Finally addressing the elephant in the room: as a ‘Sex and the City’ fan, what did I think of ‘And Just Like That…’?
This week’s giveaway is a *signed* copy of new thriller ‘Dark Mode’ by Ashley Kalagian Blunt.
Did you have a rockin’ Easter? I had a cold, which was a slight bummer as I missed the family lunch. When I thought about it, though, the long weekend is just about the ideal time to come down slightly poorly. Doona weather! A readymade stockpile of snacks! (Generally) no obligations for four days!
So, I signed up to a free trial of BINGE and finally, FINALLY watched And Just Like That. It’s seriously remiss on my part that I haven’t watched it before now and shared my verdict on it with you guys. But this dire situation is rectified now – check out my review below.
Peace out. Have a great week!
News
1. Friends and acquaintances who work or study at universities currently have told me stories about how things work these days, including the fact that academic jobs are increasingly casual and overloaded with work, as well as the pressure to pass students to keep the money rolling in. Nevertheless, I found this Guardian piece sobering reading (kudos to Caitlin Cassidy for her in-depth report). Tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a degree taught using recycled materials, videos, and one of those drinky bird toys as your tutor? Gee, where do I sign up? I’m thanking my lucky stars I went through university before years of government funding cuts really started to bite. In the last year or two, I’ve toyed with the thought of doing a PhD, but stories like this really take the shine off the idea, even though I’m not dead-set on working in academia afterwards. As terrible as these revelations by anonymous whistleblowers are of how tertiary institutions work behind the scenes (sounds like something out of a spy movie, no?), the universities aren’t even really the bad guys here. If you’re forced to operate on a pittance, you’ve got to trim your spending down somehow. Fingers crossed the Federal budget throws them a lifeline this year and that the extra money results in stable jobs in the sector.
2. Did you know that endometriosis takes, on average, seven years to be diagnosed? Holy heck, that’s not acceptable! In the meantime, there’s the potential for the condition to worsen, not to mention the pain, frustration, and medical gaslighting many women and female-parts-havers will experience in the meantime. Two points of hope on this front, though. Firstly, 20 new pelvic pain clinics will soon be opening across Australia, not only helping the patients attending these spaces, but also educating GPs about endometriosis and related conditions. Secondly, AI is taking a break from potentially destroying the world to join forces with ultrasounds and MRIs to help with diagnosis. The new approach will hopefully be available in two years’ time. This sounds like VERY GOOD NEWS INDEED.
Reviews
1. A confession that will no doubt surprise no one: daydreaming about living in New York is one of my favourite pastimes. And Vogue Living are more than happy to help me do it with this collection of photographs from 24 Big Apple apartments. I’d be happy with any of them, let’s be real, but supermodel Elsa Hosk’s Soho loft particularly captured my imagination. The cream corner couch, the oversized lanterns, the greenery, the majestically tall windows… and the rest of the place looks equally timeless and elegant in neutrals with strategic splashes of colour. It’s all just *chef’s kiss*. If only IKEA sold this entire set-up in a flat pack.
2. It’s not often that I rip out the word ‘divine’, but this is the occasion that calls for it. I tried a sample of Kopari Exfoliating Crush Scrub and it really does smell divine – like grape Hubba Bubba mixed with maple syrup. Containing coconut and brown sugar, this is dark brown fine-granulated concoction is for those who prefer a gentler scrub. Your skin ends up slick with a slight sheen to it and beware – your tub will end up slippery as hell, so don’t take a tumble. This scrub is definitely on the exxy side ($67.00 for 236ml at Sephora), so maybe see if you can swing a sample or put it on your birthday list. I’d be whipping it out for special occasions (date night, staycations, anniversaries) rather than putting on regular rotation.
3. I learnt a new word this week – ‘eustress’ aka positive stress, the opposite of distress – thanks to this article in The Guardian pointing out that supposedly happy events can cause stress too. The example that immediately leapt into my mind was weddings. Not only is there the time pressure of getting a seemingly endless to-do list completed before the big day, but there’s also worrying about clashes of warring clans – whether they’re feuding ex-friends in the bridal party, a strange mix of personalities and political views at table seven, or Uncle Harry who gets rowdy after one too many sherries. Then for introverted brides and grooms, there’s the nervousness attached to the anticipation of being the centre of attention surrounded by, often, a hundred or so people for a whole day. Exhausting. Anyway, I digress. The point is that we need to recognise eustress as a real thing, and not, as some might suggest, simply being silly and trying to find the rain cloud on a sunny day. Change and events out of the ordinary, good or bad, place a certain extra load on our bodies and our minds. We need to treat ourselves, and others in these situations, gently. Something I’ll endeavour to keep in mind in future.
4. Having a cold over the Easter long weekend meant I snuggled up under the quilt eating white buttermint eggs and signed up for a free trial of Binge so I could watch And Just Like That. As a Sex and the City tragic, it’s surprising how long it’s taken me to get around to seeing it. I’ve been a bit scared off by the mixed reviews, to be honest. And from the spoilers I saw, I knew we’d be in for a BIG sad moment in the beginning. Plus there was the sad passing of Willie Garson aka Stanford Blatch, who was sick while And Just Like That was being filmed. Then there’s the question of: has too much time passed between the original series and the continuation? How do they modernise the characters while ensuring they’re in keeping with their previous personalities? And how do they deal with the absence of Kim Catrall, who played Samantha (ie my favourite character)? Well, for me, the first season started off quite sadly and awkwardly (even aside from Mr Big). There were plenty of cringey moments that were almost too much to watch. I had to pause a few times to recover. But looking back, they were in keeping with the original series. I’d forgotten the characters’ many embarrassing moments because their impact had lessened from my countless rewatches of the show. They were absolutely there, though. I thought the inclusion-without-really-including Samantha’s character was cleverly done. Not sure whether it’ll be sustainable in future seasons, but it worked for now. The new characters of Che, Seema, and LTW, along with a couple of others not only added some much needed diversity, but fresh energy to the plotlines. I’m not sure if one of them is going to land at the brunch table as the final replacement for Samantha or if that fourth place setting will be covered on a revolving basis by all of them from time to time. I liked them, though. My strongest feeling, however, goes to Miranda’s storyline. On the one hand, I like the new direction it took, but on the other hand #justiceforSteve. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the second season.
Giveaway
The winner of last week’s giveaway, The Ugly Truth by L.C. North is Melanie Whittle. Huzzah! Melanie, I’ve emailed you.
This week the giveaway is a *signed* copy of Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s new thriller, Dark Mode. Pop your name and email address in here to enter.
Playlist of the Week
Soundtrack to the film adaptation of an imaginary outback crime novel:
1. Bring It On - Fdel
2. Take Me Home – A.B. Original, Gurrumul
3. Move – Baker Boy
4. Mansion - Tilly Tjala Thomas
5. Sorry – The Easybeats
6. The Wolves – Amy Shark
7. Cosmic Egg – Wolfmother
8. Lady Blue – Emily Wurramara
9. Poison In Your Mind – Powderfinger
10. Ain’t No Sunshine – Ian Moss, Troy Cassar-Daley
11. On My Way - Spiderbait
12. Confess – Jack River
13. Rattlin’ Bones – Kasey Chambers
14. Sanctuary – Tilly Tjala Thomas
15. Nali – Dan Sultan
Can highly recommend this book i thoroughly enjoyed the read. This book really gets you thinking about how much of our lives we put online and just how accessible our information is to others.