rule book first? Anyone? I think you can find it in PDF in Google (you can)

The staging is so underwhelming. And this audience wtf?

As if they wouldn't stop the music when performer could be hurt.

I think it's almost insulting to say, that audience would laugh at anyone in Eurovision.

Lars is super selfish all. The. Time.

Nobody checked if they were alright after that accident.

 

This voting system? Spain, Italy, UK, Germany performing? Too many performers on stage? I though Finland was in this semi, but hey, I think they just guess starred and never made it to voting part even though they performed.

Did the Icelandic delegation just leave Sigrid alone in the green room?

How the fuck this movie can lasts 2 hours?

Now Switzerland and France are giving points, and they are not in this semi?

Russia was one of the countries in the scores, but he said that he wasn't performing in this semi?

He is going to die to hypothermia before reaching the shore. Water is super cold if they are dressed like that.

Aand after saying that. Why they are dressed like that? It's supposed to be May? They were dressed like in the middle of winter when they were in Scotland. Even Northern Europe has spring in May.

 

Where are modulations? Wind Machine? Pyrotechnics?

How Finland is now in on final, when they didn't qualify from the semi WHERE THEY PERFORMED? Or where they moved to another semi? Was firs SF overbooked?

I don't know if this final confession would be allowed in Eurovision

And suddenly they changed the song?

Thank you, Graham Norton, for pointing them being disqualified.

So they had rulebook after all.

And everyone is like well this super basic ballad is so touching. I can most definitely name 50 similar songs

Language change, why.

Also, this movie had one ballad. That is the most unrealistic thing.

 

End thoughts

This whole movie seems like unnecessary prolonged version of this America Is So Winning Eurovision Next Year from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I can't even choose which one is more offensive.

Out of all European countries they chose Iceland and Greece (super popular tourist destinations), Russia (well you know US-Russia relations) and UK to be the center of the story. I guess it could have been Germany and France instead of Iceland and Greece to be more even more obviously “European”

Making the semi look at least somewhat correct could have been so easy. How it is even possible to mess that up so badly.

ALL EUROPEANS HAVE VERY STRONG ACCENTS!

Here is actor from UK, Sweden, and Greece! And all these Icelandic extras. Europeans!

Can we talk how problematic is the fact that 1) Will Farrell is 10 years older than Rachel McAdams (why Hollywood cannot cast actors that are same age and equally attractive?), 2) TWO attractive female characters are all over him like he’s the most amazing, charismatic and beautiful man in the Europe, 3) This movie isn’t passing Bechdel test

All the dick/incest/fart jokes are super American type of humour.

[gnostic-heretic]

Do u have any lietbela fluff headcanons? :3

ABSOLUTELY YES and it’s funny that you ask me this because they’re both in the thing I’m drawing aaahh

I see lietbela mostly as an “it’s complicated” kind of ship but I think the two of them absolutely love each other they just, have issues they need to work on and vastly different ways of showing their emotions and dealing with their feelings. This was a preface to apologise because I know I always write this ship in angsts one sided sad ways but I do have plenty of fluff headcanons for them

- Lithuania absolutely loves to spoil Belarus, in every possible sense, with presents (even when he’s broke) but also just affection and warmth, whenever she’s over at his place (and vice versa) he brings her breakfast in bed. He absolutely sucks at making breakfast (they’re both terrible cooks) and she absolutely sucks at being an adult so her fridge is always empty, so he usually just makes some cereal or bread with jam that’s on the verge of it’s expiration date, but she thinks it’s the sweetest thing ever

- Belarus loves playing with Lithuania’s hair when they’re cuddling and he loves just leaning over and feeling the scent of her perfume. Maybe it’s strange but I think Belarus is the type of lady who would like to wear men’s perfume or fragrances with musky/warm and earthy scents like sandalwood, and it drives liet absolutely wild

- Lithuania is the only person other than her sister that Belarus allowed herself to be vulnerable around. Whenever she’s feeling bad or upset or angry he does anything he can to comfort her, he makes tea for both of them and brings in a blanket and her favorite movie and they just spend all afternoon like that.

- speaking of movies I think they would both love horror b movies but for completely different reasons. Lithuania finds them actually spooky, Belarus thinks they’re hilarious. They also love watching nature documentaries together

- Lithuania has no fashion sense whatsoever and Belarus loves to dress him up. She and Poland team up often to give him makeovers and he just... suffers through it... ok though he might have no fashion sense when it comes to himself but he’s the best at giving her advice when it comes to choosing her outfits

- she was absolutely the one who initiated their first kiss, while they were talking about something else entirely she just ... thought he looked cute and went for it. Lithuania was a starstruck stuttering mess for the following three hours at least

- Belarus is a decent artist, she does watercolour paintings and it’s a secret not many people know. Lithuania is her favorite subject and she sneakily draws sketches of him as he’s doing random chores— eventually he found out tho and was too flustered to function

- quoting one of @pokytoad ‘s headcanons here but in ye olden days Belarus was most definitely the one who taught Lithuania how to write in the Cyrillic alphabet and the one who taught him Russian (beyond the basics he already knew) when he first went to live at Russia’s house. They spend hours studying together and he blushes every time they make eye contact and Belarus is like wtf is wrong with you... but lowkey she thinks he’s adorable

[ukulelegodparent]

2020 Eurovision song review

It's that time of the year again, Eurovision is getting rolling and I'm about to watch the first batch of Eurovision contributions and leave reviews for them.

Latvia: Still Breathing - Samanta Tina: Simultaneously the most and the least Eurovision Song I've ever heard. In any way I don't think Eurovision as an institution is ready for rap (or whatever that was). Also: Epilepsy warning. 7 points

Croatia: Divlji Vjetre - Damir Kedzo: Astonishingly average. I'm a little torn here, non-English songs are of course always good, but at the same time it's the same melodramatic pop song we get like 10 of every year. Prediction: this is gonna score average but never top scores except from neighbours. 5 points. A little boring.

Estonia: What love is - Uku Suviste: Very generic. I always expect feral Energy from Estonia and it always disappoints. 5 points

Lithuania: On Fire - The Roop: Surprisingly good. I liked it. Partially bc weird mirror action and the weirdest dance moves I've ever seen. 10 points.

UK: My last breath - James Newman: Without listening to anything please take a moment to acknowledge how dramatic that title is. Very mediocre but then what did I expect from the UK. I still think you people should know that there's good music that isn't Ed Sheeran. Also is that Wimhoff? 7 points

France: The best in me - Tom Leeb: I was a bit shocked when I saw the title bc the day France contributes an English song to Eurovision is the day I die. That being said: boring, also: we get it, the Eiffel tower is in France. It's been there for more than a century. 3 points, you can do better.

