#rewatched with my brother and his partner recently while I was visiting

[lasagoofs]

it's that time of the year again (hlvrai rewatch)

[vveissesfleisch]

Quarantine Asks

was tagged by the magnificent @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash to get down with this ask game (thanks boo) 

ARE YOU STAYING HOME FROM WORK OR SCHOOL?

Yup--I was already working remotely full time at my day job before the shit hit the fan, for which I am super, super grateful, but most of my side hustles are on hold for the moment.   

IF YOU’RE STAYING HOME, WHO IS THERE WITH YOU?

My life partner and his brother. 

ARE YOU A HOMEBODY?

Oh, definitely to an extent, but man! Do I miss places. 

AN EVENT THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT GOT CANCELLED?

So. So. SO. SO. MANY. I could take up your whole dash with them honestly but some highlights include Rotting Christ, 3TEETH, & Birthday Massacre shows & respectfully rubbing up on Jason Isaacs at comic con with @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash (WE WILL GET THERE ONE DAY, GURL). I was also getting my mitts all over plans to visit one of my dear friends in Hawaii, but. *shrugging while the Curb Your Enthusiasm music plays* 

WHAT MOVIES HAVE YOU WATCHED RECENTLY?

Knives Out, Midway, and Blue Streak were all flicks I saw for the first time during these past two weeks, and in between those I think I’ve watched 1917 4 times (I like that film a regular amount, in case that was unclear).

WHAT SHOWS ARE YOU WATCHING?

Rewatching Peaky Blinders for the 238729th time & a couple episodes behind on the most recent season of Outlander. Still waiting for The Umbrella Academy to come back from the war.

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

I have so many filthy, dank playlists  that are hitting the spot right now. Lots of death metal and grimy industrial, DevilDriver, Cannibal Corpse, Fear Factory, 3TEETH, :wumpscut:,  PIG, Suicide Commando...bunch of sticky doomy goodness, too, like Windhand & Acid King & Bone Church & Electric Wizard... Manson’s Holy Wood is hitting real fucking hard, but that’s par for the course...then somewhere else on the spectrum are all of my ambient EDM playlists of wildly varying levels of chillness, and of course the fucking 1917 soundtrack because it’s not enough to simply watch the movie over and over. 

ALSO!!!!!! I’ve really really really been loving hard on the new NIN noises: GHOSTS V-VI, check them out if you haven’t (they’re free!! Thank you Trent!!) and feel your feelings. Papa Reznor always knows what I, personally, need. 

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

1917 & Peaky Blinders fanfiction until my eyes bleed. Yeah, that’s it. 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR SELF CARE?

Keeping my dance card full via Zoom (I miss people so much), taking alone time when I need it, writing a lot, practicing hand stands (I WILL NOT NEED YOU FOR MUCH LONGER, WALL), exercising & keeping up with yoga (virtual workouts are where it’s at, especially live), perfecting my homemade salad dressing recipes & just cooking a lot in general, overdosing on playlists, and hydrating like crazy. 

Well that was fun! Stay safe & relatively sane out there my people, these are strange as fuuuuck times. Tagging anybody who’d like to tell me what they’re up to, I am curious about literally all of you and I love you so much. 

[thelifeofkaiblog]

Name 5 tv shows you watch a lot

•*•*• 20th June 2017 •*•*•

5 shows that I watch frequently….

• “Law & Order: SVU” - Olivia Benson and Odafin “Fin” Tutuola are amazing! The others are cool too, but OB & OT have been in it since the beginning - with OT joining in season 2, I think. He replaced Michelle Hurd’s character and she went on to star in Blindspot, which I occasionally watch. I was conflicted about the original partnership between OB and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) because ES was often too aggressive and it bothered me that OB’s character kept backing him up, even when his actions were questionable at best. That said, in more recent seasons (since ES left SVU), she has remarked on how her old partner would bend the rules and it wasn’t right. I was also very happy when OB adopted a baby/toddler, rather than the typical “meet someone, get married/pregnant, etc.” The show made it clear that it was tough and balancing a highly demanding job with being a single parent was never easy.

• “Criminal Minds” - I love the relationship Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan have; I also think Garcia’s positive attitude, quirky style and the fact she’s not super slim like the others is perfect. I think the characters develop well through the series, though I never liked Lola Glaudini’s character and was quite relieved when she left. I also felt Thomas Gibson’s portrayal of the team leader seemed quite stiff and couldn’t warm up to “Jason Gideon” (Mandy Patinkin), so I was never really emotionally invested in their characters. I think everyone has a nice relationship with Dr Spencer Reid, with most being protective of his awkwardness and fact-spouting, but the relationship between him and JJ is particularly sweet. I find the behavioural analysis intriguing, though, and I’ve been hooked on it for years (same as L&O: SVU). I also enjoy the “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” show - I adore “Mae” and I think the group dynamic is nice. CM: BB has a small team of 5 and CM has a larger team varying between 7 and 10 members at a time, roughly.

