W I S H / The Current Covet #2

backpack | skirt | sunglasses | lip stain | shoes | ring

T E L E V I S I O N / Glue 101

“Tell you what? He had brown hair, fair skin, liked chicken for dinner, sausages sometimes. Is that what you want to know?” The series name alone makes you hesitate. Glue? The first thing I thought of when I heard it a few days before the show even premiered was: are we supposed to be thinking the actual glue product? You know, the white sticky stuff that you’d spread all over your hands and wait to dry and peel off to see what skin would look like? The obvious route would be bonds, things that connect other things together—but it’s also easily breakable. I came in to the show knowing basically nothing of what the show was about except that it was new and on E4, and I’ve left the episode with a sense of piqued interest and a new on screen crush. As a brief synopsis for those of you who haven’t heard of the show, Glue is about a group of kids in the countryside experiencing a traumatic event—one of their friends being murdered. No one knows who did it, but it’s heavily implied that it’s someone within the gang. If you need a further run down of the basic essence of the series, think Skins with murder. You get your drugs, your sex, and your wild teenage angst. But what Glue offers and what Skins really didn’t is this new inclusion of Romani culture. Although I don’t live in the UK (though I will in the future!!!), I can assume that like those here in the states, these people are often looked down upon. The public perception of them are simply what stereotypes are offered (gypsys, thieves, uneducated, etc). What Glue includes and seems to be executing well from my opinion, is this culture’s side of the story. What the English view as backwards, they view as practical for their own lives. Though the nude opening scene seemed quite sudden, I didn’t mind it. For once, it seems, there is a show that has more male nudity than female or at least, it was equal rather than lots of boobs hanging left and right in other shows (sideyeing you, Game of Thrones). The writing seemed interesting and engaging. As a sucker for aesthetic shots, the cinematography kept me watching. There were so many shots that were so pleasing to the eye in its pastel/rural way. The pilot of the show has definitely left me with a curiosity to see how the murder will unfold and how well it will be executed in terms of finding the killer and learning the backstory of each character in a way that gives them each the nuances and complexities they need. I await the second episode with a subdued excitement. Plus, Callum Turner, aka Eli Bray on the show, is a fresh face with literally (read that in Rob Lowe’s voice) razor sharp cheekbones and a hair that d e m a n d s to have fingers run through them. Just fyi. Ratings: ★★★☆☆ G L U E | Mondays, 10PM → E4

R E A D I N G / The Orphan's Tale: In the Night Garden

“Never put your faith in a Prince. When you require a miracle, trust in a Witch.” - THE ORPHAN'S TALE: IN THE NIGHT GARDEN, Catherynne M. Valente After properly sitting down and shutting off the laptop, I managed to finally finish the rest of In the Night Garden. This is the second book that I have read from Valente, and in its overall presentation, it did not disappoint me. What I expected from the novel was the writer's unique and uncanny ability to string words together so beautifully that it became my food source. My stomach only craved her writing and my brain could only digest those sentences and question: how in the world did you come up with that? Did you gain your talent by selling your soul to the devil? The imagery of the tales were so vivid and rich, set in a place familiar to fairytales I've read as a kid, but also very different. Valente uses this to flip familiar and often damaging tropes and stereotypes towards female characters such as the damsel in distress, the beautiful dead queen, the woman reuniting with her long lost lover. This brought about engaging and different character dynamics. However, just as I want to continue praising how wonderful the novel was, there were some issues I found while reading it that lowered my opinion of the overall quality. First and foremost, the arc of the book itself resembles that of The Arabian Nightes: Tales from One Thousand and One Nights where the female character tells stories to the male character, and enticing them through it. Though I can't comment on how One Thousand and One Nights dealt with the actual present day arc, I had a sense through reading brief summaries that the actual characters themselves--Scheherazade and Shahryar--play a much larger role, especially in the content ratio of them versus the tales. The Prince and the orphan girl here however take a minimal amount of space compared to the stories, taking a backseat even though they were the main protagonists. Because of this, though the stories themselves were developed (perhaps overdeveloped), the actual framework for the tales fell incredibly flat, the characters static and seemingly unnecessary. Similarly, the tales themselves proved difficult to swallow as tales endlessly spiraled within one another. Minor characters were given grand plots and storylines when I didn't really want to read up on them, or thought their story needed to be told. Valente also used these minor tales to bridge the two main stories together. Though it was an interesting concept, it was poorly executed. The ending "connection" in its attempt to be a twist became contrived and poorly fleshed. I thought it was thrown in just to see how clever it could be. Lastly, though I praised her for this earlier, Valente in this particular work through her attempts at empowering her female characters seemed to be shaming others. Such things kept on being emphasized like beautiful women were weak and it was the ugly ones that truly held power. While its nice to see female empowerment, there shouldn't be a need to look down on femininity. Who said you can't be both beautiful and strong? Overall, the book was a great read. It definitely taught me the importance and strength in developing a character's background to secure that unique voice that they themselves carry. No one is the same, and we all have a tale to share. Ratings: ★★★☆☆ BUY IT HERE | AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE

