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dansnaturepictures · 3 years

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My eighth wildlife and wildlife and photography highlights of 2020 blog-Our trip to Devon and Cornwall in August

Dipper, Chough, Manx Shearwater and more

You may recall that a permanent fixture in these highlights blogs every year has been our trips to Rutland Water to attend the British Birdwatching Fair. The organisers took a correct, timely and classy decision to cancel it this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would have not been possible to do safely this year given the nature, popularity and international scope of the event. I did miss going to Rutland it was my first summer since 2007 I didn’t go to Rutland or the wider East Midlands, but I enjoyed where I could getting involved and also donating to the virtual Bird Fair they held instead which by checking the schedules and watching talks and things I felt very much the same exciting vibes I got going to the Bird Fair every year since I was kid.

But I still had the Friday and Monday booked off work for when it would have been on. So as restrictions allowed us at that stage we booked to go to Devon for three nights to visit certain West Country wildlife rich and beautiful locations we knew. Something I felt very excited about I do love this area of the country what a bonus to get to go back after doing so last September going to Cornwall and this and last January in Gloucestershire my last trip away. It was nice to just stay somewhere else other than home for the first time in five months for me safely. On the way on the Friday in and out of sunshine we took in wonderful views of the countryside, most notably seeing the famous Stonehenge in Wiltshire a place I had seen before from the car but I had never managed or even really tried to photograph it so I did that that day I just managed to get my camera ready in time to take pictures of it through the car window including the first in this photoset a fun moment making me excited for my next West Country adventure it’s such a great staging post in any journey there.

When we arrived and settled into the lovely cottage we stayed in in a working farm environment, we ventured to three lovely lakes in a nice light evening they have here. It was such a beautiful walk, I took in brilliant views over this typical Devon countryside which I love. It was particularly a very nice night of flowers and insects a botanist’s dream a little bit, we saw so many wonderful flowers including late foxgloves in the rain, lovely rosebay willowherb, some striking orange and pink ones nice to see them with raindrops on and insects flying around. The orange ones I found out later on were montbretia. As we drove in on a day that had its fair share of rain it was comical to see little makeshift “rivers” flowing along the roads and lanes so it was nice to capture this in a photo too. During the walk it rained that night just a bit and the sun shone, I looked over the fields seeing the dark clouds behind and thought to myself that’s where the rainbow will go and I said that to my Mum and like happened earlier this year surely enough a rainbow did then appear right on that patch and it looked glorious I took the second picture in this photoset of it. A nice addition to my best ever year of rainbows fittingly given what they came to mean in 2020 and a beautiful start to the holiday I felt very relaxed that day especially compared to weeks that proceeded it. I also saw a couple of Wrens that night which was very nice as I felt in the heart of Devon countryside I really tasted that in a sense and embraced by it. A lovely moth a Yellow-barred Brindle came in that night showing good continuity from them coming in at home the weeks leading up to the trip away.

We started the Saturday away with a walk up the lane from where we’re staying, it started rainy and then got sunny, we enjoyed some stunning Devonshire views of lovely countryside which was a great start to the day alongside being very relaxed at being away and excited. On this walk like I did throughout the day I saw more rosebay willowherb. As the sun really came out I was delighted to see beautiful Swallows flying very close overhead and landing on the wire, a special moment with a great bird. A young Robin outside the cottage was very lovely to see and I saw and photographed one at Fingle Bridge later on that day which was memorable. I also saw nice butterflies Speckled Wood and Large White on this walk. I took third picture in this photoset of a view on this walk.

We then went to Fingle Bridge the main place we wanted to come this trip away to search for one of my favourite birds the Dipper. Here it was nice to see Grey Wagtail, Red Admiral, Large White and Southern Hawker as we took in stunning views of a beautiful habitat I love so much gushing water flowing over rocks through a valley in the woods a habitat I find very delicious. I also felt I went back in time and saw some Silver-washed Fritillaries strong butterflies for the habitat one who’s season had long since ended at home in Hampshire. Whilst in Hampshire as I said in my last highlights blog at this stage I was taking in lots of sights and signs of autumn there were only some with one tree in autumn colour here. The flower sightings the night before and that day showed the season in Devon was slightly behind and a little more how the year normally unfolds actually.

Our quest to see a Dipper at Fingle Bridge after walking around was beginning to look a bit fruitless, but I kept saying we must never give up and all we needed was a moment of magic to see one. Luck changes in seconds with these birds. We came across an angler who we spoke to at a safe social distance as we were eating one or two wild raspberries and he had some too and I had some blackberries further on. We asked if he’d seen a Dipper on his travels and he had as well as Kingfisher too the Dipper recently and he told us roughly how far along. It was a very pleasant chat. We walked on checking the river at all times and we saw a Dipper! Very likely the same one. That one moment had happened and I felt so happy. We got brilliant views of it on the rocks in the water and it was very interesting to see it flying as I had done before and see it swimming a bit which I never had before really in the flesh. I got my first photo of an adult Dipper since 2014 the fourth in this photoset, we had seen the bird we had come for as we had here in 2015 which meant it was mission accomplished and we could feel anything that happened on the trip now was a bonus and it was a relief to see this my 12th ever occasion of seeing a Dipper.

It was quite an emotional moment really. 2020 looked like a year we could possibly see a Dipper when we went to North Wales in June we had the right habitat and had locations where we looked for them there in 2016 but that was rightly postponed due to the virus at that stage. I then thought and even said I would not see a Dipper this year and I accepted that. But then the Bird Fair was also cancelled and we managed to sneak a staying-away trip in to this area we love so much and Dipper was the bird we’d come for and we’d managed it which I loved. It was very thrilling to see this bird. 10 years on in very similar habitat (My first ever Dipper was at Exmoor’s Watersmeet which Fingle Bridge is like a Dartmoor version of) from seeing my first Dipper I was reminded why they are one of my favourite birds and how much I love it. Interestingly during my last time off work for more than one day before this my hot week off of day trips in Hampshire and most notably surrounding counties to it in June, on the Friday I watched Julia Bradbury’s ‘Walks with a View’ programme I think repeated where she walked Lynmouth to Watersmeet as part of her walk that episode and saw Dippers which made me very nostalgic this before I knew we’d get to go to Devon so it just made me feel very nice that. Year list wise it was a very important milestone being my 170th bird of 2020. A worthy bird to be the milestone which made me very happy. Equally I didn’t know if I’d reach 170 birds this year it’s been a crazy and restrictive (for the best for us all of course) year a figure it always feels smashing and I am proud to reach I’ve only achieved it six times so I felt happy. I came away once again with a very good impression of Fingle Bridge what a fantastic place it is, the woods and river habitat I just love so much. There’s also lots of nice picnic areas it’s a typical National Trust place so it was nice to see lots of people safely enjoying time outside this August it gave me great holiday vibes.

We then moved into Meldon Reservoir. At Fingle Bridge I had some therapeutic moments listening to and watching the water gush over rocks and falls, and I had very much the same here but in a different more open setting perhaps. Here I simply took in some of the greatest views I’ve seen this trip and this year so far it was exceptional. Typical national park views within Dartmoor. I had never seen anything like it being at a reservoir and dam really and walking along it. It was a wonderful walk through breathtaking countryside. I took the fifth picture in this photoset from here I enjoyed taking pictures there so much. I even managed a dip in the river myself when it turned out the circular route we did meant we had to cross a tributary to the stream a lovely holiday moment for the weekend. I saw Dartmoor ponies here and some Jackdaws which was nice. Being at a dam was so good also as I have seen in my previous visits especially north/mid Devon ones we can learn a lot from the South West about how to use renewable energy and put it into the landscape a wind turbine was visible in the distance too. Its landscape features so good for this. I know there are other uses for the reservoir obviously. So I really saw that up close and personal it’s something that has interested me since school renewable energy use and obviously we should all be interested in so I found that great that day. This was a walk at Meldon reservoir that really allowed me to take in great views and absolutely tire myself out which is what it’s all about for me. That day I also set my record for photos produced in one day producing over 60 which I would emulate the next day and in my Norfolk and Bushy Park trips this year.

On the Sunday we did something that was a surprise idea and something we did not expect to at all this long weekend, and made the trek from where we’re staying near to Oakhampton, Devon to Cape Cornwall and Botallack in the vicinity of Land’s End in Cornwall two standout locations of our wild Cornish September 2019 holiday to see if we could see two star birds there that we did last year which I wouldn’t see anywhere else this year another of my favourites the Chough and a favourite bird B lister for me the Manx Shearwater. Since 2016 the beginning of my working life holidays particularly as well as all time off have increased in importance for me with long summer holidays and the like no longer something I can enjoy. And the lineups in each year since, particularly 2018 and 2019 although 2017 taking in locations we already know well was good too have been amazing with so many memorable trips away from home and smashing stuff happening in them wildlife and landscape dominated and mostly both. In my 2019 holidays particularly the last to Cornwall I really realised how content I was going away to different locations in my own country and doing what I love wildlife watching and photography. So places like these I took to my heart. When we left Cornwall, doing a second trip to Cape Cornwall mostly to walk the dogs before we left due to practicalities and because we loved it so much, I sort of thought I treasured these places so much and I wouldn’t see them again for another three or four years if I was lucky. I said to my Dad before coming away at the possibility of if we didn’t see a Dipper the day before which we did in the end at Fingle Bridge in Devon our main bird target, maybe crossing the Cornish border to go to Boscastle where we’ve seen them before a little bit into Cornwall that would feel strange in a good way returning to Cornwall so soon. But to actually be going to the places we were at last year right at the end of Cornwall, in this crazy rollercoaster of a year was something else.

The day started in a wild way as I saw and photographed a spider in the bath in the cottage we stayed in a similar one to one I got a memorable photo of in my en suite at home on the second May bank holiday Monday. After a nice journey there as the sun came out which felt like going to Anglesey when we stayed in Snowdonia in 2016 for scale of a big journey within time away, in which we saw lots of birds of prey like Buzzard, Kestrel and maybe a Peregrine, we got here and took in stunning views of the dramatic coast in the sun and peak purple heather everywhere and reacquainted ourselves with the beautiful place Cape Cornwall. We did the same with the wildlife, seeing scores of Gannets young and old, Fulmar, Shag, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, get intimate moments with Herring and Great Black Backed Gulls, see another Buzzard and also see a little moth and a cricket which was nice. I enjoyed nice flowers there that day too.

I also saw a decent few butterflies at Cape Cornwall in perhaps the hottest weather we had all trip. It was nice for it to be and feel so hot and sunny after a wet start in Devon for us that day. This included Small Tortoiseshell, some Common Blues and most notably a smashing view of a Wall Brown. I finally got to see one and really make out its features this year one I had had two occasions of quick and flighty and quite distant views of prior to this point in 2020. I very much enjoyed seeing this beautiful mostly coastal butterfly for us up close and I liked taking a picture of it with my big lens with its wings closed.

At this stage in the walk like the Dipper the day before we had not seen a Chough and we were rather making hard work of doing so. I joked we were chuffed to see a Dipper that day’s yesterday but were we going to dip (out) on Chough today (to those who don’t know, “dip out” is a birdwatching term to mean you have missed seeing the bird you are looking for). But I kept the same motto as the day before, we must stay positive and focused as it only took one moment for it to happen.

On the way back to the car at Cape Cornwall that day we got that moment. The one thing had concerned me compared to two visits here last September was we had not heard the distinctive call of this scarlet-billed crow at all which we had a lot here last year. The Chough is a bird you’ve really got to be hearing before you can even think about seeing one. As we walked up the hill I heard two finally, and turned around and there were two black birds flying from where the call was made. I got them in the binoculars but could not quite see their beaks properly. My Mum had just about seen the shape of them but not the red colour and thought Chough. I needed that little bit more convincing as similarly sounding Jackdaws were by the shore to the left of where we were looking moments before so could have easily rose up. They looked more right for Choughs though and we walked back in the direction of the lower reaches of the hill where we’d seen them last year. Here we managed to see them again sitting on the cliff and the pair flew frequently, but we saw their red beaks and were in no doubt now they were Choughs. We enjoyed a glorious few minutes with these precious birds we really did get so close to them, I felt very happy to see and hear them. Once again this weekend away patience had paid off. I took the sixth picture in this photoset of one of the Choughs at Cape Cornwall that day.

As bird 171 in my year it did make me happy and made my year list at that stage my third highest compared to what I had seen on this date in previous years behind 2018 and 2019 my two highest ever year lists. It also marked the first time I saw one as one of my favourite birds which was nice, I had always been fond of them throughout my birdwatching but last September after the holiday I added it to my list of favourites. There’s was only at that stage six of my current list of favourite birds I was yet to see as I mentioned in my favourite birds highlights post in this thread, six I know I have not visited any locations I could see them or are just very hard ones to see so I did very well for seeing them this year. We left Cape Cornwall once more feeling very satisfied indeed. I also enjoyed seeing more great rock samphire at Cape Cornwall that day alongside other nice flowers.

We then moved onto Botallack and had a lovely covid-secure takeaway cream tea to eat on benches I always say you have got to have a cream tea if you come to the West Country and between this and a Devonshire one waiting for us when we arrived at this cottage on the Friday we had a Devon and Cornwall one ultimately. It was amazing how the National Trust made it so safe to enjoy their facilities in terms of the pandemic I was impressed. At Botallack it started to cloud over as the weather forecast suggested but as the visit went on we saw quite a bit of the sun as well. It also looked very purple here perhaps compared to when we came last a few weeks later in the year last year into September thanks to the flowering heather. This meant three of favourite habitats were combined this weekend away, heather, coast and water flowing through a rocky valley in woods over steep gradients and three of my most beautiful places to be. It was more of the same bird wise at Botallack with Choughs delightfully seen again over the café’s area and over the sea, Jackdaws, Buzzard again showing well and a Raven seen sitting on the central chimney for a very long time which was great to see it’s always a great spot for different types of crows here. I took the seventh picture in this photoset of a nice heather and coastal view here today.

We were here mostly to try and sneak in seeing a Manx Shearwater as we did last year and my Mum and her partner has the last two years here, a bird we did not expect to see at all this year. We studied Gannets flying right to left across the sea as the day rolled on; we did wonder if we were too early to see a Manx Shearwater and we would have had more luck in September as we did all across this part of Cornwall las year. But we did just manage to see a few Manx Shearwaters flying over with the Gannets, making out their features. It was not my best ever views of this bird but it was good enough and meant I could tick them and enjoy seeing them a little. Whilst looking at the Buzzard and more Choughs it was a really nice atmosphere of arriving here and waiting until a point in early evening to see if we could see any quite magical really. The sea remained calm but perhaps the day got a little rougher and it was a weird sensation after weather at this stage after hot days being a bit cold this evening. I ended the day on 172 birds seen in 2020 something I reached in July the last two years so I am not too far behind really. I took some interesting photos of the views of the sea and cliffs through a makeshift window which stood out– a gap in the buildings of the distinctive old tin mine fixtures which define this area and make it quite charming.

