Mischief Theatre Should Really Be Paying Me By This Point.
Jan. 25th, 2026 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rionaleonhartHaving slid rapidly from 'enthusing about my new favourite show' to 'outright propaganda', I've written a Goes Wrong Show primer for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tv_talk. I thought I'd crosspost it here, in case anyone wants a general overview of my latest obsession, although I suspect my posts over the last month have already conveyed a lot of this!
If anyone's in the mood for something silly and fun, I'd like to recommend The Goes Wrong Show, which I discovered recently and absolutely fell in love with.
What is The Goes Wrong Show?
If you've heard of The Play That Goes Wrong, this comedy series is from the same theatre company, Mischief Theatre. Every thirty-minute episode is a new short play, performed by the determined but deeply unfortunate Cornley Drama Society. Every play goes as wrong as humanly possible.
In addition to being very funny, the plays are startlingly impressive technical achievements. These are genuine stage plays being filmed in front of a live audience, and making things 'go wrong' convincingly requires incredible pinpoint timing. So much hard work goes into messing everything up; it must be so much trickier than performing a play that goes right!
If you like Taskmaster, you might also enjoy this; they have a similar sense of people desperately struggling on with their mission while everything falls apart around them.
( Character overview below the cut. )
Where can I watch The Goes Wrong Show?
There's a good chance you'll be able to watch it at no cost! If you're in the UK, it's on BBC iPlayer (or DVD, if you don't have a television licence).
If you're outside the UK, I believe The Goes Wrong Show is officially available for free on the Lionsgate YouTube channel. As the videos are blocked for me, it's hard for me to check (let me know if it doesn't seem like the right link!), but I think this YouTube playlist should have all twelve episodes. I've heard from a couple of people based in the US that it's also on Amazon Prime there.
If I only ever watch one episode of this show, which would you recommend?
I love the whole show, and I think the first-listed episode ('The Spirit of Christmas') is a solid starting point. If you only ever watch one, though, the episode '90 Degrees' is a genuinely insane, extraordinary feat of performance. If you're wondering, they're not using CGI; they actually did that.
tv_talk. I thought I'd crosspost it here, in case anyone wants a general overview of my latest obsession, although I suspect my posts over the last month have already conveyed a lot of this!If anyone's in the mood for something silly and fun, I'd like to recommend The Goes Wrong Show, which I discovered recently and absolutely fell in love with.
What is The Goes Wrong Show?
If you've heard of The Play That Goes Wrong, this comedy series is from the same theatre company, Mischief Theatre. Every thirty-minute episode is a new short play, performed by the determined but deeply unfortunate Cornley Drama Society. Every play goes as wrong as humanly possible.
In addition to being very funny, the plays are startlingly impressive technical achievements. These are genuine stage plays being filmed in front of a live audience, and making things 'go wrong' convincingly requires incredible pinpoint timing. So much hard work goes into messing everything up; it must be so much trickier than performing a play that goes right!
If you like Taskmaster, you might also enjoy this; they have a similar sense of people desperately struggling on with their mission while everything falls apart around them.
( Character overview below the cut. )
Where can I watch The Goes Wrong Show?
There's a good chance you'll be able to watch it at no cost! If you're in the UK, it's on BBC iPlayer (or DVD, if you don't have a television licence).
If you're outside the UK, I believe The Goes Wrong Show is officially available for free on the Lionsgate YouTube channel. As the videos are blocked for me, it's hard for me to check (let me know if it doesn't seem like the right link!), but I think this YouTube playlist should have all twelve episodes. I've heard from a couple of people based in the US that it's also on Amazon Prime there.
If I only ever watch one episode of this show, which would you recommend?
I love the whole show, and I think the first-listed episode ('The Spirit of Christmas') is a solid starting point. If you only ever watch one, though, the episode '90 Degrees' is a genuinely insane, extraordinary feat of performance. If you're wondering, they're not using CGI; they actually did that.
The Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing
Jan. 25th, 2026 09:01 amjames_davis_nicoll
Fostering a teen is a challenge at the best of times. The end of civilization is not the best of times.
The Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing
Done Since 2026-01-18
Jan. 25th, 2026 02:05 pmmdlbearSo, while I accomplished a few things -- I'll get to those later -- I'm not going to mark that as my mood because there is so much more that I was supposed to have done, and because of what's going on in Minnesota. (Just 50 miles north of where I went to college, which isn't really relevant but affects my mood nonetheless.)
