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.
True Blood
I can’t speak for the rest of you, but, this season blew big fat goat chunks. The tying up of the story lines, how it ended with so many of the characters, was cliched and overwrought. Thank fuck this show is over.
Rectify
Beautiful, beautiful show. Beautifully written, acted, and directed. If your heart is not having the feels for Daniel Holden every week, something is fucking wrong with you. I cannot wait for season three to start next year.
Elementary
I want to love this show, I do. Jonny Miller is superb and the episodes are compelling, but there is something missing in which I cannot put my finger on. The last five or six episodes have been hanging out on the DVR since May and I have no intention to watch them. With the new fall season to start soon, it seemed appropriate to ditch them and cancel the series.
Weekly watching: Outlander, The Bridge, Project Runway, The Almighty Johnsons, A Place To Call Home, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey
What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
lisa
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.
Finished
Bagged & Boarded: Bad Houses The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
(Amazon | WorldCat | GoodReads)
A digital ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This should have been a novel that got the pulse racing and the imagination quickening. Instead the pacing, the oft switching of POV, and the tedious of the description just slowed the story down. I read the first 75 pages and was bored stiff of what was going on. I could not find any compelling reason to continue, despite the fact the genre and period are right up my alley. I also could not find a character I could commit too or cheer for. I found Goodwin presented a lot of exposition that wasn’t necessary and as such at times, the story felt forced, as if she was hoping to wing it back into the path to keep it moving forward.
The technicality of the writing is fine and it’s not a terrible story, but I just feel the hype was much more than what the story delivered. This may appeal to readers who like Philippa Gregory.
Watching
Rectify
This show is one of the best shows on TV. Full stop. Daniel Holden is one of the most compelling, complicated, and and sympathetic characters ever written. I love this show.
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.
I finished a few graphic novels this week, the short story Beyond Lies The Wub by Phillip K. Dick, and dug more into Steam Rising by Pratchett. I’m behind on reviews, so those will be coming up in the next week.
Watching
Lots of shows ending recently or that we’ve caught up on. You know what starts tomorrow? The last season of True Blood! If they end the season like they did the books, I am going to be HELLA PISSED.
Game of Thrones
One can simply not write about Game of Thrones finale without planning on spending days on deep analysis for every scene. So instead, I’ll leave you with this:
Until next year!
Silicon Valley
Despite my earlier reluctance at this show, it’s grown quickly to be a fav as it’s started to get its feet. TheHusband would rate this as the second best show on TV right now, after Game of Thrones. Plus, while it’s written by Mike Judge, it has all the ambiance of Party Down. And of course, Gilfoye has quickly become the favorite character, with Dinesh not too far behind. AND THEN the finale had the best dick jokes to top all dick jokes.
Veep
Selena is now president, Amy is running the show, Dan is more or less stable, Jonah is still Jonah, and one day I hope Gary will find himself.
Doctor Blake Mysteries
I was borderline loving this show but it’s now fading into a deep like. The finale at the end of S1 (Doctor Blake heads to China to see his long lost daughter) was tidily summed up in the season opener and left alone. The lady doctor who is now helping Doctor Blake in the morgue is only ever seen — in the morgue! And the big reveal at the end of S2, which we all know was coming, left me feeling like this show is getting kind of flat. Instead of structuring big, compelling characters as it started in S1, it’s now becoming freak of the week.
I Never Knew That About Britain
Eight short episodes exploring the variety of different things that either were started, famed, created, or otherwise in Britain. It’s puffed up on the history rather than getting in depth, and we’re looking at maybe 3-4 items per 22 minute episode, and the setting is fast paced. But overall it was entertaining and informative.
Halt and Catch Fire
This show has been on for a month and I cannot believe I forgot to add it. But yes, new AMC show on the beginnings of the PC wars in the early ’80s, complete with girl hacker totes styled on Angelina Jolie’s character in Hackers. Lee Pace plays a fast talking, possibly borderline genius and his Patrick Bateman potential serial killer lifestyle who thinks he can potentially (possibly? maybe!) change the world. One side story I hope that will be developed is Donna Clark’s, Gordon’s wife, struggle as a woman coder in early ’80s Texas. Watching her face and body movements as she was cuckhold by her boss, I was hissing, “Yesssss — exactly that!” at the TV screen. Also the big contrast between Donna and Cameron, the AMC’s version of Acid Burn, would be interesting if they play it out. One woman flipping off the patriarchy, the other attempting to live with it.
