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w/e 2019-12-15

We’re a week away from the traditional two-week period of “nothing getting done” so it’s time to start winding down in preparation. There’s no point in rushing into inactivity.

Have a new Christmas song:

Randolph’s Leap – Christmas, Burn it All Down (feat. The Olive Grove All-Stars) on YouTube, and Bandcamp

§   I had two acting classes in this final week of term. Tuesday’s was a drop-in in which me and my partner ran through our Kramer vs Kramer scene – having missed our chance the previous week – so that we were more ready for Wednesday’s final TV/movie scenes class. Both went well and, just like when any series of classes comes to an end, I’m already missing that routine of preparing for a class, and spending a few hours with these nice people all working at getting better.

§   I still occasionally dip into TikTok, which continues to be diverting and fun, but I’ve not found many people I want to follow. Maybe I just haven’t worked out how. Ryan Beard is always good but otherwise my most consistent follows are people making things, especially woodwork, like @3x3custom or @designs.by.donnie. Hashtag very satisfying.

I find most of the dance-based memes are a bit boring to watch now (I am also plagued by TikTok earworms, they’re so frequently repeated). I had been thinking that the dance from Band à Part would be a good, and potentially easier, dance for a TikTok meme, and then Kim retweeted this example of it today, so:

(The actress Anna Karina has died aged 79.)

Also see the dances from Hal Hartley’s Simple Men (1992) and Surviving Desire (1991) (thanks James). I know TikTokkers are, like, mostly under 25 but maybe it’ll just take a sped-up remix to give these Silent Generation and Gen-X dances a Gen-Z makeover.

§   In non-work coding, this week I replaced Google Maps with Mapbox maps on my site (used to show the locations of venues). This just seems a bit nicer and doesn’t require a credit card. (Apologies for the mess of my pull request but it’s my own project so whatever sorry.)

§   I enjoyed watching Defending the Guilty, having had no idea where it was positioned on the comedy/drama spectrum. I guess it’s somewhere around the same position as Fresh Meat. I wish it had had a bit more time, rather than being squeezed into half-hour “sitcom-sized” episodes. Towards the end there were a few moments that felt more “drama-y”, especially with Will Sharpe’s young barrister wondering whether it was all worth it, and they were nice… a bit more room, and more of that kind of moment, would have made it feel a little more satisfying. Still good though and, while I have no idea why the soundtrack was so indie-pop heavy, I appreciated it.

§   Two pairs of my friends have announced that they’re expecting babies. Despite the past week, good things are still happening and will keep on happening. I hope you have a good thing happen this week. Or even make one happen. (It doesn’t have to be a baby.)