Sunday, April 6, 2014

Random Sunday Musings on GoT, Letterman, Bromances, and Bronies


I've  been incommunicado these past few days, cleaning and cooking and reading and watching it snow AGAIN.  But then the snow turned to rain in the afternoon, and this may be a good indication of what my friend D calls a "shite state of affairs" (you need an Irish accent when you say this), but the rain gave me hope.  I am never more reminded of the fact that we are beings who have evolved to our natural world when I realize the difference that a sunny day makes for my mood, but this spring I vow to love the rain just as much.


green leaves  in rain rainy quotation wallpapers


But today the sun is out again and maybe between the rain and the sun, some of this stuff will melt...  In the meantime, some things on my mind this week:


Game of Thrones is Back!

I feel like I have waited for these characters forever!

I will have my popcorn ready and I have that same feeling that people in fishing communities must have felt in years gone by - before radios and then satellites - when the boat slipped back into the harbour after months of sailing the ocean.

I don't watch a lot of TV - this is no judgement on TV, I just don't often find things I love - but I have always felt like this feeling of anticipation between seasons of my favourite shows.

It's as if the characters are off some place else and then have come back to me. 

When I visited the HBO Canada website this morning, this image was on the Game of Thrones page:




Game of Thrones - Sign Up


In other words: fasten your seat belt, it's going to a bumpy couple of months!


David Letterman is Going!

I came of age in the 70s and 80s.  I remember watching Dave's first incarnation on daytime TV with my mother. And in the 80s, we taped Dave's show every night (when we finally got a VCR!) and watched it faithfully.  In Atlantic Canada, Dave didn't come on until 1:35am - you never saw him live except for Friday nights when you crawled home late from the bar and needed to sit up drinking water before you went to sleep.


There were always two camps: The Letterman People and The Leno People and never the twain would meet, not really, because if you really, really, loved Dave you were never going to love Jay's sense of humour.

In 1989 Barry and I had tickets for his show and drove to NYC.  The show taped at 5:30 at 30 Rock and we got in line at 12:30, number 3 and 4 behind two great fellows from Jersey.  Over the next four hours before the seated us, we got to know all about each others' lives, spelled each other off for bathroom and food breaks, until at 4:30 we were ushered into a tiny freezing cold studio where we, and the fellows from Jersey, sat front row center.

And then Dave came out, all tall and better looking in real life, and warmed up the audience. He stood right in front of Barry and I, no more than a foot away.

He asked if anyone was from out of town.  I was too dumb-founded to speak, a star-struck fool with cotton in her mouth, gaping up at him in awe and fear, all of my plans for witty repartee with Dave dissolving.  I felt like Ma Kettle in from the country watching the big show.

When he was done he passed me his microphone and said "thank you very much" and I dumbly took it.  It seemed like a nice parting gift until some lackey ran out and grabbed it from my sweaty hands. 

But never mind: Dave had looked at ME.  That was enough.

So now Dave is retiring.  I remember watching when Johnny retired and having the feeling that a cultural icon was leaving the landscape. 

But Johnny was my parent's cultural icon. 

Dave is mine. 

Dave represents a world pre-children, a world of being young and hip and getting the irony of using Larry "Bud" Melman and Biff, of throwing things out the window and watching them smash, of pricking the ego balloons of guests who visited to hawk their wares. 



Celebrities making an appearance on the 'Late Show With David Letterman' in New York City, New York on April 2, 2014.

I appreciate that he's given me a year's notice.  I can get ready.  I'm going to need the time. 

Oh - and I haven't even mentioned this to Barry yet - I've already put our names in for tickets.  One last time....Wish us luck!


Sir Patrick and Sir Ian's Most Excellent Bromance:

I am convinced that we all need close friends to make it through this life.  And you need to be able to be goofy with at least one of them (some of us are damn goofy with a lot of them!).

I follow Patrick Stewart on twitter and Facebook because frankly, I adore him.  And his best friend is Ian McKellen, whom I also adore.  And they don't mind being goofy or showing each other affection and whenever I see a picture of the two of them together I am in friendship heaven.