L I F E / Batman Versus Harry Potter

“Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.” - George R.R. Martin Last Friday, as part of a mini-treat for working on the yearbook and working on a collage for this family reunion, my sister and I got to go to the WB Studios lot to take a look around, babysit my cousin's kids and let them see their aunt who works there. It was cool learning which shows were filmed where and there were quite a handful of shows. Unfortunately, since it's summer, most of the shows have wrapped up and not many were filming that day. Wouldn't it have been cool to run into someone? My sister basically fangirled over most of the Pretty Little Liars set and I fawned over the partial True Blood and Batman set scenes. We got to also see the Batman exhibition that was just opened to the public a day before and the Batman vs. Harry Potter museum featured on the lot. Oh and we took a quick breather at the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. set, chilling on the couch at Central Perk! It was pretty awesome, believe me. Hopefully, we'll get to go again around the fall when shows start up again! But seriously though, if Batman and Harry Potter had to battle, who would win? I feel like they'd just compete over who has more dead on their side.

L I F E / Mid-Year Resolutions

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” - Ernest Hemingway (image credit) Is it weird to finally make some resolutions even hough it’s half way through the year? Well, better late then never. Also, I work better under pressure so setting resolutions when the year is coming to an end gets me motivated. What I’ve learned from the past two years of college so far is that procrastination and last minute attempts always turn out the best. (KIDS, DON’T DO THIS AT HOME) So, since this is my last summer before senior year, I’ve decided to set up a focused resolution list to prepare myself for the application process of grad school and also, improving myself because I’ve felt very stagnant lately. PREPPING FOR GRAD SCHOOL Just like anything, even if you’re procrastinating, it’s important to prep. I know this seems a bit…counter to what I said about last minute and procrastination but, once the groundwork is down, it’ll be at least less stress and burden on the mind. So, what do I need to do at least over this summer break? Samples, Samples, Samples | Samples take up a big chunk of the application process especially for MFA programs. While I was doing some casual researching, most MFA programs required sample(s) of at least 20-30 pages worth of writing for the portfolio. Depending on the school, this can be for one work or two or even more works. Even though it's better to just work and revise on a piece already written during the course of the year, I haven't been able to get into creative writing/fiction oriented classes (90% of that is the university's fault for not offering more classes for this area, 10% of this is my fault since I didn't want to attend night classes though my tune has changed since I'm taking a workshop very late at night this upcoming year). So, it's important for me to start cranking out some work that I displays my capabilities and also my potential to the committee. Crossing my fingers that I don't dig myself into a terrible writer's block rut that hinders me to do anything.  Finding 10-15 Schools | This is an obvious one. I mean, can't go to a school if you don't know which ones offer what and whether it's a good fit for you. This is similar to choosing an undergrad college to attend. However, what I'm changing in method for the first time around that I applied for colleges is whether or not the universities that have MFA programs require GRE scores. I'm so done with standardized testing and luckily, there are great schools that offer this option. The range of 10-15 is just so that I have at least a few backups (hopefully). Or I'll be faced with a large amount of rejections--perhaps an insight into my future life when all my queries get rejected by agents too? Hmmmm. CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF Little things that I need to do to just better myself in terms of a writer that I have been horribly neglectful of this past years, using poor excuses as justification. Write |  It's pretty pathetic how I tell others how I want to be a writer that this is my dream but I do absolutely nothing to try to achieve it. I haven't written anything the past year. A lot of it is because I keep believing that my work isn't good enough, or that something about it is bad. It seems I have my editor persona on at all times that it stops me from doing anything at all. But, I need to remind myself that naturally, all first drafts will suck. So long as I can just write it out, and get it out of my system, it will be better than nothing. And anyways, that's what revisions and drafts are for, right? Read |  Can't have one without the other! I have been majorly slacking in this field (although it's a bit better than my writing activity). I have ordered and bought so many books that I tell myself I want to read or will get to reading as soon as I have the time, but I continue to let the pages collect dust on my dresser. Now is time for change! I will force myself to get through more books and read a greater variety than I have before. If I want to be a better writer, it's only natural to learn from those who are successful. If anything, if I don't learn anything, I'll still be expanding my library with beautifully written and wonderfully crafted characters and plots from the best!  Internships |  If everything goes down the drain, I need to fall on something. Internships are crucial in gaining experience and skills that will be marketable in future careers. It's a stepping stone to actually witness the career and field you want to enter. Plus, no one would really be open to hiring a fresh college student with little to no work experience. If my dream as an author disintegrates, I need to seriously think about other career paths. While my dream is like my dream guy (COUGH someone like Richard Madden perhaps COUGH), internships are like the small dates and relationships that I have the option of settling down with because even though the guy isn't that exciting (or Scottish and the King of the North), they're stable and not too shabby. Since I'm going to be a senior in a couple of months, I have to find something since I don't have that much time. Internships are usually more widely offered to college students and that clock is ticking pretty quickly now that I look again.  Trying to stop myself from screeching is taking a lot of my strength but hopefully, for the sake of my future, I can get through this!

