📺 In preparation for tomorrow’s trip to the cinema to watch the sequel, I watched the original Beetlejuice last night. Seeing it for the first time in at least a decade was quite the experience!
📺 In preparation for tomorrow’s trip to the cinema to watch the sequel, I watched the original Beetlejuice last night. Seeing it for the first time in at least a decade was quite the experience!
📺 My partner and I settled in to watch the first episode of Slow Horses S4 last night. And we barely spoke once, except to declare our undying love for Kristin Scott Thomas. I would watch anything she’s in.
Can’t wait for episode two next week. It’s the very definition of ‘appointment tv’.
🥇 New post: An Olympic effort
To me, it was such a refreshing change to have the ceremony away from the enclosure of a stadium. Why wouldn’t you use the beauty of Paris - one of the most stunning cities in the world - as your backdrop, when you know the world is watching?
⚽️ I’ve just been informed by my Dutch husband, that we are, in fact, watching “the football” this evening.
Shook. I’ve no idea where all this football enthusiasm has come from, but I’ll need to stamp it out ASAP.
📺 Finally finished ‘Sugar’ on AppleTV+ last night and I have to say I loved it.
Great story-telling, beautiful visuals, and twist in the tale that left me grinning from ear to ear. Colin Farrell is incredible. Thoroughly recommended. And I really hope they make a second season.
📺 Settling in to watch the final episode of Star Trek: Discovery.
End of an era and all that.
A pleasant side-effect of last weekends flights to and from Estonia was the opportunity to catch up with the latest series of Doctor Who.
I’m by no means a fan, and haven’t watched it in years, but the first three episodes are great fun. I’ll definitely be watching the rest. It feels like the perfect jumping-on point for new viewers, or those of us who last watched when Tom Baker was leaping about with that incredible scarf and a packet of jelly babies.
📺 I’ve just finished watching the final episode of Shogun and, like every episode that went before, it was a masterpiece.
I hope the writers and cast win all the awards, especially Anna Sawai, whose portrayal of Mariko was stunning. She had me hanging on her every word each scene she appeared in.
Ugh. Knowing there’s no more Shogun to come is (pardon the pun) a double-edged sword. No more excellent storylines, but also no risk that it will end up like the final season of Game of Thrones.
I’m finally watching X-Men ‘97 as I’ve only heard good things about it from my fellow geeks. And the risk of having it spoiled by online comments was getting all too real.
So, here we go. To me, my X-Men.
One month to go…
It’s obviously time to review all of this year’s Eurovision entries and I have to say, I’m loving 🇫🇷 France, 🇪🇸 Spain and 🇮🇹 Italy so far.
We’re definitely not having a Eurovision party this year, but holding out a hope that one of our neighbours will pick up the baton.
I had great plans for a healthy and productive evening at home. I was going to head down to the gym, cook a healthy dinner and do some outstanding life admin.
Then, it came to my attention that the first two episodes of the new season of Star Trek: Discovery are now live on Paramount+ and so everything else has been binned. It’s all-Trek, all evening now.
I don’t make the rules…
Amazingly, we took off from Mallorca on time and landed in London on time.
I’m stunned.
It was an uneventful journey and I passed the time getting stuck into ‘Three Body Problem’ on my iPad Mini.
Now back home, all unpacked, and awaiting a groceries delivery so we can eat dinner!
Another day of two halves…
I’ve just come upstairs to my apartment after a solid hour pumping away on the elliptical machine down in the gym. I had a pretty rough morning (medical appointment… grrr) so it was nice to take my frustrations out on an inanimate object, and burn some calories in the process.
Plus, I finally got to finish watching ‘Severance’ and I’m quite sure the final episode helped raise my heart rate to epic levels!
I’m definitely finishing the day on a more positive note.
What next? Oh yes. My better half is making us spicy chicken ramen and we’re going to watch the latest episode of ‘Shogun’. It’s just magnificent.
Here’s to the power of physical exercise and escapism!
I’ve continued a real focus on my wellbeing, with several visits to the gym, my first 5km run of the year (and my second!), some long walks and - shocking to me - managing to stick to my healthier diet. Dry January continues to be a breeze, and the easiest way to decrease my weekly calories. So I’ve decided to continue it into February. How I’ll handle the free champagne on my flight to Tokyo is a problem for future me to deal with!
