Journal of a Dutch 30-something

For a while now I've been looking for a 'format' to talk a little bit more about real life stuff or just small observati ons and shout-outs that I'd like to make which don't fill a whole post. I think this weekly blogging event is just what I need for that! I hope to make posts like this more often (though perhaps not weekly...)

1. Tomorrow I'm going to visit a traditional country market. There are going to be demo's and workshops of old farming techniques, cooking and crafts, rare animal breeds and lots of stand with interesting traditional products. The weather promises to be good and it all takes place in an open-air museum. I'm really looking forward to it!

( More... )

It's that time of the year again, when many regular tv shows end for the season.... Here are my thoughts about the finales of the shows I watch. Be aware there are spoilers under the cut!



Doctor Who series 7

( It better be important. I was in the middle of destroying some very pleasant primitives )



Grey's Anatomy season 9
( You made me a better doctor tonight, Dr. Webber. Thank you. )



Once Upon a Time season 2

( Shall we stop this thing now, and then resume bickering. )



The Good Wife season 4

( You promise me that you will never put me through the same thing again. )

And now for the really important question: what shall I watch over summer? I'll of course 'work' on my period drama watch list, but I would also like to watch at least one longer series. A few new series started this year about which I've heard lots of good on blogs and here on LJ. Will you help me decide which one I should give a try?

[Poll #1914316]

- 1-20: Regency Era icons for history20in20
- 21-46: Various icons made for downton_stills, ouat_stills, the_histories, greatbritain_ic, comeholdmyheart and seasons_contest
(21-28: Downton Abbey, 29-30: Pride and Prejudice '95, 31: Persuasion '95, 32: The Paradise, 33-34: The Other Boleyn Girl, 35-36: Red Riding Hood, 37-38: Enchanted, 39-44: Once upon a Time, 45-46: stock)



( One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best )

Which TV shows did you start watching in 2012?
Next to a lot of 'one-of' miniseries I started watching Call the Midwife and The Paradise, both of which will have a second series in 2013 and these I will certainly be watching. 


source fircyca @ tumblr

Which TV shows did you let go of in 2012?
I watched the first 1,5 season of the Australian 90's show Snowy River in 2011, but I didn't follow up on the next seasons in 2012. There were just so many other (newer and shinier *grin*) things to watch!

Which TV shows did you mean to get into but didn't in 2012? Why?
To first answer the 'Why?': so many shows, so little time... I wanted to watch The Hour before the second series started, but I've still not done this and also Wartime Farm, The Bletchley Circle and World Without End have already been broadcasted and are on my 'to-watch' list. I also thought about adding a comedy series to my 'tv-diet', but I haven't done that yet....


source tornamiadir @ tumblr

Which TV shows do you intend on checking out in 2013?
Whatever period drama the British make! No, just kidding... partly. I'm quite intrigued by the trailers for both Ripley Street and Mr. Selfridge and I still have an opening for a comedy series!

Which TV show impressed you least in 2012?
For miniseries, I was least impressed with Birdsong, which was 3 hours of sheer sadness and mediocre acting (not all the actors though, but enough to annoy me). For recurring series... I don't know. Downton Abbey series 3 was not perfect, but much better than the second series. Grey's Anatomy, already in it's 9th season, continues to surprise me with character development and interesting plots (though sometimes they make the mistake of killing of beloved characters). Maybe I'd have to say The Good Wife, which, still a very strong series, disappointed me with the slow-moving storylines of the main characters.

Which TV show do you think you might let go of in 2013 unless things significantly improve? And which TV shows do you think you'll never let go of no matter how crappy they get? Why?
Well, after the Christmas special I'm sorely tempted to give up Downton Abbey next series. Though I think I'll change my mind after a few months and when the promotional material of the fourth series becomes available. I'll never leave Grey's Anatomy! After the end of season 8 I wanted to for a while, but then upon viewing the first season 9 episodes, I realized it's still a series with great potential and characters I care about. 

Which TV show did you enjoy the most in 2012?
Pfft, such a difficult question! I was very invested from the start in Once Upon a Time and loved it more and more as the season went on. But, to use the motto 'It's the small things that count', I was highly impressed by the little-known mini-series The Young James Herriot, about the student years in the '30s of the later famous vet James Herriot, and Nick Nickleby, a modern adaptation of the novel Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens.


source mbthecool @ tumblr

Various icons made for downton_stills, ouat_stills, botanicalstills, greatbritain_ic, belles_epoques, the_histories and comeholdmyheart


    

- 1-6: Downton Abbey
- 7-8: Emma (2009)
- 9: Emma (1996)
- 10-12: Pride and Prejudice (1995)
- 13: Northanger Abbey
- 14: Sense and Sensibility (1995)
- 15: Great Expectations (2011)
- 16: Our Mutual Friend
- 17-19: Cranford
- 20-21: North and South
- 22: Jane Eyre (2011)
- 23: Jane Eyre (2006)
- 24: The Young Victoria
- 25: Bright Star
- 26-27: Ever After
- 28: Breakfast at Tiffany's
- 29: Australia
- 30-33: Once Upon a Time
- 34-41: Art & Stock

( A bird may love a fish, signore, but where will they live? )

Various icons made for downton_stills, ouat_stills, belles_epoques, history20in20, the_histories, greatbritain_icand botanicalstills

   

- 1-6: Downton Abbey
- 7-8: Jane Eyre (2011)
- 9-10: Little Dorrit
- 11: Tuck Everlasting
- 12: Emma (2009)
- 13: Pride and Prejudice (1995)
- 14: Garrow's Law
- 15: The Duchess
- 16: Pan Am
- 17-18: The Tudors
- 19: The Other Boleyn Girl
- 20-21: Elizabeth
- 22: The Hunger Games
- 23-28: Once Upon a Time
- 29-30: Sherlock (BBC)
- 31-39: Art & Stock

- 40-47: Catherine Cookson adaptations (The Wingless Bird, Tilly Trotter, The Tide of Life, The Girl, The Round Tower, The Rag Nymph, The Dwelling Place, The Glass Virgin)


( Now you've made your choice. And you're going to regret it. Forever. And all you'll have is an empty heart and a chipped cup. )

- 1-20: Once Upon a Time 1x6 'The Shepherd' icons for ouat_stills

    



( You might want to ease up, or that Brillo's pad is going to press charges )


On a slightly different, but also icon-related note, these three icons were voted my best icons of 2011 at bestof_icons:

    

Thanks everyone for nominating and/or voting and thanks very much deternot for hosting this lovely activity!