T E L E V I S I O N / My Mad Fat Diary 205

"I’m thinking about moving away.‘Cause I’ve got no other reason to stay. Have I?" I hate it. I hate it, but my God, this episode was incredible. I don't think I've ever watched a show or a movie that had made me so uncomfortable or so disgusted at myself for watching it afterwards. With episode 5, My Mad Fat Diary definitely crossed that line. And you know what the worst thing was about all of this? With the train of events that have happened so far, you can completely see this happening. I think the greatness but also the troubling aspect of this series is that it's so intimate and it is displayed so realistically that it drags the audience in. As a viewer, I sympathize and about 99% of the time, really relate to Rae and even see her as her own person. This is where episode 5, for me, drew that barrier between audience and character. I couldn't help Rae. She's fictional, but she's also so very real. And the fact that I couldn't be there for her and help her out through the times where she needs it makes me feel incredibly gross, as if I became a bystander to a crime. But let’s back up and start from the beginning before we get into the nitty gritty. The episode started off as a normal MMFD episode would. Cheery happy, just usual Rae comparing her life to others and her and her mom getting into a bit of a spat that you would THINK would get resolved by the end of the episode in normal episodic fashion. I think this was one of the great things about the writing of this episode in contrast to the series we’ve seen so far. We have expected the formula of problem > Rae working it out > happy solution > another problem to lead into the next episode/an emotionally driven twist in the last 5 minutes that would lead into the next episode. This episode followed the general beginning but 2/3rds in, everything got f***** up fast. We get to see more into Chloe’s life a bit more, her family especially. We also see the new group of older guys that she hangs out with. At first glance, you can see the sleaziness written all over their faces. I figured it would be a one off thing, and would be resolved when Rae could see past their bull, but I was wrong. There’s also Finn’s new 24 year-old girlfriend, Olivia who he has started seeing. When I learned that she was that old, I started wondering, how in the world did these two meet and is Finn really that much of a lady magnet? Either way, Chloe’s older guy friends and Finn’s older girlfriend pushes Rae to act like an adult in a span of quite a short time. There, a guy starts taking interest in her (the ugliest wanna-be Aaron Paul look-a-like of the 90s) and they laugh and hang out. This leads to issues with her mom and general butting of heads. At this point, I was ready for a scene to take place—probably when Rae takes her to get the ultrasound done—for their relationship to be mended. I mean, their arguments have never gone to the extent of Rae being kicked out, but it always seemed to be headed in that direction especially with people as stubborn as these two. This led to Rae learning more about her father, what he looks like and where he lives. Though I had always wanted to know who Rae’s father was, after this episode, I didn’t care for him at all. He has simply been out of Rae’s life for too long that it’s obvious he may call himself a father but will never actually accept all the responsibilities and characteristics that a proper father should have. He, like the general first half of the episode was relatively forgetful or dulled in comparison to the second half. The pivotal scene was definitely the one that required the most trigger warnings. It should have been plastered all over the screen just before Rae went into the bathroom, to be quite honest. Maybe even a announcer to exclaim: WARNING WARNING. But, I went in blind and watched strangely as Rae and Chloe participate in this older crowd, trying to play up to the stereotypes and obviously on Chloe’s part, seizing the attraction of a guy by engaging in a female-female kiss. I watched as Rae went into the