I love art, language and history. That stuff. My hobbies include drawing, reading, occasionally writing, watching films, tv and video essays on YouTube and listening to music.
Music
As mentioned before, I’m really into Tyler the Creator. I think Igor matches up to Melodrama in terms of fantastically produced and written pieces of art and complete albums. Melodrama is the best Lorde album btw. Better than Pure Heroine. Better than Solar Power. (Although I don’t think many of her fans were really advocating for that recent album. It’s a shame, but I understand. It’s pretty underwhelming considering the art that preceded it, but I personally think the standout tracks on the album are ‘Solar Power’, ‘Dominos’, and ‘Mood Ring’. And even though it’s controversial- and even though I’m not Maori- I do think her decision to translate some of the songs into te reo Maori was quite cool, and done in a respectful manner. Although do take that opinion with a grain of salt- I’m surely biased in Lorde's favour.)
Movies
Huh. Movies. I like movies. I think I am what might be called (at risk of seeming arrogant) a ‘burgeoning cinephile’. I love a lot of the more ‘talky’ ‘intellectual’ films (although I wouldn’t go so far as to label myself an ‘intellect’). I suppose I just like films that are engaging and make you think. Like INSIDE by Bo Burnham. I really loved that special, and I don’t want to lay on the praise too thick (because the Burnham fans are becoming insufferable and I think it blocks important criticism of this and other Burnham works) but it really did touch me in the feels. There are other films like that, but I probably would have to think on it. (‘Dead Poets Society’ and ‘Maurice’ maybe? Very Dark Academia aesthetic the both of them.) Two films I could watch over and over again without getting bored are probably ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ and ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’. I think they’re both fabulous, and are extremely interesting to look at.
All that being said, I am definitely not above the Hollywood blockbusters- I can’t wait until cinemas open up again so I can see ‘Shang-Chi’ and ‘Eternals’. I am definitely invested in the MCU, and have recently succumbed to the Spider-Man rumours. Tobey and Andrew will appear in ‘Far From Home’, and I’m interested in how it’s going to affect the length and the structure of the film. I hope all the hype is paid off.
The new films I’m most looking forward to watching are;
- ‘The Green Night’ starring Dev Patel.
- ‘Spencer’ starring Kristin Stewart.
- ‘Cyrano’ starring Peter Dinklage
- ‘Last Night in Soho’ starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
Television
Gotta be honest: I’ve binge-watched a lot of telly this year and the last. At least quarantine is good for something. My family and I collectively watched ‘Stranger Things’, ‘La Casa de Papel’, ‘Schitts Creek’ and five seasons of ‘Desperate Housewives’ (before they did a time jump.). I loved all of them, especially Schitts Creek (EW David!!), and I personally think our latest communal viewing (Twin Peaks) doesn’t really measure up. Over the past couple of years, I’ve personally binge-watched ‘Love, Victor’, ‘Loki’, ‘Never have I ever’, ‘Brooklyn 99’, ‘The Good Place’, ‘Good Omens’, ‘Crazy Ex Girlfriend’ and ‘New Girl’, just to name a few. My current favourite TV show is ‘Sex Education’ over on Netflix. I just finished the third season and although it wasn’t my favourite, it was still ‘Sex Education’, y’know? (I have many thoughts on the new characters… most of them veering on the negative, unfortunately. I just don’t think they were developed enough. Hope was just Umbridge with fertility issues and Cal was just her enby foil. Neither of them had much personality.) Two shows I discovered this year that I don’t think get enough attention are ‘Young Royals’ on Netflix and ‘Starstruck’ (by Rose Matafeo) on abc iview (or wherever you watch your bbc shows).
Books
I’m a real bookworm, but with my inability to buy real books over the past couple of years for various reasons (pandemic, living in a country where English is not the main language, hating kindles) has led to my real distancing from reading. This is purely out of circumstance and I still do really love to read. There’s a library just around the block from where I currently reside, and before the latest lockdown I just borrowed a bunch of books. I read most of them too (although I had mostly borrowed books I’d read before). I mostly borrowed comfort fiction, like R.A Spratt’s ‘Nanny Piggins’ and ‘Friday Barnes’, Lauren Child’s ‘Ruby Redfort’ and Rick Riordan’s ‘Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard’.
I’d say that the fandom I’ve been a part of most consistently in my life has probably been a a fan of the Riordanverse. The Riordanverse is the collection of Rick Riordan novels about an interconnected universe containing mythical beings mingling with humans and demigods. It started with the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (focusing on Greek mythology), then expanded to the Kane Chronicles (Egyptian myths), Heroes of Olympus (Greek meets Roman), Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse Mythology) and the Trials of Apollo (greater focus on Greek and Roman legends as well as myths). I was into Harry Potter for a time, but it never touched my obsession with the Percy Jackson/Riordanverse books. I really got into them as the Heroes of Olympus books were releasing, so there was hype and anticipation building every year. I would buy the next book ASAP, read it, then give it to my best friend who after reading it gave it to her brother, who read it and then passed it onto his best friend (my brother) to read. The books were very loved and battered and the cover of ‘House of Hades’ was ripped clean off at one point, due to the amount of rereads. In short, I’m waiting for the Percy Jackson Disney+ series (and the Kane chronicles Netflix film) with great anticipation.
Heroes
I have ‘real life’ celebrity heroes, yes. But I won’t disclose their names here. For fictional (anti) heroes… maybe Cruella de Vill? I wish her and Edna Mode could meet, just once. Imagine Cruella in a super suit. I think she would resemble Ysma from ‘Emperors New Groove’ a little, don’t you?
About me: Hi! I’m Marie Antoinette, the Austrian-born queen regent of France renowned for clothes and cake. And beheadings. I think that Tyler the Creator is a proper genius. If I have more to add, I’ll do it later.