I took the eighth picture in this photoset of a lowering sun behind trees visible from the cottage when we returned that evening. This ended two really packed full days away that weekend and I loved being away so much. A perfect substitution to being at the Bird Fair, what a way to spend a summer weekend it did feel so hot and summery that weekend with okay some rain in places and I felt very happy and relaxed. I saw some top-class wildlife birds especially but butterflies and flowers too alongside other things and took in some varied and breathtaking views. Meeting some great people at a safe social distance along the way! So many photos produced again possibly some of my highest amounts ever each day and so many top memories made little and big.

With these memories strongly in my mind as we prepared to return home on the Monday I took one last walk around the area the cottage was in that had three lovely lakes where we had walked on the Friday evening. Like that walk I enjoyed seeing flowers (Yellow dahlias different colour to the ones I enjoyed in our garden so much this year, foxgloves, rosebay willowherb and some other lovely orange summer flowers we saw all over the south west that weekend I believe montbretia), insects some horsefly type things and a common blue damselfly and a nice view of a Wren and Swallow before we left.

We had a bit of a disaster leaving when the roof box for our luggage on the car’s key section broke so it could not be locked. With the help and advice of some very kind people at the farm we stayed, the postman who happened to come by quite charming for a rural area and in the post office at Bridestowe a local village we managed to arrange a makeshift tie down of the box using some rope ties and some newspaper ties and parcel tape from the post office shop there. We had to be resourceful but this type of thing can be what holidays are all about in terms of memories. I took in some views of this picturesque village of Bridestowe and saw a Woodpigeon, Collated Dove, Jackdaws and House Martins whilst there. Quite an adventure.

What followed was effectively a safari through the beautiful Dartmoor National Park as it was one of those sunny and rainy days getting a fair amount of each. We took in the stunning and uniquely carved out landscape, I took pictures of it from the car and at a little stop. On the stop we saw some of the hardy Dartmoor ponies of different colours too which was great I took the ninth photo in this set of one I enjoyed this. We then arrived at a planned stopover point to have a little walk from before travelling home, Dartmeet on the banks of the dart where we’d come in 2015 another very nice river through woods habitat similar to Fingle Bridge where went on the Saturday. We walked one way through rain and sun taking in stunning views along the river and were happy to find Dart Valley nature reserve and we walked along there. I took the tenth and final picture in this photoset there.

After eating lunch in the car park area through sun and rain once more we walked the other way through a heath. More stunning views were on offer here and then the walk came alive for wildlife sightings. We saw a Sparrowhawk chasing a Swallow which noisily tried to see it off, when looking at it I noticed a lovely common lizard sat on a little rockface it gave a great view but I was not quite fast enough for a picture. I noticed loads more of the little things of nature on the walk like a lovely spider on a hard to see web that looked as though it was skating in the air to get from bit of heather to heather therefore. Bees and Beautiful Demoiselles as we had seen the other side of the river completed this. Perhaps the stage was stolen though by another of my favourite dragon and damselflies when a Golden-ringed Dragonfly flew along flying right at us and then along we got a cracking view of this. Then a Buzzard a star bird of our weekend flew over too. On the way home we drove past the beautiful Postbridge in Dartmoor in the lovely cottage we stayed in there was a homely picture of this hung up.

This made a pleasant end to the journey of this weekend away for us taking in some of the key habitat of this weekend that breathtaking river through woods over steep gradients in the land area and the Dartmoor landscape. What a fantastic weekend away we had, some of the best, most enjoyable and memorable times this summer and year for me for relaxing, walking, wildlife watching and photography. As I said we did and saw so much and I loved every minute of it well worth how excited I was for the weekend away it lived up to it well.

We had a fun moment on the way home still in Devon seeing some lovely Cattle Egrets in a field! A year tick on my birthday at WWT Slimbridge the last time we came to the West Country so this was very nice. In Dorset on the way home we went a different way to when we came we had a smashing view of some adorable Roe Deers on the roadside so the journey there and back had great points of interest.

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fallingfantom · 5 years

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on my block season fucking 2

okay so there's a LOT to say:

1) literally every character oozes dumbass bi bitch energy and i love it

2) highkey wished they touched on colourism more in the episode because its an important issue and julia can die. i do not give a single fuck about her

3) speaking of julia, HOW THE FUCK DID SHE THINK IT WAS OKAY TO CALL MONTY AN ABUSER??? HE'S THE SWEETEST AND DESERVES NOTHING BUT LOVE

4) jamal!!! my baby!!!! i love him so much and the others treating him like trash hurts my heart. all of season 1 they called rollerworld bullshit and basically said he was an idiot for trying to find the money but as soon as he does its suddenly "our money" like no bitch. the only other person that deserved a share was ruby's grandma because she actually helped and believed in him!!! and he's so funny??? like more of that rn please season 3 needs more jamal appreciation or i will sue.

me @ the group thinking they had a right to a share in the money

5) JASMINE!!!!!!! BABE!!!!! i loved getting to know more about her character and seeing aspects of her life and understanding her!!! everything about her this season was gold and i love her so much. she was highkey my second favourite character in season 1 (after jamal ofc) and that has not changed at all. that scene where monse said "your junk is on her junk" and jasmine being like "okay" made me go "she bi" and i stick with that. she has the BIGGEST bi energy out of all of them. she's funny and adorable and so in love with herself (which she has every right to be) and i stan a queen

6) all of ruby's scenes??? they made me cry?? the way they dealt with his trauma and ptsd was so good and important and its something shows do not touch on and its good to see representation for shit that happens to people. and also, he can fucking rap!!! that was such a great scene!!!! and the present he got for olivia??? iconic. we stan a shady king. also, the way they opened the first episode with ruby lying on a white sheet, in a suit and closed eyes made my heart STOP. i really thought he was dead for a good minute there and i was ready to cry.

7) spooky!!! the way he looked out for ruby was so sweet??? i love him?? could've treated cesar better at the start of the season though. his interactions with mario were great and i need to see their relationship explored a lot more in the next season. he's also one of the main characters that has dumbass bi bitch energy and it needs to be mentioned

8) mario!!!! he's so sweet!!! the scene with him and ruby in bed was so emotional and yet still funny and i love him. and he was so ready to be a good father to the baby and ahhhh. i have so many feelings about him. also another character that straight (hah) up exerts dumbass bi bitch energy

9) mario and spooky could both get it.

(i don't have any gifs of mario but still)

10) mario and spooky highkey like each other. like that scene at the grocery store??? gay adoration from both sides.

11) monse and cesar were both messes and highkey annoyed the shit out of me this season but they're young so i understand that they're obviously gonna make dumbass decisions so i still support and love them both

12) the ending!!!!!! it fucking killed me!!! what is it with on my block and ending seasons on cliffhangers???? @netflix better renew it for season 3 or i am suing!!!!

there's a lot more to say but this is already long enough so enjoy i guess :)

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douxreviews · 5 years

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The Magicians - ‘A Flock of Lost Birds’ Review

“The moment that I found out magic was real that was the moment that I discovered who I am.”

Once again, The Magicians resets their entire show for the season premiere. Most of the questers don’t know who they are, what danger they’re in, or even that magic exists. But the show still gets to have fun with identity crises, kittens (who don’t even explode!), and Santa Claus.

The majority of the questers spend the episode trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Kady/Sam Kunningham really moves things along using her detective skills. Surprisingly, by the end of the episode four out of the six amnesic questers know magic exists and are in a position for someone or something to force them to figure stuff out (Marina 23 or Margo-ruled Fillory).

Quickly and realistically the show pushes the questers to start figuring things out while also introducing us to their false identities. Penny/Hansel the chill DJ who may or may not have hooked-up with Taylor Swift. Josh/Isaac the anxious Uber driver with bad breath. Kady/Sam the tough, expert detective. And Margo/Janet, who kind of just acts like how Margo probably would if she knew nothing about magic. They all seem fun to hang around with for a little while, but I’m definitely eager to have our magicians back.

Elsewhere, we see our Julia finally get to go to Brakebills! Except it isn’t really our Julia, it’s Kimber D’Antoni. And everyone thinks she’s a squib including Julia/Kim herself because she can’t do any actual magic. Fogg let her into Brakebills because he feels guilty about what happened to her when he turned her away the last time. And really he should. He spent all first season telling his students how dangerous magic could be if unregulated, while knowingly casting one student out, hoping that would save them all. So now he’s using this version of Julia to make up for what he did, which as part of the elaborate mental gymnastics he’s doing to try to rid himself of his guilt and responsibility for the dangerous situation he left all the questers in; like telling the head librarian he’s doing his best to protect them so if he fails it will be her fault. The problem is, even if he makes different choices with this Julia and uses protection charms on all the other questers, he still made those choices in the past and the consequences for those choices will still stand.

In the library, Alice and the head librarian also try to rid themselves of their own guilt. Alice refuses to let herself off the hook so easily, but Santa Claus (!) tells her she’s good. Because she was good as a child despite being smart and even though he hurt others it doesn’t mean she should hurt as well. This raises some more interesting questions about identity and responsibility. Is a person always good or bad? Or do your actions and experiences change your identity? And should she hurt because she hurt others? Alice seems to agree with Santa Claus and uses his encouragement as motivation to escape. Through a cockroach? Maybe? I don’t know.

The head librarian, maybe feeling guilty after what happened with Alice and the others and with her daughter Harriet, tries to have a nice moment with Alice. She tells her not to kill herself again (sound advice) and that she hopes she’ll join the library to enhance her magician skills. Once again, the librarian asks people only to grow the way she sees fit. Harriet needed to stay with the library, Alice can only have semi-freedom if she joins the library, and now she’s regulating all of magic, doling it out based on who she deems worthy and who doesn’t piss the library off.

Finally, we get to spend a few minutes with Quentin/Brian and the monster. The monster’s super murder-happy. He killed a waiter off-screen, kills an ice cream man for giving him jimmies instead of sprinkles (not realizing they’re the same thing), and he plans to kill all of Quentin’s friends. And he does all this with a childlike splendor. We’ve seen so many people try to kill our magicians before, and even though they don’t know who they are yet, they’re all (minus Julia/Kim) well on their way to figuring that out. But the way the monster kills almost on a whim is just terrifying. Hale Appleman does a great job showcasing that creepiness in the few minutes he’s on screen this episode. I can’t imagine the creepiness to come.

Bits and Pieces

-- The Magicians is already renewed for season five!!!

-- I loved all the Ember-plus-kittens-warning-alarm dreams. Ember-plus-kittens should show up in every episode. I’d settle for just kittens. Just kittens who don’t explode.

-- The name Sam Cunningham does sound like it belongs in a comic book.

-- Margo/Janet’s still sporting the eye-patch because of the wonky colors she sees with her fairy eye.

-- The librarians imprisoned Santa; they must be evil! Except, Santa also watches kids while they sleep and gives them unsolicited gifts. Maybe he should be imprisoned…

Dream Ember on undead uprisings: “Not sure they'd be able to do much, the dead. They're sort of feeble and rotting. It just struck me as creepy and I’d rather you put a stop to it.”

Margo/Janet: “My boobs look insane in this drawing. A man wrote this, correct?”

Three out of four crazy witness protection spells.

Ariel Williams

#The Magicians #Quentin Coldwater #Julia Wicker #Eliot Waugh #Margo Hanson #Alice Quinn #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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newagesispage · 5 years

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FEBRUARY 2019

PAGE RIB

***** I am over the moon at the suggestion of a biopic of Dave Letterman starring Michael Shannon. Will somebody think about really putting this into production??? Please??

***** Criminal Minds will wrap it up after this next and 15th season. The season 14 finale on Feb.6 will have Rossi’s wedding. They will spend the last season chasing after ‘a worthy adversary’ rumored to be played by Harold Perrineau as they jump ahead in time.

***** I am so touched by shows like Grace and Frankie and Schitt’s Creek that look right past the usually discussed issues for interracial and same sex couples . Gee, just think, it’s like we are all the same.

***** If you haven’t seen Michael Bennet and his senate floor speech about Ted Cruz, government shutdowns and Trump, run to C-span and catch it. These things make me proud to be in a DEMOCRACY!

***** Can this be true?? The constitution of Texas states that one can’t hold public office unless they believe in a supreme being??

***** Julian Castro is running for President.

***** Kamala Harris is running for President.

***** Cory Booker is running for President.

***** HGTV is apparently working on a huge publicity stunt and ratings grabber. They have purchased the home whose exterior was used in the Brady Bunch. A show will reunite the cast, bring in some famous fane and remodel the inside to look like the Brady set. At the end they may give the house away.

***** Michael Shannon and Audra McDonald will team up to revive Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune on Broadway.

***** Rashida Jones and Bill Murray will star in Sofia Coppola’s’ On the Rocks.’

***** Why isn’t extreme ironing a bigger sport by now??** And can we make Petanque a bigger thing while we’re at it?

***** Craig Ferguson is selling his LA compound.

***** China has landed on the far side of the moon!!!

***** NASA’s New Horizons has went further than anyone has gone before for our first image of Ultima Thule.

***** Kentucky has introduced a bill to ban abortion in the state.

***** Told to a reporter: “It’s your job to speak truthfully and precisely, not mine.” –Kellyanne Conway** The new book, Team of Vipers, suggests that The Conways are working in concert. It is thought that she is valuable to Trump because she has no qualms about saying anything.

***** Super bowl LIII will host Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi. They will have no pre- concert interview. It is said that many artists turned down the gig because of the controversy. Maroon 5 has gotten some shit for performing but they caution us to just watch.** Roger Waters has asked Maroon 5 to take a knee during the show.

***** Natasha Lyonne is getting raves for her new show, Russian Doll.

***** Tom Sizemore was arrested for drug possession.

***** 6 NFL coaches were fired in one week!!!

***** Pentagon chief of staff, rear admiral Kevin Sweeney is out.

***** Rod Rosenstein is on the way out.

***** Jaymo’s, a Peoria company is suing Wendy’s over the use of their S’Awesome sauce.

***** We should enact the stop the stupidity act.

***** Why does it seem every other show on the air is sort of an entire season of a Twilight Zone episode?

***** There are more people in the Kremlin than in Washington who know what Trump said to Putin. – Tom Nichols

***** Members of congress can retire at full pay after 1 term. Children of congress members don’t have to pay back student loans. Is that true?? Can this be right??