Poland: Empires - Alicja Szemplińska: Poland never fails to deliver. This song does not fuck around. That font in the background gave me cancer though. 10 points, best one so far.

Ukraine: Solovey - Go_A: Fuck, that's amazing. Listen ... I'm a simple woman. That particular style of singing is just so amazing, I can't. Just ... Everything about this is just so good! 12 points

Spain: Universo - Blas Cantó: Very Spanish, not as much of a wow factor as the two before. Love the aesthetics of the video though. 8 points.

Belgium: Release Me - Hooverphonic: Love how dramatic it is. Also: Orchestra in Eurovision. 8 points

Norway: Attention - Ulrikke: Meh. Angsty ballade. 5 points

Australia: Don't Break Me - Montaigne: It's alright. Again: at this point the bar is very high. It's very Australia, by which I mean "Good enough to make top 5, not good enough to win". 8 points

Belarus: Da Vidna - VAL: I like it. But wtf is up with those hands also, pleas no PDA on MY Eurovision stage. 8 points

Germany: Violent Thing - Ben Dolic: Very horny teenager club song vibes. It's ok I guess, we've had WAY WORSE contributions. 7 points

Overall I think I have two favourites. But there have definitely been better years, that being said, there have also been worse years. I'll keep adding as more songs come out

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

okay i’m gonna watch all this year’s entries in a row and React

FRANCE: oh gosh that was so sweet???

CZECH REPUBLIC: this is a bop, i like it, and i also like his earrings

ARMENIA: the song is catchy and she could order my execution and i would thank her

ITALY: mY HEART, HOW DOES ITALY ALWAYS DO THIS TO MY EMOTIONS

RUSSIA: this is exactly what eurovision should be. 100000/10 they have my vote.

DENMARK: aw it's cute! YES!

ESTONIA: my first reaction to the name of the song is "baby don't hurt me" but anyway yes it's a good song

ROMANIA: oooh this is good stuff, excellent pun too, also the aesthetic of the video is pretty

AZERBAIJAN: "straight or gay or inbetween" listen i'm aroace and even i want to marry you HOLY MOLY??? <333 i have changed my vote

ALBANIA: owo no music video? anyway yes this sounds nice yet angsty, she's an amazing singer

GREECE: this infant did a fantastic job and i love the music video lmao

PORTUGAL: that outfit is top notch and so is the song

MOLDOVA: it's not memedova but you know what? this is good too, i like it

MALTA: this feels so inspirational somehow, the music and also the parkour

SERBIA: heck yeahhh this is so catchy and cool

POLAND: apparently this is an infant too? she's a fantastic singer omg

SAN MARINO: this is typical san marino entry and it's great, you guys did serhat proud

NORTH MACEDONIA: hsgdjgsjGGhg this gives me call me maybe vibes lmaooo the dude's clearly into the bartender mate

ICELAND: there is not a single part of this that isn't iconic. smh guess i'm gonna just have to vote for iceland again

FINLAND: why is this song so accurate right now T_T way to make me cry mate

SWEDEN: i??? love this????? they sound and look AMAZING????? this just makes me feel happy

CYPRUS: ohoho groovy angst, i like it

SLOVENIA: aesthetically gorgeous and makes me want to stay hydrated and whoa she hits those high notes so well

BULGARIA: what a trippy music video hsgkfgskhf anyway it's really soft and pretty

IRELAND: yesssss good stuff!!! it's catchy and boppy and the video is so retro

AUSTRIA: damn this is so funky, it makes me feel alive

ISRAEL: this is glorious oh my goshhhh it's catchy AND it visually looks awesome AND has like a gazillion languages in it

NETHERLANDS: this song... makes me feel things... just like arcade did... god i'm feeling so bad now that all these musicians never got to perform these songs this year

SWITZERLAND: wtf this is so haunting (and i mean that in the best possible way)

LATVIA: this sounds so great and the music video is surreal af and it's nice to see my yearly tradition of "having a celebrity crush on the latvian entry" is still going strong

GEORGIA: this is amazing :O please inject this song directly into my veins. i might honestly change my vote again

GERMANY: while i feel like this probably still would have come last place in the televote, like always, THIS IS ACTUALLY GREAT I'M BOPPING

BELARUS: hooooo i love their aesthetic, that eyeliner amirite?? the song is catchy too

LITHUANIA: why is this amazing? i honestly don't know how or why but it is, it just IS. also what the heck is this music video it's so weird but also iconic

CROATIA: bless this guy he did an awesome job, those long notes near the end!!!

UK: okay first things first fuck all of you for not voting for poor michael last year and dooming him to last place when he tried so hard and did so well. ANYWAY, moving on... THIS SONG IS AMAZING AND YOU'D BETTER VOTE FOR JAMES NEXT YEAR OKAY. SCREW YOU. THE UK SENDS GOOD SONGS THESE DAYS SO JUST FORGET ABOUT POLITICS FOR A SECOND AND THINK ABOUT HOW HARD OUR ENTRANTS TRY. PEOPLE WOULD VOTE FOR ANY UK SONG IF SWEDEN HAD SENT IT, YOU KNOW IT. okay okay aish calm down you're not even British british

UKRAINE: man i love this!!! it sounds so unique and awesome, and the outfits too

SPAIN: yoooo i like the sound of this and this dude is rather pretty

BELGIUM: this is so dreamy in a sad way, i like it, the words "losing game" are just sending me though

NORWAY: her dress is so sparkly!! and she's such a good singer omg

AUSTRALIA: australia, once again, really gets the eurovision spirit and for that i can only respect them. also this is legit amazing

in conclusion i have no idea who i’d vote for because none of them sent metal

[lovemesomesurveys]

germany 🇩🇪 : do you like bread? Yeah. 

france 🇫🇷 : ever drank alcohol? Yes. It’s been almost 10 years since the last time, though.

england: ever made a mistake you really regret? I’ve made several. :/

scotland : do you prefer summer or winter? Winter. I despise summer, it’s long and miserable. We’re almost in October and we’re still experiencing 90 and 100+ weather. D; 

italy 🇮🇹 : currently in a relationship? No.

wales : how old are you? I’m 31.

finland 🇫🇮 : longest you’ve ever been in a relationship? 3 years if I count the Joseph situation.

sweden 🇸🇪 : have you ever been to ikea? Yeah, a few times.

norway 🇳🇴 : do you prefer wearing trousers or skirts? Trousers. I’m a leggings gal, though.

spain 🇪🇸 : do you take naps during the day? Yeah, sometimes. 

portugal 🇵🇹 : your sexuality? Straight.

estonia 🇪🇪 : do you have a crush? Nope.

