In celebration of the season finale of America's Next Top Model's eighth season, I have decided to make a review/overview of the entire series, with some comments about each cycle, my favorite models and pictures, much like the one Adam did in March (or whatever). Don't think of it as a rip off, though. It's more like an homage, really.

Cycle One

The first cycle did have its problems. The photo shoots weren't that interesting, some of the judges were pretty boring and the show just felt a little rough around the edges. All of this, however, was forgiven, because of the wonderfully extreme contestants. There were angry black lesbians, extreme, holier-than-thou Christians, stupid dancers, and kick-ass metal chicks.

Favorite Model:

Even though she was rather condescending and somewhat evil at times, I just loved Elyse. She was funny as hell, and her look was so great. She was the most edgy girl in the show's history, and she kicked butt. I also thought she had one of the best walks in the show's history.

Least Favorite Model:

Robin! Man, that woman could piss me off, with her b!tchy, holier-than-though attitude, and her faux "Christianity". That being said, she was hilarious to watch and her random outbursts of "He was a-lustin'" was just so much fun.

Favorite Picture:

The one that springs to mind is Elyse's snake picture. It's just stunning, I love her skin and her eyes. It's really beautiful.

Cycle Two

Probably my favorite cycle. The models were great, the photoshoots were fun, and the girls were all pretty high fashion which is fun. This was Nigel's first cycle, and he was such an asset to the show. Jay Manuel also got more room, and he's always fun. I hated the fact that they were featured in Tyra's video, as that had nothing to do with modelling, and I really lost much of my respect for Tyra in that episode. This cycle also had the strongest top three ever.

Favorite Model:

I absolutely loved Shandi. I always fall for the girls who aren't necessarily the prettiest. She was nerdy, but she really had something special, and she photographed wonderfully. She did the edhy high fashion stuff as well as the more commercial.

Least Favorite:

Camille. Need I go own? She was just horrible, but again in a very entertaining way.

Favorite Photo:

I loved Mercedes last photo, with all the metal strings all over. Truly stunning.

Cycle Three:

This was the first season I watched, and I loved it immediately. The photo shoots were fun, and I loved the strong personalities, and cat fights that occurred. I loved that they went to Tokyo, even though some of the challenges there were pretty silly. Janice was also hilarious in this cycle, and I loved how she changed her opinion about Tocarra every episode.

Favorite Model:

I'm torn between Yaya and Eva. Eva had so much spunk and she photographed well, but Yaya was just so stunning. She sometimes came off as rather condescending and arrogant, but I think it was exaggerated. She had the most striking features. Gorgeous.

Least Favorite Model:

This is really difficult. I think I'll go with Amanda. She did take some great photos and her eyes were to die for, but sometimes she looked like and onion with ears, and her attitude and fake sincerity was so annoying.

Favorite Photo:

Yaya's spider photo was incredible, and she's one of the most beautiful girls in the history of ANTM.

Cycle Four:

Another great season. This season probably had the most interesting photo shoots, and they were all so colourful. The models were really extreme, which is always fun. I could have lived without the South Africa trip, as it didn't really feel very model related.

Favorite Model:

I loved Kahlen. Again, she was one of those girls who aren't the most immediate beauties, but her look and her photos were fabulous. And her personality was just so sweet. I loved her.

Least Favorite Model:

Keenya. Eugh! She was so b!tchy, and so stupid. The whole "is Nelson Mandela alive" stuff was hilarious, but I seriously don't understand how she ended up in third place.

Favorite Photo:

Kahlen's nature picture was stunning. She looked like a nymph.

Cycle Five:

Probably my least favorite cycle. None of the girls were like WOW, I hated the absence of Janice. Twiggy never filled her shows half way. I hated J. Alexander, and I hated the over-produced feeling of it. The show really lost some of the more realistic aspects, when the models were given anything they needed. I loved the trip to London, though.

Favorite Model:

Bre was so spunky, I loved her look and I loved her walk. She was put off as rather evil, but I thought she was great.

Least Favorite Model:

Jayla was just pure evil, and her tantrums and weird glances were scary as hell. And her ears really scared me.

