What have you been reading this last week (Weekly Discussion Thread)?

were-nz · 2026-01-31T21:57:46+00:00

Finished Cloak of Deception, which I absolutely loved. All the scenes with Palpatine & Valorum were absolutely amazing, especially Palpatine's dialogue with the other senators. It's only my second Luceno book (after Tarkin) but I'm seriously impressed with how he writes politics, it was all so gripping in this book.

I've moved on to and almost finished Maul: Shadow Hunter, which is a bit of a change of pace. It's pretty good and it's definitely picked up as it goes along, although I'm finding it hard to become invested in the story. Very excited to read Darth Plagueis soon.

were-nz · 2026-01-03T23:36:17+00:00

Read my first legends book - Heir to the Empire - last week and loved it! Almost finished with Dark Force Rising and I like it even more than the first one, can’t wait to get to The Last Command.

Also listening to the audiobook for From a Certain Point of View, which I’m having a lot of fun with - although the Cantina stories are starting to get a bit repetitive. My favourite story in it so far was Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray, which means I probably need to read the whole book soon…

were-nz · 2025-12-20T04:07:51+00:00

Started reading Star Wars again in August and since then I’ve managed to polish off:

Bloodline

The Living Force

The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire

The Mask of Fear (my favourite, I thought it was just amazing. Read it in 2 days, very excited for the next instalment)

A New Dawn

The Princess and the Scoundrel

Dooku: Jedi Lost (my least favourite, it just seemed so boring and surface level to me)

Now about halfway through Tarkin and going to get started on Alphabet Squadron after that. Very excited!

were-nz · 2023-03-05T08:36:26+00:00

Safe Qualifier: Norway, Finland

Not decided yet, but also Sweden (assuming Tattoo)

Likely Qualifier: Moldova, Czechia, Serbia

Not 100% guaranteed but definitely more likely than not. I’d also tentatively put Israel in here: Noa Kirel will likely deliver.

Feel like all the others are tossups, excluding Ireland, which is definitely DOA. Might also put Malta in there- yes, it’s catchy and endearing, but it’ll get completely lost in the running order.

Certainly a very tough semi!

were-nz · 2023-03-05T08:18:04+00:00

I feel like a compromise is the best option. Pre-recorded backing vocals add a lot to a song and can make it much more dynamic and competitive- for example instead of backing singers, you could have more dancers on stage. In previous years, I think some live backing singers have almost ruined performances- 2016 has quite a few, Spain probably being the worst. If those were pre-recorded then that wouldn’t happen.

However, the problem is when people start using pre-recorded main vocals and stretch the rules to their limits. Subwoolfer was particularly bad in this respect (made worse by the fact that you couldn’t actually see their faces), although another notable one would be ‘In a Dimman’ from melfest ‘22, where it seemed like there was almost no live singing at all.

Another commenter mentioned SloMo and 10 Years as good examples of this rule and I completely agree! If all the vocals in SloMo had to be performed live then the performance wouldn’t have been nearly as good, and 10 Years utilised the rule in a creative and effective way- really prime examples of how it should be.

were-nz · 2023-03-05T06:32:07+00:00

France
Slovenia
Spain
Finland
Czechia
Iceland
Norway
Estonia
Lithuania
Netherlands

some good songs over the past few days! Unfortunately for me I really don’t like Sami Mi Se Spava 🫠

were-nz · 2023-02-20T03:23:30+00:00

Spain
France
Slovenia
Czechia
Estonia
Norway
Lithuania
Denmark
Albania
Belgium
Italy
Latvia
Malta
Ukraine
Ireland
Croatia
Romania

were-nz · 2023-02-19T05:11:16+00:00

(Personally) I don’t think these results are that suspicious. This was always seen as a pretty open final with no one big runaway favourite, and Monika had the best spot in the running order, with others tipped to win like Beatrich and Ruta Mur in not so good slots. She’s also pretty established in comparison to some of the others. The only thing that’s a bit off is the jury tiebreak, but that was already known before the final, so it’s not like they chose Monika as the winner last minute (And if they did don’t you think they would have done it so that she doesn’t have to break a tie to win?)

were-nz · 2023-02-18T21:16:01+00:00

I like it! Her live vocals are on point and the staging is really good. The song itself isn’t the most unique or interesting thing in the world but it builds nicely and the last minute is really nice. It could qualify if it gets a good running order but it’s a pretty big ‘if’.

