Another Nostalgic blog

Carrying on with the theme of finding old pictures/videos that haven't seen the light of day in years. I present to you more moments from my past:

The first car I ever bought. Second hand 1999 Mustang with a crappy body kit for $1000. I named her Vera, because (...like Jane's gun from firefly) 'She is my very favourite'.

The first time I took Rob to see Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast in LA. I took his Rocky Horror virginity and got to draw V for virgin in lipstick on his face. LOL

One of me and Shelby Bond from Ren Faire. He's a comedian/entertainer that I first saw at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Southern California and I fell in love. :) Every Ren faire I looked foreward to seeing his act at Faire, and I even made it to LA for some of his comedy nights. Cute, funny, and talented. Fun fact-He knows how to crack a bull whip! If that's not enough to inspire you to check out his stuff,  I dunno what is. Currently he's been doing some funny videos on Youtube about COVID:

Seriously, check out his stuff. www.youtube.com/shelbybond

 Throwback to 14 year old me in New York City for the first time. Obsessed with Broadway, I had to take a picture of me pointing at the sign. Dear lord....why did I ever think red capri bottoms were a good idea?

 This is a character I made up one year when  was invited to a Halloween party last minute and had 'nothing cool to wear'. I donned black boots, black leggings, a black button down shirt and a black waistcoat I had in my costume box of random shit and a dark brown wig. Then I put a whole bunch of gothy makeup on (heavy eyeliner, dark lips, and bleeding black cracks from the eyes), picked up my pocket watch so I could fiddle with the chain, and walked around carrying a silver lighter, flicking that open and closed while death glaring everyone. It sound lame now, but I named it 'Fear Incarnate' and I felt like a total badass.

Throwback now to 2011-my last concert in LA before I moved to England....

Btw...for a shitty little Nokia phone, I think I got some good pictures. 

I saw My Chemical Romance on their 'Kill Joys' tour, so I made up a killjoy character. I thought about what I'd wear if I was in that post apocalyptic type world potrayed in the album/music videos. a bit of fun, a bit of rebel, and a whole lot of colour to keep light and hopeful with still having some slight nods to classic My Chemical Romance 'emo' style. My favourite part of this outfit was the plectrum jewelry that I made & the bottle cap braclet that my friend Taub made me( all of which went straight into my bag when I went inside so they wouldn't get bashed about and lost in the pit). 

This was before...

This was after....

Sweating everywhere. Makeup sweated off, and I did end up loosing my headscarf in the crowd. By the way, That little half jacket I'm wearing I made as well--well, I embellished. I took an old men's blue collar work shirt that I found from the Goodwill (thrift shop), sewed on the leather patch, studs, rope, etc and cut it up a bit. It was meant to be part of a Corey Feldman dressed as Michael Jackson inspired costume but I never did anything else with it.   

Speaking of Music and musicians, this one will stay with me for a long time. The time and time again I got to hang out with my favourite band, The City Drive:

But dear lord help me. In hindsight I was so jailbait. I was only 16, a sophmore in highschool and absolutely in love with these four men...yes men. They were adults in a cool LA street band and I was this little teenage girl that idolized them. ( Yikes. Sorry Danny, Mark, Scotty, and Chris.)

I went to every LA gig I could (with my or a friends parents of course) and followed them around like a lost little puppy. Looking back at it now it was so cringe, but I felt on top of the world. I supported this band through and through. I was always at the front of the stage taking pictures and singing the lyrics. I stayed after every show I went to to talk to the guys and just hang out and chat. They were my everything at 16.





The highlight for me was that I won a contest with my friend Kiki to go bowling with them and we got to know the guys better. We bowled, we talked, took pictures, played arcade games. My dad even took a picture of the four guys in the bowling Alley that later they used on their official page.

 Unfortunately for my little teenage heart, they did disband, but for a period of time they were my whole world. And actually because of this band and with the help of Myspace, I was put on the path that lead me to where I am today as cheesy as that sounds. I followed and commented on their fanpage on Myspace. Through that fan page I met an English guy named Ben, and ended up coming over to England in 2009 which is when I met my future husband, Rob. If I hadn't been a fan of The City Drive so passionately, I wouldn't have flown to England to met this guy. And I would never have met his friend Rob. SO, Thank you Mark, Danny, Chris, & Scotty for exsisting- without you, who knows where my life would be right now. 

Although most of them have moved on with their lives, as have I, I still speak to Scotty on occasion when he's working on new music and wants to get the word out. If you want to check him out his current musical venture is called 'Lido Beach' with Waldman Management. 

