Hope everybody had a great Christmas!
As you can see, the blog has a whole new look! Do you like it? I'll be writing a little post about my plans for the blog in 2015 very soon, but for now, here are some of the things I enjoyed this month.
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| image via serialpodcast.org |
So, this month I started listening to Serial. I'd been meaning to check this out for a while, but I only got around to it this month and I was immediately hooked. So hooked that I binge listened to all twelve episodes in a matter of (late) nights.
Serial is a compelling true-crime podcast detailing the case of Adnan Syed who was jailed for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend Hae Min Lee. But, as Serial details, something doesn't sit quite right with this case.
I could talk about Serial for days; and there are plenty of Serial conspiracy sites out to get sucked into if you dare. I don't have the space to go into all my multiple theories here, but needless to say, I have a few. And all I will say is: Jay was definitely there when all of this went down. None of this showing up after the fact talk. I also would have liked to hear more from Don. And that note in Hae's car. Hmmmm...
Also, MailKimp.
*****
I was reading an article on what to read/watch post-serial and this documentary Dear Zachary popped up. I remember reading a whole lot of positive reviews about this when it first released, so I decided to check it out - I watched this without knowing anything about the documentary other than that fact that it was conceived by the filmmaker as a tribute to his murdered friend.
There is a whole lot more to the story than that, though. And what happens next will shock you.
Don't look up the details of this documentary before you watch it, k.
It's brutal. And it will make you cry. Repeatedly.
*****
BEAUTY BITS
Beauty-wise, this month has mostly been all about hydrating masks and rescue/recovery balms, but the product I've been loving most is this Nuxe Nuxellence Jeunesse Youth and Radiance Revealing Fluid which I've been using morning and night before applying my moisturiser. I've been using this for a week or so now -and what can I say - I'm sold. This promises to leave your skin feeling velvety smooth - and it works.
The full size is a pretty spendy €60 but luckily I scored this 15ml sample in a Look Fantastic Beauty Box a while ago.
I may start writing some beauty reviews in the New Year. What do you think?
*****
NEW TUNES
CURRENTLY READING
I'm almost 200 pages in and I am hooked!
YES, FINALLY SOMEONE MENTIONS SERIAL IN A BOOK BLOG!!! I first planned on doing a post about it, but since it does not really "fit" into my blog, I just briefly put it to my "Best of 2014" post. Just before posting this comment I actually found out that Jay has talked to media - haven't read the interview yet, but I am really interested to read what he has to say. I definitely do think also that Jay had something to do with all of this, but I probably won't go to my theories either because I don't want to flood your comment section :D
ReplyDeleteI love your new blog design, it's simple but effective and I especially love the shade of green you have used.
ReplyDeleteSerial sounds amazing, I'll definitely think about getting round to it (although there are about four TV series I am marathoning at the moment!).
I love the new look as I'm a fan of lots of white on blogs. It looks so clean and uncluttered. Yes please to beauty reviews, I always like reading them especially as you'll be talking about products I can actually get my hands on!
ReplyDeleteI need to read Stranger on the Train! And I've never really listened to a podcast like Serial. I will see if I can find it and download an episode to try it out.
I have been hearing great things about Serial. I should probably check it out this winter. Do you think I'd like it? Also, I definitely think some beauty reviews would be great. I have dry skin in the winter and would love something like that. I was using Peter Thomas Roth's line (recently ran out) but wasn't completely sold on it, so I'd love to hear about some of the stuff you have been trying. Happy New Year, Leanna!
ReplyDeleteWoop, Serial addict here too! I haven't finished it yet though....but I'm glad to see their is a suggestion on what to do once I have!
ReplyDeleteYou can flood my comments section all you like! :) I read part one of the interview with Jay - and I have to say that his story as told in that article makes much more sense than it did when I was listening to it on the podcast. Like, the explanations as to why he gave different locations/didn't want to involve his grandmother etc make sense. Hmmmm....
ReplyDeleteI know! So difficult to keep up with ALL THE TV SHOWS Serial is well worth checking out - and I'm glad you like the new blog look! :)
ReplyDeleteI think you would love Serial, Trish. You can download the podcast from the site: http://serialpodcast.org/ Girl on the Train is definitely one to read for 2015. Very, very good! Glad you like the new blog look! :)
ReplyDeleteSerial is really compelling - I think most everybody that listens gets hooked! My skin is all dried out at the moment too. Cold weather & central heating. Argh!