ireland 🇮🇪 : favourite tv show? I have a lot.

denmark 🇩🇰: what were you doing at 20.30 last saturday? Yesterday was Saturday and at that time I was eating dinner.

poland 🇵🇱: do you have any pets? Yes, I have a doggo. <3

austria 🇦🇹: do you like chocolate? Yeah. I’m not a chocoholic, but I enjoy it now and then.

switzerland 🇨🇭: ever kissed a girl? No.

romania 🇷🇴: morning or evening? Evening.

bulgaria 🇧🇬: who was the last person you snapchatted? My cousin.

czech republic 🇨🇿: is there a song that never fails to make you cry? There’s a few.

slovakia 🇸🇰: how many languages can you speak? Just one fluently.

slovenia 🇸🇮: what colour is your hair at the moment? Red and my natural hair color cause it’s been 7 months since the last time I dyed it, so my roots are definitely showing.

monaco 🇲🇨: do you have an iPhone? I do.

the netherlands 🇳🇱 : when did you last see your mum? Last night before she went to bed.

greece 🇬🇷: do you live with your father? Yeah. And my mom, brother, and doggo.

croatia 🇭🇷: do you wear glasses? I do.

belgium 🇧🇪: favourite colour? Pastels, rose gold, mint green, and coral.

iceland 🇮🇸 : if you could chose one thing to be in your future, what would you choose? Good health?

ukraine 🇺🇦 : what’s the most money you’ve ever spent on clothes? At once? About 100.

malta 🇲🇹 : have you ever been on a cruise? Nope.

hungary 🇭🇺 : would you date someone 3 years older than you? I think so.

cyprus 🇨🇾 : if you could kill one person without any risk of being caught for it, would it be someone related to you? Wtf, no???

luxembourg 🇱🇺 : what’s the coldest temperature you’ve ever experienced? Snowy, freezing weather when I was in Idaho during the winter once.

serbia 🇷🇸 : do you use instagram? I very rarely post, but I scroll through my feed and watch some people’s stories.

albania 🇦🇱 : can you swim well? Nope, not at all.

lithuania 🇱🇹 : if you could go back in time to a moment in your life, when would you go back to? My childhood.

montenegro 🇲🇪 : pizza or pasta? Pasta.

latvia 🇱�� : do you have any scars with an interesting or grisly story? Majority of them are from surgeries. 

macedonia 🇲🇰 : ever eaten snails? Noooo.

belarus 🇧🇾 : last book you read? I’m currently reading, “Say You Love Me” by Willow Rose.

bosnia 🇧🇦 : last time you cried? A few days ago.

moldova 🇲🇩 : do you have a sister? Nope, but I have two brothers.

[travllingbunny]

AoS rewatch: 1x07 The Hub

I’m late with this in relation to the fandom-wide rewatch timetable, but actual work takes precedence. I hope to be able to catch up soon.

This episode is the second one in a row that focuses on Fitz and SImmons and gives them more development. But unlike FZZT, which also had a really strong case-of-the-week, this one has a throwaway plot about agents going to Russia twice to...do...stuff...which is supposed to have something to do with South Ossetian separatists and anti-separatists.  I’m not a fan of TV shows randomly throwing in references to real world conflicts that it has no intention of treating seriously. If you need some random Eastern European stereotypes, better use made-up stereotypical Eastern European countries like Sokovia or Markovia and whatever. A fictional world like that of the MCU universe has a perfect excuse to do that.

This is also the episode where me first meet Victoria Hand,. Agent Sitwell also pops up, and we get to see “the Hub”, SHIELD  headquarters (one of them, apparently smaller than the Triskelion), in a secret location.

This episode begins in medias res - extremely so, with some guys interrogating Coulson, who’s doing the Black Widow from The Avengers thing, tied up to a chair, only in his case it’s in an underground prison in Siberia. In this case, the scary interrogator turns out to be SHIELD Agent Shaw. (A common name enough, I guess, or just one that the AoS writers like.) It would be fun to follow a story about Agent Shaw and what it was like to torture people brutally so you would maintain a cover, but AoS is not really a show that likes to go there, just like it never really went there with Bobbi Morse.

To sum up SHIELD’s international dealings: they have a close relationship with the US government, offices in China and Morocco, no office in Peru or Italy (see 1x13) but they cooperate with the police there; and no office or cooperation and a rather hostile relationship with Russia and Belarus and, in fact, go to missions unknown to the governments of these countries; Including breaking into government facilities. How many international laws are they breaking? To be fair, they’re also kidnapping US citizens on its soil, so they’re also breaking US laws.

Some weapon called “overkill device” is involved. (At least the show itself makes fun of it, pointing out its OTT name. “Something was lost in translation”.) 

Victoria Hand is somewhat of a legend. Coulson has never met her before, but he knows her by reputation. 

Skye is, of course, upset over the secrecy that surrounds the mission, now that a higher up is in charge. The others keep dismissing her concerns as silly - but she later turns out to be completely right. Fitz: “No need to start with one of your socialist rants”. *sigh* That’s not what “socialism” means, Fitz. I guess the SHIELD Academy  didn’t provide a lot in terms of general education in the field of humanities.

There’s mission that Ward and Fitz have to go to as a team, but it’s just an excuse to get the Odd Couple pairing of these two on a mission and do the classic bromance progression from arguing to starting to respect or like each other more. In retrospect, this is what makes this episode important, other than the introduction of Hand - it helps build a stronger bond between Fitz and Ward, which will make Ward’s betrayal much more painful and hit Fitz very hard. This is one of the reasons why those people who go “oh, you can just skip the early episodes” are bozos - without the buildup of Ward’s relationships with the other team members, and without those early lighthearted moments, what happens later in the season would never have the same emotional weight.

Meanwhile, Simmons and Skye have their “bad girl shenanigans” at the Hub, where Simmons is responsible for some of the show’s funniest moments (”You certainly have a gorgeous...head”, “I like men who are about my height but heavier than me”) and we get a great Skye “WTF?!” face:

I like using it as a meme. In fact, I’ve seen it used even before I started watching the show.

Simmons is a rule follower, but the moment she hears that Fitz may be in danger and could be tortured somewhere, she changes her mind and is break the rules.  Last episode we heard Fitz is afraid to go to the field, now that Simmons loves following the rules, but both of them are ready go outside their comfort zones to save the other.

There is noticeable new closeness between FitzSimmons after the events of 1x06, or maybe it is just because we have never seen them getting separated (yes, this is their first separation!) or Simmons worrying about Fitz.

I know that the Sandwich (TM) is something of a legend, but no matter how much the fandom has mourned it, Ward was right that it had to thrown away, or else we’d be mourning Fitz - dogs were, indeed, following them.

