The Digest: 1/5/2024
This week's most share-worthy resources from around the interwebz
Happy Friday!!!
And Happy New Year :-)
Normally, my recommendations in this newsletter are informational and/or inspirational rather than entertaining.
In the past, I’ve shared entertaining suggestions here and there, but it’s been a while since I’ve done so.
This week, in addition to a handful of the informational and inspirational resources that I normally share, I’d like to share a few more just for fun.
To be honest, I did seek these out with somewhat of an informational goal.
As mentioned a few weeks (or months) ago, I’ve been learning Spanish a bit recently.
I’d mainly been using an app called Duolingo and two podcasts (Duolingo Podcast and Hoy Hablamos) to learn.
A few weeks ago, I started looking for TV shows with Spanish audio and English subtitles that I could stream on YouTube or Amazon Prime.
The first show I found was Extr@ on YouTube.
It was somewhat entertaining, but not so much that I think I would have watched it without the intention of improving my Spanish skills.
To be fair, it was produced roughly 20 years ago as an educational show, with versions in multiple languages, so I can’t say I expected the most of it.
Still, it was worth the watch for its utility in listening to more natural Spanish than what I get through Duolingo.
I couldn’t find much else on YouTube (aside from some children’s shows I may watch at some point), so I moved on to Amazon Prime.
My search there took a bit more digging, but thanks to Reddit, I was able to find a few gems.
The first is called Los Farad.
It’s a Spanish show about a young man who gets involved with a woman who happens to be part of a family involved in weapons dealing.
The dialogue in the show was mostly WAY too fast for me to comprehend, but I was able to pick up on a few things here and there.
One reason I kept watching, though, was that the show was tremendously entertaining.
It had stellar writing and a beautiful score.
The second show I found on Prime is called Harina.
It’s a comedy about a drug-addicted police officer in Mexico City.
The premise sounds a bit odd when typed out plainly like that, but it was hilarious.
Like Los Farad, the dialogue was often way too fast for me to comprehend, but the show was so entertaining that I just kept watching.
Much of comedy is dependent on word and syllable timing and emphasis.
Even though I was dependent on subtitles for comprehension, hearing the native language gave me a better feel for the intended humor.
The third show is called Cómo Sobrevivir Soltero (How to Survive Being Single).
It’s also a comedy, and it’s about a young man coping with life after heartbreak.
Yet again, the dialogue was often far too fast for me to comprehend, but it was still valuable for recognizing words I knew and learning new ones.
The show was pretty funny, too, although it was a bit frustrating at times.
The characters often sabotaged themselves in the “if only they knew what [other character] was thinking…” kind of way that’s common in romantic comedies.
They did it so often, though, that the show became more aggravating than entertaining.
The situations in which the characters found themselves also started to get a bit too outlandish for my liking in the later episodes of the second season.
Overall, I’d highly recommend watching Los Farad, Harina, and Cómo Sobrevivir Soltero.
All three offer English audio, so even if you’re not interested in learning Spanish, you might find them worth watching.
Unless you’re in the mood to learn Spanish, though, you might want to skip Extr@.
While I could have included all these with the rest of this week’s recommendations, I wanted to elaborate on them a bit so that you know what you’re getting into.
Here are this week’s most share-worthy resources from around the interwebz:
How Complaining Keeps Us Stuck in Relationships That Don’t Work by Zachary Goodson
“If I stop complaining, what am I left with? Me, just me.”
Utility on Investment by Tynan
“Whenever you’re about to spend a lot of money on something, really dig deep and ask yourself what sort of utility you’re getting from it.”
No, You Can’t Make a Person Change by Mark Manson
“…often the best thing you can do is simply make it known that you are available if a person needs you.”
The 5-Minute New Year’s Resolution That Will Make All Things New by Dr. Kelly Flanagan
“Like most of life, it is the same thing as always, for the first time ever. The only time ever.”
Survival or Thrival? It’s a Conscious Choice by Dr. Jenny Brockis
“Should we seek to achieve thrival by increasing our resilience, to fend off adversity and be more stress-resistant? That can help, but on its own resilience isn’t enough. What’s more useful is to add in greater adaptability and resourcefulness.”
When You Have a Voice Telling You You’re Inadequate by Leo Babauta
“With a regular practice of self-compassion, a practice of gratitude towards your amazingness, a mantra that changes how you see yourself, and a regular habit of self-care, you’ll start to soothe the unhelpful inner voices and develop a new loving relationship with yourself.”
That does it for this week!
Have a most excellent weekend.
I appreciate you :-)
Rob