I only managed three walks, all under a kilometer, but one was a st/roll with N, trying out Roman-the-Roamate. That will lead to a couple of reviews, eventually. I did rather little practicing, but sang a couple of songs during Eurofilk on Thursday, which counts. I also, at long last, retrieved Nova's old mirror drive and installed it. And downloaded a couple of tax forms.
I did more cooking than usual, too, because G was on vacation in Amsterdam. And got mostly-good news from my cardiology appointment -- basically I have a "typical hypertensive heart", but no valve problems or backflow. A little more detail Tuesday.
What didn't get done was, basically, anything that required communication. The main one here is getting Scarlett-the-Carlet serviced. (I did try email and web forms to a couple of promising-looking places, but got negative or no response. I'll have to call.) There's also some writing that needs done, both emails and reviews (see above and here). Also trip planning -- I really ought to get to Seattle in time to renew my driver's license, which expires mid-March.
Ok, links. I do not seem to have any links for the nightmare going on in Minnesota; I probably should archive some of that footage before it goes down the memory hole. But if you're there, or anywhere else where there's an ICE storm, you'll find a lot of useful stuff Friday and Saturday. Friday has whistle info, and Saturday has Melt the Ice hat: r/AntifascistKnitting. There's also a crochet pattern, and some of the history behind it.
Finally, from Saturday, Democrats Successfully Strip All Anti-Trans Riders From Final Appropriations Bills, ‘The powerful have their power. We have the capacity to stop pretending’: the Canadian PM’s call to action at Davos | Mark Carney | [Transcript] | The Guardian, and Guédelon: The Castle That Is Being Built Like It’s the Year 1228! (Which may come in handy after the apocalypse).
Just one thing: 25 January 2026
Jan. 25th, 2026 06:59 amjazzyjj posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!
Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!
Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
His butler was too formidable
Jan. 25th, 2026 02:33 pmcimoreneThe Powerhouse by John Buchan is a 1916 thriller mystery about an international secret criminal organization that's absolutely laughable in light of (1) the later course of history and (2) the development of the genre. Readable, pleasant narration, and quite a turn of phrase, but insubstantial.
The Patient in Room 18 by Mignon G. Eberhart is set in a private hospital in the American Midwest in 1929, and that made it interesting at first. It has some gobsmacking passages that it doesn't seem to know are racist ("This other guy was obviously wrong to be prejudiced against this mixed race woman but she is obviously fashionable and lazy because of her Black ancestry" - the enlightened detective). The plot relies on a witness to the first murder waiting a week, then deciding to spill his guts to the narrator in a clump of bushes where anybody could overhear, then refusing to say who did it and running away to get murdered while the narrator is just like "Huh!"
The Patient in Room 18 by Mignon G. Eberhart is set in a private hospital in the American Midwest in 1929, and that made it interesting at first. It has some gobsmacking passages that it doesn't seem to know are racist ("This other guy was obviously wrong to be prejudiced against this mixed race woman but she is obviously fashionable and lazy because of her Black ancestry" - the enlightened detective). The plot relies on a witness to the first murder waiting a week, then deciding to spill his guts to the narrator in a clump of bushes where anybody could overhear, then refusing to say who did it and running away to get murdered while the narrator is just like "Huh!"
well things did not really go according to plan
Jan. 25th, 2026 06:55 amunicorndukeFriday morning we spread three loads of straw before the wind picked up too much to spread more, personal best for me and I was pretty sore for it. But I sat around the rest of the morning and then went out just before noon to clean bale strings out of the shredder. That went fine, it goes pretty quick if you don't let them build up too much. I was putting it back together, I took my glove off to thread the nut, started tightening it, the wrench slipped and I jammed my left index finger onto one of the shredder blades. To be fair, the nut is under the shredder, so I was working crouched on the ground up over my head (equipment chocked, always always always), but it felt bad.
The cut is parallel to my fingernail and wraps around the front and went quite deep. I sat on the couch for about an hour after rinsing it and it was still bleeding decently, so I took myself to urgent care. The good news is that they weren't busy at all, so I got seen immediately and it was rinsed and I got a couple stitches in the front of my finger to help stabilize the skin flap. The shot to numb my finger hurt way worse than the actual wound.
