Day 30 – Saddest Character Death

Warning: Spoilers for The Wire and Downton Abbey are below.  They are detailed and super-duper-extremely sad-making.  If you haven't watched those series and you plan to and you don't like spoilers, then quit readin' already and get busy watchin'.

I think this post is the reason I didn't update the challenge for a month.

I'm a crier, and I have cried at many a TV death in my day.  I won't tell you the specific ones here, in case that will spoil you, but let's just say that my sofa has seen its fair share of my tears and then some.  The two listed below are the ones that hit me the very, very hardest-- even though I already knew both of them were coming.

First, Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil Cora Crawley Branson

she loved those stupid pants

I had heard all of the rumors about Dan Stevens wanting to leave the show, but I hadn't heard the Jessica Brown Findlay ones at all.  I watched this latest season on a slight delay (as in hours and days after the UK airings), but I knew a big, big death was coming, and I couldn't help myself.  I took to the tumblr, and there it was.  So I watched the episode.  Even with the warning, I wasn't prepared for how entirely heart-breaking it would be.  Stupid Robert Crawley and his stupid pompous fancy doctor!  And Sybil's death scene... that was one of the more harrowing things I've ever seen on TV!  They are all utterly helpless as she seizes and dies while her mother and her husband wail separately and simultaneously.  Tore. Me. UP.  Now, our dear Tom is left all by his lonesome... with Baby Sybil, of course.

Sorry, Tommy.

And second, The Wire's Wallace.

Just looking at this picture makes me want to sob.

The Wire is a hardcode show, and it is not for the faint of heart.  The following paragraphs aren't for the faint of heart either-- this is your warning.  It is also not recommended for people who live in Baltimore but don't know a lot about it.  Basically, you'll start thinking that everyone sells drugs.  Everyone's got them WMDs.  Here's a little backstory to set the cry-making mood.  There are a couple of interweaving plotlines in the first season, and one of them revolves around a gang of teenage drug dealers, including Wallace (played to bittersweet perfection by a baby-faced Michael B. Jordan).  His crew gets robbed by Omar (one of the best characters in the history of television).  Wallace spots Omar's accomplice and calls it in, which leads to said accomplice being tortured and brutally murdered by Stringer Bell (another brilliant character).  Wallace gets a cut of the bounty due to the information, but he also sees what his information wrought, so he wants out.  Unfortunately, that's not how things work for these kids, and so his very best friends are ordered to kill him.

So Wallace shows back up because he wants to get his life back together.  He sees his friends, and at first he's all happy.  Then they point a gun at him with shaking hands, so naturally Wallace wets himself and cries.  And then, his best friends pull the trigger and kill him.  It's awful.  I will never forget it.

Hubs had watched this episode before me, and (again, because I am a spoiler reader) I already knew what was coming, so I asked him, "How sad is it?"  He replied, "It's not too bad."  YEAH, "not too bad" = tears pouring down my cheeks faster than I could wipe them away and pressing my hand to my mouth to keep from sobbing breakdown-style.  "Not too bad," my aunt Fanny.  Just remembering it makes my chest ache.

This is a depressing post.  To make up for that, here's a gif of my favorite part of While You Were Sleeping.

omg best

Day 29 – Current TV Show Obsession

I have two.  Duh.  Because I listen to Keith Mars and always take back-up.

New Girl
This has essentially been My Jam since the very first episode-- I mean, Zooey's character's name is Jessica, she sings as she speaks a lot, and when she lists her DVDs, it's like she just looked at my own shelf and started naming titles.

Also, I do this often. Gif from here

I didn't think it could live up to its first season of actual-LOL hilarity, but somehow, this season has been even LOL-ier.  We cackle through just about every episode, from soup to nuts.  Who's that girl?  Who's that girl? (it's me)

gif from here

Game of Thrones

This is the newest new obsession.  I held off on watching for a long time because I knew I'd love it, but I really didn't think I'd love it this much.  Hubs and I blew through the first two seasons in about a week and a half, so now we have to wait each week for new episodes.  We have to do what common people do.  Common people like you.

I'm getting off track.

So yeah, when you first start watching, the violence and graphic nature are kind of... difficult to watch.  Now, I'm like, "STAB THROUGH HIS ARMOR!  CHOP OFF HIS HEAD!  GO GO GO!"  One of the most recent episodes ended with an amazingly bad-ass attack that caught me off guard (as I haven't read the books), and it made me want to stand and applaud.  Heck yeah, you are Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryan, of the blood of old Valyria!! Yeah, it's violent and yeah it's not always as good to women as it should be, but... man, do I love it.  I hear that the blood and gore and terribleness will only get worse from here, and I'm way too excited about it.  I've even stopped reading spoilers!  I KNOW.

And Tyrion Lannister aka Peter Dinklage.  I love me some Dinklage.  Man is too talented and too hilarious.  It shouldn't be allowed.

Day 28 – First TV Show Obsession

As a lifelong fan of TV, it's hard to gauge what my first TV show "obsession" was.  Should I go with something from childhood like My Little Pony or Strawberry Shortcake?  What about a show I watched mostly in reruns, like Saved By The Bell (which most kids of the 90s know aired every day 4 times a day, and you betta believe I watched all 4 episodes daily, which means I have seen every episode of the OG SBTB at least a billion times) or Boy Meets World?  For this, I decided to go with the show I chose for me as Must See TV, even though the ads told me that's exactly what it was.

