Pancakes and Eurovision

Last night I went to Martina's house and she taught me how to make pea soup and pancakes, the traditional Swedish meal for Thursday nights in memory of the poisoned king. The soup was incredible and the pancakes were like the crepes that my Mom makes (girls--do you remember?), only a little thicker, and we ate them with homemade rasberry puree and fresh whipped cream. We also drank the traditional punch with the meal, which is a shot of super-sweet liquor. Yum. And watching Martina's youngest daughter eat the pancakes like an animal and then lick the plate was great. So after dinner, Martina's husband made me stay to watch Eurovision. If you've never heard of this (like I hadn't), you really wouldn't believe it. The whole time I thought I was watching a bad episode of Saturday Night Live, only it wasn't a joke. Charles---did you ever watch this?? Apparently the show has been going on for 50 years or so. The show is an annual contest for the best song in Europe, and at least a couple of people have been made famous (ABBA in 1974 and Celine Dion in 1988). Each country in Europe votes on the song they want to represent their country, and then they get someone entertaining to sing it in the competition. There are several stages, and last night was a semi-final. One of the final competitions is Saturday. So I'll just say that if I were from, say, Iceland, I would be mortified that I was being represented by such insane crap. Each band/singer puts on this 2.5 minute performance and you get a range of everything from Ricky Martin wannabes (a popular choice this year) to chicks in go-go boots and garter belts beating on drums to this crazy girl from Iceland who acted like a blonde American bimbo (like from the Barbie Girl song) and ran around sliding down enormous candy canes and saying "Oh My God" like a complete ditz. And, my personal favorite, Finland. A bunch of guys and girls dressed up like demons (complete with unfolding bat wings on the lead singer) who sang their song "Hard Rock Hallelujiah"...I couldn't keep my jaw from hanging open. Without a doubt, one of the most bizarre things I've EVER seen in my life. And in case you're wondering, yes, Finland made it to the finals. This definitely needs to be on American TV, although I'm not sure it would lead to a very positive view of Europe. And if anyone has known about this and hasn't shared with the group, you should be strung up by your toenails and sung to by Finland.