Eurovision Finals - Bearded woman from Austria wins

[Jaga]

Eurovision is sometimes shocking. It seems that in some aspects Europeans are more radical than Americans.

Here is the interview with Conchita Wurst from Austria who win the first place.
Her interview makes sense, although seeing her with a full beard is a bit shocking. I am probably the old school, since unisex should be accepted. I personally think that some on woman face and body is nothing terrible. Still it is a bit shocking. It looks a bit like Michael Jackson in a bit different form:

[Jaga]

and here she is during her performance. It could not be showed in American TV. Frankly I wish, she wear something down:


Below it looks a bit more normal, or abnormal:

[Jaga]

I rather prefer Enya:

[Jaga]

Below is infamous Polish soft sex rap which promotes Polish ladies as easy prostitutes:



thanks to its scandalous image Polish song was among the finalists

[Jaga]

Here finally are all 26 finalists in 5 minutes. Although there are some interesting songs, Eurovision is super-pompous and more about the cover than quality:

[Jaga]

Here is a commentary from CNN about some political aspects of Eurovision from now and in the past:

www.cnn.com/2014/05/09/showbiz/eurovision-showdown-ukraine-and-russia-face-the-music/

(CNN) -- At first glance the Eurovision Song Contest may seem like any old talent show. Singers perform live on TV, the public and special juries vote, and at the end of the night a star is born.

But don't call this "X Factor" or "American Idol". This is reality TV on steroids.

Every year around 40 nations from Spain to Azerbaijan field a musical act, each singing an original song in front of a huge television audience.

As part of the European festival of kitsch, some contestants sashay across the stage in barely-there dresses, and shriek into wind machines with the force of hurricanes. Pyrotechnics, fire, and massive LED screens are de rigeur.

It's a big draw. In 2013 more than 180 million viewers in 45 countries tuned in to the action. This year's final takes place on May 10 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Although officials describe Eurovision as a non-political event meant to unite Europe through song, politics inevitably colors the voting and the performances.

William Lee Adams, a Eurovision expert and the editor-in-chief of Wiwibloggs.com, the popular Eurovision website, has been in Denmark for the buildup since late April.

"Eurovision is about music, but it's also about identity and nation branding," he says. "The artists and their songs become symbols of the countries they represent."

This year is no different. Tensions over Crimea are already coloring the perception of acts from Russia and Ukraine.

During the semi-finals on May 6, some of the audience inside Copenhagen's B&W Hallerne booed the Russian act, a pair of 17-year-old twins called The Tolmachevy Sisters, below



"Months of frustration over Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and Putin's anti-LGBT laws have left Europeans angry," Adams says. "The booing was a release, a statement of solidarity with Ukraine and Russia's sexual minorities."

It doesn't help that Russia's love song features lyrics that some see as hinting at a border incursion: "...living on the edge, closer to the crime, cross the line, one step at a time...maybe there's a day you'll be mine."

In the past, Russia has relied on support from voters in the former Soviet bloc. Those votes seem less certain this year.

Russia's loss could be Ukraine's gain.

Ukraine's Mariya Yaremchuk made it to the final thanks to an electric performance of her song "Tick-Tock"
Getty Images

Mariya Yaremchuk, this year's Ukrainian act, will sing a song about love called "Tick-Tock." Her act features a man running inside a giant hamster wheel.

The act is not explicitly political, but in press conferences Yaremchuk has stressed that her goal is to show that art is stronger than politics, and that music lasts longer than warring politicians.

It's not all about Russia and Ukraine. During the semi-finals, the act from Poland featured women in traditional dress churning butter and washing clothes as a woman rapped about Slavic women: "Cream and butter taste so good /We will prepare for you delicious food/ Our beauty is famous all over the world/ You gotta see it for yourself and then you will know."

"Poland, one of Eastern Europe's economic success stories, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the European Union," Adams says. "Their song is a brilliant parody of Polish stereotypes, and a rebuke to all those who view Poland as backwards and behind-the-times." Poland below



In the past officials have disqualified songs with explicit political messages.

In 2009, the Republic of Georgia was forced to pull its entry "We Don't Wanna Put In." It was a clear poke at Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the 2008 South Ossetia War.

Creative license allows other songs with political messages to slip through. In 2011 the Portuguese entry, which translated as "The Struggle is the Joy," was a call for Portuguese to fight against the government's planned austerity measures. It became an anthem of protest during the financial crisis


"When the points are counted and the hair extensions come off, one government is going to be very disappointed.

William Lee Adams, Editor-in-Chief of Wiwibloggs.com

Political leaders, particularly those in the East, see the Eurovision results as a matter of international standing. Last year, when Azerbaijan failed to give any points to its political ally Russia, the Azeri president ordered a vote recount and the foreign ministers of two countries convened a meeting in Moscow.