Thoughts on Sleep

I've always been the type of person who loves their sleep. If I didn't have anywhere to be, I would easily sleep in nearly every day when I was younger. Although, living in sunny Cal-i-a it probably didn't help that it was scorching hot most of the time which made me very lethargic. My teenage self would easily sleep until noon and beyond on hot summer days.


When I moved to England, my sleep pattern changed to be a bit more sporadic. I used to wake up at least once during the night when rob and I lived in our first flat in Ross on Wye and I have no idea why in my mid twenties my sleep decided to go AWOL.

There's also the fact the my darling husband had night terrors so not only do I wake up in the middle of the night to pee, but occasionally in that flat I would get woken up by Rob smacking me in the chest or face as he flailed his arms to the side whisper yelling 'What was that?' I would be woken up panicking that we were being robbed or something.

Both me waking up randomly in the middle of the night and Rob's night terrors calmed down when we moved into the flat above the Kings Head hotel. Although, that's when my night terrors happened. The hotel flat had high vaulted ceilings and very blank white walls with massive old wooden double hung windows that make it look like a mental asylum. Even then, after a lick of paint to darken the top third of the walls so the ceiling doesn't look quite so far away, and a bit of decoration, even that passed.

But then there were other struggles at the hotel....like people being loud AF until midnight in the beer garden even though there is CLEARLY a sign that says 'After 10pm please QUIET DOWN MOTHERFUCKERS'. okay...that last part is embellished. but there is a sign saying noise levels need to remain low after 10pm because of residents...not to mention the neighboring houses opposite the beer garden.

I was never really happy living at the hotel when it came to sleep because our bedroom, with only single pane windows, was literally RIIIIIIIIIIIGHT above the beer garden. I would be more understanding of people being noisy on the weekends, when people do go out to the pub and stay out late even in a small town like Ross, but when the odd Wednesday piss up happened until 1am in the morning and I still had to get up at 6am the next morning I was not happy. A lot of times when the hotel wasn't at full capacity I would ask Rob to book me out a room in the hotel while he was finishing up work and I'd trod down the halls in my PJs to my new temporary housing.

The hardest part of that was when I was pregnant. My hormones made me sooooo much more aggravated over loosing sleep that when people had thier mid week piss up, or some residents decided to have a chat in the beer garden at 3am while having a smoke, I was FUMING. I had fantasies of going down to the beer garden and threatening the living shite out of whoever was causing me to loose sleep while I was pregnant.

When I wasn't being agro with noisy residents,  I learned to be zen and listen to my pregnant body for cues of when it needed more rest than the normal human being....which is how it felt alot of the time. Hey, can you blame me? I was exhausted from growing a human inside me for nine months! When we moved out of the hotel, even though I was getting more heavily preggo, I finally found more blissful sleep. By listening to my body I was able to store my energy and reboot by getting some solid rest.

Then birth happened! Haha! Goodbye blissful sleep, and hello crying baby! To be fair, as far as sleep deprived parents and crying babies go, we in the Vidler household had it pretty good. Henry started off in our room in the carrycot for the first month and a half to two months roughly. That was annoying after a while because we couldn't get any sleep having a rustling, wiggly little spawn right next to us making adorable (but not at 2am) cooing noises right next to us. Luckily, my mum stayed with us during the first few months, so we had a routine of 'Who's night is it to listen out for Henry'.

For the first 2 months, if Rob was on an opening shift (7am), then mom would have Henry in her room and let us get some sleep, If Rob was on later in the morning, Henry would sleep in our room, but I would get up to tend to him. If Rob was working a night shift, that was his turn to tend to Henry in the middle of the night cause he had the day to recuperate.


Just before Christmas we moved Henry to his big boy cot and started using a baby monitor, which was the best decision we've ever made. By that time, Henry had been in our room every night so that we started to ease off of relying on mum so much and in the end it forced us to move him into his own room so we could figure out the best thing that worked for us when mum was gone. Our quality of sleep started to improve immensely. They recommend the baby stay in the same room as parents for 3-6 months?...I don't think.

Henry sleeps better in his own room. We sleep better without all the little baby grumbles. The sleep pattern since has been up and down, but most nights now a days he sleeps from 7pm-7am. There is the occasional wake up to have a quick feed and change sometime between 3am-6am, and very rarely does he stay wide awake during 'the witching hour'. I had one of those this week actually....woke up at 3am...didn't go back down until 4:45am. Child, mama needs sleep too darling. Three in the morning is not playtime.

