April 17-23, 2021
9-1-1: Lone Star – I had a big Rob Lowe phase at the beginning of quarantine last year that was fueled by his books (I recommend listening to them since he does really good impressions), this seven year old Ellen guesting (this is actually what made me decide to pick up his books), his roast, and of course my longstanding love for ‘The Outsiders‘. Since then he’s started his podcast where he’s mentioned several times that his character on his newest show was written perfectly for him; a fire captain obsessed with his hair and skin care routine. I finally got to watch it on Disney+ and it’s really funny. If you don’t feel like watching his show, at least follow him on Instagram where his sons troll him constantly.
Mujadara – I can’t remember whose IG stories I saw this on, but I love lentils and I definitely love caramelized onions so this dish was a must try. I am currently in the second week of eating this so it’s safe to say it’s a fave.
10 Things Vince Staples Can’t Live Without by GQ – Vince Staples’ set at Coachella 2016 was one of my favourites of the year. Even though his set was at night at the Sahara (one of the biggest/ busiest tents), we surprisingly had space to move to the front and dance our faces off. I vividly remember his graphics of bees flying from one screen to the next when he performed Birds & Bees. He later popped up on stage for Flume’s set and we all lost our minds when they performed Smoke & Retribution. All that to say, I love Vince and couldn’t click fast enough when I saw his GQ video. I already knew he was an amazing artist, but what I discovered in this video was how hilaaarious he is. I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say that I will only refer to a pandemic as a panda berry after he called it that.
Mr. Mercedes – Can we talk about this cast for a minute? Mad-Eye Moody (from Harry Potter) and Victor Frankenstein (from Penny Dreadful) as the main leads with Jharrel Jerome (notably of When They See Us) in a supporting role in this TV series based on Stephen King’s Bill Hodges series?? Everything about this is totally up my alley and I was truly dumbfounded that I hadn’t heard of it earlier (it aired in 2017). I’ve only watched the first season but I’m already hooked. Of all the Stephen King TV shows and movies I’ve watched, nothing has really compelled me to read his books until now.
Actors on Actors by Variety Studio – Watching interviews is one of my favourite forms of content, and when actors are interviewing other actors, I feel like they are way more at ease and their answers are less scripted. I discovered Actors on Actors last year and realized that these long form conversations are like listening in on conversations between friends (if your friends happened to be celebrities). Some of my favourites include Adam Sandler & Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans (yes I’m still crushing on him in case you were wondering), Steven Yeun & Riz Ahmed, and Emily Blunt & Hugh Jackman.
Jessica Meir on Smartless – I’m a big fan of Jason Bateman but didn’t know he had a podcast until I came across a re-post on astronaut Jessica Meir’s IG. The awesome part about this podcast is that it’s hosted not just by one but three actors (Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and of course JB). The premise of this podcast is that one of them brings a guest that the two others don’t know about until they’re recording the podcast. I also listened to the Jennifer Aniston episode which was of course a treat since she and Jason are good friends.
Languishing by the New York Times – I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I saw the word Languishing reposted on people’s stories this week, but with good reason. Last weekend I briefly met up with Cara to give her something and she asked how I was. My response was a big sigh and the words “you know..”. The article articulated how I’ve been feeling over the past few months (as I’m sure most people are), but the lines that really got to me were “It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being.” and …”you might not notice the dulling of delight or the dwindling of drive. You don’t catch yourself slipping slowly into solitude; you’re indifferent to your indifference.” The slow and inefficient vaccine rollout in Ontario combined with our third lockdown has really taken a toll on me, and as the article suggests, the first step is acknowledging or putting a name to how we’re feeling. So if you ask me next time how I am, well there ya go.
attybladorny 
