October TBR

As part of Blogtober I'd like to share with you my October TBR (whether I get to read them all or not is something else).

My first choice is Mother Knows Best. I'm up to date with Serena Valentino's series and this one has recently been released so I can't wait to find out how Mother Gothel fits into the world she has created.

The next choices were because it is spooky season so I wanted some supernatural/horror elements included. The second one I will read is The Woman in Black. I studied it a little in English year 9 for gothic horror and a lot for GCSE Drama as we studied the play and saw it on stage. I have also seen the movie. I've had the book since school but neglected to read it. I know it will be thrilling and it is short so I'm sure to get it read now.

I won The Hazel Wood in a competition when it was released and have seen people on social media talking about reading it this month as it is spooky, so I thought I would too.


The Cruel Prince is probably classed as a darker fantasy and I've loved Holly Black's Spiderwick books. I met her at a book event for The Cruel Prince earlier this year which was amazing as I'm sure 12 year old me wouldn't believe they were going to meet her. I might not get to read it this month but I will definitely read it in November.

What are you reading this month?

Lotty

xx

Whitby Wishlist

Whitby is a charming seaside town that I have been fortunate to stay in twice now. I'm always looking out for articles and TV shows featuring Whitby to reminisce. Certainly since my last stay, in September 2016 with my brother, I have learnt a lot more about activities and places I wasn't sure about trying. Here is my wishlist of activities to do next time I visit.

Whale spotting and fishing trip

These has been featured on a few TV shows I've seen. I was not sure about going on a whale spotting one in case it was just a money grabbing thing and you'd never see whales but seeing it featured on TV with sightings makes me feel like I will try in next time. Whales or no Whales. Also I found out that you can go out on fishing trips where you can handle the rods which I didn't realise when I saw them advertised. I miss fishing with my dad (he moved to Sweden and I haven't been over for 10 years) so it would be great to go fishing supervised again.

Bothams Bakery
A family run bakery. I have eaten their croissants before but they are famous for their lemon buns. I hear the best way to eat them is to pull them apart then sandwich the lemon surface in the middle.

Pannet Park Museum
I have been tempted to visit mainly just because it has the only known hand of glory in existence. I'll make time for it next time especially as Pannet Park is a lovely park too.

Ghost walk with Dr. Crank
Last time I visited I went on his Dracula walk which was very good value (£5 for 45 mins) and he clearly knew his subject. He made it interesting and funny for new fans and knowledgeable fans like myself. He does a ghost walk too so I want to do this next time.

Cleveland trail
Last time my brother and I walked to Robin Hood's Bay but he wanted us to walk the cinder trail which was the old railway line. I didn't want to walk too much so we got the bus back after a lovely lunch. This time I want to do the same again but walk the Cleveland trail back to Whitby.

Scavenge for jet on the beach
Watching one TV show, it was explaining how jet was mined in Whitby. They said that while jet isn't mined anymore, jet does fall off the cliffs onto the beach with erosion and you can scavenge for it. I have a pair of earrings with jet in and have got a scrap from a shop for a friend but would love to find some myself.


Are there any activities you think I should do that are missing from this list?


Lotty
xx

My thoughts on Universal's Dark Universe

When Universal Studios announced they were reviving their classic monster movies, I thought it was an alright idea as I liked the selection of monsters they had even though the stories were far from their source material. When they announced it was going to be a shared universe mainly set in present day, I was ready to slam it.

Everyone seems to want to get in on the success of shared universes, the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Arrowverse on TV which are hugely popular, and I just thought Universal was doomed to failure.

This was until I actually watched The Mummy (2017).

I had watched Dracula Untold (because Dracula, I love Dracula) last year, which was meant to be the first in the Dark Universe but due to its box office results it was removed and The Mummy was then slated to be the first in the series. I didnt like how they finished the movie in a modern setting with the inkling that they were going to play the novel story in modern day. I also fine that portraying Dracula as hero, although it really worked and was written well for the film, is getting to be unoriginal.

So, The Mummy. I really enjoyed it myself. I thought the ending took a long time but there were a lot of things to like. One act of the film is set at an English church and for this they really upped the gothic horror. I loved it. Although, again, I was ready to slam Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I actually thought he played it really well. I really liked Ahmanet and her story although her chasing of Tom Cruise's character was a bit cringeworthy sometimes. I also whooped when I saw Mesopotamia appear on the screen then transition into Iraq at the beginning of the film when they were there.

