A Busy (and Sick) Bee

This week has been a rough one, between losing one of my days off when two cashiers called out on Sunday and the sinus infection that manifested a couple of days ago. Nothing else has really happened this week, since I've spent what little free time I have trying to watch new episodes of all my TV shows. Tomorrow night I'm going to have dinner with my friends before another long shift on Saturday, and then my week of fun begins. I have two days off in a row next week, so I'm going to drive down to Skipperville and visit my friends there, and then the royal wedding is next Friday morning. As I suffer through my sore throat, runny nose, and hacking cough at work for the next three days, I at least have something to look forward to.

Obscure British Actors 101: Julian Rhind-Tutt

I can't gush enough about my love for hulu.com and the way it keeps offering British comedies and dramas that are impossible to find on American television (and possibly even buy on DVD). One of my favorite shows to re-watch is Green Wing, and I'm currently in the middle of the second season. Set in a hospital and populated by fantastic cast of character actors, Green Wing is similar to Scrubs in its ability to balance grounded storylines with absurd gags. And if it wasn't for Julian Rhind-Tutt, I would have never discovered it.

• The first thing I saw him in - The ill-fated and short-lived American TV show, Keen Eddie. I watched it because it was set in London, and it was one of the few instances where I didn't actually know any of the actors that starred in it. Of course, Sienna Miller has since became a household name, and I began following the careers of several actors after Keen Eddie ended, including Julian's.
• Why I like him - Even if he was a crap actor, I'd still be in love with him because of that mop of ginger hair. But of course he's a great character actor, and I love it when he pops up in something I'm watching (like Any Human Heart, Stardust, Crooked House, and Black Books).
• My favorite role of his - Obviously I'd have to pick one of his more substantial roles, rather than a guest-starring spot in a TV show or TV movie. Although I love them both, I'd probably choose Mac on Green Wing instead of Monty Pippin on Keen Eddie due to Pippin's (occasionally endearing) creepiness.
• My least favorite role of his - How about the one where his character murdered a child? Yeah, that one.
• A role I'd like to see him in - Julian's done a little bit of everything, from costume dramas to contemporary comedies and heroes to villains, so I can't really add anything to his list. Except a role in Doctor Who. As The Doctor.

Sweet Sixteen

Yesterday was my sister's sixteenth birthday, and I have to admit that it's really hard to believe. My brother is only fifteen months younger than me, so I can't remember my life without him; however, I was eight years old when Emily was born. I remember when my parents told us that Mom was pregnant, when we found out it was a girl, when I stayed with my grandparents and family friends while Mom was in the hospital for several weeks before the birth, the call Dad made when Emily was born and I found out her name, and the day they came home. After that, it's amazing how few specific moments I can recall of her childhood, yet she's grown up right before my eyes.

Birthdays are always very understated at our house, and Emily's "sweet sixteen" was exactly the same as my own. For dinner, Mom makes us our favorite meal, then we open presents, and then we eat cake. My parents haven't thrown me a birthday party since we moved to Birmingham a couple of weeks before I turned 11, and I never even thought to ask for one for my 16th birthday. Instead, I spent my morning at a friends house after an impromptu slumber party (not for me, but to work on a chemistry homework assignment that was kicking our butts), the afternoon at the football stadium (the high school always has the band perform at their fall fundraiser), and the evening eating dinner with my family.

Emily's birthday was a little less chaotic than mine since it was a school day, and not a Saturday. She's apparently even less interested in birthdays than anyone else in the family, because we essentially acted like it was a normal day (but with cake!). Chris spent the weekend in Auburn visiting his friends, so he wasn't even home for her birthday, and Emily spent the whole day on the computer. But she did get a present from me, and she'll go to the bookstore and Best Buy to pick out her presents from Mom and Dad later today, so she seems happy enough with her birthday this year.

