The Eurovision Song Contest 2012

The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan this year, at the end of May. For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, it is similar to "American Idol," but predates it by several decades.

Over forty nations, mostly from Europe, but some from Africa and Asia, enter one original song into the contest, and over two semi-finals and one final, all of those nations vote by phone or computer for their favorite. The trick? You cannot vote for your own nation's entry. The winning nation hosts the contest the following year. Past winners and contestants have included ABBA, Katrina and the Waves, Lordi, Cliff Richard, Nena, Lulu, Johnny Logan, and Celine Dion.

Here are four more entries from the first semi-final:

Albania: "Suus" by Rona Nishliu



Romania: "Zaleilah" by Mandinga



Switzerland: "Unbreakable" by Sinplus



And Belgium: "Would You?" by Iris



While Albania and Belgium present some of the same old ballads that invariably both bore audiences and also win the contest sadly, Romania and Switzerland are more with the spirit of the mad dancey eurotrash tunes that embody the spirit of Eurovision. I kinda like Romania as an early fave, and the Swiss entry is growing on me.

Mamma Mia!

What a fun movie experience!

Mamma Mia! was a wonderful mouthwash after seeing The Dark Knight, reaffirming my love of film letting me know that everything on the big screen isn't complete dog feces.

Fun and wonderful are only two of the adjectives I have for this musical. As a virgin to the stage show I wasn't quite sure what to expect beyond ABBA music. I grew up in the 1970s so I was exposed to quite a bit of it, some I liked and actually owned. Yes, I'm a straight man who admits to liking ABBA. Deal with it.

Sophie, played by up and coming name to watch Amanda Seyfried, is getting married and has invited three men who she suspects could be her father to the wedding. From there, as they say, hilarity ensues, but with an ABBA musical flavor. I must say this was quite surprising with Meryl Streep (as Sophie's mother) and even Pierce Brosnan (one of the potential fathers) among others displaying heretofore unknown singing talents.



Above the rest, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters especially feature here as Streep's best friends and former back-ups in her old singing group, Donna and the Dynamos. Baranski in particular shines in her own number "Does Your Mother Know." The entire cast, many of which are Greek extras, jumps in on the fun of singing throughout the flick. It is however notable that it doesn't seem like any woman on this Greek island wears a bra. This is both for better and worse.



This is a fun movie, a terrific and more than welcome step back into the age of musicals - and highly recommended. And don't forget to stay through the credits for the cast doing a few more songs in full seventies ABBA-ish regalia.