The nice version of Ward, which we see when he tells Fitz he has nothing to prove and that he knows he would have jumped out to save Simmons, will be contrasted with Ward’s darker side in the very next episode, when he bullies Fitz, targeting his weaknesses while under the influence of the staff. Both moments show that Ward was always noticing Fitz’ feelings for SImmons, maybe before Fitz himself fully admitted them to himself (which he’ll talk to Fitz about in 1x19).

Skye had a moment when she almost gave in to the selfish urge to use her brief access to confidential files to try to decipher the redacted file on herself, but then she gave priority to Ward’s and Firz’s safety and checked the mission file.

That blooper is right - Skye, May and Simmons  lined up in that scene really make you think of Charlie’s Angels.

While Hand is portrayed as a SHIELD hardliner with a stern and somewhat ruthless attitude, she finally reveals a nicer side, when our protagonists can’t even see her. She lets Coulson and his team go on their rescue mission and is smiling seeing that they are safe, pointing out her belief that they can carry it out “We needed our resources elsewhere. And it’s Coulson’s team, they don’t need one’. This feels different than her portrayal in upcoming episodes like 1x11 or 1x16. She also obviously wasn’t suspicious of Coulson at this point. Is it just because she still didn’t know about Hydra? Or it was Coulson blowing up the facility in 1x14 and  Ward shooting Nash after Deathlock lead them to him, that made her suspicious. Or maybe it was already the fact he let Mike be a part of the team in 1x10, which was one of her arguments against him.   

Does Sitwell know about Ward also being Hydra? He didn’t seem particularly happy that they were getting rescued, so maybe he doesn’t, and identifies of many Hydra double agents were shared only on need to know basis or within smaller units. After all, Cap’s “Hail Hydra” ruse in Endgame wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Garrett was mostly running his own thing while making sure what he’s doing also remains useful to Hydra through the creation of supersoldiers, while pursuing his goal of finding the way to ensure his survival, so he may have revealed Ward’s allegiance just to a select few or almost no one.

Coulson spends a lot of this episode telling Skye things like “Some secrets are meant to stay secret” but doesn’t actually mean it, as he enlists May to help in trying to find out info about Skye’s parentage; and tries to open his own file about his recovery in “Tahiti”, learning his Level 8 clearance isn’t enough.  I believe Fury is Level 10. I wonder who is Level 9? Hand also doesn’t seem to know the truth.

Hand notes that Coulson is a special favorite of Fury - “Not everyone gets sent to Tahiti” (cough). Which the season 1 ending will certainly prove.

Foreshadowing

Ward to Fitz: “How long can you hold your breath underwater?” (This line will never sound the same.)

Fitz: “You should know by now, Agent Ward, that looks can be deceiving.” (Oh Fitz, you have no idea.)

Fitz to Ward: “I am every bit the SHIELD agent you are”. (Oh, Fitz, you have no idea.)

Skye about Coulson: “He’s acting like a robot version of himself right now.” (..No comment.)

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2010s: 65 - 61

65. Michael Schulte - “You let me walk alone” Germany 2018

[2018 Review Here] (shared with Eugent)

When Germany revealed this homely carrot top  as their entrant I of course IMMEDIATELY rolled my eyes at it. Discount Ed Sheeran, GTFO!! Idk what the general lowdown on Ed Sheeran is, but good lord that man is responsible for some really BORING and GENERIC music (I will never get the obsession with “Perfect”, ever.) and as you can expect that also bled into my initial opinon of Michael.

However, two things. A of all, “You let me walk alone” is a much better song because it is actually VERY catchy, in a good way. ONE love / TWO hearts /  THREE kids / LOVING mum is among the more memorable hooks in this decade. 

Secondly, Michael’s emotion is *real*. This is a song about his coping with his dead father and well... I am not made from stone. Dude was in GENUINE TEARS during the endgame!! And as someone who deeply loves his father, I can definitely empathize with that message on a personal level.

There are better songs around. There are better performers around. There is better emotional pull left in this ranking. Regardless, Michael was able to stun me into teary-eyed silence and that is a feat which earns nothing less than RESPECT.

________________________________________________________________

64. Softengine - “Something better” Finland 2014

FANTASTIC INDIE ANGELS <333 The appreciation I have to Softengine I have is obvious, yes? Highly energetic indie rock song from one of my favourite Eurovision countries. 😍 That also did VERY well because it’s genuinely that good. Take THAT Finland bullies!!! #HeyaSuomi

However, Softengine offer even more than just a kickass rock song. They offer some of my favourite song lyrics ever? They are both puzzlingly weird and endearingly ESL Even Human Bound People Rolling Dice Such A Novel Life She Thought While Knowing Nothing At All~

What on earth is Topi singing about? 😍 Well actually, it’s the story of an old man looking back at the life he’s had and.. It actually has a LOT of emotional pull wtf? Take a look at the bridge: 

ALL THESE WORDS SHE MEANT TO SAY TO ME

ALL THESE WORDS AGAINST MY FAITH

ALL THESE WORDS BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY

ALL THESE WORDS  WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER CHANGE

A wonderful display of juvenile energy that has me coming back craving for me. SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOP 10 but lol it’s Finland when is Finland not getting bullied by people with no taste. 😭

________________________________________________________________

63. Litesound - “We are the heroes” Belarus 2012

More rock angels. 😍 However, Litesound rank on the other end of the quality spectrum, being great because of their incompetence.  

Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything more endearing when the inept give it their all, completely oblivious to their amateurism, a description which -let’s be honest- is “Belarus in Eurovision” is in a nutshell 😍. Well that plus the hilariously rigged NF, remember that ALYONA LANSKAYA originally won Litesound’s NF and then had to bequeath her spot to them when her voting fraud was exposed. 😍 It’s not even the most hilariously rigged NF of the decade though, omg YES we shall discuss that whenever it’s “Samo shampioni’s” turn. 😈

Anyway, Litesound bring the a double whammy of hilarity with some A+ Bad English diction (let us all sing along)

WONEVER STEN INDO AR WEH WHEEL MEK IT FRU DE DEH CUZ WE AR DA WEINERS WE AR DA GEEROS

WIR BRACKING DOWN DA WALLZ GODDA HIT DE MALL CUZ WE ARE DA GEEROS WE ARE DA DRIMURS

and the fact that all Litesound members look like animals, introducing:

The seahorse

The afghan greyhound

the mongoose

and of course Dima who might be the lovechild of Alsou and an ostrich. 😍

All of this may make you believe I merely stan Litesound on an ironic level, but I actually LOVE them on an unironic level too. “We are the heroes” is a fun, futuristic electronic rock rollercoaster and Litesound strike a perfect balance between good song, disarming incompetence and going ALL OUT in proving themselves as high quality, laced with high voltage addictive rock beats. SO, NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY, NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO, I’LL MAKE IT ALL RIGHT! I’M BRACKING DOWN THE WALLS, THEY ARE THE *HEROES*

________________________________________________________________

62. Justs - “Heartbeat” Latvia 2016

AGE OF AMINATA <3 what a glorious two-piece act in the herstory of Latvia. To Latvia’s credit they completely reinvented themselves in the Supernova Era, usually resulting in bold entries (and Carousel). 

