Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man.
Over the last week I have immersed myself in the lives of 14 English children and their lives.
Of course, I'm talking about the kids from 7 Up, the Michael Apted series that began in 1964 and has since continued every seven years.
In the lead-up to the Australian premiere of 56 Up tonight on SBS, SBSTWO has screened them all in succession so I've made it a priority to watch each of them through for the first time.
I've loved it.
7 Up was the social experiment to begin all social experiments. A group of English 7-year-olds were picked from a range of socio-economical backgrounds and questioned on where they might be educated and what they want to do as grown-ups. For the more upper-class of the group their education was more or less mapped out for them, and it was only dependent on actual academic effort between them getting there or not.
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| A 7 Up reunion at 21 |
It remains refreshing how one never achieved great heights or stuck with some of his ambitions, but he never felt anything was lacking. And that another really found himself after migrating to Australia.
Then with some brilliant editing, the most emotive part came as one revealed why he would never have children, putting his eccentricity and mood issues squarely at blame.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
I haven't had as much time to blog during the last week or two because my work routine's changing all the time and Euro2012 is messing with my sleeping patterns. But anything goes for some high-end football. And what a great topic for post #200!
I've been let in on a little secret by a friend of mine in the States that has changed the way I watch sport forever.
ATDHE.
The guys at this directory website offer online live sports streaming for international sports matches through heaps of links. All for free, and only some with really annoying ads (like, popping up exactly when a goal's scored - twice - annoying).
It all started with my frustration at the crap highlights at 12.30am that Nine were showing of the French Open. They didn't even show Sam Stosur when she got to the semi-final. Booo. And unfortunately, although SBS are showing their hour-long highlights at a better time, their efforts at showing full replays come two whole nights after they've played which is really rather pointless if you've watched the highlights the night before.
So through this wonderful portal I saw all of Greece's group games - I was shocked to see we now have our own Cristiano Ronaldo in half-Uruguyan Jose Holebas. He's alright on the pitch though, and not irritating me like the prince does.
Actually, I'm also a bit surprised to see the amount of sleeves in the world game now. And no, I don't mean long sleeves on guernseys. Gross random tattoos yes, but the sleeve trend is obviously fast become a worldwide thing. I've been annoyed with this in sport before, but I just hope it doesn't totally take over the world game because then I'd just be really shitty. One must remember that it isn't a look for everyone.
A real highlight was Germany against the Netherlands. It was a great game, plus it was a chance for me to actually see Mario Gomez in action. The guy's a gun! And has totally great hair, I must say. I am a fan. There were a few good lookers in both sides, so that's always a bonus from a female perspective. Looking forward to the finals!
But there's so much I can see now. I saw the Socceroos draw with Japan - I can see our boys qualify on my own terms again! There's Wimbledon, although I think 7Two's going to be okay because the shift from Nine is promising, and the Tour de France if SBS for some reason fails with their broadcast. The possibilities are endless!
Friday, May 25, 2012
From the top, this is my first Eurovision online - and the Twitter feeds from #SBSEurovision viewers are just hilarious. But a quick wrap-up of the songs...
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Montenegro - Euro Negro by Rambo Amadeus - everything ending in -matic and lines like "monetary breakdance" and "change to refinance", this was RANDOM. Loved his interview comment to Julia: "I don't suppose I have any fans in Australia... maybe one. Hello."
- Rated 60 per cent on SBS Eurovision immediately after the song
Iceland - Never Forget - I usually like Iceland. Cool epic violins, but the guy's stare was just uber scary. Ended with a pyrotechnic bang.
- 62 per cent
Greece - Aphrodisiac - She's as hot as Helena Paparizou... and the song was alright! Loved the little tastes of Greek dancing there... Think she'll do well. If Sakis Rouvas offered her a job she must be good.
- Missed rating. People were more concerned with her costume...
Latvia - woman struggled with tight dress and heels a bit. OK. Thought Julia got it spot on with her "canteen mums" analysis.
- 67 per cent
Albania - Oh oh. Oh oh oh. Oh oh. Weird dreadlock bun and Gaga-inspired for a soft ballad are not good fits. Can hold a note alright though.
- Missed rating
Romania - Mandinga - One couldn't get on stage (only six at a time). Satin undies. Warbling. Lots of wind. Made Greece's dress look tame.
- 58 per cent
Swtizerland - Unbreakable by Sinplus - Nickleback but turns into a real rock sound. Like U2. Vocals like World Idol winner's back in the day. Hottest guy award goes to the lead.
- 69 per cent
Belgium- Would You by Iris - At 17, young. Not good. Wavered, nervous maybe.
- 59 per cent still though. Hm.
Finland - Nar jag blundar - Mullet dress, someone tweeted a suggestion she'd gotten confused with being Scottish. Realised Finnish language sounds really strange, hypnotic.
- 61 per cent
Israel - Time - Upbeat, got a 70s look happening. Hebrew and English. Lol at Sam's David Mathieson remark.
- Ooh, only 27 per cent.
San Marino - The Social Network Song - Pretty much, if you wanna be seen by everyone... go on YouTube. Or Eurovision to log into a glittery laptop on stage. As you do.