bathroom, expecting her to wash up and leave, return to a nice warm bed and day dream of Finn and his loveliness. If there was something I was wrong about, this would be it. This would smash all my wrong guesses to ashes. I started crying as I watched her struggle, heard her voice crack as she pleaded no and almost wanted to simultaneously puke and castrate the guy whose name I don’t even want to know because he’s not worth my memory space. It was even worse when Chloe (who has been great up until this point) told her to engage in sex with the guy and then later for her to leave because she was staying. However, despite my temptation to view this as a deterioration of character for Chloe to that static figure, I found it as just a revelation of her own problems and insecurities. We have seen consistently Chloe’s own problems and just because she did a few things that might be redeemable in our eyes, no one has helped Chloe fix these problems, so it’s only natural that these conflicts would stick around. The hardest was watching Kester give Rae the sudden “professional” shoulder to Rae despite her assault and despite her completely distraught nature. Kester since series 1 has been developed as a moral, supervising figure. We trust Kester, just as Rae trusts Kester. In fact, he seems to be straddling this line of therapist and friend, leaning more on the friend side. Their relationship have developed this way since series 1 as a way for Kester to reassure Rae that she can always come to him. So, it made me distress that when this girl, recovering from a mental illness, comes to him again after being nearly sexually assaulted and he—because of his own personal life—steps back and decides not to help her unless she was actually physically hurt or on the verge of hurting herself seems problematic. Similarly, when he shuts the door in Rae’s face when she tries to seek help again after Finn leaves. Of course he should try to create a boundary between private and professional life (even if he didn’t make this boundary clear at first), there are other ways to turn down someone with mental problems that wouldn’t be so devastating or harming their self esteem. On the same note of adults who were at fault in aiding in this spiral is Rae’s mom. Though I understand the necessity to enforce rules and restrictions on children, I thought Rae’s mom was treating her with little to no sensitivity. You would think knowing about Rae’s background of mental illness so intimately as she, would evoke some kind of balance in being both a parent in the form of supporter and guider. But, I suppose two people who are so similar to each other will often butt heads with each other, viewing their opinion as the right one above all, first and foremost. Maybe, the pregnancy may have added to this overreaction, but treating Rae so coldly seems out of hand. Despite everything, she’s still your daughter. I think that’s the struggle she faces when I try to sympathize with her. She loves Rae so much, it’s so clear but sometimes you get so fed up and the filter just vanishes. But you don’t want to stoop down to apologize no matter if it’s the right thing to do. This is getting quite lengthy, so, I’ll make short comments about other plot points. Archie is great for calling out on Chop’s silence and generally standing up for himself. GO ARCHIE! I’m not sure why Izzy kissed that guy if she wasn’t attracted to him at all. Maybe, Chop was too suffocating as a boyfriend? Hopefully, this will be explored though with two episodes, I’m not quite sure how well it will be touched upon. Finn needs to return, a.s.a.p. I can’t have the group dissolved like this. I barely got them this series and I don’t like it. Lastly, I have lost my once profound admiration and love for Liam that had been lighted in me last week. Goodbye, puppy eye MMFD shots. Goodbye, bad boy turned nice guy storylines. He was just a douche inside and out with a thin veil of niceness. I hate that I fell for it, and I hate that this episode was so devastatingly good. Ratings: ★★★★☆ M Y   M A D   F A T   D I A R Y   » Mondays, 10 PM → E4