If "Love injected” was the earthquake that shook Latvia AWAKE with her experimental masterpieces, then "Heartbeat” is the aftershock, providing the same avant garde novelty, but not as impactful with a lesser impact. 

However, to recycle a phrase i’ve already used multiple times, a lesser Aminata is still fucking awesome. “Heartbeat” packs a massive emotional punch, being more aggressive and volatile than its predecessor, which... works out fine actually. Killer lines such as:

YOU’RE MY DESIRE AND MY PAIN BUT ALL THE BATTLES ARE IN VAIN YOU MEAN MORE THAN ANYTHING TO  MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

need an emotionally intense delivery and Justs fucking GOES for it without any inhibitions for his own health and safety 

and with every passing second

he gets more into the zone

right until the end, when he LOSES his voice and is reduced to panting an aspirated ”thank you”. 😍 If you’re going to sing about lost love, you’d better do it by also SCREAMING YOUR LUNGS OUT <3

________________________________________________________________

61. Hatari - “Hatrið mun sigra” Iceland 2019

God I’ve been dreading this write-up. Not because of the Hatari stans (lol who is going to complain about getting ranked 61st out of 408), but can I do Hatari justice in print? Hatari weren’t as much as an entry as they were the fiery spirit of mischief, an existential manifestation of defiance, a gestalt of provocative resistance, all contained in the tiny package of two asshole hellraisers.  Yes, assholes.  You see, the one thing you NEED to understand before everything else is that Hatari’s poetic palestine shawl moment is one of grade A assholery. Pulling that at the last sec towards their hosts WAS a dick move and Hatari were fully aware of it. We MUST see this as a fact before we discuss anything else that is also Hatari-related.

However, that’s precisely the point? Provocation was the sensation that swept the icelandic nation and its idolization became Hatari’s vocation with dedication and its application in the humiliation and the vexation of the Israeli station in support of the Palestine civilization, leaving KAN in devastation after months of the rabid disorganization was a justification well worth the potential probation. In other words: GET REKT KAN SHIT HOSTS HOPE U GET BLACKLISTED LOLOL #Hatredwon 😈 😈. 

ps: still getting the Israelis to cheer for them despite being OPENLY pro-palestine when will ur faves.

~My reasons~ for ranking Hatari lower post-show are less grounded in the politics (again, they were jerks but... that’s also the entire point of sending Hatari lmfao) and more determined by the actual live performance: I thought Klemens was underwhelming and his parts of “Hatrið mun sigra” were also the fave bits. 😭 On the flipside I thought Matthias was excellent (when he didn’t miss his cue) and I legit laugh out loud each time I see his hilarious OTT facial expressions.

What a justified use of guyliner <3 The act was yet again a diabolically brilliant clanging of chains, bashing of mallets, grinding of gears, steaming of punk, a satanic cirque du soleil come to rain justice and brimstone down on our hopeless souls. Hatari were the anti-heroes we needed and don’t deserve.

ps: i hope i will ever find someone who loves me as much as Klemens loves Teresa May. 

Iceland’s chart looks much better than I thought it would, but the averages actually put them somewhere in the middle on average. Iceland are always hit-or-miss for me, much moreso in the 2010s than in any other decade and it’s largely down to them failing to pick the best available option because, you know, BadTastitis. 

the next update... will be the FINAL one in this shade of green :o  Yes, we are about to move on to the highest, upperest, bestest tier of Eurovision entries. The mind-blowingly amazing entries that are not off this fucking world. Find out who makes the cut and who doesn’t TOMORROW :o

[eurosong]

ESC 2019 grand final ranking

Afternoon, folks! I have many finals day traditions, and another of them is to share my ranking of the 26 Eurovision songs that made it into the grand final on Saturday. Was a hard one to do given that a huge bulk of my favourites got knocked out in the semis, but as usual I will try to give a positive as well as a negative for each song nonetheless. The songs are presented in their running order, with their rank out of the 26 finalists for me in brackets thereäfter.

Malta (4) + Full of energy, a very non-linear song that contains many musical surprises. Lyrically, it’s one of the most clever and playful of the year. I love the colourful metaphors playing on the concept of chameleon, and the “GIVE ME X I’M A Y” is the lyrical meme of the year. - The chorus is divisive and I can understand why, as it’s rather repetitive. Albania (2) + How could they put this queen on in the death slot? One of the most moving songs of the night, performed with style, power and grace. Sparsely poetic lyrics about something deeply meaningful. No need for theatrics - the song speaks for itself. - Though I find it a positive, maybe it does need a bit more staging though to carry across the message of the song more clearly.

Czechia (9) + Earwormy, upbeat song with retro flourishes. Would have made a great show starter. - Once again, problematic lyrics from Czechia. A song about listening into other folk having sex, wtf m8?

Germany (15) + The song has a really nice build - the verse and bridge are powerful, have good lyrics and make me expect a lot. - The chorus is a cliché let down. The girls are still two soloists as opposed to a group and often are rather screechy.

Russia (20) + I like that Sergej went in a rather different direction musically, with something more orchestral and qualitative musically. Coming back with another “b*p” would have been a much lazier move. - All rather melodramatic. Songs like these should move folk but I feel completely impassive. The clunky lyrics don’t help.

Denmark (14) + It’s nice to hear Danish again after two decades of the Danes dodging their national language for so long. - The sweetness becomes overbearing tweeness over time. I’m a little sad this got in over more substantive songs in its semi. Nordic bloc vote is strong. San Marino (25) + Serhat is a nice guy and the song has a nice message. - The fact this bizarre throwback, performed atonally, got in over Portugal and Hungary will haunt me to the end of days. Macedonia (18) + It’s nice to have Macedonia in the final again - they’d been done wrong for so long. It’s a classy composition. - It’s also rather dated and the lyrics come across as some Hallmark card factory produced lines.

Sweden (13) + It’s a catchy song. The Mamas supply the charisma where JH lacks. - Very repetitive song. Not very soulful, strange for a gospel-influenced song. Slovenia (6) + Musically, one of the more interesting songs of the year. Minimalist, intimate, some very nice turns of phrase in the lyrics. - Their attitude towards the press and fans as a cumbersome extra getting in the way of promoting their song leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. After they insulted the journalist, I regretted giving them votes.

