Eurovision 2019

Just a notification of you’re interested in the yearly dose of music that has nothing to do with Simon Cowell, it is this week.

Of course, you could always tune in on the expectation that something will go badly wrong, it does appear to be the most contentious and politicised contest since…

Plus – here is one of the promotional videos. What more need I say?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz25ySXQn60

PS : no spoilers please, I don’t watch performance videos or do the whole social media thing.

Just a notification of you’re interested in the yearly dose of music

Sadly the on-call rota is such that I won’t be on-call in the next week and the Tories seem to have shut the coal mines. I’m resourceful, I will find a way to avoid it.

Even by the standards of Eurovision, the first semi final was nuts.

Random comments on my blog, full broadcast here https://youtu.be/UkhYYwF7XaU (if you’re only maybe interested in the songs, skip the first 12 minutes).

I don’t […] do the whole social media thing.

What is RISC OS OPEN Forum (especially Aldershot) if it isn’t social media? 8~P

I have no idea how to respond to Iceland.

What is RISC OS OPEN Forum (especially Aldershot) if it isn’t social media?

I’m unsure whether to use the label “anti-social media” or “asocial media” but I’m leaning toward the latter.

As to Ricks viewpoint on “fluff” that goes with this event – it’s a big thing with the gay community trying to out camp each other. That being a view expressed by someone in the gay community.

Re: A couple of things on Rick’s blog:

• I agree with watching everything “blind”; it’s more enjoyable that way since you don’t know what’s coming.
• You can’t actually vote with the Eurovision app itself. It’s a frontend onto an SMS, so if you can find the numbers then you can vote from a “dumbphone”.
• I think there’s a Blu-ray as well as a DVD, but they don’t bother to mention it. The YouTube streams disappear after a while, so buying the DVD/BR is the official way of keeping it for posterity. Or just use a YouTube downloader ;)
• According to Wikipedia, the French performer is indeed male.
• Agreed about Mr Sand; as I said to the friend I was watching it with, “let’s see how much he fumbles it this time”. At least he’s predictable. Take it away…

since you don’t know what’s coming.

Hello Australia. ;-)

It’s a frontend onto an SMS

Hmm, I wonder what other permissions it expects.

The YouTube streams disappear after a while,

Really? 2016 semi final 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRR3ppOqBzw

Last I heard, they were trying to gather together copies of all of the contests for people to view – I can imagine there are only so many DVDs. Can I get a copy of the 1991 contest? It’s on YouTube… ;-)

At least he’s predictable. Take it away…

So predictable, in fact, that when I copied the file I wrote last year and changed the titles (so I had a ready made template), I simply left that line in…

Really? 2016 semi final 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRR3ppOqBzw

I stand corrected! I wonder what I was thinking of…

A couple of things on Rick’s blog

Tonight’s contest, depending on where you stand, was more serious or less crazy.
https://www.heyrick.co.uk/blog/index.php?diary=20190516

…crap, I’ve just noticed the advent calendar playlist is still showing. I’ll try to remember to remove that on Saturday…

Two extra rules for the Eurovision drinking game.

• Take a gulp every time you spot a technical error or camera operators. Don’t worry, you won’t get drunk, it’s a very slick presentation.

• Take a tiny sip every time the announcers say “KAN, Isreal’s independent broadcaster”. Don’t worry, you will get drunk, they say it about as often as they can, just in case we failed to notice the first dozen times.

It’s 2.02 (which is half of Not Found, maybe just Dead Tired?).

Here’s my writeup if anybody cares.
https://www.heyrick.co.uk/blog/index.php?diary=20190518

Vince – there are a few notes to you in there. ;-)

“Eurovision is all about putting aside our differences and all coming together”

Meanwhile I’m greatly amused. Anyway, now to wait until December!

Outrage

Madonna had dancers with Israeli and Palestinian flags hugging, but that might have been missed in the midst of how genuinely awful that performance was.

Anyway, now to wait until December!

August, if you like choir stuff.
November, if you like perky rugrats.
Wales is expected to participate, so if you have satellite you can pick that up on S4C. Pro-tip – fiddle with the audio settings, there’s an English commentary too. ;-)

No information yet on what Japan plans to enter in the Asia contest.

So, do we get Rick Reviews Eurovision 2021 this time around? :P

Only five of my favourites made it through the first semifinal :(

So, do we get Rick Reviews Eurovision 2021 this time around? :P

2019, interval, 2021 Hmmm, good label: “Interval”

Oh crap, that was last night wasn’t it?

Well, I mostly stream it off YouTube these days, so I’ll have to pick up the video and watch it.

Oops.

Oh crap, that was last night wasn’t it?

I can’t say I deliberately “missed” it as I hadn’t paid any attention to any scheduling.

I’d say I prefer the Interval but for one not so minor detail – the state of my health during the Interval.
So, I might take the view that the Interval is ending and the background “elevator” music has clearly started, and we may soon have proper music.

Only five of my favourites made it through the first semifinal :(

I could only pick six favourites. The remaining four were “ones I thought would qualify”.
I wonder if your picks matched mine?

https://heyrick.eu/blog/index.php?diary=20210520
(took forever (started at 7pm, just finished))

And there’s another semi final (broadcast today) that I might do tomorrow. Hmmm… my head will spin come Friday night.

At least I don’t bother adding pictures any more, that used to take days to get them captured, cropped, scaled, and embedded. There doesn’t seem much point when it’s all on YouTube these days.

I could only pick six favourites.

I should’ve said “my top ten”. I made a list of all sixteen, then deleted the six I disliked the most. A friend reckons the second semi-final has better songs, but I haven’t watched it yet.

Off to read your blog post now…

Edit: We only had six of the same picks. I believe that “flymo” was “pyro”. I didn’t have subtitles turned on so no extra comedy there!

Yep, Jon Ola Sand is gone. It remains to be seen whether “you’re good to go” replaces “take it away” as the ‘set phrase’.

Edit 2: I predicted 8/10 in the second semi :)

then deleted the six I disliked the most

I simply pick the ones that I feel any sort of affinity towards (read “like”), and then had to scramble to fill the list. In the end I settled for “ones that will probably qualify”. As usual, a few surprises.

Not least Germany flipping the bird to the entire planet. Classy. ;-)

reckons the second semi-final has better songs

Left my phone downloading it on the way to work.¹ So I know what I’ll be doing this evening…

Yep, Jon Ola Sand is gone.

Wah. He was fun.

I predicted 8/10 in the second semi :)

Ah, so now there’s a target to hit. ;-)

Who do you fancy as the winner? I think Sweden has a chance, but I’ve not seen the second semi yet.
Looks like the bookies reckon Italy’s noisy rock – https://eurovisionworld.com/odds/eurovision

¹ Due to codec enhancements, it’s about 980MB for 480p MP4, and 1.12GB for 720p WEBM. Guess which I picked.

I predicted 8/10 in the second semi :)

Snap. I wonder if they were the same eight? ;)
https://heyrick.eu/blog/index.php?diary=20210521

Six were the same. Inexplicably I didn’t pick Switzerland, and I can’t remember what the other one was offhand.

https://heyrick.eu/blog/index.php?diary=20210522
All done. Thank god it’s over. Three contests in three days and my brain is frazzled! It’s half two in the morning. A rice pudding for dinner and, well, then bedtime. Duh. ;-)

As for the result. Well… And no, I’m not talking about the winner.

As for the result.

Old rockers never die…

…they just