Happy Saturday! Which has meaning for me, since I still work regular hours and enjoy having the weekend off. Of course, being me, that just means I find a different non-job kind of work. Because what is life if not a serious of challenges to accomplish?
Things to talk about while I clean my apartment!
Who is cuter, Hrithik’s dog or Preity’s dog? Defend your argument
Hrithik’s dog! Because of the fluffy factor.
Will being in quarantine together break up Alia/Ranbir or bring them closer together? Defend your argument.
Break them up! I just feel like 24 hours 7 days a week of Ranbir has got to be so exhausting that it will drain all relationship energy away until you just see him as this weight around your neck instead of a sexy equal partner.
Which is more soothing to watch, Murder She Wrote or BBC Poirot? Defend your argument
I’m going with Murder She Wrote. BBC Poirot has the fashions and historical things which sometimes vaguely raise a feeling of artistic interest. Murder She Wrote has 80s and 90s fashions which, while stylish on Angela Lansbury, don’t exactly raise the pulse.
On the other hand, most soothing choice of all is the David Suchet documentary on Christie available on Prime. It includes the section introduced “to think on these things, I went to the Turkish baths”. And then you just see Suchet sitting in a bathrobe in the Turkish baths, thinking.
And finally, what (if anything) are you doing for Easter?
Easter isn’t a big holiday for my family, when we were little we had family egg hunts and things, but as adults sometimes we get together for lunch, sometimes we don’t, sometimes we forget it is even happening. This year, my Dad has gotten excited and decided we are doing eggs, and he is ordering a ham! And I want to make big artistic eggs of some kind to put up in the windows.
Oh, and a question that doesn’t matter and is none of my business but I still want to KNOW!!!! Did Suhana and Aryan make it back to India and are they at Mannat, or are they still stuck in shut down schools in America? Does anyone know?
dontcallitbollywood 
I’ll add this to the competition! Madhuri and her dog!!
I just wish Ranbir and Alia would break up, she could do so much better than him!
And BBC Poirot for me. I have seen it since I was a kid and it is more comforting for me, I think Murder She Wrote is more American thing so it didn’t show here — or at least not Finland. Even yesterday there was a Poirot episode on TV and me and my family watched it together. It is a family event when it comes on TV and that makes it special and comfy for me.
We are inside the house for Easter and have plenty of chocolate eggs for all.
History time!! Usually, on Palm Sunday there would have been little kids dressed up as witches going house to house saying “Virvon varvon tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks, vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!” which in English roughtly translates to “I virpo (make a wish) saying this rhyme for a fresh oncoming year. The branch is for you, the treat/sweet is for me.” It has all kinds of pagan orgins from Karelia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virvonta
Now-a-days the kids don’t do it as much, but it was so much fun as a child. And the salix tree branches are decorated with colourful feathers, ribbons and other such things. It’s basically pagan trick-or-treating before Halloween came to Finland.
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I love your pagan trick or treating! Did you give away the branches? Or just show them to people and then get treats?
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 6:57 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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We make some for home, then the ones we virpo we give them to the people who we go to and we get the sweets in return.
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Oh that’s better than trick or treating! We just give the beauty of our costumes. This is kind of like May baskets combined with trick or treating, I like it.
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 8:17 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Well, it is a spring celebration and Sweden has all the Maypoles. This is Virpominen is a completely a Finnish thing. Also, I suspect an early tradition to teach kids the meaning of trade because that is what it is.
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Now I am picturing some Swedish villain laughing evilly over his horde of Maypoles as children round the world cry over their Maypole-less villages. Like the Grinch.
My family did May baskets growing up, I think it is an American thing that was a lot more common in the past but there are still people a people that do it. We make baskets and put flowers and candy in them, then hang them on the doorknobs of all our neighbors and ring the bell and run away. No Maypoles though, because the Swedish villain was hording them I guess.
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 8:30 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hahahahahah! It’s actually an inside joke here in Scandinavia/Nordic countries that everybody hates Sweden because in history it has ruled over Norway, Denmark and Finland we have a mutual Frenemy in Sweden because of it. And between Sweden and Finland, the hockey season is one of neighbourly argument over the Baltic Sea.
That May basket sounds so nice! You could never do it here in Finland, we are much too reserved for such spontaneity and people here like to know why they get something and from whom.
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I just realized, I probably get to do May baskets again this year! My Mom still does it for the neighbors in their building, and I’ll be staying with them on May 1 this year.
Also, I feel like the whole Sweden thing is what Hamlet was about? right? Doesn’t Fortinbras come in at the end and be all “I am strong and sure with no hang ups and I will rule Denmark where Hamlet failed”?
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 8:42 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Fortinbras was from Norway, let’s just say Norway and Sweden were once the same kingdom but also in the past fighting each other as separate kingdoms. It’s very complicated.
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And the current Swedish family is descended from some random middle-class French dude? I find this hilarious, and I don’t know why. It’s not like I believe in the divine right of kings or anything, but really? He’s just some guy who used to be a lawyer and gets a letter offering him the throne of Sweden? And now 200 years later we all pretend his descendants are some innately better stronger Swedish-er people?
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 9:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Not really. Everyone knows what line they came from and that Napoleon gave the Bernadotte the Swedish Crown. They are really down to earth, as best as they can be given their position. Heck, Crown Princess Victoria married her physical trainer and it was the most romantic thing ever here in Scandinavia.