Riding a wave of sympathy, Ukraine has emerged as one of the bookies favorites to win this year.

That won't sit well with authorities in Moscow. Nor will the reality that televoters in Crimea may still be counted as Ukrainian by their mobile phone companies.

"When the points are counted and the hair extensions come off, one government is going to be very disappointed," Adams says. "This isn't just a song contest. It's a battle in the war."

[Jaga]

here is another Polish attempt to transfer some polish tradition to the song, but there is too much gold in their robes and the main singer has green hair. It looked more like a theater performance:


Ich Troje - Follow My Heart (Poland) 2006 Semi-Final

[Eric]

Eurovision is more about the act than anything. In comparison, Intervision focused attention on the songs and the talent. With Eurovision, the more shocking the act and the appearances, the better.

[pieter]

Dear friends,

I had a very nice weekend with my parents in a hotel in the Veluwe forest erea. It was rainy, but the, the hotel, the diners, the old Dutch villages, farms and towns in this Low Saxon region was great. Loved the walking in the rain and the driving in my parents automatic transmission car, because we Europeans mostly drive cars with manual transmission (manual gearbox, stick shift for vehicles with hand-lever shifters). At least I do it in my daily life. Back to the subject. In the Dutch hotel I watched the Eurovision song context late in the evening saturday night. And it was tense, due to the fact that the Dutch contestants made a chance. Poland voted for the Netherlands with 12 points and so did Lithuania.

The Polish contribution of 2014
















I think the choice for Conchita Wurst from Austria was mainly a Western-European choice and that it had partly political and cultural reasons. The Dutch commentators said that there could be the chance or 'fact' (?) that some Western-Europeans voted for Conchita Wurst to make a statement against the conservative and nationalist homophobia and Gay bashing in some Central- and Eastern-European countries. Western-Europeans saw Gay Pride marches in Warsaw, Moscow and Belgrad being attacked by Polish, Russian and Serb ultra-nationalists. That is why I think the vote for Conchita the drag queen from Vienna (Austria) had partly sociological (psychological), social-cultural and thus political reasons. A progressive Western-European vote vs a conservative Central- and Eastern-European vote. This is how the Dutch voice overs of the Eurovision song context looked at it. It also shows how they look at a seemingly divided Europe in East- and West, next to the North-South division. Western-Europe being secular progressive liberal and Central- and Eastern-Europe being christian conservative and nationalistic in the view of the Western-European critics. (journalists/media/press/and some politicians)

In Western-Europe there was also the opinion that Slavic and non-Slavic (Baltic states, Hungary, Rumania, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Albania) in Central- and Eastern-Europe only vote for Central- and Eastern-European countries. It is true that in all parts of Europe you saw the phenomenon that people voted for the neighbors of their country. I was surprised yesterday that the Netherlands became second, and that it got so many votes and thus support from many countries. I was surprised about the Polish vote. The Dutch song was good, but a bit mellow, moderate and modest for Ilse de Lange's way of singing. I heard that they were very popular in Denmark. The duo will probably tour Europe.

I agree a little bit with Eric, sometimes Eurovision can be a parody or cliché of itself. Plastic artificial acts, a lot of exaggeration, over the top, and in the musical sense not so interesting. I agree with the Dutch voice over that the Dutch have taken some risk the last two years, by sending in real musicians with real music. The risk is that the Eurovision song contest audience and press aren't interested in really good music and quality, but more in theater, the act, the drama, the circus on stage and thus the show. It became late this weekend, I went to bed Sunday morning after the end of the Eurovision songcontest broadcast.

Ilse looks very shiny, positive and energetic and that is how she is in real. Maybe people like that and the quality of her songs.

[Jaga]

Pieter,

I am happy you had a nice weekend

I am glad that Poles voted for Dutch song. From listening to small clips I also liked woman from Azerbaijan, Sweden and group from Norway. It reminded me 80s. Yes, this is a show and it is about how to shock the most!

[pieter]

Jaga,

It was nice, because I don't see my parents that often. In the summer we will be reunited again as family, when my sister and daughter (my niece) are coming to the Netherlands for two weeks. I am looking forward to it! My Dutch grandparents lived in the town/village Epe (Gelderland) we visited this weekend. There is a family tradition visiting this place. My grandmother lived there for decades until she died. (1952-1986) We spend a lot of holidays and weekends there. Now we were in an old fashionate hotel in typical Eastern-Dutch (Low Saxon) Veluwe region style with a mounted boar, little fox and European badger in the lounge. A hotel with Dutch, Belgian (Flemish) and Russian guests. (I heard some guests speaking Russian) The area changed a bit and I didn't liked the fact that all around the hotel houses were built and campings were there. Progression has it's costs, it goes at the expense of nature in the densly populated Netherlands and Western-Europe in general. We had to drive or walk a few miles to get to forests area's and older villages, villa's and hamlet's.

