YoungWillz

Big Six: Ukraine - rock group whose gimmick is a countdown that exactly matches the length of the song. Ok for a rock choon. Prediction - lower reaches, potentially very low indeed. Italy - Catchy Bhuddist frippery. Yes, you heard right, Buddhist! Prediction - lower reaches. United Kingdom - After Brexit comes the sarcastically named follow up "Never Give Up On You". That might just piss the Euros off even more. However, it's in the same vein as a bunch of the first semi-finalists, so may garner votes on it's dirge like quality. Prediction - yikes, I'm going for "it'll really piss them off" gambit and say bottom three. Spain - Summery pop song, the kind that's a one-hit wonder for its repetitive chorus. DL'ers should note he pronounces "Joost Do It For Your Lover" over and over, so should be adopted for 2017 as our theme song. Prediction - middle of the pack. Germany - fairly standard pop song that has blatantly stolen a riff from The Police. (Well, if it's good enough for Bruno Mars...). Prediction - middle to low of the pack. France - doesn't know whether to be an anthem or a pop song or a power ballad. Nevertheless, possibly the pick of the Six. Prediction - top 12. I'll need to see the live performances before tipping my personal favourite. Enjoy the semis....(I know what you're thinking, stop that!). Edit: hey, I'll stick with Portugal. This year a fiver on them to win and a fiver for a top ten finish.

Right, so second semi-final review.... We are in trouble. This semi is loaded with the best songs of the competition so far (Big Six still to be viewed). It's easier to start off with who is likely to go out and imo, that's Hungary (who have let me down badly this year after a few good entries recently) and probably Ireland (mismatch of voice and song which needs a more mature voice to carry it off, but it isn't dreadful). Otherwise I'm struggling to see a clear winner as everything else has some merit and it's a pretty diverse bunch. Belarus have stolen the Netherlands' folk clothes this year, the Dutch have a pretty strong vocal harmony group, Bulgaria have taught Ireland a lesson on how a 17 year old can perform a song, blah blah blah. Something good is going out and that's a shame. If I had to pick one, it'd be Lithuania, they have some freaking energy and it made me sit up. Estonia have done it again. Special mentions: A: Croatia - it's an odd one because it's one guy singing two different octaves in two different languages. It's pretty damn good, but the bilingual thing is either going to work or kill it. B: Romania - I haven't worked this one out. It's like they had a really good song and tune and then didn't know what to do with the chorus. So they went with a Yodel theme. I kid you not. Now, is it so bad it's good, or is it so bad, it's good that goes bad? I...don't....know....but it might be the kind of gimmick that gets it through to the final. Off to watch the Big Six now...

Ok, so just been through the first semi-finalists. As with all these things, I just concentrate on the song, and as per usual it might all change with staging and live performance on the night. I have to say, that was a slog. If I wasn't such a Euro hound, I'd not even bother watching it on the night. Anyway, for me, out on top comes Portugal, possibly the only one I wanted to hear again. Other contenders include Czech Republic, Georgia and Finland. Can't say there was an obviously worst song as there's plenty of them! For singular mention: A. The Slovenian entry is like a half finished show tune that was written by a 10 year old. B. Sweden is hilarious - the song is completely average, but it's presented by a singer who looks like a second hand car salesman that's gone down the gym to exercise with his buddies on the treadmill. The bonus is they are up first on the night, so you can tune in, laugh uproariously, then take the rest of the night off. Off to watch the second semi now....

May 2nd.

What the puck? Lakovic scores for msc and Sir Creep, and the body count continues...

Twitter's announcing his death, but nothing newswise so far.