Now a days I've adopted the motherhood tip of 'Sleep when you can'/'Sleep when they sleep'. Unfortunately, as much of a superstar Henry is at nighttime sleeping, he's a crap napper. I'll be lucky if I put him down and go for a 30 min kip. This boy fights sleep like no other. He will kick, scream, headbutt us in protest of going to sleep and finally when he's exhausted himself so much that he falls peaceful asleep in our arms, limp as a noodle and we go to put him down--naw mate. His eyes shoot open wide and the crying commences.

Sometimes he stays asleep, and then I have to prepare myself for the miracle that I can sleep during the day-- I kick the cat out, shut the door to the garden, turn off the kettle/stove, etc and settle in for a nap. 10 minutes later after I finally drift off to REM sleep....nope, he's up again. My nap window has closed.  That's why every opportunity I get when Rob is home I will sleep... and then promptly enter a 3 and a half hour mini coma.

C'est la via....

EDIT:
After I posted this blog, I was woken up at 2am by the spawn, changed/fed him, manage to catch the vomit in my hair, after which I leaned over the sink to shampoo the bits out of my hair. Then proceeded to 'play' downstairs until 3am in an attempt to keep the screaming at bay so hubby could get some sleep.

An Observation on Conversation

An Observation on Conversation:

A few days ago I was texting one of my mates and they made a good point about conversations. We were talking about someone we knew who always talks about themselves. The point that was made is that when a conversation is always brought back to the same person who talks about themselves all the time, "it flattens a conversations natural path".

That phrase reaaaaaally struck a cord with me.

I know this may sound a bit hypocritical because in this blog I talk about me, myself, and I constantly. ....Thinking about it though, it shouldn't be hypocritical because this blog IS just me. Yes people sometimes read it, but I'm not exchanging information with other people in real time. It's not really a conversation unless you count the one odd comment I get on a post.

No this is more about the art of conversation, talking and communicating with people, be that text or verbally but mostly I'm on about the verbal conversation we have with people in every day life. I have experienced many times where the flow of conversation is either halted, or there is an awkward lull because the conversation takes a sharp turn to the left, leaving it's participants to wonder how it ended up there. Particularly, when people who turn the conversation back on themselves so often the conversations natural trajectory is disrupted and it makes speaking with that person more awkward.

There is something to be said about relating a conversation to yourself when you have a story to tell, or if you are trying to relate to the others in the conversation by sharing your thoughts, feelings, or experiences. I'm guilty of OVERsharing these relatable details sometimes cause I have lots of stories or 'fun facts' to tell.

For instance, I was in a virtual pub quiz last night and one of the quiz answers was Fast and the Furious star 'Paul Walker'. Very quickly I pipped up saying 'Fun fact!Well, not fun exactly but interesting. Paul Walker died in my hometown and I know the area where the car crashed.' That alone made me feel like a douche for sharing (Somehow I feel like I'm name dropping Hollywood star stories because I lived in California for most of my life, even though I don't know the celebrity first hand), but then my friend Chris shared his own fact about the subject.

He said, 'Also a fun fact' that when Paul Walker died in that car crash in my hometown in California, he and a friend of his were already there at the time and were in the area. I had known that they went to California on a road trip, and I knew they stopped in my hometown because I/My parents invited them over to my parents house, but I had never put two and two together. It made me feel less like a celeb-story dropping douche because it prompted Chris to share his own story and I learned something new about my friend that I found very fascinating.

I remember having dinner with my friend Issy musing about the same subject of conversation nearly a year ago. We talked about how our relationship and conversations are just so easy to float back into after not seeing one another for a long stretch of time because we have a good conversation rhythm.

I have a tendency to talk a lot, and don't mind answering questions people put to me-- I don't hold information back -- but I also have this bad habit of remembering to ask people questions about themselves because I think everyone is as forthcoming with details as I am. 😅

Whereas Issy is a lovely, caring, selfless individual who is always asking people how they are, what they've been up to, and the like because she genuinely wants to know.... but it also means she isn't made to talk about herself, which she is shy about. She joked saying that it felt almost like shes interviewing people, but she honestly does wants to hear about her friends' lives. 😀

She said we have a good conversation groove because we are almost opposites in a way and that conversation flows naturally with us. She asks me a question or two, I answer and this prompts a discussion about something. We go on talking and we naturally ask each other questions about the topic in discussion when appropriate, which leads to stories and more conversation about other subjects. I enjoy these types of conversations; the ones that seem effortless and easy because they are so natural. The meeting of great minds.

