Tuomo writes: With Ireland and Finland out of the way, I guess the fairest way to continue the review of this year's Eurovision entries is in the order that they will be performed in the semi-finals. In other words, here's Montenegro, Stefan Filipović, and Zauvijek volim te!
http://www.eurovision.tv/medialounge/video/592
My command of Montenegrin (?) is limited (!), so there's not much I can say about the lyrics other than what I was I able to understand thanks to my skills in Russian and my contrastive philological skills. But like Teräsbetoni, I commend them for singing in their own language!
Now for the more musical aspects: I hate to say this, but beyond the first 50 seconds, I lost my interest. Maybe this song will grow on me, but at first listening the genre (rock) didn't quite tweak my Eurovision nipple. It just sounds too 80s big hair arena rock to me, which in terms of visuals ironically clashes with what the Stefan looks like on the clip! My prediction at this point is that Montenegro might be performing in the final - or if not, at the least beating Finland...
Saturday, April 5, 2008
(in a whispered voice) We Saw Gay People
Tuomo writes: I guess our most persistant "bagel point" since our move has been the lack of visible gay people in the Lower Mainland. Ironically, just this past week, a report on so-called visible minorities (Canadian for non-Caucasian) came out; I sighed and turned to Dave and said, "I guess we don't belong to that group."
About two months ago, our friends Jerry and Michael (link to their blog on the right) in Maryland, set up a "blind date" with friends of their, Tim and Keith, who had also moved permanently to Vancouver. They were considerate to reach out first, and what do I do> drag my feet for like a month before I respond!!! At any rate, last night we finally got our act together and met. And what a pleasant evening it turned out to be, so many thanks, Jerry and Michael!!!
We had a drink over at their place, then went out to explore Davie Street, the gay area of Vancouver, and had dinner at a Greek restaurant. After dinner we walked around and returned to their place for a cup of coffee. All in all it was exactly what we have been missing since last June: just being able to relate to someone who's gay.
Interestingly enough, when we compared notes, we realised that some of our friends' reactions to the news that we were moving to Canada had shared the same tone - incredulity: why, are you sure, how come, almost how dare you... Fascinating...
So hopefully, we'll be able to get together again, and this time Dave and I will be hosting them - in our not as fabulous neighborhood in Langley :-)
About two months ago, our friends Jerry and Michael (link to their blog on the right) in Maryland, set up a "blind date" with friends of their, Tim and Keith, who had also moved permanently to Vancouver. They were considerate to reach out first, and what do I do> drag my feet for like a month before I respond!!! At any rate, last night we finally got our act together and met. And what a pleasant evening it turned out to be, so many thanks, Jerry and Michael!!!
We had a drink over at their place, then went out to explore Davie Street, the gay area of Vancouver, and had dinner at a Greek restaurant. After dinner we walked around and returned to their place for a cup of coffee. All in all it was exactly what we have been missing since last June: just being able to relate to someone who's gay.
Interestingly enough, when we compared notes, we realised that some of our friends' reactions to the news that we were moving to Canada had shared the same tone - incredulity: why, are you sure, how come, almost how dare you... Fascinating...
So hopefully, we'll be able to get together again, and this time Dave and I will be hosting them - in our not as fabulous neighborhood in Langley :-)
Friday, April 4, 2008
Eurovision 2008: Finland
Tuom writes: Eurovision season has begun, as one may have judged by my earlier posting on Ireland's entry for this year. Therefore, I am going to (ab)use our blog to reflect upon all the entries that will be competing in the finals hosted this year in Belgrade on May 24. Hopefully this will encourage my friends Tytti, Pekka, and Timo (and Dave...) to post some comments on my ruminations :-)
Last year, the top 10 finalists automatically made it to the final event of the following year with United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany (the Big Four, or the biggest funders of the event) while the others had to qualify for the remaining ten slots or so. This year however, everybody - except Serbia (the winner) and the Big Four - have to qualify for the final. Now, since there are a record amount of 43 countries vying to be in the final, there will be two semi-finals.
