tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post3749353922701034723..comments2024-03-28T12:22:11.704+00:00Comments on Macro Man: Bank Holiday Special: Should the West put Wogan in Charge of Economic Diplomacy?Macro Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324967552369915949noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-70107616193565359172008-05-27T16:11:00.000+01:002008-05-27T16:11:00.000+01:00I didn't think so, and I'm Irish. :)I didn't think so, and I'm Irish. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-68010839158998699792008-05-27T10:37:00.000+01:002008-05-27T10:37:00.000+01:00I thought Dustin the Turkey merited at least a pla...I thought Dustin the Turkey merited at least a place in the finals...Macro Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324967552369915949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-52427087147440846142008-05-27T09:57:00.000+01:002008-05-27T09:57:00.000+01:00Oops. That should read:I agree with you about disl...Oops. That should read:<BR/><BR/>I agree with you about disliking this year's winner, mostly because the song seemed quite weak. In my opinion, Russia has sent better songs in at least four of the last eight years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-54266599462602028852008-05-27T09:54:00.000+01:002008-05-27T09:54:00.000+01:00I might not know much about finance, but I do know...I might not know much about finance, but I do know a lot about Eurovision. :)<BR/><BR/>The Bosnian song is actually very good. The artist has a reputation for quirkiness, and given that it practically takes a circus act to stand out among all of the entries, giving a performance with a strong visual component seems absolutely essential.<BR/><BR/>They used a completely different performance at Eurovision, by the way:<BR/><BR/>http://youtube.com/watch?v=V_tspk1ifFI<BR/><BR/>For truly pathetic entries look at France (although he did provide some entertainment by doing two things I have never seen at Eurovision before - driving a golf cart onto the stage, and inhaling helium in the middle of a performance) and Germany (not a bad song, but simply a Jemini type live performance).<BR/><BR/>Anonymous at 2004:<BR/><BR/>The west treats Eurovision like that, but the east sends their biggest stars period. The Russian entrant had won MTV's "Artist of the Year" the last three years, and "Song of the Year" the last two years. That explains much of the reason the east does better than the west now.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous at 2104:<BR/><BR/>Russia finished 8th/9th among the televoting western European countries this year, but it racked up such big scores in the east (8.75 points per country average), that it needed virtually no points from the west to win the contest.<BR/><BR/>I agree with you about disliking this year's winner, mostly because the song seemed quite week. In my opinion, Russia has sent better songs in at least for of the last eight years. Nevertheless, when you add the Olympic figure skating gold medalist (skating on fake ice) and a world famous violinist (playing a centuries old Stradivarius) to your presentation, you have the kind of circus act that wins nowadays.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-36356309047430901872008-05-27T01:04:00.000+01:002008-05-27T01:04:00.000+01:00I liked the song about the horse.So why didn't Ire...I liked the song about the horse.<BR/>So why didn't Ireland compete with that one?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-77130994375335907352008-05-26T21:04:00.000+01:002008-05-26T21:04:00.000+01:00Blaming tactical voting is a bit of a canard in th...Blaming tactical voting is a bit of a canard in that the winner actually grabs the juicy points from all over Europe. The term tactical voting would also imply there is an agreement to vote on each other, when it's more likely common language (Slavic languages are about as close as Swedish to Norwegian), large minorities (There are Russians in every former country of the Soviet Union), fame in the region (winners nowadays are frequently established artists), number of bordering countries (you can cross a border to phone in a vote for your country) etc that favors certain countries. Britain could easily do better if there was a good artist with a good song. Unfortunately British entries seem stuck in the 80s and the ESC is considered so naff that no self-respecting British artist would waste a potential hit song on the competition. <BR/><BR/>That said, I absolutely hate this year's winner. The artist seems to embody all the worst qualities of boy bands, which sadly makes him very appealing to young girls (finding a pan-European niche is really helpful, just ask Lordi).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-25576520939970957252008-05-26T20:04:00.000+01:002008-05-26T20:04:00.000+01:00Eurovision is a joke.Best case scenario is that it...Eurovision is a joke.Best case scenario is that it's full of Idol-rejects trying desperately to cling on to the "fame" the show has generated them. Next!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-50033717599890010262008-05-26T15:15:00.000+01:002008-05-26T15:15:00.000+01:00Did Ireland's entry have more french in it than th...Did Ireland's entry have more french in it than the French entry?shtovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16109559722715781557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-41165275150535926182008-05-26T12:48:00.000+01:002008-05-26T12:48:00.000+01:00The parallels with the three axioms of globalizati...The parallels with the three axioms of globalization are there, but you missed the parallel with the EU, whereby taxpayers unwittingly fund monstrous European vanity projects...(cf. the BBC coughing up 40% of the funding). ; )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-58639440772827205902008-05-26T11:30:00.000+01:002008-05-26T11:30:00.000+01:00Couldn't stop laughing at those Bosnians with thei...Couldn't stop laughing at those Bosnians with their chicken. There always was tactical voting in Eurovision. Especially, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus were especially blatant.mOOmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03440274434662150925noreply@blogger.com