and the winner is
So I avoided news of the Eurovision contest all day today while working (and fielding messages from friends in Europe) and took a break to watch it tonight with my friend Alan. He is house and dogsitting for Jon and Rob, who I knew are pretty high tech, so it occurred to me that they might have a mac hooked up to their ginourmous tv. And in fact, they did. It didn't occur to me til later that it was the first time I watched streaming internet video on a television, and I also suddenly realize why tv networks (at least as they currently exist as delivery vehicles for their content) could quickly become irrelevant. Of course, the first thing I saw when I called up the website for the broadcast was the congratulations splashed across the front page. Alan didn't see it, but the surprise was spoiled for me. Still it was fun to watch. I did notice that I liked some of the performances I hadn't cared as much for in the semifinals and wondered if the familiarity of repetition helped in that way - and if that could be a handicap for the 5 countries who start automatically in the finals. It was easy to see national favoritism in the voting, though Norway ran away by such a large margin that I don't think you can blame their victory on it. My poor Malta came in 22nd. ouch. The Russian entry had me hiding under the couch with the dogs. I don't know what that was about. And they placed 11th? Sheesh. Anyway, I'll link a few more of the performances below - not because they are the best, but more because they're good fun examples of some of the contest (dont forget to use the HQ button on them). As for the pups you see in the pictures, those are Jon and Rob's Neapolitan Mastiff's Nemo and Juno. Sweet, BIG dogs. That's Juno's paw next to my hand in the last pic - about the same size. I'm just glad they were there to protect me during that Russian entry.
Eurovision Finals 2009: Portugal