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 telecast in both English and French – is open to Continue Reading
Celebrate the person you love the most: To Mom (and Dad), With Love #Peanuts #MothersDay
SNAPSHOTTo Mom (And Dad), With Love is a sweet Mother’s Day celebration of friendship and family featuring the beloved Peanuts gang. While the other kids are excited to celebrate the special day, for Peppermint Patty it’s just a reminder that she didn’t grow up with a mom. With her good Continue Reading
#Eurovision 2022 – Italian cultural festival book review: The Eight Mountains (Le otto montagne) by Paolo Cognetti
People often define themselves in terms of context and relationships, and both these important markers of human expression are on poignant display in The Eight Mountains (Le otto montagne) by Paolo Cognetti, a novel which explores how both impact the life of one young Italian man who is surrounded by Continue Reading
All’s fair in … war? Thoughts on Halo (S1, E 1-6)
Video games do not, it is fair to say, have a great track record of being made into TV/streaming series or movies. Whatever the reason for their failure to cross media successfully, you only have to hear the words “video game adaptation” and your heart sinks, wondering how bereft of Continue Reading
The journey begins anew for Jessica Harrow in GRIM for whom death is just the beginning
SNAPSHOTJessica Harrow is dead. But her journey has only just begun! Discover the world of the afterlife, where Jessica has been recruited as a Reaper, tasked with ferrying countless souls to their final destination. But unlike the rest of the Reapers, she has no memory of what killed her and Continue Reading
“You can’t escape him!” Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts first full trailer
SNAPSHOTThe story in this new series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as the evil Sith Lord Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more songs #65: Benji Lewis, Meltt, Hermitude, Jamie Lane and ODESZA
Life is loud. Life is big. Life is frantic. There’s a lot going on and sometimes all you want to do is sit back, soak in some beautiful music while still engaging your mind and let the reverie flow. These five thoughtfully talented artist deliver up transportive music, rich in Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: Star Wars – Doctor Aphra (Vol. 1-2, issues 1-9) #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou
There is a lot going on in the Star Wars universe (unless, of course, you are on of those people still mourning the killing off of the Expanded Universe in which case it is no longer quite big enough). That is quite possibly because despite catching up with all the Continue Reading
How did the Star Wars Holiday Special come to be? Wonder no more #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou
SNAPSHOTA long time ago in living rooms across the US, a bizarre 98-minute Star Wars-themed variety show aired on CBS to an estimated 13 million viewers. It wasn’t necessarily the first of its kind: hosts like Donny & Marie Osmond and Richard Pryor had done TV variety shows with Star Continue Reading
Book review: The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird by Diane Connell
If only real life could be as good as the ones we imagine for ourselves. Twelve-year-old Ricky Bird, the titular protagonist of The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird, knows how good these made-up wafts of storybook confection can be; while her actual life falls apart around her as her parents Continue Reading