If I had a laptop…

I could liveblog The Eurovision Song Contest Part One (of Three) tonight. But I don’t. Sorry. The Guardian has some pointed comments, if you like.

In other news, this is something I’ve been saying for years: the suburb model – where you drive an hour or more every day just to get to work, where everything you do requires hopping into a car, where car ownership has come to be seen as a basic human right – has to change. This is a key factor in my desire to live right in Utrecht, to bring my way of living more into line with my beliefs. We moved here because we couldn’t afford Munich or Erding (which is on the light-rail system), and so a town with a train station was a compromise – at least I can get to Munich without using a car, and I do, if DrBob isn’t going with me. But I need the car to go grocery shopping and to get the kids to their sports, and I want to change that. I’m a little glad that other people are starting to think about this too.

Song du jour of the day: Take your pick. I actually meant to post more songs than I did, but oh well. The Guardian’s commentary is funnier than mine anyway.

ETA: okay, out of 18, 10 songs go on to the Final: five songs I liked, five songs I didn’t. Fair cop, I guess.

* Portugal
* Finland
* Israel
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Armenia
* Turkey
* Sweden
* Iceland
* Malta
* Romania

The Sniglet’s favorite didn’t make it through. He’ll be sad. Ignatz didn’t vote, doesn’t care, and is too cool for Eurovision.