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SparklyPrettyBriiiight

Andrew's wonderful world of pop culture

aussiemoose

I am an extrovert gay man living in Sydney who loves Indian food, current affairs, music, film and reading, caramel anything, and a beautiful guy called Steve who makes every day a delight. I am trying to get two novels in a trilogy ready for e-publication, love my iPhone & iPod, and am secretly Canadian in my soul. Life is fun, exciting and joyful and I aim to make the absolute most of it!

Book review: The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Posted on April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 by aussiemoose

When aliens invade Earth, as they are so wont to do, things don’t quite go according to planned. The Ilori, arriving as invading forces often do, with an overwhelming power and force designed to cower the indigenous population into easily-controlled submission, find humanity easily rattled and prone to shoot, a Continue Reading

Posted In Books

It’s time for another brightly-coloured adventure! Say hello to “Chickabella Counts to Ten”

Posted on April 9, 2020April 8, 2020 by aussiemoose

SNAPSHOTAre you looking for a counting story to read aloud with your kids? Chickabella is back for another adventure. Join Chickabella as she closes her eyes for a game of hide and seek with her family and friends. Little ones will love counting down with Chickabella, joining in with each Continue Reading

Posted In Books

The challenges of love and sobriety: Thoughts on Feel Good

Posted on April 7, 2020April 7, 2020 by aussiemoose

“And they all lived happily ever after” would have to be the most loaded phrases ever attached to any story ever. It’s a lovely idea and one we clearly want to embrace since everything from the fairytales to romantic comedies to Hallmark cards like lovestruck limpets to the idea that Continue Reading

Posted In TV

Book review: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Posted on April 7, 2020April 6, 2020 by aussiemoose

Rather fittingly given the precarious viral-afflicted times in which humanity currently finds itself, Emily St. John Mandel is best known for a book which examines the aftermath of a pandemic that sweeps across the globe in a frighteningly fast timeframe, taking over 99% of people with it, leaving civilisation in Continue Reading

Posted In Books

COVID-19 retro movie festival: Away We Go #MovieReview

Posted on April 6, 2020April 13, 2020 by aussiemoose

With COVID-19 cutting a swathe through just about everything worldwide, it’s no surprise that cinema is being as affected as anything else. In just one day, one of my favourite cinema chains temporarily closed, the Sydney Film Festival was cancelled, the French Film Festival was postponed and my other favourite Continue Reading

Posted In Movies

Our COVID-19 addled world may be grim right now but John Krasinki has Some Good News for you!

Posted on April 6, 2020April 6, 2020 by aussiemoose

SNAPSHOTThe Quiet Place writer and director recently asked his Twitter followers for uplifting stories that might be getting lost in the deluge of bad news. Their responses inspired him to make his own new show, filmed safely from his home. And the stories he shares genuinely made us feel better. They Continue Reading

Posted In TV

Book review: Gulliver’s Wife by Lauren Chater

Posted on April 5, 2020April 11, 2020 by aussiemoose

In our modern age, we have become accustomed to the idea that equality and justice are, if not always in palpable evidence, then at least attainable in some form, however incomplete. No one would argue (apart from some deluded misogynistic men on Twitter of which there are sadly far too Continue Reading

Posted In Books

M*A*S*H ended its TV run 37 years ago but it has something to say about COVID-19, trust us

Posted on April 5, 2020April 5, 2020 by aussiemoose

“I have sincerely believed for a long time that whatever issue life puts in front of us MAS*H had a solution. I had some pent up creative energy today, so I did this while you were all cleaning your closets and such.” (Frank Vaccarriello via Laughing Squid) M*A*S*H was, and Continue Reading

Posted In TV

Road to Eurovision 2020: Week 1 – Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus

Posted on April 4, 2020March 19, 2021 by aussiemoose

This is normally how I begin these review posts … What is the Eurovision Song Contest?Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is Continue Reading