Rectify
S2 started this week — and I promptly fell asleep because I was so tired. Here is a recap I gave last year, and hopefully after rewatching it this week, I will have be more coherent in my description.
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,
Escape to the Country
Set up similarly to House Hunters, the idea behind Escape to the Country the buyer is looking to make a move from city to the country, sometimes from one part of England to another. Three houses are shown: Two that are known, and one that is the mystery house. The buyers can choose to buy any of the houses shown or choose not to buy any – which is the big difference between it and HH. The ending of the episode is not always stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.
Great Houses with Julian Fellowes
Fellowes, he of Downton Abbey, takes his expertise and pedigree and tours the great homes of the United Kingdom, giving not only a historical entree into the house but the people, the land, and the era that surround it. I felt like I was watching an episode of History Detectives except with British accents at times, for I thought Fellowes spent a lot of time on the social history of the area rather than on the house itself. Only two episodes long, the show felt oddly rushed and compact.
Doctor Who
I don’t even know where to begin with this show. The ending? Then the departure of Matt Smith? The whole season felt forced and unnatural to me. Like it was stretching to be filler rather than tell a good story.
Rectify
The season has ended, as it begun, not with a bang but with a precipitous crawl. Will I be watching season two? You bet. (A summary can be found here.)
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.
The Woman Who Died A Lot: A Thursday Next Novel (#7) (Amazon | Local Library | GoodReads)
By Jasper Fforde
I’ve been purposefully making time to read every day, even for 5 minutes, so that I can get back in the habit again. I know depression and other factors have been a huge influence on my attitudes towards things, so it’s even more important I make and keep habits to keep myself inline.
I started this title months ago, and in the last week have made great strides (a hundred pages!) in getting it finished. But I am finding that depression or not, this title seems to have less of the pizazz that was so prominent in the previous novels in the series. The plot seems to center around someone is trying to kill the real Thursday, and others near her, and replace her with day clones. We know it’s probably Goliath (so we’re lead to believe…), but what is the real reason?
Thursday is also named Chief Librarian of Swindon, and one thing I’ll give Fforde many hat tips for is how he captures the essence of librarianship without making Thursday come off as being cartoonish or stereotyped.
Watching
Rectify
Sundance is now throwing its hat into the ring by starting to produce original series content. Produced by the same people who give us Breaking Bad, Rectify follows the story of Daniel Holden, a man who may have been unjustly accused of rape and murder of his girlfriend at the age of 18. 19 years later, he’s freed from prison based on new DNA evidence that shows his potential innocence. TheHusband and I found out about the show after the first episodes ran so we ended up mainlining them in toot suite order. Verdict? Show borders on excellence, and this opinion by me surprises myself because slowness in television land has never been something that caught my eye. One critic said it makes Mad Men look like a pulp action thriller in comparison, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Rectify is deep character study of not just Daniel, but his family, friends, and others around him. There is some moments of implausibility where it seems the writers are trying too damn hard to showcase the difference between 1994 and 2013, but those moments are few and far between. Watching Daniel struggle not only with coming to terms with the fact he never really grew up (he’s a man’s body but an 18 year olds brain) but also the intersection of past versus present, which is more compelling over whether or not Daniel is the killer.
Justified
Will Ava go to jail? Will Raylan and Winona get back together before the baby is born? Is Raylan going bad, or has he always been bad? Will Boyd save his woman and the world? WHY DO I LOVE BOYD SO MUCH? I love this show far too much and now that the fourth season has ended, there is a loss in my heart.
How historical figures would have looked today Apparently it took 3 motnhs to create the images, ranging from Shakespeare to QE2, but to me they look like they were badly photoshopped.
What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
Lisa
The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
