...Benedict Cumberbatch as the world's greatest consulting detective?!?!
It isn't just me, right?
RIGHT??
RIGHT?!?!?!?!?
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Holmes on the Brain
Okay, so it is entirely possible that I am seeing things, as I totally have had the newest series of "Sherlock" on the brain (it starts up again this Sunday after "Downton Abbey"!!), but doesn't
Fred McMurray (seen here with Joan Crawford in Above Suspicion) look an awful lot like...
RIGHT??
RIGHT??
Friday, December 20, 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Christmastime (TV) is (nearly) here...
It's that time of year again... the time for the importation of British holiday/Christmas specials!!
I ran across the trailer for the "Call the Midwife" Christmas special on-line yesterday and was delighted to learn that we won't have to wait very long for this one! (Unlike the "Downton Abbey" air date delays. I don't know about you, but avoiding spoilers was such a pain, I just ended up reading them. Pbbt!!!) Anyhow, back toChummy, er, "Call the Midwife", PBS will air the program on December 29 at 7:30pm ET!!! (Thanks for not making us wait for this one, PBS!) Per the PBS website, series 3 will be airing in March. (Huzzah for more Chummy!)
Here is the synopsis:
In 1958 Poplar, the holidays are not just about the opening of presents, but also about the closing of deep wounds. Although the weather is unseasonably mild for this time of year, the lives of the midwives are anything but calm. Jenny’s relationship with Alec continues to blossom and Shelagh’s (formerly Sister Bernadette) quiet wedding to Dr. Turner is underway.
When a thousand-pound explosive is discovered, the district is evacuated and the Nonnatus House team is quick to take charge to ensure that the community is safe and warm. Always one to keep spirits high, Chummy decides to forge ahead with the Cubs Christmas party. However, just when the community’s holiday spirit is renewed, Poplar faces an outbreak of polio, with the repercussions of the illness affecting the nurses and nuns more than they could have ever imagined.
I have a feeling that this is going to be a double hankie episode, friends.
And here's the trailer:
Can't wait!! Between this and "Doctor Who" on December 25th at 8:00pm ET, not too bothered about not getting "Downton" on time. And don't forget, series 3 of "Sherlock" starts January 19th!
I ran across the trailer for the "Call the Midwife" Christmas special on-line yesterday and was delighted to learn that we won't have to wait very long for this one! (Unlike the "Downton Abbey" air date delays. I don't know about you, but avoiding spoilers was such a pain, I just ended up reading them. Pbbt!!!) Anyhow, back to
Here is the synopsis:
In 1958 Poplar, the holidays are not just about the opening of presents, but also about the closing of deep wounds. Although the weather is unseasonably mild for this time of year, the lives of the midwives are anything but calm. Jenny’s relationship with Alec continues to blossom and Shelagh’s (formerly Sister Bernadette) quiet wedding to Dr. Turner is underway.
When a thousand-pound explosive is discovered, the district is evacuated and the Nonnatus House team is quick to take charge to ensure that the community is safe and warm. Always one to keep spirits high, Chummy decides to forge ahead with the Cubs Christmas party. However, just when the community’s holiday spirit is renewed, Poplar faces an outbreak of polio, with the repercussions of the illness affecting the nurses and nuns more than they could have ever imagined.
I have a feeling that this is going to be a double hankie episode, friends.
And here's the trailer:
Can't wait!! Between this and "Doctor Who" on December 25th at 8:00pm ET, not too bothered about not getting "Downton" on time. And don't forget, series 3 of "Sherlock" starts January 19th!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Halfway through November in Six Sentences
And there was much rejoicing.
And dancing.
Sister K gets married this Saturday.
It's been a busy November, and I have barely been home.
I need outdoor staff to deal with all of the leaves on my lawn.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Happy St. Crispin's Day!
One of my favorite speeches in all of Shakespeare:
Henry V Act IV, Scene iii.html
"This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
RAH!! Let's go win the Battle of Agincourt!
Henry V Act IV, Scene iii.html
"This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
RAH!! Let's go win the Battle of Agincourt!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
My Favorite Time of Year: Autumn in New England
Sister K & I drove up into the northwest corner of Connecticut and then into Great Barrington, MA on Sunday. It was a beautiful day for a sunny Sunday leaf peeping drive, as evidenced by some of the photos I took.