Cyprus (21) + I like what I’ve seen of Tamta over the past few weeks. She cares about the fans, other artists (getting mad at Conan’s elimination) and has a lot of character. - The song is a pretty lame attempt to ride Fuego’s wave, even if I can tolerate it more than I did 2018′s song.

Netherlands (10) + The circularity of Eurovision. After folk predicted this year would definitely be won by a banger, it’s not bad at all to see a downbeat song as the most fancied to win, especially one written by the performer. - Doesn’t move me at all, and I am moved by several other songs in this year’s 41. Repetitive structure and overuse of a head voice that for me is not very good. The song will forever be associated in my mind with being made to feel like a complete idiot by a number of people for not finding it magnificent.

Greece (5) + Catchy, anthemic and I love the strange timbre of her voice. - The lyrics are non sequitur clichés and the staging is all a little odd. Israel (24) + This song choice will protect Ireland’s record of number of wins on home soil. - His syrupy yet maudlin voice matched with the bizarre, overwrought lyrics make the world lose all its colours for 3 minutes for me.

Norway (19) + It’s a happy, super-catchy tune and nice to see Sami representation - It’s a bizarre pot pourri that feels messy. The type of bizarre song that holds advances in ESC’s reputation back.

UK (16) + Michael Rice is an unbelievably nice guy with a good voice and I could not begrudge his success. The first thirty seconds are really effective. - Then it gets reallly repetitive and very X factor winners’ single.

Iceland (11) + I like the retro techno musical æsthetic. I also like the amount of effort they’re putting into side projects like “Iceland Music News” to build their mythos. It’s good to have representation of other styles in the final. - They were extremely aloof to their fans in Madrid. I know it’s part of the act, but it still comes across as dickish. The staging is very ott.

Estonia (12) + Victor is such a nice guy and he was one of the most reflective people after the semi final, vowing to step it up. The song has grown on me a bit. - It’s still Poundland Avicii with some very dodgy, not so high “high” notes.

Belarus (7) + Yes, in the end I’m gunna like it. Zena showed a charisma and professionalism beyond her years and brought the track alive. - It’s still way too repetitive, and the staging is the most bizarre string of non-sequiturs.

Azerbaijan (8) + Azerbaijan’s second best track after Skeletons for me. I love the ethnic elements and the atypical lyrical subject. Çingiz’ voice is also low key impressive. - That staging tho. How were people in the press room so impressed? So cheesy and chintzy.

France (26) + It’s sounding a bit more interesting than at Destination Eurovision, with a tiny bit of drama added with that stronger instrumentation. - It’s a masturbatory ode to self, and bringing in people to act like human props to make it look like a song of empowering people when for me it’s just a song about me me me doesn’t cut the cheddar.

Italy (1) + I love everything about this song with all my heart and soul. Please god let it be a surprise winner. In what bleak universe do we live in, where this winning would be a surprise?! Unforgettable music and an emotive punch to the heart in both the sublime lyrics and the clever orchestration. - I can’t say anything against it. I tried, believe me.

Serbia (3) + Bringing Serbia back to doing what they do best. Such a classy, emotive ballad performed by one of THE voices of the evening. - They could have done with making it a little

Switzerland (23) + Luca’s got a catchy song and the staging is very slick. - He radiates a smug energy for me whilst singing this. These Fuego-inspired tracks are not my cup of tea.

Australia (22) + Inspired by important personal experiences, its lyrics are sincere and the zeééééèèèero is an earworm - shame it’s not sung as much in the live version. - Led to believe they’d go with a classier staging, instead it’s even more extra and kitsch than in Australia. This slid down my ranking a lot, as I liked the song more in the studio version and the way folk have exploded in favour of it just because of this staging makes me like it a lot less.

Spain (17) + Cheerful, infectious, party stuff. - In the end, it leaves you with the hangover from such a party with its vacuousness.

[guysofeurovision]

Can you give your opinions about all of this year's song :) ?

I’m listening to the songs a lot, these days.  At the time writing I can briefly group them this way:

**TOP CHOICE**

- Italy (ok, I think I don’t have to explain this anymore :P )

- Uk (probably nothing too original or new: but this is the classical, enjoyable British ballad with a great voice and a gospel crescendo that, live, makes me shiver a bit)

- Israel (at first I thought of a muezzin with a bad stomachache: then I listened to the words and, in the meanwhile, I was blow away from the voice: as a result, it’s in my top five!)

- Ireland (I was so used to not memorable Irish songs that I approached this one without any hype but hey, the girl can sing and the refrain is surprisingly catchy!)

- Azerbaijan (by far the best Azeri song since they entered the contest: I can’t find any flaws)

- Malta (can’t tell exactly why, but I like this Maltese entry very much: fresh, loud, not obvious)

- Greece (the kind of modern pop I really enjoy: plus, her voice sounds special)

- Switzerland (just listen and sway your hips: flawlessly catchy

- Hungary (this has grown on me so much lately: give it more than one try and you’ll find yourself whistling with Joci)

- Norway (every year we need something like this: so pop it hurts! Let me dance with the Northern lights: don’t judge me! He lo e loi laaaa)

- Albania (I’m always open to a good revamp: I still think her vocals are too much but all in all I give this a complete promotion, especially for the musical part and the non-English choice)

 **GOOD**

- Russia (probably the best of this group but, as I’ve already written, I don’t feel Sergey’s voice is the perfect fit for this dark song: too clear)

- Montenegro (this brings me back to my childhood: it’s like a -bad- Sanremo  song from the 90s: the revamp made it even worse BUT I LOVE THEM) #guiltypleasure #eurovisiontrash

- The Netherlands (I’m fine with this tune, just not completely blown away)

- Portugal (great studio version but I don’t know what to think about the live performance……………)

- Cyprus (Stromae meets Rihanna… but do we have to talk about her haircut?)

- Estonia (nice Zelmerlonian song, but vocals are a bit weak)

- Belgium (it’s grown on me, but can’t help thinking he’s imitating Bastille)

- Lithuania (ok, maybe here Jurijus’s beauty could have clouded me at first: but when I say I like this song -now- I really mean it! Roarrr)

- France (good but we have many less ordinary pop songs this year)

- Australia (not bad but overrated and, as I’ve foreseen, her trills are starting to annoy me)

- Spain (revamp made it catchier, still too similar to Alvaro Soler: it could have been more original and -a bit- less repetitive)

- Romania (sexy voice, captivating rhythm: every “hey” is a sudden orgasm for the songstress. Thumb’s up!)

