#Joanna Pocock

[guy60660]

Joanna Pocock | The Guardian

[thehappyscavenger]

Books Read November 2023

I read very few books but all of them Canadiana!

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

Found this very mediocre. It's a post apocalyptic survival tale set in a Northern Indigenous community. The writing was aggressively simple, there was no flow and the villain was such an obvious bad guy I was praying their would be a twist where he was good. How was/is this a best seller?

Valide by Chris Bergeron

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. Unfortunately I picked up the English ARC before I realized this was originally written in French. It's a semi-autobiographical dialogue between a woman assigned male at birth and the machine programmed to observe her and take over her memories. It's so good. Probably one of my fave books of the year.

The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan

So after having a bad run with Canadian best sellers I was scared to pick this one up. Surprise, surprise it's actually good! Set in a near futuristic Toronto that is slowly being taken over by developers and a toxic mold called The Wet, this is a creepy wonderful depressive ride. Loved it.

Surrender by Joanna Pocock

I usually don't like non-fiction that much but I enjoyed this one which is a mix of travelogue/reportage/memoir. This is technically Canadiana but is set mostly in and around Missoula where Pocock lived for two years during a mid-life crisis. It's a lot about humans, ecology and how we deal with the ongoing climate crisis. It's bumpy and imperfect and ends on kind of a weird note but overall I enjoyed Pocock's thought and musings.

[jonjost]

Weyauwega, Wisconsin

[panelshowsource]

rather than who you would like to see on the next taskmaster series, who do you think will be on it? like just your predictions or any inklings you may have!

anon if you're still around then you'll know i really took my time with this hahaha so sorry! i hope anyone reading this takes it as just a bit of fun and nbd, who knows who we'll get or who alex & the network have in mind! i'm answering thoughtfully (bc i always feel guilty not to 😩 so sorry this is long lol) but it's really just fun!!

i will say, of the more recent-ish series, i did get a few right!!! krishnan guru-murthy, nicola coughlan, alan davies, judi love, sue perkins, john robins, and joanne mcnally were people i just knew would eventually be on if the show could get their schedules right, and i was also certain sarah millican and dara ó briain would be asked — though not necessarily that they'd actually agree. when you have a level of seniority and esteem, the "it's such a great opportunity" aspect of the show isn't such a draw 😅 for some reason i feel SO PROUD about guessing nicola! i was just WAITING and wish sooooo much she had done a full series 😭😭😭 (how fun would saoirse-monica jackson be too!)

anyways, as for people who haven't been on yet — and this isn't to say i want them all to be, just that i think it's likeliest they have been asked or will be asked; i talked about who i want to see a little while ago here — it's important to consider the casting 'roles' the network has in mind when working with the producers to form a series, so i will keep that in mind too!

established comedian, typically a straight white man over 40: bill bailey, vic reeves, harry hill, geoff norcott, kevin bridges, adam buxton, ade edmondson, paul whitehouse (tommy tiernan? god i feel bad for not saying ed byrne but why do i feel like he's not gonna make it in the next few series? i'm on the fence with nick helm — unless he's friends with alex, then his chances go up significantly imo — and tom allen for some reason, and i feel like john bishop is almost too much of an ask?)

fresh talent comedian, typically a man under 40: rhys james, huge davies, ahir shah, darren harriott would be my top guesses but tbh any of the semi-recent edinburgh comedy award finalists are good bets as a majority of the winners from the last ~10 years have been on the series + throwing out tom rosenthal (i know he's not fresh fresh and also mostly an actor)...and, like, jazz emu?...just because if taskmaster know how much its audience adores weird little white twinks then they'll cast them

female or non-binary comedian: 100% sarah keyworth + harriet kemsley, maisie adam, jess fostekew, suzi ruffell. i've shifted away from betting on cariad lloyd and catherine bohart for some reason... (joanne was my no.1 lady bet for the last like 4 series hahaha)

non-comedian: this is very, very hard to predict because between comedy actors, non-comedy actors, tv presenters, news people, reality & social media stars... the potential predictions are just so endless! logically, the most likely is an established actor with a lot of comedy connections (think sally phillips, lolly adefope, liza tarbuck, sian gibson, daisy may cooper, susan wokoma; this category is where tm gets quite a few of its female contestants): matt holness, kevin eldon, amanda abbington, tom davis, sharon horgan, kathy burke, georgia tennant (also friends w alex?), su pollard, tom basden, apparently anyone from the cast of ghosts, and so on and so on and so on... + i'll also throw out maggie aderin-pocock as a serious contender + i really feel like one of the spice girls will be on new years treat

friend of alex: john robins was the prediction for the past few series, so just worth keeping in mind other people in this circle include elis james, matthew crosby, tom neenan, and so on

freebie answers because alex/greg have mentioned them before: jack dee, lorraine kelly, joanna lumley (i want jennifer saunders SO BAD give us an epic series w both ade and jen pleaseeee tm gods!!!!)

