TV Show:
Mr. Robot and How To Get Away With Murder.
I don't have a film favourite for this month but instead I have two TV shows so I think it balances out. First up is Mr. Robot, which is a series about a hacker called Elliot who joins a super secret hacking society with the goal of taking down The Big Guys. It's really intense and I love how Rami Malek portrays Elliot, he's just so good. It gives me Fight Club and Blade Runner vibes (the latter I HATE by the way, but I don't hate this show so make of that what you will) and it's really cool and dark and cinematic. There's only one ten-episode season so far, which means it's really easy to get through quickly (although, like I said, it's intense). My second programme is HTGAWM and oh sweet Lord, what a show. If you're not familiar with it, it's about, basically, some lawyers and law students and their day-to-day life of, y'know, covering up murders and such. It's got some pretty extreme drama, plus it has such a good script and the actors are all incredible in their roles and it's funnier than you'd expect and I just love it so much, 10/10.
Side note - both of these new series have featured scenes with a hacker looking through someone else's webcam and as a result I currently have a tiny plaster stuck over mine. I don't trust ANYONE.
Music:
Don Broco and Nothing But Thieves.
This month I've got two bands to tell you about. I used to listen to Broco a couple of years ago and kind of forgot about them, but when they announced they were opening for 5SOS on a bunch of their tour dates I decided to start listening again and I'm so glad I did. Their most recent album Automatic is full of alt/rock/pop jams, and my favourite tracks on the deluxe version are: Money Power Fame / I Got Sick / Further / You Wanna Know (an updated version of a CLASSIC). I have also been really loving Nothing But Thieves' self-titled album. Even if you haven't consciously listened to NBT before you've quite probably heard Ban All The Music (I feel like it's been used in an advert for something??? Someone correct me here) and if you like that then you'll like the rest of the album, which is just as much of a JAM. I need to stop saying "jam" but I just...need to establish that these songs are truly jammable. Their sound is really cool in itself - it's rock and it's sometimes light and indie, sometimes much heavier and grittier. Overall I am a BIG FAN. My favourite tracks are: Excuse Me / Trip Switch / Ban All The Music / Painkiller / Drawing Pins...I love them all but I think those are my top few. NBT is a bit more chilled than Don Broco, whose music is mostly super up-tempo and lively, but they're both really SICK alt rock bands.
I'm finding it weirdly satisfying that these two bands are both English - there's something so cool about discovering/rediscovering a nice lil' bit of homegrown talent. We have some really great stuff coming out of the UK and I don't think I listen to as much of it as I perhaps should.
Makeup/Beauty:
Aussie shampoo and conditioner.
I put Lidl's 2-in-1 product in my last monthly favourites and now I'm doing a complete 180-degree flip. I always forget how nice Aussie is until I use it (and smell it) and then I'm like "ah, okay I see why this is more expensive". I'm usually someone who is a firm believer that how expensive a product is doesn't necessarily equate to how good it is (hence the use of Lidl's 2-in-1) but damn...I love Aussie, I really do. I went home this month and my mum is not a poor student and thus can afford to always buy Aussie. To be honest I'm making it sound like it's the super duper top high-end product here but it's not, it's just out of my price range in terms of regular buying. I don't know if it's the combination of Swiss air and better hairbrushes and combs and the nice shampoo/conditioner but whenever I'm at home my hair is just so soft and smooth and shiny. Considering my hair isn't super dark, the fact that it's shiny is quite impressive. If you've never used this brand before I fully recommend it, Boots often do 3-for-2 deals, so if you want to treat yourself to the most gloriously-scented hair products, DO IT (especially the 3 Minute Miracle conditioner).
Also, let me just say, the last time I was in America I bought Aussie from Walmart and it was $3 per bottle - which is like £2 - whereas in the UK it's usually £4-5. Why?
Fashion:
White trainers from H&M .
I have a bad habit of wearing shoes that aren't the most sensible to walk long distances in (I used to wear massive heeled boots to walk 3 miles to uni and in retrospect - with my current bad old lady ankles, knees and hips - that was not the best idea) and so I made the decision to buy some trainers. I figured I'm going to be doing a lot of walking while in the US this summer, so I need some comfortable shoes that don't expedite my inevitable onset of arthritis. I asked my mum to look for these trainers in one of England's H&Ms when she visited in January, to no avail, then we went to a Swiss H&M and they weren't there, and I'd all but given up when I found them in an H&M here in Paris. Three countries later and there they were. However, they weren't in my size, but at this point I was not willing to give up, so I got on the Métro and zoomed over to the H&M on the Champs-Élysées and finally found them. It was a long road but I think it was worth it. I genuinely do not think I have owned a pair of real trainers that weren't Vans or Converse since I was 12, so when I tried on these shoes for the first time they felt like clouds on my feet. There's...cushioning? On the sole and behind my heel? It cannot be! Alas, apparently it can. I now am the proud (?) owner of some trainers. You won't catch me doing any running any time soon (apart from those occasional times when I decide I want to race someone) (just FYI somehow I always win those) (call me Usain) but at least I have some comfy shoes to wander the streets with.
Quote/Lyric:
"I don't believe you." - Wes Gibbins in HTGAWM. He says this at least eighty-seven times per episode. (N.B.: this figure is rounded up to the nearest eighty-seven).
Miscellaneous:
Being home.
I've mentioned it already but I went home for five days at the end of the month and wow, I never used to get homesick or felt like I needed to go home but this year especially, every time I've gone home it's just felt SO NICE. I think part of it is that while I'm in Paris I feel like I am doing and exerting everything. I am constantly having to squeeze my brain to understand everything in class (it's definitely improved since September but everything being in French does not allow for much daydreaming in class, which is something I kind of struggle with), plus I am the one who has somehow ended up doing 90% of the cleaning of the apartment, (kind of feel like a housemaid, not a fan at all), but also just general adulty things like my perpetual state of worrying about finances - all of those combined make for a very mentally tired Georgia. When I return home I leave a lot of this behind for a few days, and my brain gets to have a nice lil' rest. My parents weren't there this time so although I was still cooking a lot of the meals and doing some cleaning etc., it just felt so relieving to know that I could use all of this food and not have to worry about being unable to afford to restock and all that fun kinda stuff. Plus, the speaking-French thing is much less daunting in Geneva, which is completely ridiculous because it's the SAME LANGUAGE. I guess the familiarity of home and just always knowing ~how things work~ is a big part of it.
Somehow this has ended up a lot longer than my favourites posts usually are, but oh well. I have three assignments due within twelve days and have I started preparing for any of them? The answer is "no", obviously. I have quite a few lil' posts in my drafts that I'm excited to work on, which is yet more evidence to support my theory that there is a definite positive correlation between the amount of uni work I have to do and the amount of motivation I have to write blog posts. Depending on the progress on my assignments (or lack thereof), I may be posting some more content this month. Time will tell.
See you next time!
Georgia
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