Eurovision highlights, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’, and squillions of miniatures
You asked, I’ve answered – ‘Raves and Faves’ is back, baby!
Hi all,
Firstly, an apology: I hadn’t cottoned onto why people had been pledging paid subscriptions for ‘Becks and the City’ in past weeks. Substack had sneakily been suggesting this to subscribers in my emails, but the versions I received said ‘Subscribed’ where you saw the pledge message. I believe I’ve fixed this now in my settings behind the scenes. Feel free to let me know if I’m mistaken and it’s still happening.
I went to a writing workshop on the weekend held at a cemetery. My friend, gothic writer R.A. Wodecki, was keen to go and I’d recently heard wonderful things about the course presenter, Carol Lefevre. It was a nice morning out. We spent some time creating scrolls of mind maps of childhood memories up until now. Then we used those memories to create work – whether fiction or memoir or somewhere in between. This was a different approach I hadn’t come across before and there were several useful new ways of thinking I gained from going. The small piece of writing I did while I was there will form part of the 5,000-ish words I submit to this month’s online feedback group (due tonight – eep, better get cracking!).
Lastly, I couldn’t let this week go past without touching on Eurovision. This newsletter’s ‘Raves and Faves’ is my seven favourites (I was going to make it five, but I just had to add a couple of extras). It was a bumper year for excellent entries. I genuinely reckon any of the seven I’ve named could’ve won, plus a few more, and I would’ve thought they were worthy champions. Who had you cheering at the TV? Let me know in the comments — I’m always up for talking Eurovision!
It was also lovely to see the support for official host nation Ukraine among the festivities. It’s such a joyful event, full of good cheer and cooperative spirit. Like mid-year Christmas, honestly. I keep saying I’ll host a Eurovision party one year. Gotta make it happen. Next year!
As always, have a rockin’ week and see you in seven days. : )
News
1. Man, this is sobering reading. I’m not for a second suggesting we Aussies should quit our whinging. Things have been objectively tough here. Inflation in the last 12 months has had a terrible impact on people, especially those with the least cushioning in their budgets. However, if I’m groaning every time I open my purse after our 7% increase over the space of a year, imagine how much worse it’d be in Turkiye, where prices have risen 43.7% or Argentina, where prices have risen over 100%. Yikes and a half. Hopefully the latest budget and the next one will start steering our economy back on track, affordability-wise. And the same for other countries.
2. In lighter news, while I feel iffy about Martha Stewart’s morals given the whole insider trader thing, I’m loving the fact that at 81, she’s now a cover girl for the annual swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated. Oldest ever. Yes!
Reviews
1. Things I liked about the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie: Dave Bautista as Drax… the soundtrack and … nope, that’s the end of the list. I’ve enjoyed the previous instalments in the franchise and though I was warned there was some… animal unpleasantness… in the latest movie, I figured I could shut my eyes during that scene or two. After all, it’s a blockbuster movie and it’s rated PG13, so how bad could it be? It turns out, VERY. The sad critter stuff isn’t limited to a couple of scenes, it’s baked into the whole storyline. If you’re an animal lover like me, DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. Trust me. Otherwise, it’s getting great reviews, so if you’re not put off by what I’m saying, you’ll probably love it. For me, I thought I could endure it, but ended up walking out about halfway to two thirds of the way through the screening and waited in the car. This is maybe the second movie ever I’ve noped out of partway through at the cinema. From memory, the other one was Snow Falling on Cedars aka the world’s slowest, dullest film. You’ve been warned.
2. I had some spare Beauty Pass points on my Sephora account, so I ordered a trial size of the FENTY BEAUTY Gloss Bomb Heat in ‘Hot Cherry 01’ ($40 for 9ml). It says it’s a ‘universal lip luminizer’ and plumper. That burny tingle of a plumper doing its job can definitely be felt and my lips do seem to be more plumpalicious after application (which frankly, they could do with), so I’ll give that a big tick. There’s also a shimmer going on, but I’m not sure it’s anything to write home about. Similarly, I wouldn’t call the colour super-vibrant – you can see it’s there without making a huge difference. The sweet cherry flavour is nice and I like the formulation. It’s thick without being too gluggy or sticky, and glides on easily thanks to the fat sponge applicator. Overall, where this lip gloss shines are the plumping effects and if you like subtle colour. Personally, I’d prefer less plumping and the colour dialed up, but this one goes alright.
3. A dose of pure delight: this New York Times piece on the Chicago International Miniatures Show. Photos of everything from infinitesimally small fruits and vegetables, record players, and leather jackets, to tallboys and dressers and teacups. A smiley founder zipping around the venue on a motorised scooter. Makers selling their nifty creations. A community of friendly weirdos getting together to bond over their shared fondness for tiny things. Yes.
Raves and Faves
The seven best 2023 Eurovision performances (no spoilers)
Still planning to catch up on who won Europe’s glittery night of white-pants-wearing nights last week? Fear not – I’m saying here who I most enjoyed out of the 26 finalists, not giving away the winner. This year was full of cracker entries, honestly. Here’s who I dug the most, in the order they appeared.
1. Cyprus
‘Break a Broken Heart’ by Andrew Lambrou
An honourary Aussie entry – this fella was born in Sydney into a Cypriot family. He absolutely nailed the vocals and the song’s a mighty fine power ballad. Smoke machines, flames, and fake rain effects galore. *chef’s kiss*
2. Sweden
‘Tattoo’ by Loreen
One of my all-time top Eurovision performances is when Loreen won with ‘Euphoria’ in 2012. So, I was stoked to see her back this year with a kinda similar song – a pop/EDM track. She knows what she’s doing and she sure hit it out of the park.
3. Italy
‘Due Vite’ by Marco Mengoni
Who can resist a strikingly handsome bloke in a sparkly sweater vest? Not I. He’s got pipes too, and back-up dancers faffing around on a trampoline behind him. So, all the essentials, basically.
4. Finland
‘Cha Cha Cha’ by Kaarija
Probably my absolute favourite. It had everything – a lime green puffer shrug, a catchy chorus, ridiculous poses, and back-up dancers in eye-popping outfits who looked like they were having a blast.
5. Czechia
‘My Sister’s Crown’ by Vesna
Eurovision isn’t complete without a circle of white (or in this case, pink) witches banging on about feminism through the medium of song. This year, it was Czechia’s turn to let their comically long plaits fly and they did a bang-up job.
6. Australia
‘Promise’ by Voyager
Biased? Yep. But this Perth band did our nation proud. This probably sits at the intersection of pop, metal, and dance, which sounds like a dog’s breakfast of a genre, but Voyager makes it work. The ’80s-flavoured set was pulling its weight as well. Class.
7. Belgium
‘Because of You’ by Gustaph
The act I dubbed ‘Belgian Boy George’. The song is early ’90s dance music as its finest and the whole performance is just ‘FUN’ in all-caps. Everyone involved nailed it on the night, too.
Giveaway
The winner of last week’s giveaway, Happy Place by Emily Henry, is Jessie Chibber. Jessie, I’ve emailed you.
There’s no giveaway this issue. Back next week. : )
Playlist of the Week
Songs Mr Big would’ve played in his apartment with Carrie:
I'm excited to see GotG 3, but I walked out of the live action Dumbo like an upset child, so idk.