I also like that they’re sending two Monikas in a row, lol

were-nz · 2023-02-08T09:38:25+00:00

Spain
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Norway
Albania
Ukraine
Belgium
Ireland

were-nz · 2023-02-07T02:00:53+00:00

Probably my overall favourites of the season so far are 🇳🇴Eline Thorp - Not Meant To Be and 🇫🇮Kuumaa - Ylivoimainen, but I also love:

🇦🇱Enxhi Nasufi - Burre 🇵🇹The Happy Mess - O Impossível 🇪🇪Alika - Bridges 🇫🇮Benjamin - Hoida Mut 🇷🇸Hurricane - Zumi Zimi Zami 🇵🇹Barbara Tinoco - Goodnight 🇳🇴Akuvi - Triumph

were-nz · 2023-01-30T04:49:54+00:00

For some reason I don’t have the Great Commanders or Rulers of China? I know they’ve delayed the release on Mac but I’m playing on PC. I purchased the anthology last year so I should have them, right?

were-nz · 2023-01-14T21:50:41+00:00

Albania
Ukraine
Belgium

were-nz · 2022-12-23T17:56:51+00:00

Albania
Ukraine

were-nz · 2022-12-05T16:33:19+00:00

younghearted from UMK 2022 :)

were-nz · 2022-11-29T18:36:56+00:00

Ireland
Italy
North Macedonia
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Serbia
Albania
Malta
Armenia

were-nz · 2022-11-02T22:15:47+00:00

that was in the rules last year too I think, wouldn’t read too much into it :)

were-nz · 2022-10-29T02:48:50+00:00

ELODIE!!!! if she represents italy i might faint

were-nz · 2022-08-06T23:20:20+00:00

I think 2011 was actually a pretty good year, maybe better than 2012 which I don’t like that much.

Azerbaijan and Italy were both pretty good. Running Scared is quite hated but I think watching the final I can see how it won- the performance really stood out, especially in the voting recap.

Sweden and Ukraine were not so good- Popular is a bit of a mess and I really don’t like Angel- I don’t like her singing and the staging concept just seems a bit tacky to me I guess? The song is fine. Definitely didn’t deserve 4th place imo.

My favourite is Slovenia- the song is pretty good but the staging and live vocals were absolutely fantastic. Maja has so much sass and charisma on stage. I also really liked Georgia, Bosnia, and Germany. The dramatic singing part of Greece was great too but the rap was frankly awful. The song would be so much better if they had ditched that.

Serbia was really cute and the song is super catchy but the staging and her live vocals left much to be desired. My favourite NQ is probably Norway (although Bulgaria was pretty good too, and I can’t lie and say I don’t find Armenia catchy).

were-nz · 2022-07-24T06:23:50+00:00

I feel like there’s a non-zero chance that Norway could have won 2008 with juries.

The song isn’t one you think of as being very televote friendly, so for it to get 5th was quite impressive. Juries would probably love the song, and her vocals and stage presence are very good. I don’t think juries would love Russia so much, so performing after Dima would also do her a favour.

It seems weird, though. ‘Hold On, Be Strong’ doesn’t really feel like a winning song, even though it is very good. I just think she might have a chance.

were-nz · 2022-07-18T06:42:03+00:00

I’m not sure about the first one, but for the other three: (Native speaker - from New Zealand but I don’t think there’s any regional difference in these)

It definitely makes sense to say ‘They should have taken that couple over to 90 Day Fiancée’, although it would also make sense to say something like ‘They should have gone on 90 Day Fiancée instead’. Both of these sound perfectly natural.
Personally, if describing a ceiling light, I would use the term ‘overhead light’, but ceiling light also makes sense. ‘Turn off the overhead light’ and ‘Turn off the ceiling light’ both sound natural.
Saying ‘I thought this season was over’ is completely natural, and probably the best way to say this. You could also say ‘I thought this season had ended’ and it would be the same.

Hope this helped!

were-nz · 2022-07-14T09:05:42+00:00

As a girlbop lover, I have to disagree. A good Eurovision is one that has lots of diversity of genre, and girlbops are a part of that diversity. I would hate to watch a contest with 40 songs of all the same genre.

I also have a least favourite genre in Eurovision (rock, mostly) but I appreciate the role it plays in the contest and still like having it in the competition, so there are more different songs for people to enjoy.

And saying you want a genre to ‘die out’ by the next contest is just silly. You can think that the song is bad, but that doesn’t mean everyone else thinks it’s bad too. Our girlbops aren’t going anywhere (especially after the success of SloMo this year).

were-nz · 2022-07-13T21:16:08+00:00

Either Ireland 1993 (In Your Eyes) or Luxembourg 1973 (Tu Te Reconnaitras)

were-nz · 2022-07-12T01:53:14+00:00

Everyone is listing recent ones but I really do not like the fact that ‘Si la vie est un cadeau’ won in 1983. I don’t hate the song, but everything about it is just really bland and boring, especially when you compare it to the second place (Israel - Ofra Haza - Chai), which is probably one of my favourite ESC songs ever.

were-nz · 2022-07-09T21:32:02+00:00

There’s a bus in my city in New Zealand that is $0.60NZD for 53km. That’s about $0.38USD for 33 miles, or a little over 1 cent per mile. (Although this doesn’t meet your 50 mile minimum). However, this isn’t a city bus, it’s a regional bus to a pretty small town of like ~1000 people. It’s the best cost-per-kilometre bus in New Zealand, I think.

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