It is never any easy thing straddling the chasm-like divide between heritage and intent. Some people, of course, make it look effortless, bringing together who they were raised to be with who they innately are, or at least, desire to be, their lives barely raising a ripple of existential tension. Continue Reading
On 2nd day of Christmas … I listened to When Christmas Comes Around … by Kelly Clarkson
Coming back around for a second go at creating a warm-and-huggable Christmas vibe – her first festive record Wrapped in Red (2013) made quite the seasonal impression when it landed, anchored by that powerfully emotive voice and a gift for somehow sounding traditional and original all at once – powerhouse Continue Reading
Will the Robinsons finally get home? Thoughts on Lost in Space (season 3 – final)
The Robinsons have been, and will always be, the beating heart of Lost in Space. By necessity, that was the case in the original Irwin Allen-produced 1960s original version of the show where, wacky aliens and strange contrivances aside such as the time the family went back to 1947 thanks Continue Reading
On 1st day of Christmas … I put 15 pop culture ornaments on my tree incl. The Rescuers, UP, Toy Story, Ahsoka Tano, Peanuts, Dr Seuss + Scooby-Doo
We all know history repeats itself thanks to the ongoing presence of human being in the process who alas have shown a freakish propensity for making the same mistakes over and over and over again, but did 2021 really have to ape 2020 so completely and absolutely? I think we Continue Reading
Christmas classic review: Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol
There is no doubting the universal appeal of Charles Dickens’ 1843 A Christmas Carol. Interpreted by just about franchise going, including the Muppets, and even run in reverse by the likes of Blackadder and Scrooged, A Christmas Carol appeals because it maintains with exuberant moral certainty that the hopes and Continue Reading
Is there hope at the end of the world? Station Eleven says “YES” (series trailer)
SNAPSHOTA post-apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines, this limited drama series tells the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and re-imagine the world anew while holding on to the best of what’s been lost. Created for television and showrun by TV filmmaker Patrick Somerville (also Continue Reading
Book review: The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig
Christmas is as wondrous and magical as life gets. A giant, and often much-welcome step away from the same-old banality of the everyday, which is often not awful, just not that great, Christmas promises that everything, at least for a while, will be sparkly bright, awash in contentment, love, and Continue Reading
Movie review: 8-Bit Christmas
Ah, the hazy, crazy days of youth! Specifically the late 1980s when kids definitely wore bike helmets – shhhhh, no, they didn’t but don’t tell today’s kids that – and the biggest, baddest Christmas present goals out there were, beside getting a freckled Cabbage Patch Kid, was securing your very Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more Christmas songs: ABBA, Michael Bublé, Meghan Trainor, Gary Barlow Manchester Orchestra+ The Muppets get Animal-istically festive
Christmas music is wonderful. Granted it may wear thin when you’re in retail and listening to the same tracks day after tinsel-saturated day, but for a great many of us, music adds some extra whimsically charming, emotionally uplifting specialness to a season already brimming with a magical sense of hope Continue Reading
Movie review: Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings
If you have ever believed that characters go a long way to making a movie, and they are integral to a considerable degree however much importance you place them, then you’ll find Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to be vindication of that approach. For though this recent Continue Reading