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Well it's good to have this back. Though I did laugh and roll my eyes through most of it, I still enjoyed this ep.
( A few more thoughts on the ep - SPOILERS, obviously... )
( A few more thoughts on the ep - SPOILERS, obviously... )
Ah, Merlin. The show I never stopped loving but which has been so quiet these past few months (Hiddles/Avengers, I blame you) that I'd forgotten that actually I was positively uncontrollably excited about S5 before Odin's lads distracted me :)
It restarts this Saturday. I would be watching except I've got guests so iPlayer it shall be! Until then, stray nuggets of news/promo keep falling across my path and making me flail like the proverbial seal. Such as Eoin's comment about ep 1 and a half-naked Tom Hopper.
The latest tidbit to induce the old-school dolphin like noises would be
Source.
My daft, ridiculous, wonderful show. Come back to me, I am ready :)
It restarts this Saturday. I would be watching except I've got guests so iPlayer it shall be! Until then, stray nuggets of news/promo keep falling across my path and making me flail like the proverbial seal. Such as Eoin's comment about ep 1 and a half-naked Tom Hopper.
The latest tidbit to induce the old-school dolphin like noises would be
Source.
My daft, ridiculous, wonderful show. Come back to me, I am ready :)
THEN: "There was one day where I managed to slightly mischievously steal Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer and I was parading around the subterranean tunnel... One of the producers saw me and said, 'What are you doing with those?'"
NOW: 
So. When he said "I had the shield in my hand and I was holding the hammer aloft in my arm, and I sent pictures to Chris and Chris and was like 'Guys, I'm not giving them back.'" He really wasn't kidding :)
Ah. Mr Hiddleston. You charmingly dorky frustrating well-spoken litte sh*t. Please never change :)
NOW:
So. When he said "I had the shield in my hand and I was holding the hammer aloft in my arm, and I sent pictures to Chris and Chris and was like 'Guys, I'm not giving them back.'" He really wasn't kidding :)
Ah. Mr Hiddleston. You charmingly dorky frustrating well-spoken litte sh*t. Please never change :)
"Dare you to poke her." aka Film/Vid Rec
Aug. 30th, 2012 11:52 pmHow do you get folks to sit-up and take notice of a 10-minute short film which is pretty much just about about a silver-haired lady chatting/flirting online, with gentle teasing from her best mate on the sidelines?
Simple. Have that lady played by Dame Judi Dench.
This is an adorable little film in which Dench is queen of Twitter and Facebook, with the same easy feel-good factor of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Definitely worth a watch :)
Simple. Have that lady played by Dame Judi Dench.
This is an adorable little film in which Dench is queen of Twitter and Facebook, with the same easy feel-good factor of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Definitely worth a watch :)
Passing on a serious book rec: 'Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?' by Jeanette Winterson.
An autobiography about the author's childhood, her family and growing up. It starts out in particular focussing on the relationship with her mother, who you realise is another very unhappy troubled soul. You know from the start that the author is adopted (when her mother was displeased with her, a favourite phrase was "The devil led us to the wrong crib"), but the 'adoption issue' doesn't really rear its head until over halfway through. The reason being that the author herself didn't really face it until later on in life when circumstances made it unavoidable.
Anyone with a serious interest in adoption needs to read this book. It is bravely written and brutally honest.
As an adoptee myself, despite our circumstances being insanely different, I was surprised to realise that the author had managed to articulate feelings/thoughts I have been struggling to properly verbalise for some time. I may not agree with everything she says or the conclusions she draws, but in reality these are not the point of the book. The power of what she's feeling is, and that is what I can relate to.
So, yes, in conclusion, please read this book. It is a very worthwhile education.
An autobiography about the author's childhood, her family and growing up. It starts out in particular focussing on the relationship with her mother, who you realise is another very unhappy troubled soul. You know from the start that the author is adopted (when her mother was displeased with her, a favourite phrase was "The devil led us to the wrong crib"), but the 'adoption issue' doesn't really rear its head until over halfway through. The reason being that the author herself didn't really face it until later on in life when circumstances made it unavoidable.