ReplyDeleteGlad to meet other Serial addicts. Tell me your theories when you're done! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it did make more sense, but at the same time I felt like he was just making up this whole new thing just to seem more innocent. Like a lot of the timeline changed as well as the location where the body was revealed to Jay etc. I almost feel like listening to the whole thing again now that I've read Jay's interview.
ReplyDeleteFor example, in the first interview Jay said that they buried Hae around 7.30, which can be closely connected to to calls that ping at the Leakin Park area at 7.09 and 7.16. In the second interview 7.30 changed into 6.55 pm, which clearly fits even better to the call logs (but wasn't it at this point that the police presented the call log for Jay... so it was easy for him to modify the story around that). Then in the court testimory he couldn't provide times anymore, only an order for the events as they happened, indicating that they went to the park at 7.15..... Now his interview complicates this when he states that they did not go to Leakin Park immediately after he saw Hae's body, saying:
"No. Adnan left and then returned to my house several hours later, closer
to midnight in his own car. He came back with no tools or anything. He
asked me if I had shovels, so I went inside my house and got some
gardening tools. We got in his car and start driving. I asked him where
we’re going and he says, ‘Didn’t you say everyone gets dumped in Leakin
Park?’"
I might just be way too obsessed with this...
Thanks for sharing- I love to see what people are up to and enjoying outside of book love. I've heard about Serial. It sounds like something my dad would LOVE. Dear Zachary sounds really fascinating, but heartbreaking too!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
come enter my giveaway for book money! :)
Ha! I know! I am pretty obsessed too. Jay's story (his four different versions of it!) are just so inconsistent that I can't believe Adnan was convicted pretty much on his testimony. Also, what about all these interviews Jay gave to the police that were not recorded? This is totally shady - just like Jay. I'm not saying that I 100% believe that Adnan is innocent -because his lack of knowledge about what happened that day raises a few alarm bells for me - but I just can't see how he was put away for life in prison with all the inconsistencies in his trial.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't even get me started on is lawyer...
It would be interesting if Koening picked this up again and did another installment of Serial now that Jay has spoken. I read the second part of his interview and it's clear that he's no fan of hers!
p.s: I am also perplexed at how Jay did not serve any time for his involvement in this. I mean, he was involved - and I still believe he was MORE involved than he is willing to admit!
ReplyDeleteI'm also suspicious of the fact that Adnan called him 'pathetic' in the courtroom - although Jay doesn't remember hearing this.
You should definitely get your dad to check out Serial if he's interested in True Crime. Dear Zachary is so sad. I had no idea it would take the direction that it did.
ReplyDeleteI just read through the second part of the interview, and yeah, it definitely looks like Jay isn't a big fan of Serial. It kind of feels weird that he was first worried about the safety of his family and because of that did not agree to interviews, and now he is doing this big expose type of thing at his home....
ReplyDeleteI definitely find it curious that Adnan does not remember much from the day either - that definitely makes him look shady. Yes, he might have been high and it might have been just a normal day, but I think one would remember a call from the police telling that someone you know is missing. I also find it extremely interesting that either Jay or the new boyfriend Hae had did not try to call Hae after they were notified of her being missing....
Yeah, Jay got the two year probation, but you would think that he would at least get some sort of fines or something for being there to help with the disposal of the body.
It is VERY strange that neither Adnan or Don called Hae after she went missing. It doesn't make sense - especially for her new boyfriend - not to call her. There are a lot of things about this case that just don't add up!
ReplyDeleteI'm suspicious of pretty much everybody - including Jay's friend (Jennifer, I think). For a while I thought she was involved too - and that she and Jay framed Adnan for a murder they committed (because they were having an affair behind Stephanie's back and Hae found out). I have all sorts of theories!
It'll be interesting to see if Adnan's case is reviewed due to the innocence project etc. - most outlets seem to think that won't happen, though.
Yeah, I just don't see how they would not try to call her, especially since they first suspected that she has gone to California.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the more and more I listened to the podcast, the more I became suspicious of everything and everyone. Like that one guy they interviewed who had went to the forest to take a leak and ended up seeing Hae's body there... That whole thing just sounded to weird.
Yeah, the case definitely has got a lot of publicity now, but I guess only time will show whether actual answers about this case will ever be revealed.