Thursday 31 March 2022

"These people came here for a glimpse of Fanny"*

 And Fanny they shall get!  (She's just there on the right, see?)

 Anyway, the first three months of 2022 are just about over and what have I got to show for myselves?  Practically nothing!

 So, just like last year's quarterly catch-ups, here's the first quarter's list of some of the things that have kept me entertained/distracted/sane(ish):

Read:

DS9: Revenant, by Alex White  ∘  No Shame, by Tom Allen  ∘  Typeset in the Future, by Dave Addey (Well, partly read - I've read about 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien, and I'm about to start Star Trek: The Motion Picture)


Watched:

Mary Poppins Returns  ∘  Velvet Buzzsaw (Jake Gyllenhaal [mmmmmm....] and Toni Collette)  ∘  The History of Future Folk (this sci-fi film was not what I was expecting at all - but I rather liked it)  ∘  Ghosts (S1-3) (again and again and again - not least because of my huge crush on The Captain)  ∘  The Great British Sewing Bee (S5-7)  ∘  Fleabag (S1 & 2)  ∘  Bigbug (a surprisingly disappointing film from Jean-Pierre Jeunet)  ∘  The Tale of Princess Kaguya  ∘  A Long Way Down (I only watched this for Toni Collette again, but I'm glad I did)  ∘  Her  ∘  The Lost City of Z  ∘  The Midnight Sky  ∘  Star Trek: Picard (S2, eps 1-4)

* Post title from Ghosts S2 ep1, 'The Grey Lady'.  It was almost "Lucky Fanny to be touched up by such a hand" from the S3 Christmas special, 'He Came!'
 

Rewatched:

John Carter of Mars (this may have been at the end of 2021, though)  ∘  Crashing  ∘  Jupiter Ascending  ∘  Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the one with the Whales)  ∘  Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie  ∘  Star Trek: Enterprise (most of S2)  ∘  Miranda (S1-3)  ∘  The Iron Giant  ∘  Only Yesterday (a small crush on Toshio)  ∘  Star Trek: Lower Decks (S1 & 2)  ∘  Special (S1 & 2)  ∘  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind  ∘  The Babadook  ∘  Arrival  ∘  The Cloverfield Paradox  ∘  Jumper  ∘  Sunshine  ∘  Little Miss Sunshine (Toni Collette again!)  ∘  Avengers: Age of Ultron


Heard:

"Am I Really Going To Die", "Is My Love Enough?", "Time To Give", and "Blue Drift" White Lies (and then I bought the album - As I Try Not To Fall Apart - with some birthday money)  ∘  "Get Me To The Weekend" Betty Boo (and "Where Are You Baby", of course)  ∘  "Tilted" Christine and the Queens  ∘  "Impossible" Röyksopp & Alison Goldfrapp  ∘  "The Ladder" Röyksopp 

.  .  .



20 comments:

  1. Oh! I do love Betty Boo... Jx

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    1. I was thrilled when "Get Me To The Weekend" came out, but I quickly found myself going back to "Where Are You Baby?" and "Let Me Take You There".

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  2. Adore Betty Boo. Let's see... Fleabag - Amazing. So well-written. BigBug... I enjoyed it. A little underwhelming, as most the 80's films it was based on were... The Babadook incredible, Toni Collete can do no wrong. Christine And The Queens - epic. Röyksopp and Alison Goldfrapp - both amazing. You have great taste, dear. Kizzes.

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    1. Thank you, Upton. Fleabag really surprised me - I loved that her priest boyfriend could tell when she was [spoilers]!
      And Toni Collette really can do no wrong. I'm tempted by 'Pieces of Her' on Netflix because she's in it, but it seems so grim - But: Toni Collette!!

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  3. Blogger ate my comment last night so I'm here to try it again. They need to stop caching so many lame tasteless cookies that interrupt my commenting flow!)

    We love Fleabag and were equally disappointed by BigBug. One of our all-time favorite movies is Amelie by the same director. We put The History of Future Folk in the watching cue at your recommendation. It looks fun and we actually really like Bluegrass music. We both like the idea of learning to play the banjo but have not the effort to put in the time. When's the last time you watched The 5th Element or Big Trouble in Little China? We consider those classics too and rewatch them every couple of years.

