I saw this website on Facebook earlier today. Mo Farah, the British athlete has created a storm of fans after winning two gold medals in the London 2012 Olympic Games. His expression at the end of his final race captured the imagination of some viewrs and inspired someone to create a website all about Mo.
It’s brilliant! you have to check it out.
Check out the brilliant website here ‘Mo Farah Running Away From Things’.
I wonder which other backgrounds he could be captured with… Suggestions?
He’s done it!
An emotional semi final victory for Murray
He’s made it to the Wimbledon Final.
The British fans have waited 74 years for this momentous day when finally a male Brit (and yes, I acknowledge that he is a Scot and a Brit) makes it to the last match.
The crowd cheer on the local hero – It’s almost as though he’s won the whole thing.
Can Murray win on Sunday?
I hope so.
The match against Tsonga was a thriller today. Murray started fighting for his final place right at the start! He broke Tsonga early and looked to take it in three straight sets. Tsonga wasn’t going to go down with a battle…
I never thought I would see the final section of the draw look this good! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! He meets Roger Federer next – it’s not going to be easy.
from Wikipedia
The 2012 Champion? – We will soon see….
There are some signs that he could be heading for victory:
I have everything crossed for Andy Murray!
Go win it!
You may also enjoy reading these posts:
Shock at Wimbledon 2012 – the one where Nadal got knocked out by Rosol.
Is it time to ban Serena from Grand Slams? – the one where Serena lost her temper at the 2011 US Open Final.
Creating a TV show which goes out LIVE to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide is quite a challenge – It’s not surprising then that there are times when it can all go – very wrong.
Here’s a little video showing some of Eurovision’s more embarrassing moments…
What are Minipops?
Well, they’re tiny cartoon versions of people and characters.
The minipops have taken the internet by storm and are becoming increasingly popular. The fantastic images showing the cartoon version of last year’s Eurovision acts were created by Ben Morris in 2011.
Clearly being incredibly popular, Ben decided to create new ones for the entrants in this year’s Eurovision. If you know what the people look like then you will agree that they truly are amazing!!!! So true to life.
Ben got the idea to create the icons after attending the 2010 contest in Olso. He said “While admiring one of the official merchandise stalls outside the Oslo Telenor Arena, I had the notion of creating a range of Eurovision mini pop icons”. Ben had already created icons for the cult TV show Doctor Who. You can the whole story behind Ben Morris and his ideas here on the ESCInsight site.
Ben now has quite a following – The minipop icons have their own Facebook page. It’s worth a look, for sure.
Last year, Blue represented the United Kingdom in Eurovision. Following their photoshoot for Attitude magazine, Ben Morris decided to undress Blue for their own ‘stripped’ Minipop picture. Take a look at the video showing how they were made below. Amazing stuff!
Less than a week to go! Eurovision Season is starting…
The second semi final for the Eurovision will be on Thursday 24th May.
Here are the entries (in order) for the second semi final. I have said a little about each one. In bold are the ones I hope to qualify.
Serbia: 7/10 – This man knows how to do well in Eurovision. He represented Serbia-Montenegro in 2004, coming 2nd and then wrote the Serbian entry in 2008, coming 6th – as well as hosting it in Belgrade. Watch out…
Macedonia (FYROM): 8/10 – This lady has a voice. What a belter! Effortlessly sung. I think it will get a LOT of Balkan votes.
The Netherlands: 8/10 – The Dutch have a terrible record in qualifying – 2004 was the last time they made the final. I hope this gentle song about childhood memories takes them through. You’ll remember the Indian headdress – that’s for sure.
Malta: 6/10 – 1980s throw back. This is performed by a guy who needs to wear looser clothing.
Belarus: 6/10 - Their 9th entry and one which won’t do particularly well. I liked it to start with, but have gone off it.
Portugal: 8/10 – Typical Portugal – anthemic and possibly not gonna make it through the semi.
Ukraine: 8/10 – This has grown on me. It’s very West End ‘Lion King’…
Bulgaria: Zzzzzzz. Possibly the second worst entry.
Slovenia: 10/10 – My personal favourite! This gentle ballad builds to a fantastic finish. The 16-year-old has a great voice. I LOVE it!
Croatia: 4/10 – A dull Balkan ballad. Zzzzzzz.
Sweden: 10/10 – Whoah! Time to wake up. Something different in Eurovision. Loreen does some contemporary dance with martial arts moves in this attention grabbing number. Brilliant. I won’t be surprised if we’re in Stockholm next year.
Georgia: 5/10 - They qualify every year – I don’t know how. This probably will – but it’s not great.
Turkey: 8/10 – Another grower. After seeing this guy in Amsterdam, I love it. Ahoy there Turkey. See you in the final…
Estonia: 10/10 – A gentle ballad, sung by a handsome chappy. Estonia deserve to do well with this. But, there are a LOT of ballads in this semi.
Slovakia: 5/10 - It’s a bit Bon Jovi – which is a little odd.
Norway: 9/10 - Sung in English; written by a Swede and sung by an Iranian/Norwegian. Recipe for Top 5. They are recreating Sweden’s 2011 entry though…. blatantly.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 6/10 - And again – another Balkan ballad. Zzzzzz.