It always makes for better conversation when there is some give and take, instead of the desperate cries of 'me, me, me' or 'I' this and 'I' that.

Who is Jenny Vidler?

More get to know me stuff. Inspired by a tik tok that I did not too long ago:

My Name: born Jennifer Lynn McClellan , now Jennifer/Jenny Vidler
My Age: 30
Birthday: Feb 24th, 1990
My Star Sign: Pisces

Fun Fact: I still to this day cannot spell Pisces without spell check. 

Favourite Colour: Blue

FACT: I like most any shade of blue...bright blue, sky blue, dark blue, midnight blue, dusty blue...etc

Favourite Animal: Cat

I like a lot of animals but the ones that make me go all gooey and lovely dovey inside more often than not are Cats, Foxes, Pandas, Lemurs, Otters, and Penguins. 

Favourite Food: Sushi

Strangely enough my two favourite sushi places (one on the UK and one in California) are both called Kyoto Sushi. Although I shouldn't be surprised because Kyoto is a popular Japanese reference. 

Favourite Book: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I fell in love with fantasy/science fiction reading when Harry Potter came out. Since then I have moved to other fantasy book series, but I think it will always stay with me as one of my favourite franchises. The reason the third book is my favourite is because there is more to it: you get to see bits of the past with Harry's parents, and there are so many major details that are revealed in drips and drabs that accumulate into a big epic plot twist. It's also the reason why the 3rd movie will always be my LEAST favourite movie of the franchise because the director failed to link all those little details together and missed the whole point of the mystery reveal in the books. 

Favourite Movie: 10 Things I Hate About You

There are a ton of movies I really really like, a handful of movies that I could watch over and over again and never get bored the whole way through, but 10 Things I hate about you ticks those and many more boxes. It's based of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Heath Ledger and Joseph Gorden Levitt in this movie are so crush worthy. I want to BE Julia Styles in this movie. And Also, there are so many good quotable moments.

Favorite TV Show: Ru Paul's Drag Race

There are 2 things in life that I LOOOOOOVE to watch but they make me feel so stressed out about my self confidence and that's Drag Queens and Victoria Secret Models. I cannot stop watching and they look so beautiful and I love it but at the same time they make me feel shite as a woman. 

Some random facts about me:

• Married at age 21, the legal age for marriage in California
• Natural Born leader (always the one in group projects that gave the first suggestion, then got nominated or defaulted to leader thereafter)
• I (my family)have had 1 dog and 5 cats. Dog I think got put down? when I was young. Two of the cats are still living, the rest were Coyote/Owl chow. My mum also had a Bird Named Valentine, that I remember the cage in our house, but don't remember the bird too much. 
• One of my earliest memories was of my Brother Jason doing a school project. He dug a massive F-off hole in the back garden, filled it with water and then emerged from this mud pit for some reason. 
• My Brother Greg taught me how to play Soccer/Football. I was a scared and timid little girl, afraid to get hit in the face while he trained me as goalkeeper. Then when I played in the AYSO soccer league, I was always the tough girl in goal that scared other kids because she growled and dove for the ball practically wrestling it away from their feet. 
• The brother closest to my age, Steven, who is 9 years oldest than me, was stuck babysitting me a lot. One Halloween when I was younger we were carving jack-o-lanterns while listening to Smashing Pumpkins. In my teenage years, he took me to my first My Chemical Romance Concert.  
• I once had to climb through the trunk/boot of my car because the locking on my Mustang was busted. Proof (unfortunately, no sound):
  
  
• I love learning languages, even though I'm not very good at it. I know basic conversational french. I can speak a little bit of Spanish from a combination of my brothers/parents learning it, then picking up words from friends, or other people having lived in Southern California. I know enough to sign a few key things in ASL. And I know only a handful of choice random phrases or words in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Polish, Italian, German, and Swedish but never enough to actual make up a sentence. 
• My parents raised me Mormon/LDS but I'm not active anymore
• I never finished my degree, but I went to Community college(University) for 3 years studying  Psychology & Theater (while fulfilling the required General Knowledge classes-Maths, English, etc and taking some absolutely RANDOM courses too). 
• I have played 2 leading roles in Theatre: Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and Nancy from Oliver!
• My freshman year of high school I played a supporting role in a student written production called Coincidence that was written by one of the Seniors. 
• In my Senior year, I co-wrote a student written play called Delusional Adaptations. 
• In College/Uni I wrote a few one-woman shows, my favourite was about my Id/Ego/Superego trying to talk me out of (or into) a booty call. 
  

