pigs-in-space

I binge watched this yesterday and thought it was delightful. The cast was great and the twists (pun intended!) were amusing. I’m a romantic at heart and thought the main couple had great chemistry and enjoyed the banter. Belle was a bit holier-than-thou but I thought it made complete sense for the period. She had both immense privilege and yet was also so constrained by the societal mores of the time. Still, I loved those little moments where someone pointed out her blind spots, especially when

Nancy did claim her mother called her “her little dummy” as a kid because she was dyslexic. So maybe still some dysfunction there.

The Sonya case was heartbreaking. What a piece of shit that cop was. And stupid too. That car/letter stunt was so idiotic. Not surprised his mostly white church rallied around him. And forgive me if I missed the discussion, but has anyone watched the Dateline: The Last Day spin-off? I find the “last day” framing a bit redundant and unnecessary but it’s covered some interesting cases so far. The Nathan Paet case really stuck with me, thanks to the awful wife and her claims that she didn’t want the murder to happen (even though she clearly went along with the plan). The Amy Allen case was also a stand out for me. The forensic evidence in that one was really interesting and the husband came off as so phoney with all his talk of doing so much to protect his family’s physical and mental health. You eat vegetables and do yoga. Groundbreaking. 🙄

I’m just starting the last episode but so far I’m finding it really interesting how sympathetic towards Joseph Smith this seems to be. I’d also never heard the theory that Bringham Young was responsible for his final capture/death by adding lines to Emma’s letter. The implication being that Emma might have been able to sway him against polygamy eventually, so they had to stop it? It seemed like a really weird thing to throw in, especially since it would have been such a risky move for Young who wasn’t nearly as charismatic as Smith and was not guaranteed to be his successor. I’m re-reading the book right now (this is probably my fifth or sixth re-read since I first read it ages ago) and it’s still one of my favorite non-fiction reads ever.

I’m not sure how long this series is going to be but I think they will dive a lot more into Michelle and Conrad’s texts and the progression of them. I do recall reading online that the elder Roys were abusive (Sr. verbally, Jr. physically). Whether that’s completely true or mostly spin from the defense I’m not sure but there was definitely a police report after Roy Jr. hit his son. Sadly I think this telling of the story could be accurate in that portrayal.

Was it just me or was the camera work blurry at times? Who is this Francesca person and why should I care? And why was she wearing a skinned teddy bear all night? Gigi can do a million times better than the Trump-lover Damian. It’s been ages since I watched the show but I don’t recall liking Diamond this much the first time around. She’s great and I hope she finds what she’s looking for.

Finally watched this and even though I knew how it would end I still ended up crying. I liked it a lot even though the ending was terribly sad. My favorite scene was her confronting Ryan about the video - I found it totally chilling. I think this movie was less about revenge and more about what happens when you are so paralyzed by grief and anger that you are unable to move on. Cassie knew she was putting herself in danger (hell, even sober she was putting herself in danger every night she targeted “nice guys”), and she had the video. She didn’t have to get revenge up close and personal like that but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. I did notice that they cut one thing from the script, which was

I thought Phillip came across as a boor and a horrible father so I would definitely like them to change a lot about Eloise's story line.

Words really can't express how much I love the original Miranda (it's the one show all 6 of us in my family can agree on!), and this is...I don't know. Just doesn't seem as charming. And really, it's hard to top Gary (aka Tom Ellis). I might give it a try but I don't have high expectations, that's for sure.

And comes away with his mouth completely dry! Someone call Ben Shapiro's doctor wife! From another thread, if you're wondering about the effectiveness of the pull-out method, Planned Parenthood's got you covered.

If you liked those three characters, I feel like you might really dig The Duchess Deal or The Governess Game by Tessa Dare. I don't know exactly why but something about that trio (plus Newton) reminds me of the shenanigans in those two (especially the latter). Personally book 2 in the Bridgertons was the only one of the series I liked. Books 3 and 4 I managed to finish but they weren't my faves. I do like her prequel series of the Bridgertons though. Haven't read the latest but the rest were all enjoyable.

I'm still thinking I would do an awful lot to get a Spindle Cove series. I know Beverly Jenkins mentioned one of her books was optioned (Forbidden, I think?), and Alyssa Cole also hinted that one of her series (The Runaway Royals) has been optioned. Here's hoping they get picked up! I'd hate to see only cishet white women getting deals. I know optioning is only the first step, but still...I'm optimistic!

On the one hand I get that, but on the other hand she's getting money and kudos for it which isn't necessarily deserved and that definitely bugs me.

I feel like the only "adaptations" we really get are the occasional ones that are adapted for Hallmark (which are then very mild on the heat scale). I want so many more steamy adaptations!

There's also some behind-the-scenes issues where Quinn has said some problematic things about writing people of color in her books. There's a thread on Twitter here that is very worth reading. I'm still watching, of course, but there's a couple of problematic areas.