It was bitter cold yesterday morning (3F), but dad and tried to shred straw anyway. However, we are using the Kubota which is the newest tractor and has a very fine mesh fuel filter. And it was so cold that the diesel had thickened and the tractor would start sputtering every time we tried to turn the PTO on. So we gave it up. I went back inside for a few hours. Went to cut some wood and somehow during my cutting ,the chain jumped the track and dinged up the new bar and chain. I think the side nuts loosened up somehow but now the chain won't fit on the track, so I need to see if it can be fixed. Deeply annoying, stupid mistake to not check.
Then I started moving tractors under cover. Even in the afternoon it was so cold and I ended up having to jump the 395 and still need to jump the E this morning. I split a little bit of wood with the 395 while I had it running but there are log chunks so big that I need help rolling them. They're huge. In that time, the wind died down enough and I put the 395 away in the metal shed and headed down to west. It was 11F and the kubota worked fine. We got the last two loads of straw down, working past dark even if I bunged up the final row we did by accidentally dropping two bales off the wagon and being short of what we needed. We were worried about safety after dark with making the step between platform and wagon, but it turns out the hardest part was not seeing the bale strings. Don't recommend, won't be doing that again.
At some point, I bonked my finger despite my best efforts and reopened it a bit, I think it was the wood splitting or when I whacked it on the railing. Probably not smart to split wood. I have been keeping it wrapped when out working and that's been okay, not too bad to grab bales since I can flex it backwards enough to stay out of the way.
I did drain the downstairs bathroom but I think it froze in the faucet since it was just a trickle that came out once I reopened it. I think I'm going to switch to letting it trickle instead of drain, we are suppose to have overnight temps down around zero all week and it already partially froze. Plus I'm getting tired of having water go down my sleeves when I drain the pipes. And it's annoying to fill the back of the toilet from the kitchen. Toilet line shouldn't freeze since it's closer to the basement. ETA: cleaned the faucet filter and we are back on full blast! going to trickle it at night still
The snow has started here, just about an inch or so but it's coming down fast. The plows went by once already, which is surprising but they are probably going to try and keep on top of it. I haven't seen any vehicles go by, so everyone is staying home if they can which is very good. I need to go pick up the wood I split yesterday and jump the E so we can park it under cover but otherwise we are good. I'm planning to bake today and lay around and do not much useful things
The cut is parallel to my fingernail and wraps around the front and went quite deep. I sat on the couch for about an hour after rinsing it and it was still bleeding decently, so I took myself to urgent care. The good news is that they weren't busy at all, so I got seen immediately and it was rinsed and I got a couple stitches in the front of my finger to help stabilize the skin flap. The shot to numb my finger hurt way worse than the actual wound.
It was bitter cold yesterday morning (3F), but dad and tried to shred straw anyway. However, we are using the Kubota which is the newest tractor and has a very fine mesh fuel filter. And it was so cold that the diesel had thickened and the tractor would start sputtering every time we tried to turn the PTO on. So we gave it up. I went back inside for a few hours. Went to cut some wood and somehow during my cutting ,the chain jumped the track and dinged up the new bar and chain. I think the side nuts loosened up somehow but now the chain won't fit on the track, so I need to see if it can be fixed. Deeply annoying, stupid mistake to not check.
Then I started moving tractors under cover. Even in the afternoon it was so cold and I ended up having to jump the 395 and still need to jump the E this morning. I split a little bit of wood with the 395 while I had it running but there are log chunks so big that I need help rolling them. They're huge. In that time, the wind died down enough and I put the 395 away in the metal shed and headed down to west. It was 11F and the kubota worked fine. We got the last two loads of straw down, working past dark even if I bunged up the final row we did by accidentally dropping two bales off the wagon and being short of what we needed. We were worried about safety after dark with making the step between platform and wagon, but it turns out the hardest part was not seeing the bale strings. Don't recommend, won't be doing that again.
At some point, I bonked my finger despite my best efforts and reopened it a bit, I think it was the wood splitting or when I whacked it on the railing. Probably not smart to split wood. I have been keeping it wrapped when out working and that's been okay, not too bad to grab bales since I can flex it backwards enough to stay out of the way.