Favorite Photo:

I loved Nicole's black and white photo. It was so seren and natural. And her skin is great.

Cycle Six:

At first I thought cycle six was boring, but it really grew on me, and the really colourful extreme models just made it even better.

Favorite Model:

I loved Joanie, and even though I thought Danielle was great as well, she really deserved the title. Her pictures were amazing, and her walk, and personality was top notch as well.

Least Favorite Model:

Could it be anyone other than Jade? She was just crazy. Made the cycle so much more entertaining though, but she was seriously crazy, and how she made it to top three I shall never know.

Favorite Picture:

I loved Joanie's doll picture. She looked great and managed to be totally convincing as a doll.

Cycle Seven:

I'm a bit ambivalent towards Cycle seven. I loved CariDee and the twins, but the rest of the girls were pretty bland, and I didn't care for much of the photo shoots. And Eugena's presence in top three is another decision I'll never understand.

Favorite Model:

I loved the twins, and my favorite out of the two always changed. In the ends, I'd probably choose Amanda, because I do think her pictures were better and her face was prettier, even though Michelle's personality was better.

Least Favorite Model:

Melrose was just a pain in the ass, and I never saw the greatness of her. She was boring and annoying.

Favorite Photo:

I loved CariDee's black and white demon photo. Totally sexy and scary as hell.

Cycle Eight:

[spoiler]

I really loved this latest cycle, mainly due to the many colorul personalities, and the fact that very few of the girls were bad. It's really difficult to choose who I like the most and the least, because they were all very good, and the list changed all the time. And the cycle had the best top three since cycle two!

Favorite Model:

I loved Jaslene from day one. From the small glance we saw of her in cycle seven, I thought she was going to be really one dimensional and stupid, but she so rocked my world. Her pictures were great, and she totally got the concepts. Her personality was also really sweet and the way she talked: "I walk like this all day everyday!" Imagine my bliss when she actually won! Probably my favorite victory of the show.

Least Favorite Model:

This position changed a lot. In the beginning I hated Natasha, but later I loved her, then I hated Renee and now I LOVE her. Looking back on it, I'd have to say Jael. I usually liked the offbeat, quirky, different girls, but I thought Jael was frickin' annoying, and I never really thought she looked good. At all.

Favorite Photo:

I loved the tranny photo shoots, and Jaslene really rocked it. She looks so sweet as a guy.

What? Two blogs in one week? Could it be that Vik has gotten back his groove? His will and lust for blogging? Or is it simply just the fact that he has something to write about, for once? Choose for yourself, or not. Whatever. At least there's a new Vik Blog. Wohooo.

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First off, I'm going to write about Spider-Man 3, a movie which I had the "pleasure" of seeing this friday. I'm not the hugest fan of superhero movies, but I've always thought the Spider-Man films were pretty awesome. Admittedly, they had a lot of action and great fight scenes, they focused more on Peter Parker, than on Spider-Man. They always cantered around real-life relationships rather than the superhero business. That was one of my issues with SM3. The supernatural aspects took over, and little time and effort was put into the drama and intrigues of Peter Parker's life, unless you count the somewhat corny, sickly over-moralistic stuff with his aunt and all that. In the end, the thing I care about the most in the two first movies is his relationship with MJ, and the drama of his life, something that was just abused in the third instalment. Furthermore, the supposed "darkness" of Spider-Man and Peter was just ridiculous and embarrassing. I was hoping for some Angel-season-2 darkness, but all I got was an embarrassing, "dancing", creep who thought he lived in an old noir movie. But other than that, Spider-Man was actually an ok movie. The beginning was awesome, the end, after he got back to his normal self again, was great as well, despite the sickening tearful speech of Sandman, followed by "I forgive you". Also, referring to my blog about patriotism, I thought it very funny when Spidey was swinging his way over to save the day, with a huge American flag wishing about in the background. And I hated the fact that [spoiler] they killed off Harry, the incredibly cute guy. Now there are few treats of the eye left (me shallow) [/spoiler]

