Month: November 2020

Throwback Thursday to WWI with Damian Lewis

flandersfields

Remembrance Day is a few days away. Also known as Poppy Day in the Commonwealth countries, Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed to remember the members of their armed forces who died in the line of duty in World War I. It coincides with Veterans Day in the US that was proclaimed first as Armistice Day at the end of the Great War and that honors all men and women that served in the United States Armed Forces. Remembrance Day is observed on November 11 in most countries because the hostilities of WWI ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, in accordance with the armistice signed that day between the representatives of Germany and the Entente. And, red poppies became a symbol of the day due to the WWI poem In Flanders Fields that talks about red poppies blooming over some of the worst battlefields in Flanders.

So I thought it would be appropriate to travel back to WWI in our Throwback Thursday today. But you may ask about what Damian Lewis has to do with WWI. Well, firstly, Damian is playing a WWI soldier in Queen of the Desert but also he participated in a WWI poetry reading in 2014 as part of the centenary commemorations of the Great War.

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to WWI with Damian Lewis”

Top Billions Songs: The Tail That Wags The Dog’s Playlist

Being a (somewhat) musician, I am always on alert for the effect of music on a show. I work in musical theater when not teaching, so the music there is often integral to the plot. But for regular movies and TV shows, the music still can add an element of drama and emotion that would hard to obtain otherwise.  Think of movies like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET (sensing a John Williams theme here??) and the impact the music played there in the emotional moments of those shows.

Brian  Koppelman gets this. He has been around music all his life, and if you follow him on Twitter you know he has very strong opinions about music. (Don’t ever ask him about the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen – trust me, just don’t.)  He and I both grew up in the 80’s alternative music scene. We are both REM fans, although where he prefers “Automatic for the People” I go with “Life’s Rich Pageant”, which leads me to my first musical choice for my playlist, and the one that early on got me paying attention to the song choices. Continue reading “Top Billions Songs: The Tail That Wags The Dog’s Playlist”

How Similar Are You to Damian Lewis? How Different Are You from Damian Lewis?

In close to six years that Fan Fun with Damian Lewis has been live, we have found out so much about Damian himself: His family background, his personal life, his interests, his vacations and what have you. And it is inevitable to think about yourself when you learn something new about your favorite star. “Oh, Damian is my long lost twin!” or “Oh, Damian should be my soulmate” or “OMG! How come he likes this?!?!” or “I cannot believe how different Damian and I are.”

Gingersnap and I thought it would be neat to turn those moments into a fun post. So we sat down and wrote about things each of us has in common  with Damian and a couple of other things that each of us is polar opposites of him. Hope you enjoy our stories and add your own similarities to and differences from Damian in our comments section. Cheers!

Damianista

Having been born not just in the same decade, 1970s, but also within a year of each other, Damian and I have similarities like riding our bikes up and down the street when we were kids, or listening to music on our Sony Walkmans when we were teenagers. But then there are other things we have in common that I think are more surprising, and it may also be fun to talk about stuff in which Damian and I are complete opposites… So, shall we start with the similarities? Continue reading “How Similar Are You to Damian Lewis? How Different Are You from Damian Lewis?”