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Janeeny (200 KP) rated The Farm in Books

May 10, 2019  
The Farm
The Farm
Joanne Ramos | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
plausibility (2 more)
well researched
likable characters
Jane is a Filipino immigrant trying hard to support her baby daughter.
Reagan is white, educated and wants to make a difference in the world.
Jane and Regan are just two of the many girls who work at Golden Oaks as ‘Hosts’.They are basically surrogates for the rich and influential.
But is all as it seems at Golden Oaks, (nick named ‘The Farm’ by some of the hosts) and can you truly sell a part of yourself without ramifications.
 The story essentially focuses on Jane and her struggles, but it is also told from the perspective of Reagan (Jane’s room mate) Ate (Janes Cousin) and Mae (The manager at Golden Oaks).
 This took me a little while to really get into the characters at first, but once I had the story flowed nicely and it was easy to get engrossed in. The thing that drew me to the book was that it had been highlighted at ‘A Handmaids Tale for 2019’ and you can definitely see that. The set up at Golden Oaks is all very plausible and sounds idyllic, the Hosts are all there willingly and being paid handsomely. However, you can see how an institute like Golden Oaks could descend into Margaret Atwoods dystopian nightmare.
  
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Therese Oneill | 2016 | Art, Photography & Fashion, Gender Studies, Humor & Comedy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The author's writing style, history, information, frivolity. It isn't dry. (0 more)
It doesn't delve as deeply as I like. (0 more)
Such glorious fun!
I love this author's writing style. It isn't a recitation of dry facts as some historical nonfiction books can be. She really takes you into the daily rituals associated with fashion, hygiene, sex, marriage, and manners by immersing you in the culture as a virtual time traveler visiting the Victorian era. It brushes away the romance of the time period and gets you into the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty history but in a fun and frivolous way as she takes you into her confidence and shares the secrets of the past. It's a delightful romp written with light sarcasm that brought tears from laughter into my eyes. I highly recommend this book and this author. She has written another book on the history of child-rearing called Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children (Hardcover), which will be available April 16, 2019. Though I don't have children, I'm tempted to buy this book because the other was so much fun.


Oh, and if you like this book, you might also enjoy The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History by Katherine Ashenburg.
  
Next Time - Single by BLESSED
Next Time - Single by BLESSED
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
BLESSED is a Sydney-based rapper, producer, and songwriter from Accra, Ghana. Not too long ago, he released a music video for his “Next Time” single.

“With no control, I’m living life. I’m outta mind, I’m outta sight. I’ve been rollin’ every night. All alone, that’s every night. Tears, they fall like moonlight rain. Shadows on my window paint, now. In the end, they’re all the same. In the end, you’re all the same.” – lyrics

The self-directed black-and-white confessional audiovisual finds BLESSED performing bare-chested. Also, his performance draws inspiration from icons of ‘90s rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop music.

‘Next Time’ is the first string of singles and videos which BLESSED will be releasing throughout the year, ending in an EP which is slated for late 2019.

The likable tune contains a dreamy storyline, harmonious rap vocals, and chill instrumentation flavored with alternative, hip-hop, and indie-rock elements.

BLESSED moved to Australia as a child, where he was aptly named a blessing by his family.

This project marks the first time he is using his real name instead of a moniker. Also, he is fresh from a national tour supporting Matt Corby.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/blessed-next-time/
  
Kingdom in the Valley - Single by Pretty Sister
Kingdom in the Valley - Single by Pretty Sister
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Pretty Sister is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Not too long ago, he released a lyric video for his “Kingdom in the Valley” single.

“You know these bedrooms seen a whole lot of faces. 10 out of 10’s, they and their friends, MDMA in’ and this swimming pool has seen a whole lot of naked. Bodies on deck like video sets, all that cliché sh*t.” – lyrics

‘Kingdom in the Valley’ will be featured on Pretty Sister’s upcoming EP, which is a part of his forthcoming trio of multi-track projects.

The likable tune contains a relatable storyline and pleasing vocals. Also, the song possesses vibey instrumentation flavored with an electro-pop aroma.

Pretty Sister has spent the past year on the road, supporting Superfruit on a North American tour, touring with Betty Who, and performing on the 2019 Kesha Cruise: Kesha’s Weird & Wonderful Rainbow Ride.

His recent writing successes include Robert Delong’s “Revolutionary” single and Rozzi’s “Lose Us” song.

Also, his vocal contributions to Nause’s “Dynamite” single has resulted in over 110M streams, while his appearance on Madeon’s “The City” single helped to pull in a whopping 24M streams.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/pretty-sister-kingdom-in-the-valley/
  
Rarest Of Birds by Grizfolk
Rarest Of Birds by Grizfolk
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Grizfolk is an LA- & Nashville-based outfit with roots in Sweden. Not too long ago, they released a hearty indie-rock tune, entitled, “Hurricane”.

“Can we love like a hurricane? When the storm is here it’s hard to tame. Are we lost ‘cause we took it too far. If what it is isn’t all we are, shut the lights out, leave me in the dark. It wasn’t all supposed to fall apart.” – lyrics

‘Hurricane’ tells an interesting tale of a young guy who is head-over-heels in love with his significant other.

Apparently, he compares his stormy love for his partner to the nature of a hurricane, which means what he feels is very hard to tame.

‘Hurricane’ contains a relatable storyline and pleasing vocals. Also, the song possesses guitar-driven instrumentation flavored with a groovy indie-rock aroma.

“This song is about loving someone or something as hard and as fast as you can, like you’re eventually going to lose it” – Adam Roth

Grizfolk consists of Adam Roth, Sebastian Fritze, Fredrik Eriksson, and Bill Delia.