Let's start with Finland, participating in the first semifinal on May 20. My hapless home country had a long track of bad entries and sometimes sheer bad luck, rarely making it to the top 10, until 2006 when it hit jackpot with Lordi's Hard Rock Halleluja, a novel approach - a combination of masks, hard rock, and pyrotechnics. Last year's entry (Hanna Pakarinen's Leave Me Alone) came across as a spin-off of what had appeared to be the heavy rock recipe to victory. Unfortunately, this didn't quite cut it , and Finland was reduced back to its usual place, i.e. somewhere between places 11 and 20. Despite this rude awakening, Finns were quick to note that at least Sweden placed even lower... BTW Dave claims heard Leave Me Alone on his satellite radio this past summer!
Once again Finns have laid their trust in the power of heavy rock. At this point, I can only assume that the rationale is, "If we can't win the competition by seducing the audience by means of traditional methods (i.e. sex and showmanship), we might as well scare the living sh*t out of them!" :-)
Finland's entry, by Teräsbetoni ("Steel Concrete"), is Missä miehet ratsastaa, or "Where Men Ride Their Horses." Teräsbetoni's claim to fame is that they perform shirtless; in my opinion, not much there to write home about... At any rate, I have to praise their decision to perform in Finnish; way too often since 1999, the entries have been performed in English by almost every country - and not just in English but in insipid English. Unfortunately Teräsbetoni's lyrics rely on some kind of macho humour that I don't quite get ("Where men ride their horses sheep don't dare graze"); as a result, I don't think anybody who doesn't know Finnish will get much out of this "noise." As for me, I prefer the traditional, almost required A-B-A-B-C-Modulation pattern, which Teräsbetoni - lo and behold - does apply here, but give me a power ballad or something poppy at any time instead of this. On the other hand, there was not much better to choose from anyway, so what can you do? But I'll leave the decision up to the 14-year-old teenage boys across the continent, who hopefully will be watching the Eurovision final on the 24th and televoting for Finland in testosterone driven fervour :-)
Enjoy!
or
http://www.eurovision.tv/medialounge/video/606
Here's a rough translation of the Beowolf-y refrain:
Missä miehet ratsastaa "Where men ride their horses
siinä lampaat ei voi laiduntaa sheep cannot graze;
Missä miehet ratstastaa Where men ride their horses
siinä kuulee suden ulvontaa one can hear the howl of a wolf"
Last year, the top 10 finalists automatically made it to the final event of the following year with United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany (the Big Four, or the biggest funders of the event) while the others had to qualify for the remaining ten slots or so. This year however, everybody - except Serbia (the winner) and the Big Four - have to qualify for the final. Now, since there are a record amount of 43 countries vying to be in the final, there will be two semi-finals.
Let's start with Finland, participating in the first semifinal on May 20. My hapless home country had a long track of bad entries and sometimes sheer bad luck, rarely making it to the top 10, until 2006 when it hit jackpot with Lordi's Hard Rock Halleluja, a novel approach - a combination of masks, hard rock, and pyrotechnics. Last year's entry (Hanna Pakarinen's Leave Me Alone) came across as a spin-off of what had appeared to be the heavy rock recipe to victory. Unfortunately, this didn't quite cut it , and Finland was reduced back to its usual place, i.e. somewhere between places 11 and 20. Despite this rude awakening, Finns were quick to note that at least Sweden placed even lower... BTW Dave claims heard Leave Me Alone on his satellite radio this past summer!