But in all seriousness, I’ve not slept this well or felt this positive for ages. So exercise and AF beers seem to be the combo that’s making all the difference.
I bought a new weighing scales, as my old one completely gave up the ghost. I got this one from Withings, to use up the last of my Christmas Amazon vouchers. So far I’m super impressed. It measures body composition as well as weight, to give you an idea of the fat to muscle ratio. The accompanying app is really excellent and syncs perfectly with Apple Health on my iPhone. A daily check-in on the scales keeps me honest! But also realistic.
The fact that a friend noticed I’ve lost weight in my face was the boost I needed to keep going.
I had a stellar week at work, winning a new client and getting an approach from an old one to do some really interesting work. I also managed to record two episodes of the podcast, publish two YouTube videos (to be fair, one was just the recording of a webinar I did earlier in the week) and made a big decision about a self-directed business project I’m going to work on this quarter.
More to come on that front…
A friend in Tokyo has arranged an overnight trip to Hakone for when I’m in Japan. So I’ll spend my birthday soaking in a hot springs resort and eating delicious food! I’ve also been refining my list of places to visit, so that it’s more manageable and realistic. And yes, I’ve been organising it all in Noteplan which is all kinds of wonderful. I don’t have shares, I promise - but if you use iOS and want fast access to your notes on the go, this is an excellent option.
And yes, I know I’ve promised a blog post on Noteplan. I’ll get to it. Soon.
And even though it’s at the other end of the year, my partner and I are planing our November trip to Japan. In stark contrast with last year’s trip to sunny Okinawa, we’re planning to head to Hokkaido, to explore Sapporo. Lots of snow and ice, but my first visit that north in Japan, so lots of new experiences lie ahead. Exciting!
I finally finished Apple TV’s ‘Invasion’ this week, on my iPad, while exercising on the elliptical trainer in the gym. It was overall a B+ for me, as I think it could have all be done and dusted in six punchy episodes. I really can’t see it coming back for a second season, but of course, I’m always wrong with these things…
Now it’s finished, I’ve moved on to re-watching the re-make of Battlestar Galactica while exercising. I’d honestly forgotten how tense and well-scripted it is. I’m pretty sure the angst of the first episode translated into a higher heart rate on my part and quite a bit more exercise! And with seasons to go, it’ll keep me from getting bored as I pump away.
And that was the week that was!
Tearing through Season 5 of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ and my face hurts from laughing.
Last night, I watched the final episode of Foundation’s second season on Apple TV+. It was a thrilling ride and the perfect close to an impressive season.
If you haven’t sampled the delights of Foundation yet, let me convince you. No, it doesn’t have space wizards or laser sword fights or cutesy little robots. It doesn’t have alien races with unpronounceable names.
But it does have the palace intrigue of Game of Thrones, combined with the galaxy-wide politics of Star Trek. It addresses fundamental themes of what it means to be a human and what freedom and power are. All while set in the most breath-taking sets you can imagine.
Yes, there are thrilling space battles (eventually), but there’s real character growth, plot developments that leave your mouth gaping, set design that will set your heart racing and an ongoing exploration of the messy grey zone between ‘good’ and ‘evil’.
The cast is wonderful.
Whether it’s the out and out menace and endless sexual charge coming from Lee Pace as Brother Day, or the cold and definitely unsettling presence of Laura Birn as Demerzel, virtually every character brings something to the screen. I found myself getting incredibly invested in their journeys - which is always a great sign when there are so many characters.
(By comparison, half-way through the final season of Game of Thrones, I wouldn’t have been moved if a dragon had eaten every single human pottering about King’s Landing.)
Foundation requires real attention. This isn’t something you can enjoy with one eye on your iPad or while preparing a meal. I found myself rewinding to catch crucial plot points (and not just the naked hand-to-hand fight scenes. Ahem.).
It’s not light, but it is up-lifting. It’s complex, but rewarding. There’s no magic. But there is a spiritual element. Any miracle you see is all technology plus the human spirit. And I enjoyed every minute.