Anyone with a serious interest in adoption needs to read this book. It is bravely written and brutally honest.
As an adoptee myself, despite our circumstances being insanely different, I was surprised to realise that the author had managed to articulate feelings/thoughts I have been struggling to properly verbalise for some time. I may not agree with everything she says or the conclusions she draws, but in reality these are not the point of the book. The power of what she's feeling is, and that is what I can relate to.
So, yes, in conclusion, please read this book. It is a very worthwhile education.
RIP Avengers fandom
Aug. 22nd, 2012 12:32 amIf you go out to Tumblr today...
So apparently sometime in the last 24 hours, the gag reel and some deleted scenes of Avengers broke, and I think quite possibly might have broken the Avengers fandom.
And what a way to go :)
[Source]
As fast as vids etc go up they're being yanked down *cough*tryhere*cough, but there are some priceless gif-sets worth a browse if you're that way inclined :) Say for example here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here... etc...
So apparently sometime in the last 24 hours, the gag reel and some deleted scenes of Avengers broke, and I think quite possibly might have broken the Avengers fandom.
And what a way to go :)
[Source]
As fast as vids etc go up they're being yanked down *cough*tryhere*cough, but there are some priceless gif-sets worth a browse if you're that way inclined :) Say for example here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here... etc...
Eddie Izzard's written a great piece for CNN: 'Mo Farah is proof of great multicultural Britain'.
When Mo was asked whether he'd have preferred to run as a Somali (he came to Britain as child refugee) his response was: "Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud."
As someone who has also been adopted into this country, all I can really say to that is: YES.
It's a lovely article, definitely touches on why - somehow, and completely unexpectedly - these Olympics left me feeling, if only for a little while, genuinely proud to be British :)
When Mo was asked whether he'd have preferred to run as a Somali (he came to Britain as child refugee) his response was: "Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud."
As someone who has also been adopted into this country, all I can really say to that is: YES.
It's a lovely article, definitely touches on why - somehow, and completely unexpectedly - these Olympics left me feeling, if only for a little while, genuinely proud to be British :)
Yes, it once again time for me to wave some fics in your direction in hopes you enjoy them as much as I did. No surprises that they're all Marvel-verse, focussing somewhat *ahem* on Loki.
x. 'Darkness and Terrors' - a crossover with Pan's Labyrinth. - Loki - gen.
It's something I'd never considered but actually works so very, very well. Set pre-Thor, young Loki meets the Faun, who teaches him how to walk between worlds as one magical creature to another. Of course. As darkly Gothic as the film, this was an unexpected treat.
x. 'Never Let Me Go' - RPS AU, crossover with Never Let Me Go - Hiddleston/Hemsworth - R
I still cannot read Thor/Loki, but it seems RPS AUs are absolutely fine :) Set in the same 'verse as the film, this fic has the same bittersweet, wistful tone. And the same wonderfully happy ending.
x. 'Locked' - Thor/Avengers - Loki, Thor, Gen.
The prompt was a crack-y one inspired by both Thor and Loki's hair looking somewhat long and unkempt in Avengers. The joke being maybe they used to cut each other's hair, so now what would they do. The resulting fic turned out surprisingly poignant with a snapshot look at the boys growing up while we also saw the outfall of Loki's actions in Avengers.
x. 'Loki makes a fantastic Midgard politician' - Loki, Avengers, Gen.
A break from the angst. Crack!fic. Set post-Avengers where Loki is now stuck on Earth as a mortal. But even without his magic he's up to something. The Avengers get increasingly concerned, while Thor just shrugs because hey it's just his brother trying to harmlessly keep himself amused. And also save the whales.
x. 'Darkness and Terrors' - a crossover with Pan's Labyrinth. - Loki - gen.
