1. The Bangles
Maybe its the upcoming concert at the Troubadour that one of my oldest and dearest friends and I are going to this Fall, or maybe its adolescent wish that never quite went away of being in an all-female band (if I could of been a Bangle I always wanted to be Michael Steele). This week I’ve been addicted to their first album, All Over the Place, especially the songs Going Down to Liverpool and More Than Meets the Eye.
Going Down to Liverpool :: The Bangles
with Leonard Nimoy as their grumpy driver!
2. Pride
I wrote a review for this movie after seeing the screener earlier this week which exalts all the love and enthusiasm I have for this film, so I’m not sure what more I can say except that the movie has been with me ever since I saw it and I can’t wait to see it again on Sunday. Pride is one of those movies that I want to take everyone I know to see. It also makes me want to go dancing, too, or at least dance around the house to the all the music from the film.
3. Outlander
The show goes away until April after tomorrow, and I will miss it so. Claire is fascinating to me, frustrating, familiar, rich and complex; I relate to her in more ways than I have words, not to the time travelling, but to her characterization and motivations. I love how strong she is written and portrayed, and yes, as much as we all love Jamie, this show is Claire’s completely.
4. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
It may be time again to return to the Thursday Next series as its been awhile, too much of awhile really. I still think these books would make an epic television series, detective Thursday entering inside books to solve crimes of literary and supernatural proportion, yes, yes, I’d watch that. This is the book that started it all, where Thursday has to enter into Jane Eyre through a “Prose Portal” to catch a killer.
An Audio Book clip
5. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Audiobook
Narrated by Kristoffer Tabori
I am a huge fan of Audio books, especially since I have such a horrendous daily commute to and from work. I have quite an assortment of titles, and have read/listened to a ton over the last two years especially, and the best of the best are not just great stories, but stories told by exceptional narrators. Middlesex is by far the best I’ve ever heard, Kristoffer Tabori takes on the multiple characters in the book, both male and female, both young and old, and does so through their aging and time so perfectly, each one taking on a uniqueness that was unmistakable, bringing the fantastic book to vivid life.
An Audio Book Clip
Back to the board games from our game nights, a favorite of mine is Dixit Journey, a game of pictures and imagination and breathtaking art. Using a deck of cards illustrated with dreamlike images, players select cards that match a title suggested by the “storyteller”, and attempt to guess which player selected which card, for instance “Alice Through the Looking Glass” because perhaps the picture card has a girl and a mirror on it, then all of the players have to lay a card face down that they think fits that “description“. The storyteller shuffles his or her chosen card with the cards received from the other players, and all cards are then dealt face up, and then the players (except for the storyteller) then secretly guess which picture was the storyteller’s, using numbered voting chips.
TableTop plays Dixit with Wil Wheaton, Leo Chu, Casey McKinnon and Beth Riesgraf
7. Black Widow, Issue 1
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Cover Art by Phil Noto
I’m a comic girl and a Marvel Universe fan, and yes, I have my favorites in the comic book realm and the cinematic realm. One that crosses both is Black Widow who I love, and who I’ve actually written some “fan fiction” about, as well. The current Black Widow comic book series is phenomenal, both is story and in artwork – I highly recommend it.
8. Annabelle
Trailer
Oh what a way to start October but with a prequel to one of my favorite recent horror films, The Conjuring. Creepy dolls and haunted houses and yes, I am so in. Directed by John R. Leonetti, written by Gary Dauberman, and produced by one of my favorites of modern horror, James Wan – I am so ready for spooky October (stay tuned here for the month of October for lots and lots of scary treats).
9. Beats So Lonely (live) :: Charlie Sexton
If you saw Boyhood this Summer Charlie Sexton played Ethan Hawke’s roommate and bandmate in the film, who we get to see at two different points in time, and in the character’s lives. Back in the mid-80’s Charlie was a teenager and had an album of New Wave/Pop/Punk songs with a Rockabilly feel, and my best friend and I fell head over heels for him. That deep voice, those high cheek bones, that skinny frame – oh my stars we were so into him, and his songs.
Charlie in Boyhood (still dreamy to me)
10. A Brief History of Robin Thicke 2013 Summer Hit, Blurred Lines by Glove and Boots
from YouTube and recommended by my husband
Glove and Boots are two “Sesame Street” type puppets who do product testing, review music, and offer up other pop culture tips or news as a Vlog. This one is both witty and head scratching, just adding one more thing to lose (or lose more) respect for Robin Thicke about (you go, kids of Marvin Gaye). And yes, we are all so sick of this song, I agree.
