Dan: a study in 3 pictures

DAN LAUGHING

from Downton Abbey costar Allen Leech’s wedding. uninhibited laughter, the kind that makes you throw your head back or grab your chest, is always a joy for me to see! Michelle Dockery, aka Lady Mary Crawley, is on the far left; Susie, Dan’s perfect match of a wife, is next; the bride, actress Jessica Blair Herman, is in the middle; Dan, looking very Matthew Crawley-esque, is to the right; and to the far right is Allen Leech, aka Tom Branson/the groom, enjoying a pint.

DAN CLOWNING

I can’t begin to describe to you how much I like this picture, so I’ll just describe who is in it instead. first we have Dan to the far right, in a neon graphic shirt making the face (minus the pointing); in front of him is Susie, looking adorable as always; resting his hand on Dan’s shoulder is Joe Keery, aka Steve from Stranger Things, in all his hipster-hobo glory; to his left is girlfriend Maika Monroe, Dan’s costar in The Guest, looking like a kickass modern day Sporty Spice; and then clear over on the far left (sorry all you people in the middle, who I don’t know) is Josh Gad, Dan’s costar in both Beauty and The Beast and Marshall, looking like he just stepped out of a Clerks remake.

DAN BEING

this looks to be an outtake from the Off Camera with Sam Jones interview photoshoot, sans the black & white filter. I’m glad this one is in color. it’s warm, it’s sincere, it’s Dan.

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music roulette

This could be cool or it could be a train wreck. let’s see…

1.) A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles

I love The Beatles. their songs are fun to sing, and they tend to have a simplistic nature to them but still able to reach in and grab my emotions. this version is from the album ‘1’, which is all of their number one songs from both the UK and the US between the years 1962-1970. it’s a great compilation.

2.) Baba O’Riley by The Who, also known as ‘Teenage Wasteland’

The way the intro introduces the different instruments really gets me into it before the singing even begins! the synthesiser has me tilting my head back and forth quicker and quicker until the drum beat comes in and then I’m nodding my head along with the beat. the combination of the two has me swaying my shoulders, until the lyrics come and I start singing along. I can’t sit still and listen to this song, I have to move with it.

3.) Call and Answer by Barenaked Ladies

I really like the lyrics to this one. it captures the raw, real feelings of a relationship.

4.) Damn Girl by All-American Rejects

I used to play this CD in the car a lot. my son liked this song because I’d let him curse, loudly, when it got to that part of the song. shh, don’t tell Dad!

5.) Earned It by The Weekend

I have this one because it’s on the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ soundtrack. it has a smooth, slow beat that I like.

6.) Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) by Otis Redding

fun fact: this song is about the way Otis always hummed the horn parts to the $64,000 Question theme song.

7.) Don’t Know Why by Norah Jones

soothing jazz, mixed with the intimate combination of piano and Norah’s wispy voice. this is one of my most played albums.

8.) Robbers by The 1975

I discovered this song through a Jack O’Connell fanvid. I find the best music from fanvids! I really like the vocals of this song, it has a very 1980s vibe.

the fanvid, because it’s a really good one:

9.) Irish Heartbeat by Van Morrison and The Chieftains

I listen to a lot of Van Morrison, and I like The Chieftains for their traditional Celtic connection, but I first heard this song in the movie ‘The Matchmaker’ when David O’Hara sings a horrible but very endearing version of it. it’s a cute, funny movie with a really good soundtrack.

What’s the verdict: do I have taste or not?

to be creatively inspired

to be creatively inspired, to go and write anything, be it a review or a creative response, it’s beautiful, even if the prose isn’t always perfect~ Dan Stevens, The Happy Reader 2014

D is for Dead

Fangirling A-Z

Sometimes (99.9%) the littlest thing our crush does causes our fangirl hearts to beat double time. if you ask us to explain why this particular thing affects us, we could write a whole dissertation on it (willingly), but to save time we just say we are ‘dead’ instead. our guy is so full of charm and charisma, we could just pass out from all the feelings he invokes! our brain is fried from the power surge, leaving behind only nonsensical mutterings.

one would think that these overwhelming bouts of emotion would get tiring. routinely fainting and losing the ability to think or speak coherently doesn’t sound like a good thing. but just as a boxer gets up from being knocked senseless, only to emerge from his corner renewed and ready for more, so too does the fangirl. we live for that feeling

and will chase it through hours of browsing Youtube and Tumblr, through multiple viewings of the same film, through seemingly endless scrolls of our social media timelines, until we find what we are looking for. dying daily can get exhausting, but oh what a way to go!

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Picspam Challenge

after the previous post, I wanted to lighten things back up for the new year. I found one of those challenges on Twitter where you’re supposed to post a pic a day of your ‘idol’. I’m doing it here, stuffing it all into one post, but only using pics I have downloaded to my computer already. I may have stretched the intentions a little to match the themes up with the images I had to choose from…

in sunglasses

on set of the movie Vamps

laughing

Beauty and The Beast promotion

drinking coffee

The Late Late Show

in black

young

with wife, Susie

with friends

the cast of Legion

in blue

GQ 2017, David Burton

waving

GQ 2017, David Burton

being dorky

favorite photoshoot

GQ 2017, David Burton

selfie

on set of Apostle

cute face

smiling

favorite tv show

Legion

favorite interview

Late Night with Seth Meyers

reading a book

swimming/in water

from Legion

with animals

favorite quote

how you view a storm is a question of perspective; provided you find the right rock to watch it from, it could be the most incredible thing you’ll ever witness.

favorite hairstyle

Beauty and The Beast premiere