DM, I would like to Rage Now....

This is just a straight up rant, so if you don't live in the UK or don't know what's going on in the UK at the moment, then I'm sorry this will make little to no sense.

I'm shook.

Boris came on and I knew it wasn't going to be good, but it's still the same old wishy washy not making a clear decision Boris.

There is a 'loose' plan, but it's the equivalent of saying 'don't worry. it'll all be taken care of.'...What? WHAT BORIS will be 'taken care of'? I understand that all steps in this plan will be conditional but honestly, have a backbone.

The waffling for the first few minutes was unbelievable. It wasn't until he said 'From this Wednesday' that I thought, okay now we are getting somewhere, but still... not very clear. Also I don't think that all of what was laid out as 'potentially' happening in the next two months are entirely the right moves.

First of all, it's unfathomable that the country's borders haven't been locked down, just it's residents. If the UK would have shut it's borders like other countries then we might be up to the point where lock down can be eased, but the airports were never shut, were they? :( Also, it took a LONG time, relatively, for the UK to go into lock down in the first place, and even then the order was so wishy washy that people didn't take note. It took Boris going on the Telly and saying 'STAY [THE FUCK] AT HOME' and creating clear cut reasons to leave the home that are acceptable for anything to start to change.
Yes, the rate of infection is going down across the UK--great, that means that even with all the people still taking the piss that the whole stay at home initiative is working. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD STOP WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING! The Bloody R is just going to go up again you Muppet.

Secondly, mapping out a loose plan with flow charts and graphs is all well and good to get a general idea of how the next few months could go, but it needed to be a lot clearer than that Bo Jo. Either that, or be LESS specific and just leave it at, every day or every week conditions will change and the nation would be immediately updated with new changes as they come. Don't set dates for things like certain school levels going back in June and not give full details on how the phased return will happen...whenever it does happen, if not June.

Third, some of the things said in tonight broadcast are just laughable. 1. Stay at home wherever possible (okay, that's fine. That's what people have been doing) but 2. People should be encouraged to go into work if they can't work from home...and he specifically mentioned factory and construction workers. He said that employers will be instructed to take measures to make sure social distancing will be active even in the workplace, but does he go into detail about how that's gonna happen? Hell no.

Will factory workers be provided necessary PPE? What safety measures will you mandate of people going back to work to ensure they are properly social distancing while in the workplace? What about those who are reliant on public transportation to get to work, how will that work when you also say 'avoid public transport if at all possible'? What about those who are not factory workers, or construction workers, and are unable to work at home? There are probably hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers who are unable to return to work because public gathering establishments like Pubs, Cinemas, Arenas, etc are unable to operate. What about them? Will you still be paying compensation to those who are unable to work safely?

There are so many unanswered questions after the information the British people have been presented. And what's worse, is that with some of the lockdown adjustments, people are just going to take the piss more and be more careless. For instance, the whole thing about encouraging more daily exercise outside the home --great. I'm ASSUMING that's only with people of your household, cause you never said so Boris. Also, encouraging people to go out and sit on public benches for fresh air sounds okay, but what happens when a person who might have COVID without realizing it coughs on a bench, then a child later climbs on the bench getting their hands dirty with the virus and later sticks their dirty fingers in their mouth, as kids do? It's just...not the right thing to encourage on a public broadcast to some people without common sense.

I know that it was mentioned that anyone breaking lockdown rules will be fined more...in some circumstances. FS, really? You say something, and then go back on it immediately. Basically you're saying that authorities have the power to fine people more money...but they won't necessarily. well that's better. *heavy sarcasm*

Also, something that a friend of mine commented (and she's totally right), is that Boris made light of all the deaths by saying "It is a fact...we prevented this country from being engulfed in what could have been a catastrophe". Okay, so the 30,000+ people who have already died is not enough of a catastrophe? You briefly mention how bad the death toll is, but quickly go into how brilliantly lockdown has done. Way to mansplain it Boris. Way to belittle the lives of the dead and the people they left behind. Do you not think that the people who have lost their loved ones to Coronavirus, who have just heard you say that are FUMING because to them the loss of their loved one IS the most tragic thing right now and you just slapped that in their face by glossing over it in a sentence.

*RAGE*

Overall, it was a stupid address and the nation is going to be more confused about lockdown measures than they were before. Not saying I wish it, but maybe if Boris had kicked the bucket in hospital when HE contracted COVID19, people would have to take this disease seriously.