- 45 per cent
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
This is the sixth post in a series about the Eurovision Song Contest. If you don't know what that is I strongly suggest you follow my posts. You'll learn a lot.
Hosts and commentators form an integral part of Eurovision, shaping our perceptions of the night past the songs. Well, they do their best to put their two cents in and get away with a LOT.
The female hosts are notorious for changing dresses multiple times throughout the show. If your stylist thinks you can pull off a few designs to dazzle the audience then why not?
When I went last year, the two ladies hosting (yes, the guy was that cool he had to have a lady on each arm) did their stylists proud.
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| Stefan Raab sang Satellite with defending champion Lena |
But while that's something to look forward to, I want to talk about a stalwart of the contest that really captured the outsider's thoughts on the contest for years.
Anyone who knows Eurovision in the UK, Australia and perhaps elsewhere beyond Europe will know who I'm on about.
BBC's Terry Wogan.
The guy was involved for the better part of 37 years, first with BBC Radio and then moving into the television slot. He had the wittiest commentary, probably on everything ever. Playing on the fact that many UK residents never took the contest too seriously, Wogan pretty much paid the shite out of whoever was really horrible.
Many said at his leaving in 2008 that a lot of Brits watched the contest only because of him. It's interesting how this is still one of the ways that Britain tries to distance itself from Europe (you know, besides other small things like currency and European politics). And yet he primarily left because he felt it wasn't being taken seriously by the committee anymore and submitting shite acts wasn't putting the joke on Europe, but turning back on itself. Bit of a double-edged sword, isn't it?
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Since his departure in 2008, SBS has provided local commentary with Des Mangan (who had replaced Wogan about five years earlier much to Australia's dismay - he's fine, but not when Wogan was still on his game), and now the comedian duo of Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang. They're okay too, but I wish Wogan would give us an encore performance now that the UK act isn't chosen by a public vote.
I'd love to know what he makes of Engelbert Humperdinck's entry for 2012.
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Sunday, June 27, 2010
Dear Diary,
Oh how behind am I? Watching highlights of Ghana vs USA, the score of which I didn't know until about twenty minutes ago. I need to watch the news more intently. GOOOOOOOAAALLLLL! That goal from the Ghanian in extra time was awesome... Ok so the past two nights have been relatively - hang on, who's that guy? Andre Ayew apparently... - whoops, back on track. Relatively quiet, not a lot watched.
Managed to see most of the replay of Slovakia vs Italy. What a final fifteen minutes. I so wish I'd seen that live. That was incredible football. Looked like Italy were actually trying... my game of the night was Brazil vs Portugal. That was meant to be a showdown - and it was really boring. The commentator said it was a 3rd-string Brazilian team, and it showed. Not as many fancy skills or as high-tempo a game. I vaguely remember the second half starting and then went to bed what seemed like five minutes later. Hours of sleep: 5.5.
Last night was unfortunate - although a quiet Saturday night out was had, there was no way I could've stayed up to watch Ghana vs USA... although we did have a World Cup McDonalds experience - stayed in the Cross Rd restaurant past midnight when they normally shut it. Woo! But I was falling asleep (yes, in a public place. Think I've mentioned I have a tendency to do that) and so hit the hay as soon as I got home. Hours of sleep: 6.5? I don't remember what time I went to bed...
Plenty of hype surrounding England vs Germany... Ed Kavalee put it so well on Cup Fever (the SBS show) when he said that the World Cup's really started now. The business end of the tournament should bring some cracker contests! Would've loved to have gone out tonight; the Barmy Army supporters (they do call them that for football too right?) would be a fun bunch regardless of where you are. Time for Shrek to step up!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Dear Diary,
Well, I'm well underway of night six but I hit another low with night five. Key match was Portugal v Ivory Coast and was very keen after the surprise of New Zealand's 1-all draw with Slovakia. Decided to make myself a hot chocolate and crank the heater to make myself comfortable. Big mistake. I was toasty and warm and enjoying the first part of the game... but I again found myself drifting off.
Chris gets home from work, and when he sits down he starts barking at me for falling asleep. It's not my fault I can't keep my eyes open!!! (Ok so it is but still...) I keep hearing him waking me up and at half time I demand he leave me alone until it starts up again. I vaguely remember glimpses from there and next thing the TV's off and he's shaking me saying: 'It's 1:30, the game's over. Go to bed!' How SHIT. Why am I missing out? It's not fair! I don't have the luxury of watching replays on SBS Two during the day (which I didn't know were airing until today).
But do I feel I'm missing out, or is it that the games seem a little lacklustre so far? It's easy to get the impression that there haven't really been any standout games within the first round of group matches - sure, North Korea holding Brazil scoreless for a half is good, as were displays from Germany (grrr), The Netherlands and Italy. But the latter three are to be expected. I want to see games that will keep me awake in the wee hours of the morning because they're unpredictable.
Felt better today. Maybe that's because hours of sleep totalled five. And I could've had more, but I made myself visit the gym. Again, shock horror, two days running! Haha that's not possible tomorrow, but the point of trying to look after myself amidst the imminent trail of destruction of my sanity is being taken. For the love of the world game, it's all worth it.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Dear Diary,
Ok, so it's NIGHT one because it's not during the day in Australia. Just making that clear to possible international readers.