Once again Finns have laid their trust in the power of heavy rock. At this point, I can only assume that the rationale is, "If we can't win the competition by seducing the audience by means of traditional methods (i.e. sex and showmanship), we might as well scare the living sh*t out of them!" :-)
Finland's entry, by Teräsbetoni ("Steel Concrete"), is Missä miehet ratsastaa, or "Where Men Ride Their Horses." Teräsbetoni's claim to fame is that they perform shirtless; in my opinion, not much there to write home about... At any rate, I have to praise their decision to perform in Finnish; way too often since 1999, the entries have been performed in English by almost every country - and not just in English but in insipid English. Unfortunately Teräsbetoni's lyrics rely on some kind of macho humour that I don't quite get ("Where men ride their horses sheep don't dare graze"); as a result, I don't think anybody who doesn't know Finnish will get much out of this "noise." As for me, I prefer the traditional, almost required A-B-A-B-C-Modulation pattern, which Teräsbetoni - lo and behold - does apply here, but give me a power ballad or something poppy at any time instead of this. On the other hand, there was not much better to choose from anyway, so what can you do? But I'll leave the decision up to the 14-year-old teenage boys across the continent, who hopefully will be watching the Eurovision final on the 24th and televoting for Finland in testosterone driven fervour :-)
Enjoy!
or
http://www.eurovision.tv/medialounge/video/606
Here's a rough translation of the Beowolf-y refrain:
Missä miehet ratsastaa "Where men ride their horses
siinä lampaat ei voi laiduntaa sheep cannot graze;
Missä miehet ratstastaa Where men ride their horses
siinä kuulee suden ulvontaa one can hear the howl of a wolf"
Weight Loss Whine
Tuomo writes: I weighed myself this morning, and much to my pleasure I was down to 208 lbs. Oh to be at a weight where the first digit starts with a 1!
Yesterday I finally had time to go grocery shopping. As suggested by the authors of You on a Diet, I looked for some peanuts, specifically dry roasted and unsalted (because peanuts allegedly help trick the body to feel satiated earlier). Sure enough, the SaveOnFood in Walnut Grove did not have much of a selection of peanuts to begin with, but locating unsalted ones turned out to be a totally useless task. The choice boiled down to two brands of dry roasted, one that was MSG free and the other one that was labeled salted.
Initially, I was prompted to get the one that was labeled MSG free, but out of curiosity, I decided to compare the sodium count of each brand. Easier said than done: one had the nutrition info as per 1/4 cup and the other other as per 1/3 cup! After applying some elementary math skills ("multiply this one by 4, and that one by 3 to get info as as per cup"), I came to the conclusion that not only did the salted brand have less sodium per serving but also had less calories!! No wonder we're fat and confused :-)
Needless to say, I purchased the brand that was labeled salted. In the meantime, the quest for unsalted peanuts continues...
Yesterday I finally had time to go grocery shopping. As suggested by the authors of You on a Diet, I looked for some peanuts, specifically dry roasted and unsalted (because peanuts allegedly help trick the body to feel satiated earlier). Sure enough, the SaveOnFood in Walnut Grove did not have much of a selection of peanuts to begin with, but locating unsalted ones turned out to be a totally useless task. The choice boiled down to two brands of dry roasted, one that was MSG free and the other one that was labeled salted.
Initially, I was prompted to get the one that was labeled MSG free, but out of curiosity, I decided to compare the sodium count of each brand. Easier said than done: one had the nutrition info as per 1/4 cup and the other other as per 1/3 cup! After applying some elementary math skills ("multiply this one by 4, and that one by 3 to get info as as per cup"), I came to the conclusion that not only did the salted brand have less sodium per serving but also had less calories!! No wonder we're fat and confused :-)
Needless to say, I purchased the brand that was labeled salted. In the meantime, the quest for unsalted peanuts continues...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Tuomo writes: It’s good to be back home where tap water tastes good and the sheets are the right size… The weather wasn’t the most welcoming; we left balmy Arizona around 8 on Sunday morning and arrived in freezing Seattle around 11. Fortunately by the time we got to Langley around 3 - after another long wait at the border though not as long as on our way to the States.
At any rate, what about the Grand Canyon?! Words are not enough to describe it!! The three hour drive from Phoenix itself was an experience itself, as we gradually drove higher and higher, starting at less the 2,000 ft and reaching 7,000 ft by the time we got to the South Rim. As the elevation increased, the vegetation changed from saguaro cactuses to bushes on the mesa to dense pine tree forests. In fact, as we approached the Canyon, we could see patches of snow here and there on the sides of the roads and in the forests. And sure enough, when we stepped out of the car, the air temperature had clearly decreased! Oh but the view… wow!
