Links I'm Loving

Glass phoenix at Missouri Botanical Garden

Many cool books, shows, podcasts, albums and articles have roped me in lately. Here are a few recommendations of things I think you'll enjoy:

• Have you seen the LuLaRich docuseries? It's fascinating, and this interview is the perfect companion piece: What Got Left Out of LuLaRich.
  
  
• Listen (or read) about pop culture picks for this fall including upcoming books, music, shows and movies from the gang at the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast.
  
  
• My new favorite show is Only Murders in the Building. Here's a look at why it's so fab. 

Cool Stuff to Watch (and Listen to!)

I need lots of comfort viewing (or listening) lately, and can never seem to find enough good options. Luckily, I found a few things in the last week that fit the bill and thought I'd share.

Maria Bamford: Weakness is My Brand. Bamford's hilarious, offbeat style is just what I needed. I laughed a lot while watching her latest comedy special, and couldn't we all use a little more of that in our lives? If you have Amazon Prime, you can check it out for free.

Lucy Worsley Audible interview. Worsley is my favorite British academic who regularly gets TV specials with the BBC. This interview is just 12 minutes, but it's a delight, especially for fans of Jane Austen. "I don't think she was just an important writer, she was an important human being," Worsley says. Why, you may ask? For that you've got to invest 60 seconds times 12. The interview is free on Audible.

Biography: I Want My MTV. A&E's look at how MTV came to be barely scratches the surface, but it did lightly scratch an itch for this Gen Xer who loves all things '80s music and videos. For a real deep dive (and loads of stories about rock stars), pick up one of my favorite oral histories, I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.

Cool Stuff to Watch

I've found lots of great things to watch in the past few months. If you're looking for something new to stream, or want an entertainment game plan in case you need to avoid crowds and stay home in the coming weeks and months, check this out!

Reflections on Chihuly Glass

When I first encountered the bright, blown-glass sculptures, alive with light and color and flowing lines that suggest movement and life, I'd never heard of artist Dale Chihuly. I thought the glass displays were whimsical and interesting, but didn't give them a second thought.

Missouri Botanical Garden Blue Chandelier, 2006
(That's the title of the piece, not the photo's date! Located in the visitor center.)

I can't even say for sure the first time I encountered Chihuly's work, as I may have seen it with no idea it was his or even who he was. But the first time I remember seeing it was at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, which has a few of his pieces on permanent display. Unfortunately I didn't get many good photos of them. It was only after I visited the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and saw its large collection of Chihuly's glass sculptures that I realized what I'd seen in Missouri, and later was captured by the chandelier sculpture in the visitor center of the Missouri Botanical Gardens on a return visit. A few other pieces adorn various spots of the garden like pockets of hidden treasure for visitors to find.

Cool Stuff I'm Loving

As the temperatures finally cool down, I'm thinking back on the equally cool things I've watched and listened to in the last month or so. If you're up for some great entertainment, check these out:

Cool Stuff To Watch

Rocketman. I'll never tire of Elton John's music, and this biopic knocks his story out of the park. It's more musical theater than anything else, and that style allows for a brilliant, fantastical telling of John's life and music. Love him so much I bought it to watch the bonus material.

My Brilliant Friend. Based on the Elena Ferrante novel of the same name, this series premiered on HBO last year. I somehow didn't get to it until recently and found it riveting. In Italian with English subtitles, this requires attentive viewing when you're not also tooling around online (not that any of us ever watch TV that way!). Season 2, subtitled "The Story of a New Name," airs in 2020.

Cool Podcasts & Shows I'm Loving

Time to check in again with links to things I've been loving lately! I've found some good episodes on my favorite podcasts and several amazing shows to watch on streaming to boot. By the by, I find and listen to my podcasts via the PlayerFM app, though you can also play them in a web browser or find them wherever you listen to podcasts.

So, if you're on the hunt for a good listen or watch, keep reading!

Cool Stuff to Read and Watch

Hello again! Around here the temperature finally dropped (a smidge) and I've been enjoying reading, watching TV, and nosing around the web. Here are some cool things I've found that you may like, too:

Cool Links for Book Lovers

Song lyrics as book covers. Someone's only gone and designed vintage book covers inspired by and featuring his favorite song lyrics! It's creative, cool, and available to buy as prints.

Books page at The Guardian. In addition to book reviews, author interviews, and bookish news, they offer a roundup of selected readers' book comments and Bookstagram posts in their recurring "Tips, links and suggestions" feature. You can join in by tagging book-related Instagram posts with #GuardianBooks.

Cool Stuff I'm Loving

Hello all, hope you're enjoying summer! If the heat's getting too oppressive, why not stay in and enjoy watching some shows or reading your way around the Internet? Here are a few things I'm enjoying right now.

