I'm MOVING!

Ok y'all. The time has come. I'm not making much use of the blogger anymore, and I've been looking for quite some time now for an easier way to blog to all you lovely people. So, I've decided to relocate. You can now find Ramblings of a quoteaholic 2.0 at this address: finediversions.tumblr.com.

Hope to see you all there for a housewarming party. There'll be cake!

Emmy the Great

Just a note on what I CANNOT stop listening to at the moment. This woman's music is damn hypnotic. So worth a listen.











Much love. x

Perhaps the best cover of anything... ever.

Just give it a listen, you'll thank me.

Why so blue panda bear?

My little brother called me out of the blue the other day. I say 'out of the blue' because, as close as I am to my brother and as much as it sucks us being away from each other 9 months out of the year, he sticks to younger brother tradition and is RUBBISH at keeping in touch. Anyway, he's been having a hard time of it lately and needed something(s) to distract him. "Soph," he said to me over Skype, "do you know of any videos I should watch [on YouTube]?" He realized pretty soon afterwards that this was a silly question– it was me he was talking to. I told him to find me on the yoooootooob, because I 'favourite' stuff pretty much every day. The majority of it with the Soph guarantee of being able to lift you up when you're down. Let me list some of them for you now.

1. A Daily Show classic that has Stephen Colbert breaking character:


2. A great joke from a great only-famous-in-England-but-American comedian.


3. Reginald D Hunter should rule the world. And I would kill for this little factoid to be true.


4. An audio clip from the AMAZING radio show Comedy Death Ray. How could you not feel better after knowing that you don't have all these illnesses?


5. Surely if someone told you you were a buffet of manliness you'd feel better, right?


6. Ronni Ancona does the best Audrey Hepburn impression EVER.


7. Absolute gem. If this doesn't make you smile there's something wrong with you.


8. Watch Tina Fey's muppet impression.


9. I would really like to be in this movie.


10. A little nugget of Adam Buxton gold


11. Sean Hayes singing anything is pretty great, but a Streisand song just makes it perrrfect.



Dontcha feel cheerier? I knew it.


Much love. x

Frack me.

I think I'm turning into a sci-fi nerd. I've always said that Doctor Who was my one guilty pleasure when it came to that genre. Then I included Torchwood. Then some Joss Whedon stuff (currently rekindling my love for Buffy, and, more specifically, Spike). Then Battlestar Galactica. Now I'm about to catch up on BSG's spin-off Caprica. I think I'm going to use the excuse of it all being hilariously funny. Yeah. That's the ticket.

Anyway, I FINALLY got through to the end of Battlestar Galactica last week. I was so sad when it came to an end. But, to celebrate the completion of the series, here's a little vid for BSG fans.



Much love. x

Matt Smith

Three episodes of the new series of Doctor Who have aired now, and I now feel able to pass judgment on Matt Smith, the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor.

Here with the new companion Amy Pond (played by Karen Gillian– I like her). Definitely a fan of the Doctor's new get-up. 

I was SUCH a huge fan of David Tennant as the Doctor, and so I seriously skeptical when Matt Smith appeared on the screens at the end of the last special. After three episodes, I can say that, ultimately, I'm a fan. Having said that, however, I have some reservations. Firstly, Matt Smith is six years older than me. Only six. He is on record the youngest actor ever to play the Doctor. I've been watching Doctor Who ever since I was a wee nipper, and now that I'm 22, I still want the Doctor to be a slightly older (at least in his early 30s) protective figure. I'm used to looking at him as a peer or contemporary

I do also feel that Matt Smith and the producers of the show are playing it a little safe in the Doctor's new character. It's similar to David Tennant's in his quirkiness and eccentricities. When Christopher Eccleston turned into David Tennant, his character completely morphed as well (I could compare it to other Doctors, such as Tom Baker turning into Peter Davison, but seeing as this is more current it seems more appropriate). Because Tennant was such a success, it seems like the show is trying to retain viewers by having the Doctor be relatively unchanged personality-wise.

I really hope that throughout the series Matt Smith is able to come out a bit more and step out of his predecessor's shadow. You know, now that I've gotten over losing my favourite Doctor.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

EVERYONE! Please go here and watch the teaser trailer for Edgar Wright's new wonder of a film, Scott Pilgrim vs the World. It's just the ticket for fans of Edgar, Michael Cera, comic books, comic book geeks, and general epicness.

