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Alex Kapranos recommended Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths in Music (curated)

 
Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
1984 | Rock
9.5 (6 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I remember the first time I came across The Smiths I hated them. I turned on Top Of The Pops, I think I was about 11 at the time and I just caught the end of 'William, It Was Really Nothing', and just remember some bloke with his shirt off and had MARRY ME written on his chest and thought “Marry? Who wants to get married?”, completely missing the point. Shortly afterwards my friend brought me the first Smiths record and we went to see them and, well, yeah, totally changed the way I listened to music. Even though I love that first Smiths record, I chose this one because I prefer the performances on this record. The first record sounds a bit ‘produced’ in a bad way, but the performances on here sound more urgent. Musically, nothing had really sounded like this before. The way that the melody lines don’t follow conventional pop melody lines, even though I think in Morrissey’s head they probably were. The lyrics manage to be simultaneously veiled and painfully open at the same time. It took me a few listens to realise it was like someone read their diary at you, with this mixture of openness and honesty and poetic allusion. Also, Johnny’s music – the section at the end of 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' with the mandolin is just as beautiful and complex and emotionally rewarding with the same type of melancholy you’d find on the Dvořák record. It’s a beautiful piece of composition."

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    Sunrise Sunset Times

    Sunrise Sunset Times

    Weather and Photo & Video

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    Live free in the Sun! An elegant and modern solution for showing the Sunrise, Sunset, First and Last...

When I first read A Noble Masquerade (book one of the series), I knew that Kristi Ann Hunter was unique. Little did I know that her books would be able to twist and pull on my heart and emotions in such a strong way. An Uncommon Courtship is a story filled with sweetness that will make you sigh, rogues that will make you shudder, scheming women that will make your blood boil, and passion that will make you swoon.

Trent and Adelaide make such an adorable pair. They complement each other beautifully. Watching their "courtship" progress, witnessing their hearts opening, and learning what it means to love and be loved is a precious thing. This is a Christian novel and the passion and discussions are clean and appropriate by my standards. However, there are conversations that you may or may not feel are suitable for younger readers. One of the messages that continued to speak to me throughout the story is that, "God doesn't make mistakes." I have been reminded of this several times over the last couple of months, and it is so very true. No matter what we go through we must trust that He knows what He is doing. Even through the pain of shattered dreams, He does not make mistakes. Whatever He gives us, He gives us for a reason. The other thread that really stuck with me through this book is, love. True love, the love of the Father, the love He created between husband and wife. Kristi broaches this subject in a pure and Biblical way. It breaks my heart to see our society searching for and demonstrating love in all the wrong ways. His love is perfect and loving each other the way God intended is such a beautiful thing.

If you haven't read the rest of the books in the series I would recommend you do so before you jump into this one. The novella, Lady of Esteem, is available as a free ebook. I highly recommend this book and the series.

I received a complimentary copy of An Uncommon Courtship from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
2019 | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi
What's not to love about an Aardman movie?

I won't go into an extended synopsis for this as it's not all that complex that it needs more background. Shaun the Sheep gets up to more antics, this time with an alien... there, we're all caught up.

The beginning surprised me as it was a little dark but filled with suspense and it had some of my favourite stop-motion bits of the whole film... those chips... it conjured up the first of many smiles throughout the film.

There are so many bits in Farmageddon that will make you happy, I loved the addition of Forever Autumn and spotting the original Wallace and Gromit, and the toaster that every one of us can identify with... these little touches really do add to the whole film. The attention to detail is epic. The other thing I love is that you can see the fine changes of the character's skin in the animation.

Who am I kidding with this "these bits are good"... I love the whole thing, it's amazing.


