Tasha's (aka Beren) Journal

I have always loved Livejournal and by extension Dreamwidth and I've finally decided to stop neglecting them.

Yesterday I posted about Eurovision (LJ | DW) and I actually got to communicate with people - I even commented on some other posts about Eurovision too. It was lovely and it took me back to when I used to do this every day.

Hence I have decided to try and post much more often on these accounts.

So, how is everybody? :)

Any new fandoms I should know about?

I've decided to be more organised because I don't think I'm getting enough done, so I've scheduled my day. In case you were wondering, 9 - 11 is for blogging and such things, because I do a lot of it for my work and I'm slipping LJ and DW in there too, because I can :). It's after 11 that the "proper" writing starts.

Soph (thwax  ) made the most amazing cake for our little Eurovision gathering at the weekend:



Rob and I had a piece for dessert last night after dinner too, since Soph left us with some. She took the rest to work because we couldn't finish it all :).

Well, lovely to chat - now I need a cup of tea, since Ruby got me out of bed this morning way before the alarm should have gone off, but jumping on my head ... TWICE! I love my cats, but sometimes ....  ;)


Review: We Still Kill the Old Way (18) #MonsterMondays 35 (yesterday) - Rob and I happened to click in this on one of the movie channels and it was good, so I reviewed it.
How To Rename Multiple Files with Windows Powershell #TipsTuesdays 28 - I've been reorganising our NAS box and found Powershell really useful for renaming files, hence I wrote a blog post about it.

For those who have been under a rock, or not in Europe, this year's Eurovision Song Contest was won by Austria and their entrant, Conchita Wurst, a singer whose real name is Tom Neuwirth, who created the persona of Conchita in a bid for tolerance.

"This is about an important message, it's call for tolerance for everything that seems different." - Conchita Wurst

She was utterly spectacular on the night and boy does she have a fantastic voice. Play the vid, the song is brilliant - it's the official vid from Eurovision TV.


I think her win is incredibly important because it really is a complete up yours to all the prejudice.

There is a backlash in Russia apparently with celebrities shaving off their beards - which is clearly a political move. However, according to Popbitch on twitter, Rise Like a Phoenix is currently No1 on Russian charts, so ordinary people are not of the same opinion. See this article for info on both:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/russians-are-shaving-their-beards-in-reaction-to-conchita-wu

Russia tried to have Conchita banned before the competition : http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/russia-slams-eurovision-winner-conchita-3525396

Sorry Putin - you can't stage a debate with only one side of the argument and expect people to take it seriously. I feel sorry for your entry this year because they're only 17 and they were booed and that is your fault for invading Ukraine. You're a homophobic arsehole with megalomania and Europe just stuck its fingers up at you.


However, it's not just Russia sadly. I've already heard someone say it was disgusting and that they had to try and explain it to their 4 year old. Um, so what? Just tell them she's a man who likes to wear dresses and be a lady when she's singing. What's hard about that? You don't have to explain all the political and social implications to a 4 year old.

Personally I thought explaining Poland's entry to a 4 year old might be harder, given that there were two lasses on the stage who were only there for their big boobs and the butter churning was fooling no one!

For heaven's sake, we're in the 21st century, if a man wants to wear a dress he should be able to. Judge people on who they are and how they treat others, not what they look like or who they do or don't love.

If you would like to read more about Conchita here is her official page and her wiki page.

All I can say is, well done Europe. We voted for a fantastic singer, a fantastic song and tolerance.

Oh and for the record, for once my fav songs came top:

1. Rise Like a Phoenix - Austria - Conchita Wurst
2. Calm After the Storm - Netherlands - the Common Linnets (I am sure the Winter Soldier was signing for them :))
3. Undo - Sweden - Sanna Nielson