Writers and writing, TV Reviews, observational humour and general ranting, social media, nostalgia, The Walking Dead, relationships, short stories ...
thanks for your interest! Comments welcome. Your email address will not be 'harvested' for any mailing list, or made public. Tags at ends of posts lead to others on similar subjects.
On the 28th of each month, I take photos in the park where I go for my regular walks. I take many in roughly the same places each month, so that we can observe the changes in season - the trees, the plants, the flowers, the weather, and the light in the sky.
August has always been special for me because it's my birthday month, but I've always loved the lazy, hazy feel it has, a step away from reality; I imagine this is a hangover from years gone by, when August meant sandy beaches and the sea, or walking down to the fair on a weekday afternoon to meet some boy, instead of being at school, or, later, drinking too much in sunny pub gardens, knowing that in another month's time it would be too cold to do so. The whole month still has that dreamlike quality.
I actually took these on the 27th, not the 28th, because I suspected that circumstances would prevent me from taking them today - and as it happened, I'm glad, because the lovely weather of the weekend broke last night. I could feel autumn in the air; yesterday the early morning had that dampness about it that wasn't there earlier in the month.
I've now done all twelve posts; you can click on the month, below, if you would like to see the previous ones - and next month I intend to do a recap, with a note about why I started this series. 😎
My irregular series of mini TV and film reviews, with trailers, for your enjoyment and consideration.... for more of the same, click the Lately I've Been Watching tag at the end :)
A good haul this time!
Documentary series: The Family
5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another of those 'everyone should watch this' documentaries... about a devout, conservative Christian group until recently headed by the mysterious Doug Coe, that influences US politics and seats of power all over the world. Based on Jeff Sharlet's book The Secret Fundamentalism at the heart of American power, it is truly shocking. I've just read that Netflix has now dropped it....but I'm sure it will be available elsewhere.
The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
Sharlet, a
journalist, did intensive research into a secretive Christian
organisation, also known as The Fellowship Foundation, after he spent a
month living in their house near Washington in 2002.
As a result, Sharlet discovered the group, led by Douglas Coe, was
extremely well-connected to congressman, senators and world leaders
around the globe.
In the trailer, the The Fellowship Foundation is described as a group
whose main motivation is power – and Coe is said to be ‘the most
powerful man in Washington you have never heard of.’
The organisation, which has been around for more than 80 years, has no
official membership list and each year holds a National Prayer Breakfast
which is used to build relationship with foreign leaders.
Sharlet, a
journalist, did intensive research into a secretive Christian
organisation, also known as The Fellowship Foundation, after he spent a
month living in their house near Washington in 2002.
As a result, Sharlet discovered the group, led by Douglas Coe, was
extremely well-connected to congressman, senators and world leaders
around the globe.
In the trailer, the The Fellowship Foundation is described as a group
whose main motivation is power – and Coe is said to be ‘the most
powerful man in Washington you have never heard of.’
The organisation, which has been around for more than 80 years, has no
official membership list and each year holds a National Prayer Breakfast
which is used to build relationship with foreign leaders.
I wasn't quite sure about this third season at first, as it seemed rather slow, and concentrating too much on long, lo-oo-ong views of Elisabeth Moss's various emotive facial expressions, but boy, did it pick up. I finished watching it several nights ago, and I'm still thinking about it. This time, we find out a little more about what's going on outside Gilead, and about Free America - not much, but enough to make me optimistic that there will be yet more about this in S4. There's more backstory, too, notably about Aunt Lydia. If you love this series, you won't be disappointed.
Btw, finally got round to reading the book, and it's fab. Written in 1984, so June's old life seems pretty different... and Margaret Atwood has now written a sequel, to be released next month.
Series: Yellowstone, Season 2
5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
LOVE this show! If you haven't watched it yet, start with S1 - I describe it as a 21st century Dallas, set in Montana. Rancher Kevin Costner and his family do battle with both land developers and the Native Americans, who seek to reclaim the land. Kelly Reilly is spectacular once more, as the show's cross between JR and Sue Ellen, the story is gripping, the scenery fabulous...highly recommended. As an extra plus plus plus, Josh Holloway is going to be in Season 3 (pic below!).
Musical documentary series: Tales from the Tour Bus, Season 2
4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Series about the lives of various musicians, including interviews with those who knew them - and it's all done in a graphic art style. So clever, and well put together. Season 2 is about the funk-soul artistes of the 70s and 80s, like Rick James.
Series: Jett, Season 1 4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Underworld crime series starring Carla Gugino in as professional thief Jett, and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad). Very much in the 'superwoman kick-ass heroine' mould, but not overly so - the story is great, and it's a real 'just one more episode then I really will go to sleep' sort of show. Jett is pretty damn awesome, and just entered my top ten of female TV characters I want to be.
Dark comedy series: Why Women Kill, Season 1
4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Only two episodes of this so far, but I really like it. It's made up of three stories: a stay at home wife in 1963, a married LA socialite in 1984 (Lucy Liu), and a lawyer in 2019 who has an open marriage with her screenwriter husband. It's great fun, highly entertaining, and I look forward to seeing what comes next!
Musical documentary: Steely Dan: Aja - Classic Albums documentary series
4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I adore Steely Dan, so loved this. Aja is not one of my favourites of theirs, but apparently it's known in production/mixing circles as one of the most perfectly mixed albums ever made. Watching this made me realise why they're as spectacularly good as they are - and it gives great insight, for non-musical people like me, into what goes into the making of an album.
