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A Place of Refuge: An Experiment in Communal Living

Tobias Jones

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Book

Five years ago, Tobias Jones and his wife set up a woodland sanctuary for people in a period of...

Of Kings and Things: Strange Tales and Decadent Poems by Count Eric Stanislaus Stenbock

Eric Stanislaus Stenbock and David Tibet

7.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Described by W. B. Yeats as a "scholar, connoisseur, drunkard, poet, pervert, most charming of men,"...

The Shore

Sara Taylor

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Read our interview with Sara, in which she talks about avoiding the trap of autobiography, teaching...

Dead Writers in Rehab

Paul Bassett Davies

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Book

When literary reprobate Foster James wakes up in a strange country house, he assumes he's been...

Lowri Catryn (229 KP) rated After Life - Season 2 in TV

Jul 3, 2020

After Life - Season 2

2020 | Comedy, Drama

8.6

(8 Ratings)

TV Season Rating

Exploring the aspects of mental health (3 more)

Storyline

Characters

Honesty

Truthful, honest and brutal

Afterlife Season 2 continued to follow the story of Tony, a brutal but honest character who is trying to become a better friends to those around him, whilst still struggling with the immense grief of losing his wife. Although maintaining his brutal honesty and hard shell, you see this character develop more and more into a more kindhearted, supportive and better person whilst still battling with the loss of his wife. We also see how he mentors a new aspiring journalist, and tries to brighten up what essentially isn't the greatest job/career choice for her. We see how each one of his friends are battling their own problems and how he manages to finally face his own, in order to help others. With the loss of his wife, the potential loss of his job and dealing with the loss of his father twice (due to dementia and then passing away) - we see the reality of loss and stigma around mental health, rather than falsely painting the issues in the programme to be positive, we view the harsh reality of everyday life. It is refreshing to see the reality and harshness of issues such loss, grief, addiction, loss etc.

Kudos

Trans/Portraits

Jackson Wright Shultz

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Book

Although transgender people are increasingly represented in academic studies and popular culture,...

TacoDave (3868 KP) rated Withdrawals by Tom MacDonald in Music

Jul 23, 2021

melody (3 more)

production

flow

video

A Beautiful, Sobering Song (Pun Intended)

Tom MacDonald is known for being controversial. And while I'm not a huge rap fan (because I don't like to hear about drugs, violences, or "hoes"), I tend to like most of his songs.

But his newest song "Withdrawals" transcends everything else he has done. It is an honest, sobering, haunting song about going through withdrawals from alcohol or drugs, and you can tell that Tom has really lived through it.

Combining fantastic rap bars with a melodic hook, the song manages to stretch across genres and speak to anyone who has experienced the pain and trauma of trying to kick a bad habit.

The hook/chorus shows the duality present in an addict's mind where he really wants to stop making bad choices, but at the same time he really enjoys using chemicals to numb his mind:

"Deleted all the numbers from my phone, I'm staying home
Really wish that I was drunk with all my friends
I'll either beat it or I won't, and overdose
Really wish that I was high with all my friends."

What a great song, with a powerful message to help others overcome addiction. I love it.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Angel Has Fallen (2019) in Movies

Aug 21, 2019 (Updated Aug 21, 2019)

Angel Has Fallen (2019)

2019 | Action, Drama, Thriller

6.4

(43 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Bog-standard alpha-male action-thriller with Gerard Butler off on another bloody barrage of bombastic bodyguarding. Swivel-eyed psycho Mike Banning is struggling to come to terms with knocking on a bit (bad neck, painkiller addiction, looming desk job) when a bigger problem arises - someone tries to kill the Prez (who is Morgan Freeman this time) and frames Banning for it! Must be time for him to knife someone in the throat.

Thoroughly mechanical and frequently quite dull stuff, leavened only by the odd narrative curve-ball - we meet Poppa Banning, who is also a swivel-eyed psycho, but a comic relief one played by Nick Nolte. There is some stuff about Banning being framed for colluding with the Russians which seems mainly pitched to appeal to the red baseball cap crowd (I would say the film's depiction of the US presidency had completely departed from reality, had the presidency itself not already done that many months ago). There is something oddly tender and even perhaps romantic to the concluding tussle to the death between Butler and Danny Huston (who at least is good value). And it is less grimly objectionable than the previous one. But all in all - my advice, Gerard? Take the desk job.