The older I get in life the less and less I care about "looking cool". Trying to be cool is the killer of spontaneity, the killer of really exposing yourself to others.  So I'm embracing my inner goofball and these two giants of the thespian world are my guides:


Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists 

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists 

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists 

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists 

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Are New York's Best Tourists

These are two of the great actors ever and they know how to have fun together.  They know how to PLAY. 

I bet they'd even come to my next costume event.  But you also know what this mean:  I see a bowling night in my future, preferably one with a disco soundtrack!


And speaking of Bromance, have you seen the documentary Bronies?


We watched it last night. 

I'd never heard of Bronies - who are predominately heterosexual men in their teens and twenties who adore the most recent incarnation of the My Little Pony TV series.

bronies_head.jpg

Before you get all judgey-judgerson about it, watch the documentary.  It was absolutely fascinating and heartwarming and heartbreaking in places.  And it is a real movement: the last Brony convention in the US had over 4000 attendees.

The documentary follows several Bronies as they prepare to attend Brony conventions in the US and the UK and we get to see how their families struggle to come to terms (or come to accept) their loved one's obsession with My Little Pony.

My Little Pony came after my childhood and my kids came of age between the two series, so we never had any ponies in our house.  There is obviously something about the series and its animation that really speaks to people and we were all mesmerized by learning about this sub-culture.


My Little Pony Poster

The conference event hosted a session for Warhorses, members of the military who are bronies, some of whom display their "cutie marks" on their uniforms.

 

If all this seems odd to you, you are certainly not alone - it seems a little odd to me, too.  Having said that, I like living in a world where gentle souls (and these are most definitely gentle souls) can find one another and celebrate a show, which though geared originally towards little girls, speaks to kindness and friendship and love.  The documentary is definitely worth checking out!

So that's all the stuff in my head on this Sunday morning.  I'm up to more cleaning today, a little reading and then I'll probably start polishing my sword and shield before the show starts tonight.  I think I'm going to need it!

Have a great day and stay safe out there!

xoxo wendy

40 comments:

  1. My daughter has just outgrown her Little Pony phase (she still plays with them but she is not obsessed). I hope she doesn't become a bronie, although it looks like she would be sexually challanged. What's fascinating in this story is that these are men, you would think that if a movement like this has to exist they would be young women not young men. The cutie mark on the military uniform is kind if adorable though.
    Never watched Letterman but I hope you will get those tickets and come to NYC!

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    1. The interesting thing is that the vast majority are heterosexual, although they are obviously not what we would consider a typical heterosexual man. Having said that, that definition is certainly becoming more and more expansive, isn't it? I will let you know if I am successful in my quest!

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  2. The Scots employ that e too, it's such a northern thing to say it like that here, well huge cultural gap I hardly know anything about today's subjects!
    Apart from rain that is, we really should have 50 words for it.

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    1. Like the Inuit and their dozens of word ps for snow! After this winter, I can see the sense of that!

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  3. Wow, never heard of Bronies. But- why not? I, too was a huge Letterman fan from the beginning, and never saw the show live, but danced once with Paul Schaefer at a club in NY. Of course, I knew he looked familiar and couldn't figure out how to politely leave this older guy who wanted to dance ( he was very polite as well) and it wasn't until later that my friends told me who it was. I can still picture it in my mind.
    Never saw Game of Thrones but still mulling the HIMYM finale.
    If you do come to NYC, we could have a glitter shoe reunion.

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    1. As you know, Paul is canadian and it is a secret, but all Canadians love to dance.....

      I re-watchedHIMYM finale yesterday with son, and it went down much better the second time. They were asking a lot of us in an hour. Even a 3 episode arc leading to the finale might have helped!

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    2. I agree, it was an odd time frame. So much devoted to the wedding, and then so much in 1 hour . We are a diehard HIMYM family;yes-blushing- I let my boys watch it for years before I ever caught a glimpse of an episode and I was mortified when I finally did,but it was too late- they were hooked, and finally I was, too. I was floored by how much was allowed to be said on Monday nights at 8:oopm. Any way, I know we were in the minority, but we didn't mind the ending. Although, we were sorry to see them kill off the mother so cavalierly. I agree with you, it definitely should have been at least a 2 part episode.