• “iZombie” - Squish and I starters watching this on Netflix a while ago, just as one of those “pass the time”/“is probably cringey” shows. It is pretty cringey, but we did end up liking it enough to keep up-to-date on the episodes. Rose McIver looks awesome with the platinum hair (wig), super pale skin and dark eye makeup. I also quite like Peyton and Ravi’s characters, though I hope they unjumble the mess. As for Blaine, I hated him at first, then the character grew on me and now I’m undecided - I saw the actor first on Once Upon A Time (Netflix), which I used to binge-watch, but haven’t for a while.

• “Orange is the New Black” - this is tricky. I never jumped on the bandwagon with it, but I do like watching it with Squish. I’ve only seen the newer seasons and a some episodes of the first ones. I don’t like Piper, Alex or Ruby Rose’s character. I don’t understand the craze, but hey. I loved Samira Wiley’s character and I really connected with “Taystee”.

• "NCIS: LA” - Kensi (Daniela Ruah) is badass and she has to be in a relationship with Deeks (Eric Olsen), her real-life brother-in-law, so fair play to them and her husband (Eric’s brother) who is Deeks’ stunt double! I also like the team dynamic here, with Hetty (Linda Hunt) always being taken seriously regardless of her appearance, Sam (LL Cool J) and (Chris O'Donnell) Callen’s relaxed friendship, and the weird (but totally worthwhile) Nell and Eric moments.

I’ll add a 6th program, but I only watch the new episodes now, as I’ve seen all of the others multiple times and can’t keep rewatching all of them, unlike Criminal Minds and L&O: SVU, where there are only a handful I can’t sit through again.

• "Murdoch Mysteries” - I used to watch “Sue Thomas: FB Eye”, loosely based on the real Sue Thomas who was a deaf woman working for the FBI. Deanne Bray portrayed ST and Yannick Bisson was her co-worker and love interest. YB stars as Detective William Murdoch (so, similar profession to his ST: FBE character, just different century). I immediately liked the relationship Murdoch and the medical examiner, Dr Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy), develop throughout the series, while they solve murders. I supported the show’s growth with characters learning to accept homosexuality, sex workers and women working in traditionally male roles. I also liked that Julia insisted on having Rebecca James (an intelligent medical student who was a black female) as her assistant, despite resistance from some of the bosses, due to racism and sexism in the late 1800s - early 1900s. I like Constance George Crabtree’s quirkiness and was pleased with the pairing of him and Julia’s temporary successor Dr Emily Grace, but *SPOILER* her storyline went in a bisexual direction and she left the show. My brother and I used to watch the earlier episodes together.

Two final shows that I’ll add:

• "Midsomer Murders” (set in England) - I preferred the John Nettles’ “Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Tom Barnaby” episodes, but that’s because I was used to him, I suppose. He retired from the show after several years and someone was cast as his cousin, another detective. He’s alright and I still like the shows, but it’s not quite the same. I don’t watch it regularly.

• “Murder, She Wrote” - Angela Lansbury is a legend. I was always excited to watch M,SW with my grandparents, particularly my (late) grandad when I was staying with them or they were visiting us. I loved every gentle, body, caring, stubborn, intelligent, creative and friendly aspect of the main character “Jessica Fletcher” (AL). She was an amateur sleuth, always (solving) “interfering” in cases with bumbling detectives, after writing successful murder mystery novels and developing an investigative talent. A show that was somewhat similar was “Columbo” with Peter Falk. I loved that show too, as did my grandad, but we didn’t watch it as often. Columbo always played oblivious, so the suspects rarely realised he was on to them until he stitched them up.

[lindsglenne]

Hello! Pop culture and entertainment rule my life. I decided that it would be fun to do a little recap of all the media I consumed each month:

BOOKS!

I read a total of six books this month. I thought I would be able to read more but I got zero reading done when I was on my birthday excursion to the Pacific Northwest. The books this month started out really strong and then slowly dropped out in ratings.

9 Days and 9 Nights – Katie Cotugno: This sequel of Cotugno’s book, 99 Days, takes place over, you guessed it, 9 days. While on vacation with her college boyfriend, Molly runs into her ex Gabe and his girlfriend Sadie, at a tube station in London. The couples end up spending the 9 days together, trying to keep their fallout—and obvious tension and chemistry—from their significant others. If you’re a fan of the first book, I think you’ll find great delight in this sequel. the chemistry between Gabe and Molly oozes on the page. I also really appreciated that Cotugno didn’t make their partners into the villains of the story. It would have been such a cop-out.

Save the Date – Morgan Matson: Go read my full review of this wonderful book right here! Save the Date Review

Love & Luck – Jenna Evans Welch: A companion to her previous work Love and Gelato, Welch tells the story of Addie and how she got roped into a road trip all over the Emerald Isle with her brother and his online friend. Before she leaves for the road trip, she comes across a strange guidebook, Ireland for the heartbroken. This is the perfect way to work through her heartache that she left at home before returning to high school. While not as good as Love and Gelato, I still really enjoyed this book. The relationship Addie has with her brother Ian was really beautiful, even when they were struggling to understand each other’s feelings. While you don’t need to read Love and Gelato to understand this book, it makes the cameo appearances more fun.