I did drain the downstairs bathroom but I think it froze in the faucet since it was just a trickle that came out once I reopened it. I think I'm going to switch to letting it trickle instead of drain, we are suppose to have overnight temps down around zero all week and it already partially froze. Plus I'm getting tired of having water go down my sleeves when I drain the pipes. And it's annoying to fill the back of the toilet from the kitchen. Toilet line shouldn't freeze since it's closer to the basement. ETA: cleaned the faucet filter and we are back on full blast! going to trickle it at night still
The snow has started here, just about an inch or so but it's coming down fast. The plows went by once already, which is surprising but they are probably going to try and keep on top of it. I haven't seen any vehicles go by, so everyone is staying home if they can which is very good. I need to go pick up the wood I split yesterday and jump the E so we can park it under cover but otherwise we are good. I'm planning to bake today and lay around and do not much useful things
Interesting Links for 25-01-2026
Jan. 25th, 2026 12:00 pmandrewducker- 1. Google won't stop replacing news headlines with terrible AI
- (tags:Google news headlines AI OhForFucksSake )
- 2. Israeli agricultural exports face looming 'collapse' as world rejects products over Gaza genocide
- (tags:Israel trade fruit gaza )
- 3. A very short piece of fantasy. One of the few things I've ever read that feel like Terry Pratchett.
- (tags:fantasy funny short_story )
Thanks for the Hat, Human, But I Think I'm All Warmed Up Now
Jan. 25th, 2026 11:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
dailybunny_feed
Happy Bunday! Thanks, Mila and bunny Pinkoo! Mila writes, "Pinkoo plays under my hat and then sticks out her tongue at me!"
It's a birthday!
Jan. 25th, 2026 06:29 amshireboundHappy Birthday, ellynn_ithilwen! I hope Freya and Snješko have become friends, and will fill your special day with purrs and cuddles.
ellynn_ithilwen! I hope Freya and Snješko have become friends, and will fill your special day with purrs and cuddles.(no subject)
Jan. 25th, 2026 09:59 pmthawreckaI paid for a month HBO Max subscription for Heated Rivalry, but then after watching that I was like, oh, they have all of Adventure Time, and the Distant Lands specials, and Fionna and Cake, I wonder if I can watch all of that in a month?
...The answer to that is yes, actually. Massive Adventure Time marathon. Having many feelings about post-apocalyptic gender and identity, and also 🩷🖤bubbline, and also aaaah Huntress Wizard aaah!
I'd never actually finished it when it was on an Australian streaming service, so I finally got to see the final seasons and Marceline and Bubblegum getting back together ♥ and Finn growing up! I truly thought no finale could live up to ten seasons of build up, and I won't say it was perfect, but it was pretty good. I was moved! If you told me at the beginning of the series that I would end up with so many emotions about Ice King, I would not have believed you, but there's some very rich stuff there about loss of identity, especially with regards to his relationship with Betty.
Fionna and Cake also does some pretty interesting stuff, and is especially thoughtful about gender. To the point where I really liked it even though I didn't particularly like the main characters.
( Read more... )
Anyway, I had a great time with that. And literally the night after I finished this massive TV marathon I went out to see two movies.
First: Hamnet, which only just released here. It's interesting, though I don't think it was entirely successful for me. I have to admit I did laugh when he took his shirt off to go swimming and it turned out Will Shakespeare had abs. Not Marvel abs or anything, but certainly more visible abs than I would believe the average Elizabethan playwright to have.
My tears were not jerked out of me, alas, and there was so much shaky cam, but I did think the most interesting part was ( Read more... )
I feel like there used to be a lot more of this kind of film, so I like that it seems fairly successful, even if I wasn't nearly as moved as I wanted to be.
Then I went to see No Other Choice, which was kind of funny. I did laugh. I also didn't find it as funny as I wanted, but it certainly wasn't bad. It ends basically in exactly the place you think it will end, and I do find it an effective satire. Apparently it's loosely based on a Donald E. Westlake story? The best part was some of the comedy of errors at the start of his attempt at a murder spree, and then later it was kind of sad. I'm not sad I went to see it, anyway, even if I was very tired when the movie let out and the cinema had already closed down their escalators.
...The answer to that is yes, actually. Massive Adventure Time marathon. Having many feelings about post-apocalyptic gender and identity, and also 🩷🖤bubbline, and also aaaah Huntress Wizard aaah!
I'd never actually finished it when it was on an Australian streaming service, so I finally got to see the final seasons and Marceline and Bubblegum getting back together ♥ and Finn growing up! I truly thought no finale could live up to ten seasons of build up, and I won't say it was perfect, but it was pretty good. I was moved! If you told me at the beginning of the series that I would end up with so many emotions about Ice King, I would not have believed you, but there's some very rich stuff there about loss of identity, especially with regards to his relationship with Betty.
