#favorite things 2024

[imekasf]

Favorite Things 2024

Every year(ish) I try to jot down some of my favorite things from a given calendar year - mostly for myself, but maybe also for you! Anyway, here is this year's list, in no particular order (and with spoilers) - let's list!

-->Agatha All Along - Season 1, Episode 7: Death's Hand in Mine (Disney+) I'm gonna go ahead and guess that this specific episode will make a lot of people's lists this year. This entire show was fantastic, but this episode in particular was an absolute masterpiece. The gorgeous visual of Lilia falling in that bubblegum pink gown against a black backdrop was simply breathtaking. The way the episode expertly weaved together all of Lilia's small but important moments was incredible. And Patti LuPone is a goddamn legend.

-->Emerald Wounds, Select Poems by Joyce Mansour Fun fact about me; I love poetry. I picked up this book at City Lights Booksellers, which is a well-known beatnik bookseller in San Francisco. About 75% of my decision to buy was based on the written recommendation from their staff, which read: Oh, how dark! Oh, how wet! Oh, how terrifying! Oh, how absolutely erotic! Between death and love: the sex lives of dreams, flayed open. Surprisingly, not a Scorpio.

Anyway, I read In the Dark to the Left, and cackled until I cried.

-->Wicked, Part 1 Like most of the English-speaking world, I have a long history with this property. I grew up watching and adoring The Wizard of Oz; I read and liked Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire; I saw the original traveling run of the stage version of Wicked in San Francisco (twice). So of course I had a lot of expectations going into this film. And they were almost all met and at times exceeded! The cast is incredible, the visuals stunning, and the songs! Ugh. I'm getting teary just thinking about it. Ariana Grande is also SO funny. I don't think I fully realized until this year how naturally comedic she is. Incredible.

-->A Man on the Inside, Season 1, Episode 7: From Russian Hill With Love (Netflix) Honestly, this entire series is just completely heartwarming, hilarious, and delightful, but this episode is the one that showcases more of the city that I call home than any other (They even filmed a scene in the middle of a Giants game at Oracle Park!) so of course it is going to be a favorite.

-->SNL Season 50, Episode 3: Ariana Grande & Stevie Nicks (NBC) When SNL is firing on all cylinders it is practically unstoppable. This has been a fairly strong season for them, and the Ariana Grande episode was a true season highlight. My Best Friend's House is a darkly hilarious earworm; Bridesmaids introduced us to the now-inescapable character of Domingo (and showcased Grande's talent for singing completely flat and off key on purpose), and Castrati had no business being as goddamn funny as it is. Bonus shout out to Episode 2, which brought back Nate Bergatze, who is a true gem of a comedian.

-->Travel Season - Season 1, Episode 1: Fried Chicken in Korea (YouTube/Watcher) I love travel shows. And I love food shows. Mostly I love travel food shows, so this new show from Watcher Entertainment ticked a lot of boxes for me. I love the vibe of this show, I love the warmth it conveys, and I love watching naturally curious people discover and try new things. It was smart of this crew to focus on one singular location for the entire season, giving them plenty of time to deep dive into a lot of different types of food.

—>Taskmaster, Series 17 (YouTube or Channel 4 in the UK) If you haven’t yet watched this phenomenal British game show, what are you doing? This is the ultimate comfort watch, in that it is entertaining, escapist, hilarious, and charming.

Like many of the casts in previous years, Series 17 included two charming contestants who were terrible at tasks (Sophie Willan and Nick Mohammad, the latter of whom dressed as a vampire to do his tasks and the editors cleverly removed his reflection from mirrors and water); a very clever contestant who did nearly everything right (John Robins); a sexy sassy older woman who flirts with the Taskmaster (Joanne McNally); and a curmudgeon (Steve Pemberton). This cast doesn’t quite live up to the absolutely magical chaos of Series 16, but it is still worth a watch.

-->Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé Whether or not you think this album sits in the Country genre (it does and it also doesn't, as it is so much more than just Country), there is no denying the masterpiece that this turned out to be. I definitely spent most of the Spring of this year spinning this record, and waiting with baited breath for a tour announcement (still waiting, btw). It was hard for me to choose just one track, as I went through many phases, but since AMERIICAN REQUIEM is still sitting firmly in my On Repeat playlist, it must be the one that resonated the most.

-->Hot Fuss, The Killers Hang on. This album is 20 years old, you might be saying - and you’re right, it is! But the band celebrated the anniversary with a mini-residency in their hometown of Las Vegas, and when I tell you this was one of the best nights of my life, I’m not even exaggerating. I scream-sang every single song from this album, and it was joyous, cathartic, and fun as hell.

-->Diamond Jubilee, Cindy Lee (YouTube/Bandcamp) There is a reason this album is popping up on every Best Of list of 2024 - it's fantastic. It sounds both contemporary and classic, and has the warmth of a vinyl record being spun on a Sunday afternoon. That they managed to gain so much traction while staying off the major streaming services says a lot about how great this album is.

-->Kaleidoscope, Chappell Roan Just like everyone else, I listened to Chappell Roan a lot this year, but this particular song made me burst into tears the first (and second) time I heard it, so it gets a spot on the list.