It's something I'd never considered but actually works so very, very well. Set pre-Thor, young Loki meets the Faun, who teaches him how to walk between worlds as one magical creature to another. Of course. As darkly Gothic as the film, this was an unexpected treat.
x. 'Never Let Me Go' - RPS AU, crossover with Never Let Me Go - Hiddleston/Hemsworth - R
I still cannot read Thor/Loki, but it seems RPS AUs are absolutely fine :) Set in the same 'verse as the film, this fic has the same bittersweet, wistful tone. And the same wonderfully happy ending.
x. 'Locked' - Thor/Avengers - Loki, Thor, Gen.
The prompt was a crack-y one inspired by both Thor and Loki's hair looking somewhat long and unkempt in Avengers. The joke being maybe they used to cut each other's hair, so now what would they do. The resulting fic turned out surprisingly poignant with a snapshot look at the boys growing up while we also saw the outfall of Loki's actions in Avengers.
x. 'Loki makes a fantastic Midgard politician' - Loki, Avengers, Gen.
A break from the angst. Crack!fic. Set post-Avengers where Loki is now stuck on Earth as a mortal. But even without his magic he's up to something. The Avengers get increasingly concerned, while Thor just shrugs because hey it's just his brother trying to harmlessly keep himself amused. And also save the whales.
Joss to write and direct 'Avengers 2'
Aug. 8th, 2012 12:32 amOOOOOOHHHH...
So if the sources are correct, Joss has signed-on for Avengers 2.
In an ideal world, given Joss' "Spike... or as we now call him, Loki" comment, I would like to think that the odds of Loki getting some hint of eventual redemption have just improved. Realistically though, Avengers 2 is a looong way off and I'm guessing we will have a completely fresh villain and quite likely no Loki at all. C'est la vie.
Still! Plenty of fandom collisions to enjoy in some upcoming films:
x. Benedict Cumberbatch is nipping out of Sherlock to face-off Kirk in Star Trek 2.
x. Rupert Graves is briefly ditching Sherlock to go visit Doctor Who.
x. Christopher Eccleston evades the Tardis by going off to play The Big Bad in Thor 2. (So potentially at some point a Hiddleston/Eccleston/Hopkins face-off *rubs hands*)
Bring it on... :)
So if the sources are correct, Joss has signed-on for Avengers 2.
In an ideal world, given Joss' "Spike... or as we now call him, Loki" comment, I would like to think that the odds of Loki getting some hint of eventual redemption have just improved. Realistically though, Avengers 2 is a looong way off and I'm guessing we will have a completely fresh villain and quite likely no Loki at all. C'est la vie.
Still! Plenty of fandom collisions to enjoy in some upcoming films:
x. Benedict Cumberbatch is nipping out of Sherlock to face-off Kirk in Star Trek 2.
x. Rupert Graves is briefly ditching Sherlock to go visit Doctor Who.
x. Christopher Eccleston evades the Tardis by going off to play The Big Bad in Thor 2. (So potentially at some point a Hiddleston/Eccleston/Hopkins face-off *rubs hands*)
Bring it on... :)
Olympics 2012
Aug. 6th, 2012 12:16 amI will admit to being completely apathetic towards the Olympics during the run-up to the opening ceremony. The ceremony itself we only watched, grudgingly, because one of our friends was one of the volunteer dancers and, bless, he was so excited about it, how could we not.
I will also admit that aside from feeling that the moment might be one of the most surreal of my life, the moment of watching the Queen purr "Good evening, Mr Bond" before she, the royal corgis, and Bond himself set-off to the fanfare of Handel's Royal Fireworks was one of the few moments I might have been persuaded to say "You know what? I think I'm proud to be British..."
And then last night we wound up at the local pub. Unplanned and all the better for that, we found ourselves gathering round to yell at the screen as Rutherford, Ennis and Farah tried to claim an Olympic medal.
This caught my interest initially because of the name. The Appleton-Rutherford laboratory's canteen used to do a smashing fish and chips which I was very fond of. Call it positive name association. The interest then remained as we marvelled that THAT jump was so good, Rutherford could afford to completely fluff his last 2 jumps and still get a gold. Good for you, lad.
