rflong

have really come to a middle.

(Sorry for the paraphrasing!)

Ireland wasn't in it. (Don't mention the turkey!) but we had a great night thanks to (a) company, (b) wine and (c)

nhw and liveblogging on both the songs and the voting.

I voted in

dougs poll. No prizes for guessing what got my vote though.

So the Eurovision was won last night by a Russian ripping his shift off. Not a problem in itself. It was a good song, he could sing and of course there was the obvious. But...

Eurovision block voting.

It still annoys me, even though its basically time honoured at this time. The "please don't invade us again" vote is so patently obvious at this point. And not just from eastern europe. Finland votes 12 for Sweden? Surely not! They simply have the same taste in music. Obviously.

Bosnia-Herzogovina.... um, what? They appeared to be channeling something from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Azerbaijan had angels and devils.

Finland went heavy metal again.

The theme for the year appeared to be corsetry. That didn't help the Germans, who had rummaged in the bin of Girl's Alouds' "songwriter" for their entry.

Most of these are up on YouTube at this stage so I will leave you with shirt ripping Russians...

And the wildly overlooked Latvian Pirates (who could not have voted for the pirates?)

Tags:

eurovision,
pirates

Everyone here knows my guilty not-really-a-secret love of pirates, right? Well, fellow Diva, Crystal Jordan's book Treasured is now out and since its both paranormal and pirate (!) how could I not post the link? And then, there's that cover...

TREASURED by Crystal Jordan

Graduate student Rebecca Small is so obsessed with the past—especially the Golden Age of Piracy—she doesn’t mind her unglamorous job preparing museum displays. This display is about her favorite subject, James Morrow, a famous pirate who mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

Becca touches the pirate’s antique sword, and finds herself on a ship in the middle of a sword fight, saving the sexy captain from being stabbed in the back—literally. Once the smoke clears, the man who claims he’s her husband is more than eager to reward her for her timely assistance.

James Morrow knows very little about the woman he was forced to marry five years ago, but the woman who saved him doesn’t fit the portrait he’s painted of her in his mind. She’s strong, brave, and submits to his every dark desire. She seems the perfect woman for a pirate, but he makes his living among the dishonest and disreputable—trust isn’t a commodity he trades in.

Find out more here!

See, now that has cheered me up out of my post-rejection mourning ennui right there! :D (btw, she describes it as her naughty pirate story. Consider yourselves warned.)

Oh, if I'm REALLY lucky, I may get a free copy. Right Crystal? Crystal?

Current Mood: impressed

Tags:

The reason for said excitement is not actually the holiday (for once) but instead is the book that I stumbled across in the local bookshop at lunchtime today - Stephen R. Lawhead's Hood.

Stephen Lawhead + Robin Hood + Fantasy + the early years of Norman England!!!!!!!!

So I have picked my holiday reading then. Actually its sitting on my desk here. I've already read the prologue. But not here. NO, that was in the shop. I am trying to stop myself from turning to those magical words "Chapter 1".

Yes, I still haven't finished Crossstitch, or Terry Brooks' autobio. Yes, I have a pile of books to read, including Simon Greene and things I borrowed off people ages ago, and the Dark Is Rising Sequence which I need to reread before the film comes out in case they butcher it. (which looks likely given the trailers).

There is also the fact that I don't buy books. Not just like that. I go away, I read reviews, I see if they're in the library, I borrow them from friends and family. But buy a new book, in a bookshop, on first sight, the first of a series I haven't already read at least 7 of? - well, that's just hasty!

But... but... Robin Hood!

I mean this is up there with my childhood love of pirate movies. Errol Flynn has a lot to answer for.

Seriously thought, I will watch ANY adaptation of the Robin Hood legend, even the awful Xena type one (with aliens) from a few years back, the geographically challenged Prince of Thieves (Hadrian's wall? On the way from Dover to Nottingham?) even the marginally less awful recent BBC one. If it involves those magic two words, I'm hooked. Completely.

So, two more days to the holiday. Can I hold off reading the book before it? Well... we'll just have to see, won't we?

Early indications are... Unlikely.

Current Mood: jubilant
Current Location: Library
Current Music: Various Robin Hood themes from down the years

Tags:

I don't care what anyone says. I loved Pirates 3. Maybe I don't have refined tastes. I thought it was a ball. I loved the truly surreal moments, the "nobody move - I've dropped my brain" line, the action, the twists and the double dealing. I loved the end. I even - *gasp* Shock horror - think I might love all Orlando Bloom's chest shots!

Don't get me wrong - I am a Johnny Depp girl through and through and have, up to this point, found Bloom far too girly and squeaky clean in every part I've seem him play.

Perhaps he's grown up. Perhaps I've turned into a bone fide "dirty old woman" (tm).

I have always loved pirate films and their ilk. As a kid I used to watch Erroll Flynn and the Gainsborough type films on Saturday afternoons. - Captain Blood, The Wicked Lady, Son of Fury, The Sea Hawk, Anything with a pirate ship, swords and some buckles being swashed and I was in there. In like Flynn! :D I suppose this has carried over into the Sword and Sorcery stories which I just find so fulfilling.

I love to watch a thought provoking, esoteric film with exquisite character development and finely tuned plots. But I also love to be entertained. And this is what Pirates 3 did for me last night.

Complete with swords, cannons, Orly's chest, Geoffrey Rush's scenery chewing and Johnny's totally off the wall performance. Actually Johnny and Geoffry seemed to be competing for who could devour the most scenery in the fastest time possible but there you go. In parts it was utterly surreal, which is also unusual in a Hollywood summer blockbuster.

I just keep drifting off and replaying little bits in my head!

Perhaps its a good thing when a film gets a poor review when it deserves (in my opinion) better. When you go, you expect the worst. This was never going to be the same as the first movie (anymore than Return of the Jedi was like Star Wars). But it was a rousing finale.

And yes, they did leave the way open for another one...

What else did we expect?

R

Current Mood: ecstatic
Current Location: Library
Current Music: Theme to the Black Pirate (in my head!)

Tags:

Eurovision... my days of not taking you seriously...

Treasured

So Excited I just might puke! Holiday Countdown -2

Pirates! Arrrrrrr!

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