complete wild card bets that are either my instincts kicking in or my bias taking over: limmy, adam buxton, paddy mcguinness, diane morgan, daniel sloss, joel dommett, jess hynes, spencer jones??, alasdair beckett-king or josh pugh + if suzy izzard wasn't doing a big nyc show i'd say that's a good guess if only bc you know greg & alex grew up big fans

did i mention too many people?? if i had to put my money behind a single person it would be either ahir shah or sarah keyworth

these are almost all of my fr big heavy hitters when it comes to placing bets! but there are of course so many people i didn't name who i could totally see on either a main series or the ny treat — so many people just make sense and that's the beauty of taskmaster!!

[jacobwren]

What I had been living for these five days was not some nostalgic hankering after the past, but a desire to imagine and create a different future…. Ecosexuals are not trying to recreate some lost Eden, but are instead imagining a whole new one, with a new kind of society better suited for survival. Unlike so many ecologically based movements, this one is not misanthropic – it celebrates humans, rather than wishing them dead for their ecocidal ways.

Joanna Pocock, Surrender

[retentionalfinitude2]

“We were getting onto a question that had been an obsession of mine for some time. I was trying to work out how to feel the intense grief at the dying planet and the rapid extinction of species while simultaneously carrying on with a productive life. I had been in mourning for decades. My urge to inhabit and enjoy life was at odds with the story running on a loop in the background: the story that is affecting us all, the one where the planet dies at the end.” --Joanna Pocock, Surrender (published by Fitzcarraldo Editions)

[kaggsy59]

On My Book Table... 8 - what next?

On My Book Table… 8 – what next?

May has been an odd sort of reading month for me. I’ve read fewer books than I might have expected, given the amount of extra time I’ve got through not going out, paying visits to London and the like. I must admit to feeling a little bit twitchy after about 10 weeks of lockdown, with the only places I go to being the post office and the occasional nip into the local Co-op for veg. Browsing the…

[tumblewiththestars]

This is a review of the first season of the 2010 TV show, ‘Dance Academy’. 🇦🇺

I was delighted to rediscover this show almost immediately after changing streaming services. What begins as an interesting premise devolves quickly into exactly what I tried to forget about early ABC3. The acting is questionable, the plots are the hundredth reincarnation of the immortal neonate plots, and I cringed so constantly I feared for my nervous health.

And then we recovered almost as quickly as we fell. These characters have heart! They have my accent! And I am still completely susceptible to dancing as a means to wipe away my critical judgement. 

Rewatching so many years in the future as an elderly teen makes the show so much funnier and more concerning. Suffice to say I was impervious to innuendo and and the darker implications that overwhelm the attentive viewer. I feel infinitely younger and older than this cast.

Truly, it is a campy wonder.

For me, this show straddles the bold misfashion of the 2000s and woke nihilism of the 2010s. Watching now is both bizarrely youthful and a probing reflective experience. These characters are genuine caricatures, hilarious mixes of wholesome immaturity and relentless obsession. 

How can I look down at their antics from adultdom when I have never once been as frank and committed to anything as these dancers. There is something genuinely inspiring and moving in their love for their craft, something amazing in the lengths they will go for each other, and something blindingly nostalgic about every criticism I could land about this show. 

I love this show. What more is there to say? If you love dancing, love camp or were once or ever will be a teenager, I recommend it without discretion.

[tobedeletedx]

books read in 2019

bold = top ten

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon 

White as Snow by Tanith Lee

A Card from Angela Carter by Susannah Clapp 

The Women by Ashley Farmer 

In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente 

The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon

The Good Women of China by Xinran 

A Very Private Eye by Barbara Pym 

Portable Childhoods by Ellen Klages 

Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

Shadow Dance by Angela Carter 

Women Invent the Future, edited by Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Flame and Shadow by Sara Teasdale 

Guardians of the Galaxy by Chris Wyatt 

The Comforters by Muriel Spark

Vicious by V.E. Schwab 

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson 

Short Stories in Japanese, edited by Michael Emmerich 

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 

Lily Alone by Jacqueline Wilson 

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin 

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker 

The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark 

Face/Off by Clark Carlton

The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff 

Darth Maul by Cullen Bunn

Son of Dathomir by Jeremy Barlow 

Fifteen to Infinity by Ruth Fainlight 

Reborn by Susan Sontag 

Khorne by Richard Williams 

Lady Windemere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde 

The Mound by H.P. Lovecraft 

Gentleman Jack by Angela Steidele 

After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie by Jean Rhys 

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard 

Path of the Renegade by Andy Chambers 

Path of the Incubus by Andy Chambers 

Path of the Archon by Andy Chambers 

Useless Magic by Florence Welch

Fashion Cats by Takako Iwasa 

The Masque of Vyle by Andy Chambers 

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston

The White Book by Han Kang

Cherry Ingram by Naoko Abe 

The Country You Have Never Seen by Joanna Russ

Helen of Troy and Other Poems by Sara Teasdale 

Black Easter by James Blish

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Inside the Wave by Helen Dunmore 

