Monthly Archives: June 2023

Five Things (25)

Posted in Media, Podcasts by

5 podcasts on recent rotation

I’ve listened to a lot of true crime podcasts, but lately, I wanted to introduce some more cozy podcasts into my life. Here are five of my fave, light, and funny podcasts that are on recent rotation.

I followed Ceara on TikTok and was happy to see that she started a podcast with her friend Griff. Petty Crimes is one of the few podcasts I listen to on 1x speed, not because they speak too quickly, but because I want to savor every moment of the show. They typically talk about sticky social situations and determine whether the author (or protagonist) was petty or not. They are both funny and I love the way they interact with each other.

My guilty pleasure of watching Love is Blind on Netflix has spilt over to podcasts with Natalie and Deepti’s Out of the Pods. They discuss the newest episodes of the show (starting with season 4), and they have guests during the “off-season”, some from that and other shows. I love hearing about the behind-the-scenes process and the stories from the participant’s point of view. Knowing that reality TV is heavily edited, it’s great hearing some of the details and the bits that didn’t make it into the show.

One of my all-time faves, The Bible Binge, has been in heavy rotation lately. Since I listened to their purity culture episode I’ve been a fan. I love the way Jamie and Knox approach the topics and stories, and Erin’s gentle rebukes provide such rich context. I always feel challenged when I finish an episode – and I genuinely feel like these are my people. I would absolutely invite them over for tea. Honourable mention is The Popcast with Knox and Jaime – particularly their “Nos of” episodes.

I stumbled upon Everybody Has a Secret via TikTok this year and have been binging on their episodes. I love Annabelle and her guests and co-hosts. Listeners send in a secret that they’ve been keeping, and while some of the stories are a bit crazy the show is often entertaining (unless you’re cringing).

Finally, and this is my most recent listen, is Doing the Best We Can with Eddie Kaufholz. Eddie was (is?) on the Relevant Magazine podcast and I liked him there, so I thought that perhaps I’d enjoy his podcast as well – and I do! They are primarily slice-of-life stories and his ponderings, but I do like what I’ve heard so far.

~*~

But, Harry Potter fanfiction (Harry Potterotica, say it right) where Draco and Harry are getting it on in the Gryffindor common room, that’s more Apocrypha.

The Bible Binge, Judith

Five Things (24)

Posted in Ballet, Bookish, Cultured by

I’ve had some rough years recently, and because of that, I stepped away from many social events1. I finally feel like being social again so here are five things from June.

— Thing One —

I went to see the ballet! The last time I saw an Alvin Ailey show was b.c.2 so going to see them again, and at BAM, was a treat! They did a selection of performances but my favourite had to be “Are You In Your Feelings?“, the music they chose and the choreography were spectacular. Afterwards, BAM Cafe was hosting Endea Owens, it was free to watch so we hung out for a little while enjoying the jazz. It was a fun night all around and now I want to see more shows!

— Thing Two —

Earlier in the month I invited my cousins over for the Inaugural Cousins’ Lawn Games Day! I hosted and purchased several lawn games, including croquet3, and ordered some BBQ for everyone. While not the first time hosting, nor the first time hosting a large group, because it was a themed day and because I decided to cater instead of going the potluck route, there were a lot more moving pieces to consider. While we didn’t play a single round of croquet – the kids did – we did have a grand time together. I’m hoping next year to expand on the celebrations and make it better – learned a lesson in catering the right amount since wow there was SO MUCH FOOD.

— Thing Three —

I joined a knitting/crochet club. In an attempt to meet more people in my neighbourhood, I decided to sign up for a few clubs and met with the knitting/crochet club folks some days ago. It was a total of five of us, and everyone is so much more advanced than I am so I’m looking forward to learning some new techniques. The first thing I worked on was a lopsided bunny4 and now that that’s finished I’m working on a blanket. Maybe I’ll make everyone presents for the holidays, but I’m trying not to be too ambitious, I still owe a few people scarves from when I took up knitting.

— Thing Four —

I was influenced into purchasing Murdle, a murder mystery puzzle book. I’m trying to support the B&N near my house, especially since I have a B&N membership, so I ordered it for pickup at that location. When I got to the register to pick up my book, two cashiers were excited for me because they both wanted to get the book since they loved the premise, this is one of the reasons I love going to bookstores in person, you get the bookish people who will confirm you made a good purchase. I am looking forward to digging into this for the summer!

— Thing Five —

Sand, it’s nature’s glitter. Going to the beach and dealing with the sand is not my favourite thing in the world, but when my friend suggested we do a beach day for her birthday I had to go. We went to one of the few beaches I enjoy5 and spent almost the entire day there. I thought I’d get a lot of Murdle done because I don’t like going into the water but it turns out that there were quite a few of us who didn’t like the idea of being submerged, so we spent a lot of the time talking and having tons of laughs. I am so thankful for friends and family who lift you up and celebrate with you. I have some of the best people in my life and I am forever grateful for the good times we have together.

~*~

1. And let’s be honest, covid played a big role in not wanting to go out.
2. Before Covid
3. I’ve been fascinated with this game since reading it in stories and seeing pall-mall play out on screen in Bridgerton sparked my curiosity again. I’m lucky to have the space to play it.
4. The pattern isn’t for a lopsided bunny, but with my skill levels that’s the final product. I still love him!
5. The sand is clean and it’s easy enough to find parking.

And I am not afraid of a thousand eyes if they’re above five hundred smiles.

Opportunity, Sia

Museum Mile 2023

Posted in Cultured, Gallery by

I can’t believe that the last time I did the Museum Mile Festival was in 2011, but here we are, twelve years later and I’ve finally made it out once more to the festival.