We settled in our hotel room. Dark, yet deceptively comfortable because we learned later on in the night that the sheets were not big enough for the bed, and consequently were wrapped around our necks while we slept. After a brief snack break we decided to go see the sunset at Hopi Point and get on one of the three shuttle bus tours along the South Rim. Future visitors beware, although there are no signs (i.e. not that we could see any) on this, the shuttle buses only allow seated passengers. In other words, we ended up waiting for a quite a while until we got on a bus because there were so many people with the same destination in mind (go figure!) and the buses did not exactly run every 15 minutes as indicated in the guides.
But the view from Hopi Point at sunset was definitely worth the wait! I’ll try to post some pictures this week, but I’m concerned that they will not do service because they probably won’t capture the perspective, the depth, and the subtle hues of the landscape. I mean where we stood we had an almost perpendicular view into the canyon, only to realize that that wasn’t the bottom, that there was another drop until you could see Colorado River rushing in the bottom…
In addition to lots of oohs and aahs at sunset, there were also a lot of brrrs – it really got that cold! Thank goodness that I had accidentally left my pair of gloves in my pockets when I packed my jacket…!
The following day we got on the same shuttle bus route and drive all the way to Hermit’s Rest, the point furthest to the east. The route beyond Hopi Point will closed down on April 1 for renovations, and the entire route in the summer. This particular route, built originally in the early 1900s as state-of-the-art is no longer such - and lemme tell ya, the planned renovations could not take place a moment sooner! There were times when it felt like the rickety bus was going to roll over and plunge into the canyon… But once again, the views at the end were way beyond spectacular!
Oh and fun shopping was done by everyone… Bless America for tourist shops :-
So now we’re back to the same-old-same-old…
My concerns about weight gain turned out to be correct. Yesterday morning I weighed myself, and though the weight gain wasn’t as dramatic as I had anticipated, there had been some: the scale went up to 212.4 lbs. This morning though it stopped at 210 so there’s hope that by Saturday I will have been able to do some damage control
One more thing: It was Dave’s birthday yesterday, so a belated happy birthday to him!!! 29 (again) and still going strong :-
At any rate, what about the Grand Canyon?! Words are not enough to describe it!! The three hour drive from Phoenix itself was an experience itself, as we gradually drove higher and higher, starting at less the 2,000 ft and reaching 7,000 ft by the time we got to the South Rim. As the elevation increased, the vegetation changed from saguaro cactuses to bushes on the mesa to dense pine tree forests. In fact, as we approached the Canyon, we could see patches of snow here and there on the sides of the roads and in the forests. And sure enough, when we stepped out of the car, the air temperature had clearly decreased! Oh but the view… wow!
We settled in our hotel room. Dark, yet deceptively comfortable because we learned later on in the night that the sheets were not big enough for the bed, and consequently were wrapped around our necks while we slept. After a brief snack break we decided to go see the sunset at Hopi Point and get on one of the three shuttle bus tours along the South Rim. Future visitors beware, although there are no signs (i.e. not that we could see any) on this, the shuttle buses only allow seated passengers. In other words, we ended up waiting for a quite a while until we got on a bus because there were so many people with the same destination in mind (go figure!) and the buses did not exactly run every 15 minutes as indicated in the guides.
But the view from Hopi Point at sunset was definitely worth the wait! I’ll try to post some pictures this week, but I’m concerned that they will not do service because they probably won’t capture the perspective, the depth, and the subtle hues of the landscape. I mean where we stood we had an almost perpendicular view into the canyon, only to realize that that wasn’t the bottom, that there was another drop until you could see Colorado River rushing in the bottom…
In addition to lots of oohs and aahs at sunset, there were also a lot of brrrs – it really got that cold! Thank goodness that I had accidentally left my pair of gloves in my pockets when I packed my jacket…!
