Tag: Last Tango in Halifax

Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes for July 12, 2014

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Johann Georg Hainz’s Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During the Renaissance, cabinet of curiosities came into fashion as a collection of objects that would often defy classification. As a precursor to the modern museum, the cabinet referred to room(s), not actual furniture, of things that piqued the owners interest and would be collected and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes is my 21st century interpretation of that idea.
 
Dear Internet,
You can follow me on Pinterest on what I’m reading, watching, and listening.

Watching

  • Mr. Sloane
    Nick Frost played the titular character in this six episode series from the Sky. It’s 1969 and Mr. Sloane is having a crisis – he’s lost his job, his wife has left him, and his mates treat him like shit. Over the course of the series, we find Mr. Sloane gathering his own inner strength and defining who he should be versus of who he really is — with the help of an adorable American girl, of course. The series ended on what us American’s call a cliffhanger because as all of this is ending for him, there is so much more beginning. But what will Mr. Sloane do? We may never know (as of right now, there is no plans for a second series), but reading this interview with the creator has me thinking that might actually change.

 
Weekly watching:   The Leftovers, True Blood, Rectify, Halt and Catch Fire, A Place To Call Home, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, Elementary

Links

  • BBC Two Orders Viking Drama “The Last Kingdom”, BBC America To Co-Produce
  • Benedict Cumberbatch to appear at #sdcc on the panel for Penguins of Madagascar
  • Dead Snow 2 is coming
  • Face of Jane Austen revealed after forensic research
  • Dropping the F bomb
  • Sleep with Benedict Cumberbatch: Sherlock bedding coming from Dreamtex
  • Last Tango in Halifax filming gets underway
  • Authors dress up as their favourite characters
  • Twilight of the Pizza Barons
  • “Sailor Moon”: The Explainer

What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
lisa

This day in Lisa-Universe in: 2010

Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes for March 15, 2014

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Johann Georg Hainz’s Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During the Renaissance, cabinet of curiosities came into fashion as a collection of objects that would often defy classification. As a precursor to the modern museum, the cabinet referred to room(s), not actual furniture, of things that piqued the owners interest and would be collected and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes is my 21st century interpretation of that idea.
 
Dear Internet,

Listening

takeoffandlandingThe Take Off and Landing of Everything by Elbow
I will write up a longer review after a few more listens, but first impressions? Near perfection. There are a few missteps, but it is an aural delight.

Reading

clarice-lispector-near-to-the-wild-heart-entrekin
Near to the Wild Heart by  Clarice Lispector
(Amazon | WorldCat | GoodReads)
Status: Currently reading
From a few days ago,

I’ve started Clarice Lispector’s Near to the Wild Heart and it is beyond exquisite. I injected half the book in one sitting last night and had stop because I was getting woozy on a Lispector overdose. She adroitly does things to language and words, even in translation from Portuguese to English that is just breathtaking. I am having trouble reconciling that it was published in 1943 as it reads so contemporary. Reading Lispector is breathing flames under the muse for me and I’m reconsidering how to write fiction.

I’m terrible at fiction. I always feel so damned constricted when trying to form the rules of the game, my writing comes out halting and unsure. I’ve got brilliant ideas for stories, I see the stories in my head as they are played out but getting them onto paper? No. The ease of my language sounds immature and protracted. Sure, you could argue if I practice more it would mature and grow and there is some truth into that. But I think because I’ve been reading tightly bound prose for so long, I’m near drunk on Lispector’s stream of consciousness and realising that yes, this is how you do it. This is how you give birth to a story and how it will end.
Feral. Unstructured and messy, like life.

Finished

Watching

  • Last Tango in Halifax
    Delightful series about two pensioners who reconnect after 60 years, their joining of lives, and the complexity of that joining. Second season tackled some very difficult areas and the ending tied up the big plot points. So on one hand, it wraps up nicely and pulls things together, and then presents some possibilities for a third season. But I hope this is not going to happen. The show has had its life and it needs to end a quiet death.
  • True Detective
    The new anthology series by HBO ended slow and the tie up was kind of meh. But I am curious as to what will happen in season two.
  • Banshee
    Why more people are not watching this show is beyond fucking me. Each episode of the second season was tight, dramatic, and brilliant. It’s just bloody awesome. Second season ended with a whole fuck load of plot points that means that season three is going to be fucking brilliant.

