Thirteen guilty pleasures…

February 28, 2013 by Addy 6 Comments

A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The “guilt” involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one’s lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes.

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Tremors (and Tremors 2: Aftershocks)

Pop quiz…spot the “Jurassic Park” star! :p

What do Twelve Angry Men, Zodiac, My Neighbour Totoro, Roman Holiday, Bandslam, Sleepy Hollow, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Batman Forever have in common?

I don’t expect you to know the answer – if you did, you’d be quite amazing – as there’s no actor, director or theme that connects them all. What they all share is that they’re all movies I can watch and then immediately re-watch without ever getting bored.

However, more than any of the eight movies on that list, I can watch the first two Tremors movies repeatedly without ever growing tired of their gleeful kitschness. In fact, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen these two movies in my life! If you’re not familiar with them, get ye to the corner, for they are two of the greatest comedy-horrors ever made!

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Cheese and Chips

Trust me, this combo is worth the risk of heart attack!

In fish ‘n’ chip shops all over Scotland you can purchase a portion of chips drowning in artery choking grated cheese.

In Australia, you can’t.

Bastards!

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Highlander: THE SERIES

I don’t like shouty-caps very much, but it is essential you realise that my guilty pleasure is the TELEVISION SERIES of Highlander not the dodgy movie franchise!

Highlander: The Series is the only television series I have watched from the very first screening of episode one to the very first screening of the final episode without missing a single episode throughout those six years. When I was in Vancouver I spent several days roaming the streets of the city touring various locations used in the series (in fact, I had a small squee moment travelling from the airport to the hostel hours after I’d arrived when I recognised one of the bridges!).

I love everything about this show! From Adrian Paul, Jim Byrnes and Peter Wingfield to the fact they actually shot on location in Glenfinnan.

I miss this show more than any other and lament that it’s not available on DVD in Australia!

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Vacuuming

Why would you vacuum whilst wearing high heels? Why!?

Some people hate doing it. I’m definitely not one of them! :p

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Mission Impossible 2

Starring Dougray “I turned down the role of Wolverine for this” Scott

I saw this for the first time at a cinema in Vancouver. I then watched it a second time at a cinema in Toronto and a third time at a cinema in Montreal.

One of the worst movies ever made…but Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott, Woo’s OTT direction and Hans Zimmer‘s blistering score makes it the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures!

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Lego [insert franchise title here] video games

Lego Supergirl’s not a patch on Lego Catwoman! :p

It’s not just because I develop weird unrequited crushes on female characters (Lego Catwoman…swoon!) that I love these games so much. For years they’ve been a source of relaxation and distraction from the nightmare that is my life.

When I was going through a very bad period (early 2008) it was Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on the DS that kept me relatively sane and distracted me from the chaos running rampant in my mind. Later that year, when my hypomania ended in Alice Springs and I realised the problems I’d created for myself, it was Lego Batman that pulled my mind from the darkness.

Even last Christmas I was able to alleviate my depression a little by venturing into Lego Middle Earth.

There’s just something about running around building random Lego objects and collecting studs (oh, those little tinkling sound effects) that puts a smile on my face! :)

Note: I have played every Lego game to 100% completion apart from Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Years 5-7 because the franchise is a trigger for me! :/

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Jeffster

Without them, your kids will grow up listening to Snow Patrol and Coldplay.

If you don’t know who Jeffster are then you obviously don’t watch Chuck.

If you don’t watch Chuck…you really, really, should!

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Britney Spears

If only Mumford and Sons had been around when I went to Canada, then people might think I was hip (tragically so!)

It’s disconcerting how many of my guilty pleasures remind me of Canada, so much so that I think it’s worthwhile pointing out I didn’t plan this to happen! :p

When I arrived in Canada Oops I did it again and Stronger were on constant rotation. This prompted me to purchase the album on cassette (remember those?) from a music store in Victoria, British Columbia. Ever since, both of these songs have remind me of this wonderful period of my life – to the point Britney Spears and her music will always hold a special place in my heart.

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Due South

I’ve always wanted to wear a Mountie costume. Just saying! ;)

All hail the Canadians, for this is one of the greatest television series of all time! I loved it throughout season one; I adored it throughout season two; and I cherished it throughout the much maligned season three. The soundtrack (the combination of Jay Semko’s sublime score and contemporary Canadian songs) is magnificent, the performances from Paul Gross, David Marciano and Callum Keith Rennie are divine and the writing, especially from Oscar-winning Paul Haggis is tremendous.

Like Highlander: The Series I have not seen this show for a long time, but unlike that other guilty pleasure, this is available in Australia; I just can’t afford it! :(

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Top Gear Challenges & Road Trips

I don’t drive, I’ve never held a license and I don’t have an interest in automobiles.

However, I love the challenges and road trips that Clarkson, Hammond and May embark on from time to time. In fact, when I get seriously depressed and need some mindless entertainment, I’ll often turn to these specials to find the distraction I need.

My personal favourites are: the Polar Special, the aqua cars, the Vietnam special and the South America special (my absolute favorite!)

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Dungarees

Dungarees…the sexiest form of denim, bar none!

Within twenty-four hours of being in Canada I began (in the back of my journal) something I called the Canadian Dungarees Count (CDC). This oddity was an ongoing count of the number of women I saw wearing dungarees throughout this great land. By the time I boarded a plane at Montreal to travel back to London, this count had reached triple figures!

Mmmmm, gotta love Canada! :p

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Naughty Fiction

Life Lesson #23: If you’RE (as in the contraction of ‘you ARE’) going to write on the internet – check yoUR (as in belonging to you) grammar before publishing! Grrrr!

I have been reading (and writing) naughty fiction since I was in my mid-teens. Not only is it so much more entertaining than watching pornography, it’s so very much more arousing because you have to use the body’s largest erogenous zone; the mind.

Over the years I’ve had many stories published in far-flung corners of the internet that would make most people (amongst other things) blush several shades of crimson.

Perhaps I should start collecting them together somewhere on this blog (password protected, of course!) ;)

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Rolos

I haven’t had a Rolo for years…I want one now! :p

No matter how much I adore these bites of chocolate and caramel goodness…I will always give my last one to someone I care about! :p

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Over to you…what are your guilty pleasures?