Recently
This is a page for stuff that I've recently absorbed into my brain that I think have made me a better or more interesting person. Or that were just enjoyable.
Books or Audiobooks:
I'm currently studying for the JLPT N2, and have been hammering away at the 日本語総まとめN2 series, especially the reading （読解）book.
I also recently finished a book called "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman. Or rather, I picked up the book in Narita airport, then left it in my suitcase for two weeks while I instead listened to the audiobook on Spotify. (_);; I honestly just enjoyed listening to the author's cool British accent telling me that it's okay to be human and NOT worry so much about time. (Spoiler: it's more a book about how to stop trying to manage the unmanageable.)
Podcasts:
I recently enjoyed listening to this podcast called "Reaching Out". I happened upon it thanks to a feature in This American Life where Ira Glass prefaced the piece very well - basically there's a unique narration style to this podcast, and the host (Sayre Quevedo) has a kind of dry tone that diverges from usual podcaster enthusiasm. But thanks to Ira encouraging listeners to "stay with it," I did, and found myself hooked.
Music:
When October rolls around, I'm reminded of my pagan/wiccan roots, and start playing my "Witchy Wonderful" playlist. Some songs are actually meant more for the spring, but I play them all nonetheless, because they make me feel nostalgic for my spell-casting days. Curious? I'll write about that soon.
Movies/TV Shows:
Recently Eric and I finished re-watching the entire Harry Potter series. I have never been a fan of the first two movies - in fact, as an avid reader of the books at that time, I fumed for days after watching the first movie in theaters, outraged at how much the directors left out, and how bad the acting was... I still feel the same, haha. But pushing through, it gets way better at the fifth through sixth movies. Maybe it's because I'm older now, and have higher expectations out of my fantasy movies.
Aside from that we're also about to wrap up our fourth or fifth re-watch of Adventure Time.
YouTube:
So I recently spent two weeks doing a deep dive into the life and art of a 19th century painter named Gabriel Loppé. His great great granddaughter, Anne Friang, was coming to my town for a visit, and promoting her new book about him. I lost count of how many times I watched this video, and translated it into Japanese so that some local artists could get at least 25% as informed as I was becoming.
I have to say, I had pretty much 0 interest in French glaciers or 19th century oil painting a month ago, but now it's kind of infused into me, along with a boatload of Japanese vocabulary I'm not sure when I'll use again. I learned a lot and enjoyed getting to know the author (Anne Friang). I hope you get a little interested too.