Here I Am Lord

I'm not surprised that Eurovision fever has crept into the Maltese blogosphere. While Malta's entry is not exactly wooing the masses, it seems that Finnish rock band Lordi is picking up steam in its quest to rock the Eurovision.

The most amazing thing about Lordi's presence at this year's song contest is not that they're taking part or what they're singing but rather the interest they're attracting from the most unlikely places. VoteLordi.org's campaign to turn the tables on all the pop and the glitter that comes with the Eurovision is an amazing attempt to use the power of social networking on the Internet and leverage as much influence on the outcome of the contest.

I won't bore you with the sort of reports I've been writing for the MaltaMedia.com news service on my blog. I know that some people who follow this blog regularly are somewhat baffled by the very fact that I give so much of my time to this annual event. So I should add that I would not be blogging about the Eurovision today if it were not for Lordi and the subversive potential of the movement that's trying to take away the fizz out of the pop world's hold on the contest.

The message is plain and simple: if you live in a Eurovision country and think the Eurovision Song Contest is a joke, do yourself a favour and vote for Lordi on Thursday and Saturday.

I'm surprised that none of the many professional Maltese translators who read this blog have taken up the task of translating the VoteLordi.org message. If now one takes up the challenge by tomorrow I may have to do it myself.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of journalist Ariadne Massa with Lordi taken this morning. You'll probably enjoy this picture more if you know her personally. I promise you it won't appear with any of her reports in The Times this week.