And the Swedish prince Carl Phillip is now married to an ex-model, but OH BOY IS HE BEAUTIFUL!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/3hRrMR9xtzRUVglPFJ3T9I8HHFGsZ1jmQ1038x1KfPP1WwGfaQNuJ51ZhT-Tn49FyPgh9ZivUm3Fv_5Cv7j54sHoQstUTP-3bpcz_yutiZdKZfpuwXJDoPch9ExEwi8Y67CYy5W-4rP7ADUtdrp_IGUjlrxvMG9qWVi6B99ScxPLrMZuASRndiP2RJc-SCd2
The whole Divine Right thing is ALL England. At least in Sweden, they are really down to earth and try to stay that way. Here in Scandinavia, we don’t like to flaunt wealth or power, it is just bad form if one does it. Understated is the word of the day if you have money.
Crown Princess Victoria has even a syndrome which makes her unable to recognize faces and it is very well known and the King’s infidelities are also known. They are respected and loved, but not revered like deities or anything like it. Compared to England the Nordic/Scandinavian royalty are completely casual.
Even one point after independence Finland flirted with becoming a monarchy with a small German prince/duke as their king (it was a thing one could do at that time) but that was set aside for complete democracy.
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See, it’s this kind of thing that makes me think it might be nice to live in Scandanavia. And then I remember my seasonal affective disorder and think “probably not a good idea”.
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 9:45 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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“Virvon, varvon, tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks. Vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!”
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*takes the branch and gives a chocolate egg*
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Since it’s Easter/Passover and over here we love homoeroticism: Here are some songs from the 2000 production/movie of Jesus Christ Superstar where the shipping of Jesus and Judas is so blatant it’s hard not to see it! I am just putting this here:
The beginning with a lot of touching
Judas being a bitter ex
THE INTENSITY! STARES! THE FIGHT!
THE KISS!
The so-not-over you Jesus song, the comments say as much
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Thank you! You reminded me I need to start working on my annual Hot Jesus Easter post.
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 7:32 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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My spouse and I actually get along better in times of stress than we do when everything is going swimmingly, so if Alia and Ranbir enjoy this time together you might have to deal with them as a couple for a long time to come.
We just walked around the neighborhood looking for egg decorations in people’s yards and windows. I thought it sounded totally lame when my neighbor asked me to participate, but actually the kids had fun, and they had fun hanging eggs from our tree as well, kinda. They had fun watching me hang eggs as they couldn’t actually climb the ladder.
As a child we used to celebrate Seder with a dinner on Holy Thursday, and I was never really sure why my Catholic family did this, but with a group of families we did it every year. This year my family noted the day by eating Mazto Ball Soup. Usually we have a fancy breakfast on Easter with sparkling cider and champagne, multiple family egg hunts, and big presents with the Easter basket. In the afternoon we would usually have ANOTHER egg hunt somewhere in the wilds with friends. This year we don’t have champagne (though I do have one bottle of sparkling apple cider), and our fancy breakfast will be pancakes because we are almost out of eggs and I just have to add water to the cheater batter. We have too many toys and the kids don’t need anything, so I think their big present will be a $10 bill each. I don’t have chocolate bunnies, but I do have chocolate bars, so they’ll get a bar each. And we will have multiple egg hunts. In fact maybe I shouldn’t put any candy in their baskets so they’ll get to hunt for it again, and again, and again.
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Meanwhile, my parents have agreed that my moving in with them is the only thing that has assured they will survive, as otherwise being locked up together indefinitely with no other contact would lead to them killing each other. A lovely thought as they have just completed 43 years of marriage!
Now I am thinking, my parents and I should totally do an egg hunt! We can split them up and hide them for each other and then all look. No yard, and the apartment just has 5 rooms, but eggs are tiny, I think we can still find plenty of places to hide them.
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 2:07 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m plopping this here since the fanfic from yesterday is not getting any action, which pains me.
This is mostly for those who were at the SOTY watch party yesterday. I said I was gonna find fanvids for Sid/Varun and found one that’s really not that good. Not a re-edit I was hoping for, just their scenes edited together to one of the songs from SKTKS. But I found this instead! DELETED SCENES!
It stinks that there are no subtitles, and my Hindi is abysmal at best, but there seems to be a lot of really interesting stuff here! A proper Rishi intro! Rishi and the coach! A different Sid intro that shows him as middle class! Sweet Varun and Alia moments! Lovely Sid, Varun and Alia interaction! The kids actually in class! And most importantly, as it pertains to our conversation yesterday, more Sid and Varun! Sid takes a leave of absence from school when his grandmother gets sick. And Varun goes with him! I think. That’s the one I want translated the most out of all of these, since Rishi seems to have a very important conversation with them about “friendship”.
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Well, at least you read the fanfic, which is what’s most important! I was so proud of how I figured out a happy ending for everyone.
And yaaaaay for deleted scenes! I think I have seen them all on my DVD, but no subtitles there either.
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Oh! You should make the Alia/Ranbir question into a pool. My guess is June 13, 2021. His relationships seem to end because of infidelity, and for the time being that won’t be possible (let’s hope). But once the lockdown is over he’ll go nuts and it will take her a bit of time because she’s young, but she’ll finally dump him.
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Heck, two pools! Marriage or break up date.
On Sat, Apr 11, 2020 at 8:16 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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