Below is not a trailer, but the whole documentary.
Comedy series: Big Bang Theory, Season 1 and part of Season 2 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I know this is something of a classic, but I'd never seen it until someone recommended it to me. I did like what I've seen already, but I felt that the same jokes were reiterated over and over, and I didn't feel compelled to keep watching, though I may watch some more in the future. I thought the apparently 'real' studio laughter sounded fake, too, and once I'd noticed that it got on my nerves. The dialogue is terrific, it's well-made, clever, etc.... but it just didn't totally do it for me. Humour is such an individual thing, though - I could appreciate how good this is without really loving it.
August 5th ~ 9th. I went back to Cromer, where I used to live, for a few days. Missing it already.....
I always loved going for walks early on summer mornings,
when there is hardly anyone about.
If you've read my book Tipping Point, you might be interested to know that Shipden, where the virus first breaks out, is based on Cromer, which was originally called Shipden-juxta-Felbrigg. More about its history here.
Love the narrow streets....
I made this plate in 2001 for Breakers Café's then-owner, when I lived there; four owners later, it's now older than some of the girls who work there 😁 The food is and always was first-rate, by the way!
(It is called the Seagull café in Tipping Point ~ as for Lawrie and Gemma, who owned it... I admit a slight resemblance, apart from the fact that they're both alive and kicking 😉)
For four years I lived in a flat in the white-ish building at the end of this photo. Lovely morning views :)
More mini TV and film reviews; I watch mostly on Netflix and Amazon Prime. For more, click the 'Lately I've Been Watching' tag at the bottom of the post.
Series: Perpetual Grace 5 stars plus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A darkly, darkly humorous series about a scam that goes terribly wrong, starring Ben Kingsley as a psychopathic pastor and Jimmi Simpson as the poor guy who gets roped into it. Think Breaking Bad; it's that sort of vein, though some of the scenes, cinematography and characters reminded me of a Tarantino film. Violent, but... also very funny. It really is excellent; highly recommended. 10 episodes in Season 1, 8 have been on so far.
Fun series about a New York of the not too distant future, in which superheroes are the new celebrity, especially 'The Seven' - the best of them, who are owned and managed by the evil Vought corporation. It's all deliciously corrupt, and some of the superheroes are more reluctant than others. Stars Anthony Starr (the hot guy in Banshee) as the main hero, Homelander, and Dennis Quaid's son Jack, whose character gets involved into a gang trying to expose said corruption after one of them (A Train, the fastest man in the world), kills his girlfriend. Highly entertaining, and well done.
Series: Castle Rock
4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Based on a Stephen King book - a cursed town in Maine, a mysterious young man appears who is thought to be the devil.... flashbacks throughout reveal the sinister happenings of long ago. Features Shawshank Prison, and stars Sissy Spacek, Terry O'Quinn and some others that I recognise but whose names I can't recall. It's good because, hey, it's Stephen King, but I found it a bit slow; I liked it but didn't love it.
Comedy series: HUGE in France 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gad, a famous French comedian, arrives in LA to see his estranged wife and son. The son, Luca, is determined to become a New York model; the wife's new boyfriend is a handsome former model and (unsuccessful) actor, who has become Luca's new father. Gad discovers that his celebrity means nothing in the US.
It's funny, but filled with pathos and great characters. What I liked most is that it doesn't fall into the cliché of making the new boyfriend a high-achieving dickhead; his confidence is but a thin veneer, and he turns out to be as hopeless and likeable as Gad—it is the wife and son who are the monsters. Very good, I liked it alot.
Film: The Upside
4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Based on a true story. The wonderful Bryan Cranston stars as a quadriplegic billionaire who, on impulse, hires an ex-con (Kevin Hart) to be his full time 'life auxilliary', who will perform most of the duties that will enable him to live something approaching a normal life. It's funny, sad, 'feel-good'—I usually run a mile from anything with the 'feel-good' tag, but I'll watch anything with Bryan Cranston in, and liked it much more than I feared I might not. Definitely recommend.
Comedy Series: The Impastor
3 stars ⭐⭐⭐
Dodgy guy (who has even more dodgy guys coming after him) accidentally falls into another man's life, and escapes the mob by pretending to be the new pastor in a quiet town in upstate New York. As the person who was watching it with me said, 'It would be good if it wasn't shit', and yes, it's pretty daft, but I quite liked it; it's entertaining.
On the 28th of each month, I take photos of my usual walk in my local park; many in roughly the same places each month, so you and I can observe the changes in season: the trees, the flowers, the light in the sky ... and the weather! As this week has zig-zagged between sizzling sunshine and muggy downpours (ghastly for those like me with hair that frizzes up with the first droplet of moisture), I checked the weather at 7 a.m. today, and discovered that I would need to go out immediately if I had any chance of sunshine and not getting soaked. So this month's pics are a mix of sunny and not, which seems representative of the month as a whole, and it was a lot more soggy than it looks. I'm so glad I went when I did; now, at 10.30, it's completely overcast. (Incidentally, going out immediately meant not having the strong, freshly-ground coffee and nutritionally sound breakfast that I have convinced myself I need in order to function. I took a bottle of water and a Nakd bar with me, and I felt just fine. See, coffee, I don't need you after all!)