The following day we got on the same shuttle bus route and drive all the way to Hermit’s Rest, the point furthest to the east. The route beyond Hopi Point will closed down on April 1 for renovations, and the entire route in the summer. This particular route, built originally in the early 1900s as state-of-the-art is no longer such - and lemme tell ya, the planned renovations could not take place a moment sooner! There were times when it felt like the rickety bus was going to roll over and plunge into the canyon… But once again, the views at the end were way beyond spectacular!
Oh and fun shopping was done by everyone… Bless America for tourist shops :-
So now we’re back to the same-old-same-old…
My concerns about weight gain turned out to be correct. Yesterday morning I weighed myself, and though the weight gain wasn’t as dramatic as I had anticipated, there had been some: the scale went up to 212.4 lbs. This morning though it stopped at 210 so there’s hope that by Saturday I will have been able to do some damage control
One more thing: It was Dave’s birthday yesterday, so a belated happy birthday to him!!! 29 (again) and still going strong :-
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tomorrow's the Day
Tuomo writes: Tomorrow's the day when we drive up to the Grand Canyon. Not the Pequeno Canyon, the Moderately Attractive Canyon or even the Meh Canyon. Nope, to the Grand One...! I'm looking forward to seeing something totally breath-taking and connecting with Mother Earth like the Hopis or the Navajos. Or something :-)
The weather continues to be warm 22-27 C (75-85 F) and totally cloudless. I still can't overcome the fact that it's so flat and dry. To the extent that when the other day we drove to Lake Pleasant, I started to feel that once you've seen one saguaro, you've seen them all! Now if only my sore throat and snorkely nose stopped bothering me - and Dave.
Another observation: Scottsdale specialises on (overpriced) Hopi and Navajo jewelry, Glendale in antique stores, and Peoria in car dealerships :-) I've seen some totally gorgeous Native American art work and jewelry (I love turquoise both as a colour and as a mineral) but man is it ever expensive! Oh well as long as the margin goes to the benefit of some impoverished native boy or girl who can now attend college.
Oh and Weight Watchers is not going very well (as I'm about to force pieces of chocolate down my throat...). And I was already down 8.5 lbs (3.9 kg)! All that despite the fact that I'm reading a fabulous book on weight loss You on a Diet... I guess I just have to keep in mind - as both WW and the book point out - that just like GPS navigating systems, I can get back on the right track at the next available moment...
Ja reilun kolmen viikon kuluttua mä olenkin Suomessa äidin synttäreitä juhlistamassa!
The weather continues to be warm 22-27 C (75-85 F) and totally cloudless. I still can't overcome the fact that it's so flat and dry. To the extent that when the other day we drove to Lake Pleasant, I started to feel that once you've seen one saguaro, you've seen them all! Now if only my sore throat and snorkely nose stopped bothering me - and Dave.
Another observation: Scottsdale specialises on (overpriced) Hopi and Navajo jewelry, Glendale in antique stores, and Peoria in car dealerships :-) I've seen some totally gorgeous Native American art work and jewelry (I love turquoise both as a colour and as a mineral) but man is it ever expensive! Oh well as long as the margin goes to the benefit of some impoverished native boy or girl who can now attend college.
Oh and Weight Watchers is not going very well (as I'm about to force pieces of chocolate down my throat...). And I was already down 8.5 lbs (3.9 kg)! All that despite the fact that I'm reading a fabulous book on weight loss You on a Diet... I guess I just have to keep in mind - as both WW and the book point out - that just like GPS navigating systems, I can get back on the right track at the next available moment...
Ja reilun kolmen viikon kuluttua mä olenkin Suomessa äidin synttäreitä juhlistamassa!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Greetings from Arizona!
Tuomo writes: No, we haven't moved again even though it's been like a month and a half since my last posting... A severe case of blog fatigue I guess...