The pub knew she basically only had to finish to win a medal. But even so, oh how we cheered when she pulled away from the rest of the group to finish in true Olympic gold medallist style. There may have been cheering from our quarter of West Sussex.
We started watching this at the pub. But it was getting late and there were 19 laps still to go so we headed home to watch the rest.
Yes, we cheered when he flew across that finish line. BUT we also had to cheer for team USA who did a phenomenal job in the last stretch of charging into silver. Plus we all went "Aww! That's nice!" when we realised they were training partners and their reactions to each other getting a medal.
I will admit he is a great player. But "humble" and "modest" are not 2 words I would normally associate with Andy Murray. So what stood out for me when he won gold was not so much that he won, but that he seemed genuinely overwhelmed, even if only for a moment, by the whole thing. In any case, well played, sir, well played.
Britain and Northern Ireland. Take a good look. It may not stay this way for much longer, but tonight I think we are allowed to bask :)
I will also admit that aside from feeling that the moment might be one of the most surreal of my life, the moment of watching the Queen purr "Good evening, Mr Bond" before she, the royal corgis, and Bond himself set-off to the fanfare of Handel's Royal Fireworks was one of the few moments I might have been persuaded to say "You know what? I think I'm proud to be British..."
And then last night we wound up at the local pub. Unplanned and all the better for that, we found ourselves gathering round to yell at the screen as Rutherford, Ennis and Farah tried to claim an Olympic medal.
This caught my interest initially because of the name. The Appleton-Rutherford laboratory's canteen used to do a smashing fish and chips which I was very fond of. Call it positive name association. The interest then remained as we marvelled that THAT jump was so good, Rutherford could afford to completely fluff his last 2 jumps and still get a gold. Good for you, lad.
The pub knew she basically only had to finish to win a medal. But even so, oh how we cheered when she pulled away from the rest of the group to finish in true Olympic gold medallist style. There may have been cheering from our quarter of West Sussex.
We started watching this at the pub. But it was getting late and there were 19 laps still to go so we headed home to watch the rest.
Yes, we cheered when he flew across that finish line. BUT we also had to cheer for team USA who did a phenomenal job in the last stretch of charging into silver. Plus we all went "Aww! That's nice!" when we realised they were training partners and their reactions to each other getting a medal.
I will admit he is a great player. But "humble" and "modest" are not 2 words I would normally associate with Andy Murray. So what stood out for me when he won gold was not so much that he won, but that he seemed genuinely overwhelmed, even if only for a moment, by the whole thing. In any case, well played, sir, well played.
Britain and Northern Ireland. Take a good look. It may not stay this way for much longer, but tonight I think we are allowed to bask :)
The name's Bond
Jul. 31st, 2012 09:49 pmI know myself well enough to be able to spot potentially tricky ships about to appear on the horizon (i.e. ships that will tickle me like a trout when they finally arrive).
Case in point:
Source.
To sum-up, the first full Skyfall trailer has hit the interwebs...
Case in point:
Source.
To sum-up, the first full Skyfall trailer has hit the interwebs...
A little touch of Harry in the night
Jul. 22nd, 2012 03:01 pmSo guess who's just caught up on the Hollow Crown's Henry V.
Duck me but that was magnificent.
Kudos of course to cast and crew, but actually the main thing for me has been a definite new-found respect for that dude Shakespeare. The words and concepts he wrote were just wonderful.
Also, was it me or did they shoot some of the French scenes in Camelot/Château de Pierrefonds? I swear I've seen those turrets and archways before...
Duck me but that was magnificent.
Kudos of course to cast and crew, but actually the main thing for me has been a definite new-found respect for that dude Shakespeare. The words and concepts he wrote were just wonderful.
Also, was it me or did they shoot some of the French scenes in Camelot/Château de Pierrefonds? I swear I've seen those turrets and archways before...
