keris stainton

Things That Make Me Happy No. 19

Last night - or rather in the early hours of this morning - I was having a rather marvellous dream. I was dreaming that I was a guest on Charlie Brooker's new show You Have Been Watching and the other two guests were Robert Webb and David Mitchell. In the dream, I was fairly confident that, after filming, me and Mr Mitchell were more than likely going to get it on. I was happy about this.

And then Harry woke up. And woke me up. Pah.

But I just cheered myself up by watching the latest David Mitchell podcast for Bulldog in which Robert Webb makes an appearance. It's very funny and also rather thought-provoking. And a little bit sexy. Like Mitchell and Webb in general really. Which is why they make me happy. 

(Also, David Mitchell was on Desert Island Discs this week and chose as the one song he'd take - if he could only take one song - Kermit's The Rainbow Connection. But of course.)

Things That Make Me Happy (and possibly dead) No. 18: Twitter

Yeah, I know. But specifically, I just got a direct message from an actor from my favourite TV show of all time. (Hmmm. What - and who? - could it be?)

When I saw his name in my inbox, a feeling akin to pins and needles shot down my arms and across my hands. I can't remember ever getting that feeling before. Anyone else had it? Should I be worried?

Things That Make Me Happy No. 17: Sarcastic humour

From Friends:

Chandler: That's great. With my luck, that's gonna be him.
Phoebe: Him? Ross?
Chandler: No, Hymn 253: "His Eyes are on the Sparrow."

From The West Wing:

C.J. Cregg: There's an article I want you to read in the New Yorker.
Josh Lyman: What's it about?
C.J. Cregg: Smallpox.
Josh Lyman: The disease?
C.J. Cregg: No, the dessert topping Josh. Yes, the disease

Things That Make Me Happy No.16

Stephen Fry. In general (Melchett, QI, his American thing), but specifically his tweets on Twitter. Look at his reaction to the big news:

Marvellous.

(And thank you, Stella!)

Things That Make Me Happy No. 15: Gavin & Stacey

Earlier I was telling David that I felt fed up because it seems particularly Sunday-ish today. He reminded me that Gavin & Stacey is on tonight and that was all I needed to cheer me right up.

I picked this clip because as soon as I saw Smithy dancing, I was filled with a warm glow and watched the rest of the episode with a dopey smile on my face. Also, I love this song.

Things That Make Me Happy No. 14: George and Brad and Oprah

I'm watching Ocean's Thirteen, but I had to stop to share this:

Things That Make Me Happy No. 13: Bedshaped in Italian

I love the song Bedshaped by Keane so when I discovered it has been covered by Vittorio Grigolo, I had to check it out. Loving the song (although I prefer the original), but loving the fantastically cheesy video even more.

Things That Make Me Happy No. 12: Ellen

I used to watch Ellen's sitcom, but then she kind of fell off my radar until fairly recently. Now one of my favourite things is watching her dance at the beginning of her chat show.

But also, I find her incredibly inspiring. For some unholy reason, I feel kind of old and like I'm running out of time to do everything I want to do and I'm only 36. Ellen was 50 earlier this week. 50! I would never have guessed. Not only does she not look it, she's so youthful in outlook, enthusiastic and joyful (plus, unlike me, she knows new music). She makes me happy.

And she inspires me. You should watch this clip of her stand up show in which she represented her experience of coming out via the medium of interpretive dance, but just in case you don't want to watch it (busy, are ya?) then at least read this:

When you're down there there are times you believe you'll never get up again and it's a scary place and it's very dark. But I believe that's when you grow the most, when you face your fears, that's when you grow. So I decided I'm going to face every fear I have, I'm going to challenge myself every opportunity I get. People always try to make you feel better, they say, 'Oh, there's nothing to fear but fear itself'. Okay, great, now I'm scared of fear, thank you very much.

Things That Make Me Happy No. 11: Cop Rock

"It was an attempt to combine musical theatre with police drama"

If you're an obsessive fan of Gilmore Girls (Hi, Diane and Stella!) you may have already seen this, but I only just got around to looking it up ... and I could not believe my eyes. Or ears.

Just to be clear, this is a real TV show. And not only that, this is what Steven Bochco did after Hill Street Blues.
 

Things That Make Me Happy No. 10: Sesame Street

Totally fixated on Sesame Street at the moment. It started when I spotted Elmo alphabet rap and watched it with Harry. Inevitably that led to me clicking on about twenty other videos and then twenty more ... and then searching for "Rubber Ducky" and then I saw one with John John (remember little John John) which led me to this.

It sounds ridiculous, but Luis and Maria (not to mention Oscar) feel like family. God, I loved Sesame Street. I think that's where my New York obsession began...