Getting the naturalized Slavs in (much like ice dance I guess)

[petronia]

Things I accomplished yesterday: turned in business plan writeup - thanks everyone for plugging the survey! I'm going to leave it open for another couple of weeks.

Things I have accomplished today: bought sinus meds, watched Eurovision clips, edited an SSBB story.

Things that still need accomplishing: scan a 12K doujin (mustn't forget this), blog, some paid work I guess??

On the last day of the symposium they had the President of Estonia and the President of Serbia in for a panel discussion. The President of Estonia is oddly, flawlessly American - a lot of these guys were educated abroad obv but dude has the accent and vibe of a US-born academic (I think he used to work for Radio Free Europe). Not to mention reference set: "If you don't want to use Microsoft's bundled software, you can download Firefox - or use a Mac, like me! - but when it comes to natural gas distribution networks, THERE IS NO MOZILLA."

The only way that would have been funnier to me was if he had said, "When it comes to natural gas distribution networks, there is no Dreamwidth." Cos you'd be stuck with the Russians ahaha see what I did there.

(STUFF THAT WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT ESTONIA

Hotmail
Kazaa
Skype

I'm probably forgetting something. Is Estonia a computer nerd in Hetalia?)

wait was that political commentary

SCENES FROM THE SYMPOSIUM: Q&A PERIOD

Female student: hi, I am [name] from the Ukraine, and my question--
Russian industrialist on panel: v^_^;;;v
Female student:
Female student: we can take this outside.

In other news I have great love for Patricia Kaas but that was far from her best, and far below the standard set by Sébastien Tellier and AKCHUL CLASSIC Natasha St-Pier (who is Canadian XD).

Comments

[ochame.livejournal.com]

Oh, Eurovision! I wanted to have a Eurovision party, but couldn't get a broadcast figured out.

BTW, Estonians are not slavs, they are finns!

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Ah, that was in reference to the winner dude from Norway, who is ethnically Belarussian or smth. I just somehow ended up talking about Estonia instead. XD;

[ochame.livejournal.com]

He is from Belorussia, but I think he is ethnically Jewish (I may be wrong though!).
Estonia's entry was cool, so yay Estonia!
I also liked the abundance of violins. Violins everywhere! What was that about?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I think non-classical violin pop made the indie to mainstream skip in 2008, post-Coldplay. Not too coincidentally, Patrick Wolf's gone electric guitar. XD

[moonsheen.livejournal.com]

...yes, yes Estonia is indeed a computer nerd in Hetalia (the Baltic Honors Student) and I still want the strip about him attempting to smuggle Russia's booze.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear the characterisation is on as per usual. XD

[marej.livejournal.com]

so i started watching thing vids starting with the ones you linked (it took me a while to figure out that the Ukrainian chick is singing it English) and got to the chick from Turkey who sang "something something, go ahead and lick my juices" ...and then i ran away

[petronia.livejournal.com]

You have to watch Norway though! Iceland and Malta had good power ballads, Germany was oddly likeable despite high cheese factor. Albania is also worth it for WTFness.

Russian entry CANNOT SING but has a billionaire father, hmm XD

[marej.livejournal.com]

aaaah this is so confusing, i couldn't understand for the life of me why the Norwegian dude has russian dancers on the background and sounds suspiciously non-Norwegian himself. but hey, now your entry tag-line suddenly makes sense.

[marej.livejournal.com]

okay so Albania.... is there a running theory what those costumed people supposed to be? i thought chess first, but then the turquoise dude still makes no sense.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

No theory as of yet - I was hoping you would put your HP fanart commentator chops to use and come up with one! XD

[nem0.livejournal.com]

I think there's something in Estonia's water supply that makes them sound like Americans? There was an Estonian girl in my design classes who, seriously, sounded like she'd been born in southern California. We wouldn't have even noticed she wasn't from around here, until she got on her cell phone one evening and started ranting at her mother in a language none of us could identify.

Turns out she's fluent in something like 5 languages, despite being a perma-stoned art student. As you do, I guess.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

That is totally a possibility! I have no idea what Estonian sounds like.

[narie.livejournal.com]

Eurovision did not deliver to last year's standards, I felt.

