Aussiehalley - Halley Down Under

Drink if a Russian woman climbs out of the piano (everyone drinks)

The cultural event of the season.

Sunday night was May's annual Eurovision Song Contest Party, complete with drinking game that included such gems as, "Drain the glass if the England's team catches fire." She'll have to send them along so I can share. The list really must be multi-purpose. I mean, those Europeans are always doing shit like staging rock ballets with school girls and flamenco dancers and firecrackers and tear-away spandex and mullets and sparkles and gelled hair and harem bondage.

The French, of course, refuse to ever sing in English. They believe everyone else should sing in French. Ummm, France? That bateau has sailed.

Most Americans (read: me) only really know of the Eurovision Song Contest as the big, cheesy event that one year had ABBA in it (before they were famous) and they got screwed and came in second. I'd never seen it before and boy, was I sorry. (Sorry for never seeing it before? or sorry for seeing it now? Yes.)

I'm sure you've heard (who hasn't?) that the winners were a Norwegian metal group dressed up as big, scary monsters with horns and fangs and expensive guitars. Full on make-up and prostheses. You could tell the keyboardist was a woman because she had pearls on over the exposed guts.

It's amazing how many answers to questions of "Why are they ____?" were simply, "Because it's Eurovision." We Americans miss out on so much of world culture.

posted by Halley @ 8:30 AM