Good stuff: Links & likes

The real LGSM, 1985, pictured in the article linked to below

I've already made it pretty clear how much I loved Pride, and this in-depth look at the stories and the people behind the film was a fantastic read.

I took part in Hannah's Two View Review this week, looking at Sarah Water's new novel, The Paying Guests.

Laura wrote about our adventures in Nottingham last Saturday: if you're looking for cool places to visit in the city, she's always a reliable guide.

I'm still hugely fond of Sex & The City, even after those execrable films, so I thoroughly enjoyed Cosmo's recent list: 19 times Carrie Bradshaw was an impossibly awful human. I really can't disagree with any of them, despite considering myself a 'Carrie'.

Cute cat alert: E reminded me that this video existed, and it really is the best thing you will ever watch.

Kat's guide to dying your hair bright colours - and making the colour last - was really useful. I never made the link between my dye fading so terribly and my use of straighteners: time to cut down, methinks.

Day 21: My top TV picks

I don't watch a great deal of TV but when I do, I want complete escapism.  I don't want to think about the horrible realities of meth dealing.  I don't want complex Scandinavian detectives brooding moodily.  I don't want a treatise on terrorism and the CIA, as told through the (admittedly superb) cry-faces of Claire Danes. 

I want sparkles and laughs and silliness. 

I want cake-based double entendres from Mel & Sue. 

I want fictional physicists making geek jokes.

The best way I can sum up my taste in TV is thus: if it involves dancing or baking or property-buying, chances are I'll love it. If it's a half hour American comedy show, I'll certainly give it a try.  If it's anything award-winning, or that could be described using the phrase 'hard-hitting', or that the broadsheet critics assure me is a 'must-see', chances are good that I'll never have seen it and never want to.

My favourite 'comfort watches' are embarrassingly untrendy.  Give me a good Agatha Christie adaptation and I'm happy (and yes, I will be watching with a blanket draped over my knees because I am utterly rock & roll like that).  Location, Location, Location is always a joy due to the sheer watchability of Kirstie and Phil, plus the chance to nose at strangers' houses is impossible to resist.  The Great British Bake-Off and Strictly Come Dancing are what make autumn the best of all seasons.  And finally, One Born Every Minute makes me cry every single episode, despite being the least maternal person I know.

As for television that is somewhat more socially acceptable, New Girl (which I ranted about here), How I Met Your Mother (before it jumped the shark), Happy Endings and Big Bang Theory are my must-watch programmes.  On boxset, Freaks & Geeks and My So-Called Life just cannot be beaten, although I am being won round to Game Of Thrones.  I have a great fondness for long-forgotten soapy American series, such as The L Word or Dawson's Creek spin-off Young Americans (both of these shows have in common the peerless - by which I mean I really fancy her - actress Katherine Moenig).  But basically I like shit TV, and I am totally ok with that. 

Lately...

You may have worked out the pattern by now: a few weeks with no Boy = plenty of new blog posts from me.  A visit to or from him = absolute silence for a week.  Sorry about that.  But The Boy has returned whence he came, and I'm back in my usual routine (until the beginning of April, at least).  So, what have I been up to? 

 

 

DREAMING about an end to this endless snow and rain. It doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon, with more freezing temperatures forecast for later this week. Remember this time last year, when we had an unseasonal heatwave? I would give anything for the same thing to happen again, and soon.

BUYING my dream boots. Seriously, for the the last three years I have been searching for the holy grail of ankle boots; the pair that would make me give up my ballet pump habit. I had a very clear picture in my head: the right shade of tan, not too high on the ankle, not too high a heel, not too round nor too pointy a toe. When I found the absolutely perfect pair in the Debenhams sale I actually did a little dance, right there on the shop floor. Finally, my feet can stay warm and dry in the rain!

WEARING my hair up, a lot. The messy topknot has been a lifesaver as I try to grow my bob out.

EATING stupid amounts of cake at work.  We seem to go from one charity bake sale to another and it just seems, y'know, polite to contribute. I was also planning on making some macarons this afternoon, but I don't have enough icing sugar and I can't be arsed to leave the house again. On balance, this is probably a good thing.

READING the brilliant chapter-by-chapter summaries of Fifty Shades Of Grey by Jenny Trout on her blog.  They're saving me from ever having to read the book itself, and judging by the recaps, anyone who has read them deserves a medal for putting up with such rubbish.

WATCHING Born To Be Different, the Channel 4 series which has followed children with disabilities for the past ten years.  I also love One Born Every Minute, which is guaranteed to move me to tears every episode.

MAKING more cushion covers for the grand makeover of my living room.