Weekly watching: The Americans, Survivor: Cagayan, Moone Boy, Edge of Heaven, Vikings, The Musketeers, Mr. Selfridge, Black Sails, Top Gear, Stella, University Challenge, House of Lies, Episodes, Archer, Under the Gunn, Justified, Reign,  Elementary

Links

Reviews

What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
lisa

This day in Lisa-Universe in:

Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes for March 8, 2014

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Johann Georg Hainz’s Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During the Renaissance, cabinet of curiosities came into fashion as a collection of objects that would often defy classification. As a precursor to the modern museum, the cabinet referred to room(s), not actual furniture, of things that piqued the owners interest and would be collected and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes is my 21st century interpretation of that idea.
Dear Internet,

Reading

msyteryofmercyclose
The Mystery of Mercy Close: A Walsh Sister Novel by Marian Keyes
(Amazon | WorldCat | GoodReads)
Status: Finished
Marian Keyes has long been one of my favorite authors, one who can encapsulate a horrible event (abuse, addiction, recovery) in a story that at first glance, seems like some kind of fluff until you dig deeper and get to the heart of the story.
Keyes, however, has failed with this book. Terribly.
At first glance through the reviews, I am apparently the only one who caught the not so very subtle racism against Arabs/Muslims peppered throughout the book. Snide comments about “towel heads,” “arabic-y looking wording,” and the often slights against one of the secondary characters who is Muslim and an Arab. Then once you pick up on the racism, you realise either Marian, or Marian using Helen’s voice, is a bigot against fat people, the mentally ill, and anyone who doesn’t fit into her little world.
Now you’re probably thinking, “But Marian has chronicled her severe depression — how can she be bigoted against the mentally ill?” And you know, I totally get you on that, because I was floored at first. But with Helen’s voice, and point of view, you notice how Helen starts being dismissive against any and all attempts of trying to work on her depression. She rejects drugs (at first), she’s dismissive against any alternative methods, and the constant comments about how she was special with her depression because it wasn’t like anyone elses in terms of symptoms and effects. Okay, we get it, you’re a special snowflake.
This book was a hot mess. Between the bigotry, the lead up to through the mystery, explanation of her past relationship, the foundation of her current one, and really? How she and her BFF ever broke up and why was incredibly weak. Coupled with her depression and the utter lack development for most of the characters, why was this book even published?

Watching

Weekly watching: Vikings, The Musketeers, Mr. Selfridge, Black Sails, Top Gear, Stella, University Challenge, House of Lies, Episodes, Archer,  True Detective, Under the Gunn, Justified, Banshee, Reign, Elementary

Links

What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
lisa

This day in Lisa-Universe in:

Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes: March 9, 2013

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Johann Georg Hainz’s Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During the Renaissance, cabinet of curiosities came into fashion as a collection of objects that would often defy classification. As a precursor to the modern museum, the cabinet referred to room(s), not actual furniture, of things that piqued the owners interest and would be collected and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes is my 21st century interpretation of that idea.
Dear Internet,
This is how I best sum up my week:
youhavegottobekidding

Writing

Watching

  • Vikings
    New series on the History Channel from Michael Hirst, who wrote The Tudors. Now it’s interesting this is on History, since it’s network TV,  so nothing can be shown that would rate above PG-13 rating which seems antithesis to Viking history and lore. I liked the first episode, but yearned for more exploration as a few scenes seemed stifled due to its network presence.
  • Dancing on the Edge
    This five episode series has finally finished and god, what a waste. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew Goode (along with many of their cast mates) were wasted in this tedious and overwrought piece. I suspect someone needed emergency cash to push to get this aired.
  • Last Tango in Halifax
    Discovered this last week, it should be over in the US on various PBS stations in the summerish. I was able to grab the first season and plowed through most of it fairly quickly. It’s not innovative, or edgy, but it’s soothing. It’s a nice palette cleanser after watching crap (see: Dancing on the Edge).

Weekly watching: Stella, The Vampire Diaries, Mr. Selfridge, Banshee, Portlandia, Top Gear UK, House of Lies, Elementary, Spartacus, The Americans, Archer, and Project Runway

Links

What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
xoxo,
Lisa