- Armenia (I can’t help but feeling I should be won over by this act but I’m still working on it. Eventually, I’ll get there.)

- Sweden (I wish I could send this to the dislike group because I expected so much more from Sweden… but I can’t because I don’t hate listening to it: plain and simple)

- Serbia (typical, moving Balkan song: we’ve heard better ones, but can’t say it’s bad at all)

  **DISLIKE**

- Germany (nothing against Disney songs but a lot against these sisters’ nasal, screaming voices: pass this song to another singer and I’ll push my buzz)

- Finland (so much -manly- potential thrown away with such a WTF?! song  -_-)

- Belarus (an honest Eastern attempt to an easy pop song: forgettable, but not a complete fiasco)

- Croatia (say what you want, I won’t change my mind: the guy SCREAMS and I hate it!!!)

- Latvia (really elegant but it won’t quite surely stand out on this kind of stage)

- Austria (everything about this act is so poor, don’t know what to save…)

- Czechia (it’s not that it’s completely bad… I simply don’t like these electronical tunes)

- Iceland (it surely stands out but, personally, it’s not my cup of tea)

- Poland (every time I listen to their squawking voices I end up with nightmares O_O They’re like dolls from an horror movie)

- Georgia (trying to be intense, actually looking creepy)

- Denmark (such a poor choice, nothing more to say: give us back the vikings!)

- Macedonia (she sings well and her ballad isn’t awful but maybe too, too sad in the end)

- Slovenia (original and alternative sound? no, you’re just boring)

- Moldova (not a complete crap but so old-fashioned it hurts: I’m not on board)

- San Marino (please, stop killing English pronunciation and just retire)

[lacommunarde]

Eurovision Semi-Finals-1 2019

Wow - Netta is having so much fun!

I like the stage!

“Thank you, Netta! You and your weird chicken moves are the reason we are here tonight!” - XD

* Cyprus - Replay

What is she wearing? I like the music. Oh my god. Mesh shirt goth cowboys

It’s a pop song. Catchy. More or less generic. But it’s not a ballad!

Montenegro

Sounds like pre-teen pop-rock.

If you want lighting techie not to hate you, do not wear all white.

Finland - Look Away

Song’s not bad. Though perhaps this should be called replay, because I recognize several parts of it from elsewhere.

* Poland - Fire of Love

Oh! Shrill! I like the outfits, but what? 

Please stop.

Slovenia - Sebi

Meh.

Czech Republic - Friend of a Friend

[What is with the casual outfits this year? Even more props to Cyprus’s chandler woman.]

Oh my god - early 90s.

Fairly inoffensive song.

* Hungary - My father

What is with the t-shirts?

Song isn’t bad. Sounds like it will build. Also very good voice. Plus, points because it isn’t in English. Nice!

Belarus

Aspiring pop - but again, 90s, her hair and expression look exactly like Cher from Clueless. Her costume looks like baseball cheerleader. Song is cool though.

* Serbia  

Yay! Points for having dressed up! Point for not singing in English! Points for the belting! I like! Ooh! Cool use of the stage!

Belgium 

Your wearing a gamer jacket isn’t helping you look of age to be in this adult Eurovision rather than Junior Eurovision. He looks like a wannabe Justin Bieber.

You know, you have to be drumming for it to count under the Peace Peace Love Love rules.

Georgia

Whoa, cool background. [Why is everyone either dressed like a techie or in all white?] Ooh! Building into... okay, first build fake. Now do the real build. 

Ooh! They’re in Mount Doom. Everything’s on fire

* Australia - Zero Gravity

Oh, fairy godmother... hi Glinda

wtf

okay, but at least she’s going for it vocally. whatever it is.

opera!

Stilts! swaying around on stilts!

*Iceland

angry techie BDSM

Ooh, they sent something who can actually do the death metal thing with his voice!

And BDSM. umm, wow...!

And the song ended with his foot on someone’s back. 

Cool

Estonia

No. Douchey outfit. Meh for song.

Portugal - Cell Phones

Jafar in green with a fake plastic beard

Holy crap! He’s dancing en pointe in sneakers! 

Oh, was he singing?

Greece 

At least you dressed up. Ooh sounds pretty nice

Wings, ballet dancers with swords

they have the balloon thing from The Prisoner... and have just tossed it into the audience! 

Maybe slightly too conceptual

San Marino - Say Na Na Na

What the...?

San Marino... why???

What The Fuck, San Marino? 

I’m dying of laughter

I LOVE Dana International!!! Yay!!!

Going to Final

Greece

Belarus

Serbia

Cyprus

Estonia

Czech Republic

Australia

Iceland

San Marino

Slovenia

[niamarmoshanightdragonflyarchive]

“Answer 21, Tag 21″ but actually no wtf why 21 it’s cruel

got tagged by stanisth3man(thank you,dude, i LOVE do thing like that oh hell yeah!)

1. Nickname/s: NiaMarmosha, Ice Reptiloid, Skotch (it’s actually should be Sketch but people from ask decieded that Skotch is cooler. They’re right)

2. Zodiac sign: Aquarius

3. Height: 159,5 cm (yes that 0,5 I IMPORTANT)

4. Hogwarts House: Slytherin or Ravenclaw. (But my heart in Hufflepuff. But tests said no. Rude )

5.The last thing you googled: i rarely use google for search so i don’t remember  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6. Favourite musician/s:

Korn, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Three day Grace, Night Club, Ic3peak, Jain, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Alizbar, System of A Down, Panic! At The Disco,Tardigrade inferno, some Voca-composer(Utsu-P, Babuchan, GhOST, Moros, S.O.U.L. , ATOLS, MASA, MARETU, Dasu, Circus-p) and i’m tired, so enough :’D That’s not all but eh

7. Song Stuck in my head:  D.K. - Б-Бесит

8. Following now: 164 (i don’t like to follow many blogs so my board won’t be too overposts)

9. Followers: 1212 (….W H A T. WTF????? HOW WHY FROM WHERE??? holy shit!!!!!! yeah, i only now noticed wtf!!! WHAT THE HELL)

10. Do I get asks: yup but rarely. Mostly requests (which i do veeeeeeeery slowly huh yeah))

11. Amount of sleep: 5 or 8-9 hours

12. Lucky number: wish i know

13. What I’m wearing: my usual home clothes - tunic and sports long shorts

14. Dream job: in game industry(concept artist, artist, creative director HA…let me do my stupid shit…) or artist freelancer(maybe do also some merch haha)

15. Dream trip:   maybe europe trip? especially England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Netherland, ITALY (my kid dream). Also Baltics, Scandinavia…And Ukraine and Belarus…andd…ok, maybe it would be interesting to see world (but not africa, sorry i scared to face africa personal. My pale skin will be killed and then me by animals or insects )