Almost Impossible – Nicole Williams: I LOVED the direction this was going. I thought Jade and Quentin had an adorable relationship, I just wished everything could have been flushed out more. It seemed more like a novella than an actual novel. Williams just scratched the surface with this book. It could have been a much stronger story if we had more insight into their relationship, how the relationship between Jade and her aunt progressed, and how things went on in Quentin’s home life.

Everywhere You Want to Be – Christina June: This is a companion novel to It Started With Goodbye and I felt that it was much stronger than it’s predecessor, but that didn’t mean it was perfect. Any book with dancing, I’m sold. Whether it be classical ballet or contemporary, anything dance related and I’m there. I just wished there was more. As with Almost Impossible, so much could have been flushed out in this story. I think this was a case of too much telling and not enough showing.

The Summer of Us – Cecilia Vinesse: This was a sweet travel story that followed a group of friends on their train journey through different parts of Europe the summer before they start university. The author payed a lot of attention to the relationships between her characters, that she lacked in her perspective on these incredible European cities. She had such a great opportunity to provide us with beautiful imagery, but she just wasted that on characters’ endless thoughts about everyone else.

TV!

Instant Star: Another Canadian show! After my deep dive into the world of Degrassi (guys, I’m still not quite over Eli/Clare and it’s taking over my life) I decided to rewatch Instant Star. No matter how annoying the main character was, I genuinely really love the songs from the show. I downloaded a bunch after I finished the three season show.

Glow Season Two: Despite my hatred for Marc Maron in the real world, Glow is the only thing I can actually stand him in. I really like the relationship between him and Alison Brie’s character, Ruth—this kind of muddled father/daughter but the father wants to sleep with his daughter. As much as he hates to admit it, Sam respects Ruth and values her opinion. Despite liking their relationship, I was rooting for Ruth and the camera guy. I also loved getting to know these characters even more from the first season. Can’t wait until season three!

America’s Next Top Model: When I was visiting a friend in Seattle, she was in the process of watching all the seasons of America’s Next Top Model in order. I never watched the show when it aired, I only tuned in during the marathons they used to play on Oxygen in the middle of the day. But once I started watching some episodes with her, I was sucked back in. I found myself watching an entire season in a day the other week. and there’s no sign of stopping.

MOVIES!

I did a lot of rewatching this month, only two out of six where new movies. I think I just had impeccable timing of turning to a channel right when a movie was starting.

They Came Together: I caught this on HBO one night, starting from the beginning and I just had to sit and watch it for the 10th or so time. Director David Wain is a strange little guy and his movies and humor are definitely for everyone, but this movie manages to crack me up within the first five minutes. It helps that three of my favorite people star in the film: Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Jason Mantzoukas.

Eighth Grade: Read my crazy and excited review right here: Eighth Grade and the Genius of Bo Burnham

If I Stay:I think this is a great adaptation of Gayle Forman’s book of the same name, despite Chloe Grace Moretz being kind of blah. Jamie Blackley plays the dreamy Adam and his band is actually really good. When it first came out, I remember downloading the soundtrack because it was all pretty perfect.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind: A new movie! When Robin Williams passed away, I took it really hard. It messed me up for weeks, despite me never actually knowing the guy. His movie quotes were a stable at my family’s dinner table. I was really excited for this doc, but it ended up leaving me pretty underwhelmed. There was a heavy focus on his Mork and Mindy days and then never addressing his Academy Award or other really popular movies. I feel like this could have used the Garry Shandling treatment: a four-hour documentary split into two days.

Obvious Child: This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I think Jenny Slate is an absolute dream and shines so bright as Donna, a comedian as she comes to terms with her impending abortion from a recent one-night-stand. And then you have sweet Jake Lacey as Max who is a literal puppy dog. This movie is really important for young women in their twenties.

Baby Driver: This came on at dinner time the other night so mom and I sat down and watched, both our second viewings from seeing it in theaters. This movie will always blow my mind with how technically perfect the editing and music sync together. I’m amazed and still bitter that it received zero Oscars.

LIVE SHOWS!

From Largo Twitter Page

Nick Kroll and Friends: Because I’m moving soon (more on that later) across the country, I’m trying to get as many comedy shows in that I can. Nick Kroll hosted a night of stand-up with a bunch of lady friends to raise money for comedian Angela Trimbur, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

I was so unbelieveable pumped to finally get to see Jenny Slate do stand-up and it was so great to see her and Nick Kroll up on stage together, throwing bits back and forth with one another. It was also great seeing Chelsea Peretti and Natasha Leggero back doing stand-up again after having babies. It was a hysterical night.

Monthly Entertainment Recap: July Hello! Pop culture and entertainment rule my life. I decided that it would be fun to do a little recap of all the media I consumed each month: