(no gif today because I’m tired and recovering from COVID)
The first half of January saw me watching way more films than I was used to, and then it kind of petered out after the second half of the month, so I felt like it probably made sense to condense my February list to one (1) letter. After all, what a favourites list is meant to shine a light on the absolute best, best things in an easy-to-digest format. I feel like I often fall into a trap of just mindless consumption; a little editing never hurt anyone! I would venture to say that we need a little bit more of that, to be frank.
Anyway, here’s my list. It’s a little all over-the-place, or if you like, “I contain multitudes.”
Physical: 100
I’ve been trying and failing to get people to watch this show, but it’s honestly so good. To be fair, I was also a bit dubious about the premise — a hundred stacked people going against each other on physical challenges sounds like a nightmare I do not want to witness — but the social dynamics in Korea makes this show. Such a good selection from all backgrounds (my favourite is, predictably, Min-cheol the mountain rescuer, and Eun-sil, the wrestler) and everyone is so humble and genuinely amazed at the other contestants. Where else will you find a man telling another man “Your physique is so good!” without having to tack on “no homo!” at the end?
One of the challenges is them pulling a 1.5-ton ship, with 0.5-ton cargo onboard, across sand. The challenges are brutal and ruthless, but whenever someone has fallen short of a challenge and lost, they do not blame anyone but themselves. I booked classes on my ClassPass after watching this, and actually made it to a calisthenics class before getting COVID, lol.
Really, really amazing show of teamwork and like, what the body can do. Now, whenever I struggle with something physical, I tell myself: you can do it. Usually, it turns out that I can.
Singles Inferno: Season 2
I had little to no interest in watching Singles Inferno, but one of the contestants in Physical: 100 was on the show’s first season, and Netflix had teased out the episodes over three weeks, so I had a void to fill, so to speak. I preferred season 2 because it seemed more laid back, for some reason. I’m not sure if the newer contestants filmed their season prior to having seen the show, but it definitely felt less tentative.
I think the selection of contestants for this season was a bit more interesting, especially when it came to their professions. It’s a little bit Love Island, but less dramatic, and comes off a little bit more genuine, just because there was no mention of a prize at the end — unless you count true love. To be honest, their “inferno” seems like such a good getaway and “paradise” seems a little gross and hellish, but it’s been really fun to watch, though not for the reasons why you’d watch Love Island, I imagine.
Cats
Just in general… not the book, the musical, or the movie. We were catsitting Frank and Beans for two weeks, and now I’m in love. I don’t know if we can actually ever get a cat (my mother is deathly allergic, which means she can never visit if we do get one), but that was a really good experience, which you can coincidentally read about here.
Larissa Pham’s Pop Song: Adventures in Art and Intimacy
My old editor and friend, Don, put me on to Larissa Pham’s collection of essays quite a while back, saying that it reminded him of how I wrote, which gaaaaassed me up a lot, but it did remind me of why I enjoy writing, and why I wanted to go to a masters programme in the first place. Really kind of relatable, accessible personal rumination on art. Very much recommend; I felt like a friend was talking to me about her life, on our way to see a show.
L’Avventura (1960)
So obsessed by how good this film looks. It’s perfect, gorgeous. The run time is a little long, but we don’t shame that in this house. I think, perhaps, bored rich people in general is a bit of a hard subject to sit through almost three hours of, but Antonioni almost makes it worth your while.
Moon Lists and Journalling
I got the digital versions of Moon Lists and have been keenly writing down some things about each month, each week, after their non-corny prompts. Who knew prompt-driven journalling could be fun and look good? (The website is also gorgeous.)
I’ve also been writing short entries each day on a Magic of I Astrological Planner, which takes into account planetary movements and the phases of the moon in a digestible way that I can understand. Not to be woo-woo, but I do believe in a higher power, and that energies can affect us, in different ways.
Notion
I finally got into a good place with Notion, I think, in terms of planning and documenting. I had used it before, mainly for failed attempts at job applications, note-taking for self-led courses (*cough* Python *cough*), project planning, meal planning, and storing recipes in a nice little database and library.
I went to Reddit for some inspiration from people who use it that aren’t in like, big teams, tech, or the productivity world, and it was quite fun and illuminating. The pages I use the most right now are:
task board
goals chart
books and reading (kind of like a personal Goodreads account)
financial sheet/tracking
habit tracker
Moving forward, I’m going to try and track my language learning, business plan, andddd, potentially my fitness and exercise plan, provided I carry on this time around. Maybe Notion will help with that, who knows?
Fable Food Co. Mushrooms
Fable! We tried this on a whim one time, very skeptical of another meat alternative purported to be the best fucking thing ever. Well, they’re kind of really good. Even the sauces they come packaged with are good. It’s essentially a lot of shiitake mushrooms, with a stringy/pulled or mince texture, depending on how you prep it.
So far, Fable comes in three variants: plain, red miso and soy, and barbecue. I’ve made it with the pre-packaged sauces, but also in a ragù, with a sisig seasoning, a teppanyaki sauce, etc. etc. It’s very good and sears well. The texture and the taste are kind of on another level. The downside is that I can only currently get them at Planet Organic. 🙃
Special mentions:
Completedworks Earrings — I’ve been wanting a pair of earrings from them ever since Jodie Comer wore the scrunchie earrings in like, Killing Eve season 1 promotions era. I love them and got them from SSENSE on sale.
Gil Rodriguez El Chiquito Top — influenced by Viv, via this letter. I’m so obsessed, I wore this in winter.
Mark wearing my gold chain — I just put it on him ~just to see~ and it actually suits him, so off to him it goes. The chain is Rachel Entwistle’s The Creation pendant in gold vermeil.
Pat McGrath Palette — I’m, like, off my beauty blogging game, because I can’t even remember the name and now have to look for it. OK, it’s the Mothership X Moonlit Seduction one. Tbh, I’ve been using it the same way since I got it. One of the matte shades in the outer corner, plus whatever shimmery or glittery shadow in the inner 2/3. It’s okay; I just have to play with it longer. Very, very happy I got this, though, and haven’t worn any other eyeshadow from any other palette since.