I am of two minds when we go leaf peeping on a sunny day. I think it is hard to photograph the beautiful fall colors on a sunny day; the camera just can't do the splendid colors enough justice. It is really better to take photos on a gray day to get good contrast, but I would rather drive around on while the sun is shining. Still managed to get a few shots that I really liked. (We've already planned our drive into the "Quiet Corner" for next year!)
I am of two minds when we go leaf peeping on a sunny day. I think it is hard to photograph the beautiful fall colors on a sunny day; the camera just can't do the splendid colors enough justice. It is really better to take photos on a gray day to get good contrast, but I would rather drive around on while the sun is shining. Still managed to get a few shots that I really liked. (We've already planned our drive into the "Quiet Corner" for next year!)
Monday, October 7, 2013
Actively listening...
When I was growing up (and even after I had thought I had stopped growing up), I was totally hooked on music. In early days, I would spend most of my disposable income on new tapes (or my free time taping favorite songs off the radio). Then as technology shifted, so did I, moving on to CDs and then on to digital music files. The first thing I would do when I got home from classes or work would be to turn on the stereo. I always have the radio on in the car. I would listen to albums over and over, absorbing the music and memorizing the lyrics until I could sing along with the band. And I loved discovering new music and new bands to increase my collection. Music was my passion, my obsession.
I don't know what it was, but during the last few years, I just haven't been feeling quite that way about new music. I still loved my old favorites, but I just wasn't letting anything new into my heart. Even in the car, I was listening to Sirius' XMs' First Wave pretty much exclusively and not going into any music newer than the late 1990s. Sad. Seriously sad.
However, something changed over the summer, and I am now totally receptive to new (alternative/indie) music. I play Pandora in the house and don't skip over the songs I don't know. In the car, I move the dial up to listen to Alt Nation and Sirius XM U. Right now, I am in a bit of a not quite country music singer/songwriter milieu, and the (new to me) artists I am loving include Neko Case, Aoife O'Donovan, and Luka Bloom. (The kicker about this: I don't like country music. But I do like bluegrass. And I like rockabilly. And Steve Martin and his banjo. So I think that it isn't really that I don't like country music; it is that I don't like pop country.) Anyhow, here are my top three albums of late.
Neko Case: I heard one of her songs ("I Wish I Was the Moon") in a random episode of "True Blood", and I thought it was so cool I went surfing around the internet to find out who wrote it (because TB doesn't list a song credit at the end of the episode.) I downloaded the album the song was on, Blacklisted, and I was immediately hooked. Now I have all of her solo albums. I have pretty much worn out the newest one, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, from listening to it in the car. Her music is totally a "sitting on the porch after work, drinking a beer, having a smoke (if you do that anymore), watching as the sun go down and the light fades away while debating to have another beer or actually make dinner" kind of sound. It's been described as country noir, and I think that description describes her sound to a T.
Aoife O'Donovan: I've listened to her dad on WGBH radio (he hosts "A Celtic Sojourn") and a friend of mine went to New England Conservatory with her, but it wasn't until hearing her on NPR's "Weekend Edition" that I decided to look into her music. Her newest album, Fossils, is fabulous. It is a perfect "quiet Sunday morning, drinking coffee, and reading the papers while sitting on the porch" kind of sound. It's a little bit folk, a little bit country, a little bit rock; the instruments create a rich, layered sound. Her lyrics are stories set to music, and her vocals tell those stories with a sweet, occasionally husky sound. Even if I just put this on in the background, I catch myself listening to this album more closely each time I hear it.
Luka Bloom: Until this past summer, I was more familiar with Luka Bloom's brother, Irish folk singer Christy Moore, than with Luka himself. But after hearing a couple of his songs on the Spectrum channel on Sirius XM, I realized that his was a male counterpart to the music of both Neko and Aoife. I bought two of his albums from iTunes and created a Luka Bloom channel on Pandora, which sadly, ends up having a lot more versions of "Whiskey in the Jar" than I would like it to. (But it also has Loreena McKennitt and Clannad which are two of my all time favorite bands so I don't mind too much.) Luka's sound is a lot more mellow than his brother's and also more melodic. (The only Christie Moore song that reminds me of Luka's sound is "Sweet Music Roll On".) I would call it a good "reading on the porch on a Saturday afternoon, drinking lemonade, and basking in the warm sunshine" kind of sound. Great stuff!