Posted In Music, TVTagged In Eurovision 2020

Try some COVID-19 social distancing Wes Anderson style

Posted on April 4, 2020April 3, 2020 by aussiemoose

Want to practice safe social distancing? It’s easy: just pretend you’re in a Wes Anderson film. (synopsis (c) Little White Lies via Laughing Squid) There is a gorgeous artistic sensibility to every Wes Anderson film, one that manifests in snappy, quirky dialogue, idiosyncratic visual flourishes and characters who seem to Continue Reading

Posted In Movies

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Recent Posts

  • Festive book review: The Christmas Tree that Loved to Dance (A Tall Tale) by Miranda Hart (illustrations by Lucy Claire Dunbar)
  • A whole new world: Thoughts on Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
  • Festive book review: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran
  • It’s beginning to look a lot like the festive season … Christmas ads 2025 round-up
  • Festive animated love? Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie

Recent Comments

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  • Daryl Devore on On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain? Thoughts on Baymax!

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RSS SparklyPrettyBriiiight

  • Festive book review: The Christmas Tree that Loved to Dance (A Tall Tale) by Miranda Hart (illustrations by Lucy Claire Dunbar)
    (courtesy Penguin Books Australia) OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO
  • A whole new world: Thoughts on Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
    (courtesy AppleTV) Losing yourself in a documentary is one of life’s great, often unsung, pleasures. If they’re done well, and many are, they are gateways to magical places of knowledge and experience, a chance to find yourself somewhere you’ve never been or to get lost in the rapture and wonder Continue Reading
  • Festive book review: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran
    (courtesy NetGalley) Life is full to the brim with traumatic moments. Hardly a surprise there; while most of us head into life all wide-eyes, enthusiastic and bushy-tailed, believing no harm can befoul us and all we will have are sunshine and rainbows, we soon discover life, alas, has other ideas. Continue Reading
  • It’s beginning to look a lot like the festive season … Christmas ads 2025 round-up
    (via Shutterstock) I know there is a significant school of thought that rails against the materialism and rampant consumerism of Christmas. And yes, while I can see it, and it’s valid point as far as it goes, it leaves aside the fact that much of that drives this need to Continue Reading
  • Festive animated love? Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie
    (courtesy IMP Awards) If you only watch one parody of a festive romcom movie this year, and let’s face it, much as I love many of them, the actual films are almost parodies of themselves, then make sure it’s Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie. The Continue Reading
  • Festive movie review: A Merry Little Ex-Mas
    (courtesy IMP Awards) Christmas is the season where love is all around us, and you’ll be happy to know, it’s not just Love, Actually that thinks so. A Merry Little Ex-Mas is also a big believer in the power of the season to change hearts and minds and even wind Continue Reading
  • Festive book review: It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square by Ali McNamara
    (courtesy Hachette Australia) When you think about it, Christmas as a concept and an idea, as opposed to the reality of the season, is full to the tinsel-draped, eggnog-soaked brim with magical realism. It’s in the original Biblical tale – not a diss; I grew up in the church and Continue Reading
  • Why ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ almost didn’t air − and why it endures (curated article)
    (courtesy IMDb) In 2024, the beloved special is streaming on Apple TV+. Stephen Lind, University of Southern California It’s hard to imagine a holiday season without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple – etched into traditions across generations like decorating the tree or sipping hot Continue Reading
  • Festive movie review: I watched Christmas Karma
    (courtesy IMDb) Charles Dickens lives again! Well, not so much the author who long shuffled off this mortal coil and who may yet be haunting people at Christmas to scare them into leading and more selfless lives; rather, in Christmas Karma, by Bend It Like Beckham‘s Gurinder Chadha, we are Continue Reading
  • Festive book review: All Together for Christmas by Sarah Morgan
    (courtesy Harper Collins Publishers Australia) One of the hallmarks of Christmas, and no, we are not talking about the branded festive romcoms, is how wonderful it can often be to gather with family (of the birth and chosen varieties). It’s especially the case when you are live far apart, and Continue Reading
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