Travelling to Antarctica

No, no, don't worry, I don't intend to do it. Not yet anyway. But you may remember back in May 2024, I mentioned that I discovered thanks to Where'd You Go, Bernadette? with my favourite actress Cate Blanchett that you could take holiday trips to Antarctica. Well, a few days ago, during the school run, I heard on the radio an advert about such holiday. I didn't hear much about it, except that they were advertising travelling to Antarctica, but it must have got some traction to be advertised on the radio. If you have ever been, or are considering it, or have seen similar adverts, please let me know in the comments.

Queen Cate

I almost forgotten it: today is Cate Blanchett's birthday. I will spare you a long post, just watch this clip from Elizabeth. Don't you dare tell me she wasn't robbed from an oscar that year.

Cate Blanchett VS leaf blowers

 Just when I thought I could not love Cate Blanchett more, she says something that makes me positively adore her. She recently said that leaf blowers should be eradicated. Yes, yes, yes, YES! I hate them, hate them, hate them! They are loud, polluting and useless. Nobody needs leaf blowers, a good old rake does the job, if a job needs to be done, and the rake does it quietly. And, it allows you to exercise. That said, I think dead leaves should stay on the ground, where they belong. But anyway, since Cate Blanchett might be retiring from acting, I think she should enter politics and promise to make leaf blowers illegal. I'd vote for her.

Is Cate Blanchett retiring?

 I wanted to commented on some recent news (although they might not be so recent now) that got me sad, or at least worried: Cate Blanchett is considering retiring from acting. I don't know if it is a serious and permanent decision or merely bad moment (everybody can get tired and fed up from their job from time to time), but I hope we will see her again. She does not need to work, she has nothing to prove anymore, she's been snubbed every time she was nominated for a price she didn't win (no but seriously, I am still angry that she lost the Oscar for Best Actress in 1999), yet it would be a great loss for us all if this was her final decision. SoI am potentially devastated.

Cate Blanchett in a spy thriller(!)

Sometimes I wish I could go to the cinema more often. I was discussing with a friend over WhatsApp recently (my Italian friend from my years at uni) and she reminded me that there was a spy film released recently, Black Bag. I have read very little about it, I read none of the reviews, in fact I only saw the trailer. But I know Cate Blanchett is in it. And I always wanted to see my favourite actress in a spy thriller. I think she was born to play in one. Well, she was born to play in all genres, she's an actress after all, but I love spy fiction as a genre and it's one genre I haven't seen her in yet. I doubt I will find time to watch it while it is still in cinema, but who knows. In any case, it is on my to watch list.

Holidays in Antarctica?

 I recently watched Where'd You Go, Bernadette? Because it stars Cate Blanchett. Well, of course. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, which I had wanted to watch since its release five years ago, but that's not what I wanted to blog about today. I discovered, thanks to it, that you can travel as a tourist in Antarctica. Call me silly or uneducated, but I had no idea. You can a bit of info in this Wikipedia entry, but a quick Google search online should show you many companies offering trips to the continent. In the film, it was a ship, but I understand there are other means of transport. I don't think I would dare to go, I am far too much of a wuss, and I love far too much my comfort. Beside, a certain graphic novel scared me of Antarctica for good. That said, I find the concept of traveling to the most remote and cold part of our planet, just for the pleasure of being there, fascinating. It must be quite an experience. And you, would you consider it? Tell me in the comments.

Jaguar Versus Caiman

 Oh the excitement one can find when one watches animal documentaries. Wolfie and I are really into the Netflix docu series Our Living World, narrated by Cate Blanchett. My favourite actress. I blogged about it already, see this post. Well, in one episode, we saw a jaguar (the animal, not the car) trying to hunt a caiman (the reptile, not the islands), on the caiman's own environment. I don't want to spoil it for those who have not seen the episode, but it was one epic fight. A short but gripping action scene. Hollywood has nothing on mother nature. I mean, you have in the South American jungle a young jaguar going after another apex predator, earth and water colliding, an unstoppable force against and immovable object, blood in water, the lot. Oh, and Cate Blanchett telling the tale, like she did when she was Galadriel. The series is worth watching just for that brief encounter. On a side note, the animal Wolfie and I were rooting for won. So we were very happy.