END RANT

Jenny Recommends - A Curated Books/Movies/TV List

For those of us who have A LOT of time to spend right now, I've put together some of my favorite things (TV, movies, books, etc) to pass the time.

BOOKS

Some of my personal favorites, or new books I've read recently that I recommend:

1. IDIOT by Laura Clery - An autobiography of how Laura went from being an idiot child, then a starving artist and an addict in LA/NY to turning her life around and getting sober. I've watched her videos for a while (If you've ever seen her Helen character --weird square jaw filter yelling 'Stephen!' all the time -- that's her) and gotten to know her family through her social media posts. It was really sweet to hear her story of not only getting clean, but how she met her husband Stephen and started a family.


2. The Shadowhunter Chronicles [BOOK SERIES] by Cassandra Clare - There is a TV show on Netflix called Shadowhunters that I started watching and I found out it's a fantasy book series. I very quickly became attached to them and they've become the next best thing to reading Harry Potter for me.
There are different 'collection' series (Mortal Instruments, Dark Artifices, etc) that follow a specific set of characters in Clare's world and each collection can be read separately as it's own thing as well as all together to get a bigger picture of the world.

Regardless, all these characters and collections all exist in the same world where the slogan is "All the legends are true". Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, warlocks, demons, monsters...you name it, they exist..and there is a race of angelic soldiers called 'Shadowhunters' who protect the 'Mundane' world (humans) from all things that go bump in the night.


3. The Sookie Stackhouse Novels/Southern Mystery Series [BOOK SERIES] by Charlene Harris - Again, if you liked the TV show True Blood, then read the books they were based off of. It's not as obvious that they are a book series (not like "Harry Potter and the...." that is self explanatory that it's another HP novel) but each title in the series contains DEAD in it that link them together as a series. It's another Vampire/Fantasy series that I enjoy reading, so I recommend if youre into your fantasy genre.

CINEMA/TELEVISION

With so many streaming services, there is a bunch of good stuff to watch, but I appreciate that not everyone has ALL OF THE STREAMING SERVICES. So, I've put these into categories of where to find them.

I understand some of these people have already seen or there's already a lot of hype around them, so I tried to choose some shows that people might not have heard of/come across. But there are popular shows/movies that just can't be ignored. :)

First Up....

NETFLIX

Personally, Netflix is by far my favorite streaming service. They continually update their library of films as well as pump out a LOAD of new Original Netflix Series from all over the world. It is my go-to place for watching new Korean/Chinese Dramas.

Movies

Code 8- DRAMA - Brainchild of Stephen and Robbie Amell, this film started off as a short, but then after they did a kickstarter campaign Stephen and Robbie made it a full length feature film. Fun Fact--it wasn't much but I did contribute to that kick starter campaign. Anyway, The story is set in a world where some people exhibit supernatural abilities but are ostracized for them. It follows a young guy, Robbie Amell, who has to make a choice whether or not to use his powers in order to save his sick mum.

I, Tonya - DRAMA/COMEDY - Based on the true story of world renown figure skater Tonya Harding. It is tragic, shocking, and hilarious. Starring Margo Robbie as Tanya Harding & Sebastian Stan as Jeff Gillooly.



Howls Moving Castle - ANIMATED - This is originally a Japanese film, but I will say that the dubbed English version of this is actually pretty good. I saw an advanced screening of the English dubbed version and the actors did really well to match the same vibrant characterizations that the Japanese cast did. Christian Bale as the voice of Howl, and Billy Crystal voices another stand out character named Calcifer. Watch in either English Dubbed or the original Japanese with Subtitles.

TV Shows

Comedy Series you have to watch: The Good Place

The Good Place - It's forking hilarious. One of the great nuances of this show is that because they're in 'The Good Place' aka Heaven there is no swearing. So when someone tries to swear, it comes out as 'Holy FORK' 'bullSHIRT' 'Son of a BENCH' 'ASH-hole' 'CORK block'. Episodes are only about 20 minutes long and the series has come to an end after 4 seasons, so it's a great easy one to binge watch.

A Horror Series you have to watch: American Horror Story

Specifically Season 2: Asylum & Season 5: Hotel - For those of you know love serial killer documentaries, these two are probably the best seasons of AHS to watch because they feature dramatizations on real life serial killers. But they are also great for the story line and there are some music artists as actor Cameos that I like. :) The thing I love most about AHS is that every season alot of the same actors are reused (some drop off, and some new ones get introduced), but play completely new characters. You can literally start watching any season of AHS as a one-off, but it is fun to see how they link together with subtle nods to each other.


