Eurovision 2015: The Winner And My Other Favourites

This year's Eurovision song contest was great! The country that I was cheering for (Armenia) didn't win but the country that did win (Sweden) had an amazing performance and definitely deserved to win! I had so much fun watching Eurovision again this year with my family and my dad said afterwards that he really enjoyed it and he likes events like this that you can look forward to each year.

Here is the winner of Eurovision 2015. This is Sweden's entry of the song "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw. I was impressed by the way that he worked with the stage. Amazing!

Here is an interview with Måns Zelmerlöw after the big win!

Here are some of my other favourites...

Of course I loved Armenia's entry of "Face The Shadow" performed by Genealogy! This was the entry that I was cheering for, after all!

Hungary had a very meaningful song and performance. The song was "Wars for Nothing" performed by Boggie. This was the entry that my dad wanted to win.

Russia's entry was beautiful! The song was "A Million Voices" performed by Polina Gagarina. 

I loved the dancing in Azerbaijan's entry of the song "Hour Of The Wolf" performed by Elnur Huseynov. I also loved how the moon changed into a blood moon! Beautiful!

Georgia had a strong and powerful performance with the song "Warrior" performed by Nina Sublatti.

Austria's entry of the song "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes was great. Just look at the flames in the piano!

Israel's entry was just so much fun! The song was "Golden Boy" performed by Nadav Guedj. It makes me want to dance whenever I listen to it!

The United Kingdom had a really fun performance with the song "Still In Love With You" performed by Electro Velvet. I love their mix of modern and 1920s music, dancing, and performing!

I loved seeing last year's winner, Conchita (from Austria), performing her song "Rise Like A Phoenix" to kick off Eurovision!

I also loved Conchita's performance of "You Are Unstoppable" and "Firestorm" during the grand final!

After watching Eurovision online last year and this year, it's definitely becoming a tradition for my family!

-Kaylie

My Favourite Entries in Eurovision 2015

The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria is coming up soon! The first semi-final is on May 19th, the second semi-final is on May 21st, and the grand final is on May 23rd. All of the songs are already on the Eurovision website for everyone to listen to and I have already chosen the country that I'm cheering for along with a few others entries that I just really like. I'm going to be cheering for...

Armenia with the song "Face the Shadow" by Genealogy!

The story behind the group and song is really interesting! I'm really excited to see how they perform this song onstage!

Here are some of the other entries that I really like:

Hungary with the song "Wars for Nothing" by Boggie:

Lithuania with the song "This Time" by Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila:

France with the song "N'oubliez pas" by Lisa Angell:

United Kingdom with the song "Still In Love With You" by Electro Velvet:

Serbia with the song "Beauty Never Lies" by Bojana Stamenov:

Czech Republic with the song "Hope Never Dies" by Marta Jandová and Václav Noid Bárta:

Last year I was cheering for Conchita Wurst who was representing Austria with the song "Rise Like A Phoenix and I was so happy when Austria won! I am really excited to see Conchita Wurst perform again during this year's Eurovision! Here is the magnificent performance from last year:

Since I live in Canada, I'll be watching Eurovision online on Eurovision's web tv like I did last year. I'm so glad that they make it available for people to watch all around the world!

I can't wait!

-Kaylie

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

Happy Halloween! What better way to celebrate Halloween than to read Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem, The Raven! The Raven is a very eerie and suspenseful poem that was published in 1845. The speaker in the poem is remembering his lost love, Lenore, and he hears tapping coming from outside. Once he opens the window, a raven flies in, constantly replying "Nevermore" whenever the speaker speaks to it. This drives the speaker crazy. I definitely recommend reading the poem or listening to a recitation of the poem (go to the end of this post for a video of Vincent Price reciting "The Raven"). If you read it, you should read it aloud and put a lot of expression in your voice. So much fun!

I really like "The Raven" because of how simple the story is! The only characters that are present in the story are the speaker and the raven and Lenore is mentioned. The whole story is about the speaker going crazy thinking about Lenore and hearing the raven saying only one word, "Nevermore." It isn't scary because of monsters but instead because of the descriptions. You don't know what is going to happen next and you can picture the whole story and the setting in your mind. The repetitions really add to the suspension! The poem also just has a general eeriness to it in the way that it is presented.

Want to hear a recitation of "The Raven"? The best person for the job is Vincent Price! Such an amazing performance! Watch it here:

I hope you all have a spooky Halloween!

-Kaylie

Doctor Who Laughing Break

Doctor Who is already so funny but here are some funny Doctor Who related videos to make you laugh even more! Enjoy!

Lauren Cooper and Doctor Who clash in class - Classic Comic Relief

Daleks Love Cats

Doctor Who Series 3 *Hilarious Deleted Scene*

The beginning and the ending of this video were included in the episode but the parts in between where he says that he has to just talk for a minute straight was just filler for video that was seen but where the audio was not heard. Funny stuff!

Can you tell that David Tennant is my favourite doctor?

-Kaylie

Positive Life: The Power of Laughter

Don’t you just feel great when you laugh? It boosts our mood and just leaves you feeling fantastic. It makes you smile and makes you feel happy. It is such a great way to start or end the day because it leaves you in a good mood. I love laughing! I myself can be very bubbly when talking to people. I find that when I am bubbly, I laugh and giggle more and I feel happier. I like telling silly stories to people and laughing along with them as they tell me silly stories of their own. Laughter is contagious. So, we should really laugh more!

Check out the health benefits of laughter in helpguide.org’s article, Laughter is the Best Medicine. 

Here are some funny videos that I make me laugh every time I see them. Enjoy!

Amy’s Grocery Hidden Camera Prank (on the Ellen DeGenerous Show): 

Amy’s in Another Haunted House (on the Ellen DeGenerous Show):

Animator vs. Animation: 

  

Danny Bhoy on national symbols:

Keep laughing!

-Kaylie

Youtube Favourites: Improv Everywhere

Improv Everywhere is a team that invites people along as they create videos of crazy, fun, and strange events (which they call missions) that often require improv and are done in crowded areas. Nobody around knows that it is going to happen and once it commences, nobody really knows what is going on and it makes people smile and laugh. I love watching their videos and I hope that I can one day take part in an Improv Everywhere mission. I think that it would be so amazing and fun! It would definitely be a neat experience!

Here is a video of Charlie Todd (the founder of Improv Everywhere) giving a talk at TEDxBloomington about The shared experience of absurdity in which talks about Improv Everywhere:

Here is Improv Everywhere’s Ghostbusters mission called “Who You Gonna Call?” It’s one of my favourites!

-Kaylie

Favourite Finnish and Irish Songs

With St’ Urho’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day coming up, here is a collection of some of my favourite Finnish and Irish songs. Enjoy!

Finnish:

Ievan Polkka by Loituma

Työlki Ellää by Kuunkuiskaajat

Irish:

The Rocky Road to Dublin by The High Kings

Wild Rover by The Dubliners

-Kaylie