Upon reflection, I find that Dracula Untold and The Mummy are more similar than they first seem in that both female protagonists are very weak and damsels in distress and they are also the reason for the male protagonists becoming what they do.

After watching The Mummy, I am now of the opinion that I want the Dark Universe to work. I also want Dracula Untold to be reinstated in the series. Don't get me wrong, I miss the previous Mummy series like most people seem to, but I really think that this could work. They do need to get rid of Johnny Depp though, as he was planned to be the Invisible Man, the uproar with Fantastic Beasts should inform Universal that it would be the best idea.

I'm not sure how everything is going to fit into present day. The monsters were scary for their times which is why modern films with them don't work as well as their powers were suited for a more powerless time. We have nuclear weapons now. Maybe that's why Dracula and Ahmanet had power over their own 'armies' and they were created in the past.

It's a shame it looks like the Dark Universe is going in the direction I had anticipated - down the drain. The problem is that Universal are always going to try and find ways of monopolizing on their old monsters so I think they need to take the risk and stick with an idea otherwise people will soon get bored with the constant remakes. Looking for more original ideas to fit into the Dark Universe may also be the way forward. I also think maybe they marketed the series the wrong way. Now I'm no expert on marketing at all but something makes me think neither Dracula Untold or The Mummy will end up as cult classics because of it.

I would like to see the series progress but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. What do you think?

I hope you enjoyed reading.

Lotty
xx

My thoughts after rewatching 'The Ark in Space'

The other day I rewatched The Ark in Space which is a phenomenal Doctor Who story. It was a story that I took a long while to get to because I remembered seeing the larvae when I was about 3 or something and getting scares by it. I probably first watched it when I was 10 and watched it a couple more times before my dad moved with the videos to Sweden. My brother bought the DVD for us last year so we can watch it again.

I had a lot of thoughts watching it again and thought I'd share them in a blog post as I've seen others do this sort of thing and it's probably nicer than a Twitter thread. So here we go and I'll try to keep them chronological. THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD.

1. This opens with an intro to the monster of the story. Another story which does that which scared me into not watching it for years was The Claws of Axos.
2. Harry Sullivan is my favourite male companion but I would not be touching buttons if I didn't know exactly what they did.
3. I really don't like how the Fourth Doctor totally shrugs off the lack of oxygen until it's almost too late.

4. It's amazing how much Doctor Who would put women in leadership roles in Earth's future with a Prime Minister (then a President and then in this there was a High Minister.
5. I think I want one of those tranquillary beds.
6. Entering a sterile area and you can tell Harry sensibly fears there will be another security system but no the Doctor tells him to go first anyway. I don't know if that's the Doctor making Harry face his fear knowing there isn't a security system (or not being sure) or just being selfish really.
7. Ok, Harry has been a bit stupid but how can the Doctor shrug off Harry's claim of seeing an alien when the Doctor encounters them all the time?
8. Brilliant monologue but I actually find it not as great watching it in the story.
9. I can't believe the Doctor really just thought they couldn't revive Sarah and didn't look for something like Harry does.
10. Kudos to Harry keeping it cool and moving out of the way when the dead Wirrn falls out the cupboard. No screams from him.
11. Did they seriously not have female doctors when this episode aired because Harry is quite surprised by Vira.
12. I understand how first med-tech is woken up first to help everyone else wake up but how would have Vira woken up if Harry wasn't standing in front of her with the equipment she needed?