Nom nom nom
Jul. 13th, 2012 12:57 amSometimes it really pays to be shallow. I'm still on a high from Hiddles as Prince Hal, any and all songs in Rock of Ages, and now we've got our first glimpse of Ben Whishaw as Q in the new Bond film. Thank you, life, that will tide me over quite nicely now til the weekend :)
And finally...
Jul. 9th, 2012 12:38 amA-ah! I knew I forgot something. We're at the finals in the BBC America's Anglo Fan Favorites: Men of 2012 Poll.
Surprise surprise it's Hiddleston vs Cumberbatch. I suspect it will be close...
Which leaves Colin Morgan vs Martin Freeman in the battle for bronze. May the best man win!
Surprise surprise it's Hiddleston vs Cumberbatch. I suspect it will be close...
Which leaves Colin Morgan vs Martin Freeman in the battle for bronze. May the best man win!
Pour some sugar on me...
Jul. 9th, 2012 12:34 amAnd thus ends a weekend of Awesome :) A wonderful few days with wonderful people celebrating in the name of the magnificent ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gingerpig. There was plentiful drinks, food, merriment, an outing to see Rock of Ages, an update on Franklin & Bash, and a catch-up on The Hollow Crown - Henry IV: Part 1.
I do have to pause here to recommend that if you have not already caught it, do try and find a way to watch The Hollow Crown. The two Henrys (Irons and Hiddleston) were wonderful, Falstaff was brilliant, and in general the production was a joy to watch.
On a more shallow note: my word, Hiddleston is very very pretty man and all hail please the wardrobe department and whoever decided red leather was the way to go...
I do also heartily recommend, if you have access, watching Shakespeare Uncovered: Jeremy Irons on the Henrys. It's an interesting look at the history versus the drama. Also, for all that Thea Sharrock says she wasn't trying to make a pro- or anti-war film, you get the impression the actors involved nevertheless have a strong opinion on the message behind it all.
It also gives you a sneak peek at some of the upcoming scenes of Henry V. Which includes lines cut from the famous Olivier film and bloody hell some of them really were brutal (a good example here. It may not be comfortable viewing but I am looking forward to seeing the actors get their teeth into these next two instalments.
gingerpig. There was plentiful drinks, food, merriment, an outing to see Rock of Ages, an update on Franklin & Bash, and a catch-up on The Hollow Crown - Henry IV: Part 1.I do have to pause here to recommend that if you have not already caught it, do try and find a way to watch The Hollow Crown. The two Henrys (Irons and Hiddleston) were wonderful, Falstaff was brilliant, and in general the production was a joy to watch.
On a more shallow note: my word, Hiddleston is very very pretty man and all hail please the wardrobe department and whoever decided red leather was the way to go...
I do also heartily recommend, if you have access, watching Shakespeare Uncovered: Jeremy Irons on the Henrys. It's an interesting look at the history versus the drama. Also, for all that Thea Sharrock says she wasn't trying to make a pro- or anti-war film, you get the impression the actors involved nevertheless have a strong opinion on the message behind it all.
It also gives you a sneak peek at some of the upcoming scenes of Henry V. Which includes lines cut from the famous Olivier film and bloody hell some of them really were brutal (a good example here. It may not be comfortable viewing but I am looking forward to seeing the actors get their teeth into these next two instalments.
So, BBC America have been running their 'Anglo Fan Favorites: Men of 2012, Quarterfinals' poll.
It's been a right punch-up so far, highlights included Neil Gaiman taking out Stephen Fry by one vote. Still! We are now at the quarter-finals and 4 battles look epic.
1) Martin Freeman vs. Colin Firth - What kind of choice is that?
2) Benedict Cumberbatch vs. David Tennant - Are you insane?!
3) Tom Hiddleston vs. Alan Rickman - asdl;kfjalkd;fjjafld YOU B*ST*RDS!!
4) Colin Morgan vs. Bradley James - I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS ONE.
