‘Damsel’, denim, deadly xenomorphs, and ‘East New York’
The giveaway is new release ‘No Church in the Wild’ by Murray Middleton
Happy chocolate season! I hope you had a nice long weekend. We had the traditional roast lunch on Sunday and then did a lengthy family karaoke sesh, with plenty of Adele, BTS (their English songs or ones they’ve covered), and ’90s classics. I reckon my ultimate karaoke song is Pat Benatar’s ‘We Belong’.
Can you believe we’re a quarter of the way through 2024? Me either. I sat down on the weekend to set goals for the next three months in the ‘Quarterly Focus’ section of my planner. Sometimes I worry that I spend too much time planning and not enough time doing, but I think this is the wrong attitude. If I don’t plan, I tend to rush around flitting between tasks and feeling kinda panicky. Having a plan is much better, because if I ever feel like I’ve lost my way, I can refer to it to remind myself where I want to head. Whether I actually do all the things on my list is another thing, ahem.
We’re booked in to go to a wedding this month. It’s been a while – between the ages of twenty-five and thirty, it felt as if every weekend there was a wedding or an engagement party or a kitchen tea, especially in spring. In recent years, hardly anything. In a way, that’s nice, but I wish they were slightly more spread out so we could enjoy them more. Anyway, I’m excited for this one. I might splash out on a new outfit. One thing I realised is that since I haven’t been to a wedding in so long, I feel like the rules have changed. With inflation biting in the last few years, what’s an acceptable amount to put in a wishing well? Or a nice present to buy? What are the go-to wedding guest styles these days? Previously, I felt like I had a handle on those types of etiquette questions. Now? Not so much.
I’m sure I’ll work it out. In the meantime, have a fab week!
News
1. Music festivals in Australia are doing it tough. After regional festival Groovin the Moo pulled out of the six dates it had advertised, Splendour in the Grass has now cancelled for this year as well. It was to feature Kylie Minogue, Future, and Arcade Fire. The sexual misconduct allegations against the latter’s frontman wouldn’t have helped, I’m sure, but what is going on? Well, we’re in a cost-of-living crisis, for one, and even for the people that do have cash to splash, maybe the allure of a dirty day outside dodging bull ants and strung-out blockheads to see a variety of acts when your favourite act cancelled isn’t quite as strong as it used to be. Instead, they could buy tickets to their favourite blockbuster band or performer in a comfy air-conditioned stadium. When people are pinching pennies, they want to bet on a sure thing. So from the consumer point of view, these music festivals are probably becoming less attractive, plus it sounds like they’re being squeezed when it comes to their running costs and luring acts to Australia when our dollar is weak. This then has an impact on Aussie acts looking to ride some of the bigger international acts’ coattails onto festival bills. Man, this ain’t it. Let’s support the Aussie music scene where we can, because it’s not easy for them right now.
2. The trailer is out for the newest instalment in the Aliens franchise: Alien: Romulus, and I feel early signs are good. I have a deep attachment to these movies, but the most recent ones have been a let-down to say the least. Prometheus was the real low point, with Covenant a slight improvement, for me. Overall for the pair, though, Ripley would be turning in her grave. Romulus appears to be getting back to the roots of the first two films with claustrophobic chase scenes. Looking forward its release on 15 August here in Australia.
Reviews
1. On the plane over to Newcastle, my airline had the first season of police drama series East New York available on its entertainment platform. Intrigued, I watched several episodes on the flights there and on the way back, then finished them off when I was back home. Available on Binge, it turns out the show’s first season is its only season, which I’m ready to throw hands about, as it’s absolutely brilliant. Among the stars are Jimmy Smits of L.A. Law and NYPD Blue fame and Richard Kind, who you might recognise from comedies such as Mad About You and Spin City. Honestly, Richard Kind’s loveable weirdo, Stan Yenko, in East New York was probably my favourite out of the show’s whole line-up of loveable characters. The series centres around the newly promoted Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood in charge of a precinct in a working class neighbourhood of Brooklyn. To me, it was an ideal mix of feeling realistic and delving into important issues without feeling too violent, depressing, and gritty. I would’ve liked to have seen more seasons of this, but that is now unlikely to happen, as it wasn’t renewed on its home network. Apparently, the writers’ strike and other behind-the-scenes issues that had nothing to do with its quality killed it, which is a mighty shame. Thankfully, it wraps up at the end without a cliffhanger, so you can still enjoy it as a neat little one-season series.
2. Found this Forbes article fascinating on what is essentially ways in which grown humans create imaginary friends to combat loneliness: ‘3 Ways Adults Find ‘Imaginary Companions,’ From A Psychologist’. Personally, I reckon I’ll stick to pets and the occasional real-life person, but it sounds like some of these alternatives found extra fans during pandemic lockdowns and are still going strong. To each their own.
3. I don’t mind a bit of Millie Bobby Brown, who I first saw, like a lot of us, in Stranger Things. My partner fired up Netflix the other day to watch Damsel, in which she plays Elodie, a ye olde young woman who marries a prince. At first, I couldn’t have been less keen despite the Millie factor, as that sort of thing is not at all my jam. It won me over, though, when her character experienced… let’s just say a change of fortune and ends up in a labyrinthine cave, hunted by a dragon, and turns into a total badass. Excellent for when you feel like a bit of Harry Potter, but are sick of watching the same series of movies over and over again.
What I’m Feelin’ Right Now
Chunky sculptural gold jewellery
Deep coral nail polish
‘Here To Dance’ by The Veronicas
Using metallic eye make-up in unexpected ways
Having a farmer’s breakfast
Dark denim trenches and suiting
Sitting under a nice tree with a punnet of huge green grapes and cubes of cheese
Thick, dancer-style headbands
Trying my hand at cooking bohémienne (tomato and eggplant casserole)
The burgundy leather look
Giveaway
This week, the giveaway is No Church in the Wild by Murray Middleton. Enter your name and email address here for a chance to win.
Playlist of the Week
Taking denim in dark washes day to night: