Eurovision Report: Liveblogged from Jerusalem

This was my first Eurovision viewing, and it was fun, but I have to admit that the whole thing doesn't seem all that European to me. True, the costumes are over-the-top and the fashion of man-vests as apparently mandatory garb would never fly in America. (Or at least, one hopes.) Israel chose an amazing song, but it's the wrong feel for the fast beats of the techno-heavy Eurovision contest.

The hosts were like an episode of "Ryan Seacrest and Daisy Fuentes Meet the Nunis." Most of the acts sounded like homages to or rehashes of American songs, from 80s hair metal to house/techno, the women looked very similar in terms of hairstyle, and the few original-looking acts were either not original-sounding or so bizarre that you knew there was no way they were going to win. The prevailing language, for both the songs and the commentary, was English, which didn't seem terribly European of them. The one interesting political note was that countries that you'd never pair up were voting for each other: you had Serbia voting for Bosnia-Herzgovina, and Ireland voting for the UK, and various other voting pairs, which might make you believe that music is perhaps the path to peace. That is, if they can get past the Latvian pirates.

Analysis: The open shirt and the ice skating gimmick won, with Russia's Dima, fiddler and ice dancer edging out Kalomira, Greece's answer to Britney Spears (who sang about not being a little girl anymore and having a secret combination), as Russia took the Eurovision title for this year. Fascinating, right?

Shavua tov from Jerusalem.