I have spoken.

Much love. x

"The street vendors peddling their BOILED GOOSE"

I've written about my love for The Lonely Island on this blog before, and since then it has not wavered. Not in the least. That is why I was so excited when I found out that they had FINALLY made a video for my favourite song on their album, Incredibad (just download it on iTunes, it is seriously so worth it). Here is Boombox, feat. Julian Casablancas.




Much love. x

"I said hold me close you tiny little dancer! And that is where Elton John got the idea for the song 'Benny and the Jets'"

Oh. Hello.

Thought I should share with you all the wonderful sissy man that is Fabrice Fabrice– "the name is so nice you have to say it AGAIN." He has been the craft services coordinator on many shows, and has many wonderful anecdotes to tell you, about stars as varied as David Caruso, Renee Zellweger and Joe Jackson. That's why he sometimes steps out from behind the craft services table to regale us all with his adventures in showbiz. Check it.

Jokes.com
Fabrice Fabrice - Renee Zellweger
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Jokes.com
Fabrice Fabrice - Craft Services
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Jokes.com
Fabrice Fabrice - Joe Jackson
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

In all seriousness, Nick Kroll is a RIDICULOUSLY funny comic and you should check out his standup.

Much love. x

SO FREAKIN' EXCITED

A Film With Me In It has been on my 'films to watch' list for about a year and a half, ever since I heard about it from stalking up Dylan Moran on IMDB. The trailer has FINALLY been released on Apple Trailers, meaning it'll be out soon/it's already out, meaning I'll be able to get to see it some time in the near future!

Click here to watch the trailer

Not only does it have Dylan Moran in it, by David O'Doherty too! It could potentially be the greatest film ever.

Much love. x

"So Madame! You are returned at last!"

I have to apologise for my absence over the past few months. I wish I could come up with a reason, other than the simple-but-true fact that I was tired and uninspired. I've not been watching much other than Battlestar Galactica, a show I'm just becoming addicted to, the reasons for which I can't really explain. I've never been a massive sci-fi fan, with the exception of the amazingly wonderful Doctor Who, so my new-found love can be blamed on the fact that when I was at home a couple of weeks ago, all my friend Adam wanted to do was watch BSG. And I got sucked in, primarily by the fact that Tom from Bridget Jones' Diary is in it, except he is straight. And hot.

Another excuse for my absence: I was in three different countries in the space of three weeks. I am now no longer in France, but in Spain, and I had a quick trip home to Chicago in between. I arrived almost two weeks ago and am having a whale of a time. My Spanish ain't so good but there's time for that to improve. Being in a new country, I'm naturally in a new flat which– drumroll please– has a kitchen! Having spent the past five months without one at all, I intend to use this one to the fullest extent, and have even started up a food blog, something I've wanted to do for a while, to document my adventures in the kitchen. I have a feeling that this may take up more of my time than Ramblings, but you must believe me that when I find something worth posting on here, I will do so. In the meantime, if you're looking for some fun recipes to occupy your time, you can look here: The Ever-Changing Kitchen.

I shall leave you with a couple of videos from a fun series my new flatmate introduced me to: for those who "love everything about porn except for the sex."





Much love. x

RIP Jean Simmons

As a tribute to the beautiful British actress Jean Simmons, who died this past week of lung cancer.

how stunning was she?!

Much love. x

music for mercredi: songs to get inside your CABEZAS!!

I decided this week to do a 'music for mercredi' based on one of my favourite new shows, Community. This was a weird decision to make, because no one in England, or in fact Europe really knows about Community yet (except for a very small selection of people who read this blog (smiley face!)) and Skype isn't permitted the one place where it is widely known: the United States.