Fionna and Cake also does some pretty interesting stuff, and is especially thoughtful about gender. To the point where I really liked it even though I didn't particularly like the main characters.
( Read more... )
Anyway, I had a great time with that. And literally the night after I finished this massive TV marathon I went out to see two movies.
First: Hamnet, which only just released here. It's interesting, though I don't think it was entirely successful for me. I have to admit I did laugh when he took his shirt off to go swimming and it turned out Will Shakespeare had abs. Not Marvel abs or anything, but certainly more visible abs than I would believe the average Elizabethan playwright to have.
My tears were not jerked out of me, alas, and there was so much shaky cam, but I did think the most interesting part was ( Read more... )
I feel like there used to be a lot more of this kind of film, so I like that it seems fairly successful, even if I wasn't nearly as moved as I wanted to be.
Then I went to see No Other Choice, which was kind of funny. I did laugh. I also didn't find it as funny as I wanted, but it certainly wasn't bad. It ends basically in exactly the place you think it will end, and I do find it an effective satire. Apparently it's loosely based on a Donald E. Westlake story? The best part was some of the comedy of errors at the start of his attempt at a murder spree, and then later it was kind of sad. I'm not sad I went to see it, anyway, even if I was very tired when the movie let out and the cinema had already closed down their escalators.
Bits and pieces
Jan. 25th, 2026 10:12 pmluthienI've fallen behind with fandom snowflake this week. I'll have to see if I can catch up tonight. Oh well, it's meant to be a relaxed challenge, so it won't really matter to anyone except me if I finish it or not.
While I've been not doing snowflake, I HAVE been reading quite a bit of Heated Rivalry fic lately. It's been quite a while since I last just sat down and read a bunch of fic for a single fandom. It's been nice to just immerse myself like that. Not sure if I'll write anything. Even apart from all the hockey stuff, it's a very (North) American canon, and I haven't written for a fandom like that in a really long time. But maybe. We'll see. I do have the kernel of an idea. Maybe. Perhaps. If I have the strength, I'll do a recs post, at least.
(I did manage to write a three sentence fic forthreesentenceficathon today. I might write a few more if the mood strikes.)
One funny thing. I just left kudos on a HR fic, and noticed that half a dozen names along from mine was an old friend who hasn't had time for fandom for the last few years until very recently. Looks like we have a fandom in common again, for the first time in... fifteen years? More? I'm laughing at the way I found out, though, particularly given the sheer quantity of kudos a lot of the fics in this fandom get. What are the odds that we should leave kudos on the same fic at almost the same time? I guess we must have both followed the same rec, but STILL.
Meanwhile, the weather is being pretty brutal here. The other week, we had the most intense heatwave since the Black Summer six years ago, but this week's heatwave is going to be worse. It got to about 37 (98F) today, which felt like walking into an oven whenever I opened the front door, and it's going to be similarly hot for the next few days, but they're forecasting 43 (109F) for Wednesday. I'm super glad I don't have any appointments that day. I'm just going to batten down the hatches and stay in my nice, cool air-conditioned house until the temperature finally drops. It will be one of those days when it might still be around 30 at midnight, though, so I think the dog's chances of getting a walk that day are basically nil.
I still haven't made it to the beach this summer, mostly because of the weather. Every weekend it seems to be either a heatwave or else a post-heatwave storm, neither of which makes for fun travelling to the beach or being at the beach conditions. There were also four shark attacks in 48 hours along the coast last weekend, including one in Sydney Harbour. That NEVER happens, so everyone is a bit freaked out. The attacks occurred in the aftermath of a big storm, when a lot of storm water was washed into the sea and stirred it all up, though. That attracts bait fish, and the bait fish attract sharks - plus climate change has made the water temperature warmer, which means that the sharks hang around in the area for longer. I grew up a five minute walk from the beach, and my dad taught us from an early age that murky water is sharky water, so there's no way I would have gone swimming in those conditions. But it's clear that not everyone knows that rule. It might be time for the authorities to add a "don't go swimming in murky water" warning to the usual summer slip, slop slap (slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat) campaign.