***** Dupont is laying off workers.

***** Check out love your brain.com.

***** The Golden Globes were held and were hosted by Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh. My best dressed was Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Moss. Danai Gurira, Julia Roberts, Carol Burnett, Emily Blunt, Lupita Nyong’o, Patricia Clarkson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jameela Jamil, Rosamund Pike, Jim Carrey, Alison Brie, Gemma Chan and Bradley Cooper. Worst dressed goes to Rachel Weisz, Julianne Moore, Layra Dern, Anne Hathaway, Maya Rudolph, Rami Mlek, Molly Sims and Heidi Klum. I was so happy for winners like The Americans (highlight of the evening!!!), Regina King, Lady Gaga, Mahershala Ali, Patricia Clarkson, Darren Criss, Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek, Olivia Colman and Green Book. The Cecil B. DeMille award went to Jeff Bridges. The new Carol Burnett award started off with Carol herself. I was saddened that Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Kieran Culkin, Keri Russell and Sacha Baron Cohen went home empty handed. The Fiji water girl got most of the press and gave much free advertising to her product. Some of the stars did not like her getting in their shots to push a product without their knowledge, both a clever and sad state of affairs.

***** The Kominsky Method will be back for season 2.

***** The Sag awards had their big night and gave the lifetime achievement to Alan Alda. Winners included Emily Blunt, Darren Criss, Black Panther, Rami Malek and Glenn Close. I was especially thrilled with some love goingto Jason Bateman and Patricia Arquette. Best dressed were Amy Adams, Yara Shahidi, Brian Tyree Henry, Sydelle Noel, Eddie Griffin, Holly Taylor, Sofia Hubitz, Emma Stone, Emily Blunt, Darren Criss, Laverne Cox, Timothee Chalamet, Robin Wright, Lily Tomlin, Chadwick Boseman, Matthew Rhys, Keri Russell, and Catherine Zeta Jones. The WTF award goes to Alison Brie.

***** The Oscar race is on. Best picture could go to Blank Panther, Blackkklansman, Roma, The Favourite, Green Book, Vice, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is born. Black Panther also got some love for music and costume design. Fingers crossed for Isle of Dogs in the animated category. Actor nods had a few surprises. Willem Dafoe and Rami Malek , Lady Gaga and Melissa McCarthy are up for leads and supporting mentions are for Mahershala Ali, Regina King, Adam Driver and Sam Elliott. I am so hopeful for Spike Lee and I want to hear that speech.

***** If you haven’t seen Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, you gotta check it out. He and Sarah Silverman should go on a tour of teaching acceptance for their fellow man.

***** So.. Fox news said that Ruth Bader Ginsberg was dead??

***** In sexual harassment news: Harvey Weinstein is hiring new lawyers.** Les Moonves is seeking arbitration with CBS.

***** Cher has sold her Beverly Hills cottage.

***** Cindy Crawford and Randy Gerber’s daughter, Presley was arrested for DUI.

***** CBS news has named its first female President, Susan Zirinsky.

***** What is happening to the butterflies?

***** Illinois has refused a concert permit to R Kelly and Sony has dropped him. The pressure is finally starting to pay off??

***** Get ready for biopics about Harriet Tubman, Elton John and Ted Bundy.

***** NY mayor Bill De Blasio has given healthcare to every resident of NY city.

***** 25% of Russians do not have indoor toilets. Putin and his buddies have about $1trillion tucked away from London to Miami.

***** Days alert: I wonder if Leo’s real name ‘Matthew Cooper’ is a nod to out actor Chad Allen from Dr. Quinn??!! It is also fun to see Judith Chapman take on the role of Leo’s Mama, Diana. The pair played Mother and son previously on The Young and the Restless. Is she really Diana Colville from John’s past??** So Stefan has been played by Tyler Christopher who asked for some time off and a sub was put in place who will take over in March. Since Christopher left, he has since decided that he will leave permanently so things are up in the air. Will Stefan and Gabi hook up? Days has been renewed for season 55. HOORAY!!!! Ratings are up 4%. **Loved the line when Chloe told Rex he should wear a cup. **Leo and Xander’s playful “lust” was so sassy!!

***** Happy Valentine’s Day!

***** Steve Buscemi will play God on tv’s Miracle Workers.

***** So, the new Conan format has ups and downs. I miss the band and the desk but I am Loving the fade in and fade out at commercials. I have always hated the, “We’ll be right back “ nonsense. I was sad to lose a half hour at first but Conan and Andy do seem refreshed.

***** Still waiting for the release of Apple Seed which is written, directed and starring Michael Worth. It is one of the final films of Rance Howard who stars with his son, Clint, Adrienne Barbeau and the other Father and son team of Robby and Zephyr Benson.

***** The January Bob Segar concert in Illinois at the Peoria Civic Center is the top selling concert ever at this venue. Old rock acts take note.

***** Bob Costas is out at NBC after 40 years.

***** Trial and Error has been cancelled. BOO!!!

***** Steve Carell will star in Space Force which he is co-creating with The Office showrunner Greg Daniels.

***** Despite some people I admire that are giving Alexandria Ocasio Cortez a talking to like she’s a child, I say ‘Give ‘em Hell!’ She could well be President so fight girl!!

***** Word is that Karen Pence is now teaching at the Immanuel School in Virginia. The school refuses admission to students who participate in or condone homosexual activity. The application for the school states that misconduct includes heterosexual activity outside of marriage, homosexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity and use of pornographic websites. The application goes on to state that ‘a wife must submit to her husband’ and a pledge must be signed to that effect.

***** There is controversy over the bill to give people a day off for Election Day. Many people will still have to work, the country never completely shuts down. How many fucking times do I have to say it: VOTE BY MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!

***** So, Scary clown told us Mexico would pay for ‘the wall’. During the campaign he gave actual ideas for that like Mexico giving us a one time payout or else he would not allow Mexican immigrants to western union money back to Mexico. Another idea was that there would be a great ta on that Western union money. It does not seem like they tried any of that and just decided we would pay for the stupid ‘wall.’ How about the money he makes off Trump merch which his website and hotels still sell to pay for it?? How about the $35 million that Trump sold in real estate in 2018? The ‘Wall’ go fund me did not reach its $1billion goal so the $20 million they did collect is being offered for refunds. Some of those people still want that money to go for its purpose so Trump is creating a non- profit. Can’t we use that money to help the border patrol agents and get the backlog in immigration court moving?? That we are still talking about this ridiculous wall and that it had a go fund me page is enough to boggle the normal brain.** I think Kimmel said it best when he suggested that Trump just tell the red hats that the wall has been built. They believe everything he says so why wouldn’t they believe that?? It would save the country a lot of headaches. ** What the Hell is with his new “wheels and walls” mantra??** Russia caused Brexit too? Putin is a menace.** Another sink hole appeared the White House. WTF?

***** The congressional budget office says the shut down cost the U.S. 11 billion

***** Trump is talking to Herman Cain about a job on the Federal Reserve Board.

***** The GOP is selling fake bricks that cost about 50 cents for $20 each to send to Senate Dems. Some have said that the Dems should sign them and sell them and give the money to government workers. ** Why are Russian jets fucking around on the North American coastline??

***** Roger Stone has been indicted on 5 counts of false statements, 1 count of obstruction and 1 count of witness tampering. The FBI officers who arrested him were part of the shut down and they still did their job!! He publically and privately claimed to have communicated with Russia. Predictions are that many more indictments are coming down the pike that involve many familiar faces.** Roger Stone has a Nixon tattoo on his back. I feel sorry for his cell mate.-Bill Maher

***** Bill Maher got some flak for comments after Stan Lee died. He wasn’t slamming Lee, but wondered about comic book fans putting away childish things. I suppose that could include weed but point taken.

***** Jared Kushner along with 30 other White House staff was denied top secret clearance but Trump advisor Carl Kline overruled that decision and gave it to them anyway. This has never been done before, this is a job for intelligent agencies.

***** Empire star Jussie Smollett was attacked in Chicago in what cops are saying was a possible hate crime. The attackers were yelling that this was MAGA country, poured bleach on him and put a rope around his neck. The actor was previously sent a letter full of homophobic and racist slurs which he FBI had been looking into.

***** Ellen page gave us some memorable, powerful words to chew on with her appearance on Stephen Colbert. I am sure she gave courage to many who suffer because of our hate filled administration.

***** Gwyneth Paltrow is being sued from a 2016 ski incident for 3 mil.

***** I gain more and more respect for Seth Meyers. I did not really understand the choice of him as host in the beginning. His notice of local stations, choice of guests and revolving drummers makes for a great show.

***** A Dutch company may have invented a small device that converts heat into cold and Forbes is saying, ‘it could save the planet.’

***** So looking forward to Ryan Murphy’s The Politician which will star Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow and January Jones.

***** I know that is has happened little by little and we go thru times in our history when things get worse and then things get better but… When did this country get so fucking corrupt?? I mean seriously.. Why is Brendan Dassey still in prison and why is there no real justice for Teresa Halbach? ** Why is Trump still in the White House?**Why are government workers being told to work for nothing?? Why is R Kelly still living it up?? Why are some states going backward in time when it comes to women’s health?? Why do many corporations care more about their own pockets than the children of their employees or the environment around them??** Why does our justice system so often punish big for small infractions and allow the powerful to do anything they want?? **Why is a wall a better idea than infrastructure or warm beds for the homeless or food for our children and why are so many children in cages??

***** How can it be that we are still in a world where people are not allowed to reach their full potential?? Why do so many selfish humans actually fight to live in a world where they actively hold others back? Shouldn’t we all be concerned about the greater good? We should all be allowed to see a Doctor when we are ill. We should all be able to excel in education if we choose .We should all be able to get a job to fit our skills and work ethic. Opportunities and the pursuit of happiness should be available to all. Why is this so fucking hard for so many to grasp in this world? Imagine!

***** Sundance premiered the new flick, Big time adolescence with Griffin Gluck and Pete Davidson. Pete has since made no bones about filming in Syracuse. He hated it.

***** Jeff Flake will join CBS news as a contributor.

***** Tom Brokaw is in a bit of trouble for saying Hispanics should work harder at assimilation.

***** The Tom Hanks/ Matthew Rhys film, A beautiful day in the neighborhood has pushed back its release date to Nov. 22.

***** People are illogical and self- centered. Love them anyway. -Hedy Lemarr

*****R.I.P. Bob Einstein, Millie Wiesehan, victims of the Torrance. Ca. bowling alley shooting, Captain Darryl Dragon, Jo Andres, Lamin Sanneh, Carol Channing, Sandra Harmon, Bradley Bolke, the victims of Mediterranean shipwreck, Lorna Doom, victims of the Florida bank shooting, Kaye Ballard, Willie York , Barbara Claman , victims of the mining dam collapse in Brazil and James Frawley.

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briangroth27 · 6 years

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The Get Down Part 2 Review

I enjoyed the second part of Netflix’s The Get Down and I’m sorry it ended up being the last. This show was exciting, engaging, and completely outside what I normally watch—I’ve never been a big fan of the 70s, disco, or hip-hop—but I loved it and found a new appreciation for all three. I’ll definitely miss these characters and this aesthetic, but I’m glad they found a way to wrap things up in a (mostly) satisfying way. Unlike other reviews I’ve read, I didn’t have a problem with the release structure of this season. Dividing it into “Parts 1 and 2” didn’t throw me at all, first because it’s just branding and second because I always felt Part 1 had a solid beginning, middle, and end. It also had a cliffhanger to leave you wanting more, just like any other show’s season finale. With the new cartoon sequences and the time jump, Part 2 feels so different stylistically that if they had been released together, it would’ve felt jarring and weird.

Full spoilers...

After The Get Down Brothers’ victory at the end of Part 1, they’re reveling in their success while trying to build dream lives for themselves. Zeke’s (Justice Smith) struggle to identify himself in light of his (and everyone else’s) dual lives through his Yale application letter was a perfect encapsulation of this, while also serving as a nice reminder of what happened in Part 1. That duality was a great build off of Zeke giving a speech promoting Ed Koch (Frank Wood), but then immediately running off to perform for the very people Koch was against. The pull between Zeke’s future at Yale/his internship with Mr. Gunns (Michael Gill) and his future as a musical superstar formed a strong backbone to Part 2, and I imagine the looming choice between disappointment now with a good future promised by Yale/Gunns and a dream life granted by music in the present that might have no future is one a lot of people can empathize with. My circumstances aren’t anywhere near as dire as Zeke’s, but I certainly struggle with working towards my dream career or giving up and settling for a routine 9-to-5 job that has financial stability. I think the show did justice to this struggle, but it could’ve been a bit more fleshed out (though Part 2’s shortened episode order may’ve truncated that arc). Zeke’s clear discomfort with navigating the casual racism at the Yale club but still wanting to keep his hopes of college alive despite Shaolin (Shameik Moore) showing up—and then choosing Shao when things got way out of hand—was great to watch. I liked that Zeke stood up for Shao and didn’t rat him out to Gunns, even though it meant giving up his shot at Yale and the internship. That defense made their final split at the end of Part 2 even more heartbreaking, when Zeke discovered Shao had allowed Boo-Boo (Tremaine Brown, Jr.) to sell drugs. It was smart to make their connection to the drugs Shao was pushing not just a way to get rich, like Boo-Boo was trying to do, but a situation that could actually get Shao killed if he stopped, which made it much more complex than Zeke—whose quitting over this felt totally right—wanted to see. Zeke and Shao’s final fight felt perfect and tragic (and was perfectly acted by Smith and Moore), and Zeke scoffing at Shao’s real name when the “kung fu superhero” blinders were finally off was excellent. I feel like Zeke fully understood that even though he’d been best friends with this guy, Shao wasn’t going to stop dragging him into his world (whether it was Shao’s choice to do so or not) and Zeke couldn’t save him, so he had to save himself by cutting Curtis out. I really liked the reversal of the end of Part 1 that the destruction of The Get Down Brothers created: there, he chose rap over the system, but here he bails on his music to go back to Yale.