How we're being conned: Tories: Brexit: Every vote strengthens our negotiating position. Quite clearly bollocks. The Tories will proceed along the same lines as now, Europe won't give two hoots what Joe and Jane put in the ballot box and won't change their position either. The Opposition: They are unelectable in their own right. This is propaganda. They are banking on Labour voters to shrug their shoulders and simply to stay at home. The Economy: Can't tell you about tax rises. The smokescreen of Brexit means this is the real issue. They will hit the poor, the sick, the disabled and the middle class as usual, while spending mahoosive amounts on overseas aid and nuclear missiles. The Regions: we love you and everything will work for the whole UK. Will it balls. Powers coming back from Europe will be retained at Westminster rather than devolved as they should be and see that money we can spend here rather than sending to Europe? The regions can go stuff, while they prop up business in the South East of England. Labour: Democracy: We are on the side of the people, not the Establishment. No doubt this is what Corbyn believes, but as a party they are still quite clearly Blairite trash who would rather have a Lobster dinner with the great and the good rather than hand out soup to the homeless. Brexit: The people's vote must be respected. Every time they mention this, it sounds more and more like we will be outside Europe but still have essentially the same deal as now. For example, people who have job offers can come here. WTF? Housing: We will build homes for those who can't get on the ladder and more social housing. Yet they still maintain a policy of selling off Council housing. And house building declined under Labour who also turned a blind eye to company blacklisting of workers in the construction industry. LibDems: Coalition: We won't form a coalition with any party after the election. The fuck they won't. And they'll abandon their request for a second referendum on Europe to get it. After the votes have been cast in the unlikely event of a hung Parliament, they'll prop up the Tories again in the name of stability (remember 2010?). Brexit: see above. Other Policies: haven't a clue, do you? UKIP: Brexit: We still have a job to do. Nup, you don't, that ship has sailed and you already get up the noses of Europeans. Immigrants: We must integrate people who come here into the community, let's ban face veils. Two points: or what? Deport them? Lock them up? Also forgetting there are a lot of people who'd rather certain communities be tolerated rather than welcomed. This sounds more like a policy the Borg from Star Trek came up with rather than decent British people - assimilate, assimilate or exterminate.

Still a proud last with a few days to go! Whoop!

In a shameless pockle, here is my team for this pool: YoungWillz Hare's Pool Select Team (Except Mladic) 01. Ratko Mladic 02. Sidney Poitier 03. Sumner Redstone 04. Peter Sallis d. 2 June 2017 05. Desmond Tutu 06. Gordon Banks 07. Violet Brown d. 15 September 2017 08. Tony Booth d. 25 September 2017 09. Errol Christie d. 11June 2017 10. Salvatore Di Masi 11. Peter Higgs 12. Bruce Forsyth d. 18 August 2017 13. Bernard Cribbins 14. Rex Williams 15. Beverly Cleary 16. Sir Peter Hall d. 11 September 2017 17. Carol Channing 18. Nichelle Nichols 19. Stirling Moss 20. Lord Peter Carrington Subs: A: John Noakes d. 28 May 2017 B: Herman Wouk C: Thomas S Monson

Rockhopper penguin scores with Hubert Dreyfus in absentia...come back Penguin, you might actually win this thing!

About bloody time...yep.

So what are the final rules?

It's been a good April for current leader Joey Russ who zooms away with a unique for Pirsig.

Round Up #11 (May Election For June Special) Sean McEniff: https://forums.deathlist.net/topic/8677-political-frailty/?do=findComment&comment=304893 (Carried Over) Awaiting Obit. Robert M Pirsig: https://forums.deathlist.net/topic/8633-robert-m-pirsig/?do=findComment&comment=305154 Daily Mail Obit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4441446/Robert-M-Pirsig-million-selling-Zen-author-dead-88.html Sasha Lakovic: https://forums.deathlist.net/topic/7081-ice-hockey-players/?do=findComment&comment=305244 Awaiting Obit. Sally Major: (From List of the Lost) Mirror Obit: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/heartbroken-family-mum-whose-cancer-10299134 Leo Baxendale: https://forums.deathlist.net/topic/2477-cartoonists-and-animators/?do=findComment&comment=305389 BBC Obit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39730388

Dead apparently: https://twitter.com/NPR/status/856588975053705217 Edit: http://www.pressherald.com/2017/04/24/robert-pirsig-author-of-zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance-dies-in-maine/

Report here of the death of Chris Bearde, aged 80. https://www.facebook.com/jeffreyrobinson.author/posts/1322234034533266 Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Bearde IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0063955/

Still a blog...

Reports coming in that former diplomat and life peer Lord Michael Williams, Baron Williams of Baglan has died aged 67. https://twitter.com/sylze/status/856503294897917952 Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Williams,_Baron_Williams_of_Baglan

Peter Walker, who wrote under the name Nicholas Rhea and created the fictional town of Aidensfield on which the TV series Heartbeat was based, has died. He was 80. https://www.minsterfm.com/news/local/2275172/the-man-who-created-the-heartbeat-stories-dies-aged-80/

Anyone else find Lisping Laura Perrins (Conservative Woman) really annoying? She just turned up out of nowhere. Well, when I say nowhere did the Hitler Youth have a girl's branch?

No date of death...

Daily Mail for Erin Moran for Handy: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4436544/Happy-Days-star-Erin-Moran-dies-aged-56.html

Erin Moran, who played Joanie Cunningham in Happy Days, reportedly dead at 56. http://www.tmz.com/2017/04/22/happy-days-star-erin-moran-dead/ Yet Scott Baio lives...

Hmm, Dreyfus needs an obituary/article for the Hare's Pool. Blogs don't count. We'll see a report soon I'd hope.

No I didn't and no he didn't.