I'm flying up to the Deep North in a few weeks to visit my mother, so maybe I'll get a chance for a swim while I'm there. She lives right on the coast, which makes it a lot easier than trying to have a day at the beach from here.
While I've been not doing snowflake, I HAVE been reading quite a bit of Heated Rivalry fic lately. It's been quite a while since I last just sat down and read a bunch of fic for a single fandom. It's been nice to just immerse myself like that. Not sure if I'll write anything. Even apart from all the hockey stuff, it's a very (North) American canon, and I haven't written for a fandom like that in a really long time. But maybe. We'll see. I do have the kernel of an idea. Maybe. Perhaps. If I have the strength, I'll do a recs post, at least.
(I did manage to write a three sentence fic for
threesentenceficathon today. I might write a few more if the mood strikes.)One funny thing. I just left kudos on a HR fic, and noticed that half a dozen names along from mine was an old friend who hasn't had time for fandom for the last few years until very recently. Looks like we have a fandom in common again, for the first time in... fifteen years? More? I'm laughing at the way I found out, though, particularly given the sheer quantity of kudos a lot of the fics in this fandom get. What are the odds that we should leave kudos on the same fic at almost the same time? I guess we must have both followed the same rec, but STILL.
Meanwhile, the weather is being pretty brutal here. The other week, we had the most intense heatwave since the Black Summer six years ago, but this week's heatwave is going to be worse. It got to about 37 (98F) today, which felt like walking into an oven whenever I opened the front door, and it's going to be similarly hot for the next few days, but they're forecasting 43 (109F) for Wednesday. I'm super glad I don't have any appointments that day. I'm just going to batten down the hatches and stay in my nice, cool air-conditioned house until the temperature finally drops. It will be one of those days when it might still be around 30 at midnight, though, so I think the dog's chances of getting a walk that day are basically nil.
I still haven't made it to the beach this summer, mostly because of the weather. Every weekend it seems to be either a heatwave or else a post-heatwave storm, neither of which makes for fun travelling to the beach or being at the beach conditions. There were also four shark attacks in 48 hours along the coast last weekend, including one in Sydney Harbour. That NEVER happens, so everyone is a bit freaked out. The attacks occurred in the aftermath of a big storm, when a lot of storm water was washed into the sea and stirred it all up, though. That attracts bait fish, and the bait fish attract sharks - plus climate change has made the water temperature warmer, which means that the sharks hang around in the area for longer. I grew up a five minute walk from the beach, and my dad taught us from an early age that murky water is sharky water, so there's no way I would have gone swimming in those conditions. But it's clear that not everyone knows that rule. It might be time for the authorities to add a "don't go swimming in murky water" warning to the usual summer slip, slop slap (slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat) campaign.
I'm flying up to the Deep North in a few weeks to visit my mother, so maybe I'll get a chance for a swim while I'm there. She lives right on the coast, which makes it a lot easier than trying to have a day at the beach from here.
Some movies
Jan. 25th, 2026 08:37 pmlucymonsterThe Ring (2002) was a reckless stretching of my "no child-related horror" boundary that fortunately did not backfire, mostly because I spoiled myself very thoroughly for the entire plot of the movie before watching a single minute. But with ample forewarning for the bad bits, not only did it not backfire but I actually enjoyed it more than I can remember enjoying a movie in years. This is phenomenally sad and scary paranormal horror about a cursed VHS tape that kills you seven days after you watch it, and a journalist fighting to solve the mystery of the tape before she and her young son succumb to its murderous power. Aesthetically it was exquisite: everything is wretchedly grey and rainy and minimalist, but somehow never dull. The visual horror was like the distilled essence of what the word "horror" means inside my head. The suspense and fear were great, but really the heart of this story is about motherhood, and the beautiful, terrible power mothers have to save or destroy their children.
( Spoilers )
I haven't decided yet if I will watch the sequel, but I almost definitely will watch the original Japanese film that spawned this adaptation.