Missed the opening ceremony and analysis on SBS (Shitty? Yes. Even shittier because I could've taped it? To say the least, uh-huh.) because my friends and I decided to scout a few possible viewing locations around Adelaide... After a pitstop at Adelaide Uni's UniBar (non-soccer related), we found that the casino was not to our liking and The Rosemont (which I'd heard so much about but never ventured in) was TOTALLY what we were looking for. So we'll hopefully make the trip in for the Socceroos v Germany game.
Returned home just in time for the 2nd half of South Africa v Mexico. After refuelling with a bacon and cheese sausage roll (Adelaideans, Vili's was PACKED at midnight, more than usual...) I felt awake and was in awe of Siphiwe Tshabalala's goal. What an absolute cracker. Good to see the locals getting so behind their team. Suddenly, it was 20 minutes later and Mexico had equalled. So much for the refuel. Oh well.
Couldn't stay up for Uruguay v France, there wouldn't have been any point because I was dozing off already. Plus a 9am start at work doesn't help. A pity there isn't a game between 1:30 & 3:30am (ACST) - it either runs late or reeeeally early. But I'm still going to be proud enough to say I'm on (blank) hours sleep.
So how much sleep did I get? 5.5 hours. Slightly less than my non-World Cup average of 6.5 anyway. So feeling fairly good.
Tonight: going out (missing Greece v South Korea - boooo - GO HELLAS!), then doing my best to watch England v USA at 3:30. Just want to see the Yanks lose. Not entirely sure why. If anyone has suggestions, please, put them on the table.
And so begins my insomnia.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The songs themselves were fairly lacklustre, in both the semis and the final itself. There weren’t any standout Euro-trash pop hits we’ve learnt to love (Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Deen’s In The Disco from 2004 will always have a place in my heart) and the ballads far outweighed anything else. Perhaps the European Union’s crisis with their currency mellowed the mood a bit. Certainly did with the hosts (three making one too many), whose zany nature only showed promise in the final – especially Erik Solbakken - although their outfits weren’t reflective of that nor changed nearly enough. No serious mood for Greece however, with Giorgos Alkaios & Friends shouting ‘OPA!’ like nothing had happened. One half of SBS Australia’s hosting team Julia Zemiro saw the irony and posed the burning question: ‘If Greece wins next year, can it afford to host it?’ Line of the night. No, actually, Giorgo’s reponse was… ‘I’ve been asked that question for the last three months.’ Poor poor bugger.
Not even a song from two-thirds of the Stock/Aitken/Waterman powerhouse trio could save teen Josh Dubovie and the UK from sinking to another wooden-spoon finish. With just two countries to go, Belarus scored an unprecedented 12 points (Unprecedented? Don’t be stupid, it was from an Eastern European country!), and left the poor darling to languish. Australia’s other hosting half Sam Pang anticipated this too, and we saw that even Dubovie was startled as the frank question was posed before the voting. The hosts were really on the ball all night, even when half the viewers missed serial pest Jimmy Jump crash the Spanish choreography.
The winning song came from a country to have only previously won once in the 55-year history. Germany’s Lena appealed with a Goth/Avril Lavigne look and the weirdest mix of accents to win with ‘Satellite’, which was undoubtedly one of the better songs of the night. Although having said that, it’d be interesting to listen to a different artist’s version. Greece, Iceland and Azerbaijan were also personal favourites. There’s no doubt that most of the time the voters get the overall winner right – but what they vote otherwise is often debatable. But in a year when the songs aren’t what they’re cracked up to be, what do you do – vote for looks?
If any year was one to vote for the hottest singer, 2010 was it. The calibre of genetically-lucky guys and girls was unlike anything previously seen in Eurovision before. However, voters still thought with their political heads over their hearts, which saw the UK’s Dubovie, Israel’s Harel Skaat, Norway’s Didrik Solli-Tangen and even Cyprus’ Welsh singer (say what?!) Jon Lilygreen fail. The ladies fared a bit better; Azerbaijan’s Safura, Georgia’s Sofia Nizharadze and Armenia’s Eva Rivas all with top-10 finishes. Regardless of their singing abilities (or lack of; some were actually quite shocking), it was a visual treat.
The prelude to the night’s climax was the biggest highlight - even bigger than Lena’s disgruntlement at last year’s winner Alexander Rybak’s cheeky lip kiss. Shock horror, the 15 minutes we had to wait was INTERESTING! Hip-hop duo Madcon stunned us with Glow (why weren’t they an entry?!) and cities all around Europe dong the Flash Mob Dance. With choreography like ‘bow-and-arrow, bow-and-arrow, click, click, click, click’ choreography, households across Australia were up and dancing with them. Well my friends’ was anyway. That managed to salvage the event from being anything less than a spectacle. And then it was over. For as soon as it crept up on us, Eurovision was gone for another year. I can only wait until May 2011 for Berlin with excited anticipation - for the spectacle and Australian Tweeters going crazy for it as a Trending Topic.
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