Cengared

I always like it when some British thing that I like and basically take for granted now makes it way over to the US with Would I Lie to You being a superb thing to pick up on. If you want suggestions then look for any clip of Bob Mortimer as his stories just have to be heard. This clip should show why.

Now I'm just thinking that the Wax House is the BDSM version of the Love Shack (baby).

I saw it last night and my first impression is that I liked it, despite some sections like the whole casino bit and the characters from that. And being British and a fan of his work, seeing Ade Edmonson at the very start took me out of the film for a bit because it was unexpected and a little jarring but he did well in his role so I got used to it. I did like that there was a lot going on, it made feel like a fuller world with more stuff to it unlike in the Force Awakens which just felt like a straight simple plot line through the whole film, though some cuts were a bit jarring and for me it would have been nice to see some of the transitions that had to have happened between the cuts. Also figuring out what happened when was a bit tricky for me when Rey's stuff picked up from the end of TFA but I couldn't tell how much time had passed for the rest of them. So while the flaws are noticeable, they didn't detract too much from my experience of the film and I look forward to rewatching it more than Episode 7. This film was always going to be a tricky beast, being the middle of a trilogy that could only give so many answers (and in that regard, did a lot more than I thought it would do) and providing a satisfying ending is tough but I think it managed that. I think this film will be easier to judge once the Episode 9 is out and all the arcs of the story have been concluded. I wonder if Empire was as divisive on release as The Last Jedi has been though I suppose it'll be very hard to compare as the fandom has changed so much in the intervening 37 years. Also, with regards to feelings of Marvel fatigue that I think most are feeling right now, I don't think Star Wars will get to that level and it'll be interesting to see what their plans are for after Episode 9. If it's just to do a spin off side story every couple of years or so I'm more than ok with that but yearly Star Wars Stories might be a bit too much - I'm only really accepting of it now because half the time it's a proper part of the trilogy if that makes any sense.

I've found a good way to find enjoyment out of early TNG is by listening to the Star Trek: The Next Conversation podcast after (https://t.co/PIca0cX5WX). Totally irreverent and fairly occasionally way off topic, Matt Mira & Andrew Secunda go through each episode and take it to bits really in quite amusing fashion. They're only up to episode 7 of season 2 so it's been mostly drudging through the bad stuff and it'll be interesting to see how they tackle a really good episode like The Measure of a Man (which will be coming up pretty soon actually).

I've been listening to The Nerdist since around the summer of 2010, with a few lapses (which means that due to the high output it doesn't take long for a fairly large backlog to develop and they can take a while to clear) and as a general comedy podcast I really enjoy it. It can help if you know who the guest is on the non hostful ones but I've managed to find enjoyment in finding out about people I had never heard of before (generally other comedians). The ones without a guest (the hostful episodes) are usually very funny but there also tends to be a lot of in jokes that newer listeners may not get. Also recently there have been some deep & meaningful ones as the main guy (Chris Hardwick, aka The Nerdist) uses the time to sort stuff out with his co-hosts (Matt Mira & Jonah Ray). The Nerdist Network itself has a load of podcast but other than the Nerdist I only really listen to The Indoor Kids which is their gaming (and general pop culture) podcast hosted by Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon. They're a husband and wife team who generally have a good time discussing games mostly but also movies and related stuff.