I love food, especially desserts, but I hate to cook. Yes, I’ve been known to yell at kitchen utensils. Luckily for me, my husband has adopted cooking and baking as a hobby, and made it his mission to bake the perfect pound cake.
It may not be good for my waistline, but the rest of me is thrilled. He even made whipped cream from scratch recently. We had some pound cake and fresh strawberries, so naturally we needed some cream to complete the picture.
If you or someone you know shares his love of cooking, you may find these books instructive. My husband certainly has.
This is how I learned of Alan Rickman’s passing: I checked Facebook while eating breakfast, and immediately saw that my sister had written, “First David Bowie, and now Alan Rickman?… Please tell me that this is a hoax.”
“Not him,” I thought. “Maybe it actually is a hoax?” I didn’t have to scroll far to see that it wasn’t. When my husband came into the room, I didn’t have words, so I just pointed at the headline. He paused a moment and said, “I guess we’ll never have another Galaxy Quest.” Not that anyone really expected a sequel, but the point is, Rickman can’t be replaced. No one else has that distinctive, resonant voice. No one else has those perfect facial expressions.
Alan Rickman in 2011. Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen; used under a Creative Commons license – click through for source.
Daniel Radcliffe, who starred with him in the Harry Potter movies, described him as “kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny.” He must have been a wonderful person, but he excelled at playing characters with a flair for being arch, put-upon or dour, i.e. the perfect voice for Marvin in the 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. When you need a robot with a brain the size of a planet, who’s constantly depressed (and not afraid to let everyone know it), who better to turn to than Alan Rickman?
Below is a list I’ve compiled of times Rickman played a supporting role and still managed to steal the show—every single time.
Remember when he called off Christmas? Remember when he refused to say that stupid line one more time, but then said it anyway (of course)? Remember when he revealed the truth about his past to Harry?
What are we going to do without him? I guess we’ll have to obsessively watch his movies over and over. Here are a few to get you started, if you want to join me. There are plenty more, so feel free to mention your favorites in the comments.
I love seeing my favorite books adapted for television. Instead of cramming the entire story into a two or three hour movie, it can be lovingly developed over many episodes, even multiple seasons.
The holidays are a perfect time for some binge-watching, so here are a few book to TV adaptations you might want to check out:
Hermey doesn’t like to choose between books and television. Good thing he doesn’t have to! Image taken from Rankin Bass Wikia – click through for source page.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke – I’m watching this right now and really enjoying it. It’s such a long book that it could never have been done properly as a movie. Set in England during the 19th century, this is the story of two magicians who are bringing magic back to the world. Unfortunately, the only thing bigger than their powers is their egos.
The Dirk Gently detective series by Douglas Adams – This was developed for TV with some content from the books as well as some new stories that stay true to the original humor. Dirk is a quirky detective who believes in the interconnectedness of all things. He does not believe in paying his secretary or his bills.
The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin – Known on TV as Game of Thrones (also the title of the first book), this hardly needs an introduction. If you haven’t been watching but want to, why not get caught up now?
I’m also looking forward to the forthcoming TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. If you haven’t read it yet, or the sequel Anansi Boys, I highly recommend them. You still have time to read them to get ready for the show.
What book to TV adaptations haven’t I mentioned? Let me know in the comments!
I recently exposed myself to the hilarious madness that is Rick and Morty and noticed that the title characters bare more than a passing resemblance to Doc Brown and Marty McFly.
My suspicions were confirmed after I found an extremely not safe for work Back to the Future parody from Justin Roiland, co-creator of Rick and Morty. It even featured samples of Alan Silvestri‘s iconic score. Hearing that triumphant theme (that’s been comfortably stuck in my head for weeks now) was enough to make me want to rewatch the entire trilogy, which I consider to be one ginormous near-six hour movie. Obviously, they’re still great, but there were a lot of questions I had now that the wide-eyed younger version of me didn’t/couldn’t even think about before. For instance, if I were George McFly, there’s no way I’d employ the high school bully to wash and wax my vehicles. Especially when that bully was moments away from sexually assaulting my future wife in the high school parking lot the night of the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. Space-time continuum be damned, that’s just messed up.
The Back to the Future movies hinge on the idea that what you change in the past can have big, sometimes unexpected, consequences in your own present and future. So when I started thinking about what I would do if I could travel back in time, I quickly decided I wouldn’t do anything. As we also see in Ray Bradbury’s famous story, “A Sound of Thunder,” the tiniest change can have far-reaching effects. I don’t want to knock over a lamp in 1899 and come back to find out Andrew Carnegie never established any public libraries. There’s a scary thought.
I wouldn’t change anything in my own past either. Sure, I wish I hadn’t been caught skipping gym that time in high school, but our pasts makes us who we are.
Maybe I would travel to the future, though. It would be pretty cool if my Honda could fly. Of course, according to Back to the Future II, that technology should be available now. I like the idea that in some alternate version of 2015, people are powering their (flying) cars with mini fusion reactors using only household trash. That other 2015 has a lot more Jaws sequels than we do, too, but I don’t feel like I missed out on that one. Still, it’s cool to imagine that in that alternate timeline, right now, Marty is out there experiencing a future we only dreamed of.
-Megan
If Marty goes back in time and changes the future, shouldn’t he by the nature of time travel change his own memories? Why does he retain the memory of what happened, but for everyone else, the new reality is the only reality they’ve ever been aware of?
If I think about this too long, my head spins. Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter, because Back to the Future is so much fun. Doc is lovable because he’s the archetypal mad scientist. Marty is lovable because he’s the semi-clueless teenager we can all relate to (unless you haven’t hit the magical year of 13 yet, in which case, get ready for some crazy stuff). Together, they are an adorable, delightful—and most importantly—flawed team.
Even though Marty sort of bumbles his way through the trilogy, engaging in plenty of whacky antics and skateboard/hover board stunts, these are movies about second chances. About new beginnings and better futures.
And no matter how much time travel can make my head spin, I will always love Back to the Future for reminding me about the power of the choices we make and the second chances life gives us.
I love food, especially desserts, but I hate to cook. Yes, I’ve been known to yell at kitchen utensils. Luckily for me, my husband has adopted cooking and baking as a hobby, and made it his mission to bake the perfect pound cake.
Eleventh Stack 