Tag: Personal

8 Years of Blogging – Reintroducing Myself!

Kat Impossible28 Comments

Can you believe it? I certainly can’t, which is why I once again forgot this blogiversary was coming up. I always vaguely remember that it’s sometime in early June, but when the WordPress notification tells me “You registered 8 years ago. Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.”, I am always, always, always surprised and caught off guard.

After blogging for such a long time (really, who would have thought?), it’s tricky to come up with something new for these kind of celebratory posts. I’ve done countless Q&A’s, giveaways, challenges … it’s starting to repeat too much. But, my friend The Orang-utan Librarian has thankfully given me a great idea for what I could do. My style, the content of the blog, me as a person, have all changed over the years and so has the audience here. Some of you have been along for the ride from pretty much the beginning and others have only joined our little community recently. I cherish all of you and thought it was time (and hopefully also fun) to reintroduce myself!

ME, MYSELF AND I

all of the other portraits were drawn by yours truly!

To get some of the basics out of the way: I’m a girl in her late 20s, currently living in Austria. It’s where I’m from originally, but I’ve also lived in Germany, France, the US and Canada before, which is why I always put the “currently” in front of whatever place I’m at. You never truly know where you’ll end up … or at least I don’t.

This blog has gone through several changes since I’ve started it. I’ve purchased the lifeandotherdisasters.com domain a couple years back and haven’t regretted it yet. It somehow made everything more real, confirmed that this was my place and mine alone! There comes a certain freedom with that. Now, when we talk about the content though, I’ve always heavily focused on TV shows, movies and books. Sometimes I will sprinkle in some insights on writing or life or whatever comes to mind, but those topics I mentioned before are definitely the pillars.

But back to talking about myself (couldn’t sound more narcissistic if I tried) – here are a couple things I love:

  • I adore drawing portraits of people! As you can see above (or on my art insta), it’s really all I do. Landscapes, animals, abstract creative musings – none of that has ever really interested me. I love figuring out the shadows and proportions of faces and have found my favorite medium in watercolors. If you ever want to read more about my process, I wrote a handy post, which you can find here!
  • My friends have called me the Queen of TV for ages now, mostly because I’m great at giving show recommendations tailored to people’s specific taste, maybe because I’ve been on TV like four times already, but also because it’s actually my field of work … kinda. I’ve studied film-, TV- and media-production (which couldn’t sound more vague), but that gave me a great foundation regarding the economic side of the film biz. I’ve since worked in film distribution, casting, event management, marketing, PR, press and much more. I feel so at home in this area and am forever grateful that I get to make it a career, even if it’s still a work in process and has been halted due to the pandemic.

Actual quote from a previous employer: The fact that [Ms Katja] follows the world of film and TV outside of the workplace makes her an inspiring interlocutor.

  • My most favorite place in the whole world is Vancouver (in British Columbia, although I’ve been to the one in Washington State as well). It has the ocean, mountains, forests and a downtown area with skyscrapers. It’s on the bigger side in terms of people who live there (at least for Canada), but super easy to get around. I’ve made such great friends there and just had the best of times. It also helped that it’s considered Hollywood North, which means there were loads of film and television sets to visit.
  • I’ve always loved to devour and tell stories. Those two things just sort of go hand in hand for me and I would never want to miss either from my life. I don’t know if I’d want to pursue a life as a published author, but there has never been a time where I didn’t want to share my stories with the world. So, we shall see where my road leads to here. I think I have a couple really good tales still in me.
  • I’ve done about three workshops for acting and I love it. It’s truly a craft in my eyes and I enjoy it a lot, despite not being great at it. There’s people who can just let go, but I always hold back. There’s emotions I have a really hard time letting roam, but I learned (despite usually being very camera shy) that I adore camera acting. Many people love being on stage and I’m the complete opposite. I love the intricacies and detail that goes into camera acting. Your smallest movements get detected, you can do the same scene over and over in a million different ways, it’s entirely different than when you have to project to a large audience in a room and you only get one shot to do it right. But still, I could never do this as a job.
me at one of my workshops several years ago
  • I’ve gone to several comedy and improv shows and there are few things that bring me more joy, but I always find them funnier when I’m in the room than when I watch a taping or recording of it. There’s definitely times when I think I have a terrible sense of humor, but when you’re in a room full of laughter, it’s just the best and such an infectious atmosphere!

I hope you now feel like you’ve learned something new or know more about me than you did before. It’s a very personal post, but so is this freaking milestone I still can’t believe is true. The fact that I already (accidentally) paid for the domain for next year means I’ll also be sticking around. Sorry, hope you’re not getting tired of me yet!

So, that’s it! All of this is me and I would love for you to (re)introduce yourself in the comments! Let’s start a little discourse here!

