6.30.2014

Watch. Listen. Read. 05 || World Cup Edition

Watch
Last month I mentioned our TV died. We borrowed my brother's for two weeks then my cousin gave us his 40" unused Samsung! For a while there we had three TVs in our living room but we were not complaining because, thanks to Brett, we now have a giant TV on which to watch... 

The World Cup- (as if you didn't know this was coming) Please tell me you are watching and care that the US is doing so well! If not, tune in on Tuesday afternoon. Better yet, go to your local sports bar wearing red, white and blue. You won't regret it. Watch the video here for inspiration. 

Sherlock- my brother, Rutledge, has been trying to get me to watch this for ages. Finally, I knocked it up the priority list and I AM SO GLAD I DID. In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Martin Freeman (as Bilbo) blew me away with his performance alongside Benedict Cumberbatch (as Smaug) in Erebor. They have a similar platonic chemistry on the set of Sherlock. The banter is my favorite. 

Finales- Game of Thrones and Mad Men wrapped up their seasons in the last month. 
GoT: such an action-packed season. The writers have moved away from their one book/ one season structure which is allowing for a more fluid narrative. I've been frustrated here and there with omissions and additions but I do not envy their job. The fourth season tied up nicely maintaining enough end-of-season suspense for those who haven't read the books. (Have you read the books? What's your biggest unresolved situation? Let's talk theory in the comments. Go ahead and nerd-out on me.)
Mad Men: more than a lot of other shows, my overall rating of the series will be based on the ending next spring. I have an idea of a great (redemptive) ending and a terrible (tragic) one. Time- and Jon Hamm- will tell. 

[We stopped watching House of Cards two episodes into season two. We realized we were not interested in devoting any more of our time to such awful people. Maybe the show is your thing but it definitely doesn't have our recommendation.]

.......

Listen
The World Cup- commentators are soundtracking my days with lilting voices and expansive vocabularies. (Even when we don't watch, we listen.)

August has started making a clicky noise that is eerily similar to the smoke monster from LOST. Ticka Ticka Ticka. 

.......

Read
The World Cup- Nathan's one image/ one sentence match interpretations are fantastic. 

The Stories of Eva Luna- Isabel Allende is a genius; I dare you to read her work and walk away uninspired. She has my forever allegiance but I cannot finish this book. It must be the short stories; I lose pace and interest. She will stay on my nightstand for those nights of between-books when I need a filler. Maybe that's what the short story is for anyhow. I'll have to ask my brother-writer. 

Maze Runner- This was not a favorite and I will not be returning to this series. At first, I thought the male-centric youth storyline threw me off but realized it's just not great writing. Interesting story though; might make a good movie in the right hands. 

Paper Towns- Well done, John Green. I'm normally not a fan of stories set in a location I am intimately familiar with but the Orlando setting was familiar in a pleasant way. Superb writing and enjoyable plot momentum. My only complaint regards a bit of North/ South Carolina geography mixup. Definitely recommend for a quick read. 


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