Their ‘Hurricane’ single will be featured on their upcoming sophomore album, entitled, “Rarest of Birds”, which will be released on July 19, 2019.
  
The Hunting Party
The Hunting Party
Lucy Foley | 2019 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
9
7.3 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
I. Absolutely. Loved. This. Book.
I thoroughly appreciate a book that keeps me guessing at who both the victim and the murderer are right up to the end! And to be honest, it couldn’t have happened more deservingly to a group of such thoroughly unlikeable people. They’re all entitled, self absorbed, spoilt, oversized children. Can you tell I don’t like them? I’ve come to realise that really horrible characters are my crack. The more deviant they are, the more I enjoy the book. This delivered in spades. I LOVED to hate them. The staff at the remote Scottish lodge that they spent New Years at, had my complete sympathy.

Everyone in this novel has a secret, and some of them are huge. They were all so cleverly revealed, and the suspense was immense! This is one of my top books of 2019(the list is hovering around the 20 mark) - it just snuck in as I read it over Christmas!

Oh, and I’m not saying that this book was necessarily responsible, but we’re going to stay in a (much smaller) lodge in Scotland for our summer holidays. Just no snow and/ or murders please!

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and Lucy Foley for reading along!
  
Les Misérables
Les Misérables
1980 | Drama, Musical
9
8.6 (5 Ratings)
Show Rating
Hugely enjoyable
In March 2019 I went to see Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Unlike most people I know, I've never seen Les Mis on stage before and wasn't a particularly big fan of the film either, however I have to admit that after seeing it last night, I think I'm now a convert.

The stage production values, the sets and the costumes were very impressive. They managed to seamlessly coordinate a large screen with huge physical sets and the transition between the scenes was impressively smooth. The cast too were brilliant. There was nobody I recognised but they all had fantastic voices and put on a great performance.

My issue with the film was that is was overly long and drawn out and just didn't appeal, but the same can't be said for the show. Ths version was on for 3 hours plus a 15 min interval, which for me was just long enough. There's something about the music in this that makes it very rousing and entertaining and I wasn't bored, not even for a minute. It's a highly entertaining and almost emotional show, and would definitely recommend seeing it if you like musicals. It doesn't tour very often either so catch it while you can!
  
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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Richard Jewell (2019) in Movies

Sep 21, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)  
Richard Jewell (2019)
Richard Jewell (2019)
2019 | Drama
There were long stretches of this movie where I liked it a lot... right until I remembered who made it and why (a story about a 'good ole boy' famously + very publicly under investigation by the government where both the FBI and the media are both portrayed as parasitic losers with nothing better to do - yeah I'm sure this has absolutely no parallels to anything going on in the present day whatsoever...……..). Other than that it's like your regular late-period Eastwood: mostly just fine with assorted confirmation biases, too much fat, drippy over-fabrications, unabashed factual inaccuracies (the addition of the sex-for-news bit is just ew let alone stupidly unoriginal), a general oversimplification of the events, and a dated view of women - though not without a fair amount of awesome scenes to keep it (for the most part) watchable. I think even this movie's supporters underplayed how fortifyingly *amazing* Paul Walter Hauser is in this - he's not only uncannily casted but straight-up riveting, I recommend this movie simply to see him alone tbh. He's behind only Phoenix and Sandler for the best actor of 2019 imo - nothing else in this film even matters. The last ten or so minutes are horrendous.
  
Dark Shadows (2012)
Dark Shadows (2012)
2012 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
If not for the last 15/20 minutes (sans the atrocious ending, and even then they're only mildly watchable at best) I'd very comfortably call this one of the worst movies I've ever seen - and still will. Not even distracting, and intentionally as non-fun as possible. How exciting, we get to see nearly two LONG hours of nonentities played by actors who clearly couldn't give less of a shit about being there (except for the sole good scenery-chewing of Eva Green) tepidly talk about... like, fishing and shit? Sometimes even to each other! Where's the camp? Where's the (pun not intended) spirit? Doesn't go for jokes, doesn't go for drama, doesn't go for romance, doesn't go for anything - complete and utter apathy all around. It doesn't even look good, dear God some color could have at least made this pop but no of course it's color-coded like ash and jizz. This wakes up a bit when it has a spooky haunted house vibe to it but too bad that's only like a collective (and generous) few minutes of the whole thing. What the actual hell were they thinking, how can a director possibly stoop *noticeably* lower than 𝘋𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘰 (2019)?
  
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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Friends in TV

Aug 30, 2019  
Friends
Friends
1994 | Comedy
10
8.4 (94 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
The one with all the FRIENDS
Friends is a show about 6 people-

siblings Ross and monica Gellar (still suffering with sibling rivalry) monicas neighbours from across the hall Joey tribbiani (a struggling actor, with the IQ of a child but a heart of gold) and Chandler Bing (the groups comedian and Ross's college roommate) monica's High school bestie Rachel Green ( queen Rachel. Who does whatever she wants in her little Rachel land) & phoebe buffay (wacky, unpredictable and very odd).

The characters and their daily lives are what makes this show great as it mirrors the reality of every day people, although there have been shows since it ended that have had a similar impact on viewers, none have truly come close to being as genuine.

Heart warming storylines, legendary one liners and quotes we all still use today, there's Love, Laughter, Lust, Loss and great cameos from brad Pitt, Jeff Goldblum, Robin Williams, Paul Rudd, Bruce Willis and so many more, it's easy to see why after nearly 20yrs since it ended, it's still here.

Its 2019 & I have personally watched this show from beginning to end (with a little help from Netflix) 7 times an will continue to do so.