It would’ve been interesting to expose Zeke to the punk rock scene after Gunns’ daughter Claudia (Julia Garner) discussed it with him. I get him not wanting to explore it after they kissed since it was so closely tied to her, but it would’ve been a neat to at least get his thoughts on it. If the series had more time, rock’s war with disco could’ve made for a good obstacle for Mylene’s (Herizen F. Guardiola) career as well and the musical divide between Claudia’s interests and Mylene’s career would’ve made them direct rivals in an interesting way. That said, I’m glad Zeke came clean about his kiss with Claudia to Mylene instead of trying to hide it for an extended period of time, which helped to defuse the potentially explosive drama it might’ve otherwise caused. Their fight over her saying she was single on TV felt a little too well-worn: it would’ve been more original to subvert expectations and have Zeke understand the demands of public images himself, since he’s somewhat famous too. Regardless of that cliché plot point, the show definitely had me rooting for Zeke and Mylene, even knowing that something tragic was racing at them. Smith and Guardiola had great chemistry and totally sold their romance in both their happy and harder times. Zeke talking Mylene down from Misty Holloway’s (Renée Elise Goldsberry) excellent “Backstabbers” attack was one of those great moments between the two of them. I also loved the knowing goodbye she gave him when she told him she was leaving at the end of the season; that she didn’t repeat “forever” when she said she loves him was heartbreaking. However, the renewed hope that fills Zeke while doing his poetry in his impromptu studio session—the beginning of his recording career, no doubt—was the perfect reaction to his heartbreak. In the end, it was just him and his rhymes, and that’s not only supremely fitting, but a nice segue to the flash-forwards of adult Zeke (Naz) rapping alone on stage. Zeke’s poetry with his future self was very well done (and extremely well-acted) and makes me tear up every time I watch it, while overlaying it with Mylene’s “See You on the Other Side” was a very cool mirror of the Get Down Brothers sampling “Set Me Free” for their battle at the end of Part 1. Reuniting Zeke and Mylene at the very end was extremely fulfilling—I’m choosing to believe that silhouetted trio was the actual Soul Madonnas, not just a tribute—and gave their romance something of a happy ending. Even if that isn’t them, or if it’s not supposed to imply Zeke and Mylene finally got back together, I think he was still waiting for her—and maybe only for her—just like Francisco (Jimmy Smits) waited for Lydia (Zabryna Guevara). No matter what, Zeke and Mylene will always be connected by their music.

Mylene’s journey away from gospel music and into a more sex-laden atmosphere worked really well as a parallel for her growing up and moving beyond the confines of her religious upbringing, even with as blatant as her father (Giancarlo Esposito) being a literal preacher was. I did appreciate and enjoy Mylene finally getting out of that situation with her dad before he died, though, and Guardiola was great at portraying Mylene’s attempts to break free as well as her confidence when it came to taking hold of her group’s future. I also liked the internal drama within the Soul Madonnas that was stirred up by Yolanda’s (Stefanee Marin) concerns about them becoming too sexy, but I thought it should’ve lasted longer. As I’ve seen pointed out elsewhere, her return to the group an episode after ratting out the plans for their sexy show was jarring. I felt like that was a major missed opportunity for Mylene to step up as leader to work out a solution all three of them felt comfortable with while also digging into Yolanda and Regina’s (Shyrley Rodriguez) perspectives more. Personality-wise, Mylene was already a good balance between Yolanda and the more fun-loving, assertive Regina, and it would’ve been great to see her become the balance within the group as well. Seeing her step into a leadership role within the Soul Madonnas would’ve not only given her a new struggle (one that paralleled Zeke and Shao’s fight for the future of the Get Down Brothers, now that I think of it), but would’ve better built her arc towards taking control of her career from Roy (Eric Bogosian). Had Mylene gotten the chance to show him and us that she could handle internal dissension and be a strong voice within the group through the Yolanda incident, it probably would’ve sold Roy agreeing to her terms a bit more. Standing up to him and threatening to walk out of her contract—and Roy caving—may have been unrealistic, as others have noted, but I still liked that she got that moment. Given the necessarily rushed nature of the season, Roy having the sense to keep his talent happy was an emotional win I can get behind, even if it doesn’t make business or real-life sense.

The other thing I would’ve liked to see in regard to Mylene is where she sees her music going. “See You on the Other Side” implies she won’t fully transition to the full-on sexy thing, but is she content to only do ballads? We know she greatly admired Misty Holloway (at least until Ruby Con), so did she want to be the next Misty or something original? Where does her artistic instinct take her, and what kind of music does she want to be making? Would she have considered pioneering a new style? Would she have tried to dabble in punk rock as that started to challenge disco (and rock ultimately defeated it)? That would’ve been a cool way to pit Mylene’s style against Zeke’s (and Cadillac’s (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II)) in a potential Part 3, give her an entirely different sort of challenge as she tries to adapt to that style, and create an entirely unexpected way to wrap Claudia back into the storyline; maybe she could’ve inspired Mylene to try out what’s out there, since early punk rock was inclusive of women. Of course, those all feel like Part 3 developments. In Part 2, I still would’ve liked to see more of her opinion of what her music should be.

I liked that Mylene and Shao fighting over Zeke’s future gave a much more personal stake to the hip-hop vs. Wall Street nature of Zeke’s two potential paths. That the two of them were the most important figures in Zeke’s life and were fighting over him gave that triangle an interesting aspect that could’ve been fleshed out more, but I liked what we got. I could easily buy that Mylene’s barb about Shaolin being romantically interested in Zeke was more than just an offhand insult. So many characters commented on his and Zeke’s friendship as something more than platonic, like everyone was seeing something he didn’t see (or didn’t want to admit) himself, that I think the writers were definitely hinting that he’s gay or bi. Even Fat Annie (Lillias White) gives a knowing smile when Shao says Zeke isn’t his boyfriend. Shao also immediately understood what was going on between Dizzee (Jaden Smith) and Thor (Noah Le Gros), even though when he “caught them” they weren’t doing anything remotely sexual, which to me implies he's been there, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Though their friendship was real and he definitely depended on Zeke to provide lyrics to his music, so of course he wouldn’t want to see Zeke head off to Wall Street, I think Shao really might’ve loved him. Perhaps the superhero ninja persona he crafted wasn’t just to cover up the fact that he had no one, but to hide his true identity as well. After all, the only person he really lets his walls down for and tells his “secret identity” to is Zeke. Of course, you can share your deepest truths with your best friend just as easily as with the person you love without it meaning you love your best friend too, but in this era it seems telling that Shao’s ultra-masculine alter-ego only comes down for Zeke in a desperate effort to make him stay.

It’s sad that Shao didn’t ever seem to have had anyone and needed Zeke a whole lot more than Zeke needed him. That made their split all the more heartbreaking. The push and pull over who was actually leading the Get Down Brothers—Zeke or Shaolin—worked well to build their growing conflict to the breaking point. Once they were there, I thought it was a beautiful and heart-rending note to have Shao resort to a Fat Annie movie when Zeke tried to walk away from him. Speaking of Fat Annie, Shaolin falling into dealing angel dust was disappointing given how strongly he’d only cared about being a DJ in Part 1. It’s tragic that moving it for Cadillac was the only way to keep his music going, particularly as it directly led to the end of his DJ career. It’s even more tragic that Shao ended up staying with Annie to protect the rest of The Get Down Brothers after getting even Cadillac out of her grasp. As sad as that is (and Moore sold Shao’s defeat perfectly), it felt like an earned end for him and satisfyingly explained why Fat Annie would let Zeke and the others get away. I wish we were getting a Part 3 to show him escape her grasp.

Adding Dizzee as a secondary narrator was an interesting choice, but it would’ve worked better if the show had honestly and more deeply explored his secret life. That would’ve justified and smoothed over the feeling I got that he was so unconnected from the main plot this season. Aside from Dizzee getting yelled at by his parents (Karen Aldridge, Ron Cephas Jones) alongside his brothers, Get Down Brothers gigs, and accidentally taking the tainted angel dust, it felt like he was existing in a slightly different show that didn’t really reconnect with the rest of the plotlines. As I’ve seen pointed out elsewhere, Part 1 had him doing his own thing too, but still made his connection to the rest of the plot a lot cleaner and more important when he introduced “Set Me Free” to the real tastemakers of New York and made it a hit. Here, even when he collided with the subplots of other characters, like taking the supposedly very dangerous tainted angel dust, he just got a little sick for a minute (which was weird in and of itself) and then continued doing his own thing. That said, his narration and the cartoon segments played into not only the heightened reality of Part 1, but the comics and 70s cartoons the guys would’ve been into as well. I like the interpretation I’ve seen elsewhere that (most of) the cartoon sequences are idealized versions of what the characters were experiencing, like the animated scene that follows their victory at the unity concert where all their comic book alter egos are reveling in their success before the real world comes crashing down around them and their dreams. That was probably the most successful use of the cartoons. On the other hand, there were some animated sequences that were literally just a character arriving at/leaving a building, which felt awkward and pointless. There didn’t seem to be any thematic reasoning for those moments to be animated and the transitions between real and cartoon characters were awkward and disruptive when used that way.

The biggest disappointment about Dizzee’s arc this season was how shy the show was about his burgeoning sexuality. I expected much more to Dizzee coming to terms with being either bi or gay and they literally didn’t even dare speak that love’s name, which was a bizarre choice for a season that also featured Ruby Con and numerous drag queens. It was weird that Dizzee and Thor weren’t able to ever kiss, even when they were painting each other. Dizzee inferring that Boo-Boo wouldn’t ever understand what he was going through was perfectly tragic (and it was a very well-acted scene by both of them), but I wish we’d gotten to see him take a chance and tell his little brother the truth. It would’ve opened Dizzee’s arc to the rest of the characters and Boo-Boo (and the rest of them) trying to deal with it could’ve been a solid dramatic arc. At the very least, a scene with Shao giving Dizzee some comforting words (whether Shao is into guys too or not) would’ve been great. Since Dizzee didn’t tell anyone, feeling (and animating himself) as an alien made a lot of sense and worked, and Jaden Smith conveyed the pain of knowing he couldn’t share his secret very well. I thought for sure this Part would do an AIDS storyline given the time period and the impact it had on the gay community and that would’ve been a powerful, important story to tell. I’m not sure I could’ve handled that level of heartbreak given everything else that went down in the finale, but I did go into Part 2 expecting tragedy heading for Dizzee and Thor. However, what the show gave us instead felt pointless and needlessly mean. My impression was absolutely that Dizzee got hit by the train and that was not a satisfying conclusion to his story at all. Not only did they not let him kiss the guy he was in love with, but half the gay couple gets killed? Come on. The two of them never fit into flamboyant stereotypes about gay guys, but “bury your gays” is an even worse cliché. It felt like a cheap shock that didn’t need to happen. I don’t think the series would’ve had any less of an impact had they just been happy together and it didn’t gain anything by (maybe) killing Dizzee.

Comparatively, Boo-Boo and Ra-Ra (Skylan Brooks) didn’t get much to do this season, and that’s a shame. Boo-Boo’s stint in the drug trade was certainly unexpected and it was disappointing to watch him get wrapped up in that lifestyle, even if all three Kipling brothers’ reaction to their parents grounding them for the drugs they found was funny. Like Shao’s predicament, it was tragic that it was the only way he could see to raise his social status. Regardless, Brown, Jr. clearly had a blast as Boo-Boo briefly hit the high life with this dangerous gig. Boo-Boo’s ultimate arrest was sad and shocking; maybe I was “stuck on hope” or looking for a Hollywood ending, but I didn’t actually expect Boo-Boo to end up in prison. Along with Dizzee’s apparent death, that definitely brought the fantastical nature of the show back to the ground with a stark reminder of the realities of life. That could’ve easily upset the tone of the show, but I think it worked.

I liked Ra-Ra thinking about the future and dabbling in making what The Get Down Brothers do truly profitable and long-term. His sojourn into the Universal Zulu Nation territory was a cool introduction of that style and I liked that he wasn’t welcome because The Get Down Brothers had been marked as drug dealers. The positive culture there was a nice counterpoint to what we’d seen so far and I wish the show had time to explore it more via Ra-Ra’s perspective. I wish it weren’t so animated though; if the animated sections are to be considered the characters’ dream worlds, why is the real salvation from Fat Annie the gang finds in Ra-Ra’s trip animated as well? At first that felt incongruous, but perhaps it’s because the guys aren’t really saved from Fat Annie at all. They get out of her contract, but she still gets Boo-Boo arrested and they still break up. In any case, I wish we’d gotten more of Ra-Ra this season. Brooks brought a great, distinctive energy to Ra-Ra and I would’ve liked to see more of that. Trying to woo Tanya (Imani Lewis) on the phone was so funny and sweet, and this half of the show could’ve used a bit more of his innocence and optimism. I also would’ve liked to see where his forward-thinking got him in the future. He’s one of the main characters and deserved at least a hint at his destiny.

Cadillac’s love for video games and disco made for a really fun and unique gangster, while his desire to go to space was a great, unexpected reveal! I’m sure Abdul-Mateen II had an absolute blast playing this character and he’ll definitely remain one of the most memorable parts of the show. It was awesome that even Cadillac felt like he got a complete ending to his arc in Part 2. I liked that the unity concert actually changed Cadillac’s mind and got him to successfully break free of Fat Annie. Agreeing to let the Get Down Brothers go after Shao acknowledged their common bonds of abuse by Fat Annie and their desires to be free was a great moment and I really liked both characters at that point. I loved that he’s going to use his freedom to work on his own music, even if his time as a music producer never felt fully fleshed-out in either Part of the series. However, that may have been the point. His revelation about not ever really focusing on his Super-High Voltage Records label all this time felt like a wake-up call to people with goals everywhere: he’s gotten nowhere on his dream at least partially because he never really buckled down and tried. For me, that was a surprising connection to a character who seemed like he’d be completely nefarious and unrelatable at first! I would’ve liked to see him struggle to make it as a producer as Disco died in a potential Part 3. That said, there were a few bumps in the road for Cadillac’s development. It seemed like there was a bit of disconnect between the end of Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2: I felt like he was far more prepared to get revenge on The Get Down Brothers at the end of Part 1 and thought he already knew where they’d gotten their sound system and records, but that reveal was saved for Part 2. It’s possible I misread his moment watching them perform at the end of Part 1, though. His continued obsessive “love” of Mylene was creepy and didn’t amount to anything, so I don’t know why it needed to persist beyond Part 1 (or even past the pilot). On the other hand, I’m so glad that neither that nor Mylene’s producer Shane’s (Jeremie Harris) somewhat teased interest in her ever became anything. I didn’t need to see her sexually used or abused by some skeevy adult in power.