[digitalrp]

#Repost vogueitalia: APOTHECARY photography by @claragiaminardi @katybarkerltd hair by sam mcknight styling by Alexandra Carl Make-up Mary Greenwell @ Premier. Manicure Mike Pocock @ Saint Luke. Set Design Joanna Goodman. Thanks to Spring Studios London. Videos by @marlonrueberg Brand Creative Director @gb65 Editor in Chief @efarneti

[tranimegirl]

I have a new follower on Twitter!

joanna pocock Writer @BoundlessLit, @latimestravel, @LitroMagazine, @thenation, @Orion_Magazine, @darkmtn blog, @DistinctlyMT, @3ammagazine etc. http://bit.ly/2FCaRhN Following: 387 - Followers: 222 November 24, 2018 at 04:11AM via Twitter http://twitter.com/joannaofottawa

[jonjost]

Uma Lettera para Clara: O Contágio 8

Uma Lettera para Clara: O Contágio 8

Recent pastel, 40 x 30 inches

Cara Clarinha,

It has been almost a month since I last wrote, a strange month under the cloud of the coronavirus, which has changed so many things.  Including our sense of time.  Days drift by unmarked by the usual things – work days, weekends, the punctuation marks of time. Now there are almost none, and our sense of time evaporates.  Yesterday? Last week?  Or was…

[panelshowsource]

Who would you like to see on BFQOTY that has never made an appearance before?

okay i always take these kinds of asks too seriously but pls bare with me!!

when it comes to panel shows there is a spectrum of preparation: on the far left is a show like mock the week, where literally everything apart from a very smol amount of relevant banter is pre-prepared by the panel (they're given the news stories & scenes we'd like to see ahead of time, the standup categories are chosen around their pre-written bits, and so on); and on the other end of that spectrum is a show like big fat quiz, where the only thing you really prepare is potentially a team name. so — to answer this question i'm thinking about people who are very willing and very good at joining in, people who will comfortably banter with jimmy, people who don't always wait their turn to speak (which works better on a show like, say, 8 out of 10 cats). obviously jimmy throws to each team whilst the teams' answers are being revealed, but for the show to really succeed you need a lot more chat and goofing around and camaraderie than that — so who are some of these confident, friendly, funny people?

well let's get this out of the way we need victoria on bfq right? it helps a lot she's irl pals with jimmy so their dynamic is very comfy and she would probably have so much to say about the news or even admonishing the amount of tiktok-related questions LMAO it's great to imagine her with david but also what about team victoria and lee mack?? THE PEOPLE NEED TO SEE IT

nicola coughlan, graham norton, alan cumming, catherine tate (omg catherine and lee...please GOD...), huge davies, get me a doctor let's go jodie whittaker baybay or our man ncuti, would love to see some drag queens like miss lawrence chaney and the viv of course but there are sooo many amazing uk drag stars, kathy burke, ed gamble, morgana robinson, maggie aderin-pocock

get me my man. joe wilkinson. put him with roisin and one white onion

fuck it go big or go home: jennifer saunders and joanna lumley, fry and laurie(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), tennant and sheen (or tennant and tennant frankly georgia ily), the mighty boosh???

wildcard answer jordan north and william hanson? is that just me? i know jordan has done celeb juice a few times and he was great but i also know in my soul william would be fucking good on a panel show, and their friendship is too sweet

cheating but i'd love to see guz khan back on but with a different partner? i fockin love sarah but strategically speaking for lulz imo that year i think it should have ben judi & guz and sarah & jonathan. i understand wanting to change it up and give us new kinds of teams but i don't think those were the people to do it with. also bring back charlie brooker i have charlie brooker withdrawals........ (charlie on wilty in a couple weeks!!! ahhh!!!)

i'd love to see so many people!!! okay i am done with the longest response ever (do you guys ever read these like 'girl just answer the question')! what about you?? who do you want?

[wildgrace]

In the 1920s the Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park was a forward-looking man, the son of a miner from California: Horace Albright. He battled the entrenched “boy’s club” atmosphere that dominated the Park Service by hiring female employees when there was widespread animosity towards the idea. Between 1920 and 1933, Albright hired 10 women in Yellowstone and came under fire for doing so. But he was outspoken and believed in the skills and commitment to the Park Service by these women.

Joanna Pocock, The Lone Ranger of Yellowstone