    The Iron Giant and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, are also favorites of ours.

    I love these watching and reading roundups, its always fun to see what other people are up to! Are you surprised I'm currently reading a book called: How to Prepare for Climate Change By David Pogue. No. probably not. He's like a butterfly touching on topics here and there. I guess it would be an unwieldy tome if he did it any other way though. In classic Californian-Washington rivalry he took a subtle swipe at Washingtonians like some sibling brat that wants to claim that we don't know wildfire tragedy like they know wildfire tragedy. He can promptly go f^ck himself on that opinion. The editors shouldn't let him piss on the floor (or on another state) for the sake of a conversational reading style.

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    1. Ha ha! I love your "Blogger ate my comment" mini-rant! :D

      I have a confession to make: I haven't seen Amélie. And I somehow lumped together Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Luc Besson, as I thought they (as one person) had directed Bigbug, The Fifth Element (which I'm sure I've watched within the last couple of years, but can't find it on the blog - although, I haven't always recorded everything I've read/watched/heardD), The City of Lost Children, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and more. Oops!
      Um. I haven't seen Big Trouble in Little China either. Or, if I have (I might have done, or I could just be vaguely remembering clips/trailers?), it was a very long time ago and I've forgotten it.

      The History of Future Folk was fun. But going into it I had no idea that Future Folk was a comedy duo/bluegrass band, so it was a big surprise. I hope you enjoy it. (It kind of reminded me of Dude! Where's My Car?, but with fewer stoners)

      Heh. No, I'm not surprised by what you're reading at the mo. I like your 'butterfly' analogy - I hope you find some useful topics/points that you can research in more depth later. Although, without the hair-pulling and shin-kicking that the author seems to have resorted to ;)

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    2. You always have the best responses! I would give you a heart emoji if I knew how. Maybe you confused them because they are both strange and interesting French men? Now you must fine Amelie and report back. Another for us is Guillermo Del Toro's, The Devil's Backbone. It is sublime, especially the cinematography.

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    3. I'd leave one for you if I knew how. I wonder if finding one and then copy/pasting it would work?

      Anyway, yes, Guillermo Del Toro! I haven't seen The Devil's Backbone, but I love Mimic, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy (& II), and THe Shape of Water.

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    4. ❤️ (with thanks to Ms Scarlet)

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  4. I keep meaning to give Ghosts a go but somehow it doesn't seem to click. Quite apart from any mention of Fanny, do you think I would like it?
    Sanity is overrated.

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    1. Hmmm... I don't know? Have you watched any of them? I think that if you can get through the first couple of episodes (which set the scene, but are still v.good) the characters all settle down a bit and then you can really enjoy the various mentions of Fanny, sticky situations, hilarious mannerisms, and the rather moving deaths.

      I think you might like Mary who, incidentally, was accused of being a witch and burned at the stake.
      Oh, and Ep2 of series 2 involves a hunt for Fanny's growler, but it doesn't get to hump anything what with being dead. Although, it does get a good stuffing, which you may enjoy...

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    2. I forgot to mention: Mary likes watching Loose Women and is concerned that Colleen Nolan may also be accused of being a witch and get ducked.

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  5. Will someone who enjoyed the original Mary Poppins be delighted or disappointed with Mary Poppins Returns?

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    1. Umm... Well, there are some delightful things in Mary Poppins Returns, but I didn't think it brought anything new to the table, and seemed like a remake (albeit with different adventures) rather than a sequel. Emily Blunt is fabulous, of course, but Julie Andrews' shoes are too big for anyone to fill.
      I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it - stick with the original.

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  6. I sobbed for days after watching Fleabag, and it still gets me when I think about it. And Andrew Scott is almost as good as Aidan Turner.
    You must see Amelie!! It is a fabulous film - I even have it on my Blogger profile!
    Sx

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    1. Oh, Fleabag - what a devastating ending. I think I'm going to watch it again as it was so good though. And, yes, Andrew Scott is VERY watchable - I see him as a British Mark Ruffalo. Mmmmmm...

      Yes, I must see Amelie. I see it's on Netflix - I've added it to my watchlist!

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  7. Aargh! Giant man in tank-top in your sidebar! Jx

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    1. That Ms Scarlet is certainly a one. Possibly even a two!

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