Besides, Mylene’s father using her was enough. As blunt as a man of God trying to keep his daughter holy was, it was cleverly twisted by Ramon trying to exploit Mylene’s career to increase the standing—and the trappings—of his church. I liked that his ambitions became just as gaudy and “godless” as he feared Mylene’s career and soul would become, hurting himself and those around him in the process. His presence even actively drove her to the drugs he feared her fame would expose her to, like when she used cocaine to calm her nerves when he showed up at the Ruby Con. As strong an example of how much impact he had on her as that was, however, it was a somewhat bizarre one-off moment (perhaps in an expanded season, she’d have her own drug problem to parallel what Shao and Boo-Boo were doing). On the other hand, his controlling nature extending into beating his wife felt cliché and unnecessary. I hated him so much in the end that I didn’t care he died; in fact, I was happy to see him go. That said, I wish there’d been more fallout to his suicide than Mylene overcoming it as a survivor (though a strong Mylene is always a good thing). While Ramon probably became the villain of his own story without realizing it, Fat Annie reveled in her ill-gotten empire. She was a great villain and the implication that she’d been abusing both Shao and Cadillac made her feel evil in a far ickier way. I’ve seen people say killing the cat was too much, but I think they did it to prove she really would kill more kids. Perhaps the writing could’ve given her some more dimension and motivation, but she never felt like a one-note character to me (possibly because her performance was so entertaining). I liked that Francisco was finally revealed as Mylene’s actual father and the fact that he “slept alone” since 1960 was sweet. Though it was a little rushed and sidelined, his end felt earned. I feel like we should’ve gotten more of Lydia’s reactions to everything happening with the two men in her life, as well as her daughter’s career, in far more detail than we did. I also would’ve liked more from Jackie Moreno (Kevin Corrigan) than the couple of songs he wrote for Mylene and his support in the contract renegotiation scene. He seemed like such a presence in the first half the series that it was odd he was so sidelined here. It would’ve been nice if more had been done with the three kingdoms of Hip Hop pioneers—Kool Herc (Eric D. Hill, Jr.), Grandmaster Flash (Mamoudou Athie), and Afrika Bambaataa (Okieriete Onaodowan)—as well before they came together to save the kids from their contract with Fat Annie. If we’d known them better, seeing them unite for this moment would’ve felt like a bigger deal.

I liked the way the teens’ success in Part 1 segued into the manipulation of that success by the people behind Zeke and Mylene in Part 2. That made for a surprising (if inevitable) bittersweetness to their wins at the end of the first Part while giving them new battles to fight that didn’t feel like retreads of the first half of the series, even if many of the same players were involved. For example, the dance/rap-off between the Get Down Brothers and Cadillac’s disco music at Les Inferno was really entertaining and a great restructuring of Zeke and Cadillac’s dance-off over Mylene in the pilot. Fat Annie’s record contract for the Get Down Brothers worked well as a plot for me and I liked that the final rap battle wasn’t just about freeing themselves from that contract, but about proving that using a band just isn’t the same. That said, I really liked the gut-punch reveal at the end that the first hip-hop record did use a band. That sort of historical irony played really well, and had the show continued it seems like that sort of thing might’ve been the battle of a potential Part 3: as I saw pointed out on IGN, it’s ironic that Mylene is such a disco revelation too late in the game for that genre, while The Get Down Brothers arrived on the hip-hop scene a bit too early. I would’ve liked to see the characters navigate the changing trends in music and it’s a shame we won’t get to see more of their stories. Having so many of the main characters meet bad ends was sad, but felt real (even if I’ll never buy that dark/depressing is inherently more “realistic”).

Although I liked a lot the new songs, none of them matched “Set Me Free” or The Get Down Brothers’ winning mix from the end of Part 1 except “See You on the Other Side.” That one had a lot of emotion packed into it and was perfectly used to wrap up the show. The remix of Gonna Fly Now (the Rocky Theme) was cool too; it’s also used directly after they win the Unity Concert and right before their dreams are crushed; like Rocky, they go the distance but don’t really get to win. I loved the heightened reality this show lived in, while the Soul Train-type show Platinum Boogie was a fun bit of 70s atmosphere and I loved how outlandish the Studio 54-esque Ruby Con nightclub was, both thematically and design-wise. The truly creepy and unnerving intro to Episode 4 was very effective and surreal; so effective that I’m not sure the rest of the club or the episode lived up to what the intro promised, even if it still mostly worked. The use of stock footage from the real-life 70s intercut with the glossier night clubs and modern film quality still plays very well too. This world was so unique and well-constructed that it feels like we lost something special with the show’s cancellation.

I’m going to miss The Get Down, these characters, and this world. The actors were excellent across the board and I can’t wait to see more of them in their future projects. Despite some missed opportunities for exploring the characters more (mostly caused by the truncated season), this was a great, satisfying conclusion to the show. In regard to actual events, these 11 episodes may be fictionalized and softened (from what I’ve gathered from other reviews), but they’re still an entertaining insight into an aspect of history I never knew about. If you never gave The Get Down a chance, it’s definitely worth checking out!

Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!

#the get down #netflix #justice smith #zeke figuero #mylene cruz #jaden smith #get down brothers #soul madonnas #Shameik Moore #herizen guardiola #shaolin fantastic #Skylan Brooks #ra-ra #tremaine brown jr #boo-boo #dizzee kipling #yahya abdul-mateen ii #cadillac

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clairestroman67 · 3 years

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‘Bridgerton’ Showrunner Reveals Season 2 Plans and Lady Whistledown-Identity Easter Eggs

(Warning: This post contains major spoilers through the Season 1 finale of "Bridgerton.")Shonda Rhimes-produced Netflix period romance "Bridgerton" closed its first season with a happy ending for the Bridgerton family's eldest daughter, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), her husband, Simon/the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), You may also like: autel scanner reviews. and their first bundle of joy, whose name we don't know yet, aside from the fact it will definitely begin with an "A" in classic Bridgerton tradition.And if series creator Chris Van Dusen gets his way, you'll find out the little one's name and much more in future seasons of "Bridgerton," which has not yet been renewed by Netflix."It might be too early to talk about at this point. I do have a plan and a vision in my head to success," Van Dusen told TheWrap. "The first season was about Daphne and it followed her relationship, her love story with Simon. And the 'Bridgerton' books [written by Julia Quinn] - there are eight books, they are about eight siblings. And in success, I would love to be able to explore stories and romances for every Bridgerton sibling. Of course, I would love to be able to do that.""Bridgerton's" eight-episode debut season is based on "The Duke and I," the first novel in Quinn's romance series about the Bridgerton family. That book, like the freshman season of "Bridgerton," focuses on Daphne's story, while the second, "The Viscount Who Loved Me," puts her older brother Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey, in the spotlight.Along with giving fans the chance to find out what's to come for all the Bridgerton siblings - including Anthony, Benedict (Luke Thompson), Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), Daphne, Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Francesca (Ruby Stokes), Gregory (Will Tilston) and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) - potential future seasons of Rhimes and Van Dusen's adaptation would also dive into the story of mysterious narrator Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) after the shocking finale reveal of her true identity: Penelope Featherington."Penelope (played by Nicola Coughlan) is one of the most fascinating characters to me," Van Dusen said. "And we knew breaking the first season that there would be a whole group of people watching the show that have read the books and know the identity of Lady Whistledown. And then there would be a whole group of people who have not read the books and have no idea where we're going. So it was important for us to really tell Penelope's story this season and for there to be two tracks, one track for each of those groups of people ... And for the people who did not know it was Penelope, we never wanted to be ahead of that and we never wanted to telegraph that and we always wanted to keep that a mystery. But then for the people that knew it was Penelope, we had to make it fun. We had to make it interesting for those people as well. So for me, the end of the first season was the perfect time to reveal who Lady Whistledown was - or who we believe Lady Whistledown to be."Van Dusen promises that if you rewatch the first season as a viewer who now knows what Penelope is really up to, you'll notice little easter eggs confirming her Lady Whistledown identity early on."After you watch the first season, I would love to audiences to go back, now knowing it had been Penelope, and really watch the season through that lens," he said. "It was really Nicola's idea, really working with her closely from the start during shooting, she would always suggest, 'Well, why doesn't Penelope just hang out over here, just slightly off camera,' 'Perhaps she could cross right here and we could just get a glimpse of her.' I thought that was so genius to really put these little snippets and clips of Penelope that on a second watch, you'll hopefully go back and see."Here's an example of one to get you started, straight from Van Dusen himself: "When Daphne and Simon first meet, if you look closely, you'll see Penelope's eyes in the corner of the screen watching this go down, which will be a lot of fun."

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thesimplyluxuriouslife · 6 years

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188: 18 Secrets & Lessons from the French Culture to Begin 2018

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #188

~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio

"But I love New Year's Day, because I can never get over the generosity of the fact that we all get a BRAND NEW YEAR, totally for FREE — with no dents, or dinks, or mistakes yet. It's the ultimate REFRESH button." —Elizabeth Gilbert

With 2018 just two weeks away, I am, as I am with each new years, inclined to be quite excited for a fresh start. No matter what the current year shared with me, surprised or delighted me with, the gift of a chance to improve is a priceless opportunity that only arrives once every 365 days. And so, I readily choose to seize it and apply what I have learned over the past 12 months and put it to practice, to improve upon who I reveal myself to be the previous year. As I look ahead to the new year with plans to finally get back to France since far too long ago (2013), I couldn't help but look to my collection of French living and culture books which I didn't fully realized is as plentiful as it turned out to be in my personal library (a sampling captured recently of many of my French themed books) for inspiration as to how to step forward into 2018. Below I've gathered 18 quotes of wisdom, insights and inspiration for beginning anew, renewed and brilliantly rested and ready to make 2018 the year we wish it to be.

You Know More Than You Realize

1."a quarter to a third of all English words come from French, and good thing; otherwise, learning this language would be even harder than it is." —William Alexander in Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me & Nearly Broke My Heart

Read Books Like You Need Them to Breathe

2. "France retains a reverence for the printed book. As independent bookstores crash and burn in the United States, the market here is healthier, largely thanks to government protections that treat the stores as national treasures . . . in France, booksellers —including Amazon —may not discount books more than 5 percent below the publisher's list price." —Elaine Sciolino in The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs

The Gift of a Balanced Life is a Beautiful Life to Savor

3. "So here is a trilogy: food/movement/know thyself. Again, these are important elements in my life and also in the lives of French women who don't get fat (and perhaps do not want or need facelifts)." —Mireille Guiliano in French Women Don't Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude

Trust Your Journey, and As You Travel, Just Be Yourself

4. "'Seize the moment . . . pay attention to your life right now' . . . What I failed to see, sitting around the coffee table on those nights, was the possibility that I didn't have to keep looking for a family to belong to; I could create one of my own. I had conflated my deep need to belong to something bigger than myself with a more superficial need to fit in, to look and dress and act like others. But fitting in is not belonging. This seems so clear now, but at the time I didn't understand the difference. I was still floating between New York and Paris, at least in the sense that my identity was tied to both cities. I lived in New York and worked at a New Yorker's pace, but I couldn't let go of Paris —Paris, which had shaped me more deeply than college or even my Manhattan childhood. Returning to Paris felt as if I was reawakening some part of myself that had been asleep since I'd left." —Kate Betts in My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

On Style: Mix It Up

5. "Forget the 'total look.' Frenchwomen love to mix and match. Pascale Camart, womenswear buying manager for the Galeries Lafayette, told me that having designer labels next to ordinary ones on the same floor was 'on purpose. The Frenchwoman likes to put different things together.' The Parisienne, she says, doesn't buy evening dresses. She sticks with basics and then finds the one distinctive jacket or scarf or top that will make the ensemble a knockout." —Harriet Welty Rochefort in Joie de Vivre: Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing Like the French

The Importance of Elevating the Everyday

6. " You don't go overboard, exhausting yourself over the holidays when you make every day an occasion for friendship and family, fun and celebration." —Jamie Cat Callan in Bonjour, Happiness: Secrets to Finding Your Joie de Vivre

Choose Quality in Your Food and in Your Life to Elevate the Experience

7. "Édith Piaf famously sang, Non, je ne regrette rien ('No, I regret nothing'). Although I have my share of regrets, using good chocolate to make a soufflé is never one of them." —David Lebovitz in L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home

Let Your Body Tell You What It Needs and Listen

8. "She knows exactly what she has 'a taste' for, and once she's had enough, that's it. She eats what she wants, when she wants it, until she is satisfied. Food is not a moral or emotional issue for her. She does not describe foods as good or bad; to her they are neutral, just food." —Carol Cottrill in The French Twist: Twelve Secrets of Decadent Dining and Natural Weight Management

The Essence of Real Beauty Goes Beyond the Surface

9. "Style without substance is unacceptable, largely because it's boring, one-dimensional. In France, it's inadmissible to provoke ennui. Real style is built upon a solid foundation of informed intelligence, quick wit, and an impressive panopoly of culture references. One must hold her own in a lively conversation. The essence of beauty is to continue educating oneself and constantly to learn something new. Simply put: these are the keys to eternal youth." Tish Jett in Forever Chic: Frenchwomen's Secrets for Timeless Beauty, Style and Substance

Keep Persevering to Create More 'Luck' in Your Life

10. "Persevering is often not simply a matter of working hard and refusing to quit; often, by trying again, failing again, and failing better, we inadvertently place ourselves in the way of luck. Yet another reason to keep on keeping on." —Karen Karbo in Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life

Cooking Need Not Be Complicated & Thus an Necessary Element of Socializing Well in Everyday Life

11. "Yes, Parisians have more fun when they go out. But they're also ten times less likely to eat out. And in Paris, there's no ordering in —you cook. It's simple cooking, really: You can have five friends over, create a fast, delicious pasta with zucchini and mint. Or you just buy cheese, figs, wine and call it a night." — Garance Doré in Love, Style, Life

Opening Your World to Other Languages & Cultures Deepens Appreciation and Perspective

12. "Linguists call America 'the graveyard of languages' because of its singular ability to take in millions of immigrants and extinguish their native languages in a few generations. A study of thirty-five nations found that 'in no other country . . . did the rate of the mother tongue shift toward (English) monolingualism approach the radity of that found in the United States.' Immigrants to America lose languages quickly; natives of America fail to acquire them. Only 18 percent of American schoolchildren are enrolled in foreign language courses, while 94 percent of European high-school students are studying English." —Lauren Collins in When in French: Love in a Second Language

Incorporate the Arts into Your Life

13. "As often as you can, take an evening off and seek out the arts. Attend the ballet, visit an art show at your local coffee shop, go see an independent theatre, attend a symphony performance or a rock concern. These moments are often too few and far between, especially when family and work life seem to always come first. Indulging in the pleasure of the arts feels decadent and is a magnificent way to recharge your soul. Purchase your tickets in advance. Knowing that you are going to attend the ballet in three weeks gives you something delightful to look forward to." — Jennifer L. Scott in At Home with Madame Chic

Luck is Hard Earned

14. "In truth, her luck was not yet finished. Not even close. These two daring shipments were to make her one of the most famous women in Europe and her wine one of the most highly prized commodities of the nineteenth century. As Louis told her, it was a succes born out of 'your judicious manner of operating, your excellent wine, and the marvelous similarity of your ideas, which produced the most splendid unity and action and execution — we did it well, and I give a million thanks to the bounty of the divine Providence who saw fit to make me one of his instrument in your future well-being . . . certainly you merit all the glory possible after your misfortunes, your perseverance, and your obvious talents.'" —Tilar J. Mazzeo in The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It