A Drama Series you have to Watch: Pose

Pose - A story set in that 80s that goes through the ups and downs of drag queens and trans people in the New York Ballroom scene. If you want to learn more about drag culture, while being entertained with a dramatic fictional storyline, then look no further. It's only 1 season, but it's beautifully done.


A Foreign Series you have to watch: 3%

3% - I believe this is a Brazilian? Netflix Original show. WATCH IT IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, with subtitles. You can choose on Netflix the Audio and subtitle languages. I believe in watching things in their original language, as intended, if I can. More often than not the dubbed versions are sooooooo cringy to watch.


Anyway, the story is set in a poverty stricken world where every year they have 'The Process'. The Process forces every 20 year old to go through trials/challenges/interview with the incentive of a better life. Only 3% of the people who go through the Process are offered the chance to go live on  'The Island' which is rumored to be rich and prosperous. The rest of the candidates who fail the Process have to go back to living in poverty and never get the chance to go through the Process again.

A Fantasy Series you have to watch: The Witcher

The Witcher - There is a lot of hype around this at the moment, but it is a great series based off of a video game and a polish? book series. Henry Cavill as the Witcher is bloody perfect, but I will come back for Joey Baty as Jaskier/Dandelion the Bard ALL DAY, EVERY DAY.  Season 2 coming soon, but Season 1 as a stand alone is good. It is a tad confusing as the scenes following certain characters are not all liner timelines to one another and they skip around. But you get the hang of it.

AMAZON PRIME 

I'm gonna be honest, out of all the streaming services out there I hate Amazon Prime (but I love fast deliveries so there we go...), so I use it the least. I don't like that some content is free for prime members and some of it is pay as you go streaming. It would be better if the prime streaming could be found all in one place instead of in sub categories on the main page, so at least that way you wouldn't find something you'd like to watch, only to find out it's not got that 'included with prime' tag. But I digress....

TV SHOWS

Vikings - HISTORY / DRAMA - I love this show. A little bit of history, a little bit of fantasy drama fighting...it's a good show if not a bit weird at times. Gustav Skarsgard as 'Floki' is definitely my stand out favorite in this series, so if nothing else watch it for him :)


The Boys - DARK COMEDY - Created by Seth Rogan and Erik Kripke (one of the writers of Supernatural), this shows there is a darker side to superheros. Seriously, it goes behind the heroics of super beings and exposes the truth about how their 'Saving the day' probably destroys more lives and property than expected for the greater good. It's graphic and equally hilarious.

Good Omens - COMEDY / DRAMA - Based off the comic of the same name, it follows an angel & a demon and the end of days. Honestly, there is no one I'd rather play this dynamic duo than Michael Sheen and David Tennant -- absolute comical gold.

MOVIES

The Intern - COMEDY - Great film starring Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway about a hip online clothing company that hires an intern (without age limit) who ends up being an old retiree. It's funny & heartwarming.


Two Night Stand - ROMANTIC COMEDY -  I thought the premise was actually funny and a new concept: two people who have a one night stand are forced to spend more time with each other trapped in an apartment due to a severe snow storm.


The Imitation Game - HISTORY /DRAMA - Based off the true story of Alan Turing who created 'Enigma' the machine that cracked the algorithm of German codes during WW II. Benedict Cumberbatch is amazing as Alan with equally great supporting roles from Keira Knightly, & Mathew Goode.


The Upside - COMEDY - Kevin Hart, an ex Con, finds a job working for a wealthy quadriplegic man, Brian Cranston, and hilarity ensues. It's funny but it's also very heartwarming at times.

DISNEY+

There's soooooo much to watch on Disney plus especially if you like your disney animated films, or your marvel films. People forget as well (me included) that Disney owns Fox, so stuff like the Simpsons is on there as well. I'm not too bothered about Disney+ TV shows beside the Star Wars shows, because I've been there done that when I had Disney channel as a child in the United States. If you had to watch one TV show on Diseny + Mandalorian is good, even if some people only watch because of baby yoga--he is extremely cute.



Here's just some of my favorite movie recommendations that can be found on Disney+:

Newsies - MOVIE MUSICAL - If you haven't seen it, get on this! It's based off the true story of the Newspaper boys (aka Newsies) strike in New York in 1899. It's a musical, it is so good, and it features alot of young men in 1800s attire (waist coats & suspenders, awooooga) dancing down the streets of New York. Also...starring a very young Christian Bale and with Bill Pullman as supporting lead!