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The second matter I wish to discuss today is the wonderfully hilarious event that is Eurovision Song Contest. For a few European people, this might actually ring a bell, but the Americans are pretty much lost, so I will describe it briefly. ESC is an annual competition in which most of Europe's countries compete. Every country pick a song (some do it by voting, some do it through some sort of a reality show), and then they get to go to last year's winning country, and compete against each other. ESC is pretty much the Mecca of bad taste and overly dramatic or just ridiculousness, which is what makes it so fun. In most of the western parts of Europe, ESC is just dismissed as the crap it is, but in Sweden is something holy, and most Swedes go crazy around this time of year. The gay community in particular loves this event to death, me being no exception. It's just so much fun. Anyway, yesterday evening, the finale was held in Helsinki, and I of course was glued in front of the TV, to enjoy the pure definition of over-the-top. Most Swedes had high hopes for our song in the competition, "The Worrying Kind" with The Ark, but I never saw it as a winner. Even thought I really liked it, I wasn't that sure whether the rest of Europe would. And I was right. We ended up at 18th place, the worst we've done since… 1994, I think. But I was happy with the winner anyway. Serbia's song was really beautiful. The most hilarious thing was that Ukraine, a teapot in aluminium, ended up on second place. That was one of the weirdest, most speeded songs I've heard. - See for yourself

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Finally, some great news. Pushing Daisies has been picked up for next season. It'll only have 13 episodes, but hey better 13 than none. Rejoice.

It's finally here!

What is here, you might wonder. Is it my will to blog again? Is it the spring? Is it the realization that I have less then a month left of school until I graduate? - Well, to name a few. But most important of all: Volta is here! After  a month's worth of waiting, Björk's new CD has finally reached me, and my God is it wonderful? Somecritics say Björk has lost her vision, that she's not as poinering and trendsetting as she used to be, but I say My ass, she isn't! Volta is a masterpiece, and it mixes electronically, noisy rots of songs with calmer, string based floating ones, and it ties them all togetherin a wonderful way. Thou shalt not mock the Björk!

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As for some more good news, there is talk about a possibilty of a fourth season of Veronica Mars. Apparently, the CW liked the trailer for new, improved, FBI studying Veronica, and with the cancellation of Gilmore Girls, it became even more likely it would happen. Well, we can only cross our fingers and hope, because in my eyes, a slightly worse Veronica than before, is still better than most other shows.

Heroes is now my new obsession, and I'm dying to see how it ends. I loved last week's episode, with its epic plot and wonderful character developement, and I loved this week's episode, because of the huge amount of Hiro, and the fact that we were reminded that Sylar is in fact a human being with, believe it or not, feelings.

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And even more wonderful: I've finally given in to temptation and watched Grindhouse. It's really not a movie (or two) that I'd normally like, with lots of zombies, shooting and cars going really fast. Yet, I simply loved it. Planet Terror was so much fun, and even though the story was a bit nonexisting, or just nonoriginal, the wonderful character, amazing acting and extremely entertaining actions scenes made up for it. The first five minutes, with Rose McGowan as a googoo-dancer is worth watching the entire movie for. As are the last ten minutes, with kick-ass McGowan with a michine gun leg. I never thought I'd say this about a  woman, but My God, that woman is so HOT! Death Proof, on the other hand, was great straight through. Once more, Rose was marvellous, and I think it's incredible, that she can pull off two so very different characters in one film, and make them great, when her acting in the late seasons of Charmed was *erm* questionable. Death Proof was just filled with great dialogue, and I loved how it all of a sudden just changed direction and surprised you. Oops, the nice, sweet old guy was really a crazy psycho who hits people with cars. Ooopsie, the poor defenceless girls turn the chase around and mauls the psycho to the ground! It also featured the wonderul Tracie Thoms, who I've adored since Wonderfalls, as well as the charming as hell stunt woman Zoë Bell, who just makes me melt. I don't normally liked car chases, but this one was maginificent. I also enjoyed the fake trailers, and especially "Thanksgiving" as a hoot. It was like an homage/spoof on "Halloween", and the death scenes shown in the trailer were just hilariously gruesome and gory. Jumoing on a trampoline naked, landing on a knife anyone? That would've made one scary movie, and I've heard rumors that director Eli Roth might collaborate with Edgar Wright and combine Thanksgiving with Don't.

