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  • Earworms: swallowing the Kate Bush spider to catch the Bridgerton fly

    Friday, July 8, 2022 Permalink
    running up that hill

    We all now know what earworms are. Mostly synonymous with annoying children’s TV shows and unfortunate songs that get stuck in our head. Usually the Wiggles or the one about the Baby Shark or similar.

    Like many I recently fell in love with the latest season of Bridgerton; far preferring it to season one (as Daphne annoyed me and looked like a petulant 15 year old).

    I loved the simmering steaminess of season two compared to the openly sexuality in season one. And of course the music – which received much attention in s1; the classic twist on contemporary hits – is an integral part of the show’s innovation and allure. Season two built on this and I loved Alanis Morissette’s You Outta Know, along with Dancing on my Own, Sign of the Times and Wrecking Ball, the latter which stuck in my head for weeks… months. (Perhaps as a result of the number of times I’d watched that episode).

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  • Life lately – March 2022

    Monday, March 28, 2022 Permalink
    check in

    My posts have been few and far between of late. Particularly my non-bookish posts, but even the book reviews.

    I guess I’m still finding some balance though I’ve now been in my ‘new’ job for over 4 months. The uncertainty or unease I wrote about early this month remains but I’m trying to be more accepting of my moods and responses. Most of which are only evident to others because I share them publicly rather than grappling with them in silence. I’m not sure which is better. I know I get frustrated with those who do nothing but whinge, but then again we all know that many only share the good on social media and their lives seem charmed. Enviable, but also inaccessible in some ways.

    Anyhoo, my blogging friend Denyse is reigniting a linkup every couple of weeks so I figured I should share something today and am going with the usual ‘check-in’ post.

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  • What I’ve been watching – January 2022

    Wednesday, January 19, 2022 Permalink
    what I've been watching

    I’ve not done much writing in the past couple of months. I mentioned late last year that I was adjusting to working from home (full time) and spending 7-8hrs glued to my desk. Having said that November to January are usually slower reviewing months for me anyway because of the plethora of non-fiction books released at Christmas. It seems every man and their mother wants to buy memoirs, books about sport or cookbooks. None of which interest me at all.

    Instead I’ve continued watching inordinate amounts of streaming services so thought I’d offer up a run-down of what I’ve been watching.

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  • Book review: The Vacation by John Marrs

    Sunday, January 9, 2022 Permalink
    The Vacation by John Marrs

    The Vacation by John Marrs is a difficult book to write about. It’s certainly an addictive read as I was desperate to see how it ended – or more accurately – how our characters all fared.

    In some ways it’s a bit like a Woody Allen-esque movie featuring a series of vignettes with an array of characters, all with their own stories that come together in some unbelievably coincidental way at the end.

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    three-half-stars

  • What I’ve been watching

    Monday, September 27, 2021 Permalink
    what I've been watching

    I’ve not been doing as much reading this year. Instead I seem to have rediscovered my TV-watching mojo. Or rather, my TV streaming mojo.

    A long time ago – before Netflix and the like – I talked about how much I enjoyed binge-watching television series. I pondered if it was akin to an addiction. Back then it was via DVDs and I raced my way through Deadwood, Dead Like Me, The Sopranos and Entourage, but now of course we have a plethora of choices. I only pay for two services (Amazon Prime and Netflix) but have access to AppleTV+ after buying a new phone a few months ago. I’m also a huge fan of Australia’s ABCiView and SBSonDemand (despite its repetitive ads).

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  • Life lately – the August 2021 edition

    Monday, August 16, 2021 Permalink
    life lately

    I really wanted to write something today but am too lazy to think about anything too deeply. I had some genius ideas last night while I was unable to sleep, but they have either disappeared from my memory, require further pondering, or are things that I don’t really NEED to (over)share.

    So, welcome to ‘life lately’ – my semi-regular mind-dump, in which I write about random crap… which actually screws with my website (SEO) stats, though thankfully I seem to care little.

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  • Book review: Just Murdered by Katherine Kovacic

    Tuesday, August 3, 2021 Permalink
    Just Murdered by Katherine Kovacic

    I’ve written a number of times here about my love for Miss Phryne Fisher – 1920s icon, lady detective and adventuress. I wasn’t aware of the delightful character who’s (now) featured in over twenty Kerry Greenwood books before discovering her almost a decade ago via the ABCTV show, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

    It meant I was excited by the 2019 small screen arrival of Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, featuring Phryne’s niece Peregrine.

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    four-stars

  • Movie review: The Dry

    Saturday, December 19, 2020 Permalink
    the dry the movie

    The Dry, the movie based on the book by Jane Harper is officially being released in Australia on 1 January 2021. But my local cinema (and others I assume) is offering advance screenings so I decided to get in early.

    I didn’t ‘love’ The Dry as much as most people. I read a similar book that year which I preferred. Thankfully I’ve a mind like a sieve and read far too much so I was very murky on the details of the book. Which was good as I’d forgotten whodunnit.

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  • Life lessons from Palm Springs – the movie

    Sunday, December 6, 2020 Permalink

    I watched Palm Springs (the movie) a couple of days ago. I like Andy Samberg in his role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine but actually had little idea what the movie was about. I figured it to be some sort of rom-com. And it is… kinda. Except with a groundhog day theme activated by some weird phenomenon in a desert cave.

    But if you ignore the mystical element (required if you’re a logic-lover like me who needs to understand how and why) it’s a really enjoyable movie.

    I found however that I was struck by something more profound than I expected from a light romp.

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