A New Month, A New Me
I have been crazy busy this month in my work life and my personal life. To be honest I'm pretty exhausted, but in a mostly good way. I feel on the inside like my body usually does after a really great workout - maybe a little sore, maybe a little gassed, but enthusiastic for whatever is up next (assuming I make myself some space for recovery!) I'm glad spring weather has finally arrived in New England; I'm hoping to take a break and relax this weekend out in the sun someplace. I've got to recharge my solar-powered batteries!
Let's get cracking at this month's recommendations.
Blog I've been obsessed with for ages (and which just posted some of the most important content I've read in a long time): Wait But Why by Tim Urban
Have you ever caught yourself in a perpetual loop like a three-year-old continuously asking "But why...?" Then this blog is for you. If you've ever wanted to know every minute detail about the state of A.I., what exactly makes Elon Musk tick, or needed a visual representation of how many days you likely have left on this Earth - look no further. This blog is a hidden gem and it continually inspires me to dig deeper into anything that interests me. This month's post breaks down an introspective methodology that can help you decide what your next career move should be (or confirm your decisions if you're already in paradise). All of his posts are basically short novels and they don't show up with any kind of regularity, however it's still some of the best content out there and I can never get enough once Tim Urban starts going. I've been mulling his theories over in the back of my head for a while now and they always lead me to some of the most fascinating conversations I have with my friends and loved ones. I can't recommend it highly enough; if you haven't found Wait But Why on your own before now, consider yourself officially on notice: you've been missing out.
New album I've got on repeat (literally): Vide Noir by Lord Huron
I've thoroughly enjoyed Lord Huron since a friend introduced me to his two previous studio albums about a year and a half ago, so when I stumbled across some new singles a couple weeks ago and realized a new album was pending I got right on my hype train. As has been typical for me with new music lately, it took me a few times around to fully appreciate this album, but once I got in the groove I left it on repeat for hours. Literally. The title track is by far my favorite - it's a pretty outstanding departure from his usual sound, without sounding inauthentic. Other tracks sound just like the tone I fell in love with in the first place. The single "When the Night is Over" won me over pretty much instantly and I'm thrilled with the album overall. I'm always happy to get new music to freshen up my daily listening and Lord Huron did not disappoint. Worth a listen whether you've been a fan since the early days, or if you saw the heading for this segment and thought "Lord, Who now???"
TV show I watched almost entirely in one sitting: Chef's Table: Pastry on Netflix
It's no secret I love me a good food doc. Chef's Table has taken the genre to a whole new level of production in the past few years, and this short season focused on the world's most popular pastry chefs is no different. I always make sure to cook a full, healthy meal every time I sit down in front of this series. I'm especially glad I did that and also had zero snack food in my house when I got around to watching these episodes! The mouth-watering desserts featured in each episode are the purest form of beautiful torture. I've never even been a big fan of cake or of elaborate gastronomical experiments when it comes to dessert, but every dish they spotlighted weakened my resolve against my latent sweet-tooth tendencies. If you didn't know there were new episodes to drool over, or if you just haven't gotten to them yet, consider this your formal invitation to indulge (and try not to drown in the sea of gelato you'll be craving after episode 2).
Podcast that's got me geeking out: The Recappables on The Ringer Podcast network
I recently was turned onto the Showtime series Billions and was completely hooked from the very first episode. I binged all of it in a couple weeks and caught up just a few episodes into the new season. When I did, I also discovered this podcast, dedicated to analyzing every episode of the show (and a couple others) hosted by true fans of the show (among many other, bordering on super-nerd fandoms) and at this point I think I anticipate this podcast as much as I do the episode of the show it's talking about. The show is incredibly well-written and well-created, the characters are fascinating, and this analysis only makes me enjoy it even more. They pull in ridiculous theories that would never occur to the average watcher, they perform their own hilarious dramatic readings of some of the best scenes, and they offer great perspectives on the plot, character development, and the overall puzzle - all skills they've honed by being huge fans of Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lost, and just about any other major cinematic "cult" you can think of.
(Bonus recommendation - their analysis of Westworld is currently saving my ass in terms of helping me keep all the characters, sub-plots, and new developments straight, so not only should you be watching Westworld [on HBO], you should be listening to these folks talk all about the intricacies that make it so fascinating, and so intimidating.)
I hope you all enjoy these as much as I have. Let me know what you love, what you hate, and what you're "meh" on. The more feedback I get, the better my recommendations can be! What do you want to see more of? What couldn't you care less about? Get at me!