*Ahem*. Suffice to say, t'is a cruel, cruel choice to put to the world. Still, if you have the strength, you can go vote over here...
It's been a right punch-up so far, highlights included Neil Gaiman taking out Stephen Fry by one vote. Still! We are now at the quarter-finals and 4 battles look epic.
1) Martin Freeman vs. Colin Firth - What kind of choice is that?
2) Benedict Cumberbatch vs. David Tennant - Are you insane?!
3) Tom Hiddleston vs. Alan Rickman - asdl;kfjalkd;fjjafld YOU B*ST*RDS!!
4) Colin Morgan vs. Bradley James - I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS ONE.
*Ahem*. Suffice to say, t'is a cruel, cruel choice to put to the world. Still, if you have the strength, you can go vote over here...
So apparently there are "rumours" in the comic blogs that Marvel/Disney are contemplating releasing some kind of Avengers: Director's Cut. Which according to Joss' earlier comments would have a running time of potentially over 3 hours.
I could potentially be very on board with this, depending of course on who/how the extra screentime is spent *ahem* :)
I could potentially be very on board with this, depending of course on who/how the extra screentime is spent *ahem* :)
As you may recall, the Beeb are doing a series of Shakespeare plays, called The Hollow Crown, encompassing Richard II, Henry IV (Parts I and II) and Henry V. The cast, to say the very least, is phenomenal.
Jeremy Irons upbraiding Tom Hiddleston, Ben Whishaw crossing swords with Rory Kinnear, all under the watchful eyes of David Suchet, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, Clemence Poésy, Michelle Dockery, to name but a few (yes the list goes on...)
I might possibly be just a teensy bit excited...
Jeremy Irons upbraiding Tom Hiddleston, Ben Whishaw crossing swords with Rory Kinnear, all under the watchful eyes of David Suchet, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, Clemence Poésy, Michelle Dockery, to name but a few (yes the list goes on...)
I might possibly be just a teensy bit excited...
Vid Recs - Thor/Avengers
Jun. 6th, 2012 02:45 amMuch as I do enjoy wallowing around in the Thor/Avengers fandom, I have found it helps to frequently take the "LA LA LA NOT LISTENING" approach and let certain implications go soaring over my head. (For now incest remains one kink too far for delicate ol' me). Plus as Glee has shown, you can quite happily have brothers singing love songs to each other and (apparently) it all still be platonic. Who am I to argue?
So! Passing on 2 vid recs:
x. Somebody That I Used To Know - Thor/Avengers - bring on the angst! Some nice scene selections to fit the lyrics as we get each brother's point-of-view on the deterioration of their relationship. ( Embedded behind cut... )
x. Teeth - Thor - anti!angst! In which Lok is unashamedly bad and loving it. Because for him and his brother nothing confirms affection more than trying to beat the other to a pulp. ( Another embed... )
So! Passing on 2 vid recs:
x. Somebody That I Used To Know - Thor/Avengers - bring on the angst! Some nice scene selections to fit the lyrics as we get each brother's point-of-view on the deterioration of their relationship. ( Embedded behind cut... )
x. Teeth - Thor - anti!angst! In which Lok is unashamedly bad and loving it. Because for him and his brother nothing confirms affection more than trying to beat the other to a pulp. ( Another embed... )
"Let's look for dragons!"
Jun. 3rd, 2012 02:09 pmSo things have been insanely busy but mostly positive. Thank god for the bank holiday weekend, though, at the very least I need to catch-up on sleep.
I am one of these people who gets very nostalgic over childhood poems/books, and yes Winnie the Pooh is one of these. So passing on a sweet reading of "Us Two" by Bellatrix Lestrange and Loki Odinson (I don't know why it tickles me that this is how must current kiddies will first think of them):
I am one of these people who gets very nostalgic over childhood poems/books, and yes Winnie the Pooh is one of these. So passing on a sweet reading of "Us Two" by Bellatrix Lestrange and Loki Odinson (I don't know why it tickles me that this is how must current kiddies will first think of them):