Hit Man (2023): Philosophy teacher Gary loves his cats, his pot plants, his job, and birdwatching. He is amicably divorced from his ex-wife, who left him because she found him too steady and yearned for a more passionate lover. Good with tech, he works part time for the New Orleans police in a surveillance van attached to undercover missions. One day, the undercover cop he works with gets pulled off duty right before a planned sting, and Gary reluctantly takes over his role as a fake "hit man" whom their would-be murderer target is attempting to hire. He surprises everyone (himself included) by putting on such a stellar performance that he's asked to become the team's permanent undercover guy. He falls into a highly successful routine: drawing on his longstanding interest in human psychology, he researches his targets and creates a tailored persona to cater to each individual's fantasy of what a mythical hit man should be. But when Gary catches feelings for one of his intended targets - Madison, a beautiful housewife who in desperation to escape is considering having her abusive husband killed - his professionalism starts to slip, and his immersion in the tough, suave persona he designed for her starts to escape the bounds of his mission in ways that change his life forever.
This was fun! I don't have a huge amount to say beyond that. It was fun, gleefully silly, and well acted on Gary/Glen Powell's side. (Madison was played by Adria Arjona from Andor, and I can't tell if she genuinely can't act or has just been typecast as a flat, misogyny-tinged "sexy vulnerable girlfriend" whose roles give her nothing to work with.) They took the John Wick approach of making the victims such repulsive humans that you don't feel bad when they bite it. (Note, that is this film's only overlap with John Wick. Despite the title, it is not a murderfest!) It didn't have much by way of substance but was a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was also fun and also has not inspired me with many deep thoughts. Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young on a trip home to Singapore to meet his family, about whom he has thus far in their relationship told her nothing. It turns out that the Young family are Singapore's foremost developers and property owners, a family of obscenely wealthy celebrities; Nick is the presumed heir to the family business and fortune, and his relatives are not impressed by his choice to involve himself with an Americanised nobody. Romcom tropes and high-stakes familial (melo)drama ensue.
Parts of the film felt like a travel ad for Singapore. One very gratuitous hawker centre scene in particular made me ravenous for Singaporean street food; there is also much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the city's architecture, and lavish displays of traditional culture in the family matriarch's mansion. The portrayal of the Young family's wealth played hopscotch along the border between lifestyle porn and existential horror; it's honestly kind of ghastly how rich they are. Like, unthinkably rich. Like, suck-all-the-joy-out-of-life rich. There's a very sad subplot where ( spoilers ) After all the luxury, I also really enjoyed the final scene where ( more spoilers ) Michelle Yeoh was also amazing as the disapproving mother - plot-wise she is firmly the antagonist striving to keep the happy couple apart, but she brought so much heart and nuance to the role that I was honestly half-cheering for her even as I hoped that Nick and Rachel would work things out.
( Spoilers )
I haven't decided yet if I will watch the sequel, but I almost definitely will watch the original Japanese film that spawned this adaptation.
Hit Man (2023): Philosophy teacher Gary loves his cats, his pot plants, his job, and birdwatching. He is amicably divorced from his ex-wife, who left him because she found him too steady and yearned for a more passionate lover. Good with tech, he works part time for the New Orleans police in a surveillance van attached to undercover missions. One day, the undercover cop he works with gets pulled off duty right before a planned sting, and Gary reluctantly takes over his role as a fake "hit man" whom their would-be murderer target is attempting to hire. He surprises everyone (himself included) by putting on such a stellar performance that he's asked to become the team's permanent undercover guy. He falls into a highly successful routine: drawing on his longstanding interest in human psychology, he researches his targets and creates a tailored persona to cater to each individual's fantasy of what a mythical hit man should be. But when Gary catches feelings for one of his intended targets - Madison, a beautiful housewife who in desperation to escape is considering having her abusive husband killed - his professionalism starts to slip, and his immersion in the tough, suave persona he designed for her starts to escape the bounds of his mission in ways that change his life forever.
This was fun! I don't have a huge amount to say beyond that. It was fun, gleefully silly, and well acted on Gary/Glen Powell's side. (Madison was played by Adria Arjona from Andor, and I can't tell if she genuinely can't act or has just been typecast as a flat, misogyny-tinged "sexy vulnerable girlfriend" whose roles give her nothing to work with.) They took the John Wick approach of making the victims such repulsive humans that you don't feel bad when they bite it. (Note, that is this film's only overlap with John Wick. Despite the title, it is not a murderfest!) It didn't have much by way of substance but was a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was also fun and also has not inspired me with many deep thoughts. Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young on a trip home to Singapore to meet his family, about whom he has thus far in their relationship told her nothing. It turns out that the Young family are Singapore's foremost developers and property owners, a family of obscenely wealthy celebrities; Nick is the presumed heir to the family business and fortune, and his relatives are not impressed by his choice to involve himself with an Americanised nobody. Romcom tropes and high-stakes familial (melo)drama ensue.