My Top 10 New TV Shows of 2019

Kat Impossible16 Comments

On we go with more lists. As most of you know, I am a TV person. I definitely watch more shows than movies per year, so narrowing it down was very hard. That is why I split my TV rankings into two separate posts! This post is about shows that had their first season in 2019 (or were released in my territory for the first time in 2019) and tomorrow I will talk some more about the shows that had continued seasons this past year. More on that later though, here are my 2019 faves:

10. The Umbrella Academy

I know we are all a little tired of the comic book/superhero adaptations, but I celebrate all the things that aren’t traditionally DC or Marvel and still manage to create a compelling world. I completely fell in love with this show and the characters and the found family trope on it. As per usual, it also helps when a character is called Klaus, which was probably part of the reason he was my favourite.

9. The Boys

I don’t get why people complained about this show not being for kids. Nowhere, literally at no place I saw ads on, did they advertise it as anything kid or teen friendly. So, The Boys is a really great adult comic book adaptation, as long as you are okay with violence. Some of the twists at the end were brilliant and I cannot wait for the next season.

8. Dollface

This one flew a little bit under the radar from what I saw, but celebrated female connections in the best and most beautiful of ways. I think we’ve all neglected our friendships for one reason or another at some point in our lives and I adored how this show portrayed that in such a surreal way.

7. The Rook

I talked about this show non stop and I probably will keep thinking about it until I get a definite confirmation of a second season. Based on a book that I did not enjoy at all (read more about that here), this show brought to me one of my now all time favourite new characters – Gestalt. A hive-mind being that shares thoughts and emotions across the bodies of three siblings and who is coincidentally the love interest of the main character.

6. The Society

Teens having to figure out how to live on their own and establish rules that will assure their survival is kind of my jam … for some weird reason? Most of the characters on it were beautifully morally gray and therefore complex and sometimes annoying, but that’s what makes for a great three dimensional persona. I want to say that I didn’t just hype this show for Grizz, but if anyone hurts a hair on his head, I will find them and I will hurt them.

5. The Witcher

Pretty last minute addition to this list, The Witcher was a great fantasy show. Now that Game of Thrones is over, I truly need something epic, but please stop comparing it at that. Except for maybe a lot of gore and nudity, there really is nothing that strikes me as similar between those two. I had a ton of fun watching the show, my only quarrel was the underdeveloped love story, because that just felt way too rushed.

4. Russian Doll

I think we all know those groundhog-day-inspired stories, but never ever did I expect such an original concept to come from that basic idea of repeating the same day over and over. This show was truly a thing of beauty and whenever that particular song comes on (which it does regularly, because it’s on my phone), I feel right back in it. I love that they didn’t just play with a time loop but gave it so many more layers. Now I only have to worry if they will mess it all up by giving it another season (which I usually never say).

3. The Politician

I was full on expecting this to be a trick and turn into a musical show, but despite the fact that there are a couple really nicely integrated songs, it’s just a satire-esque politics show that starts in high school but by no means confines itself to that setting. This show had me feel all the weirdest things, with one of my favourite characters being a dead person and giving me one of TV history’s favourite intros/theme songs. Sufjan Stevens is just really all that for me, I suppose …

2. Four Weddings and a Funeral

I don’t know if you’d expect this to be so high up on my list, but let’s be real. I have been denied good and reasonably cheesy romcom content (here with the added plus of representation in the shape of a POC cast and different religious beliefs featured) for way too long. Usually, I like my romcoms short and in movie-form, but they really did it with this show. By no means should you expect this to be like the movie, but you will laugh and you will cry if you just give it a chance. Which you obviously should, if you haven’t yet!

1. Reprisal

I am so in love with this show, words are failing me. It turns out you can really get me with smart editing and cinematography choices. Last year’s top of the list show was A Discovery of Witches, not just because it was about witches, but because it was stunningly beautiful to watch. Reprisal is very similar in that way. Of course, it’s a show about gangs, revenge with quite a bit of violence (but more tastefully done than in some other things I have watched), but still with a very clear aesthetic that is just so much fun to indulge in. Add to that the great cast, storyline and absolutely incredible world-building (imagine an era that is a mix of all sorts of different eras in one. Sixties style clothing, oldtimer cars, Sons of Anarchy-vibes gangs but with the added comfort of some people using cell phones. My forever favourites were the three River Phoenixes, but I can’t spoil you on what that means. You should really check it out for yourselves!

Honorable Mentions

You know me, I watch too much to confine myself to 10 shows. Here are some that I thought were great, but that just didn’t quite make the cut:

  • Roswell, New Mexico
  • The Order
  • Good Omens
  • Dead to Me
  • Sex Education
  • Carnival Row

That’s all the new shows I loved! Did you watch some of them? Were there surprises or did you expect to find these shows on here? Let’s chat!

Top 18 Movies of 2018

Kat Impossible37 Comments

Yesterday, I shared my favourite reads of 2018 and today I will continue with this theme of “best of”-posts by talking a little bit about my favourite movies. I think it is pretty well known that I am more of a TV person than a movie-goer, but last year was filled with a lot of both. It also included quite a lot of German movies and I debated for while whether I should include them now or not. Ultimately, I figured it won’t hurt to add them, even if only very few of you will understand the trailers. I’ll try my best to explain what they were about.

This list is completely 100% subjective! Not all movies I mention were released in 2018 and I completely understand if you disagree with me on one or more occasions. Having said that, I just want to point out that a film can have a different impact depending on when it finds you in your life. A lot of those films just had really great timing!