Current Obsessions (Disguised as Recommendations), Part 5

Now reading: The King's Favorite by Susan Holloway Scott - I've been reading historical fiction for most of my life now, and the genre certainly helped develop my love for history and led me to earn two degrees in the field. Unfortunately, for every Jean Plaidy and Sharon Kay Penman (who do their research), there's also a Phillipa Gregory (who writes whatever she wants). I'm always a little wary to try new authors, so if I don't have a friend's recommendation, I usually pass them up unless their book is in the bargain section.

Although her books have been relegated to the bargain section at Books-a-Million, let me go on record and officially recommend Susan Holloway Scott as a legitimately good historical fiction author. So many things are right with her books, from the unique subject material (Charles II instead of Henry VIII) to the believable dialogue (when Nell Gwyn is remembered for her wit as much as for her affair with the king, you'd better be able to make her witty). Most of all, though, she follows the established historical narrative when possible and only uses her imagination to fill in the gaps. The King's Favorite is the second in a trilogy about Charles II's most infamous mistresses, and each book is told from the mistress's point of view. I particularly love that Scott spends at least the first third of each book on the women's lives before they met the king and that we get descriptions of the king and his mistresses from multiple points of view. This trilogy truly shows all three women as individuals, which is exactly how Charles II saw them.

Now watching: Parks and Recreation - I started watching Parks and Recreation when it premiered a couple of years ago, partly out of habit (I always watch NBC's entire Thursday night line-up) and partly because it was a spin-off of The Office. About half-way through the second season, the show really hit its stride, and it's now my favorite comedy on TV. Every character is so hilarious on his or her own, and scenes just get more and more outrageous when the whole ensemble is interacting with each other. In my opinion, the current season is the best yet because the blossoming romance between Leslie and Ben is the most natural and perfect one I've ever seen on TV. They are so adorable together that I break down giggling during every episode and actually spend my free time reading all the fanfiction I can find.

Now listening to: "Bread" by Charlie McDonnell - Charlie is one of my favorite youtubers, and I was very excited when he announced that he was releasing an album. He occasionally writes songs for his channel (and most were featured on the album), and he's a member of my favorite/the only Doctor Who tribute band, Chameleon Circuit. Sadly, the album came out while I was unemployed and had cut my extraneous spending, but a friend gave me a copy of This Is Me and I've been listening to it in the car every since. Although all the songs are catchy and creative and nerdy, "Bread" is by far my favorite song on the album.

Blogging Every Week in April

I've seen several people start BEDA (Blog Everyday in April) or VEDA (Vlog Everyday in April), and by the time I realized that I should attempt it too, I'd already missed several days. Last month I couldn't even meet my goal of ten blog posts in a month, though, so it's probably best that I didn't set myself up for failure. At the very least I can promise BEWA, however unimpressive it might seem.

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened in the past week, so blogging completely slipped my mind on my day off yesterday. The archivist I volunteer for was on vacation last week, so the only time I left the house was to have dinner with my friends one night. Other than that, I spent my time reading books, cleaning out my hulu queue, and making money at Target. This week looks to be exactly the same, except for the 'hanging out with friends' bit. It never fails that we can only find one night that everybody's free, and last night severe weather warnings canceled our plans (the worst part was that if we had waited to make a decision instead of canceling right away, we could have totally had dinner together because the storm didn't actually arrive until 7:00 and only lasted an hour).

I did go to the dentist yesterday, so that was probably the highlight of my week (and not necessarily in a good way). Ever since I got my braces off and my permanent retainers put on, I've been paranoid that I'll develop cavities on those teeth because it's so hard to clean around them properly. Apparently that shouldn't be a worry, though, because the two cavities that the dentist found are on the top of my molars, arguably the easiest spot to clean. According to my dentist, it's the rarest type of cavity, where the enamel wears away before collapsing and forming a small hole. The hole was probably there six months ago, during my last visit, but now it's starting to decay. I'll have to get that fixed in the next couple of months, particularly since my parents "suggested" I take care of it before I go to England and end up having a dental emergency there (thankfully they didn't crack any offensively predictable jokes).

