Music
I have been listening to a lot of Pentatonix lately. I stumbled upon them on You Tube (where else?) a couple of years ago when their Evolution of Music video was making the rounds. I enjoyed it, thought they were pretty talented and that was the end of it. They popped up on my recommended list a few months ago, along with their performances when they were on The Sing Off...and I've been hooked. My playlist has been mainly Pentatonix for the past 3 months or so. Some of their songs are a miss for me, but overall they are a really talented, unique bunch, and there is no doubt that they will go far.
Because of a Pentatonix cover of a song by Belgian artist Stromae, I've discovered other artists and music that have been a regular on my playlist.
1) La La Latch (Sam Smith/Disclosure/Naughty Boy mashup) - Pentatonix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVeQnBmp70
2) Black Is The Colour of My True Love's Hair - Peter Hollens & Avi Kaplan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oc1XuqzyGs
3) Tous Les Memes - Stromae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAMWdvo71ls
4) The Sea is Calling - The Temper Trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oS2G2OPP-4
5) Derniere Danse - Indila
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KAc5CoCuk
Books
1) Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb
The last time I wrote this list I mentioned Robin Hobb's Fool's Assassin. Well, that was 15 months ago, and now I am going to mention the sequel to that book. As I have said before, I keep coming back for more Fitz, no matter how agonizing his story gets. My sister thinks I am obsessed with him. I am not, of course. Obsessed would mean I think about him every day of my life, which is not what happens. However, I find it impossible to turn away from him no matter how horrible things get.
I buy Robin Hobb books as soon as I know it is out, and that means buying the hardcover version. I got mine on a trip to London in a wonderful bookshop called Foyle's, where I spent a very happy, albeit short time in. Unfortunately, this long planned for trip coincided with the plummet of the Malaysian ringgit, so the exchange rate was nearly on par with the time of the Asian economic crash in the late 1990s. Spending money had to be slashed but my love of Fitz meant that I willingly forked out the cash.
Unsurprisingly, like all middle episodes in a trilogy, things get very dark in this book, with the book ending with a cliffhanger. I wonder if Robin Hobb is voicing her opinions about current world events (re: ISIL/ISIS) through The Fool. The Fool, who has been tortured by a fanatical sect who seeks to control the world, begs Fitz to venture to the sect's homeland, and return to be the assassin he used to be to kill every single member of the sect, whether they are young or old, a lowly slave to the sect or one of its leaders. To the Fool, there is no negotiating, and no converting them, they are one and all a poison, and are to be eliminated.
I know many people have the same sentiment about Muslims - that they are one and the same, there are no decent ones, or they may seem nice now but eventually they will all call for the infidel's death etc and therefore should be wiped off the Earth. I may be reading too much into it, of course, but one can't help seeing parallels.
Depressing stuff, I know. I tend to read books which gives me escapism, but as I said before, I can't turn away from Fitz.
2) The Lunar Chronicles (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter) - Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles is actually four books, a quadrology if you will, written by not the same Meyer who wrote those awful books about sparkling vampires perving on underage girls. Nope, this Meyer, wrote a series of books with plot, pacing, good dialogue and some pretty good twists that I got through two of the books before I realized it was actually aimed for young adults. Well, I'm and old adult and I really enjoyed it. The series is actually a futuristic retelling of classic fairy tales (Cinder = Cinderella, Scarlet = Red Riding Hood, you get the picture) made in such a way that feels fresh. I am not overly fond of retelling of classic tales, as I feel that the authors who tried never really succeed in making an old story new. Some also modernize it too much to the extent that they lose the point of the story in the first place. What Meyer has done really well in this series, is make believable young, interesting female characters, that does not wait for a hero to rescue her, yet does not disdain a male characters in order to show she is 'tough'. I bought the first two books as a birthday present for my 13 year old niece, hoping to give her some positive fictional role models (instead of the trite crap that gets most media attention). Much to my dismay, I later learned she has mild dyslexia, when she confessed to it during a day out with her aunts. I suppose I am more dismayed than she is, as I love words and books to the point that I feel that even a mild dyslexia is a calamity. It is hard to comprehend such a state of being. I feel sorry for people who can't read, or do not enjoy reading. I never thought someone related so closely to me would feel only struggle and frustration, instead of the joy I feel when viewing the written word.
I used to read to my niece when she was an infant, and I remember how she would enjoy it so much, she would make me repeat the story over and over. I doubt that she would enjoy it now that she is a teenager. I hope she does manage to push through, and find something inspirational in the books I gave her. Young girls these days have so few positive images in the media.
The final book in the series is not out yet, but I will definitely keep an eye out for it. Hoping Marissa Meyer will manage to tie it all up with a bang when Winter comes out this February.
Films
1) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
If you don't know this movie is out there, you must have been living under a rock.
I used to have a crush on Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. I think he was my first crush.
Enough said.
