I love new years! I am most definitely not one of those cynical old souls who reaches New Year’s Eve, harrumphs with Scrooge-like intensity and balefully glares at the next 365 days, convinced they will be just as awful as I imagine them to be. While I am old Continue Reading
LOOK BACK: My 10 favourite TV shows of 2013 (+ 3 I would rather forget)
I remember the simpler days of my youth. One commercial channel, one government channel and you could only watch as many programs as you had waking hours since PVRs were but a distant twinkle in some yet unborn tech head’s eyes (best not to think that one through too Continue Reading
READ BACK: The 4 books + 1 literary article I loved most in 2013
2013 was not exactly a triumph of book reading quantity over quality. Not that any year should be of course since it is not how many books you read that matters as whether the books you do read are beautifully written, enthral and move you in some way and Continue Reading
LOOK BACK: The 10 movies I loved most in 2013
I need to make it very clear from the outset that Sharknado is not one of the 10 movies that most struck a chord with me this year*. Yes I have used it as the title shot of this post but frankly it was all I could do to Continue Reading
LISTEN BACK: The 10 songs I loved most in 2013
So many songs, so few Gb on the iPod! This year I featured something like 100 songs in my Now This is Music series, and they were only a sampling, yes a sampling,of the 100s of songs that came my way. If the internet has done one thing (beyond Continue Reading
Happy last minute pop culture Christmas greetings!
Right it’s Boxing Day here in Australia and I hadn’t planned on any more Christmas posts but I kept forgetting all sorts of fun festive posts by my favourite TV shows, music artists and movies and had to share them. You’re Ho! Ho! Ho! welcome. Continue Reading
Merry Christmas to all … and to all a good book, movie, TV show or song
Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you so much for reading, tweeting and otherwise supporting my blog this year. May your festive season be full of singing … Special times with family and friends (and, of course, the holiday armadillo) … Magical adventures … Continue Reading
“Oh you shouldn’t have!” Miranda Hart and David Walliams teach you how to graciously accept your gifts
We’ve all been there on Christmas morning. You are given a brightly-wrapped present from a clearly thrilled and excited family member, and thrilled, yes thrilled (!) at what exciting treasure may lie ahead, you rip off the ribbons and paper (yes I am a destructive present opener) and find Continue Reading
On the 12th day of Christmas 2013 … I read (and wrote about) Twas the Night Before Christmas
Christmas eve. It’s one of the most magical nights of the year, with Christmas so tantalisingly close you can almost taste it – unless you’re a child impatiently waiting for Santa Claus to arrive in which case it’s the longest night of the year – replete with all kinds of Continue Reading
It’s a very animated Community Christmas, Jeff!
They’re animated again! In the tradition of “Troy and Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”, where the Greendale gang were rendered in gloriously colourful stop motion animation and last year’s “Abed’s Master Key” webisodes, Jeff & co. have been pixelated for your festive enjoyment. In the episode entitled “Miracle on Jeff Street”, Continue Reading