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Last but not least, there is less than a month until I graduate! Seriously! And the best thing is that we have so many days off. Around two a week, plus the fact that we don't have any lessons the last week and a half. Wooot! It's a great time to live my life.

Oh, and I have a new banner and icon. For those who hadn't noticed.

Nothing really interesting has happened to me this week, so I won't be writing about any life stuff at all. Yay. :) I'll just jump right to the point and write abiut something I've been thinking about for a while: patriotism and nationalism. As a "foreigner" I'm really not one to talk about how things are in the US, but from what I've gathered, it seems like a very patriotic and nationalistic country. America is seen as the land of hopes and dreams, and the centre of the world, and if you have one bad thing to say about it, you don't eserve to be an American citizen. In many movies, Americans are pictured as the heroes and the saviours of mankind, and I just get so annoyed ith this at times. When your pride of your country gets so exaggerated. I just hate it. In my country, it's the exact opposite. If you say you like Sweden, you're labeled as a racist who hates immigrants. Some schools won't even sing the national anthem, because there are foreign students in the school. It's just crazy. I know this rant doesn't really have a point, it's just something I've been thinking about for a while, and I can't understand why peoplefocus so much on where they live. Does anyone else feel that countries' obsession with patriotism is extreme? Or is it just me?

And that brings me to my next issue: America's obsession with race. I caught a marathon of ANTM on television over here, and rewatched the entire third cycle. There was this black girl, Kelle, whose friends were all white, and they all said "Kelle is just a white girl with a tan". And then all the other girls got annoyed with her, saying she denied who she was, because she wasn't acting "black"! I mean, common. How narrow minded are they? Since when was your personality based on the colour of your skin? I just got so mad. It's like: "Act this way, because you look like that". Grrr!

Also, know that I'm nbot judging or saying this is the way it is. I'm really not prejudiced, this is just something I've noticed, and it might just be me, anyway. :) This didn't have much of a point anyway. :P

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And now for something completely different. I Yesterday, I finished watching the second season of Nip/Tuck, and the amazingness of it created an urge to write a little baout it.

I never watched N/T before, and just dismissed it as a controversial-without-a-point soap, but boy, was I wrong? Nip/Tuck is one of the most intruguing and original dramas I've watched, and the cynical, dysfunctional characters and their relationships are just so much fun. The characters are really not nice people, but still you tend to like them, much like Lucy on Dirt. The second seaosn was a complete riot, and everything from Kimber, Gina, Ava and The Carver was pure perfection. I can't believe I never watched this show before. It's very original and daring, and the ONLY TV show that has made me close my eyes while I was watching. It only happaned twice (once during a boob surgery and when the Carver was stalking Seasn) but still. The Carver is the scariest villain I've seen on TV, and he's only been in two episodes so far. I've heard that the third season was down right ridiculous and that the show really went down-hill but I can't really see how that was possible. I love Nip/Tuck.

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As for other TV stuff this week, VM was finally back. Not the best episode, but it was ok. Heroes and Lost rocked, as did UB and DH. HIMYM had another hilarious episode, and ANTM is still one of the week's highlights. Really, television this season is awesome!!!

Now, Kulturveckan is over, and I'm facing a four-day weekend. Yay. My week has been great. Even though kulturveckan had a very slow start, mainly due to the sucky rainy weather monday and tuesday, it really was a blast. By wednesday, the sun came and we had temperatures almost as high as 20 degrees Celcius, and my nose is all red from the sun. :D I've eaten a lot of ice cream and I've just had a wonderful, relaxed time. Yay. And next week is going to be great as well. On tuesday, it's the first of may, which always means a day off in Sweden, and that also means that monday will be a day off. Then we don't have any school at thursday either, and I'm attending a consert that day. Life is pretty great. :)

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As for tv, I haven't watched Angel for a week. :o Instead, I've been entertaining myself with re-watching Futurama, which has been great. And, to my great surprise, I'm totally back in love with Lost. Just when I was about to stop watching it entirely, I wastched an episode, and then three more, and it's totally back on form. It hasn't been this great sicne the beginning of season 2.

