Disclaimers All Over the Place

When Netflix acquired the first season of AMC's Mayfair Witches I was torn between knowing the books (my favorite of Anne Rice's works is The Witching Hour, the first in the series, as it happens) were better and wanting to see how they handled it. Ultimately I caved in and watched it. Disclaimer #1: I don't regret that, as I knew in advance the eight-episode series could never cover the entire story. This is a three-book series, and the first book is a huge unwieldy doorstopper of a novel that covers almost five hundred years of a supernaturally gifted/haunted family's complicated history. No way can you condense it down to eight hours.

The three lead actors in the series are excellent, and carry the production and the rest of the cast on their skills. I thought visually Alexandra Daddario worked as Rowan, the neurosurgeon who learns that she is the heiress to the Mayfair legacy and a prophecy that scares the daylights out of me to this day. Disclaimer #2: Her voice grated on my nerves for some reason. She was very convincing in the role, and I just put up with the aggravation. Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve, a combination of the characters of Michael Curry and Aaron Lightner from the books, was stellar in his role, and brought all the humanity to the episodes. What a tortured guy. The big surprise was Jack Huston playing Lasher, the demon/ghost/supernatural being who helps, haunts and otherwise manipulates the Mayfair family. Disclaimer #3: I'm biased here, as Jack is the actor who so brilliantly played Richard Harrow in Boardwalk Empire, the disfigured veteran who breaks the heart of everyone who watched that series, including me. He's completely different as Lasher, yet just as intense and disturbing.

The abbreviated storyline was just okay. I also forgave that pretty quickly. I think condensing Anne Rice's work, which is baroque and sprawls across centuries and includes so many characters, settings and plotlines, is basically impossible. I think they did the best job with portraying the Talamasca headquarters and the Mayfair House; both were right on the money as far as I'm concerned. The adjustments they made to the story were likely necessary. I thought some of the visuals were excellent, others were just so-so, and that applies to the cast as well. There, you've been warned. Season one is available now on Netflix, and it's possible they may acquire Season two.

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Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.

Best Thrifts of the Year, Part Two

Today I'm looking back at my best thrifts of the year to date in fabric. #4 is this collection of quilt kits, as it's the one that was the biggest surprise and also made me very happy, as I'd missed out on a similar lot that ended up going for a lot more at auction. #3 is this box of scrap fabric which I bought for $3.99 last month. I didn't post about it on the blog, as I just got around to sorting and measuring it. All together it's 54.35 yards, which works out to seven cents a yard. #2 is the lot with which I won my thrifting challenge bet. It was in brand new condition and will be making some local quilters very happy at this year's guild show. #1 is of course the enormous 103+ yards lot I bought for $15.00, which is still the largest and best thrifted fabric haul I've made to date.

Fasten Your Seatbelt

Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is an epic, dazzling film that hurls you into the Korean version of the afterlife while showcasing some of the most impressive special effects I've ever seen in any movie. The story begins with the death of firefighter Kim Ja-Hong (Cha Tae-hyun) who jumps out of a burning building with a child in his arms. The kid lives, but he dies at the scene. Two strangers inform him that he has passed away right on schedule, and toss him into a vortex that takes him to the world of the afterlife, where he meets his three guardians: Gang-rim (Ha Jung-woo), Haewonmak (Ju Ji-hoon) and Lee Deok-choon (Kim Hyang-gi). At the gates of the afterlife Ja-Hong learns that he is considered a paragon (an exemplary person who lived a noble and self-sacrificing life) and is eligible to be reincarnated -- but there's a catch. First he has 49 days to make it through seven hells in which he will be judged on his sins. His three guardians will help and defend...

Rayen

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