Tag: Update

March 2019 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible24 Comments

I originally intended to be more active this month, but a couple hick-ups along the way and some generally not so fun events have made me a little apathetic towards everything that wasn’t sleep. I’m better now though and hope to get more passionate about writing posts and reading and watching TV (yeah, not even that was very entertaining at times) again.

While The Wicker King and its novella didn’t get the highest rating of my reads this year so far, I still very much enjoyed reading the books. I think my approach of reading less or really only the things I truly gravitate towards is doing wonders. Most of the books I have picked up this year were amazing and I had a lot of fun (or other emotions) with them.

If you want to read my review for The Wicker King as well as some short thoughts on The Legend of the Golden Raven (which is the companion novella from Jack’s POV) click here.

I didn’t feel like cancelling the book section of this post entirely, but I might in future posts if I really only read about one book per month. For now, fingers crossed I’ll pick up something that’s a super quick read though. If I can finish it in a day or on a weekend, I might just be up for it.

There’s not really much to tell other than that. Part of my family has come to visit Berlin this past weekend and it was really fun to play tourist with them for a bit. Aside from being super tired from walking around (and I did less walking than they did), I don’t think I would have seen as much or tried some things if they hadn’t been here with me. I am really grateful for that experience! One thing I would definitely recommend is the German Spy Museum! Even when it’s pretty full, you get to do loads of interactive stuff such as learn morse code, look for bugs in a room, do a laser maze or try how you’d fare at a job interview for a secret intelligence service (in this case the Australian one, which I now know how to nail. You can try it yourself here). Even if some of the things may have been targeted at kids, who didn’t ever want to be a spy when they were younger and just likes pretending now too?

THINGS I LIKED THIS MONTH

Apart from discovering some more of Berlin, I really just stuck with my Skam remakes again this month. It’s so interesting to see the German approach to the Isak/Even season, especially since they REALLY changed things up. I am so happy to see them include a trans character played by a trans actor and just generally do a lot of callbacks to the original show as well as small references to the other remakes, but always do their own thing as well.

The French version has just ended their Isak/Even season and jumped right into the next one without so much as a break. My inner fangirl rejoices at stuff like that. Although I am going to miss Lucas and Eliott like crazy, they had an amazing run. I was just constantly blown away by the acting, especially that of Axel Auriant. He has quickly become one of the young talents I am definitely going to look forward to seeing in more projects in the future. What he does just feels so real! (I mean, he did actually hurt his hand while punching a wall, so … part of it is real, I suppose).

MY POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you had a good month and that we can all start into April without too many pranks (I just really don’t like April Fool’s Day, cause I fall for everything). 

February 2019 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible18 Comments

This month surely had its ups and downs. I’ve been sick to the point where I missed 1.5 weeks at work, which has never happened to me ever before and drove me slowly nuts. Nonetheless, I tried my best keeping up with my shows, the blog but I only read one single book. The Light Between Worlds was an absolute joy, and if you haven’t checked out my review of it yet, you totally should (click here). There wasn’t even a doubt in my mind that I would give it 5 stars, but I don’t think it should take up more space on this wrap up. I am instead going to talk a bit more about what else happened this month.

I am not sure all of you know, but my contract at work and therefore my internship would have run out this week, but I extended it for another 6 months and will be in Berlin until the end of August. Everything after that is still pretty hazy. I have some vague ideas of where I want to go and what I want to do, but I have given myself permission to just live my life until May and figure things out after that.

THINGS I LIKED THIS MONTH

(Because I have lost the ability to narrow it down)

For those of you who know me well, it comes as no surprise that Hozier is one of my favourite artists. I’ve been lucky enough to been to his concerts twice already, I met Andrew after the one in Berlin last November and now I got to attend an event that was just the cherry on top of it all! I got guest list tickets to an exclusive Hozier album listening experience. Wasteland, Baby! will be released on March 1st, however, I already had the privilege to listen to it in its entirety last Friday (so a week in advance), with Andrew/Hozier present, with him answering questions and a brief meet and greet photo opportunity. My favourite tall bean remains the kindest and most humble being. His music is magical and perfect as always! I can’t wait for you all to be able to listen to the new songs. They are quite more upbeat than the past album.

Also, look at that glow up from November 2018 to February 2019. We looked happy in the cold, but the professional photographer really pays off.

Something you will most likely also have noticed if you follow me on Twitter is that I have become very invested in SKAM … or more truthfully it’s German and French adaptations, Druck and Skam France. I don’t even know how this started. It was something about me wanting to watch more web series, my colleague knowing an actress on Druck, me checking it out and just being swallowed by it all. I still haven’t (and probably never will) watched the original, but I do adore what I’ve been seeing thus far. Also, I have been on a war path with the French language for years now and Axel and Maxence have managed to convince me to give it another try by portraying soft but cool and sometimes dumb Lucas and Eliott. I love them so much for it! (I talked more about this, but especially Druck, in my Galentine’s Day post!)

