In the interest of continuing to produce content that adds to ever growing content pile that is the internet, here’s a new post! (Read my thoughts on the noisy world of content we live in if that’s your sort of thing.)

One of my goals for this blog is to write thoughtful or thoughtful-ish pieces that fully explore something I’ve recently read or watched or listened to (like this semi-recommendation of The Count of Monte Cristo).

But like anyone who has ever had to write an essay knows, having to start something thoughtful can be super daunting even if the actual practice of writing it isn’t that hard.

So, in the interest of making things easier for myself, I thought I’d give a couple mini-recs based on what I’ve consumed this month. Short and I don’t even have to remember that far back! Double win.

For your consideration…

YouTube: Great Art Explained

I love a lot of channels on YouTube that feature smart people doing good research and talking about stuff at length. But the “at length” part can sometimes present a problem when I want to watch something less than half an hour long.

Enter Great Art Explained. I just discovered this channel a few weeks ago, and I love it. Not only because I’ve been learning the context behind famous paintings but because the creator holds himself to 15 minutes or less. Unlike a lot of other great channels where the video lengths creep ever upward, these are stuck at a length of 15 minutes(ish). Perfect!

Really all the videos I’ve watched so far are winners, but I really recommend the one on Judith Beheading Holofernes painted by Artemisia Gentileschi. You get historical context and actual art analysis all wrapped up in one. Good stuff.

Podcast: Maintenance Phase

Co-hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes, this podcast focuses on “Debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.” It is a delight!

The hosts have so much fun together and really provide an invaluable service by diving into things you take for granted or don’t think about. Their early August episode on the BMI blew my mind.

Plus they are funny and usually keep it to about an hour so it’s just a good listen all around.

Newsletter: Butt News

I subscribe to several amazing newsletters that I will probably eventually try to force everyone to read, but the one that has brought me the most joy in August is Lindy West’s Butt News.

I’ve been a Lindy West fan for awhile and am so delighted I can read her writing regularly again.

Her movie recaps are hilarious and my favorite end cap of the past few weeks. (Bonus: if you read a few of those recaps and like them, then you should buy her book Shit Actually, which is full of movie reviews/recaps and caused me to laugh out loud multiple times.)

Don’t you want someone trying to figure out why the hell the characters in the first Fast and Furious movie are so obsessed with tuna making their way into your inbox every week? Yes, you do.

TV Show: Virgin River

Virgin River is just a gentle, warm blanket you can wrap around yourself. In this Netflix show, a big city nurse moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest following the tragic death of her husband and the curmudgeonly doctor who lives there doesn’t want her help.

Also, the local bar owner is ruggedly handsome and they have good chemistry. What might happen there? (You know what might happen there.)

This show hits the beats I expect in the best way. It’s full of drama, much of which could be solved by people communicating better, some medical drama and cases, and multiple romantic threads. It’s just a good time. And sometimes the characters have inexplicably dress up like lumberjacks or line dance or whatever.

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That’s what I’ve got for you this month! For what it’s worth, I almost included Ever After, but I love that movie enough to write a long article about it. You know, one of these days.