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This week's band of importance:

Placebo

I first heard Placebo when I watched Cruel Intentions for the first time. During the opening credits they play Every You Every Me, and I just fell in love with it. Some time afterwards, I started listening more to them, and I just loved them. They have great lyrics, great music, and I just love the charismatic voice of Brian Molko. Plus, Brian is one of the prettiest people I've seen.

 Favorite CD: Without you I'm nothing

Favorite Songs: Protect me from what I want, Every You Every Me, Pure Morning, Allergic (to thoughts of mother earth), Girl Afraid...

Some video samples: 

Meds

Pure Morning

Every You Every Me 

Ah, finally I'm back from another hiatus. How have you survived without me, I wonder. :P Anyway, I'm feeling so great at the moment. The spring is so lovely over here, and I get to wear my shades all the time, which I love. I finally told my parents about my gay-ness, and they took it amazingly well. My mom even said she had expected me to tell soon. ;) I'm also sort of in love, which is the first time since I was 13, and I'm also going on a date this weekend, which is like the first time ever! The only really bad thing in my life right now is the fact that my computer has flipped out completely. I get weird pop-ups all the time, Internet windows are put down for no apparent reason, and one time my computer started roaring like an mc. I got so scared I just turned it off. :O

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I still have little energy for tv right jow. I'm still re-watching Angel's third season, and ANTM is still the only thing I look forward to. DH has been great, and as has HIMYM and Ugly Betty. I haven't watched Lost in months, and I don't really want to either.

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Even more good news is coming next week: it's finally time for the Kulturvecka. I don't ko if anyone remembers this from last year's blog, but every year our school has this week called Kulturveckan (the culture week) in which we party, sing karaokee, have all sorts of weird competitions. Half of our lessons are cancelled and the rest, we skip. I's the most fun week of the entire year, and I'm so thrilled it's finally here. Especially since this is my last year at school. I'm gonna party my ass off! :D

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This week's amazingly overrlooked masterpiece of a band:

Of Montreal

Of Montreal is a really strange band, at least to the mainstream. They play a very weird mix of genres, but I guess you could label it as indie-pop/rock. I love their interesting sound, and their songs just make me happy. I'm having a hard time describing them, so I guess you'll have to listen and see for yourself. The best thing is the fact that I will see them in consert the third of May. Yay.

Favorite Album: Satanic panic in the attic

Favorite Songs: Disconnect the dots, Lysergic bliss, Suffer for fashion...

Some video samples:

Disconnect the dots

Lysergic bliss

Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games

As promised, here comes my blog of recent TV events in my life. Yay.

I have not watched nearly as much TV as I usually do this past month, and I really have no idea why. It might have something to do with the glorious amount of homework I had before the break or the incredible weather we have. Anyway, I have managed to watch some TV. I have re-watched some Angel, and am now in the middle of Season 3. I had completely forgotten how much I love that season, and I'm enjoying every episode of it.

Furthermore, I watched the four last episodes of Dirt last week, and that show is amazing. At times, the season seemed rather repetitive, and there were a few episodes I disliked, much like I disliked the fact that some events seemed to exist for pure shocl value only. But the last three or four epsiodes just blew me away, and Dirt really is one of the best shows this season, with amazing acting, witty and daring writing and some really original and off-beat characters. Plus, may I also say: Courtney Cox Arquette? What a delightful woman.

Then we have my TV highlight of the week. It's not, as one might think, Veronica Mars, Heroes or even Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty. While  love those shows to death, the TV event of the week I'm looking forwards to the most is actually ANTM. It has always been a really entertaining show, and I don't know why, but I'm totally lobing this season. The models are better than ever, there are more whackos than ever, and there are more b!tches than ever. I love it. And for anyone who doesn't watch it: start! It's my guilty pleasure, and my what a pleasure it is. Jaslene alone could have her own show.

