Top 10 Non
Nail Highlights of the Year
Hi
Goddesses
I know some
of you like the posts where I just write.
(Or ramble lol). So just a
pre-warning – this post is not related to nails, nail polish or nail art in any
way.
I wanted to
gather some of the moments this year that really rocked my world. I love music.
I love books, and films, and I wanted to commemorate that. So here they are, in no particular order …. Until
we get to the final 3 J
The
End of 24
Farewell Jack
Bauer, farewell. You redefined TV drama,
introduced a rocking way of telling stories, and now you’re gone (until the
movie).
Series 8
was great … until about episode 18. Once
Renee died, Jack went off the rails, and the series limped to an ending that was
so much less than it deserved.
Other than
that, this represents some of the finest drama US TV has ever produced.
Harry
Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2
I was
really nervous about watching this film, because the book contains a moment
that destroys me every time I read it, and the films have NEVER captured the
emotional depth (such that it is) of the books.
One of the
things that connects me to Harry Potter is how he misses his parents. Drawn from JK Rowling’s own loss, it
perfectly captures that endless ache of wanting one final moment or hug with
the person who died. The scene with the
resurrection stone reduces me to tears in the book, every time I read it. It’s true, it’s not mawkish, and its very
simplicity captures the perfect hold-your-breath nature of the scene.
Thankfully,
the film did not disappoint, and Lily’s “we never left”, gets me every time.
England
– The Best Cricketing Nation on Earth
Wow, it’s
been a long time coming, but nothing could beat the incredible and almost
incredulous results of the Ashes test Down Under and the achievement of the
team’s 2 year goal – to be the best team in the world.
As a team
leader who loves psychology, let me share this with you fact fans – when Andy
Flower took over coaching of the team 2 years and appointed Andrew Strauss as
captain, they shared with their team their 2 year goal to be the best team in
the world.
Most team
meetings would end there. But Flower and
Strauss then proceeded to draw out on the wall, every single match that stood
between today and that 2 year goal, and which teams would be in their way. Together, the entire team plotted what
results would be required, with the result that no team in history was better
prepared or motivated to achieve their goal. Is it any wonder they achieved it?
Rory
McIlroy
When Rory
McIlroy self-destructed on the back 9 in Augusta, single- handedly throwing
away his first ever major golfing title, the 21 year old put it into perspective
on Twitter – “Well that
wasn’t the plan! Found it tough going today, but you have to lose before you
can win. This day will make me stronger in the end.
6 weeks
later, his words rang true as, learning from his mistakes, he did the
unthinkable and came back from the loss that everyone predicted would destroy
his future career to win the US Open with confidence, and the steel of a
champion.
An
amazingly inspirational triumph.
Meg
Gardiner
I love
books, thrillers mostly, and there is nothing I like more than discovering an
author who has already written 8 brilliant books which I can devour 1 by
1. The author I found this year has
become one of my all time favourites.
Meg Gardiner
writes 2 series of books about strong, independent women – Evan Delaney and Dr
Jo Beckett. What sets her apart is that
she is the only author who does not operate on the scale of diminishing returns
– every book is as good as its predecessor.
If you’re looking for a new author to get stuck into, get stuck into
her.
Stieg
Larsson
Continuing the
book theme, Stieg Larsson has dominated this year. I have nothing but respect for any author who
can become big news, and it is extremely sad that he died 2 years ago, before
he could see The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo and its 2 successors become global
phenomena.
The books
aren’t necessarily literary masterpieces, but the characters are, especially
the female anti-heroine, Lisbeth Salander.
Larsson’s books prove the number one rule of all creative art – it starts
with the character. Get your characters
right, and people respond, react and get sucked in.
One
Day – David Nicholls
My final
book choice is One Day which came out a couple of years ago and has sat on my
shelf ever since. It’s about a couple
who meet at University and what happens to them on the same day every
year. To be honest, it probably would
have stayed on my shelf unless there was a film coming out, and I am so glad
that gave me the push I needed to read
it.