Lastly, there are probably a couple more shows that would deserve a shout out as they got me through my sick days, but I’ve already given you so many recommendations on what to watch anyway. I am sure I will include a lot of it in future binge-watching posts anyway.

MY POSTS

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I hope you had a less turbulent month than me! Did you read something nice? Did you check out some of my posts? Let’s talk!

Trailers You Might Have Missed … (Feb 18-24)

Kat Impossible12 Comments

I feel like I didn’t do nearly enough this past week or month as a whole. I had very different plans in terms of what I would read and watch and post, but oh well, that is life. I don’t really know what to tell you. We are all here for Sunday trailers, so you shall get them!

Movies

Rocketman

I already loved Taron anyway, but I love that he gets to show off his musical education here. Elton chose well in having him portray him.

The Dirt

There’s a lot of music biopics these days, but this one has Iwan Rheon.

Her Smell

What did I say about music movies? It’s a lot right now.

The Angry Birds 2

I haven’t even watched the first one but the seal at the end was everything.

The Secret Life of Pets 2

For this being Rooster’s character trailer, he sure isn’t in it a lot.

Poms

Sure, why not?

My Days of Mercy

Ellen Page and Kate Mara? What a power couple.

The Highwaymen

Uhm … so the lawmen made history … yet I could not tell you their names … ever. I don’t think I have even spared a single thought about them before this trailer.

Dragged Across Concrete

I thought I had already posted a trailer for this because the title sounded so familiar until I realised it’s because they shot the movie in Vancouver when I was living there.

The Kid

They’re still trying to make Westerns come back.

TV Shows

His Dark Materials

Well, hello there! YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION!

The Order

We all know I will be here for magical content always, but I am not sure on the … acting? I will give it a try.

After Life

Having enjoyed Sorry for Your Loss, I can see myself liking this too (not that the shows are similar, but grief as a topic is there in both).

Most Beautiful Thing

International content on Netflix rules lately.

Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger (Season 2)

It looks great! I can’t wait for more Tandy-Tyrone-interactions.

9-1-1 (Season 2B)

I am scared, because I know some stuff that’s definitely going to go down.

Altered Carbon (Season 2)

I think I am going to miss some of the old skins or sleeves or whatever that won’t reappear this season.

Good Girls (Season 2)

I know I say this every week, but I am so here for Rio and Beth.

The Man in the High Castle (Season 4)

I am so far behind, but since it’s the final season, I am also in no hurry to catch up.

Veep (Season 7)

A lot of shows are ending.

What have you been watching? Did anything here catch your eye? Let’s talk about that!

January 2019 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible23 Comments

For the first time in a long time, this section in the beginning that is always dedicated to books, isn’t completely empty. I’ve gotten a bit of my reading groove back and had a blast with most of the reads I picked. Not gonna lie, I have become even more careful with the selection of stories I actually read, just because I don’t want to end up in the slump that was the previous year again.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea  Dumplin’ Movie Tie-in Edition  Welcome to Lovecraft (Locke & Key, #1)  Echo North

Like in the olden days, click on the titles to get to my reviews and on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads!

January was a challenging month for me. I don’t want to get into the details as most of what happened was very private and took me a long time to come to terms with, so I’d rather not rehash it all. However, all of that made January feel like years and the blink of an eye at the same time. It was a strange one, so much so that I didn’t even hesitate for a second writing the date in the title. I am DEEP into 2019 already.

All that aside, I did actually post a couple new chapters in the Google Doc for the #witchyWIP that still roams my mind just … every single day. I haven’t had the time and energy to write the way I wanted to, but maybe going with the craze and switching to Comic Sans as a font did help a little bit. I have also decided to publish the existing chapters on wattpad in the near future. Any takers for that? (I hope so, because at least some people were interested in a little Twitter poll I did)

So, while I’ve been productive to a certain degree and able to balance some aspects of my life better than others, I am somewhat glad this month is over. It just wasn’t exactly a smooth start into 2019.

FAVOURITE THING OF THE MONTH

Hands down, it just HAS to be a tie between Halt and Catch Fire and the Roswell reboot on the CW. Both of those shows have completely enthralled me for very different reasons, so don’t make me choose!

Halt and Catch Fire has complex characters that aren’t really likable … at all. They are so very flawed, but as you watch, they grow on you big time and you cannot help but love them regardless. Also, it’s set in the world of computer programming and engineering in the 80s with excellent female badasses. 10/10 would recommend if you are into slow character studies (and a better Mad Men).

