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Jan. 1st, 2015 12:44 amBrrr...it's cold in Times Square, NY - in the 20s F, with wind chill, the teens (or below 0 degrees C.)
Do like the music playing at the moment though. Currently Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" followed by a really cool banjo rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Could have done without Taylor Swift, whose current songs grate on my nerves like nails on a chalk-board. Have various scented candles lit to block out the food smells next door - which works quite well actually. Plus makes the room sort of cozy.
End of Year Culture Round-up and What I'm looking forward to This Year - 2015, culture wise.
Highlights of 2014:
TV Shows:
* New Doctor Who...who I still have mixed feelings about. But that may be because I never really watched Doctor Who prior to the RT Davies reboot.
* Arrow...( major spoiler )
* Good Wife ( major plot spoiler )
* The 100 - what a surprise. ( spoiler )
* True Detective had an innovative take on the narrative form, which was quickly copied by other series such as The Affair, but not quite as compelling.
* Fargo played with cinematography - with the most innovative shoot-out sequence that I've seen on television.
Theater:
* Pippin - best musical revival I've seen in ages on stage. It was an emotionally cathartic experience on multiple fronts.
* Singing in the Rain - they actually found a way to do the title song with rain on stage. Actually the whole thing was a surprise, considering it's a musical made for movies and associated with movies...
* Samita: Cipher - a performance art piece utilizing Indian music and vocal work.
Music Discoveries:
* St Vincent
* Handsome Family
* Sea Lion Woman by Nina Simone and Fiest
Film:
* Into the Woods
* Guardians of the Galaxy (best Marvel flick ever)
* The Imitation Game
Books:
* Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory Arts Approach by Joe Norris (changed how I viewed theater)
* Courtney Milan's Duchess War, Heiress Effect, and Countess Conspiracy - all self-published. (Changed how I viewed historical victorian romances and self-publishing).
* Illona Andrew's Kate Daniels series - a husband and wife writing team, which took the whole urban fantasy series in a different direction. And did the innovative approach of self-publishing shorts. Changed how I viewed urban fantasy.
* Elizabeth Hoyt - who melds fairy tales which she makes up with a historical romance. And uses the fairy tales as a sort of analogy.
2015
Television:
* The Wolf Hall miniseries - which will hopefully air on PBS
* the second season of Broadchurch (which will hopefully air on BBCAmerica)
* Sherlock
* Fargo - which is going back in time
* Empire - by Danny Strong, featuring original songs, and starring Taraj Hensen (from Person of Interest and Hustle and Flow) and Terence Howard. Think King Lear meets Dynasty by way of Nashville.
* Galavant - a medieval musical comedy with lyrics by Alan Mencken and George Slater, think Spamalot or Monty Python meets Mel Brooks.
* Outlander on Netflix
* Expanse on Syfy - the series based on the J.A. Corey novels.
Returning series: The Good Wife and The 100
Films:
* The Star Wars Sequel: The Force Awakens
Books/Music:
Nothing comes to mind.
Theater:
*Sting's The Last Ship
*The Vagina Monologues - V Day Project
Do like the music playing at the moment though. Currently Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" followed by a really cool banjo rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Could have done without Taylor Swift, whose current songs grate on my nerves like nails on a chalk-board. Have various scented candles lit to block out the food smells next door - which works quite well actually. Plus makes the room sort of cozy.
End of Year Culture Round-up and What I'm looking forward to This Year - 2015, culture wise.
Highlights of 2014:
TV Shows:
* New Doctor Who...who I still have mixed feelings about. But that may be because I never really watched Doctor Who prior to the RT Davies reboot.
* Arrow...( major spoiler )
* Good Wife ( major plot spoiler )
* The 100 - what a surprise. ( spoiler )
* True Detective had an innovative take on the narrative form, which was quickly copied by other series such as The Affair, but not quite as compelling.
* Fargo played with cinematography - with the most innovative shoot-out sequence that I've seen on television.
Theater:
* Pippin - best musical revival I've seen in ages on stage. It was an emotionally cathartic experience on multiple fronts.
* Singing in the Rain - they actually found a way to do the title song with rain on stage. Actually the whole thing was a surprise, considering it's a musical made for movies and associated with movies...
* Samita: Cipher - a performance art piece utilizing Indian music and vocal work.
Music Discoveries:
* St Vincent
* Handsome Family
* Sea Lion Woman by Nina Simone and Fiest
Film:
* Into the Woods
* Guardians of the Galaxy (best Marvel flick ever)
* The Imitation Game
Books:
* Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory Arts Approach by Joe Norris (changed how I viewed theater)
* Courtney Milan's Duchess War, Heiress Effect, and Countess Conspiracy - all self-published. (Changed how I viewed historical victorian romances and self-publishing).
* Illona Andrew's Kate Daniels series - a husband and wife writing team, which took the whole urban fantasy series in a different direction. And did the innovative approach of self-publishing shorts. Changed how I viewed urban fantasy.
* Elizabeth Hoyt - who melds fairy tales which she makes up with a historical romance. And uses the fairy tales as a sort of analogy.
2015
Television:
* The Wolf Hall miniseries - which will hopefully air on PBS
* the second season of Broadchurch (which will hopefully air on BBCAmerica)
* Sherlock
* Fargo - which is going back in time
* Empire - by Danny Strong, featuring original songs, and starring Taraj Hensen (from Person of Interest and Hustle and Flow) and Terence Howard. Think King Lear meets Dynasty by way of Nashville.
* Galavant - a medieval musical comedy with lyrics by Alan Mencken and George Slater, think Spamalot or Monty Python meets Mel Brooks.
* Outlander on Netflix
* Expanse on Syfy - the series based on the J.A. Corey novels.
Returning series: The Good Wife and The 100
Films:
* The Star Wars Sequel: The Force Awakens
Books/Music:
Nothing comes to mind.
Theater:
*Sting's The Last Ship
*The Vagina Monologues - V Day Project