I've got some exciting plans coming up, including the royal wedding and seeing Oscar-nominated movies at the dollar theater. But obviously I want to save those for another blog post.

A Very Busy March

Just a mere month ago, on the last day of February, I had all the free time in the world to write blog posts, read books, and watch television shows. On March 1, I started my new job at Target, and it immediately took over my life. In my application and interview, I said I was looking for part-time work, but I ended up working 40 hours for the first few weeks. Even on days when I had a short shift, I've been repeatedly asked to stay late or come in early in order to cover for someone who called in sick.

Thankfully, this week seems to mark a change. They've hired several more cashiers, so my hours have dropped down to my requested 25-30. I don't mind working five days a week, but eight-hour shifts are incredibly exhausting, and I'm not THAT desperate for money. I'm still able to meet my friends once a week and volunteer at the Civil Rights Institute, and I have to admit that I enjoy being so busy. Not only do I feel like I'm no longer wasting my time, but I'm able to better appreciate the free time I have. More than likely, this will be the pattern for April and May while I anxiously wait for my flight to England on June 9.

Review: Never Let Me Go

Because I keep up with the careers of so many British actors, I invariably hear about movies before I discover their release plans for the United States. Some movies open nationwide, some are limited to New York and Los Angeles, and some fall under the radar completely. Never Let Me Go was given a limited released last year, but I was absolutely convinced that it would gain some Oscar nominations and gain a wider release. Unfortunately, this wonderful movie disappeared almost completely after a half-hearted attempt to promote it, and I just now had the opportunity to watch it.

Based on a highly-acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (that is on my reading list), I had heard mixed reviews about the film adaptation. Some people loved the movie while others argued that it failed to capture the spirit of the novel. I decided it would be best to watch the movie before I read the book, and that was completely the right decision. I went into the movie knowing practically nothing about the plot, except that it dealt with cloning humans and that the ending was not a happy one. Since I didn't spend the entire movie comparing it to the book (which invariably happens when I switch the order around), I was able to appreciate the film and the story on their own merits.

Set in an alternate universe where medical science has decided to clone sick humans in order to harvest their healthy organs, Never Let Me Go follows three "donors" over the span of twenty years. One thing I loved about the story was how the children knew exactly as much as the audience about the world they lived in and the fate they had to accept; that is, they knew nothing in the beginning and our understanding grew only when theirs did. I also appreciate books and films that can fall into a variety of genre. Never Let Me Go can be described as a tragic love story, a coming-of-age story, a science fiction story, a cautionary dystopian story, etc.

Besides telling the finite story of three clones, Never Let Me Go forces the audience to contemplate current medical practices and their moral complications. Cloning humans isn't a moral quandry that society has been forced to face quite yet, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility in the near future. If and when it does arise, then the most glaring question to be discussed is the one presented by Ishiguro; namely, are clones any less human than their "originals," or do they have their own unique soul? However, plenty of parallels can be made regarding euthanasia, stem cell research, and other recent medical developments.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - So many things worked in this film, from the acting to the setting, and I genuinely felt like I was watching another society instead of my own. My only problem was that the friendship between the three children felt unnatural, and there were very few moments where I understood why they were such good friends. This was probably more of a failing on the part of the screenplay than the novel (and building relationships is a common enough problem with 90-minute movies), but I have to admit that Keira Knightly felt out of place.

Falling into a Routine

I'm at the end of my third week of work, and it's still going really well. Now that I can't remember my life before I worked retail (never mind that it was just a month ago), I've quickly fallen into a routine for both the days I work and the days I have off.