Again, this
is a book about characters so acutely defined that they leap off the page. The story meanders – as does a life – but the
characterisation keeps it gripping. And then
the ending just destroys you. Wonderful.
Glee
Glee has a
lot of knockers, but how can you hate a program that is the very definition of
its name ? At its very best (which is
hasn’t been for some time) Glee makes me cry with joy and empathy, and when
Glee is less than good, it only succeeds when the music rocks my world, as it
did when Gwyneth swung into Forget You; when they ripped off their cardies in
the empowering Born This Way episode; when The Warblers created the acapella masterpiece
of Teenage Dream; or when the TroubleTones mashed up Someone Like You and
Rumour Has It. Genius.
Inception
There’s not
very many films these days that the minute they end prompt me to say “I need to
see that again”, but Inception was one such film.
A total
mind fuck, it succeeded on the basis of great actors, a fantastical story,
great special effects and enough suspense and wonder to keep you guessing into
the heartache of the final reel. Masterpiece.
The
Royal Wedding ..
…
captivated most imaginations everywhere this year, and I captured most of my
thoughts in my blog back in April.
8 months
on, and I what I still zero in on is a couple so clearly in sync with each
other, oh and yes – more bank holidays please.
We enjoyed our 2 back to back 4 day weekends J
9/11
rebuild
Did anyone
catch the Discovery Series this year about rebuilding Ground Zero? Awesome. Inspirational. And emotional.
That series
was full of people who have not only rebuilt something, but in so doing have
forever left the imprint of their soul on the project.
From the
sheer perfection of the imagery of the disappearing waterfalls, to the fact
that the architectural layout of the plaza is dictated by the sun’s position at
every key moment that fateful day, this whole project could not have been
delivered with more respect, tenderness or awe.
And
now my Top 3 …..
3. Lady Gaga – Born This Way
THE album
of the year, no questions asked.
When you’re
as far out there as Lady Gaga, the only way you can achieve credibility and be
more than “just a novelty” is to have the talent to back it up – and she has it
in spades!
This entire
album is a pop masterpiece, topped off with the sublime HAIR. Whatever mood I am in, that one song makes my
very soul swing. A masterpiece.
2. Adele at the Brits
By now, I am
sure you have all heard of Adele. Back in
February, when she performed at the BRIT Awards (like the UK Grammys) she was
fairly unknown in the US, but this performance changed EVERYTHING.
If you
haven’t seen it, you MUST YouTube it. It
is one of those performances that STOPS TIME.
Someone
Like You is a paean to a lost lover who is about to remarry. It defines heartache and hope, and ache
travels through every syllable. Adele
performed it half a beat slower than on the album, dressed in black, with just
a piano. Starkness and simplicity.
And then,
just as she reached the key emotional note of the song, gold tickertape
fluttered down to create a moment of magic, a moment of unimaginable emotional
intensity, and a moment that defines an artist in history.
1
– the end of LOST L
Oh wow. LOST.
THE best TV series of all time and it ended this year. I have so much respect for this show, and for
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, for the fact that they went to the network and
said “no, we’re not doing this forever.
We want an end date”.
The moment they
got their end date (mid-way through what was a meandering Season 3) the show
took off like a rocket-fuelled firework.
Series 6 promised so much, and tried its best to deliver, but when you
have an audience sooooo incredibly emotionally invested in your show, you’re
never going to please everyone.
If you know
me, you know I am the Queen of Sleep.
This is the only thing this year I crawled out of bed for at 5am. Nothing else could have made me do it. And if I was disappointed with the finale the
first time I watched it (I really was), by the 3rd time, it made
perfect sense AND accomplished what the writers promised they would do – create
an ending that was true to the characters (and if it didn’t complete the story,
tough).
Finally –
can we just shoot whoever it was at ABC who decided to run scenes of the original
crash over the end credits and therefore create an unintentional and frankly
insulting cyber-discussion that the whole 6 series of the show had been a
dream. You twat.
And that’s
it from me for 2011 – see you on the other side J xxx
xx
