accompaniment
Sorry for the radio silence for so long. That sick stuff from the weekend has lingered all week, gradually better each day at least, finally now getting almost back to 100%. So for the most part, I hibernated most of the week and didn't do much outside of work and rest. One thing that did keep me company that may not have been on your radar is the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision has been around for more than 50 years, and is an annual contest televised across Europe (and beyond) and voted on by the viewers in the participating countries. Every country decides how their country's entry is chosen - some are chosen by tv networks, others by committees, and many by televised competitions within the country. Eurovision launched ABBA's career with their winning entry, Waterloo, for Sweden in 1974. Some of you know of my love for Schlager, a type of music I could best describe as European folk music that tends to be cheesy upbeat danceable singable pop - its what they sing in the tents at Oktoberfest and Apres-ski gatherings. Though many entries don't, its common to find songs in Eurovision that fit or come close to schlager, and the spectacle of the performances is often pure schlager, thus my love for Eurovision. Today, so many countries participate that they have to have two semi-final competitions, and 10 entries from each move on to the finals, along with 5 countries that are grandfathered into every finals. So those kept me company on Tuesday and Thursday, and the finals are Saturday. You can watch them at the link below, either live at Noon Pacific time, or afterward as a replay (click on past events.) I was glad to discover that this years competition is much better than last years, enough so that there are several I would be happy to see win. The staging and tv direction of Eurovision is always impressive, and this years hosts, Germany, have not disappointed in that aspect. If you can let go and enjoy it for what it is, you might just love it too.