It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all my television shows, so I always watch something before I go to work and before I go to bed. My reading pace has slowed down as well, but I take a book to work with me and read during my breaks (which is much more fun than watching the sports or BET shows that are usually on in the break room). You'd think on my days off that I'd be able to catch up, but I tend to spend the days volunteering at the Civil Rights Institute and spending time with my friends. Now that spring is here, customers and the people I work with talk about how nice the weather is and what a shame it is that I'm stuck inside all day, never realizing that my best days off are the ones where I never leave my house at all!

Obscure British Actors 101: David Morrissey

A couple of days ago I finished watching the last movie in the Red Riding trilogy, and the miniseries South Riding is next on my list. Besides similar names, they have one more thing in common: the actor David Morrissey.

• The first thing I saw him in - Way back in early 2008, when my David Tennant obsession was in full swing, I watched a mini-series/one-season TV show called Blackpool. It's remembered primarily as the show where the actors broke out into dance numbers while lip-syncing music, but it was a genuinely good murder mystery with fascinating characters (and a pair of Davids who are very easy on the eyes).
• Why I like him - Where do I begin? The Northern accent? The floppy hair? The deep voice? The sexy intensity? Also, nobody does morally ambiguous characters better (Ripley Holden in Blackpool, a corrupt policeman in Red Riding, one of the murderers on Murder on the Orient Express, etc.).
• My favorite role of his - Definitely Colonel Brandon in the most recent Sense and Sensibility. He's so good in the role that I can't decide whether he or Alan Rickman make a better Colonel, and I love me some Alan Rickman.
• My least favorite role of his - I've never seen it, but imdb tells me that David was in Basic Instinct 2, so I'd probably pick that. Otherwise, his career decisions are pretty flawless.
• A role I'd like to see him in - I think he'd make a fantastic villain. Not an anti-hero or someone you can half-way sympathize with, but an honest-to-goodness villain. Like a mob boss or corrupt politician.

Current Obsessions (Disguised as Recommendations), Part 4

Now reading: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis - One of my most vivid memories from elementary school was the day (probably in third grade) that we read an excerpt from Voyage of the Dawn Treader and received a homework assignment to write a limerick. Just a few months after that, I found the book on a bookshelf at my grandparents' house, surrounded by the rest of the series. Unlike most people, who conventionally start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that was my introduction to Narnia.

The Chronicles of Narnia were among my favorite books when I was growing up, and I continue to re-read them every few years. The last time I did so was when the first movie came out, back in 2005. When the film version of Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released a few months ago, I decided it was past time to read the series again. What I love most about Lewis' books is how he created an entire world yet kept the story simple enough for children to follow along. The same cannot be said about Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is too bogged down in descriptive details to be a good introduction to the fantasy genre. Obviously it's a classic work that I adore, but there's a reason that children are given Narnia first. I also love that bits and pieces of history are offered along the way before the origins and destruction of Narnia are fully explained in the final two books, The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle. This way, it feels like the reader is exploring Narnia and falling under its magic spell just as much as the Pevensie children or the others.

Now watching: Les Misérables, the 25th Anniversary Concert - If I had had this blog back in October, I would have spent days gushing over this event. Les Misérables is hands-down my favorite musical, and I've kept up with each cast change since May 2009, when I saw it twice in England. I watched most of the concert as youtube clips the day after it took place, then watched it on the big screen when a handful of U.S. movie theaters aired it in November, pre-ordered it on DVD, and watched it on PBS on Sunday. The beauty of this cast is how they cast big names (Nick Jonas, Matt Lucas, Ramin Karimloo) to draw in the crowds and integrated current and recent cast members (including some I saw in London and plan to see this summer) into the supporting roles.

Now listening to: "Who's David" by Busted - Remember how I wrote about the random scene set to the soundtrack of Busted in the middle of Love Story in Harvard? Well, I took that as a sign that I needed to order the CD, so I did. It's a great album filled with catchy British pop, and by far the best song is "Who's David." Also, it's obviously no coincidence that it's one of the songs co-written by Tom Fletcher of McFly, one of my favorite songwriters.