On What Is Worth Appreciating and Savoring

15. "The weight of history means that the French don't wipe the slate clean to make way for progress the way Americans do. Because of their centuries-old attachment to the land, restriction is their second nature, not expansion. The French have completely different ideas about what's public and what's private, and those ideas influence how they think about money, morality, eating, manners, conversation, and even political accountability. The French glorify what's elevated and grand, not what's common and accessible. They value form as much as content. And finally, they created many of their instituions to try to deal with the after-affects of two major wars. These factors don't add up to a neat picture that diametrically opposes French and Anglo-Americans. They just explain a lot about why the French think the way they do. Unless Americans recognize these differences, they will never understand the French." —Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow in Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France, but Not the French

Stop and Nourish Your Body & Mind Daily

16. "No matter how fraught our workload, we stop and have a proper meal. It helps us calm our brains and bodies, and we know we will work more efficiently afterward." —Mathilde Thomas in The French Beauty Solution: Time-Tested Secrets to Look and Feel Beautiful Inside and Out

The Importance of Quality Living for the Individual Living It, Not for Outward Applause

17. "Ambition—another virtue that becomes a vice when taken too seriously. Time is not money for the French. It's an ephemeral currency and should be spent doing the things that make life worth living. Remember, the French woman might have an acute sense of breveity of time and the immediacy of pleasure; that said, she also has a strong predilection to enjoy not only the finer things in life but the things that make life fine." —Debra Ollivier in What French Women Know: About Love, Sex and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind

Let Your Dreams Lead the Way and Never Stop Striving Forward

18. "Willa Carter believed that if you have a wish for something from a young age and you nourish it, if you continually make an effort to nurture this wish and stay connected to this dream, then you will live a fulfilled life. If you believe in something, it invests everything you do with meaning. Paris has always stayed with me, close to me, and I've continually felt nourished by it." —Kate Betts in My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine At the core of living well is appreciating the value of now and tempering longings and future hopes so that we are soley living in the future. Our lives are indeed right now. Just for a moment, examine where you were in your life one year ago today, now five years ago, now 10. Could you have precisely known where you would be when looking toward the future as your younger self? The future is exciting, but as many of the sage words remind, it is often the simple, the patient and present that make life truly fulfilling. Thank you for stopping by, and remember to stop by next Monday when the Top Episodes of 2017 will be shared. A new episode will return on Monday January 1st with Francophile author Jamie Cat Callan (her new book Parisian Charm School: French Secrets for Cultivating Love, Joy and that Certain je ne sais quoi will be released on January 2, 2018) as well as an excited giveaway for listeners and readers (hint: it is something for your kitchen). ~Tune in to French-Living inspired posts/episodes from the Archives: ~#4: 10 Ways to Unearth Your Inner Francophile ~#23: The French Way: How to Create a Luxurious Everyday Life ~#32: The Francophile Style Guide: The 14 Essentials ~#96: Everyday Living in France - My Interview with Sharon Santoni ~#127: 20 Ways to Live Like a Parisienne ~#144: 20 Ways to Incorporate Your Love for the French Culture into Your Everyday ~#151: 10 Style Tips to Embrace the French Woman's Approach to Effortless Chic ~#155: 6 Life Lessons for Living Well from Julia Child ~#167: My Good Life in France: Author Janine Marsh ~#168: Everyday Living with Author & Blogger Sharon Santoni ~#169: Understanding the French Culture: My Interview with Géraldine Lepere of Comme une Française ~#182: David Leibovitz Talks About Making Paris His Home ~Check out the new addition to TSLL destination: The Simply Luxurious Kitchen. Have a look at the pilot episode below and learn more about this new venture into vodcasting in which we will focus on "Seasonal fare to elevate the everyday meal" here.

Petit Plaisir:

~Salmon en Papillote (Salmon in Paper) - view the entire recipe here

Sponsors for today’s episode:

Birchbox

use code sophisticate to save 20% off all gift subscriptions through 12/25

Birchbox in France

Vincero Watches

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Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

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carmineri · 6 years

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Disney Cruise Line Preview — Week of July 28, 2018

Sponsored by Storybook Destinations

Ahoy, mateys! I’m Heather, and I’ll be bringing you the up and coming on all things Disney Cruise Line. Welcome back again this week. Let’s see what’s new in the DCL world!

Ports of Call

Disney Cruise Line: In The News

While many people love a cruise for the chance to unplug from technology, you may want to stay just a little bit connected to take full advantage of the newly redesigned Navigator app. Julia Mascardo has a great review of what’s not to be missed!

Derek Burgan of Saturday Six fame took on the difficult task of narrowing down just six reasons to love sailing on Disney Cruise Line. Let’s give the man a round of applause – I tried to think of just six reasons that I love DCL, and I quit when I couldn’t whittle my list lower than double digits!

In pleasantly unsurprising news, Castaway Cay has been named the best private island in the Caribbean in the 2018 Cruise Critic Cruiser’s Choice Destinations awards. But, we already knew that.

Here’s this week’s special offers. Most every week of the year, Disney Cruise Line releases special offers for Florida Residents and U.S. Military Personnel. There are also frequently IGT/OGT/VGT rates available for all guests to book. These offers are extremely limited in availability, and all come with certain restrictions, but the prices are amazing! You can book these online, on the phone, or with your travel agent. These are the current offers available this week:

Upcoming Entertainment

The following films are being shown aboard the Disney Cruise Line ships this month:

Born In China

Beauty and the Beast

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Cars 3

Doctor Strange

Thor: Ragnarok

Coco

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Black Panther

A Wrinkle In Time

Avengers: Infinity War

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Incredibles 2

Ant-Man and The Wasp

For future reference, films debut on Disney Cruise Line the same day of their initial release in the United States. Films do vary by ship. Show times are available in your Personal Navigator or the official Disney Cruise Line app.

Captain’s Log: Important Tips and Information

If you watched Freeform at all this past month, chances are you saw at least one of the Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding specials. Did anyone catch the episode featuring the Disney Dream wedding? Well, if you didn’t and if you are even remotely considering a Disney Cruise wedding, I have two words for you – atrium wedding. Yes, you can actually book the atrium as your wedding location on all 4 ships now!!!! Can’t you just imagine the pictures!

Prior to this announcement, the options for weddings on board included indoor locations like Outlook on the Dream and Fantasy, or deck options like the Deck 10 Aft Overlook on the Magic and Wonder. And of course, there is also an option to exchange vows on Castaway Cay, during applicable sailings. Wedding packages include bridal flowers, music, cake, champagne, Palo dinner for the happy couple, and more!

Couples who are looking to have an official vow renewal ceremony would choose from the same wedding packages.

If you could say “I Do” on a cruise, what would your dream ceremony be?

Are you deciding whether to book a Disney Cruise but are having a tough time picking which ship fits all of your desires? Well, our own Laurel Stewart has put together a chart that makes it easy to compare all of the options in one place. Also available as a valuable planning and companion guide from authors Len Testa, Erin Foster, and Laurel Stewart is The Unofficial Guide to the Disney Cruise Line. The companion guide contains a complete overview of each Disney ship as well as Castaway Cay and includes valuable tips on how to save time and money during your cruise!

Special thanks to Scott Sanders of The DCL Blog for assistance on this article!

Thanks for joining me again this week. “Sea” you next time!!

The Disney Cruise Line Preview is brought to you by Storybook Destinations. Storybook Destinations specializes in Disney travel, is consistently highly rated by our readers, and is owned by our own blogger extraordinaire, Tammy Whiting. Storybook also offers free subscriptions to TouringPlans to clients with qualified bookings.

The post Disney Cruise Line Preview — Week of July 28, 2018 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

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cait-blooms · 3 years

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Bridgerton TV Series Review

After binging all 8 episodes of Netflix’s series Bridgerton based on Julia Quinn’s novels, I find myself thoroughly entertained and hungry for more episodes. Already the show was renewed for a 2nd season, so you can guarantee I will watch upon release.

When I first saw the trailer for the show a few months ago, I was intrigued by the idea of such a ethnically diverse cast for a show that is based in the Regency era. However I was never really pulled into watching the show until recently, when I decided to take a gander in at least watching the first episode. Then by the next day, I had already binged the entire first season.

I won’t go over any plot turning moments in the show to prevent leaking any spoilers to anyone who reads this and hasn’t watched Bridgerton yet (Hint: You should definitely watch it!).

Overall I find that all the details put into the show very interesting the more I watched it, especially regarding the diversity of the cast. After some research I read on the Bridgerton TV show Wikipedia page that the creator of the show Chris Van Dusen made this move after being inspired by the historical debate over Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz's possible African ancestry. This creative decision made by Dusen though made me somewhat skeptical of watching the show at first, I now can say I am very and more so pleased with the show because of it’s diverse cast.

Usually the entertainment industry portrays period pieces to staying true to history, but the use of a diverse cast modernizes the show to reflect the present day and age. Where the color of one’s skin nor their ethnicity defaults a person’s position in society. It’s the hard work that person puts into it that establishes their position in society.

Because this show was set in the Regency era, often times I worried about how the creators/producers/writers balanced that ideal with such a diverse cast when in history, it wasn’t like that at all. It’s not explained immediately on the show about how such diversity on Bridgerton became acceptable in society until halfway through the season. Apparently at one point in “Bridgerton’s” history, there used to be such discrimination based on the color of someone’s skin until after the debate of Queen Charlotte’s ancestry. Which after finding that out, I felt more informed and assured on the setting of the show. That helped make the story of Bridgerton feel more grounded to me. Other than it’s diverse cast, the storyline and character development for all the characters in the show was amazing.

The show utilized very modern situations that makes me praise this show even more because that makes Bridgerton even more relatable for me to watch as a young woman. Though because the show is set during the Regency era, you can often see most of the female characters in the show are trying to make things work out in society while trying to stick to their beliefs more so. Aside from the female characters, we are also given scenes related to the main male characters that appear on the show. Although I wasn’t as interested in the character development of the main male characters on Bridgerton, I am very pleased with the development with all of them and I won’t say much to prevent from leaking spoilers.

Bridgerton is very interesting because a lot of the character development of each character ties in together with all of the other characters even if they don’t get much interaction with all the characters on the show. Mind you this is a show that is telling the story of the Bridgerton family siblings and how they fall in love with their own love interest. I’m guessing that’s going to be the same intention for the TV show but from my brief overview Quinn’s novels, it’s very likely that going forward with the show it’ll follow the other siblings love stories. But time will only tell if that stays true for the future episodes of Bridgerton.

Another topic of the show I want to point out is Julie Andrews. I love Julie Andrews, from watching her on Mary Poppins to watching her on the Princess Diaries. Her narration throughout the show almost gives me a Gossip Girl vibe, which I love Gossip Girl as well. Although there isn’t as much of a scandal burn like Gossip Girl when it comes to Andrews narration, I find her narration fitting for Bridgerton as her narration fits for the Regency era setting. So when Andrews narrates a scandal that has occurred on Bridgerton, her elegant voice makes the narration create a different kind of burn feeling - I guess we can call it - “Regency Style”. (Note: if there’s a different word for it, please correct me down below in the comments). I also have to praise the writers for the narration as Andrews narration plays a part in setting the tone for each episode.

What also has set the tone for Bridgerton is music. I don’t know how many viewers noticed, but I noticed that very often for the background music for most episodes (aside from the opera singing scenes), there are several classical renditions of modern day music. Some notable ones are Ariana Grande’s “thank you, next”, Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”, and Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams”. I was very surprised to notice this and I got so hyped up each time I noticed a very familiar playing song with no vocals. But if you guys are able to recognize all the music alone, I praise your efficiency to figuring out all the modern day classically rendered songs.

Those are my thoughts so far about Bridgerton the Netflix TV show. Please comment and follow me on Tumblr as well as on all my other social media platforms that can be found here, if you’d like continue reading my reviews on other TV shows and movies that I’ve watched recently. If you have any suggestions of any TV shows or movies you’d like me to review, you can comment on this post. Chat with you guys soon!

#brigerton #bridgerton tv #netflix #diversity #feminismisequality #classical covers #regency era

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latestnews2018-blog · 6 years

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There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than These Grandma Twins

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/there-were-zero-things-better-this-week-than-these-grandma-twins/

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than These Grandma Twins

Welcome to Good Stuff, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation series devoted to the least bad things on and off the internet.

The best thing I saw this week was this photo of two old women I’m going to assume are twins because they look exactly the same and are wearing matching pink outfits. If I’m wrong, sue me.

Why do I like it? I don’t know. I just do. Maybe it’s been a so-so week, but I can’t think of anything else that has brought me more joy. Look at their outfits! The shirts! The glasses! The hair! Are those called shorts or pants? Who cares! I love them!

My colleague Ashley Feinberg described this photo as “fucked up,” claiming “there’s no way you get to 80 and still keep buying matching outfits with your twin without something being extremely fucked up.” She is wrong. Sometimes two cute twins (presumably) are just two cute twins (presumably).

Do you know these twins? I would like to interview them. Thanks. ― Maxwell Strachan

Jonathan Chait’s BOFA Tweet

Twitter

On July 12, in the year of our Lord 2018, at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, persecuted white man Jonathan Chait tweeted three perfect words: “What is BOFA?”

BOFA, as any self-hating internet user knows, is “bofa deez nuts.” It is the “What’s ‘updog’” prank, only vastly stupider and consequently infinitely funnier whenever an unsuspecting target takes the bait. Jonathan Chait took the bait, and the result was more beautiful than any of us could have ever hoped to deserve.

Jonathan Chait, however, deleted his tweet — the tweet in which he asked, “What is BOFA?” — and deprived us of our constitutional right to dunk on Jonathan Chait. Just one more example of illiberal deplatforming from the radical left.

Anyway, congratulations to the remarkably damp Jonathan Chait on giving brief, beautiful life to a perfect tweet. We should all be so lucky. ― Ashley Feinberg

Sweet Soccer Boys Sharing Gentle Hugs

ALEXANDER NEMENOV via Getty Images

This week I wanted to recommend hate-watching (or more like “confused-watching”) Fox’s nightly special “World Cup Tonight,” but my editor made me turn it into a standalone blog.

Instead, I will recommend a more healing aspect of the World Cup spectacle: watching the beautiful boys of soccer comfort and celebrate with each other through emotional embraces. Jezebel’s Sheena Raza Faisal saluted these loving clinches in a very on-point post that features not quite enough images of man hugs ― check the comments for more, especially England manager Gareth Southgate soothing Colombia’s Mateus Uribe after Uribe missed a crucial penalty kick in a shootout against England.

