Land of the mildly insane

So the clock is ticking down to my finally toddling along to our local fleapit for Thor: The Dark World. I have some laundries and work to do until then so at least the wait will pass quickly!

In other news I hate everything, especially Tom Hiddleston who seems to be high as a kite at the moment as he pings from one interview to the next. Bless him, he honestly looked like he was about to burst into tears of gratitude when one of the interviewers (dressed-up and in character as 'Uncle' Vili) admitted that adopted or not, Loki and Thor were foremost and always brothers. I do sometimes think that no matter how much the fans adore Loki, none of them can get close to how much Tom does.

Oh, and yes, I have seen (most of ) his interview with Alan Carr. I will admit some of it I was watching from between my fingers, but what I did see was memorable :)

Film-wise it should come as a surprise to absolutely no-one that I'm slightly pinging off the walls knowing Thor 2 had its première this evening in London. I'm am trying desperately to stay spoiler free but it's hard when all the photos and flails are starting to appear on the interwebs. *twitch* Anyway, my two favourite tidbits from the various press junkets this past week or so are:

x. Small kid in 'Thor' costume asks the ultimate question, namely: "Thor, are you actually brothers with Loki?" Aww. (And yes, the lads do answer).
x. "KNEEL." - I remember listening to the commentary on the scene where Derek Jacobi turned round to reveal the Master. The comment being awe at how some actors can completely change themselves by somehow changing something in their eyes. Anyway, the gifset of Tom going seamlessly mid-sentence from affable Hiddleston to ice cold Loki did remind me of those moments in SPN where the eyes flicker to black. Speaking of...

Ah. SPN. Who knows how long we will last this time, but it's been a couple of seasons already, so odds are in your favour. Anyway, I've been swept away by the good ship Dean/Cas and the family unit of Dean/Sam/Cas. And yes, I was unable to escape from that spoiler regarding this week's ep. So many thoughts, so many questions. I suspect strong tea will be needed for this one. And speaking of strong, apparently there was a deleted scene from 'Taxi Driver' between Dean and Benny. And in the same way that the deleted scene of Loki becoming King in Thor did slightly change the mood of the entire set-up, this scene was sort-of kind of a little bit fundamentally important for these two characters. Ah well. Time for sleep methinks.

I am getting genuinely excited now about the impending return of Supernatural. I love Cas and Crowley and it tickles me pink that they're included in the new promos. Though that aside, it seems I have once again reached the stage of avoiding spoilers were possible. So I know about that piece of casting news with regards to Cas, but otherwise I'm more-or-less going into this season blind *pings* Can't wait.

So! Passing on some SPN related links that have made me laugh (or cry) this past week:

x. In which Misha films himself shipping Destiel. Not going to lie, I laughed.
x. MTV reported that Misha would be fine with a Dean/Cas kiss so long as Jensen brushed his teeth first. Once again, I laughed, mainly at their (I'm assuming) quite accurate predictions of fandom's response.
x. WARNING: url contains a spoiler, so do not hover... ( Read more... )
x. Fic Rec: Icarus - Dean/Cas...-ish. Post S8-AU. Jimmy Novak's POV; Cas has died, leaving Jimmy free at last to try and find his way home to his family. Dean (and Sam) step up when needed and give him a helping hand. Very, very sad fic but very nicely written.

Credit and full picture at: brilcrist

If you are a fan of Pacific Rim and Avengers, it's well worth having a look over brilcrist's 'Avengers x Pacific Rim' crossover art series. There are some lovely ones of Tony and Jarvis, and Bruce Banner, though of course my favourite is her vision of Loki.

And if you fancy writing something in that verse, there's now an 'Avengers x Pacific Rim' fic contest being run (closing date 10th October). Go on, you know you want to...

