The thing about only doing these posts every couple of months is that I usually forget what I’ve done 6-8 weeks ago. 😛 I really need to keep a running draft during the month.
Movies
I’ve watched a ton of them.
Moon Man  (this was gorgeous)
Interstate 60Â -quirky and imaginative
The One I Love This stars the same guy who is in Safety Not Guaranteed, and this movie has a very similar feel…I don’t want to spoil it. But if you liked SNG, you’ll probably like this.
From  Time to Time (cute kids movie. One of the things we’ve been doing now that daddy leaves on Sunday night is to have a movie night, where I pick out the movie. So we’ve been watching movies the kids wouldn’t normally choose, like this one and Moon Man.)
Trainwreck (it was hilarious)
TV
The Vicar of Dibley – I’ve watched some of this. It’s funny British humor and it’s set in a small church with committees, which just makes me LOL because that is one of the things about the Episcopal church that can drive me up a wall.
Friends – I finally finished the series again, and almost turned around and started it over.
Parks and Rec – I only saw bits and pieces of this over the years and didn’t think it was that funny. Well, now that my husband works in small city government, I find it absolutely hilarious. I’m in the middle of season 3 right now.
My husband, basically.
(There was a great part of the show where someone asks Mark what he does and he says ‘code enforcement’ and it was perfect and I can’t find it! But my husband and I had *just* had a conversation where he said that’s his job and I told him to stop describing it like that because I don’t like how it sounds.  And then we saw that clip. I died.)
Books
Better than Before – Rubin – I didn’t like it, but the beginning part ended up being really helpful. After that I tried to read her Happiness book which I’ve heard is good but honestly, her tone in Habits was so off-putting that I couldn’t read Happiness without hearing it and I gave up after one page.
Wild in the Hollow – This is gorgeous and amazing and every good thing  you’ve heard about it is true. “Some of us give up because all we see is the brokenness…hope propels us….Revolution starts low, with the outsiders, even with the despised ones…Are we not all needy? If we want to see gospel happen in our churches, we must see from a thousand miles above the little buiding, which is to say, we need to see the small. We need to see the things thrown to the side. Who is on the floor, without a place?…..Don’t you dare run from pain, from the poor in spirit.“
Sundown Towns – Which is a must-read. It is an excellent companion to The Warmth of Other Suns.
I’m still working on Dragonfly in Amber, Slavery By Another Name, and Slave Patrols and hopefully soon Between the World and Me.
Podcasts
I used to think I couldn’t listen to podcasts because of the kids and the noise, and it is a little bit frustrating when I’m having to constantly pause it or wear my noise-cancelling headphones to hear. But my husband has a 3 hour commute on Friday and Sunday and there is a public radio station that just covers his drive, and so he’s been coming home telling me all of these fascinating stories that he heard. And then Nish asked on her Facebook page for podcast recommendations, and I was stunned to see how many there are. Â So I decided to give it a try, and I’ve fallen completely in love.
They actually tie in well with a new habit I’ve been trying to rebuild. When my oldest kids were little, I refused to buy cereal, and I used to make good breakfasts every day – pancakes, waffles, quick breads, etc. Â For the last few years I’ve gotten away from that and it’s gotten to the point where I have a couple of kids who eat cereal for breakfast and lunch…..(ok sometimes dinner too). Â So. After reading the terrible Habits book by Rubin, I realized that I really do love to cook and bake breakfast things. (I can’t bake dessert stuff.) Â And what I needed to be able to do that was a clean kitchen and no kids in it.
I also wondered what would make it fun – what would make it something that I’d be motivated to keep doing, and when I was 18 I went to France for 2 weeks. I don’t like bread, but I loved eating it over there and loved the breakfasts we had in the hotels. The coffee, the little rectangular sugar cubes, the jams….it was all so cute and fun. So, I’ve been trying to do something similar for the kids. If we have a good, big breakfast, and eat the leftovers for lunch, (with the goal of eventually having veggies/salads for lunch), then everyone is happier and healthier and we don’t have 6 people constantly cooking food in the kitchen all day long. 😛
It hasn’t been this picture-perfect every day, but for the last 3 weeks, I’ve made a pretty good effort, and I’ve managed to keep my kitchen mostly clean. I try and have bread and jam and flavored butter, an egg or protein dish, a quick-bread, and french toast or pancakes. Some of our favorite recipes have been Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Scones (right???), Blueberry Grilled Cheese, and a similar, Strawberry French Toast Sandwich.
