Hannah Gadsby - "Douglas"

Great show.

To be fair, it did not have the emotional impact of her "Nanette" show. (I seem to have missed recording that here. That show was fucking phenomenal.)

That does not matter. She is amazing. She makes "The Curious Event of the Dog in the Night Time" in a standup comedy routine. With sad sad moments. Where we all laugh. That's comedy. That's true talent. You're laughing and simultaneously you go "wtf"

Da 5 Bloods

Why the triumphant music during the fighting scene when their helicopter goes down?  This is not a glorious battle. Spike Lee is a great director; this is a *decision* (thanks Hannah Gadsby)
Writing this while still watching. Wondering if I'll get it later on.

The Vast of Night

Amazing continuous shots. Not just technical, they reinforce how the small town, the people, the radiostation and the switch board, are all connected.

The storytelling is good. And the writing.
"I've seen good people go bad, and smart people go mad." (Mabel Blanche, when she tells Everett And Fae (? the girl radio operator) about her life.
Her monologue is amazing. how "they" made people focus on stupid things, on losing weight, on fashion, on anything, not realizing they were being controlled. How thus, "they" made wars happen.


Some great guitar music.


"Cut the gas, you were a mile wide!"  [not even close]

"You are on the stick with me tonight!" [exasperated, you're driving me crazy / making things difficult for me?]

Señor Coconut - "El Baile Aleman" (A Latin Tribute to Kraftwerk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGnFF5w5sro

Octavia E. Butler - "Bloodchild"

short eponymous story and others, including a few essays.

Good writing.  The short story about how people cannot talk anymore was interesting. Her afterword after each story made it particularly interesting.

Upload

Enjoyable series about a virtual digital afterlife "Upload" where boyfriend falls in love with his tech support "angel". Bit over the top, to the point where they don't take themselves seriously. Took me a moment to get that.

Max Porter - "Grief is the Thing with Feathers"

poetry, novella?

Amazing story of a mother who has died, leaving Dad and Boys behind. And Crow. Chapters alternate between them. Who Crow is, is left to the reader. Mystical, mesmerizing.

Amazing read.





But I care, deeply. I find humans dull except in grief. There are very few in health, disaster, famine, atrocity, splendour or normality that interest me (interest ME!) but the motherless children do. Motherless children are pure crow. For a sentimental bird it is ripe, rich and delicious to raid such a nest.




We will never fight again, our lovely, quick, template-ready arguments. Our delicate cross-stitch of bickers.





BOYS

She was beaten to death, I once told some boys at a party.
Oh shit mate, they said.
I lie about how you died, I whispered to Mum.
I would do the same, she whispered back.




Moving on, as a concept, is for stupid people, because any sensible person knows grief is a long-term project. I refuse to rush. The pain that is thrust upon us let no man slow or speed or fix.

Warren Ellis - "Because I Was A Girl"

Moses Sumney - "also als also and and and"

Spoken word. Haunting synths and synthetic saxophones with spoken word.

Quite X-Rated style. Nice.

Shadow

Enjoyable enough wūxiá style film, about three warring kingdoms over Jing City. All black and white in a neverending rain where only the blood runs red. Bits of it ar a bit boring and seem to make fun of the genre. Particularly the king is a bit irritating. But the ship slowly sailing towards the city is nice, as is the ensuing battle.

National Theatre plays Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston

(Marcius) You shout me forth in acclamations hyperbolical; As if I loved my little should be dieted In praises sauc'd with lies (Marcius to his wife) Wouldst thou have laugh'd had I come coffin'd home, That weep'st to see me triumph? (Marcius) Oh world, thy slippery turns!

Julia Phillips - "Disappearing Earth"

Thirteen loosely interlocking stories, starting with the disappearance of two girls. We follow their mother, loose acquaintances, almost random people, but all connected. Situated in Kamchatka, far removed from Russia, with their own native people I never heard of before. I had trouble following the connections between the chapters (each chapter another group, another main character). As such, it was not as gripping as I hoped it was. The doctor came close enough that they could smell each other: the doctor sharp with antiseptic wipes, cold circulated air, the waxed fruit flavor of lip balm tucked underneath, and Valentina slippery with nervousness. Everyone looked better at a distance. Everyone sounded sweetest when you did not have to hear them talk too long. After her husband hung up, Natasha skated past her brother at the wall, their mother cleaning her glasses beside him. Loving someone close-up - that was difficult. He let out a goose's hiss at that, kkkh, air forced from the back of his throat. She had no time to pause and take her panic in hand, so instead she rode it, shock turned to speed in her legs. No one in this world cared enough about what Oksana treasured, but only Anton's disregard ended up feeling like love. It hurts too much to break your own heart out of stupidity, to leave a door unlocked or a child untended and return to discover that whatever you value most has disappeared. No. You want to be intentional about the destruction. Be a witness. You want to watch how your life will shatter.