FEELING hopelessly, stupidly, ridiculously in love :)  It's making me a bad blogger, a bad friend, a bad daughter, a bad teacher... but I just cannot bring myself to care.  Instead, I'm trying to just enjoy this feeling, and this time.  I'm sure the 'falling in love, staring into each other's eyes and generally being cheesy losers' phase won't last, so I want to make the most of it while I can!

PLANNING visits to and from The Boy, of course! We have managed to work out a schedule that means we're never apart for longer than three weeks during his time abroad, which is brilliant.

Seen & heard: August

Seen...

1. I first saw Prime a few years ago, and have always liked its unsentimental, realistic ending.  Also, Meryl Streep is amazing as a therapist and mother who unwittingly discovers that her 30-something client is dating her 23 year-old son.
2. Wanderlust was one of the films on the plane and I really enjoyed it: silly, uncomplicated and very funny.
3. Much Ado About Nothing is a great summer film, best watched when the sun is shining outside and you can pretend that the glorious Tuscan scenery on screen might also be glimpsed outside your window.

Seen...

I've read a huge amount this summer, but it's mostly been trash and mostly forgettable.  Three books that kept me absorbed when travelling were...

1. The Stranger's Child by Alan Holinghurst.
2. The Etymologican by Mark Forsyth, a funny and fascinating (if, like me, you're a complete etymology geek) look at where words come from.
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I first read the summer it came out and enjoyed just as much on this re-reading.

I also really loved two books about life in contemporary South Africa, with all the tensions and problems that can involve:

1. Khayelitsha: uMlungu in a Township by Stephen Otter, about a white (or uMlungu, in Xhosa) South African guy who lived in Khayelitsha, a Cape Town township, for years.
2. Ways Of Staying  by Kevin Bloom, a South African journalist whose cousin was hijacked and murdered, prompting him to find out more about the violence and fear of violence that mars life there for so many.

Heard...

1. I can't begin to explain how excited I was by the release of Karima Francis' new album, The Remedy.  I absolutely adore her voice, and if recordings never quite capture the magic of seeing her play and sing live, they at least let me listen to her in between jaunts around the country to see her gigs with Abby.
2. I really liked Micachu & The Shapes' first album and was really looking forward to hearing the new one, Never, and seeing them at Summer Sundae.  Neither the album nor the show were a disappiontment: the band are still as bonkers, atonal and weird as ever and I LOVE it!
3.  Finally, I've been listening to a lot of Grizzly Bear in preparation for seeing them live last night.  They were AMAZING (I might write a review, so watch this space) and I can't wait for their new album, which is due for release on 17th September.

Seen & heard: May 2012

Seen...

1. I watched Crazy Stupid Love for the first time last weekend and really enjoyed it.  Although somewhat slow to get going, it more than makes up for it towards the end.  One scene had me crying with laughter; watch out for the backyard confrontation.  It's a glossy and ultimately rather fluffy rom-com, but with a superior cast including Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carrell (reprising every role he's ever played, as a put-upon schmuck), it's definitely worth 2 hours of your time.

2. I've only just discovered E4's latest US import, Happy Endings, just as the series is coming to a close.  Doh.  Following the usual post-Friends set-up of three guys and three girls, it's silly but enjoyable (and definitely superior to the execrable 2 Broke Girls, which seems to think casual racism + a laugh track = comic gold).

3. How Beautiful The Ordinary is a lovely YA collection of short stories on the theme of LGBT identity.  I especially enjoyed Julie Ann Peters' First Time, a present tense, dual narrative retelling of a teenage lesbian couple's first sexual encounter, which certainly took me back to the uncertain fumblings of my youth.  The closing tale, The Silk Road Runs Through Tupperneck N.H by Gregory Maguire is not exactly a 'short' story at nearly 100 pages long, and kept me gripped long past my bedtime.  With sympathetic and realistically flawed characters, I found it incredibly moving and it's prompted me to take a look at some of Maguire's other work (which includes Wicked, on which the hit musical is based).

Heard...

1. I know I bang on about Karima Francis a lot, but she really is that good.  I had a great time at her gig in Nottingham last night.  Her single, Wherever I Go (not my favourite of her new material, it has to be said, but still amazing), has been getting some radio airplay and I am keeping everything crossed that this is the year she breaks through.  She deserves to be huge (and it'll be nice to say that I saw her back when...).

2. Not so much 'heard' as 'looking forward to hearing', but I'm excited about the new Beach House album.  So far I've resisted listening to it on Spotify (my laptop speakers are bust and make everything sound terrible), instead waiting until I can make a trip to indie record store Rockaboom in Leicester.

Good stuff

Good stuff I've seen online this week...

A great article on nerdyfeminist.com about why feminists shouldn't hate on girliness, stumbled across after I googled 'girliness' to check the spelling for this post about New Girl.