So these three have done a great job in reconnecting me to the world of contemporary music, and I am looking forward to finding more new favorites in the days to come.
(Quick disclaimer: my friend MMH said something to me about my playing sad music when I was playing Neko while we getting ready to go to Je Glide's bridal shower. I don't think that this music is particularly sad, but happy Katy Perry pop music this isn't. Not knocking Ms. Perry. She is very good too. Just these three are better!)
I don't know what it was, but during the last few years, I just haven't been feeling quite that way about new music. I still loved my old favorites, but I just wasn't letting anything new into my heart. Even in the car, I was listening to Sirius' XMs' First Wave pretty much exclusively and not going into any music newer than the late 1990s. Sad. Seriously sad.
However, something changed over the summer, and I am now totally receptive to new (alternative/indie) music. I play Pandora in the house and don't skip over the songs I don't know. In the car, I move the dial up to listen to Alt Nation and Sirius XM U. Right now, I am in a bit of a not quite country music singer/songwriter milieu, and the (new to me) artists I am loving include Neko Case, Aoife O'Donovan, and Luka Bloom. (The kicker about this: I don't like country music. But I do like bluegrass. And I like rockabilly. And Steve Martin and his banjo. So I think that it isn't really that I don't like country music; it is that I don't like pop country.) Anyhow, here are my top three albums of late.
Neko Case: I heard one of her songs ("I Wish I Was the Moon") in a random episode of "True Blood", and I thought it was so cool I went surfing around the internet to find out who wrote it (because TB doesn't list a song credit at the end of the episode.) I downloaded the album the song was on, Blacklisted, and I was immediately hooked. Now I have all of her solo albums. I have pretty much worn out the newest one, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, from listening to it in the car. Her music is totally a "sitting on the porch after work, drinking a beer, having a smoke (if you do that anymore), watching as the sun go down and the light fades away while debating to have another beer or actually make dinner" kind of sound. It's been described as country noir, and I think that description describes her sound to a T.
Aoife O'Donovan: I've listened to her dad on WGBH radio (he hosts "A Celtic Sojourn") and a friend of mine went to New England Conservatory with her, but it wasn't until hearing her on NPR's "Weekend Edition" that I decided to look into her music. Her newest album, Fossils, is fabulous. It is a perfect "quiet Sunday morning, drinking coffee, and reading the papers while sitting on the porch" kind of sound. It's a little bit folk, a little bit country, a little bit rock; the instruments create a rich, layered sound. Her lyrics are stories set to music, and her vocals tell those stories with a sweet, occasionally husky sound. Even if I just put this on in the background, I catch myself listening to this album more closely each time I hear it.
Luka Bloom: Until this past summer, I was more familiar with Luka Bloom's brother, Irish folk singer Christy Moore, than with Luka himself. But after hearing a couple of his songs on the Spectrum channel on Sirius XM, I realized that his was a male counterpart to the music of both Neko and Aoife. I bought two of his albums from iTunes and created a Luka Bloom channel on Pandora, which sadly, ends up having a lot more versions of "Whiskey in the Jar" than I would like it to. (But it also has Loreena McKennitt and Clannad which are two of my all time favorite bands so I don't mind too much.) Luka's sound is a lot more mellow than his brother's and also more melodic. (The only Christie Moore song that reminds me of Luka's sound is "Sweet Music Roll On".) I would call it a good "reading on the porch on a Saturday afternoon, drinking lemonade, and basking in the warm sunshine" kind of sound. Great stuff!So these three have done a great job in reconnecting me to the world of contemporary music, and I am looking forward to finding more new favorites in the days to come.
(Quick disclaimer: my friend MMH said something to me about my playing sad music when I was playing Neko while we getting ready to go to Je Glide's bridal shower. I don't think that this music is particularly sad, but happy Katy Perry pop music this isn't. Not knocking Ms. Perry. She is very good too. Just these three are better!)
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