My parents (old fashionate people who like to keep things as they are) were shocked when they saw the town my grandmother lived. A lot of new buildings, neighborhoods and shopping malls were built in a very cheap way. It was a little bit funny to look at the irritation and frustration of my parents. My father said: "It is a crime how they destroyed this pitoresque, charming old town with a nice small center by building this cheap trash." Later we were lost in the town due to all the new ugly neighborhoods built there. "What is wrong with those politicians and people, they destroy their own town, heritage, culture and architectural image?" The town with oldfashionate restaurants, hotels, a townhall, post office, Roman-Catholic and Protestant churches, thatched farms and villa's was gone. Only in the periphery of the town there were some old fashionate buildings, gardens, woods and thatched farms and villa's left. All over the Netherlands you have these cheap built shopping malls, new buildings, industrial zones. My father loves the old Dutch country side and that every of the 12 provinces has it's own types of farm architecture, and that there were a lot of charming, old and 19th century villages and towns. The world changes and so also the town where my (Rotterdam) grandparents went to after my grandfathers retirement.

I always love the weekends once a few years when I spend a weekend with my parents in a hotel near that good old town of my grandmother (and grandfather before he died in 1962)

Some images of the places we saw this weekend:














The Cannenburgh castle in the town Vaassen


New ugly shopping malls like these anger people like my parents. They are not in the old style and replace cosy, old fashionate and beautiful old town and village centers.




Unfortunately it rained all weekend. If it had not rained we would have cycled like this family.

The family holidays in that erea of the Veluwe were always cycle holidays. The car was used for daytrips and to go to family reunions in the castle Cannenburgh in the town Vaassen next to Epe.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epe pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epe_(Holandia)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaassen de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaassen

[karl]

Jaga

Thank you for the presentation of Eurovision for some time I have missed it for various reasons. It was a bit in the first, some what unsettling with Conchita Wurst. But only for a short bit upon over coming gender confusion. She or He, how should I say? Is very talented and presented an excellent programme for the audience to be admired.

I do agree with Eric, the Eurovision is what it is, a highly hyped up arrangement of entertainment, but then, who really cares, it is fun.

Pieter, thank you for sharing of your wonderful week end with your parents. I was laughing to me self in a silent manner with your description of your father and his distaste for modernization of the old into the new. I think I would like your father, he has the stability of time and knows what is real and what is for show. Yes, some of these made over areas will not survive the test of time as has been the structures built solid and strong. But then, these new building techniques are easly changed out into different designs, perhaps that is what our new world is about, change.

I did so enjoy your photos you have kindly shared, the mother wild boar and her little piglets were very loveable for I do enjoy the world around us. The buildings, they have the Saxon design, I was not aware this was in your area..but now I know.


It will be good for your sisters visit with you and your family. Children grow so quickly, and time is not our friend. The sadness though is how quickly time evaporates upon a visit and then it is time to go. I would only suppose it is not good to think in those terms, but to enjoy the time together with love and caring that is the hall mark of a good family.

Karl

[Jaga]

Pieter,

when I first saw the pictures of thatched houses I thought that these are Polish houses, then I read your message and it was from the region where your grandparents lives. You remind me how Europe is overcrowded. I remember going on the trip with German friends. They went to visit a castle and its neighborhood somewhere in the countryside. It was so many people there! It is hard in Europe, especially in Western Europe to see the real countryside anymore.

I understand your father feelings about cheap malls, but.... life is changing around us. Old villages are gone or will be gone soon. Probably the best place to visit to see old villages is still Poland, Ukraine and Romania, maybe parts of the old Yogoslavia and that's it.
Not everything can be build in the luxurious style, nobody could afford to buy stuff there anymore.

I would like to see the motel you stayed with a mounted boar, little fox and European badger in the lounge - or maybe there are on one of the pictures you included?

[Jaga]

Karl,

thanks for your comments and your new lovely picture
Referring to this woman strange looks. I agree that the voice is interesting. She or he is probably kind of the unisex. I think, it is good to get used to this.

[Jaga]

Apropos Conchita Wurst, this is just a nickname of a man whose real name is: Thomas "Tom" Neuwirth.
He is not a transwestite and all of it is just... a strange joke, since even the beard was not real.

here is his picture:

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/TomNeuwirth.JPG/400px-TomNeuwirth.JPG