13. I don't understand how sometimes the Doctor keeps information about how he and his companions arrive in places when the situation doesn't seem to call for it.
14. I get the whole calling Lazar Noah as a  joke but I'm wondering if he did adopt the name Noah full time? The story seems to indicate yes but these people are so upper class that I doubt it.
15. Saying that Noah and the ark was a myth makes me wonder what happened to religion or if they even have one.
16. I wonder how this story fits in with the new series story The End of the World? Earth destroyed by solar flares but habitable again after thousands of years?
17. I think I'd like to have seen Noah/Lasar more before he was infected but I guess his actions as a Wirrn during the episode prove he was truly a good person.
18. I'm very curious about the Wirrn larvae. Was there loads roaming around the ark but budget meant we could only see one at a time or would the one we saw split into many pupae?
19. Noah is incredibly xenophobic and maybe a supremacist. The Doctor and co. are clearly passing through they weren't ever going to stay and mate with anyone lol.
20. Wouldn't it have been great to have a longer duration of Noah hiding his hand and interacting with everyone while Libri kept seeing him as a Wirrn?
21. The second Noah said "I am Dune" I'd have stunned him under grounds of insanity. I don't care who he is but anyone saying they are a dead person should then be questioned in a secure environment.
22. Why the hell did the Doctor send Libri after Noah? He clearly wasn't up for the job having been scared of Noah as he woke up and being very trusting of his leader. This is one time where the Doctor should have just done it himself especially as only he had an idea of what was going on and would have saved the loss of an innocent life.
23. That is a rousing speech by the high minister that I guess the people who had woken up needed to hear but I think everyone on the ark needed to hear it. How many times would that be replayed?
24. I like you Harry, and then you had to go and call Sarah/the High Minister a female chauvinist.
25. I think Rogin is all of us. Most relatable person we've seen on the ark.
26. I like how Noah was able to tell everyone about the Wirrn. Some characters like this keep it to themselves until it's too late.
27. This is the most human we've seen Vira when she encounters a mutating Noah.
28. Noah looks really horrific. I don't think they'd show that with updated prosthetics and effects in modern who.
29. To wake people up or not? Why not wake up soldiers because they've clearly gone for killing rather than reasoning with the Wirrn?
30. How can Rogin and Lycett not hear that larvae approaching?

31. So was Lycett absorbed? Is Lycett a Wirrn now too?
32. Harry and Rogin make a good team.
33. Have I said before I love Harry?
34. Sarah is very brave going through the vents. I've been 'caving' in concrete tunnels and the fact I couldn't be on my knees meant I wasn't confident at all.

35. Ironic how Rogin says he likes heat considering what happens to him.
36. I liked seeing the moment Rogin realises the Doctor's plan. It was something I always missed before.
37. I love Rogin's sacrifice. In fact I really like self-sacrifices as a plot device.
38. Noah's isn't as noble. I mean he kind of got himself into that mess being arrogant so high and mighty in the first place.
39. That was a very quick change for Sarah.
40. Vira laughs. She's become someone we can relate to and a doctor who cares. She's very different from the woman we first met.

Finally...

I think we need the Wirrn to make a reappearance. They would really benefit from a makeover (looking at you, bubble wrap larvae) and the horror aspect could be increased although that may exclude them from Doctor Who. They probably would have worked for a Torchwood story so I don't know if Big Finish plan on transporting them through space and/or time but that's a great idea right there.

Have you watched The Ark in Space? Do you agree with my thoughts or have any of your own you'd like to share?

Lotty
xx

Book review: Disney Villains series by Serena Valentino

By now, you've probably spotted Disney books that look like they are for teenagers/young adults in Tesco. There are two different series in particular and in this post I'm going to talk about one of them.

In 2016, days before I was about to leave for a holiday to Disneyland Paris I decided I would buy some to read on my holiday. I really wanted Fairest of All and Once Upon a Dream (note: Once Upon a Dream is by Liz Braswell in the Twisted Tales series). The actual day before I went on holiday I tracked down and bought The Beast Within and Once Upon a Dream. Little did I know that there was a sequence to the villains series and The Beast Within was second. I ended up reading The Beast Within on my Eurostar journeys to and from Disneyland Paris and finished it. Safe to say I enjoyed it.

I went into the series expecting a new background story surrounding each of the villains about why they became villains. What I wasn't expecting was Serena to pull some incredible world-building and create characters that I love just as much as the ones already established in Disney. I was caught out when reading The Beast Within as her recurring characters of the Odd Sisters were introduced in Fairest of All but I'm thankful I didn't try reading from Poor Unfortunate Soul or Mistress of All Evil as I really would have been flummoxed.

I love how the books aren't set completely at a time before we meet them in the films - the stories intersect and I think that really helps in making it sound believable. I found it quite warming when I got to the climax of the novels, where the climax of the film is, and see scenes I was already familiar with being played out word for word, but trusting that everything that has happened up to that point, fits.