The voice of Cate Blanchett (and our world)

 A bit of fun news about my favourite actress Cate Blanchett: she is narrating the Netflix docu series Our Living World. You can read a review here, to give you an idea. I started watching it with Wolfie and we are both enjoying it. In fact, I can safely say that Wolfie is fascinated by it, mostly because the images are so perfectly gorgeously lush. It is a nature/wildlife documentary series, but with a twist: it shows how seemingly unrelated phenomenons and actions are interconnected. So it is worth a watch in itself, for its educational value. For its beautiful images too, like I said before. Plus, you have the voice of Cate Blanchett for the narration. If Mother Earth had a voice, it would be hers.

Cate's Birthday

Today is the birthday of Cate Blanchett. I had almost forgotten, shame on me. She is my favourite actress since I saw her in Elizabeth. I don't know if I told the whole story, but this will be for another time, another post. Until then, spare a thought today for the greatest living actress.

Cate Blanchett, Tar and Oscar

You must have read the news already, if you've been following it a bit. But anyway, my favourite actress Cate Blanchett was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Tar. She did not win. I have neither seen the movie nor its competition, so sue me for that and say that I don't have sufficient information to make a judgment, but the fan in me can't help but suspect that she got robbed again, just like in 1999. Anyway, I will watch it and the other films/performances, I promise.

The Tar controversy

You may have heard about this. So my favourite actress Cate Blanchett has performed in Tar, a musical drama about Lydia Tar, a brilliant and famous conductor who is also a sex predator and a monster. She also happens to be a lesbian. I haven't seen it, but according to a wide majority of critics the film is great, maybe even a masterpiece, and it might earn Blanchett an Oscar. Which would make up for all the Oscars she has been nominated for, but did not win (I'm still bitter about the 1999 ceremony because of it. However, it has been harshly criticised by real life female conductor Marin Alsop as an anti-woman, anti-feminist and homophobic movie, because the villain protagonist happens to be a woman and a lesbian. More on the controversy in this article. Cate Blanchett responded to the criticism and I don't think I am being a fanboy if I add that she defended her work very eloquently. Now I have not seen the film, but I found Alsop's criticism utterly unfair and frankly a tad hysterical. Making a woman the villain of a story does not make the work chauvinistic. In art, just like in real life, some women can be evil and predatory. And from all accounts, the portrait Blanchett makes of Lydia Tar is one that is subtle and nuanced, she is not a pantomyme villain. Yes, they could have made a man the badguy, but then he wouldn't have been played by Cate Blanchett. Furthermore, I doubt that a vocal feminist like Blanchett, who also has a wide lesbian fanbase, would make, even subconsciously, a chauvinistic movie. So yeah, in sum, I know I'm a fanboy, but people should get a grip. And while I have absolutely no idea when I can find the time for it, I really want to watch Tar.

Happy birthday Cate Blanchett!

Well, she will most likely never stumble on this blog, but I have to mention it anyway: today is the birthday of Cate Blanchett. As you know (and if you don't, you most likely have guessed), she is my favourite actress, bare none. Because she shines in every role she plays (and steals the show when she is not the main character). Oh and I found this picture on this fansite, which I might visit more.

Happy Birthday Queen Cate!

Here is something I celebrate on Vraie Fiction every year, or at least I try to: today is the birthday of Cate Blanchett, my favourite actress. Those who read this blog know that I discovered her with Elizabeth.I even remember hearing about her from the first time in a conversation I had at uni with a fellow undergraduate student: we were discussing the Oscars and she said Cate Blanchett should have won for best actress. I had heard her name before and was curious about the film, but she had not really caught my attention. Then I watched the movie and was blown away. I cannot remember when she became my favourite actress, or at least when I was conscious that she was. But it must have been around that time.