Boy, it sure is dusty in here, etc., etc. ― Claire Fallon

Glynnis MacNicol’s New Book

Illustration: HuffPost/Photo: Simon and Schuster

After hearing Glynnis MacNicol talk about her new memoir, Nobody Tells You This, at the Strand in New York City, I’ve had this one sentence stuck in my head. When asked about the plight of unmarried, childless women and our society’s treatment of them as somehow other or incomplete, MacNicol hit back with a statement that resonates with me still: “We look at women as a problem in need of a solution.”

In her book, MacNicol draws attention to the ways strangers feel they have a right to women’s bodies and lives in service of the ultimate goal, motherhood. The shame around it all, the general lack of freedom or agency, is really frightening. Although I have yet to read Nobody Tells You This, I’m excited to. And I’m ready to recommend it as a refreshing take on what life can be like for women who choose not to do what is expected of them. ― Anna Krakowsky

The Birth Of Kulture

Kulture ❤️❤️anything else woulda been basic 💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️Okrrrrr

— iamcardib (@iamcardib) July 12, 2018

Cardi B had the baby and her name is Kulture with a K. That’s self-explanatory Good Stuff. ― Julia Craven

When June Smacked The Shit Out Of Commander Waterford On “The Handmaid’s Tale”

In a moment when it feels like terrible men are trying to whittle away women’s rights on a near-daily basis, sometimes you just really want to see a lady righteously smack the shit out of a dude who deserves it. Enter the “Handmaid’s Tale” finale!

June (Elisabeth Moss), who has spent two seasons being psychologically tortured, raped and belittled by Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) ― a man who desperately wants to be powerful and desperately wants the approval of women he knows are better than him ― finally stops bottling up her rage and lets him have it, right across the face. I could watch this GIF on repeat for the next two years. ― Emma Gray

England’s Loss

WATCH: Mario Mandzukic scores the game winning goal in extra time to put Croatia in its first ever World Cup Final. #ENGCRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dnRpjSNPHo

— Jurado (@JuradoNYC) July 11, 2018

It’s not coming home. LOL. ― Travis Waldron

The Enya Song In “Eighth Grade”

You know a movie’s good when an Enya song pops up in a pivotal scene. But even without “Orinoco Flow,” Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” would be an indie masterpiece ― one you should definitely, totally, run to the theater to see.

It follows “Most Quiet” superlative winner Kayla (Elsie Fisher) during her last week of eighth grade, as she tries to come to grips with her social anxiety and lackluster lifestyle before high school. Behind her phone, she’s confident, even funny. But in real life, Kayla is quiet, a loner. Burnham allows viewers to study her every move in a tech-obsessed world while contemplating their own adolescent memories. It’s beautiful, raw and utterly sweet. ― Leigh Blickley

Megan Amram’s Emmy-Nominated Web Series

vimeo

Please watch “An Emmy for Megan,” a hilarious and weirdly poetic exercise in doing the bare minimum, while remaining utterly extra. The concept is simple: Writer Megan Amram, best known for her work on “The Good Place” and Twitter, decides she reeeeally wants to win an Emmy Award. (It’s her favorite award!) So at the last minute, she decides to write, direct and star in a short web series about making a short web series to win an Emmy.

The six episodes, under 10 minutes each and created in the week leading up to the submissions deadline, use the constraints of the Emmy requirements like forms of meter and verse. There are tears and tantrums and alcohol-fused meltdowns and even a surprise MUTINY along the short (so short) way.

Amram’s feat is not only hilarious but effective. On Thursday, the series was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Actress in a Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series and Outstanding Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series. Don’t sleep on the most inspiring tale of our time. ― Priscilla Frank

A Podcast About A Cult

When I was a kid, my best friend’s name was Robin, which was kind of weird because my mom’s childhood best friend’s name was Robin. The difference between my Robin and my mother’s Robin (aside from their being entirely separate humans) was that the latter ended up in a “Wild Wild Country”-ish cult.

My mom told me the story of her friend’s descent into Cult Town, U.S.A., and the teen girl power rescue mission that boldly extricated her a million times. Everything about it fascinated me. For a while, I actually thought it was a cosmic inevitability that my Robin would end up in a cult from which I’d need to liberate her. Anyway, she didn’t. But “The Gateway” is a good podcast about a cult. ― Katherine Brooks

Road Trip Music

Over the past few years, there’s been renewed interest in the work of John Fahey, the instrumentalist who put American primitive guitar on the map. As the genre has surged in popularity, acolytes and like-minded explorers have come out of the woodwork. Specialty labels have reissued private-press recordings that had long since gone out of print. It seems as though every town had an uncelebrated devotee of these obscure, mystical tunings. Worshipful but questioning, celestial and homespun, primitive guitar uses repetition and drone to access the pleasures and enlightenment of devotional music.

In April, Fahey’s hometown of Takoma Park, Maryland (just outside D.C.), honored the genre he helped create with a multiday festival. Lauding his work, it also shone a light on others who followed a similar path, devoting years to decoding the light and limber picking of Mississippi John Hurt and replicating the primal thump of Reverend Gary Davis. It was only fitting that one of this generation’s best pickers showed up ― Marisa Anderson, a guitarist based in the Pacific Northwest.

Anderson recently released a new album, “Cloud Corner,” which should be her breakthrough. She does something that I think most Fahey followers miss. She captures his melancholy, favoring mood as much as speed and technique. Her songs put you in places and moments. One song off an earlier album, she has said, is a tribute to her favorite swimming hole in Kentucky.

The new record lands on weightier subjects like the Syrian refugee crisis while other tunes process Tuareg-style playing through her fuzzy, electric style. But mostly, the songs ring clear, notes hushed or plucked pure. The album is meant for one of the few modes of escape where we can all still worship in peace: the road trip. ― Jason Cherkis

And Finally, The Women Of Color Who Dominated The Emmy Noms

Noam Galai via Getty Images

Sandra Oh was nominated for her role in “Killing Eve.”

This week in Good Stuff for me was the plethora of amazingly talented women of color who got Emmy nominations for best and supporting actress, including Sandra Oh (the first Asian woman to be nominated for lead actress in a drama), Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Zazie Beetz, Letitia Wright and my queen Thandie Newton. ― Zeba Blay

Get last week’s Good Stuff here.

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lorettalivingston6911 · 6 years

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This Is Us Ties The Knot As New Threads Emerge In Season 2 Finale — Twitter Reacts!

I look younger now than when I was in my early 20s

***WARNING: SPOILERS***

We don't know about you, but Jack will always be our plus-one.

The second season of This Is Us began with an anxious inhale as viewers braced for the reveal of Jack's cause of death, and it ended with the exhale fans needed to prepare for Season 3.

Related: Which This Is Us Character Are You? Take The Quiz!

In the season finale, Dan Fogelman & Co. explored the theme of letting go. It was Kate (Chrissy Metz)'s wedding day, and while she and brothers Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) prepared for the nuptials, Kate couldn't help but think back to a dream she'd been having for weeks -- one that showed the audience what an alternate timeline would look like had Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) never died. In the bride-to-be's slumber, she saw her parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony. And in her dreams, everyone was there -- everyone except fiancé Toby (Chris Sullivan). This realization comes up during conversation with Pearson matriarch Rebecca (Mandy Moore), and Kate finally comes to term with something that's been in between her and Tobias for a while. She has to let go of her guilt over her father's death if she's ever going to make room for a husband. So she goes to a special spot near the wedding venue (the family cabin) and releases the remainder of Jack's ashes. Now she's ready.

But it wasn't all about the wedding. Fans also watched as Deja (Lyric Ross) suffered a psychological breakdown during the reception, lashing out at her life's traumas by taking a bat to beat what appears to be Randall's car. This was a hard blow to take as the previous episode gave hope into Deja's situation. Still, there was more to wonder about. In a flash-forward, we see that Kevin will get cozy with Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson)'s cousin as they head to Vietnam with a photo of Army Jack in hand, Toby will suffer from an illness as he lies sadly in bed while Kate discusses new medication (depression?), and Sterling and Tess will be anxious about going to see a mysterious "her." Whoever this "her" is, it seems she's in trouble -- or worse. It would be easy to assume this woman is Deja, but some fear it's actually Beth.

A lot to think about and wait for!!

As always, fans had a lot to say about this This episode on Twitter:

When #ThisIsUs makes you play the worst case scenario game from now until next season and your worst case is that Beth is dead, and you're not going to sleep until September, and you haven't been this anxious since the dang Crock Pot light came back on. — Shelley Gardler (@shelleygardler) March 14, 2018

Go see who?! Change what meds?!! VIETNAM!!??! #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/pqOhhHHdet — Jessica Shelton (@JessicaMcRabbit) March 14, 2018

Maybe the flash forward scenes are just worst case scenarios #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/BYPMXqeSYw — Raven lynn (@Ravenlynn18) March 14, 2018

if Beth dies I will burn this place TO THE GROUND #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/UkWfXMyYIs — Sam Parker (@SamParkerParker) March 14, 2018

Yassss... I knew Kevin needed a strong black woman in his life #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/h8MEKnZUS2 — Anhel (@anhel9anhel) March 14, 2018

Me trying to figure out all the flash forward finale plot twists on #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/eZIidtgPKx — Christine Couto (@ChristineCouto) March 14, 2018

JACK WAS SUPPOSE TO WALK KATE DOWN THE AISLE! #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/lqpHZY5Va5 — Vanessa Walker (@vrwalker88) March 14, 2018

When Kate’s brothers called her Katie Girl #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/Sz2wRPzExV — Julia Sugarbaker (@Ellevos86) March 14, 2018

Having to wait till September for a new #ThisIsUs 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/aYjuf4NaNX — Katie (@kt_manning) March 14, 2018

And just for good measure, here's what some of the cast and crew are saying:

On a plane, but I'm always miles high when I think of what our cast, writers, and crew pulled off this season. Very proud, and only a little tired. See you guys in a few months. Season 3 is gonna be a huge one! #ThisIsUs — Dan Fogelman (@Dan_Fogelman) March 14, 2018

Sometimes you’ve gotta make room for love, as hard as it is. #thisisus — Chrissy Metz (@ChrissyMetz) March 14, 2018

To our extended Pearson family, our fans-

We are deeply indebted to all of you who have started and continue on this journey with us. Thank you for giving us a platform and reason to tell these stories. Until next season ❤️ #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/BmUIbFKxXu — Mandy Moore (@TheMandyMoore) March 14, 2018

Seeing Jack like this warms my heart. I wish Beth got to meet him. They wouldve loved each other.💜 @MiloVentimiglia #ThisIsUs — Susan Kelechi Watson (@skelechiwatson) March 14, 2018

To our incredible #ThisIsUs family,

We would not be where we are without all of you. Thank you for laughing, crying, sobbing, and loving with us every Tuesday night. We'll miss you dearly, but we'll be back before you know it.

We love you as much as a human heart can love. pic.twitter.com/Strsz9p543 — This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) March 14, 2018

Just one more thing... THANK YOU. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/XAFuboQxSr — Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) March 14, 2018

A heartfelt thank you to our #ThisIsUs family. Thank you for laughing with us and crying with us. You all are phenomenal! The Pearsons et al will return for Season 3 this fall. https://t.co/c0MpTSMSZw — ThisIsUsWriters (@ThisIsUsWriters) March 14, 2018

Tonight!!!! Our season finale. Enjoy all. Been a great season. New #ThisIsUs 9/8c on @nbc. MV pic.twitter.com/ylD25fFwFj — Milo Ventimiglia (@MiloVentimiglia) March 13, 2018

This Is Us returns to NBC next Fall.

P.S. Don't worry, Milo. WE'LL never let Jack go.

[Image via NBC.]

all shit of items at home is why real celebrities even some cereal killers

from LL Celeb Fueads http://ift.tt/2Gr0mux via IFTTT

#IFTTT #LL Celeb Fueads

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newagesispage · 5 years

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DECEMBER 2018

PAGE RIB

***** This Tarantino movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood just seems to keep growing. Added to the cast are Al Pacino and Luke Perry. Damien Lewis will play Steve Mcqueen, Emile Hirsch will play Jay Sebring and Dakota Fanning will play Squeaky.

***** The Stones are gearing up for a U.S. tour in the spring ending in Chicago.

***** Peoria Players Theater is celebrating 100 years, one of only three theaters in continuous operation in the country. Their first production was ‘The Maker of Dreams.��

***** Paul McCartney wrote a children’s book, Hey Grandude!

***** Wow!! We have now seen a Mars sunset!!

***** A CNN investigation found that Police departments around the country destroyed rape kits before the statute of limitations was up.

***** Patti Hansen has a book out: A Portrait

*****Ignore your rights and they will go away.

***** The Stan and Ollie movie looks awesome.

***** Head from the Monkees is 50 years old.

***** Goodfield, Illinois has finally repealed prohibition.

***** Deep Time from director Noah Hutton has been out a few years but is still worth a look. It is the true story of the indigenous people of North Dakota and the oil boom in the age of man.

***** Sajak and White have renewed until 2022. OY!

***** Robbie Robertson is finishing the mix on his latest album.

***** The people have spoken even though some states took a long time to get answers. Bernie Sanders and Tim Kaine have both been re- elected.** Ted Cruz won but just barely.** Mitt Romney won in the senate in Utah. The republicans kept the Senate but the Dems took the house. Journalists throw around the words, ’blue wave’ but it was all a bit too close for me. Too much of this country still just does not get it. I will never understand how a person puts their own religious or financial needs above the rights of others. There is reason to celebrate the young people who got involved and that there was great voter turnout. I still heard excuses though like, “I was too tired” and “they put in who they (?) want anyway.” My Mother was headed into surgery that day and still she voted. You Go Mom!!** Colorado gave us our first openly gay Governor. ** Two female Muslims and two female Native Americans have been elected to congress for the first time. Michigan will legalize recreational marijuana.

***** The Doobie Brothers are working on new music.

***** Jeff Sessions is out. Trump is attempting to keep Rod Rosenstein from overseeing the Mueller probe and put Matthew Whitaker in there.

***** #Blaze it forward

***** Scary Clown took away Jim Acosta’s press pass after a dust up at the WH. Sarah Sanders lied about the whole thing. Acosta and CNN sued. A judge says that the WH has the right to keep people out but once you let the press in, you can’t pick and choose. Acosta has his pass back.** Trump disgraced us in Paris with snarky comments about Macron and missed the ceremony at the American cemetery for the 100th anniversary of WWI because of the rain.** The administration is proposing there should not be protests in front of the WH.** The use of private e mails by Ivanka is being looked into by congress. Will she or Daddy ever be questioned for 11 hours?? Doubtful.** The Finlandians are the latest to mock our Pres. After his ridic comments about the President of Finland telling him about raking the forest (which that Pres does not recall), many are posting themselves raking or vacuuming.** A big part of Scary Clowns legacy will be overturning rules we had in place for good reason. It is likely the romaine lettuce E-coli outbreak could have been avoided if regulations had not been eased on testing water on farms.