Cool Stuff to Watch 

Chernobyl. This HBO miniseries tells the story of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, shedding light on what went wrong, the effort to right it, and the human cost. It's riveting and somehow had us hanging on the edge of our seats even though we already knew what happened. We finished this binge-worthy series in a few nights.

10 Brilliant Book Titles

It seems I'm always reading about or looking at books. They pop up like old friends I haven't met yet in my Goodreads feed, book bloggers' tweets, and new ebook additions to my library's catalog. And lists. I can't resist new and notable, year's best, summer reads, book club favorites. You list it and I'm probably there, scrolling away and saving to wishlists or setting a library hold.

Now and then a delightful title reaches out and almost physically grabs my attention. I experience a brief joy bubble when I find one of these. The creative, irreverent, funny, saucy and badass titles always have a home in my heart and my links folder.

Podcasts that rock

A good podcast is like a glass of fine wine (preferably the chocolate variety): it fills you with a happy glow, leaves you wanting more, and might even knock you off your feet.

Whether you listen on your commute, at the gym, or just puttering around the house, these podcasts will rock your socks:

This American Life 

This podcast focuses on a different theme each week, comprised of several segments. The masterful storytelling, humor, drama and even a few plot twists will draw you in.

Standout episodes: The Super and Petty Tyrant are both deliciously engrossing, shocking, and fascinating. Listen with a buddy, because you will definitely want someone to share stunned observations with.

Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes: Best bets to read, listen and watch

If you can't get enough of tales about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, have I got a slew of bingeable options for you. Take your pick: listen, watch or read, there are many ways to ingest this endlessly fascinating story.

Patti Smith drops some knowledge on us, and it's awesome

I've recently been reading the wonderful Just Kids by Patti Smith, and in searching for more information about her came across the video below. It's inspiring life advice for the young, the artistic, the human. Anyone, really.

Cool stuff to read and watch

Many lovely, good things await out there for the avid readers/watchers right now. Some notable choices I found worth my time and/or dollars (and maybe yours) include:

Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow: The writer and director Judd Apatow lives, breathes and loves comedy. I didn't even know he used to do stand-up, but yup, he did. He also made a point of interviewing his comedy heroes, going back 30 years when he was still in high school. This book collects those interviews and adds some new ones (I'm only about 25% of the way through and loving it). And bonus, book proceeds go to 826LA, a charity to promote literacy and creativity for children. Sick in the Head is interesting, funny, and an education in comedy and performing. You'll find a few useful nuggets about life and work in general, too. You'll even get the fun fact that Garry Shandling was a writer for Sanford and Son (?!), though you'll never learn how many times he used the word "dummy" per script (as in Fred's abusively loving line to Lamont of "You big dummy!").

Cool stuff to read and watch

What's taking my free time lately includes:

The Night of the Gun by David Carr. The full title to this memoir of drug abuse and redemption by the late New York Times journalist is The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life. His Own. It's a fascinating tale of how close you can come to drowning your life and potential in drug abuse and still come back from the depths (with the aid of a little writing talent and a lot of friends willing to help you get back to good).

Grace and Frankie on Netflix. The title characters played by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin steal the show, whether they're sharing a scene or not. Martin Sheen and Sam Waterson are also great as the husbands who decide to leave their wives for each other, but the focus is on the ladies. The supporting cast includes four adult children (two from each set of couples), with the breakout character seeming to be June Diane Raphael, playing Fonda's daughter who runs her mother's company. I really enjoyed this show, and apparently so did Miley Cyrus (one positive tweet from her is credited with helping the show get picked up for another season).

Cool stuff to read and listen to

Books: I'm currently enjoying Anthony Doerr's beautiful novel, All The Light We Cannot See. For insight into how he developed the idea for the story, check out this interview.

Music: Valerie June's Pushin' Against a Stone jangles my speakers at the moment. I read a review of this somewhere and added it my wish list, then forgot about it like hundreds of other things I mark to check out later. But with some Microsoft credit about to expire, I cast about for something to purchase and landed on this (thank you, Xbox Music). So far I'm loving June's unique sound, that's a bit country, blues, gospel and folk.

Cool stuff to read and listen to

Cool stuff I'm enjoying online today:

Podcast: You Made it Weird interview with writer/director Judd Apatow

Blog post: Author Hugh Howey explains the best way to support your favorite authors (hint: it's not just buying their work that helps, but WHERE you buy their work that makes a difference)

Cool stuff to read and listen to

What's entertaining me at the moment:

-Maybe We'll Have You Back: The Life of a Perennial TV Guest Star by Fred Stoller (audiobook). Just started, but interesting so far. I enjoy these insider looks at creative types and their process, or how they got to where they are. Stoller is in the category of someone doing just well enough that he doesn't quit, but not so well that he can stop struggling.

Good line: He wanted to have a lemonade stand as a kid, but his neurotic mother quashed the idea with, "What if it goes under? Don't do it, Freddie." I wish I couldn't relate so well to that kind of childhood.