After listening to The Civil Wars last week, this week I have been all about another girl/boy musical duo.  Blood Red Shoes are very different to The Civil Wars, but equally (if not more) awesome.  This video of them performing new single Cold for Radio One is incredible.

A Guy Recaps Lady TV is possibly my favourite feature on always-great website xojane.com.  This week's post was as funny and brilliant as usual: "This show offends me as a woman, and I'm not even a woman."  Noah did not enjoy Dance Moms, but who would?

In which I profess my love for New Girl

I'm a fan of all things cute, twee and 'girly' (although the implied pejorative of the phrase 'girly' bothers me); on a not-unrelated note, I'm a fan of Zooey Deschanel.  I was super excited when New Girl debuted in the UK back in January, and I have not been disappointed. 

This amazing post on xojane.com a couple of days ago goes some way to explain why Zooey, and New Girl, are so awesome, but can be best summed up in the below quote from the show (from an episode yet to air over here, it's Jess responding to *spoiler alert* Nick's girlfriend (played by the equally awesome Lizzy Caplan) after she's bitched about her):

"I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours. I spend my entire day talking to children. And I find it fundamentally strange that you’re not a dessert person. It freaks me out. I’m sorry that I don’t talk like Murphy Brown. And I hate your pants suit. I wish it had ribbons on it or something just to make it slightly cuter but that doesn’t mean I’m not smart and tough and strong."

Just...wow.  I relate so much to that (the polka dots, the talking to children, the smart and tough and strong...) and it kinda says a lot of what I was trying to say here about why feminism and girliness don't have to be at odds with each other, but in a slightly different way.  It's so great that such an amazing female character is being written and put centre stage in a hit TV show.  I for one am keeping everything crossed for a second season of New Girl, and if you haven't checked it out yet, take a look tonight at 8.30pm on Channel 4. 

Dotty about polka dots

Just a fraction of my collection.

Ah polka dots, how I love you!  I don't think nine dresses, two tops and one cardigan in the same print is excessive.  After all, each one is subtly different: a collar here, a different shade of spot there.  There's tons of great dotty stuff in the shops lately, which does make it easier to indulge my habit but leads to sulks when I see people wearing the same thing as me.

This skater dress from ASOS is my favourite recent buy (back view chosen because the model is grinning like a psychopath in the front view).  It's really comfy to wear and looks great with a red cardigan.

This H&M shirt dress is in their online sale at the moment (although word of warning: I have nothing but bad experiences of shopping with them on the web).  It's also super-comfortable and easy to wear.

Zooey Deschanel is a polka dot-wearing icon.  I know she divides opinion between people who adore her and people who think she's a twee 'manic pixie dream girl', but as a fairly twee person myself, I'm a fan.  That fringe!  Those eyes!  That wardrobe! 

She has been rocking some great spots on New Girl which, after a slow start, I am loving.  For more Zooey fashions check out amazingly bonkers websiter What Would Zooey Deschanel Wear ?  A bit like What Would Jesus Do, but with more winsome indie and pussy bows.

Why Glee matters

I know I know, just hear me out!  Now I'm an unashamed fan of Glee.  I love the bone dry wit of characters like Sue and Santana (ok, the latter is less witty and more bitchy).  I love how clever and political the writing is, and the fact that it airs on Fox just adds to that particular pleasure.  I LOVE the songs, especially the showtunes (Rachel and Mercedes belting out 'Take Me Or Leave Me' from Rent even managed to make me not want to punch Rachel for screwing up her eyes on every high note). 

But most of all, I think Glee is really important in being so gay- and bi-friendly.  A lot of weeks lately my jaw has dropped watching things that I never thought I would see on a US TV show.  Sometimes I end up cheering at the TV, for example when Blaine finally realised he loved Kurt and they kissed (twice!).  Thinking of this going out on Murdoch's dollar makes me really happy.

The long-running storyline involving Kurt suffering relentless homophobic bullying by a (closeted gay) football player has felt wince-inducingly realistic and painful.  The recent spate of gay teenagers committing suicide in the USA and the fact that just days ago The Guardian reported on a rise in homophobic attacks in London shows just how important it is to have a show that millions of teenagers watch tackle these issues.

The Santana/Brittany relationship has been dealt with really well too, slowly developing from throwaway lines in season one to the realisation that they're in love.  Their performance of 'Landslide' a few episodes ago left me in tears: how on earth did the show pick the one song that meant so much to me and my best friend/girlfriend/confused bisexual partner when we were 17?!

Knowing what it feels like to be 17 and coming to terms with your not-straightness, and now teaching teenagers who go through the same difficulties, I realise how important Glee is, why it matters.  If the show makes just one kid feel less alone, less frightened and harrassed, then it's done more than most TV programmes.  To do all this and with killer tunes... well that's just spoiling us.