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  4. My little one is the target age for MLP and totally loves them...and honestly the show is very cute, lots of inside wink-wink-nudge-nudge jokes for parents watching along and a nice lesson about values--friendship, courage, laughing through bad situations. I doubt I would be a lady-brony if not for my daughter but I do enjoy the show (and the toys!), it's much more wholesome and lesson-imparting than a lot of shows for girls her age. It was tough to navigate her loss of interest in Sesame Street and those other strongly-educational preschool shows and this filled the gap nicely.

    So all the ponies have very different personalities--my daughter says I'm a Rarity. Loves fashion and luxury and sparkly things but is generous to a fault and loves giving her friends all the things she loves. Pretty sure you are also a Rarity, Wendy!

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    1. Danielle - that is so cool to hear from a mom on this as I have never seen a show (but now will definitely sit down and watch an episode!).

      I think it is really important to watch what your kids are watching. I was a huge Animaniacs fan, but Pokémon, oh lord, I loathed Pokémon. Only movie I've ever fallen asleep in! Well now I have to find rarity so I can see us Danielle!

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    2. I totally see you as Rarity Dani, I am more of a Shutterfly (and my daughter too) ;-).

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    3. Okay - now I seriously have to watch!

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  5. What can I say? I don't watch network TV, so have no idea what Game of Thrones is, I hated My Little Pony so didn't buy one for my daughter, Dave was never my favorite, in the blips I would catch. I'm just a bummer all over. I do love the Bromance fellows. Great guys. I'm so far beyond wanting to look cool, I just want to be comfortable and looking "interesting" these days. I'm pretty sure 57 is too old to look cool anyway. I guess I'm embracing my inner confidence. Happy Sunday Wendy! xoxo

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    1. HI Jennifer! Worry pas - no bummers here - and what is in my head always has to come out! you know - the voices and all.... ;-)

      As for looking cool, I think you always look cool. I think it is the caring that we are letting go of, don't you? You always look so smashing and so "you" when I see you in pictures, that I find that cool!

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  6. Morning Wendy - I guess my sons will be watching Game of Thrones at some point (we don't have HBO), but it's not really my cup of tea. I really didn't like the HIMYM finale - we spent all that last season time getting to know the mother and falling in love with her (she was adorable!), only for it to end like that. I had never heard of this 'Bronies' phenomenon, but now I have the movie on my Netflix list.

    Oh, I hope you get to go see Dave in his last season! I didn't grow up with these late night shows (in the UK we had Michael Parkinson, whom I loved, he did a straight talk show with great guests and was very good), so when I first came to Canada I found them quite exotic and, yes, cool. Nowadays I'm more into The Daily Show and Colbert. Who do you think should take over from Dave? I'm biased, but I like Craig Ferguson.

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    1. I adore Craig Ferguson! I love Colbert and John Stewart as well. They all have similar off-kilter humour! I hear you on the HIMYM finale - I was ripping mad for the first two days!

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  7. Sad that Dave Letterman is retiring. I have always been team Letterman.

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    1. I am so sad, too! Will be interesting to see the jockeying to replace him...

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  8. You've been inside too long - or is Bronies a belated April Fool ?

    Tee hee

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    1. Fred - careful - those bronies might sparkle all over you! My daughter even knows a bronie at the local U. It is quite a thing!

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  9. I don't know who most of those people are, just Letterman and I won't miss him (nothing personal but I just don't watch the late night shows). I keep meaning to start watching Game of Thrones from the beginning, though. I've never seen it. Some day I plan to binge watch the whole thing on Netflix :)

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    1. Cate - I love it, but I know it's not for everyone!

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  10. What a great post, all around! Love the photos!

    I haven't watched Letterman in years but I loved him when I used to be able to stay up! Mostly his retiring makes me feel really old...

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    1. Audrey - that is exactly how I feel - like going from being a young hipster to suddenly being in your 50s in a blink of an eye!

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  11. I don't get little pony...

    I get Dave though - I remember sneaking staying up late to watch Dave - he was the younger cooler guy who came on Johnny...Shows my age really!