Roswell, New Mexico on the other hand is everything CW represents and I am here for it. It has beautiful actors and actresses, most of whom will look very familiar from previous shows on the network. It feels very current, with them not holding back on making political statements and trying their best at integrating LGBTQ+ characters (I say try, because sometimes they are misguided, but I give them A for effort). Most importantly though, I like this reboot so, so, so, so, so much more than the Charmed one (They lost me when they butchered the whole whitelighter storyline). Roswell, NM is nothing like the show from the 90s, but you DEFINITELY have the chemistry between the characters. It works that they are all aged up to adults and I feel like they all got more pressing conflicts than their High School equivalents did. It’s still early days, but I am in love.

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2018 IN REVIEW

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That was a short recap of my month of January! I hope you had a less turbulent start into the new year and I am looking forward to chatting with you!

November 2018 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible19 Comments

Can you believe it? I actually read something last month. It doesn’t really warrant a full round-up of books, as it was one singular novel, but I am still glad that books haven’t left my life entirely. I read Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (click on the title to get to my review) but I also got halfway through A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi. I am enjoying it a lot so far, but I was just super busy and didn’t get around to finishing it before the end of the month.

So, what else has been happening in November? It was a time of doing nothing and way too much at the same time. I still haven’t managed to make any friends outside of work. That fact leads to me really looking forward to the weekend and having a little bit of a break, while also dreading it endlessly because I will be all by myself. However, no one can tell me that I haven’t made an effort!

During the past month, I went to a number of events – some related to work, others completely on my own volition! I got to go to the opening of a new cinema, where they showed an exclusive advance screening of Fantastic Beasts 2. Also, the opening screening (with one of our films) of the French Film Week in Berlin, and two concerts. I was especially excited about the Hozier concert, because I’ve seen him live before and it was the best.

The concert turned out to be even better than I expected. I was seated (this was a surprise as the event wasn’t supposed to be seated) right behind the opening act (Saint Sister) and Andrew basically sang while looking our way the entire time. In a way, it felt a little like he was singing it all to me and I still felt free enough to sing my heart out in return.

And then, this week, Saint Sister was back in Berlin playing their own gig and I went to that concert too. Again, I was kind of on my own on this one, but Saint Sister (just like Hozier) and their opening act, Ciaran Lavery, are all from Ireland and there were a lot of Irish people around, I sort of felt at home. I honestly don’t really know what happened, but I was in this crowd of strangers and they were playing beautiful music and … I just started crying and didn’t even care? Afterwards, I had a really nice chat with Ciaran and I wasn’t even the one who approached him. He started talking to me and what has my life become?

I want to do more of those things. Maybe find more Irish acts who perform in Berlin? Because I have a feeling that the same people tend to visit those gigs and maybe that will mean I’ll finally find some likeminded folks and hopefully also friends here? Anyway, it was all a lot of fun and really exciting but at the same time massively exhausting. I am still surprised I didn’t get sick like 80% of my co-workers did.

FAVOURITE THING OF THE MONTH

It simply has to be the fact that I actually got to meet Andrew (Hozier) after the concert. He is the kindest, tallest bean out there and he even signed my ticket. What a lovely bloke!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

Again, I was terribly bad at keeping up with your posts, unless you tagged me in them. However, a couple of you took part in NaNoWriMo and I just want to say I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! No matter if you wrote 1 or 50,000+ words, you attempted something brave and deserve recognition for it. So, if you have a round-up on your NaNo experience or any other kind of post you’d like to share with me, don’t hesitate to leave a link in my comments!

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This was my month! How was yours? Do you have any kind of favourite type of event where you like to meet new people? Let’s chat!

NaNoWriMo Update: Why I Stopped After a Week

Kat Impossible47 Comments

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, know that I occasionally dabble in participating in NaNoWriMo. It’s a yearly event in which all writers out there are challenged to write at least 50K within the span of the month November. It’s a lot of fun, but also very stressful at times. My first year was actually the only year I traditionally “won” NaNoWriMo by completing my RomCom Break Up Buddy. After that I tried to work on Dreamer, Arcadia and now currently the #witchyWIP, but let’s get to that in a bit.

First off, I want to say that I in no way want to discourage anyone from participating in NaNoWriMo. I have made some great friends through it, been to cool meet ups and actually FINISHED writing a book. Those are all things I doubt I would have been able to achieve without the platform that NaNo offers. However, this year I also realised why it doesn’t work for me on the long run anymore and I’d like to go into detail about that a little in this post.

I want to talk to you a bit about process. Every book is different. Even authors with a certain writing routine sometimes face stories that just have different requirements. Sometimes people are pantsers, sometimes planners and sometimes a mix of the two. I usually prefer to just completely take my story as it comes, but again, this doesn’t work for all projects. From experience, however, I know that I cannot sit there and plan out a story, neither in detail nor in a rough outline. My mind wanders and I get terribly bored when I actually write the scenes because I know what is going to happen. When I write, I often feel like a reader, also experiencing and discovering the whole world for the first time with every new word. I don’t know if others feel the same, but the more I know in advance what I am supposed to write, the less fun and the more difficult it is for me to actually transfer it to the page.