Friends

This was another show I watched with my family, but it was one of the first shows I really chose to watch that made me feel like a grown-up.  It wasn't a sitcom with kids my age in it, and occasionally there would be jokes that went over my head, but it was my appointment show.  Seeing as I was a busy kid in high school, it was hard to have appointment shows (what with the band practices or play practices or chorus practices or clarinet lessons getting in the way) (yes, I was that artsy kid), but this was the first.  It also helped carry me through my freshman year of college, which is always a weird, weird year.  My roommate and I would watch the late night syndicated reruns, and it was one of the first things we bonded over.  I still think of her every time I see The One After The Super Bowl.  It also also helped carry me through another tough time in life.  I was there for them, and they were there for me too.

Another fun fact: I'm somewhat of a Friends trivia genius.  I have retained a ton of information about these 6 characters, which is sad considering they aren't real people.  Oh boy, I may quote Scrubs a lot, but this show... this is my home base.  Brother once tried to challenge me to a duel.  He lost, though not by a landslide.  He was a worthy opponent.  I still kicked his ass, though.  So, take that.

credit to fyeahfriendsgifs.tumblr.com

Rumors circulated recently about a  Friends reunion.  Personally, I wouldn't want that.  I loved this series, even in its not-as-funny years (though, that 9th season finale!! SO funny!), but I think it ended on a perfect note for itself.  Everything doesn't need a reunion just because.  It would be fun to find out what the characters are up to now, but it wouldn't be the same, and it shouldn't be forced.

In closing, one thing I do when I'm feeling down or blue is watch blooper reels on YouTube.  I definitely frequent the Friends ones, because Matthew Perry is legit hilarious and Lisa Kudrow has a GREAT laugh.  I've watched them so many times, but I always laugh.

Guess who's back? Back again!

Jeskuh's back.  Tell a friend.

Honestly, whoever reads this should know by now that I only blog when I have something to say, or when I'm doing a challenge or a list.  Yes, I'm aware I was in the middle of a list that I didn't finish.  Well, here I am  to tell you that I will be finishing my 30 day challenge one month late.  Hoo-dee-hooooo.  Be on the lookout for those posts coming to a blog near you (aka this blog.  This blog is where they will be.).

Since you came by here to see some new content, here's a video from Mental Floss where John Green teaches you 50 Weird Laws.  Have a good day!  Learn something!

The Margaret Thatcher Story

I have a Margaret Thatcher story.  Because I have a story about everything.  And so, on the day of the Iron Lady's passing, I share my story with you.

In March of 2007, Hubs (who was simply Boyfriend back then) and I went to visit some awesomely awesome friends in London.  It was a super fun trip full of adventures and pubs and crazy weather and crumpets with Nutella.  Essentially, I've wanted to go back since the moment I left.  Also, going to London with someone who studied British history makes for a busy, busy trip full of atypical destinations.  You don't always know what you're getting into, but it usually turns out great in the end.  One of those destinations was the Imperial War Museum.  I had no idea what to expect, but it was actually one of my favorite stops on our trip.  The museum is comprehensive with a capital C, and so I wouldn't recommend trying to see all of it at once.  Your brain will not be able to take it.

Anyway, so we're there on a lovely gray afternoon in March, and there were all sorts of vehicles in the atrium, and Boyfriend's running from place to place telling me what they all were ("This was the smallest boat to participate in the Dunkirk evacuation!  Take my picture!").  We notice that the atrium is starting to get kind of full, which we think is strange for the middle of the week, but being DC people like we are, we understand the randomness of tourists.  Then, we notice that it's filling up with older gentlemen in bright red jackets holding musical instruments.  This is admittedly a bit weirder.  Then, we get pushed back into the sidelines-- not like we're being cordoned off, but just being kept to the side.  The band starts to play, and I peek around the shoulder of a older woman dressed in a smart green suit standing a few feet ahead of me to see what all the fuss is about.  I see another older woman next to the band, smiling and carrying on.  They play "Happy Birthday," and we all sing along.  During the weird commotion, I take a moment to look at the smartly dressed woman nearby.

And I swear it's Margaret Thatcher.

I turn back to Boyfriend, who's snapping some pictures of the Birthday Girl but mostly taking a moment to admire the total randomness of the moment.  I want to tell him that I think I'm standing, like, an arm's length away from Margaret Thatcher, but then another thought pops into my mind: is it really Margaret Thatcher?  Or is it just an older woman in fancy clothes and you simply think it's her because she's of a certain age and British and wearing fancy clothes and you're an American tourist?  So, I don't say anything.  I look at her once more, take a peek at the Birthday Girl who is simply beaming and loving the attention (we ask and find out she's a famous war-time singer who's celebrating her 90th birthday), and then move on out.

That night, we go back to our friend's place in Brixton, and I take a minute to do a quick search.  A news article pops up for the celebration of the 90th birthday of Dame Vera Lynn, the Forces' Sweetheart, which occurred earlier that day at the Imperial War Museum.  And who was in attendance?

A green-suited Margaret Thatcher.

Sometimes you're that American tourist.  Sometimes you're right.