So, let this be an opportunity for all of you ignorant of the wonder that is Community to become inspired to watch it. It is a great new comedy with some amazing talent (Ken Jeong, am I right?), and they pick good music.

music for mercredi 20.01.2010

tracklist:

1. Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare- Matt & Kim (from Community trailer featured on NBC)

2. Don't You (Forget About Me)- Simple Minds (covered by the 88 in the Pilot episode)

3. Wise Up- Aimee Mann (as featured in episode 102: Spanish 101)

4. Daylight- Matt & Kim (as featured in episode 102: Spanish 101)

5. The Way It Is- Bruce Hornsby (as ripped off by Pierce in episode 105: Advanced Criminal Law)

6. Please Do Not Go- Violent Femmes (as featured in episode 106: Football, Feminism, and Law)

7. Home- Edward Sharp & the Magnetic Zeros (as featured in episode 109: Debate 109)

8. Somewhere Out There (from An American Tail)- John Bayless (as featured in episode 110: Environmental Science)

9. Whistle for the Choir- The Fratellis (as featured in episode 111: Politics of Human Sexuality)

10. Kiss With a Fist- Florence + the Machine (as featured in episode 112: Comparative Religion)

Some of the cast's musical moments:

Much love. x

music for mercredi: "winter is nature's way of saying 'up yours'"- Robert Byrne

It's friggin cold outside, guys. And the snow is being a bitch. How about a free playlist to cheer y'all up?

music for mercredi 13.01.2010

1. 10/10- Paolo Nutini

2. The Reeling- Passion Pit

3. Changes- David Bowie

4. Winter- Joshua Radin

5. Foolin'- Devendra Banhart

6. Murder in the Streets- Mark Minelli

7. Before You Were Young- Travis

8. White Winter Hymnal- Fleet Foxes

9. Drumming Song- Florence + The Machine

10. Don't Phunk With My Heart- Black Eyed Peas

Much love. x

I'm saving this for my memoirs...

So folks, I'm back in Lyon. A town where the snow is currently falling in a very determined fashion, and shows no signs of backing down. As a gal from the Chi, a city that is (un)lucky enough to experience both extreme winters and extreme summers, I'm OH so used to the idea of snow, and in a big way. I forget sometimes that most of Western Europe generally isn't. This is why I have found it so surprising and infuriating to have the streets so slippy, I mean, do these people not have salt?! The fact of the matter is they do, but in limited quantities, far too limited for the amount of snow that has attacked the region.

This whole 'being ill equipped to deal with the weather' thing became evident to me on my connecting flight from London to Lyon, where I spent 5 hours in a plane, not moving, because we were waiting to be de-iced. Not that the process of de-icing took longer than 30 minutes, but the amount of planes that had to undergo this procedure meant that there was a long wait. Because of this unforeseen delay, I arrived back in Lyon seven hours late, and there was no way to get back into the city. The best idea seemed just to hang out in the airport overnight until I could catch a bus into town, so that's what I did.

Doing as many 'long-haul flights' as I do (as I calculate it I do 6 transatlantic flights a year) one of the questions I get after arriving back home from the airport is "were you able to sleep on the plane?" My response is always the same: "No, I can't sleep on planes." While not strictly true– I would say on an 8 hour flight I average about 45 minutes of kip– nothing shows how little sleep I got on this particular journey back than the spontaneous writing sesh I did while hanging around in the airport at 3 in the morning. Allow me to present you with an excerpt.

There's nothing like a gin and tonic at 27,000 feet to make you forget your troubles...

I feel like the stench from my foot sweat is seeping through my leather boots. I daren't raise my arms above the normal height for fear that my BO might cause passersby to faint. Maybe I'll go to the bathroom in a minute and take what Adam adorably calls a 'whore shower'. It's 2.41 am in Lyon, hour 22 of travel.

This is by no means unfamiliar to me. I do a lot of transatlantic travelling; a lot of waiting around. I'm used to getting NO sleep over 24 hours, having makeup smeared all over my face, smelling a bit, and having people look at me and debating whether or not I just fell out of a tree. I've never spent the night in an airport though, this one's new.

"Don't go anywhere too quiet!" Shouted my dad down the phone when I explained the situation. To be honest, when you're in a tiny French airport at 2 in the morning, everywhere's quiet. My positioning of myself and all my crap was based purely on convenience: I sat myself in the only place where I could find an available electricity socket. It also happened to be between the two lavvys, so people are always coming and going. I was joined not too shortly after by a man in an orange fleece, clearly on a similar quest as I was. He's quiet for the most part, except for the little bit of singing he does along to his music before remembering he's out in public.