At any rate, we're down in Arizona on vacation. We flew down on Good Friday after a night in Seattle. The drive down to Seattle was a nuisance and a half of itself because we had to wait over two hours to cross the border; since it was Thursday before Easter weekend on which most Canadians get four days off there must have been more than the usual amount of people wanting to go to the States... At Phoenix Airport, we were greeted by Dave's parents who have been staying in Peoria, a 45 minute drive from the airport, for almost two months.
Let me tell ya: not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures above 20 C (70 F)! What a huge difference it makes in comparison to the weather we left behind in Vancouver. In fact my brother text-messaged me a virtual raspberry in response to my description of the weather here :-)
So far we've seen a "ghost town," or a tourist trap with shops, ateliers, and actors who put on a tableau on what life was like in the Southwest in the late 1900s: lots of smoke and guns banging. I was almost convinced that a scorpion would pounce on me at any given moment... In fact the ghost town was next to a place called Lost Dutchmen. I could in fact almost imagine the following dialogue going on, "'t Is heel heet hier! Waar zijn we eigenlijk? Schatje, zeg maar: wat heb je eens met de kaart gedaan? Zeg me niet dat we weer verkeert zijn! Ik zei toch drie uur geleden dat we aan dat hoge lelijke cactus aan links zou keren hebben!!" :-) [It's very hot here. Where are we after all? Sweetie, tell me: what did you do with the map this time. Don't tell me that we're lost again! I told you three hours ago that we should have turned left at that tall ugly cactus!!] Please correct my Dutch if there are mistakes... :-)
At any rate, the sights have been quite spectacular, to say the least. Unlike the mountaineous British Columbia, the Phoenix area is quite flat (with mountains in the horizon) with cactuses and desert all around. The other day we went on a 90 minute cruise on Lake Saguaro on the Desert Belle, and man was it magnificient! We should do something similar once we get back to BC...
Later on this week, we'll be heading up north to see the Grand Canyon, a long-time dream of mine! More on that and hopefully photos in the near future... In the mean time, wish you were here :-)
At any rate, we're down in Arizona on vacation. We flew down on Good Friday after a night in Seattle. The drive down to Seattle was a nuisance and a half of itself because we had to wait over two hours to cross the border; since it was Thursday before Easter weekend on which most Canadians get four days off there must have been more than the usual amount of people wanting to go to the States... At Phoenix Airport, we were greeted by Dave's parents who have been staying in Peoria, a 45 minute drive from the airport, for almost two months.
Let me tell ya: not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures above 20 C (70 F)! What a huge difference it makes in comparison to the weather we left behind in Vancouver. In fact my brother text-messaged me a virtual raspberry in response to my description of the weather here :-)
So far we've seen a "ghost town," or a tourist trap with shops, ateliers, and actors who put on a tableau on what life was like in the Southwest in the late 1900s: lots of smoke and guns banging. I was almost convinced that a scorpion would pounce on me at any given moment... In fact the ghost town was next to a place called Lost Dutchmen. I could in fact almost imagine the following dialogue going on, "'t Is heel heet hier! Waar zijn we eigenlijk? Schatje, zeg maar: wat heb je eens met de kaart gedaan? Zeg me niet dat we weer verkeert zijn! Ik zei toch drie uur geleden dat we aan dat hoge lelijke cactus aan links zou keren hebben!!" :-) [It's very hot here. Where are we after all? Sweetie, tell me: what did you do with the map this time. Don't tell me that we're lost again! I told you three hours ago that we should have turned left at that tall ugly cactus!!] Please correct my Dutch if there are mistakes... :-)
At any rate, the sights have been quite spectacular, to say the least. Unlike the mountaineous British Columbia, the Phoenix area is quite flat (with mountains in the horizon) with cactuses and desert all around. The other day we went on a 90 minute cruise on Lake Saguaro on the Desert Belle, and man was it magnificient! We should do something similar once we get back to BC...
Later on this week, we'll be heading up north to see the Grand Canyon, a long-time dream of mine! More on that and hopefully photos in the near future... In the mean time, wish you were here :-)
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