Stuck in a Rut? Stay There.
Feeling like Bella at the beginning of New Moon? You’re not alone <3
To quote B-Dawg Kelly “That Cancer New Moon was a little evil”.
The Cancer New Moon, shook me to my very core and I’ve been feeling very “Bella at the beginning of New Moon” if you know what I mean. What can I say? Life imitates art. Just like Miss Swan I’ve been absentmindedly staring out of a lot of windows from uncomfortable chairs , completely unengaged with my reality AND I’ve been wearing a lot of black. For anyone who has not seen New Moon, that is basically the entire plot.
So please, if you have contacted me within this time period take this as both an apology and an explanation as to why I have not replied. My little baby brain is barely able to keep afloat. Now that Leo season is about to begin, however, I am ready to leave my bedroom and enter my fixing my crappy motorbike with a hunky werewolf era. *Glues a picture of long haired Jacob to my vision board*
I have been planning to write a Newsletter for approx. two years so maybe this post-rut high is the fuel I needed to get this baby going. I must admit that when I began writing this all I could think about was – what will I write this newsletter about? Which got me thinking, wow, I’m 1. still in a rut and 2. have literally nothing to write about, am the most boring uncreative person blah blah blah, spiral, spiral, spiral. You know the drill. So being the pragmatic woman that I am I have decided to write about what I know best; my rut and what I like to do when I am in one.
Although the glam YouTubers with collages of sunsets, matcha lattes, white New Balances and handwritten messages on their thumbnails will make you believe that Going Vegan, a Chloe Ting Challenge and a Green Smoothie enema will cleanse your chakras and realign your three remaining brain cells, I have to disagree.
When I feel like shit, I turn into an iPad baby.
Like genuinely, I can’t be left alone with my thoughts for longer than a millisecond. When I am alone, I need to be stimulated constantly or my inner monologue will begin to perform a TedTalk so violent it will make Shia LaBeouf’s “Just Do It” sound like he was performing spoken word poetry to a Youth Group. In the stimulation by way of simulation, I consume content like it’s nobody’s business and my drug of choice is TV. More specifically American Comedy. These shows both give me the brain chewing gum I need to quench the thirst of my depression but also if I actually decide to tune in they make me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
The next time you feel like a piece of crap: stew in it. Take the day off, keep all curtains closed, do not leave your room other than to get an iced coffee or go to the bathroom and watch nothing other than the below list.
Viva La Indulge in the bad days every so often.
Rest up baby bunnies, take it one day at a time and don’t rush. Have a giggle and you will get through this xx
A List of Faves for the Bad Days
Community
Brief Synopsis
The show focuses on a study group of mismatched oddballs who are enrolled at Greendale Community College. The group is made up of Jeff Winger a disbarred and suspended lawyer, social activist Britta Perry, Abed Nadir who struggles with social interactions and is obsessed with pop culture (he’s my fave), religious single mother Shirley Bennett; naive over-achiever Annie Edison; former high school football star Troy Barnes; and racist, elderly millionaire Pierce Hawthorne. Despite their differences, the members of the group soon become close friend. The show follows them as they get up to different antics and tomfoolery throughout their time in the college.
Why I love it:
It’s sort of like is the Breakfast Club on acid, with a philosophic and mind- bending edge. The characters are well written, dynamic and incredibly odd which makes for hilarious and heart-warming moments throughout. What really stands out about this show for me, however, is the story-telling.
The creator of this show is Dan Harmon (who later went on the create Rick & Morty). In the early part of his career Harmon began to adapt the hero's journey - a well-known storytelling framework- for use in television, he called his new framework “The Story Circle”. This technique is based on the idea that every good story is a circle which is divided into eight segments, each representing a stage of the plot: a character is introduced, wants something, enters a new environment, adapts to that environment, achieves their goal, encounters problems as a result of this, leaves that world, and is changed as a result.