*****Mueller has filed paperwork stating that Paul Manafort lied to the FBI and the special counsel despite signing a plea deal. This could mean that that it is unlikely he could testify since he would not seem credible.** James Comey got a subpoena on Thanksgiving.** Michael Cohen has also been accused of lies.

***** 7 NY hospitals have made settlements with rape survivors after illegally charging them $300 for rape kits.

***** It looks like 5 mil in unpaid labor will bring plenty of lawsuits from workers at the Trump hotel in Washington.

***** Major League Baseball has requested the return of a political contribution they made to Mississippi’s Cindy Hyde- Smith. Why are they giving their money to politicians anyway, especially without checking them out thoroughly?? This is a woman who had made it clear she was racist even before the comments about wanting to be in the front row for a public hanging. I suppose they give to campaigns like all other big biz, to pass the bills they want like the Save Americas pastime act that makes it legal to pay minor- league players dick. Oh and they were asked to donate by Mitch McConnell. Wal Mart, Union Pacific, Google AT&T and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, just to name a few have asked for their money back as well. It is good to know what companies give to the right wing racist nut jobs. And She Won!!

***** The U.S. waived background checks for the staff at immigrant children holding facilities and there is still no set date for the kids to be released.

***** Hooray to the Macy’s Thanksgivings day Parade for putting on The Prom!!

***** Russia has ceased 3 Ukranian ships off Crimea.

***** After a rocky start, Murphy Brown is starting to find its mojo.

***** I hope we see more of The Cool Kids. I mean, Charlie Day, Jamie Farr, Clyde Kusatsu, Julia Duffy, Charles Shaughnessy plus the regular cast.. wow! I knew they could fill out the facility with top notch talent.

***** This year the Kennedy Center honors will go to Cher, Reba McEntire, Wayne Shorter and Phillip Glass.

***** I love the way that Seth Meyers represents the local channels with mugs on his desk. I saw WEEK 25 on there this month!!

***** Dick Van Dyke says he paid Walt Disney to play the banker in Mary Poppins.

***** Robert DeNiro and Grace Hightower are getting divorced.

***** The administration is like a shit show in a dumpster fire._ George Conway (husband of Kellyanne)

***** A man in a Baltimore audience of Fiddler on the Roof yelled out, “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump.”

***** Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp are engaged.

***** Robert Redford is selling his St. Helena residence for 7 mil.

***** Joan Baez is on her farewell tour.

***** The suicide death rate is higher than it has been inn 50 years.

***** Toy Story 4 will be out next summer with a new character, Forky voiced by Tony Hale!!!!

***** Days alert: Did Days actually age Abigail’s baby on the same episode? I mean, there was a little bundle with tiny little features, Chad walked outside to ring for help and when he came back there was a wide eyed baby sitting up and looked like a whole new baby.** So sad to see Paul go but at least he got a tearful sendoff. I kind of hope Will cheats on Sonny again. Is that wrong?? Oh wait.. it looks like Leo is gonna put a crimp in their plans. It also looks like all the secrets all over town are about to come out** I can’t wait for Jack to come back!

***** There is to be a Northern Exposure reboot.

***** Rock and Roll hall of fame noms this year are Def Leppard, Devo, Janet Jackson, John Prine, Kraftwerk, LLCool J, MC5, Radiohead, Rage against the Machine, Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks, The Cure, Todd Rundgren, Rufus and Chaka Khan and The Zombies.

***** Hate is never right and love is never wrong- Roman Kent

***** R.I.P. Francis Lai, the victims of thousand Oaks, Peggy McCay, victims of the California wild fires, William Goldman, Stan Lee , Bernardo Bertolucci, Ricky Jay, Stephen Hillenburg, Harry Leslie Smith, Hogan the Zebra, George Bolton , George H. W. Bush and Nicolas Roeg.

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zillowcondo · 6 years

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188: 18 Secrets & Lessons from the French Culture to Begin 2018

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #188

~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate: iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio

“But I love New Year’s Day, because I can never get over the generosity of the fact that we all get a BRAND NEW YEAR, totally for FREE — with no dents, or dinks, or mistakes yet. It’s the ultimate REFRESH button.” —Elizabeth Gilbert

As I look ahead to the new year with plans to finally get back to France since far too long ago (2013), I couldn’t help but look to my collection of French living and culture books which I didn’t fully realized is as plentiful as it turned out to be in my personal library (a sampling captured recently of many of my French themed books) for inspiration as to how to step forward into 2018.

Below I’ve gathered 18 quotes of wisdom, insights and inspiration for beginning anew, renewed and brilliantly rested and ready to make 2018 the year we wish it to be.

You Know More Than You Realize

1.”a quarter to a third of all English words come from French, and good thing; otherwise, learning this language would be even harder than it is.” —William Alexander in Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me & Nearly Broke My Heart

Read Books Like You Need Them to Breathe

2. “France retains a reverence for the printed book. As independent bookstores crash and burn in the United States, the market here is healthier, largely thanks to government protections that treat the stores as national treasures . . . in France, booksellers —including Amazon —may not discount books more than 5 percent below the publisher’s list price.” —Elaine Sciolino in The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs

The Gift of a Balanced Life is a Beautiful Life to Savor

3. “So here is a trilogy: food/movement/know thyself. Again, these are important elements in my life and also in the lives of French women who don’t get fat (and perhaps do not want or need facelifts).” —Mireille Guiliano in French Women Don’t Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude

Trust Your Journey, and As You Travel, Just Be Yourself

4. “‘Seize the moment . . . pay attention to your life right now’ . . . What I failed to see, sitting around the coffee table on those nights, was the possibility that I didn’t have to keep looking for a family to belong to; I could create one of my own. I had conflated my deep need to belong to something bigger than myself with a more superficial need to fit in, to look and dress and act like others. But fitting in is not belonging. This seems so clear now, but at the time I didn’t understand the difference. I was still floating between New York and Paris, at least in the sense that my identity was tied to both cities. I lived in New York and worked at a New Yorker’s pace, but I couldn’t let go of Paris —Paris, which had shaped me more deeply than college or even my Manhattan childhood. Returning to Paris felt as if I was reawakening some part of myself that had been asleep since I’d left.” —Kate Betts in My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

On Style: Mix It Up

5. “Forget the ‘total look.’ Frenchwomen love to mix and match. Pascale Camart, womenswear buying manager for the Galeries Lafayette, told me that having designer labels next to ordinary ones on the same floor was ‘on purpose. The Frenchwoman likes to put different things together.’ The Parisienne, she says, doesn’t buy evening dresses. She sticks with basics and then finds the one distinctive jacket or scarf or top that will make the ensemble a knockout.” —Harriet Welty Rochefort in Joie de Vivre: Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing Like the French

The Importance of Elevating the Everyday

6. ” You don’t go overboard, exhausting yourself over the holidays when you make every day an occasion for friendship and family, fun and celebration.” —Jamie Cat Callan in Bonjour, Happiness: Secrets to Finding Your Joie de Vivre

Choose Quality in Your Food and in Your Life to Elevate the Experience

7. “Édith Piaf famously sang, Non, je ne regrette rien (‘No, I regret nothing’). Although I have my share of regrets, using good chocolate to make a soufflé is never one of them.” —David Lebovitz in L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home

Let Your Body Tell You What It Needs and Listen

8. “She knows exactly what she has ‘a taste’ for, and once she’s had enough, that’s it. She eats what she wants, when she wants it, until she is satisfied. Food is not a moral or emotional issue for her. She does not describe foods as good or bad; to her they are neutral, just food.” —Carol Cottrill in The French Twist: Twelve Secrets of Decadent Dining and Natural Weight Management

The Essence of Real Beauty Goes Beyond the Surface

9. “Style without substance is unacceptable, largely because it’s boring, one-dimensional. In France, it’s inadmissible to provoke ennui. Real style is built upon a solid foundation of informed intelligence, quick wit, and an impressive panopoly of culture references. One must hold her own in a lively conversation. The essence of beauty is to continue educating oneself and constantly to learn something new. Simply put: these are the keys to eternal youth.” Tish Jett in Forever Chic: Frenchwomen’s Secrets for Timeless Beauty, Style and Substance

Keep Persevering to Create More ‘Luck’ in Your Life

10. “Persevering is often not simply a matter of working hard and refusing to quit; often, by trying again, failing again, and failing better, we inadvertently place ourselves in the way of luck. Yet another reason to keep on keeping on.” —Karen Karbo in Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life

Cooking Need Not Be Complicated & Thus an Necessary Element of Socializing Well in Everyday Life

11. “Yes, Parisians have more fun when they go out. But they’re also ten times less likely to eat out. And in Paris, there’s no ordering in —you cook. It’s simple cooking, really: You can have five friends over, create a fast, delicious pasta with zucchini and mint. Or you just buy cheese, figs, wine and call it a night.” — Garance Doré in Love, Style, Life

Opening Your World to Other Languages & Cultures Deepens Appreciation and Perspective

12. “Linguists call America ‘the graveyard of languages’ because of its singular ability to take in millions of immigrants and extinguish their native languages in a few generations. A study of thirty-five nations found that ‘in no other country . . . did the rate of the mother tongue shift toward (English) monolingualism approach the radity of that found in the United States.’ Immigrants to America lose languages quickly; natives of America fail to acquire them. Only 18 percent of American schoolchildren are enrolled in foreign language courses, while 94 percent of European high-school students are studying English.” —Lauren Collins in When in French: Love in a Second Language

Incorporate the Arts into Your Life

13. “As often as you can, take an evening off and seek out the arts. Attend the ballet, visit an art show at your local coffee shop, go see an independent theatre, attend a symphony performance or a rock concern. These moments are often too few and far between, especially when family and work life seem to always come first. Indulging in the pleasure of the arts feels decadent and is a magnificent way to recharge your soul. Purchase your tickets in advance. Knowing that you are going to attend the ballet in three weeks gives you something delightful to look forward to.” — Jennifer L. Scott in At Home with Madame Chic

Luck is Hard Earned

14. “In truth, her luck was not yet finished. Not even close. These two daring shipments were to make her one of the most famous women in Europe and her wine one of the most highly prized commodities of the nineteenth century. As Louis told her, it was a succes born out of ‘your judicious manner of operating, your excellent wine, and the marvelous similarity of your ideas, which produced the most splendid unity and action and execution — we did it well, and I give a million thanks to the bounty of the divine Providence who saw fit to make me one of his instrument in your future well-being . . . certainly you merit all the glory possible after your misfortunes, your perseverance, and your obvious talents.'” —Tilar J. Mazzeo in The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It

On What Is Worth Appreciating and Savoring

15. “The weight of history means that the French don’t wipe the slate clean to make way for progress the way Americans do. Because of their centuries-old attachment to the land, restriction is their second nature, not expansion. The French have completely different ideas about what’s public and what’s private, and those ideas influence how they think about money, morality, eating, manners, conversation, and even political accountability. The French glorify what’s elevated and grand, not what’s common and accessible. They value form as much as content. And finally, they created many of their instituions to try to deal with the after-affects of two major wars. These factors don’t add up to a neat picture that diametrically opposes French and Anglo-Americans. They just explain a lot about why the French think the way they do. Unless Americans recognize these differences, they will never understand the French.” —Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow in Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France, but Not the French

Stop and Nourish Your Body & Mind Daily

16. “No matter how fraught our workload, we stop and have a proper meal. It helps us calm our brains and bodies, and we know we will work more efficiently afterward.” —Mathilde Thomas in The French Beauty Solution: Time-Tested Secrets to Look and Feel Beautiful Inside and Out

The Importance of Quality Living for the Individual Living It, Not for Outward Applause

17. “Ambition—another virtue that becomes a vice when taken too seriously. Time is not money for the French. It’s an ephemeral currency and should be spent doing the things that make life worth living. Remember, the French woman might have an acute sense of breveity of time and the immediacy of pleasure; that said, she also has a strong predilection to enjoy not only the finer things in life but the things that make life fine.” —Debra Ollivier in What French Women Know: About Love, Sex and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind

Let Your Dreams Lead the Way and Never Stop Striving Forward

18. “Willa Carter believed that if you have a wish for something from a young age and you nourish it, if you continually make an effort to nurture this wish and stay connected to this dream, then you will live a fulfilled life. If you believe in something, it invests everything you do with meaning. Paris has always stayed with me, close to me, and I’ve continually felt nourished by it.” —Kate Betts in My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

At the core of living well is appreciating the value of now and tempering longings and future hopes so that we are soley living in the future. Our lives are indeed right now. Just for a moment, examine where you were in your life one year ago today, now five years ago, now 10. Could you have precisely known where you would be when looking toward the future as your younger self? The future is exciting, but as many of the sage words remind, it is often the simple, the patient and present that make life truly fulfilling.

Thank you for stopping by, and remember to stop by next Monday when the Top Episodes of 2017 will be shared. A new episode will return on Monday January 1st with Francophile author Jamie Cat Callan (her new book Parisian Charm School: French Secrets for Cultivating Love, Joy and that Certain je ne sais quoi will be released on January 2, 2018) as well as an excited giveaway for listeners and readers (hint: it is something for your kitchen).

~Tune in to French-Living inspired posts/episodes from the Archives:

~#4: 10 Ways to Unearth Your Inner Francophile

~#23: The French Way: How to Create a Luxurious Everyday Life

~#32: The Francophile Style Guide: The 14 Essentials

~#96: Everyday Living in France – My Interview with Sharon Santoni

~#127: 20 Ways to Live Like a Parisienne

~#144: 20 Ways to Incorporate Your Love for the French Culture into Your Everyday

~#151: 10 Style Tips to Embrace the French Woman’s Approach to Effortless Chic

~#155: 6 Life Lessons for Living Well from Julia Child

~#167: My Good Life in France: Author Janine Marsh

~#168: Everyday Living with Author & Blogger Sharon Santoni

~#169: Understanding the French Culture: My Interview with Géraldine Lepere of Comme une Française

~#182: David Leibovitz Talks About Making Paris His Home

~Check out the new addition to TSLL destination: The Simply Luxurious Kitchen. Have a look at the pilot episode below and learn more about this new venture into vodcasting in which we will focus on “Seasonal fare to elevate the everyday meal” here.

Petit Plaisir:

~Salmon en Papillote (Salmon in Paper) – view the entire recipe here

Sponsors for today’s episode:

Birchbox

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188: 18 Secrets & Lessons from the French Culture to Begin 2018 published first on http://ift.tt/2pewpEF

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