I have been listening to a lot of Pentatonix lately. I stumbled upon them on You Tube (where else?) a couple of years ago when their Evolution of Music video was making the rounds. I enjoyed it, thought they were pretty talented and that was the end of it. They popped up on my recommended list a few months ago, along with their performances when they were on The Sing Off...and I've been hooked. My playlist has been mainly Pentatonix for the past 3 months or so. Some of their songs are a miss for me, but overall they are a really talented, unique bunch, and there is no doubt that they will go far.
Because of a Pentatonix cover of a song by Belgian artist Stromae, I've discovered other artists and music that have been a regular on my playlist.
1) La La Latch (Sam Smith/Disclosure/Naughty Boy mashup) - Pentatonix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVeQnBmp70
2) Black Is The Colour of My True Love's Hair - Peter Hollens & Avi Kaplan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oc1XuqzyGs
3) Tous Les Memes - Stromae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAMWdvo71ls
4) The Sea is Calling - The Temper Trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oS2G2OPP-4
5) Derniere Danse - Indila
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KAc5CoCuk
Books
1) Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb
The last time I wrote this list I mentioned Robin Hobb's Fool's Assassin. Well, that was 15 months ago, and now I am going to mention the sequel to that book. As I have said before, I keep coming back for more Fitz, no matter how agonizing his story gets. My sister thinks I am obsessed with him. I am not, of course. Obsessed would mean I think about him every day of my life, which is not what happens. However, I find it impossible to turn away from him no matter how horrible things get.
I buy Robin Hobb books as soon as I know it is out, and that means buying the hardcover version. I got mine on a trip to London in a wonderful bookshop called Foyle's, where I spent a very happy, albeit short time in. Unfortunately, this long planned for trip coincided with the plummet of the Malaysian ringgit, so the exchange rate was nearly on par with the time of the Asian economic crash in the late 1990s. Spending money had to be slashed but my love of Fitz meant that I willingly forked out the cash.
Unsurprisingly, like all middle episodes in a trilogy, things get very dark in this book, with the book ending with a cliffhanger. I wonder if Robin Hobb is voicing her opinions about current world events (re: ISIL/ISIS) through The Fool. The Fool, who has been tortured by a fanatical sect who seeks to control the world, begs Fitz to venture to the sect's homeland, and return to be the assassin he used to be to kill every single member of the sect, whether they are young or old, a lowly slave to the sect or one of its leaders. To the Fool, there is no negotiating, and no converting them, they are one and all a poison, and are to be eliminated.
I know many people have the same sentiment about Muslims - that they are one and the same, there are no decent ones, or they may seem nice now but eventually they will all call for the infidel's death etc and therefore should be wiped off the Earth. I may be reading too much into it, of course, but one can't help seeing parallels.
Depressing stuff, I know. I tend to read books which gives me escapism, but as I said before, I can't turn away from Fitz.
2) The Lunar Chronicles (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter) - Marissa MeyerThe Lunar Chronicles is actually four books, a quadrology if you will, written by not the same Meyer who wrote those awful books about sparkling vampires perving on underage girls. Nope, this Meyer, wrote a series of books with plot, pacing, good dialogue and some pretty good twists that I got through two of the books before I realized it was actually aimed for young adults. Well, I'm and old adult and I really enjoyed it. The series is actually a futuristic retelling of classic fairy tales (Cinder = Cinderella, Scarlet = Red Riding Hood, you get the picture) made in such a way that feels fresh. I am not overly fond of retelling of classic tales, as I feel that the authors who tried never really succeed in making an old story new. Some also modernize it too much to the extent that they lose the point of the story in the first place. What Meyer has done really well in this series, is make believable young, interesting female characters, that does not wait for a hero to rescue her, yet does not disdain a male characters in order to show she is 'tough'. I bought the first two books as a birthday present for my 13 year old niece, hoping to give her some positive fictional role models (instead of the trite crap that gets most media attention). Much to my dismay, I later learned she has mild dyslexia, when she confessed to it during a day out with her aunts. I suppose I am more dismayed than she is, as I love words and books to the point that I feel that even a mild dyslexia is a calamity. It is hard to comprehend such a state of being. I feel sorry for people who can't read, or do not enjoy reading. I never thought someone related so closely to me would feel only struggle and frustration, instead of the joy I feel when viewing the written word.I used to read to my niece when she was an infant, and I remember how she would enjoy it so much, she would make me repeat the story over and over. I doubt that she would enjoy it now that she is a teenager. I hope she does manage to push through, and find something inspirational in the books I gave her. Young girls these days have so few positive images in the media.
The final book in the series is not out yet, but I will definitely keep an eye out for it. Hoping Marissa Meyer will manage to tie it all up with a bang when Winter comes out this February.
Films
1) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
If you don't know this movie is out there, you must have been living under a rock.
I used to have a crush on Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. I think he was my first crush.
Enough said.
Comments