-->Bobby Sox, Green Day Green Day celebrated the anniversaries of both Dookie and American Idiot this year, by playing both albums in their entirety on a world tour. They also released perhaps their best album in years, Saviors, which they also played tracks from on their epic tour. Bobby Sox is their bisexual anthem (Billie Joe has been out as bi since the 90’s, btw) and it is my favorite track on an album full of bangers.

-->L'AMOUR DE MA VIE, Billie Eilish At 22 years old, Billie Eilish has accomplished more than most of us will in our entire lives. She is the textbook definition of an old soul - someone who sings like she has smoked a thousand packs of cigarettes and burned through a hundred lovers.

--> The music video for Taste, by Sabrina Carpenter I have a deep and unwavering love for the cult classic Death Becomes Her, so when I saw that pop video queen Sabrina Carpenter's video for Taste was paying homage to that film (with Jenna Ortega, no less!) I knew I'd be in for a good time. Carpenter retains the goofy antics of the film and has the perfect sense of humor for a video like this. Sure, there's a lot of (fake) blood, but what's a little brutal murder amongst friends?

-->Have I Got News For You (CNN/Max) This news-based panel show has been on in the UK for something like 30 years, and while the U.S. version is still working out some of the kinks, they have completely nailed the casting. Host Roy Wood, Jr., and team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black are perfect for this format, and it makes me hopeful that we might see more panel shows make their way across the pond soon.

-->James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome (Max) If you are not familiar with the extremely specific comedy stylings of Acaster (or only know him from Taskmaster or that GBBO meme) this may not be the best stand up special to start with (I’d recommend Repertoire on Netflix first). That being said, this special is brilliant, and really showcases what a unique and whip-smart comedian he is.

-->How Did This Get Made? Episode 357: Eye of the Beholder (Podcast) Every episode of HDTGM is a banger, but I chose this one because I love Ewan McGregor, and hate this movie so, so much. It's awful. Which is why this episode of HDTGM is great.

I'm sure I have forgotten a million things even though it took me like a month to write this. But nobody has read this far down anyway so it's all good!

[marimuntanya]

March is over can't believe it but excited here are the things that I loved in March:

https://www.madewell.com/alpaca-blend-v-neck-cardigan-sweater-99107315796.html?source=googlePLA&noPopUp=true&srcCode=Paid_Search%7CShopping_NonBrand_PMax_NCA%7CGoogle%7CMWGGBS00002_99107315796_18211078200___c_pla_online__9061089&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Madewell_Shopping_PLA_US_Women_HighInventory_PMax&utm_term=&utm_content=shopping_ads&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwtqmwBhBVEiwAL-WAYbidwIjOCG8YmpcUZBi_zlqy4_Vdlc1BC3t1s8AoqLb1T4KNAFAtQhoCvjEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[junodoom]

swordtember day 8: sun

[blueskittlesart]

linktober day 27: rest

[arielluva]

god's favorite

redraw of this :3

[carameatea]

The wind whispers well wishes for the cavalry captain from a distant land

A falcon delivers an invitation for a celebration so grand

Happy Birthday Kaeya 🥰💙

[ionomycin]

Forest Guardians

[brainrotcharacters]

makes me giggle to think of X2 Logan meeting dp&w Logan when this is a thing

[oatmealdoodles]

this eye trend but it’s them <3

ref under cut:

[3-xenomorph-gfs]

speaking of how respect plays into tyler & kate's dynamic. i feel like what makes tyler such a good romantic lead is that, even when he's talking down to kate in the beginning, you never get the impression it's because she's a woman.

contrast tyler with scott. scott is constantly condescending to kate: second-guessing her every decision despite being miles behind her in field knowledge; undermining her professionally (negating her attempt to network with an investor); calling her javi's "girlfriend" as if javi's deference to kate is a lapse in judgment. he's not cartoonish about it, but his contempt for the situation is pretty obvious. he resents being made subordinate to a woman with no legitimate way to question it.

then you have tyler. we expect him to be a classic case of cowboy machismo, misogyny and all -- and it's true that he doesn't fully respect kate in the beginning, but it's because she's riding with stormpar. and even then, it's clear how badly he wants to respect her: initiating conversations with subtle cues to reveal her priorities ("our crew's not like your crew"); talking shop with her; straight-up asking if she knows how stormpar makes their money, and then still checking on her when they part ways in anger. he's not threatened by a female stormchaser -- he sees a kindred spirit in her, and his feelings move from fascination to real attraction when he sees they have their principles in common, too. it's insanely refreshing to see.

[julijbee]

girlbossing too close to the sun.

[hayesflint]

day eleven - worship

Zeb: Karabast, Alex. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?

full (very spicy) version on ao3

[marimuntanya]

November favorite things are here. How? I've been doing this for a year 🥲

I only own the mushroom picture; the rest are the works of others and are linked below.

[smile-files]

mommy let you use her ipad, you were barely two

and it did all the things we designed it to do

now look at you, look at you!

(objectober 2024 day 10: internet)

[mr-malumm]

Cringetober day 24: niche interest!!!!

My favorite band is the dear hunter and they have a series of albums that im obsessed with and i think about them all the time and its unironically the only thing i listen to :)

[juckalope]

Linktober Day 11 & 12 - Music x Favorite Game 🐺