For a bit of background, there is a stretch of museums that runs along 5th Avenue between 82nd and 110th Street, this stretch was given the name “Museum Mile” and once a year 5th Avenue shuts down as museums along that strip open for free from 6pm – 9pm. I found out about the event in 2010 from a friend and wanted to make a tradition of it, but here we are 12 years later finally visiting the museums again!

The first year I went to the Guggenheim, and the following year I visited the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York. This year my friends wanted to go to the Guggenheim and El Museo del Barrio.

I got to 5th Avenue first so I joined the line for the Guggenheim which wrapped around the block1! At 6pm they started letting people in and it took us 20 minutes to get to the front of the line. Given the layout, it didn’t feel very claustrophobic, but I have visited the museum during regular hours and it was definitely more packed. Along the spiral, they had work from Gego – a Venezuelan visual artist. The photo doesn’t do it justice, but her work was very geometrical and it appealed to my instinctual need for order. There was something genuinely relaxing about observing her work.

We also dipped into the gallery with the Picassos2 and visited the A Year With Children 2023 gallery which had art from public school kids. What an experience that must have been for these kids to see their art in a museum, it was a fun and colourful display.

Later we took a stroll to El Museo del Barrio, passing several DJs and bands along the way. At the museum we took our time walking through the galleries, the block print works were among my favourites, but then I saw this stunning work by Eloy Blanco3, it had tiny stick figures on the red background; I loved it.


The night ended at the Shake Shack, with good laughs and conversations. Let’s see if I do this again next year!

~*~

1. The end of the line for me was Madison and 89th Street!
2. Every time I posted a Picasso from that day online I added “Ok, I like it, Picasso“, and then found it highly hilarious when the Guggenheim liked one of my tweets. What is the internet?
3. Another Venezualean artist!

Cherry Blossoms in Brooklyn

Posted in My New York by


It’s been on my bucket list for over a decade, and finally, I visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for the first time this spring to see the cherry blossoms. I’m not really sure why I waited so long – other than my dislike for crowds – but I’m so glad I finally decided to go1. There weren’t a lot of people there, and getting to the gardens itself was so easy on mass transit.

It was peak blossom season so all the cherry blossom trees were blooming brilliantly. I know there’s beauty in the chaos of free-flowing gardens, but I love when gardens have symmetry, and the BBG did not disappoint with its lined walkways and symmetrical tree lines. My little perfectionist’s heart felt such a sense of awe and calm2. Outside of the cherry blossoms, we meandered around the gardens checking out most of the sections including the bonsai trees3, and tulips (my personal faves).

Despite the fact that my allergy meds were not working due to the amount of pollen in the air I had a fantastic time and would absolutely recommend a trip. I only wish I visited sooner!

~*~

1. Thanks to my friend who threw out the invite! I really don’t think I’d have motivated myself to go otherwise.
2. I almost asked my friend and her friends to do a version of the Wes Anderson trend that’s been going around on TikTok, but I held back.
3. I used to have two bonsai trees, but unfortunately, my lack of skills (and clearly non-green thumb) meant an early departure for both.

~*~

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

Posted in Cultured, My New York, Opera by

A few weeks after seeing Don Giovani (my first opera experience) I was fortunate enough to see Die Zauberflöte – The Magic Flute. This opera was also written by Mozart, and it’s interesting to hear the differences in the tone of the music. While Don Giovani felt mostly tumultuous, The Magic Flute felt light with hints of shadow. As a person not familiar with operatic music, neither having studied it nor spent much time listening to it, I know that there are tons of things I might have missed or that went over my head, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt, I’m speaking through a limited view.

Like Don Giovanni, the costumes were very modern, but in this case, it felt out of place. I expected fantastical but was given pedestrian. Perhaps it’s the way I imagine fantasy when I read it, or the way it’s depicted on screen, but I wanted flashier costumes. I read somewhere1 that the Met Opera is struggling to bring in younger crowds and had to dip into its endowment to cover its operations cost this year, I don’t have a solution for that, but I don’t think modernizing the costumes is that solution. However, that was the end of my disappointment. The rest of it was magnificent.

The pit was raised to include the musicians in the show – for the bells and flute – there was a foley artist2 providing sound effects and a visual artist who projected his chalk art on the screen in real-time. I read in a review that there was too much going on, but I think there was just enough going on, especially against the stark stage and costuming. The visual artist made it feel a little bit like a silent movie while the foley artist made it feel a little like an early 1900s cartoon; so maybe I can see what that reviewer was hinting at, but I was strangely ok with this mix.

The singers and orchestra were amazing- I adored Stephen Milling’s voice as Sarastro. Overall the experience was enthralling, and again I’m so in awe of the fact that no one is miked! The songs were in German, and I knew the synopsis so the story was easy to follow along3. Of course, The Queen of the Night’s Aria (Der Hölle Rache) was the most recognizable piece of the entire show4 but my favourite was Ach, ich fühl5!

It was a fantastically fun night that I was on a music and good company high for a few days afterwards.

~*~

1. Or maybe I saw it on TikTok?
2. Did I go home and casually look up foley artists after this? Perhaps! It’s quite fascinating.
3. Note that there are subtitles – every chair has a screen that shows subtitles – but mine was broken, so for the first 20 minutes I basically listened to the show instead of reading.
4. I made a joke that it’s funny that this is the only song people will remember when they leave, and on the subway platform, waiting for the train someone was singing that part.
5. Of course I have to like the most dramatic love song.

~*~

If you don’t feel love’s yearning, I shall find peace in death!

Die Zauberflöte (K620), Ach, ich fühl