So, what does that mean? I am a go-with-the-flow kind of person, which should be perfect for anyone participating in NaNoWriMo, but here is where life throws me a curve-ball: NaNoWriMo is on a tight schedule. Having a certain word goal every day, getting badges and that sweet satisfaction from reaching certain milestones is something I find terribly motivating. I am also a competitive person at heart (at least when the only person I am competing against is myself), so I REALLY want to reach those goals – at whatever price. And all too often that price is a suffering quality of my writing.

NaNo is not meant for creating a perfect first draft. It’s quite the opposite! It’s supposed to help you break free of the chains of an overthinking mind and to just get. things. done. It’s a tool to get a story on paper, not to send it to publishers right after, but rather to have a framework for the amazing tale you can shape out of it once you get to editing. Now, editing is the bane of my existence. I hate it with all my heart, probably for similar reasons I don’t like outlining.

All of the things I have mentioned above lead to a certain realisation. I am not claiming my #witchyWIP is perfect! I know it is not, but the first chapters that I wrote before NaNo started were of a certain quality. I was aware that it needed tidying up, but I didn’t despise the existence of entire chapters. With me getting into a competitive NaNo mindset and really wanting to hit those word count marks, I just wrote and wrote but overall, I wasn’t really happy with the content I put out there (you have to know that I always share my work with a couple people. Let me know if you want to read a writing insights post on sharing your unfinished work!) So, I made the decision to not participate in NaNo for this project anymore. For me personally, there was no joy in getting chapters done if I wasn’t ultimately happy with what they contained. There was simply no point for me and I don’t regret my choice.

So, to all the brave NaNo writers who are still going – I wish you the best of luck! I hope you have a great time during the event, but I am out.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? How are things going for you? Have you participated before or do you want to in the future? Let’s chat!

October 2018 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible35 Comments

Once again, I am coming at you with a wrap-up when I have read absolutely zero books. I don’t know what exactly causes it, but I felt so busy with life and so uninspired to do anything else, that I basically didn’t pick up a book until a week or so ago. I am currently reading A Discovery of Witches, but I am only 30% into the book, so the review will have to wait a while (as for the show – GO WATCH IT!)

Generally, I do feel like I am becoming more myself again though. Not that Berlin changed me as a person THAT much, but overall, I just didn’t have time or energy or motivation to do a lot of things that I would typically consider to be me-things. However, I have managed to post a couple blog posts that weren’t just the usual Sunday trailer round-ups and I even got back into drawing again. I haven’t painted anything in such a long time, it was entirely strange to do it in a new setting with different lighting and materials. So, while this may not be the most perfect Teresa Palmer/Diana Bishop (yes, the only thing I managed to draw was a person from A Discovery of Witches), I am still very happy with the outcome! I think it’s some of my most detailed work with watercolors I have done so far.

Since it is already November, I also want to announce that I am taking part in NaNoWriMo! For those of you new to the subject, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and is supposed to be a motivational event to get you to finish your work in progress or reach at least 50K words in the span of that one month. Feel free to add me on the website (click here for my profile info) and hold me accountable as I go along. I am not actually striving to hit 50K with my #witchyWIP, but I just want to make sure I do write a little bit every day or as often as possible this month.

FAVOURITE THING OF THE MONTH

If you haven’t guessed it yet, I don’t know how to help you, because my favourite thing of the month is obviously A Discovery of Witches. It’s probably annoying how much I talk about it on here, but I am absolutely mesmerized by that show. It is beautifully shot, it has haunting performances of both Teresa and Matthew, as well as the remainder of the cast and the story is really interesting. There’s actual science or at least the need for science to explain the origin of all species and to prevent the supernatural creatures from dying out. If that’s not a great spin on star-crossed lovers then I don’t even know.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

I know I have been absolutely, not-shockingly-at-all absent from your blogs. I am truly sorry for that, but keeping up with the things on my own platform were sometimes all I could handle. Still, I want to at least highlight a little of my friend’s work and especially Marie’s part in the Shattering Stigmas series of this year (although everyone who contributed did an amazing job and was so brave for opening up!). And since it’s the month of NaNoWriMo, I also want to mention a great post on Plotting and Planning your WIP by Beth! I am sure you can find some great ideas and approaches there or at the very least a good platform to discuss how you tackle your writing.

MY POSTS

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How was your month? Did you read or watch something good? Let’s chat all about it – especially if you have watched A Discovery of Witches as well!