    I can't wait for Game of thrones but I am almost too scared to watch...I am still recovering from last season.

    I rarely have seen cool people who look cool and vice versa!

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  12. The bromance is fun. Two good old guys hanging out and enjoying life to the fullest is always good in my book. I can live without the bronies. How do we explain this to the little girls who love their ponies. My daughter is older now but we still have her ponies and castle. I almost cried when I heard Dave is retiring. I have been on team Dave since day one. I have fond memories of watching his crazy antics with my college roommate and laughing our heads off. I loved the early days with stupid pet and human tricks, visiting the local restaurants and shops, throwing pencils, dropping stuff from buildings or rolling over them with a steamroller, and Larry Bud Melman. My favorite part about Dave was his timing and wry wit and the quirky banter with Paul. The genius top ten lists were always the highlight of the show Some people never got Dave but he has always been my favorite. I think they didn't appreciate his humor since they didn't watch him from the start. It makes me feel so old to hear that he is retiring. It just seems like yesterday that we used the show as a diversion from studying. I will definitely have to watch more this next year as I'm sure he will go out with a bang.

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    1. Sc - I suspect the little girls would love it that some grow ups love what they love, my son used to love it when friends would come over - male and female and get on the floor all excited to play with his lord of the rings action figures! I love you dave memories!

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  13. I read this post earlier and I thought I commented but I guess not, cripes I need to get some sleep. I find DL hilarious, I saw the GoT adverts and I thought of you! Little rascal had a brief My Little Pony phase and I somehow knew about the Bronies. I think it's sweet.

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    1. I am with on sleep, feel we need to brefriend a bronie!

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  14. DL had a great impact on me, something really resonated, mostly his self-depreciation I think. He was always harder on himself than he was on others..., but that's not to say that he didn't take the odd idiot out for a little scrape through the parking lot, most deserved it.

    And well, the Sirs (Patrick and Ian) are a couple of swells for certain. Which leads me to the Bronies....- I am so heartened by this. I think we are seeing some encouraging signs that masculinity is really being redefined. Sorry about the soap-box thing, but I have been working on, around, and in men's violence issues my whole adult life. And it really is about men's violence toward other men, and women, and children. Not all men of course...., most men aren't violent in fact. So when I see men who are speaking out about friendship and gentility, about honour and honesty, well... I just feel like there is a whole lot of hope out there.

    I agree with Dani, it is sweet! And we could all use a little more sweet these days.

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    1. Agree and sweetness begins at home! :-)

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    2. Ah, Barry! You are a sweetheart!
      Very good points about men redefining masculinity, very interesting.

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  15. We watched a documentary about Johnny Carson yesterday and although neither of us watched much of him or any of the other late night talk show hosts we were fascinated by how Johnny ended up deciding that Dave Letterman should be his successor although Dave didn't get the Tonight Show. But Johnny sent jokes for Dave to use on his show right up to his own death and loved it when Dave would use them.

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  16. LOVE the sirs. How great are they! I hope that spring comes to your neck of the woods soon if only so you can sport those J Crew goodies.

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    1. thanks Jen - there s a rumour of +12, that may make a difference!

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  17. I don't know anything about Game of Thrones nor David Letterman, but love the bromance pics.
    M used to like My Little Ponies, and has recently become obsessed with them again, and the concept of Bronies. She showed me a video about them the other night.
    I think it's a wonderful example of how social media can help us all to find our clan, no matter how strange others may think it is!

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  18. Oh, I love GOT and thought this first episode was quite interesting and sets up for a great season. Love Stewart and McKellan! I am wondering if those pics are part of the promo for their Waiting for Godot that is (or was?) in NY. It's the hats...very Didi and Gogo. I teach that play in a high school and always struggle to help kids understand it, but perhaps clarity only comes with age. I'm sure watching them perform it would be a delight. I found an interview/promo for the play with the two on Youtube that I'm going to use in class. I might borrow these pics as well if I can figure out how to fit it in. :)

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    1. WA - I am sure they were! they tweet pics all the time and they are so sweet!

      I loved GoT last night - it is going to be crazy!

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Kindness is a virtue...