16. Favourite food: noodles, PIZZA, potato’s dishes, milk chocolates, salads!! MORE SALADS TO ME. VEGETABLES aaah

it’s easier for me  to say what’s not my fav

17. Instruments: i have a guitar, but i stopped play on her some years ago. sad huh

18. Languages: Russian, English (also i learned french in lyceum. but now i actually can just read and know some words.)

19. Favorite song/s:

[11 Acorn Lane - Time For Tea (Melbourne Swing Mix)], [Simon Amiot -  Delinquent Theme], [BLACKPINK - ‘붐바야’(BOOMBAYAH], [Rodrigo y Gabriela - Hanuman], [40 Sons - I Have The Gun], [IOWA - Бьёт Бит], [Vigiland - Friday Night‬‬‬], [Jain - On My Way], [BETTA LEMME - BAMBOLA], [Валерий Меладзе - Иностранец], [Oh Wonder - Lose It], [Night Club - Scary World] , [Nyxx - Voodoo (feat. Aesthetic Perfection)], [Sick Puppies - Monsters], [AViVA - HUSHH], [Missio - Twisted]

ok i stopped. if you want to listen you can click on name, i put a link.

20. Random fact: When I was a teenager, I thought it would be fun to learn how to burp on purpose. Now I can burp at any moment.

21. Aesthetic:I dunno what to say there.eeeh I love smug villiains theme? peacfull nature without people, BRIGHT COLORS WITH CRAZY THEME, humorous bright things which bring joy and happy???

eeh i tried

I’m not tagging anyone because i know my friends won’t do it anyway so here’s the photo of my cat instead:

[k-pop-pride]

Eurovision

So, it was the semi finals tonight. Don't know if anyone cares but here's how I thought it went.

1. Cyprus - Those back up dancers looked like they'd just walked out of Hala Hala by Ateez.

2. Montenegro - Um, are they aware what Eurovision is. I wasn't sure it could get any worse and then they did the ending pose.

3. Finland - Cool back up dancer but I'm not convinced the DJ is playing. And there wasn't enough energy for what I thought was going to be a dance track.

4. Poland - Loved the outfits and it was an alright song, but they could have done with a little more stage presence and performance.

5. Slovenia - So it was just them staring into eachother's eyes. Very chill though, don't know if that's a good thing though.

6. Czech Republic / Czechia - Nice performance and background video. Catchy song, but I'm not really feeling it. Yet probably will get better on Saturday.

7. Hungary - Catchy song, but the vibe isn't a perfect match for Eurovision. Sounded alright tho.

8. Belarus - Grew on me as it went on. Catchy lyrics, cool performance. Overall good song.

9. Serbia - Amazing Vocals. Very powerful song, has the potential to do well. The effects made the performance just that much better.

10. Belgium - I felt like the nerves got to him, but the song has the potential. In the finals he might do quite well.

11. Georgia - Wow that was intense. Love the volcano behind him. Quite impressive.

12. Australia - I love the fact that they're in Eurovision. Looked less like zero gravity and more like Frozen in the Air. Great performance.

13. Iceland - WTF!!!!!!! I'm not sure I actually like the song, but the concept was, just woah. Definite shock value.

14. Estonia - Catchy Song, but his vocals were soooooo bad. And what was going on with that guitar.

15. Portugal - Loved the outfits, but wasn't that much into it. They won a couple years ago tho, so their fine.

16. Greece - Angels, fencers, flowers, what more could you want from an all female entry. Jokes aside it was quite good.

17. San Marino - Alright performance, cool song. But he can't sing that well. Bop, tho.

My favourite ten were;

1. Iceland

2. Australia

3. Poland

4. Belarus

5. Greece

6. Serbia

7. Estonia (?)

8. Czech Republic

9. Portugal

10. Georgia

The ten that went thru were

Greece - yes, win for the gays

Belarus - good, obvious choice

Serbia - yep, I loved her

Cyprus - um...

Estonia - as expected

Czech Republic - yay, I loved them

Australia - wooh!

Iceland - Eurovision in a nutshell

San Marino - um...

Slovenia - sorry, what? They actually went thru. Come on!

Anyway can't wait for Thursday night and I get to vote in that semifinal so that'll be fun.

[andtheirmoonlight]

my results

Albania — Fanfara Tirana (folk, brass)

Armenia — Djivan Gasparyan (folk, duduk)

Australia — Youth Group (pop rock)

Austria — Soap&Skin (???????!!!!! sadcore? dark wave? wtf is this woman doing? don’t know, but I’m into it)

Belarus — Lyapis Trubetskoy (pop rock)

Belgium — dEUS (pop rock)

Bosnia and Herzegovina — Goran Bregović + Wedding and Funeral Orchestra (folk, brass, beautiful chaos)

Brazil — João Donato (bossa nova)

Bulgaria — Dimitar Gugov (folk, gadulka)

Canada — Mylène Farmer (synthpop, pop)

Cabo Verde — Cesária Évora (folk, morna)

Colombia — Totó La Momposina (folk, afro, cumbia)

Denmark — Saybia (pop rock)

England — Turin Brakes  !!!KINGS!!!! (indie folk rock)

Finland — Nightwish !only before 2005!!! (symphonic metal)

France — Denez Prigent (breton folk)

Georgia — Mgzavrebi (folk rock, folk pop)

Germany — Blind Guardian (power metal)

Greece — Anna Vissi (schlager)

Hungary — Dalriada (folk/power metal)

Iceland — Of Monsters and Men (indie rock)

Iran — Sima Bina (folk)

Ireland — The Corrs (folk pop)

Israel — Arik Einstein (rock, pop rock)

Italy — Cesare Cremonini (pop)

Lebanon — Postcards (indie rock, dream pop)

Netherlands — Within Temptation (symphonic metal)

New Zealand — Crowded House (rock)

Northern Ireland — Two Door Cinema Club (pop rock)

Norway — Lene Marlin (pop)

Peru — Wendy Sulca !no shame. Boobie song 4ever! (folk pop)

Philippines — Freddie Aguilar (folk pop)

Poland — Maanam (rock, post-punk)

Romania — Taraf de Haïdouks (folk)

Russia — Umka y Bronevik (folk rock)

Scotland — Admiral Fallow (pop rock)

Slovakia — Tublatanka (rock)

Slovenia — zalagasper (pop, trip hop/downtempo)

Spain — Estopa (pop rock)

Sweden — Roxette 😢if you know, you know….. (pop rock)

Ukraine — Okean Elzy (pop rock)

Wales — Novo Amor (indie folk rock)