T E L E V I S I O N / Mr. Selfridge 209

"There is nothing in the world I want more than to smash your smug little face into the middle of next week." This episode was bloody amazing, with the exception of Victor, Mr. Grove and Loxely. They put the worst damper on everyone’s cheerful moods. But let’s start off with the man who has been perfect so far, Florin DuPont. The scene opens with Mardle and Florin, naked but covered by white sheets in bed together. I nearly fell out of my seat; I probably would have if I didn’t grab my desk for steady support. Who knew a kiss could escalate so quickly? But, I’m glad it did. You see Mardle filled with joy and happiness again, for a moment, she’s a young girl. And Florin, he’s still such a boy driven by this passion and love for this incredible woman, moved to kiss her in public though it may seem indecent. He has to, because he can’t contain it. Love is so beautiful, isn’t it? Too bad Grove had to be filled with jealousy and reprimand Mardle about her relationship with Florin. It angers me to know end that this man who abandoned her for a younger woman and married her instead of Mardle who gave away the prime of her life for him still feels that he has the authority to tell her who she can and cannot see. It breaks my heart also to see the effect Grove’s opinions still has on her because no matter what, she did love him and I believe that she always sort of will simply because of the lack of closure she got from the end of the relationship. And at that point in the elevator, you see her compare her age to Florin’s again and believing that she’s clutching at her youth through him and that she’s probably draining him. He’ll probably love another, someone his age and more beautiful. And it breaks my heart that this insecurity is rooted in Grove and not likely to be done away with so easily. Mardle, baby, stay strong! Speaking of strong women, Agnes was recognized for her strength and talent as a window designer. I’m honestly proud that Henri believed that she was the best for Winifred’s article. My heart warmed when Winifred praised Agnes’ talents too because she’s quite insecure about her work in comparison to Henri’s, and I think having female recognition is important because that is, after all, the demographic these displays are supposed to appeal to. Similarly, her strength when she anxiously waited for George. I screeched with her when he showed up at the door. The relief, the joy, the happiness, everything encompassed in that brief moment. Her chasing down that soldier in the store showed just how important George is. So, I’m glad he’s not killed off after all because God, that scene was painful. Never again, writers. Never again. This episode also gave us the weekly dose of the how-badly-do-you-want-to-kill-Loxley scene. I’m glad that Rose and Harry welcomed Mae into their home. I found it pivotal that Mae shared with Harry the hint about her abusive relationship with Loxely. She’s an incredibly private person, and one that tries not to show any sort of vulnerability. So, by sharing this fact, it reveals how far their relationship has grown, how much trust Mae has in Harry, and how good Harry as a person is. And when Loxley showed up at Harry’s home and Harry threatening to punch the little man, I applauded so much. FOUR FOR YOU, HARRY. YOU GO, HARRY. This friendship has grown so organically from the once skeevy business pact they made in series 1, that I absolutely hope it never goes away, especially when Mae has Harry’s back in all matters, especially with that pest, Delphine. So happy that the ~*~spirit of Delphine’s~*~ is finally out the door. Don’t need that woman anymore, trying to weasel her way between Rose and Harry’s marriage. The arc about Rose though is going to kill me softly, I can feel it. I wish I could step through the realm of television and hug her because she’s so afraid and has yet to tell Harry. I wonder if she will. Knowing Rose, she probably won’t just so he doesn’t worry about her. I’m honestly scared, I don’t want anything bad happening to her, but I have a feeling something will especially with how worried she is and the narrow scope of medicine and technology back then to help. This episode is basically me worrying about all my lady loves. I hope the finale will bring them all the greatest happiness because I can’t handle them being sad. Ratings: ★★★☆☆ (wish there was a code to give it a half star. just pretend it says 3 1/2) M R.  S E L F R I D G E » Sundays, 9 PM → ITV