What is so interesting to me about The Story Circle is that it isn’t linear (well, duh Emma it’s a circle) but basically this means that characters can be thrown in in different stages of the circle and still have to make their way through each segment which makes a series feel more exciting and you can really see this nuance come to life in each episode of Community.
Why it’s good for a bad day:
It’s absolutely ridiculous and sort of reminds me of being in Secondary School. In this series you see everything from the study group being forced to play a 1980s video game to help Chevy Chase gain his inheritance to paying homage to a Ken Burns war documentary where Jeff goes downtown to Pillowtown to risk his life in a brutal blanket-related conflict.
In my opinion, Community’s charm lies in its ability to pull off random yet genius concepts, while retaining the humour and wit that makes it one of the best comedies on television. No episode is the same. It’s an all singing, all dancing masterpiece.
*Warning*
Prior to watching this show I would like to warn you that as mentioned above one of the group is racist throughout the series and there is homophobic language used throughout. If you would find this upsetting, I would not recommend watching it.
Brooklyn 99
Synopsis
Created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur, this show revolves around Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), a New York City Police Department (NYPD) detective in Brooklyn's 99th Precinct, who often comes into conflict with his commanding officer, Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher). The rest of the cast features Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz, Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords, Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago, Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle, Chelsea Peretti as Gina Linetti, Dirk Blocker as Michael Hitchcock, and Joel McKinnon Miller as Norm Scully.
What I love about it:
The comedic yin and yan of Jake Peralta and Captain Raymond Holt just puts a smile on my face even on the darkest of days. Also I think that Boyle is probably one of the greatest comedic characters ever created and Joe Lo Truglio is a delight to watch.
Why it’s good for a bad day:
It’s 22 minutes an episode which is the perfect little treat when you don’t want to watch too much. The cold opens are genius (I actually think they put some of the Office’s to shame). If this TV show as sweet treat I would describe it was a Kinder Hungry Hippo: sweet, just the right amount, has a little crunch (deals with topical issues throughout) and you can always go back for more and it rarely feels too indulgent.
Schitt’s Creek
Synopsis
Schitt's Creek is a Canadian sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy (the mean dad from Cheaper by the Dozen 2). The series follows the formerly wealthy Rose family's trials and tribulations after their business manager embezzles the family business, Rose Video, the family loses its fortune and relocates to Schitt's Creek, a small town they once purchased as a joke. Now living in a motel, Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Moira (Catherine O'Hara)—along with their adult children, David (Dan Levy) and Alexis (Annie Murphy)—must adjust to life without wealth.
What I love about it:
“EW David”
The more you watch it the better it gets. I sort of liked the first season but by the last season I was so invested. It’s such a brilliant take on family, love, hard-work and friendship. The dialogue and writing are hilarious and it’s so perfectly cast.
Why it’s good for a bad day:
Catherine O’Hara. That is all.
Actually all of the characters are incredibly well cast and hilarious. One of my favourite elements of the show is the clothing and styling throughout. There is a documentary on Netflix just about how they designed costumes for each character which if you are already a fan I would highly recommend.
Bob’s Burgers
Synopsis
Bob's Burgers is an American animated television sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who run a hamburger restaurant and often go on adventures.
What I love about it:
It’s simple, it’s sweet, it always makes me giggle and I can relate to Linda in a way I have never related to any other TV character. For anyone who knows me THIS clip says it all really :)
It must be said however that I adore each of the characters and their eccentricities.
Why it’s good for a bad day:
It’s like the TV equivalent of a cuddle. It’s such a charming show that’s all about family however it is also completely bonkers with characters and story lines that I could only ever dream of coming up with.
Made Me Smile
A list of things that made me happy this week
Cleopatra and Frankenstein - Coco Mellors
Fade into You - Mazzy Star
An email I got from a colleague who said that in The Netherlands “the bike is royalty”
At Home - Slow Pulp
A spontaneous GNO with Bronagh c: (is that face emo?)
15 langoustines dressed in fresh lemon juice x
If you got this far, smash that subscribe button and by smash that subscribe button I mean thank you so so much for reading :)