This week’s round-up of things that have caught my attention, including Lily Allen‘s new album, getting in to autumn, and my five-year mission to finish reading Barack Obama‘s memoir. Be sure to read to the end to find out a random fact I learned this week (and this one’s a doozy).

Music

Truth be told, I’ve never been a Lily Allen fan. I just didn’t vibe with her music. But her new album, West End Girl, hits a spot I didn’t know I had. I’ve listened through it a couple of times in the past couple of weeks, and it delves deep (deep) into her marriage to ex-husband David Harbour, and she is spilling the piping hot tea. Although it’s based on her very personal experience, much of it is relatable, particularly in the tracks Sleepwalking (“…and I don’t know if you do it intentionally, but somehow you make it my fault”) and Just Enough (“You give me just enough hope to hold on”). Some of the music is upbeat (Pussy Palace) and fun (Madeline) when it shouldn’t be, but perhaps that just Allen putting a plaster over a weeping wound. Either way, her artistry has greatly benefited from her tumultuous personal life (but seriously, WHO THE FUCK IS MADELINE?!).

Literature

November 27th 2020 was the date I began reading Barack Obama’s A Promised Land. November 16th 2025 was the date I finished it (I was pleasantly surprised as I read it on Kindle, which noted I had reached 75% of the book, and I thought I still had a ways to go, but the rest was acknowledgments, photos and an index). Why did it take so long? Well, it’s a 768 book to start, and it is, of course, incredibly politically dense. Some parts were more interesting than others, such as anecdotes pertaining to his life and family and the larger events during the first two/three years of his presidency, and the rest is a behind-the-scenes recount of his work, through the highs and lows. I found Obama’s thought processes to be both inspiring and relatable, showing that even the President of the United States faces moral and personal dilemmas when it comes to decision-making, and my respect has grown for him ten-fold. I do hope he gets around to writing the second part: I will gladly devote another five years to his regalings and ruminations.

I have also finished re-reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It’s a story I’ve always been intrigued by, with its numerous themes and science-fiction elements, and the cinematic adaptations have always swirled around in my mind. With Guillermo del Toro’s recent take on the story, I was compelled to re-read the book, and although it contains less imagery than any of its screen adaptations, there are always more lessons to take away after someone else has put their own stamp on it, and Guillermo, one of my favourite filmmakers, did an astounding job with his near-life-long passion project. I also rewatched del Toro’s film, as it really is just a brilliant gothic masterpiece.

Film

As a self-titled film critic, I make it my mission to see as many new releases in cinemas as I can, but it’s not always possible due to living in South Korea, where English/western/Hollywood releases are less in order to make way for more Korean films (totally understandable) and the increasing cost of ticket prices (sadly, I’m not rich… yet…). Thus, I had planned to see Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, the third installment of the Now You See Me series, and in preparation I watched the previous two films. I was decidedly underwhelmed by those two and therefore decided not to spend my money on a cinema trip and instead wait until it’s on streaming. Now, if someone were paying me to see and review the film, absolutely I would have, but currently I have to be quite pick-and-choosey. I did however get to see a re-release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and that was well worth the price!

Critics are also currently deep into pre-awards season, when studios and distributors send out invites to screenings or links to online screeners for films they are asking to be considered for any upcoming awards. I therefore am spending a good bit of time checking out some screeners and reviewing them for Dawn of the Tapes (a few will be coming in this month’s Tiny Tapes Reviews at the end of the month), so time is certainly precious.

Televison

I started watching All’s Fair, and though it’s been severely panned, it’s not all bad. I’ve also been keeping up with It: Welcome to Derry, as a fan of Stephen King, the book and the movies. It really doesn’t shy away from the horror that Pennywise works upon the people, particularly the children, of Derry. I also watched the first couple of episodes of House of Guiness, thinking it really would be something akin to Peaky Blinders, but it’s not as interesting nor action packed – it’s a little dull, in all honesty, but I’ll push through with hope it’ll improve (please let me know either way, I hate wasting time on uninteresting things!).

Life

Autumn is usually quite brief here in Korea, but while it’s here, the leaves always turn such beautiful and varied colours! I find that in the UK they pretty much just go brown and aren’t always much to look at. The weather is nice enough to take a stroll, and it is mostly dry, so no need to worry about an umbrella. It’s also a sign of the season when you switch from ice to hot coffee from the myriad coffee shops nearby (Starbucks keeps me coming back just for the lovely staff – see the note on the cup in the picture below!) and although my caffeine tolerance has recently declined, I like to occasionally grab a toffee nut latte or cinnamon latte (pumpkin spice isn’t too common, sadly) to get into the season.

A Random Thing I Learned This Week

Scientists procured a sample of Hitler’s blood and he apparently had an undescended testicle and may have had a micro penis and some mental health issues. I mean, it all makes sense now, doesn’t it? Read all about it (and more serious matters) in this BBC article.