Jack - COMEDY - This is a GREAT Robin Williams film where he plays a child that develops x4 as fast as normal due to Werner Syndrome. So even tho he looks like a 40 year old man, he is in fact a 10 year old and you follow his adventures of being put in the 5th grade with his peers.

ALL OF THE MARVEL FILMS

Now that there is a central place to watch all of the Marvel films, if you haven't watched any because you haven't had a clue on where to start...here is the linear timeline (not release date order) so you can binge the movies in the order that makes sense:
Captain America: The First Avenger (takes place during WWII)
Captain Marvel (takes place in 1995)
Iron Man (takes place in 2010)
Iron Man 2 (takes place after Iron Man)
The Incredible Hulk (time unspecified, pre-Avengers)
Thor (takes place six months before Avengers)
The Avengers (takes place in 2012)
Iron Man 3 (takes place six months after The Avengers)

Thor: Dark World (post-Avengers, pre-Ultron)

Captain America: Winter Soldier (post-Avengers, pre-Ultron)

Guardians of the Galaxy (sometime in 2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (after Guardians)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (takes place in 2015)

Ant-Man (takes place in 2015)

Captain America: Civil War (post-Ultron, pre-Infinity War)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (post-Civil War, pre-Infinity War)

Doctor Strange (takes place in 2016)

Black Panther (takes place in 2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (post-Ultron, pre-Infinity War)

Avengers: Infinity War (takes place in 2017)

Ant-Man and The Wasp (ambiguous, but fits nicely between IW and Endgame)

Avengers: Endgame (starts in 2017, finishes in 2022)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (post-Endgame)

Bonus- If you can't be arsed to watch all of them, there are some (like Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, or Guardians of the Galaxy) that are great to watch as stand alone films. Even though references to other characters/other movies in the franchise are made it doesn't take away from the individual plot/story line. 

STAR WARS  - Similar to The Marvel Universe, All of the Star Wars films and companion tv shows are up on Disney+. I myself haven't watched ALL of the companion pieces yet, but according to Disney, this is the ideal way to watch them in Chronological order:

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace [FILM]
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones [FILM]
Star Wars: The Clone Wars [TV]
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith [FILM]
Solo: A Star Wars Story [FILM]
Star Wars Rebels [TV]
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [FILM]
Star Wars: A New Hope [FILM]
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back [FILM]
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi [FILM]
The Mandalorian [TV]
Star Wars Resistance [TV]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens [FILM]
Star Wars: The Last Jedi [FILM]
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker [FILM]

Again, if you don't have the time or patience to watch all of them in sequence, Rogue One or Solo are good stand alone stories to watch. Also! Fun fact: I actually know someone from school who is a voice actor for Star Wars Resistance strangely enough.

NOW TV

NOW CINEMA - Films:
First of all, if you don't have Disney+ but you already have Now Cinema, then there are still alot of great Marvel movies on there: Spider man, Avengers, Ironman, Captain America.... As well as some of the Disney remakes: Aladdin, and Lion King....and Rise of Skywalker just released on there too. So Disney+ doens't have all of the content exclusively.

The Truman Show - COMEDY - This is one of the great Jim Carrey Films of the late 90s. It follows Truman, an ordinary salesman, who is unaware that his whole life is a fabricated TV show complete with actors, sets, and scripted encounters.

Crazy Rich Asians - ROMANTIC COMEDY - This film has just about every Asian stereotype included, but with a a full Asian cast who are talented and hot AF. Based off of a book of the same name, this is a heartwarming story of culture & unconditional love that will make you laugh out loud. The movie has a stunning cast, amazing costume designs, and beautiful scenery as it follows its main characters to Singapore for a family wedding.



NOW ENTERTAINMENT - TV Shows:

Game of Thrones - FANTASY DRAMA - I know this is wildly popular, but it is a really good series....except the last season. They rushed the ending. But if you like Fantasy tv and movies with epic storylines then this is defo for you. And it's out of the limelight now that it's ended so there's not as much hype.


Chernobyl - DRAMA - Based on the true events of the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster in 1986. It's a short series but it is soooo worth seeing especially if you like history, or if you have no idea what Chernobyl was all about. It is gory at times. And it will open your eyes to what really went down, with some artistic license as it is a dramatization.


THE REAL CHERNOBYL - DOCUMENTARY - This Sky Documentary mentions the Drama series 'Chernobyl' and gets to the heart of what was fact and what was fiction from the dramatization version above.


Those are just a handful of recommendation I have. Obviously there is so much content out there and it's hard to sift through all of it. Have you got any lockdown recommended reading/watching lists? Put your favorites in the comments!