To Watch: House of Cards and Dexter (again)
One of the things I’m really start to catch up on is all the TV shows I missed working 1,000 hours a week at CofC while finishing up my graduate thesis. I know I’m late to the #netflixandchill trend but it’s been awesome catching up on new shows (House of Cards) and old ones (Dexter).
My love of Kevin Spacey and Political Science is obvious as to why I waited to start House of Cards until I had time to enjoy it. I know the show got some flak for the third season, but honestly I enjoyed it and the Putin-inspired character. Not going to lie–I watched the last season in one day.
Chris and I finally finished rewatching all 8 seasons of Dexter (thankfully Chris had them all on his laptop when we didn’t have internet for a while) and I realized a couple of things that I’d like to share:
- Doakes alone is THE reason for a rewatch.
- Nothing is ever going to be as good as season 1 and 4. So get over it.
- Deb gets so. much. better. after season 1.
- I don’t hate Lumen (and the Barrel Girl season) as much as I originally did. I think the producers and writers did a shitty job framing the season after Trinity. They did a bad job setting it up, but all in all, its a good season.
- Brother Sam (Mos Def) is absolutely still the best guest character on the show.
I always get people asking me “WHAT? WHY?” Because he is. Lately I’ve been trying to reflect on the experiences and people who have been absolute shitheads to me over the past couple of years, so his message at the end of episode six is resonating:
Just let it go. Can’t live with the hate in your heart. Eat you up inside. We gotta find some peace in life.
- I really like season 7. Maybe I just like Joey having a bigger role (finally)?
- The last two episodes (and basically all) of season 8 are the fucking worst. Still. There’s no excuse, Showtime.
To Play: Diaspoura’s Demonstrations
I first met Diaspoura (Anjali Naik) when I worked as the Internship & Student Coordinator for the Sustainability Office at CofC. Anjali played at our 2015 Sustainability Week Kickoff event and then again in 2016 at the best event the Sustainability Office ever hosted EVER– 2016’s Words Unspoken. Diaspoura starts at roughly 39:31 but I recommend watching the entire thing because its the greatest collection of performances at the College.
Demonstrations was released right before we left the states and I’ve been listening to the album non-stop since we hit Hungarian soil. A merging of electro and dreamy experimental, the songs blend together to form one solid 30 minute block of chilling and reflection. “What They Said” and “Stay” are two of my favorites (“What They Said” starts with mmm change the world before it changes you anymore/we have so much time, but right now I’m fine). “Forget You” and “Apology” are such a beautiful back-to-back combination that I think really define the album.
In an article with Charleston City Paper, Anjali notes:
“I never felt like I had space where I could introduce my narrative to whatever was going on. So I thought, you know, I’m just going to tell my own narrative as it is, and that’s going to be my own documentation for anyone else that comes along.”
Slayyyyyyyyyyyy. Is that not the most badass inspiration for an album? I’d definitely recommend getting the amazing usb thumb drive that also includes extra songs, videos, and best of all a zine created just for the release.
To Do: Fantasy Football
Week 1 is always difficult but at least I have #84 on the field and #1 in my heart back on my roster again.
For whatever reason I became obsessed with fantasy football last year. I did pretty well–finished second overall–so I joined even more leagues this season. I’m not really a fan of a particular NFL team so I’m not sure why I love it so much. Maybe its the research, strategy, or more excuses to obsess over Antonio Brown and Cam Newton, but I’m playing in three leagues this year (including two all women leagues and being the only woman in one league). First week I’m three for three but that definitely won’t last.
To Eat: Brunches Like This
My favorite part of the weekend is that Chris and I get to spend the mornings together making brunch. Its been a struggle getting eggs the right amount of over easy without Chris’s favorite egg flipping spatula and the lack of rye bread is rough, but we love it. One of the best things about Hungary is that it seems like eating potatoes at every meal is acceptable, which totally works for me.
To Read: There Could Be Blackberries and Wordwound
Two of my former interns Olivia Cohen and Nicole Fernandez have graduated from the College and moved on (and international!) to new roles. Their blogs There May Be Blackberries and WordWound are my new favorite things to read.
Olivia, who was one of our first social media/editors and then ran the Garden Apprenticeship program my last semester at the College, has recently moved to Nicaragua to pursue work in sustainable agriculture. I was humbled and honored to be mentioned in her latest blogpost, which I’m still trying to put into words how much that means to me. Read her blog here.
Nicole established one of the greatest event series at CofC with Social Justice Coffee Hour. Over the course of three semesters we also worked (and worked and worked!) to create the foundation for Share Your Story CofC, which collected stories from the community as a way to tell our collective narrative. Now graduated, Nicole is moving to France to teach! In her newest post she notes: “See, the thing about living anywhere new is that you’re redefining expanding your whole worldview.” My thoughts exactly. Read her blog here.
to Look Forward to: Audrie & Daisy
Netflix picked up the rights for Audrie & Daisy and they’ll have it up for streaming on the 23rd. The documentary tells the stories of the aftermath of three sexual assault cases in the United States. Focusing on the impact of the assaults on the survivors themselves, it looks at how we as a society treat (blame) survivors and (forgive) perpetrators of abuse in the United States.
What’s important to understand is that its not just high school peers acting out these narratives, but adults (parents, police officers) allow for those who committed the crimes to largely get away with it, while discrediting survivors. With the new reports of assault from UNC, USA Gymnastics, and Stanford, we really need to work on the bullshit way we treat survivors. Aligning with the attackers while second-guessing survivors keeps people from coming forward and their attackers free (Although I’d argue that with the current system in place, most perpetrators end up staying out of prison).
Watch the trailer here.
Next post: Home Sweet Hungarian Home (we finally got our stuff!) and maiden voyages on our bikes around town.
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