I'm finding it hard to concentrate on anything. The announcements here are beyond ridiculous. Well, in English, anyway. "CuhztUmeRRRs are wemahnded not to leave their luhgehj unAHtenDED." Oh, how I love stereotypes.

A Chinese man just ran through the hallway with the utmost urgency. I don't know why– there are no flights right now, and the fact that the bus isn't running is the whole reason I'm still here.

I wasn't able to write too much more before it became nonsensical. Don't worry, y'all, I've gotten a lot more sleep and am now almost back on track.

Much love. x

My Year in Quotes

Goodbye 2009. I'd love to say I'll miss you, but you were kind of a pill.

It's the second day of 2010 and I already have a good feeling about this year. Two thousand and nine got off to a bad start and it set a tone for the rest of my year. This year began in a great fashion, surrounded by copious amounts of booze, music, and friends– old and new.

So, a new year with new experiences, new challenges, and new adventures. But still, one can't help looking back. As I said, 2009 wasn't the best year, so rather than dwell on the negative, let us think about all we've watched, all we've heard, and all we've learned in a year in quotes from ramblings:

january/janvier/enero 2009: from comedian Michael Mcintyre

"Don't get drunk. If you get drunk that's bad. If you're posh, of course, you have a variety of options: you can be trousered, or trollied, or wellied, or rat-arsed! You can actually use any word in the English language and substitute it to mean drunk as a posh person, and it still sounds acceptable. 'Did you have a drink last night?' 'Are you joking, I got utterly gazeboed.' It fits! 'Angus! You're driving– I'm car parked.' 'Slow down chaps, I'm pyjamaed!'"

february/février/febrero 2009: from comedian Dylan Moran

(about Sylvio Berlusconi) "He is fucking crooked he sleeps on a spiral staircase! So thoroughly corrupt everytime he smiles an angel gets gonorrhea!"

march/mars/marzo 2009: from comedian Jason Manford

"The only people wasting water are the ones taking it into space. Where it don't come back. Damn you Aldrin!"

april/avril/abril 2009: from greatest fake MCs on earth, The Lonely Island

"Like a Boss!"

may/mai/mayo 2009: from the film Pride and Prejudice

"I take no leave of you! I send no compliments to your mother you deserve no such attention!"

june/juin/junio 2009: from the film Forrest Gump

"But you ain't got no legs Lieutenant Dan!!"

july/juillet/julio 2009: from comedian Mike Birbiglia

"I'm always embarrassed to tell people I have a blog because everybody has a blog, about anything. People will just be like 'Today I went to JC Penney!' And like, there's one comment: 'JC Penney, eh?' and I'm like, 'that's not a blog, that's a text message.'"

august/août/agosto 2009: Paul Rudd and Jason Segel

"No Gideon! NOOOOOO!"

september/septembre/septiembre 2009: from a comic relief sketch with Armstrong and Miller and Mitchell and Webb

(said in a WWII fighter pilot voice) "Look, this is me being them: 'Ooh, ooh! Look at me, I'm flying a hurricaine. It's a shit plane, I'm rubbish, and my mum goes chippy in her slippers!' That was me being them."

october/octobre/ocotobre 2009: from the TV series Black Books

"Manny I don't feel that well. I feel like I've been beaten up... underwater. I can feel bits of my brain falling away like a wet cake."

november/novembre/noviembre 2009: from the movie Hamlet 2

"I have so much anger. I feel like I've been raped... in the FACE!"

december/décembre/deciembre 2009: from the TV series Community

"Every so often someone will come up to me and say 'Señor Chang, why do you teach Spanish?' They say it just like that, 'why do you teach Spanish? Why you? Why not math, why not photography?' I mean, surely it must be in my nature to teach you something ancient and mysterious, like building a wall that you can see from outer space. Well, I'll tell you why I teach Spanish: it is none of your business. I don't want to have any conversations about what a mysterious, inscrutable man I am. I AM A SPANISH GENIUS! In español my nickname is El Tigre Chino! Because my knowledge will bite her face off! So don't question Señor Chang, or you'll get bit. You're bit. YA BIT!"

Much love. x