The other point of this whole story is that now I have an extra motivation to want to be in my kitchen alone, cooking and cleaning. I have all of these great podcasts I want to listen to. This whole thing has been win-win-win. Â I just need to get on the ball and make stuff ahead of time so I’m not zombie-cooking in the morning.
Some of my favorite podcasts so far are:
Pop Culture Happy Hour – I love love love love this podcast (except for one semi-regular co-host who’s voice annoys me.). And I also love their bit at the end where they go around the table and say what’s making them happy this week. I love that.
Ted Radio Hour – I really really like this one.
This American Life – adore. Episodes I’ve listened to recently – Not It, Three Miles, and the current two-part series on Integration.
Magic Lessons – I loved the first two. The third one I quit because the caller annoyed me.
WTF – this was recommend on PCHH, and I listened to most of the episode they recommended, but the host annoys me, so I don’t see myself listening to this much.
Binah – I can’t link to specific episodes, but the July 30th episode is fantastic. Anyone who is interested in writing, language, and the formation of words should give it a listen. It’s just the best. The previous week’s episode looks good too. (It’s ridiculous this is listed in the religion section of podcasts.)
I found the website Your Classical – and it is some kind of curated feed containing classical music and programs, but also some different public radio shows/episodes. I listened to this one last night – Children of the Stone -and it was fascinating, and is about a book written by the same guy who wrote The Lemon Tree.
Newsletters that I’m actually reading
A Compendium of Projects, People, and Places
*****
I just realized that I’ve been reading fascinating stuff on the internet all morning. It’s obviously August and I’ve basically handed the kids over to summer laziness. We have Nintendo emulators on our computer, hooked up to our tv, so they’ve been playing Mario Kart and Donkey Kong all morning. So, here’s what I’ve been into just this morning.
I started an Inspire section on Feedly that I want to try and read in the mornings – to calm myself before reading the news of the day on Twitter. (anyone have any other sites they’d recommend?)
Right now I have these feeds:
This was an interesting post – I want to go back later and listen to some of the audio. The Women of the Avant-Garde
Good list –Â 74 Essential Books for Your Personal Library: A List Curated by Female Creatives
A Personal Take on Go Set a Watchman
When we first got a computer when I was 15, I remember we had an encyclopedia cd, and it was so cool to see the pictures and here sounds coming from them. One of the very first things I ever listened to on the computer was a recording of Robert Frost reading his poem Fire and Ice, which was one of my favorite poems. It was so magical to suddenly be able to hear a famous poet reading his work. I get that same kind of thrill when I hear Wendell Berry read his poems.
Happy Birthday, Wendell Berry – Wendell Berry – Top 10 Online Recordings #1 is my favorite, and I’m making time to listen to #2 later.
I cannot tell you how much I love this spoken poem by Emily Joy – Monster God
This interview with Joy Williams is great.
In Zimbabwe, We Don’t Cry for Lions
Florida neighborhood watchman shoots suspicious 16-year-old boy, neighbors say it’s ‘awesome’
Mindy Kaling’s Guide to Killer Confidence
Learning While Black – The Reality of Selective Sympathy In Our Schools
The social gospel of Ta-Nehisi Coates: Between the World and Me
Linking up with Leigh
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I just finished re-watching Friends on netflix too and had the same desire to start it all over again, but I resisted, for now. I still have to finish going back through Gilmore Girls anyway.
I love your collection of things! Podcasts… Yikes I keep thinking I better get into them – as in making them. But I don’t know what goes into them. #nervous. #notime #inept. Le sigh…
Anyway – lovely to see you around!
I adore Pop Culture Happy Hour! If you want to listen to more pop culture podcasts, try The Popcast (pure fun) or Slate Culture Gabfest (I usually feel smarter after listening.) I listen to WTF if there’s an interesting guest- his episode with Obama is a must-listen and I really enjoyed the one with Ian McKellan.