| Eurovision Song Contest News - 2009 Moscow, Russia 

togravus ceterum

Hi Europe and beyond,

I was born the year Sandy Shaw conquered Europe barfooted and currently live in Stuttgart, Germany. I have been an ESC fan for as long as I can think. The first contest I remember is 1977, when Marie Myriam won for my favourite ESC country France. I enjoy discussing ESC songs and trivia but I don't like all the 'political' discussions and hate speech one can nowadays find on esctoday. (Many thanks to the editors for deleting most of it!) ESC should be about uniting people from different countries and cultures, not about reinforcing differences and prejudice. Celebrate diversity!

ESC and me in a nutshell:

Favourite song
Patricia Kaas: Et s'il fallait le faire (France 2009)

Other songs I love
Laila Kinnunen: Valoa ikkunassa (Finland 1961)
Claude Lombard: Quand tu reviendras (Belgium 1968)
Frida Boccara: Un jour, un enfant (France 1969)
Tonicha: Menina (Portugal 1971)
Carlos do Carmo: Uma flor de verde pinho (Portugal 1976)
Anne-Marie David: Je suis l'enfant soleil (France 1979)
Amina: C'est le dernier qui a parlè qui a raison (France 1991)
Kasia Kowalska: Chcę znać swój grzech (Poland 1996)
Paul Oscar: Minn hinsti dans (Iceland 1997)
Zeljko Joksimovic: Lane moje (Serbia & Montenegro 2004)
Mor ve ötesi: Deli (Turkey 2008)

Worst songs
Wilfried: Lisa, Mona Lisa (Austria 1988)
Oleksand Ponomarov: Hasta la vista (Ukraine 2003)
Sirusho: Qele qele (Armenia 2008)

Best winning songs
Jean-Claude Pascal: Nous les amoureux (Luxemburg 1961)
Frida Boccara: Un jour, un enfant (France 1969)

Worst winning songs
Herreys : Diggi-loo diggi-ley (Sweden 1984)
Ruslana: Wild Dances (Ukraine 2004)

Favourite decade
The 60s: Wow, they could all sing live! No dancing, no fireworks, no undressing ... Just great songs and great voices.

Worst decade
The 80s: Nobody had a clue ...

Favourite ESC artists
Vice Vukov, Anne-Marie David, Dulce Pontes, Justyna Steczkowska, Hari Mata Hari

Favourite ESC years
1969, 1979, 1996, 2007

Worst years
1959, 1978, 1987, 2006

Best lyrics
Jean-Claude Pascal: Nous les amoureux (Luxemburg 1961)
Isabelle Aubret: La source (France 1968)

Most overrated ESC artist: Carola
Most underestimated ESC artist: Simone de Oliveira

PS:
I still don't understand what happened to Rita Guerra in 2003, Xandee in 2004, and Anonymous in 2007 ...

My top 12 in 2009 (this is hard because sometimes there is a difference between the studio versions and the live performances ...)

1. France
2. BiH
3. Lithuania
4. Iceland
5. Moldova
6. Estonia
7. Portugal
8. Serbia
9. Germany
10. Andorra
11. Israel
12. Switzerland

My top 11 in 2008

1. Turkey
2. Serbia
3. Macedonia
4. Norway
5. Portugal
6. Iceland
7. France
8. Israel
9. BiH
10. San Marino
11. Albania

Other stuff about my humble self:

My main interests are literature, philosophy, art, theatre, opera, and history, and normally I prefer listening to classical music. There are, however, some contemporary singers I really love: Cristina Branco, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Etta Scollo, B������©nabar, Teoman, Radio Tarifa, and Tiziano Ferro *blush* are among my favourites.

My greatest passion, however, is travelling. My favourite places in Europe are: Hungerford Foot Bridge in London, the vaporetto stop Sant' Angelo in Venice at night, the Lower Barracca Gardens in Valletta, the terrace of the Parador Hotel in Carmona (Andalusia), the cloisters in Batalha (Portugal) and Saint-Trophime (Arles, France), and Khora Sfakion (Crete) in winter ... the cities I am madly in love with are London, Lisbon, Seville, Istanbul, Brussels, and Ciudad Rodrigo.

If you want to drop me a line: togravus.ceterum@yahoo.de