Cate Blanchett and the bats

 Here is a quick update to a post I did two days ago. So my favourite actress, who has one residence in Sussex, will be able to build her house extension, even though there are bats in the abandoned cottage, but she will have to move the bats first, according to an article in Vanity Fair. I think this is a good compromise. Speaking from personal experience, bats make for great neighbours and I love them, so I am sure Cate Blanchett can learn to appreciate them.

Cate Blanchett versus the bats

This is a bit of trivial news I am reporting now, but it caught my attention and it has some interesting elements to ponder on. So Cate Blanchett, my favourite actress, has been unable to do some home extension because of bats. Basically, she has an abandoned cottage on the grounds where her Sussex home is and she had wanted to bulldoze it and have a small office garden built there, but a protected species of bats have decided to squat in the abandoned building. I don't know how the problem can be solved, but I have two observations to make about this: 1)It is funny how bats seem to be the cause of many troubles these days, big and small. And I do love bats. 2)I think I should visist Sussex, you never know who I might bump into.

About Mrs. America

As you know if you have been following this blog recently, I had planned to watch Mrs. America is now available on BBC, partially because it's with Cate Blanchett, partially because I love these kinds of history dramas. So far, so great and I have been practically binging it since last week or so. My favourite actress is as expected mesmerising as the "villain" of the piece, showing nuance, complexity and even vulnerability to someone who is not easy to sympathize with. I also find fascinating to see the feminists who must have (at least to a degree and albeit indirectly) influenced my mother's own feminism. I don't know if she read any of them at the time, but she went to uni at that time. Anyway, Mrs. America is the best tv series I have watched in years.

Mrs America on BBC

My wife gave me some good news yesterday: the historical TV series Mrs America is now available on BBC. This is the kind of historical drama I really enjoy, but this one has Cate Blanchett in it. My favourite actress,. I could listen to her reading the phone book, but apparently she is amazing in it (well, as usual). Now I just need some time in the day, or more likely in the evening, to watch it.

Happy birthday Cate the Great!

Today is the birthday of Cate Blanchett, AKA Queen Cate or Cate the Great, as if you are a fan (or a Blanchetter) you know. She is 51. I am not a fan of being a big fan of stars or celebraties, I am not really a fan of fandoms in general, so I don't hang around fanclubs on social media or elsewhere. That said, I am very much a fan of Cate Blanchett, because there are very good reasons to be a fan of Cate Blanchett. I consider her the greatest living actress, maybe the greatest actress who ever lived. And she got robbed of every Oscar she was nominated for but did not win (and a few others as well). I know I am hyperbolic today. Like I said back in 2018, I rarely worship, but with Cate Blanchett, I find it entirely justified. She is that great.

Trivia about Cate Blanchett

The things you learn about your favourite actress. I was reading the TV Tropes entry on Cate Blanchett and I discovered one or two things I did not know:

-She was nicknamed "Queen Cate" and "Cate the Great" because she playeda few queens and queenish characters.
-Her fans commonly call themselves "Blanchetters".

So I'm a Blanchetter. I can live with that. Funny I was not aware of that, I guess it shows that, however a fan I can be, I stay far away in general of fan communities, even online.

Cate Blanchett and Eyes Wide Shut

Sometimes you learn things about your favourite film or work of fiction that makes you rediscover it and appreciate it even more, even if the new thing is of almost anecdotal level. So recently, I have been rewatching Eyes Wide Shut, as it is one of my Christmas movies (no joke, read this for more info). I learned recemtly that Cate Blanchett had a small part in it. She's only a voice, basically playing the voice of the masked prostitute/sex slave at the manor who warns the character of Tom Cruise of the danger he is puting himself in, then redeems him at the end. This is because the actress playing the part could not take a credible American accent. You can read more about it here. So it was a small part, only a voice, but that is really cool nonetheless. My favourite actress in one of my favourite films. And I didn't even know. For the record, I thought the voice sounded familiar, but I would never have guessed, being a masked role and all.I will enjoy the movie even more.