Lithuania: 5/10 – A dull end to the night. Not great. This won’t be bringing the prize back to Lithuania. Sounds like Wham!
Which 10 do you think will make the final?
Watch the songs from Semi Final 1 and read my comments here.
Russia could be on the brink of winning the Eurovision Song Contest.
This year it was not a 20-something girl in a short, sparkly skirt who won over the Russian voters – but a group of six gorgeous little grannies, Buranovskiye Babushki - and I love them!
This is my favourite one! She is the star of the show… (Just so cute).
To make them even more amazing, they beat off fierce competition from the Russian superstars, Dima Bilan and Yulia Volkova . Dima had previously achieved 2nd in the Eurovision in 2006 and then went on to win it in 2008. Yulia was no stranger to Eurovision either, having competed as half of t.A.T.u in 2003, coming 3rd. They were the act to beat…
And boy those Russian grans beat them to a pulp.
I don’t know what I enjoyed more – Watching the grannies sing and dance on stage or seeing the facial expressions of Dima and Yulia as the cameras swung past them as the winning song was performed. TV classic!
So, now Russia are second favourites to win the whole contest in just over two weeks in Baku.
Do they have what it takes?
Take a look at their performance in the Russian National Final.
After all my years of watching the Eurovision Song Contest I don’t remember the UK sending an entry to match this. The first time you hear it you may dismiss it, but ‘The Hump’, Engelbert, has got an amazing voice. At 75 years you cannot discount him. Age has nothing to do with his very obvious talent. He can carry a tune – very well. The song is a gentle ballad with a big finish. The lyrics are beautiful too…
In May he will be first up in the final, hoping to bring the contest back to the United Kingdom: It’s a possibility. He is currently 4th favourite to win - after Sweden, Russia and Denmark (however the betting odds will surely change between now and May).
Engelbert had so much negative press after his name was announced as the UK representative. People joked that the BBC were mocking Europe by sending him. I think quite the opposite this year. If the British public are left to make the choice then they send ‘something Eurovisiony’ – Scooch, Andy Abraham, Daz Sampson and Jemini…. all of which prove to be disasters in Europe. The British public do not ‘get it’ when it comes to Eurovision. They still harp on about the bloc voting; they claim that ‘nobody likes the UK’… It’s pretty untrue. The last time the UK actually made an effort they came 5th, in 2009.
This year the UK will do well. Mark my words. Here is the video of the UK’s 2012 Eurovision entry.
Oh yes people… It’s Eurovision season.
Don’t sigh. You know to expect this sort of post from me by now.
The Eurovision National Final selections started way back in November and are in full swing now.
Slovenia picked their song at the weekend and have chosen a rather epic sounding entry, ‘Verjamem’.
It might not be to your tastes but I think it has a good chance of standing out at the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku (capital of Azerbaijan – time to check out GoogleMaps).
Oh and another thing – I had a weird dream last week that Slovenia won this year. I don’t know why I dreamt it – random I know. Who knows……….
Watch and enjoy! (You’ll all be wanting one of the white head decorations too – so don’t deny it).
Don’t ask me how I found this video link, but I did. It’s funny what can be discovered online if you’re bored enough.
The guy in the video has his own TV show and decides to ask the question, “What would happen if he dressed as an bank robber and went to do some ordinary shopping?” If I was one of the people working in the shops, I would have a heart attack.
Comedy or Horror?
Serena Williams. Oh yes, Mouthy-Serena-WIlliams. Once upon a time she was World #1 (actually she was #1 five times between 2002 and 2009).
‘She is considered to be one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time’. (I’m quoting Wikipedia there). Hmmm. I disagree. The quality of her game may be comendable, but her on-court behaviour and outbursts towards other players and the umpires is a disgrace! She is far from a world-class player.
Note to Serena: Lacking respect makes you a pretty poor tennis player.
Personally, I’m fed up with watching her parade about on TV as though she is superior to all others. Get off your podium Williams! The interviews that she gives send shivers down my spine.
So, this year’s US Open Women’s Final had to be degraded by Williams’ rant to the umpire, Eva Asderaki. Williams, who was playing against Australia’s Samantha Stosur had returned the ball and (thinking she’d won the point) shouted “Come on!”. The only problem was that the ball had not bounced twice – therefore she had lost the point. This all happened at an important break-point moment in the match (in favour of Stosur). Williams being Williams, she became angry with the umpire and made several gestures and snide remarks about her during the next several games, warning her, “Don’t look at me,” and telling her that if Asderaki ever saw Williams coming toward her, she should “walk the other way”.
Even in defeat she is graceless. She couldn’t even hold her hand up and accept her mistake or any responsibility. Instead she said “I hit a winner, but I guess it didn’t count,… Hmmm - such sarcasm. I’m glad she was defeated. I would imagine that Stosur has a little more dignity.
Just who does Williams think she is? It was only two years ago that she was playing, yet again at the US Open (2009), when she started ranting at the lineswoman after a foot-fault. It resulted in the infamous “I didn’t say I would kill you. Are you serious?” comments being caught on microphone…. Oh the shame! I felt so sorry for the lineswoman that year, and for Klijsters who had her comeback tainted by Serena’s selfish outbursts.
World Tennis can do without threatening behaviour on court. High emotions and a thirst to win is one thing – but Williams is something else.
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