Reading through the story you begin to understand the characters and they have much more depth than they do in the films. Their motives become much more reasonable and not so superficial (Maleficent being upset for not being invited to a party? Nah. It's much deeper than that). Often it blurs the line between good and evil without tarnishing the characters we all love.

As for Serena's own characters, they are so well written that I think even though you go to the series for the Disney villains, you stay for her characters, to find out what happens next to them as their stories carry on throughout this timeline. Next we will find out how they fit in with Mother Gothel but they will also be getting their own book, which might have seemed odd at first but after reading Poor Unfortunate Soul and Mistress of All Evil, I'm just as excited to read it as I am for Mother Knows Best.

I highly recommend this series for any Disney lover, even if you aren't a keen reader. It helped me to get back into reading and I'd like to think it would help others too. I also recommend following Serena on social media as she loves talking to fans and sharing sneak peeks. If you do start reading them, I will always be up for a discussion.

Lotty

xx

Older?

Probably for the last year I've been toying with blogging again. I think my main put off was the fact I barely go on my laptop, so could I post from my phone with posts still looking how I want them to? I even considered using wordpress but that may have posed the same dilemma. It was only this last week I realised so many bloggers have a simple design and this was probably the reason: so they could post from their mobile device (I hope). So I'm going to try blogging again.

My love for Disney has increased so I'll probably be posting more about Disney. I realise now that posts that are lists are absolutely fine so I'll do as many as I like. Overall I think I'm more knowledgeable about blogging than I was 3 years ago. So I hope you all enjoy the content I have to offer.

Lotty
xx

Hyper Japan 2014

Note: this is actually a post I should have published last year. I have quickly finished it in preparation for this year's event post lol.

So, after a while, I'm posting about my personal life again. This post is going to be about my visit to London and Hyper Japan on the 27th July, with a little bit of context too.

Just over a year ago, this Sailor Moon fan who lives in Japan tweeted about him featuring in a TV programme called Tokyo Eye on NHK World. I had never heard of this channel but by chance I found I did have it and coincidentally it was his episode of Tokyo Eye on that day. I enjoyed it and looked into other programmes on that channel and found imagine-nation which appealed to me. As I tuned in, they had a string of shows about conventions including Hyper Japan (and featured Tokyo Toys in that episode which I first visited in February this year). After watching it, I vowed to go to Hyper Japan the next year (2014).

And then we moved...I had always taken our close proximity to London for granted but after planning I found out it was still reasonably accessible. I voiced my wish to my parents and they said they'd buy transport and entry for me plus one for my 21st birthday present (and a little spending money for me). As I wasn't sure which friend to take, mum came with me. Even though mum isn't keen on London I would like to think she doesn't think it as bad as before going with me.

So we decided to go by train from Downham Market which was direct but busy being the first train to London that morning. I suddenly remembered as we arrived at King's Cross that platform 9 3/4 was there so we said we would look back at it later. We got to Hyper Japan and it was impressive. It was a good size and there was plenty of room for people to walk about in. It was probably heaven for a Japanophile but I didn't enjoy it as much probably because I was in mum's company and she wasn't a big fan.

I'm surprised I didn't buy anything for myself. Probably because I was conscious I didn't have a lot of room at home. I was also expecting more imported merchandise like Sailor Moon but I saw about 3 different products and I wasn't interested in them. But mum bought a Rilakkuma and a Batman T-shirt for my step dad. It got to lunch and the queues were massive. I wish I had tried some food but we decided to go somewhere else.

I took mum to Piccadilly as I wanted to go to Tokyo Toys again. Trocadero was shut off but you could still access the store which had moved. I bought my soft toy Luna which I wanted to buy last time :)

N.B. I found out just recently that the reason Trocadero is shut is because they are developing it into a capsule hotel.

I showed mum China town and we went to one of the restaurants for lunch before popping in a few shops and going back to King's Cross. I went to the burger bar in St. Pancras to get one of their gorgeous Belgian chocolate milkshakes, mum almost wished she had one herself but instead she helped me. We saw platform 9 3/4 and took a picture in a gap when no one was standing there as we didn't queue ourselves as it was way too long. The shop was packed too but it did look awesome. I'm sure it would be worth its while having a bigger unit.

We headed back home, pooped but happy. I would like to go to Hyper Japan again but with some other like minded fans. It might even be bigger than before then.

Lotty

xx