Film Friday: Sleepwalk with Me

I first heard about this film via the podcast This American Life, as its host Ira Glass wrote the screenplay, and the director and star of the film Mike Birbiglia also appears on the show from time to time too.

Sleepwalk with Me tells the story of 30-something bartender Matt who has decided to follow his dream and  try his luck at becoming a stand-up comedian. He is at a crossroads in his relationship with his girlfriend who is keen to get married. Add to this the fact that Matt suffers from extreme bouts of sleepwalking - which causes him at one point to hurl himself through a window. I really enjoyed this film, and would certainly recommend you search it out (and watch out for Ira's cameo, as well as a cameo from 'Ray' from Girls.)

Four moments in June

June 2010 | Tom & Ollie (both celebrating their birthday today) fight it out in the garden

June 2011 - We went on a sailing trip for Tom's birthday

June 2012 - We all went to stay in a log cabin in Shropshire (and had a jolly good time despite the rain)

June 2013 - Tom got accosted by the police whilst dressed as a ghost... just an average day then.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM! xxx

Just a minute | June

Wow, so it's June already! The year is going crazily fast. This week it's Tom's birthday and we are off on a 'secret' trip this weekend to celebrate. Will share more on our return! The picture above was taken on Saturday when Tom decided to dress up as a ghost at an event I was working at called the Hemlock Happening. It amused me! Other than that the month so far has consisted of...

Watching | Breaking Bad (season 1, we are quite far behind most people!), Girls (just finished the second season, it got quite disturbing in parts but I did really enjoy it), Louis CK

Listening | to lots of Paul McCartney. Ahem. I got quite a few old records for my birthday which was great and was somehow given two McCartney solo albums and a Wings single... there's some pretty weird but great songs!

Drawing | My comic about turning 30.. i just need to finish the conclusion (whatever it will be...)

Reading | The books in the post below!

Buying | tickets to see Deerhoof here soon

Choosing | A new camera after my beloved (and pretty much new) Fujifilm X10 suddenly stopped working. Luckily I had it insured when I bought it from (the now defunct) Jessops so I have a voucher to replace it. Always get insurance people!

Summer Reading | 3 good books

Here's a few good books I have enjoyed lately..

1. Relish by Lucy Knisley

I was looking forward to reading Knisely's latest graphic novel, after discovering her work through French Milk, a travel diary of the trip she took to Paris with her mother. Relish focuses on one of my true loves; food. Lucy talks about snippets of her life and their connection to what was cooking, and even includes a few illustrated recipes for everything from cookies to sushi. Definitely a good book for any food lovers out there.

2. Wonder by RJ Palacio

This was recommended to me by Janet, and I really enjoyed it. I actually had a little trouble finding it in Waterstones, as I didn't realise it was hidden upstairs amongst the teen fiction. Wonder is a story about a young boy called August with a disfigured face, and his first experiences at middle school. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character which makes for an interesting read, though August was by far my favourite.

3. Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle

Having read his previous book all about North Korea, I was keen to read Delisle's tales about living in the mysterious country of Burma. Guy Delisle is a graphic novelist and animator who lived in Burma for a year while his wife was working there for a charitable NGO. It's an interesting and often funny travelogue about a country where newspapers are routinely censored and nothing is quite as it seems.

Film Friday | Winona Forever

This week I only half-watched a film, the brilliant Mermaids, which stars one of my favourite actresses of the 90s, Winona Ryder. This made me wonder why her film work seems to have dried up a bit in recent years - perhaps it's because she always played the adolescent, coming-of-age role so perfectly, and it's hard to recreate that innocence as an adult?

Here are my top 5 'Winona Forever' films...

1. Edward Scissorhands
Johnny + Winona made the perfect couple. Still my favourite Tim Burton film.

2. How to Make an American Quilt
I do love this film. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend giving it a watch. Winona plays a girl who's having relationship problems so goes to stay with her grandma  in the countryside where she tries to get her master's thesis finished. While working on a quilt together, her grandma and her friends tell her stories about their past loves.

3. Beetlejuice
I only watched this film for the first time last year! I think I may have found Beetlejuice a bit scary as a kid?! But it is pretty ace.. I feel the need to watch it again soon.

4. Girl, Interrupted
I've not watched this in years, but remember really enjoying it - the book it's based on is also very good.

5. Mermaids
The scene where they dance round the kitchen. In this film Winona reminds me a little of Angela from My So-Called Life, partly when we hear her inner monologue. Cher, Winona and Christina Ricci, what more could you ask for?!

Happy weekend! x

A photo an hour - Sunday

 10am-11am Wake up to a sunny day

 11am - 12noon I make a veggie fry-up (the night before was spent at a beer festival in Ruddington so this is very welcome!) and we watch old episodes of Fawlty Towers

 12noon - 1pm We plan out a trip to Bunny Woods to have a picnic

1pm- 2pm Tom practises some tunes

 2pm - 3pm We pick up our friend Lorna and head off to find the perfect field for a picnic..

 ...probably not this one!

3pm - 4pm We eat our picnic and meet this friendly chap..

 4pm - 5pm Being in the countryside is grrrreat!

 5pm - 6pm We head home and get ready for dinner

7pm - 8pm Our friends in Forest Fields make a delicious sushi meal for us (including feta for vegetarians, which actually worked pretty well!)

Film Friday: From Dusk til Dawn

I watched From Dusk til Dawn last week on Tom's recommendation (partly him saying 'it's got George Clooney in it!') I do enjoy a good Quentin Tarantino film, and as well as writing the film, in this one he takes one of the main roles as the slightly psychopathic brother of Clooney. I enjoyed the film - until the 'twist' towards the end! Most of you have probably already seen the film so know what I'm talking about, but I found it a little bit too ridiculous from then on! Although I think it was meant to be a bit over the top..

Have a good weekend folks!