Also, I'm off to Estonia on Tuesday, and super excited about it. And now you've made it sound even better.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I hope it's good, although I have a suspicion it happens to be one of those spots to figure out that dreary weather can be conducive to national productivity if it persuades people to remain in front of their computer screens (loads of personal experience with that, here XD).

[credoimprobus]

Glad to see it wasn't just me with the WTFing at Albania, ahahaha.

Re: Patricia Kaas, the song was admittedly no stormer, but -- speaking as someone who isn't overly familiar with her general output* -- she was SO AMAZING that it made up for any weaknesses in the material. Also, those piano trills! *swooon* And y'know in context it was still one of the year's top efforts!

(I also disagree vehemently re: the Tellier's standard-settingness, but that's only because I hated its twee, retro-vocals'ed ass. XD)

*) I think the latest of her singles I heard was, uh, the lead off Sexe Forte? So it's been a while, ahaha. She never appealed to me on an individual-tunes level enough before to make me check her out more closely, anyway; clearly getting in bed with the classic cabaret aesthetic was just the thing to do to finally reel me in!

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have expected to enjoy the Tellier! But I've been told I have a high tolerance/liking for twee precisely because I'm not twee myself (no idea how true this is, but it's an interesting idea). And I like the sort of French pop it roughly falls into a lot.

[corneredangel.livejournal.com]

I was actually really about the Portugal entry - surprisingly classy for Eurovision. And, well, the Czech, just because so *stereotypically Eurovision*!

You're right on the money with the Estonian president, though. Official biography (http://www.president.ee/en/president/biography.php) - wow, the man is pretty much simultaneously Swedish, American/NYC, Canadian, German...and after all that, oh, yeah, Estonian. And, apparently, doesn't speak a word of Russian - which could be rather interesting in a country that's still like 30% Russian-speaking!

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Why am I not surprised www.president.ee exists

[cis.livejournal.com]

hey, I liked the Russian entry! Even if it was no Estonia. I enjoyed how this year's secret theme seemed to be 'pretty girls with gappy teeth'. The Portugal entry was so Elefant Records I could barely stand it (and by 'barely stand' i mean S and I sat there going 'oh oh they are so lovely oh oh look at the girl with the accordion').

I don't get the Norway love though, that song was super super irritating. (i also really don't get the UK song love because wow so so dull). My thoughts on Greece however-- well i shall leave it to the comics world's al ewing (http://al-ewing.livejournal.com/32696.html).

*butts in*

[credoimprobus]

I kind of immensely prefer the national preselections version of the Portugal performance, it's so folksy-group-down-the-local-bar! Hearts. And singer girl was the MOST ADORABLE THING THAT EVER ADORABLED in it, I mean, the hair ribbons alone! Aaaaaaaaaa dead of the cute!

(Man, did the whole poptimist camp hate Norway? Following the Jukebox liveblog last night was equal parts depressing and annoying, I tell ya, haha.)

Re: *butts in*

[cis.livejournal.com]

They were just the cutest group in the whole thing! in their skirts! with their smiles! I was suddenly nostalgic for the days when MTV Europe meant you got to watch indiepop from all the countries in the EU, not just one!

(it seems like... we might have? kind of impressive given we were all in different places.)

Re: *butts in*

[credoimprobus]

Their background screen whatchamashow was well eye-bleeding, though. If refreshingly jolly! (But yes, they were. <3)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

When the backing singers come in on Norway it becomes a sped-up Leonard Cohen number!

I really liked Portugal as well.

[cis.livejournal.com]

i am now facing the worrying thought that i might have liked it if leonard cohen had done it?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

I suspect Leonard Cohen would not have composed precisely those lyrics (although he's no stranger to unattainable fairytale women).

[two-if-by-sea.livejournal.com]

Cos you'd be stuck with the Russians ahaha see what I did there.

Please never stop being awesome.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Somewhere on the symposium website is a video of me telling the CEO of Kikkoman that I like soy sauce!

[two-if-by-sea.livejournal.com]

INDEED, YOU KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

*giggles at the female student*

Uh, as a heads up, I podficced one of your fics for ihikago~

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks!

Say, do you know if there's a comm like this for PoT fic? :3

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I recall a few people trying to start one, but I don't think it ever took off?