Parts of the film felt like a travel ad for Singapore. One very gratuitous hawker centre scene in particular made me ravenous for Singaporean street food; there is also much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the city's architecture, and lavish displays of traditional culture in the family matriarch's mansion. The portrayal of the Young family's wealth played hopscotch along the border between lifestyle porn and existential horror; it's honestly kind of ghastly how rich they are. Like, unthinkably rich. Like, suck-all-the-joy-out-of-life rich. There's a very sad subplot where ( spoilers ) After all the luxury, I also really enjoyed the final scene where ( more spoilers ) Michelle Yeoh was also amazing as the disapproving mother - plot-wise she is firmly the antagonist striving to keep the happy couple apart, but she brought so much heart and nuance to the role that I was honestly half-cheering for her even as I hoped that Nick and Rachel would work things out.
Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 10, part 1
Jan. 25th, 2026 10:23 pmchina_shop posting in sid_guardian
Hi, and welcome back to the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch. Watch half an episode a week, at your leisure, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!
Here are the previous weeks' rewatch posts.
Episode 10, up to 22:09
Summary
Zhu Hong wakes Zhao Yunlan with the news that everyone's been drugged. Shen Wei comes in, and they deduce Wang Zheng is the culprit. Meanwhile, Wang Zheng finds Sang Zan's glowy pillar in the caves. As well as the execution flashback, we see their happy past, dancing in a meadow, and talking together there too. In the present, they reunite through the pillar. Sang Zan's agitation (? or his attempt to free himself?) triggers an earthquake, and in the village, people run for safety. Zhao Yunlan charges Zhu Hong with keeping Shen Wei safely at base camp and goes into the mountains with Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng to find Wang Zheng. Zhu Jiu arrives at the pillar and menaces the lovers. Shen Wei tries to leave the hotel (in Zhao Yunlan's jacket), but Zhu Hong hypnotises him into staying. Chu Shuzhi uses his dark-energy strings to open a door into the mountain, and Zhao Yunlan goes in alone. He's facing off with a Youchu, once more unable to fire his gun, when the Envoy finds him. The Envoy dispatches the Youchu, and together, he and Zhao Yunlan hurry through the cave system in search of Wang Zheng.
Quote
Zhao Yunlan: Everyone at 4 Guangming Rd is mine. We can't just ignore them.
(Unbeknownst to him, he's saying this to Shen Wei who he's repeatedly tried to recruit.)
Detail
I'd forgotten that even the ghost soldiers aren't on board with Zhu Jiu's treatment of Wang Zheng. One of them protests, "She deserves to die, but what you're doing is too cruel!"
Questions
Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 10? When Shen Wei asks, "What is your purpose in coming here?" does Zhao Yunlan answer? (There's a scene break there.) Is Shen Wei tempted to put an extra dark-energy whammy on Jiajia and Xiao-Quan to make sure they don't wake up during all the excitement? Was the heart of candles in the flashbacks Sang Zan's idea or Ge Lan's? How much stuff does Guo Changcheng have in his satchel? If Zhu Hong hadn't deployed her hypnotism eyes, how long would Shen Wei have continued to play along? Did Zhao Yunlan know in advance that Chu Shuzhi had researched the Hanga tribe, or was he just lucky? On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy is Zhao Yunlan to see the Envoy in the caves? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much is Zhu Jiu projecting when he tells Wang Zheng, "You were betrayed before. You are always fated to be abandoned!"
Did you see any parallels in these scenes with other parts of the drama? If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation compares, if at all?
(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in. We'd love to hear your thoughts!)
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Bright Yellow
Jan. 25th, 2026 09:11 ampoliphilo They were selling bunches of daffodils at the Co-op yesterday. 60p reduced from £1.
The ones I bought are looking a bit scraggy and papery this morning, but they're still bright yellow.
One or two of the daffodils at the bottom of our garden are very close to flowering.....
The ones I bought are looking a bit scraggy and papery this morning, but they're still bright yellow.
One or two of the daffodils at the bottom of our garden are very close to flowering.....
Yaaaaaaawn
Jan. 25th, 2026 08:42 amandrewduckerWoke up at 6:30 and it took me ten minutes to wake up enough to realise it's Sunday and my alarm would not be going off at 7. By which point I was too awake to get back to sleep.