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This week's extremely talentful talent:

Patrick Wolf

I very recently started to listen to this wonderchild of a musician, and ever since I found him, I haven't been able to stop listening to him. He makes such a chrismatic and deep blend of indiepop, electronica and more folksy stuff. He writes amazing lyrics, different and rather magical melodies, and his voice is so great. And he's really pretty as well. :oops:

And the best part is that I will be seeing him live this summer. Rejoice!

Favorite Album: The Magic Position

Favorite Songs: The Magic Position, The Libertine, Tristan, Bluebells...

Some Video Samples:

The Libertine

Bluebells

The Magic Position

I haven't blogged in pretty much forever, which is weird seeing as I've had the entire week off. I've just had really low activity on the Net in general, probably due to the wonderful weather that has striken Sweden, and hopefully the rest of the world.

This blog will not be overly long either. I'd just like to announce that I'm alive, and that I will blog more next week. You can expect an update on my tv situation at the moment, where I discuss Dirt and ANTM. I might also present onto you the wonder that is Patrick Wolf, and perhaps an update on other stuff.

Today I will only post one piece of news, but oh what news it is. Björk, whom I adore like few other people, will release a new CD in May this year, and I'm totally psyched. While I adore Björk's darker work, like Homogenic and Medúlla, I'm really happy Volta (her new Album) is described as up-beat and happy, as I'm really in the mood for that kind of music, and no one does happy and bliss like Björk does. And by the sound of thenew single, Earth Intruders, which has leaked the Internet, the album seems to be really good. I'm so happy.

See for yourself:

http://filexoom.com/files/2007/3/28/65636/Earth%20Intruders%20.mp3

Well, it's official. Tv.com lives to annoy us. I've been trying to upload my new Lorne banner and icon for like ever, and it just didn't work. Then finally, the banner got up, but with the wrong size, so I deleted it. Then the icon worked, but now I can't repost my banner. :evil:

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Anyway, it's been a really long time since I blogged, and I've had generally low activity on the site for a week or two. I apologize, but I'd also like to say I have good reasons for it. See, I'm currently in my third and final year in "Gymnasiet" - Sweden's version of High School. In our third year, we do this huge project, and me and two of my friends have done this project about translation, that we've been working on since like September. The project is supposed to be handed in this Friday, so we've been writing a lot. But after that, life will be good again. It's spring time, a big wieght was been lifted from our shoulders and we have our Easter Break: a week off school. Yay.

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I'm in a serious Angel mood, and I think I will post a Season Overview/review soon, and then do a season 2 one shortly afterwards, as I'm almost done with that season now. Yay.

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And now that it's spring here, with sun and flowers and birds and what have you, I miss dancing so much. See, I used to dance a lot of different dances, but I had to give them up because the loads of homework we had in school. But I've continued to, you know, randomly dance around the house when I'm cleaning and stuff. This week I watched Chicago three times ( :oops: ) and I got this urge to dance all the time, and I just remembered how much I missed it. I must start to dance again.

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I'm half bored and I figured I'd do a small "20 things you didn't know about me" list.

[spoiler] 1. I'm afraid of dogs

2. I have one sister and one brother

3. My middle name is Andreas

4. My friend and ex dance partner won the world championship in Boogie Woogie last year

5. Spiders make me panic

6. I love cleaning, and dust gives me the creeps

7. I'm addicted to coffee and drink three big cups a day

8. My favorite colors are yellow, black and purple

9. I have a pair of sun glasses covering half of my face

10. I'm almost blind without my contacts or glasses :P

11. I sometimes sew my own clothes

12. I'm 193 centimeters long and weigh 65 kilos

13. My favorite food is shrimp and sushi. Preferrably shrimp sushi

14. I live in the 11th or 12th biggest city of Sweden

15. I used to dance Boogie Woogie, Swing, Bugg, Double Bugg and Hip Hop

16. I have two cats, named Zappa and Zandrama

17. I have won 12 dance trophies

18. I have appeared in two plays

19. I speak five languages: Swedish, English, German, Latin and French

20. I've known my best friend since we were seven [/spoiler]

Take Care