(my memory actually failed me big time on this topic, so I puzzled this list together from my diary on letterboxd. Feel free to check out my profile here)

18. Woman in Gold

I watched this movie when I was already living in Berlin and I felt a little nostalgic for home. I wouldn’t call it homesickness exactly, because then that movie wouldn’t have helped much. But it was nice to see something that represented my home (even if it is in a rather unflattering light) with such a star-studded cast. It may not be for everyone, but it meant a lot to me.

17. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

I usually don’t even like any of the Mission: Impossible sequels (I was quite into the first one), but I went to the movies with my dad – and believe me, this hasn’t happened in years – and I came out of the movie really entertained! That’s what you go to the cinema for, right?

16. Extinction

There are not many films that can claim to really have surprised me, but this movie sure did! There were twists I definitely did not see coming and I was rather impressed with the turn the story took. I could definitely see this being the start of a series even, but I don’t want to get ahead of anything.

15. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

I cried for a CGI dinosaur – enough said! (Also, I adore Dallas Bryce Howard beyond anything and am always happy to see her as a lead)

14. Das schönste Mädchen der Welt

As you can see, we have our first German movie candidate. The translation of the title means “The most beautiful girl in the world” and I don’t think the trailer does the movie any justice (it’s far less dumb in real life). Where Sierra Burgess masterfully failed to do the whole Cyrano tale in a new fashion, this one was really fun. I neither like rap very much nor some of the crass humour German movies often include, but this movie surprised me in all the best ways. It was sweet and fun!

13. Whatever Happens

This was a beautiful deconstruction of what went wrong in a relationship. It tells the whole story in reverse and Fahri Yardim is definitely one of my actor crushes … so, there’s that.

12. Nappily Ever After

A lot of Netflix movies got so much buzz this past year and I feel like Nappily Ever After deserved way more attention. The story goes so deep and really touched me. I also low-key loved how the movie was divided in chapters based on her hair.

11. 100 Dinge

This is one of those movies that came to me at a certain time in my life and although I don’t want to go into detail, it just felt right (barring some stupid small stuff I have decided to just ignore and overlook). 100 Things (which would be the translation) is a movie about two friends who developed an app together and are about to come into some serious money. They are quite competitive and getting drunk, they go into a bet, going 100 days without any of their stuff and only being able to retrieve one thing at midnight every day. It’s about consumerism but also different relationships and I liked it a lot more in the end than I thought I would, because this is the most mainstream German movie stuff you could imagine. (then again, I am super mainstream in general)

10. Ocean’s Eight

These badass ladies were just a feast to watch! Also, I love me a good heist movie.

9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I loved the book, I also loved the movie. The casting was serious perfection!

8. Love, Simon

It felt like a small eternity waiting for this movie to be released in most parts of Europe! But believe me when I say, once I was in the movie theater I just loved it beyond anything in that very moment. There was a giddiness inside me and I cried and laughed and felt like it connected everyone in the room a little bit. I adore when movies can do something like that!

7. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

I feel like the content of the movie could have been better, but I was beyond impressed with the visuals. Granted, I watched it in IMAX 3D, which is something I usually never treat myself to. There were frame-break-effects and I felt like I was about to die with the characters more than once just because the images were so overwhelming. For that alone, I had to put it this high on the list.

6. I Kill Giants

This movie destroyed me in the same way the A Monster Call book destroyed me. I didn’t know what to expect at all and this was a movie filled with tears.

5. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

No lie, I have watched this movie more times in 2018 than anything else. It was just so cute and sweet and pretty and a really great adaptation. What it lacked to include from the book, it made up in improving in other aspects. I was so happy with this movie!

4. Black Panther

When I saw Wakanda for the first time on the screen, I got chills! This movie is a phenomenon and rightly so!

3. Avengers: Infinity War

I went into this not knowing what was about to happen. I wasn’t spoilered by countless memes on the internet yet. I just wanted to see some action, all my faves colliding and a bit of good fun but I did not sign up for my heart to get ripped out and jumped on like a million times. This movie was 10 years in the making and the result hurt! It hurt in all the right ways.

2. Set It Up

Yes, I am going to be so extra and put a Netflix romcom on the 2nd place. I HAVE MISSED (GOOD!!!!!!) ROMCOMS SO MUCH! And I know To All the Boys is even cuter, but Set It Up hit all the right marks with me. There is even a writer main character. I am forever going to love this movie and you cannot tell me otherwise. I even ended up in a Twitter moment with my live tweets about the movie. It’s one of my biggest accomplishments of 2018.

1. A Star Is Born

I went into this film thinking that I would know exactly what was going to happen, but I was not prepared for the emotional duress I went through. Watching this alone was hard and I was simply heartbroken in the end. Bradley Cooper did a banging job for his directorial debut and the songs were beautiful and the acting was really deep and … yeah, that’s it! A Star is Born was amazing.

Have you watched some of the movies I mentioned? Which ones? Are you disappointed not to see a certain film on my list? Let’s chat!