So various happy things will be happening this week.

x. OK, if I'm honest, it's not the best picture of Loki. But frankly, do I care. It's Loki on the front cover of Empire. The interviews inside have quotes like this one about the sibling dynamic of Thor and Loki in Thor 2. I am so getting me one of these :)

x. Anyone remember Franz Ferdinand. Not the archduke, the band. Who it seemed just vanished off the face of planet about 2 million years ago after stealing my heart with songs like Take Me Out? Well it turns out the f**kers are back. The younger brother gave me the heads-up: not only are they back playing gigs but their new album is due out next week *ping* And going by what's been released so far, I'm hopeful. Again. I am so getting me one of these!

x. Thanks to a power-cut shooting down an attempt to see Sir Ken's Macbeth at the local fleapit, said fleapit has been bending over backwards to apologise/keep my custom. So far I've had a refund, complimentary tickets, and this week (touch wood) we're off to a complimentary screening of Helen Mirren's The Audience. Yes, thank you, Vue, that will do very nicely.

So they've announced the latest Doctor.

I has feelings. But in short: thumbs up from me :)

I've been pondering about posting a comment about how good it's been to see the boys out and about again in Perth. Bradley still looks unfairly good, ditto the rest of his knights of Camelot. And their pics with the fans have been epic and wonderful. I can't say I wish the finale hadn't happened because I really, really liked it and thought it a great ending for them. But that doesn't mean I'm not missing them all and the show like anything.

So, thank you, Perth, for providing us with this last gem. FOR THE LOVE OF CAMELOT! Aka, the Knights do the Harlem Shake...



ETA: Oh my hearts. Turns out it was actually a multi-fandom Harlem Shake. Keep an eye on the crowd, in the aisles there is also Kai Owen of Torchwood and Anthony Montgomery from Star Trek :) (The post is worth checking out for a great write-up of the Perth con, as well as some cracking Harlem Shake pics!)

So this weekend I saw The Tempest at the Globe in London. I'd heard about it because of the Merlin connection, and then of course I picked-up on The Thick of It link. Whilst I was aware of Colin's solid theatre credentials, it was exciting to realise too what an impressive CV Roger Allam had. And sure enough, neither of them disappointed on the night, though special mention has to go to Allam because his Prospero was superb :) It was also impressive to see Ariel's acrobatics performed with such ease; the last time I attempted the moneybars my grip snapped like a twig before a second was out.

It was disappointing, though, that the programme failed to make mention of Cabin Pressure, because surely Douglas Richardson is one of Allam's greatest roles *nods*

In other news, Joss has confirmed there'll be no Loki in Avengers 2 (SPOILERS for new characters who will be turning up). Whilst I will miss him, I can't say I'm surprised or that it's a bad thing. I suppose it does mean that anything could happen in Thor 2, which might have led to some concern on my part were it not for the well-learned lesson from this Marvel-verse, namely that one should never assume a character is ever more then mostly dead *cough*Coulson*cough* :)

Well, Hiddles had gone on the record as saying he'll be back on-stage before the end of the year, and now it's finally official.

Tom Hiddleston and Mark Gatiss will star in the Donmar Warehouse's production of 'Coriolanus' which runs from Dec 2013 - Feb 2014.

My excitement is slightly tempered by the fact that it is Shakespearean tragedy, and Shakespeare tragedy done well is guaranteed to leave you feeling like the frog after the fall of mallet. An easy watch it won't be.

Still. I am excited. Bookings don't open till June, so let the flailings and vague attempts to organise diaries start now...

Having been on a bit of an SPN kick recently, and given that the last ep in particular had me draping my shoulders with rainbows, I ventured forth onto Tumblr. Normally my browsing limits itself to Merlin and all things Thor/Avengers. And I certainly know how to time things, walking into the middle of a firestorm of angry/hurt posts and something called NJ-wank. I promptly retreated and will try again when there's slightly less blood and thunder flying around. Still, two things I did pick up as a result:

1) Fic Rec: Trouble - short fic with spoilers for the latest SPN ep. Someone looks back over Castiel's career with the heavenly host, maybe there were warning signs from the beginning.

2) A new happy place on the internet: Kittens and Tom Hiddleston - just what it says, a place comprised of posts of nothing but kittens and Tom Hiddleston. A quick and easy pick-me-up on days when you're feeling a little raw :)