There's really isn't much I can say without gushing about just how wonderfully wholesome this film is. It's funny for kids and so well crafted with little touches here and there that adults will love it too... and that ending! I'm going to tell you I wasn't crying, and you're going to believe me.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/farmageddon.html
  
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Alan Tudyk recommended Sexy Beast (2000) in Movies (curated)

 
Sexy Beast (2000)
Sexy Beast (2000)
2000 | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"And then, I’m going to go with Sexy Beast, a little off of the comedy. Why I love that movie so much is that Ray Winstone is such a badass. I’m a big fan of Nil by Mouth as well, and I knew him from Nil by Mouth. It starts out, he’s with his friends, and [speaking in a British accent] they’re all talking, out there at the restaurant, and he’s like, “Yeah, I’ll get the chicken thing.” “What chicken thing?” And then the friend comes in like, “Ah sh**, just leave it outside.” And they go, “We have something to tell you. Don’s coming.” And then you see him basically sh** his pants, like, “Don? Don’s coming? What’s Don coming for? No, no, God, not Don!” And I’m watching like, “Holy sh**! Who would Ray Winstone be afraid of? This better not be the Ben Kingsley role. This better not be that f***ing little Ghandi motherf***er coming in, scaring Ray Winstone.” And right after the first scene with him, he’s just riding in the car silently; he’s just quiet. Then he gets out of the car and goes, “I’ve got to change my shirt. I’m sweating like a f***ing ****!” [laughs] Oh my God! And he’s so good in it. And it was ultimately a love story, a love story. It was all about his love for his ex-porn actress wife. So f***ing awesome."

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins | 2020 | Young Adult (YA)
10
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Quite often after the success of a series when the author comes back to write more, it falls flat. This did exactly the opposite for me! I was hooked from the first couple of pages.
We follow Coriolanus Snow during the tenth Hunger Games as he becomes a mentor to an underdog, the female tribute of district 12 - Lucy Gray Baird. What follows are a series of disastrous events following the tributes and their mentors, which makes you wonder how the Games were still around when it came to Katniss’s Hunger Games.
It was perfect finding out more about Coriolanus Snow, and what made him the way he is when it came to the Hunger Games trilogy. We find out where his love or roses comes from and whether he has always been as ruthless throughout his life or if something made him that way.
Whilst the book seems a bit long when you pick it up, I loved every minute of it and when I was coming to the end I really didn’t want it to end at all! I would love to carry on reading about Coriolanus and what happened after this book and how that shaped him into President Snow.
This has renewed my love for the Hunger Games series, and I hope that Suzanne Collins has more plans for the series as I would love more. An easy 5 star rating from the start.
  
First Comes Love
First Comes Love
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
First Comes Love is the story of a family. A family that is devastated by an extremely tragic event, the death of a child and brother. The story takes place 15 years after this event, and is told through the eyes of the two remaining children, Josie and Meredith. Each sister has a different personality and they definitely see the world from opposing perspectives. When secrets that have been plaguing the sisters for so long come to the surface, the only thing that will keep their relationship together is the love that brought them into this world.

I am a big fan of Emily Giffin. Her books always bring out a host of emotions in me. Happiness, sadness, understanding, compassion. And this title did not disappoint. The newest from the author, it covers the relationship between two sisters in the aftermath of their older brother's tragic death fifteen years earlier. Both still haunted by the events of that night and the outcomes that came from it, will they be able to find the love they have for each other to sort out what is going on.

Josie is the oldest of the two and she is single and a first grade teacher. Starting out her new school year,she finds out that her ex-boyfriend's daughter is going to be in her class. This brings back a whole host of memories from when we they were together and the reason they broke up. Determined not to let this get her down, she makes a very important decision that will change her life forever, the only problem, she's not getting the support she wants, especially from her sister Meredith.

Meredith is the youngest child. She is married to Nolan and has a young daughter named Harper. From the outside, Meredith looks as though she has her life together. She is a lawyer and her and Nolan are living in her childhood home that they bought from her parents. But something is clearly missing from Meredith's life, she's just not sure what it is and how to find it. Hating to be overshadowed by Josie's need for things to be all about her, she takes some time for herself to recognize what is going on in her life and what she can do to fix it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me this advance copy of First Comes Love