Where To Next?

So, most of us are stuck inside for the majority of the time at the moment (thanks pandemic!). I'm not going to lie, it hasn't changed my life a great deal. I work from home, and I do not like going out at the best of times. I would much rather be at home reading a book or watching TV than going out shopping or something. I do miss catching up with friends in person (we now communicate mostly via memes), going out for dinner (I can't wait to go out for dumplings, because they're just not the same when you get them delivered), and seeing live theatre and comedy shows. But mostly, I am enjoying living my best sloth life. And I'm ahead of schedule on my Goodreads challenge for the first time ever. My husband and I have also completed two whole puzzles, so we are absolutely winning at life. So, I thought I would share what I have been watching and reading, because then I can claim it was research. Yes, it is all writing research, very important. Can I claim Netflix as...

I have finished watching Tiger King, and it was fascinating, sad, and crazy as all hell. Just as described. I wrote about the first episode here, if you want an intro before you dive right in: https://wheretonextblog.blogspot.com/2020/03/tiger-king-murder-mayhem-and-madness.html If you haven't yet jumped on the bandwagon and watched Tiger King on Netflix then you are missing out. There will be spoilers below, so if you're planning on watching the series then go do that and come back. So, where to begin? Well, the series focuses on Joe Exotic, the owner of a "zoo" which houses over 200 big cats, mainly tigers, as well as monkeys, alligators, and probably a bunch of other animals. They delve a little bit into how Joe began his love of big cats, how he experienced homophobia from his family and was in a dark place, even trying to kill himself, and when he was recuperating he found comfort in the baby tigers belonging to a friend. He started his zoo as a memorial ...

You have probably heard people talking about the new Netflix documentary, Tiger King. Mullets, big cats, attempted murder, polygamy, it apparently has everything you could possibly want in a documentary. I love a crazy true story, and this seems like it could be the greatest thing since Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, or In Plain Sight, so I decided to check it out. I have only watched the first episode so far, and I can already tell that this is going to be a wild ride. Warning: spoilers for the first episode below. The documentary tells the story of Joe Exotic, the owner of a private zoo in America which houses a number of wild animals with the main attraction being his big cats, of which he has over 200. We meet his employees, his husband, Bhagavan 'Doc' Antle (another wildlife enthusiastic who runs an animal preserve and trains wild animals for movies), and Joe's nemesis, Carole Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue. Carole is a crazy (big) cat lady. T...

I. Am. In. Love. I have just discovered The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and it is freaking brilliant. Luckily for me I am late to the party, as usual, so I can watch all three seasons without having to wait! I have just finished season one, and can't wait to get stuck into season two. I actually came across it as it was being advertised on Amazon Prime (Yes, hello Amazon, your ads are working on me, congratulations), and it seemed to be getting a lot of hype around awards season, so I thought I'd check it out. I really didn't know much about it before watching, just the vague idea that a 50's housewife was trying to be a stand-up comedian. I'm really interested in stand-up comedy so that drew me in, but that's really such a small part of the show, which is rich with strong, unique characters. Come for the comedy, stay for the characters! So first of all we have Miriam (Mrs. Maisel, if you will). Played wonderfully by Rachel Brosnahan, Miriam, Midge to her f...

Vegas, baby! So, I have no self control. Instead of rationing out the series I've been waiting forever for, I binged it all in one day. ONE DAY. I wasn't even sure if I was in the mood to watch it, but I started the first episode, thinking I would watch one or maybe two, then come back to it, but I couldn't stop and had to keep watching. Suddenly it was midnight and there were only two episodes left and well of course I had to finish them. I was left feeling so many feelings. Firstly, that kind of sickly sweet feeling you get when you have eaten all the chocolate, whoops (see, no self control) and realise there is none left. Unfortunately, unlike chocolate, you can't just go out and buy more. It's that devastating feeling of the end of an amazing night, where you are elated at what has transpired but also depressed because it's gone. I also got inspired to write, which I often get when I am immersed in an incredible story, and wish I had had a part in mak...

If, like me, you grew up watching The Simpsons, have valuable space in your brain taken up by memorising all the episodes, and absent-mindedly quote them on a daily basis, then this is the podcast for you. Hosted by Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert, each episode of Talking Simpsons talks about an episode of The Simpsons (pretty self explanatory I guess!). Each episode goes into great detail about the plot of the episode, the jokes, and also what was going on in the world at the time. The guys also talk about the voice actors, writers, showrunners, and what influence they had during their time on the show. So, if you're interested in TV and comedy writing, you will find this really interesting, especially the episodes where they interview some of the people that worked on the show. If you're a big animation fan like the hosts, you'll also enjoy their discussion about that side of things, as they talk about the weird and wonderful moments of animation. Bob and Henry talk ...