What’s good? This week I’m back on my bullshit and writing another blog post that’s just for shits and giggles. No serious matters to discuss. However, I do want to talk about my recent entertainment recommendations. One thing about me is that I love television, music, books, and podcasts. What can I say, I’m a consumer in a nation built for consumption. Anyways, my top picks as of recently are as follows:
Movies and Television:
Good American Family:
If you love a good Hulu drama, watch this. The story is based on the adoption of Natalia Grace by the Barnett family. I think it does a good job of showing both sides of the story well enough that you just hate all of the characters involved. Like, there is no “good guy” in this story. It depicts how the Barnetts supposedly treated Natalia after the adoption, how and why they decided to abandon her, and all the drama around what Natalia’s real age is. The Barnetts claim she was an adult with dwarfism with the intent to hurt their family. I haven’t finished the series and don’t know much about the real case, so I guess I’ll see how it plays out. But anyway, it’s been keeping me entertained for the past month or so. If you run out of shit to watch, give it a try.
Castle Rock:
I mentioned this show in my post “February Favorites: 18 Things I Loved This Month.” I love a psychological thriller, and this show is no exception. It’s set in the “Stephen King multiverse,” and the first season follows a death row attorney who comes back to his hometown to take a case for someone at Shawshank Prison.
Season two, however, follows the main character of Stephen King’s Misery, Annie Wilkes. It takes place when Annie is middle-aged and raising her “daughter” while having to move around from state to state, so she never gets caught stealing meds from the hospital. The storyline is quite engaging and interesting as it portrays Annie’s struggle with psychosis and the rift that causes with her daughter. There’s also an episode dedicated to Annie’s back story that explains why she turned out the way she did. The ending of season two was also really good, so if you’re into Stephen King, psychological thrillers, and similar shit to that, I suggest watching this show.
The Penguin:
This is a short one-season HBO original series that shows the transformation of Oz Cobb into the villain we all know as Penguin. The acting in this series is phenomenal, and each episode had me engaged, shocked, and absolutely in love with the storyline. Everything that happens in this show is fucking wild, but it’s by far the best short series I’ve ever watched. And I absolutely loved Sofia Falcone. I think I wanna be her for Halloween. Gas mask and all. Anyway, the finale will destroy you and send you into emotional turmoil, but I recommend this show over any other series I’ve seen. Seriously, it’s brilliant.
Jojo Rabbit:
Most people who know me know, but this is my favorite movie of all time. It came out in 2019 and, being directed by Taika Waititi, it is the perfect combination of humor, heartbreak, and exceptional storytelling. The movie follows a young German boy, Jojo Betlzer, during World War II, whose mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Jojo, a blind nationalist, must learn to confront his imaginary friend (Adolf) and learn to think for himself in a time in history when following the group was what everyone seemed to be doing. And while this satire won’t be everyone’s taste, I think it’s the best movie ever, so I encourage you all to watch.
Playground:
Guys I’m not fucking around when I say you have to watch this show. This is prime reality TV. I think the combination of dance and reality TV will never be something I don’t love. And this show does it well. It’s about the dance studio, Playground LA, which is basically THE studio for dancers to get discovered, book jobs, or get their big break. They employ many sought-after choreographers, and this show explores the cut-throat dance culture in LA, with a little sprinkle of romance here and there. A must-watch for sure. The day when season two comes out is gonna be a great day. Can’t wait.
Books:
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys:
This book is a historical fiction that follows four characters fleeing the Red Army in East Prussia during World War II. It’s inspired by the real-life tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff—a German boat that was targeted by a Soviet submarine while transporting refugees and wounded soldiers to safety. The book explores themes of sacrifice, loss, hope, and the tragedies of war.
What You’re Really Meant to Do by Steven Kaplan:
I think everyone needs to read this book at least once. It can be especially helpful when you feel stuck and unsure of what career paths to pursue and which direction to take in life. It helps you discover your unique potential, uncover what your talents, passions, skills, and strengths are, and how a combination of those qualities allows you to see what you’re really meant to do.
Building a life that we consider successful, fulfilling, and worthwhile, both in our careers and personal lives, can seem overwhelming and daunting. Reaching our potential takes a shit ton of work and courage. Courage to show up when we think others will laugh at or criticize our dreams and ideas. However, we will live a life we’re dissatisfied with if we let those around us define success and happiness for us. The world will also miss out on our unique talents and gifts if we follow the path carved for us by others.
The best thing we can do for ourselves is get to know and understand our interests and passions. Learn more about ourselves and create our own definition of success. While it can be easier to do whatever everyone else your age is doing, it won’t make you happy in the long run unless your strengths, skills, and abilities are being used with intention. We should never wait until the “time is right” to become our best selves and put our talents to use. That’s a life wasted. Because there is no perfect time. Invest in discovering your path now. Discover what you’re good at and what you like to do and learn about. And carve a path that fits your unique gifts.
This book ultimately taught me that sometimes what we think is “right” or “normal” for our age and what we feel pressured to be doing by family or peers, isn’t necessarily what’s right for us. This book can help us find the discernment to figure that out for ourselves.
Further, I love how this book outlines a plan for identifying and achieving goals that come from an authentic place. It outlines specific steps and exercises to help you understand yourself on a deeper level. We’re all capable of building our careers and strengthening our skill sets in a way that fits our passions and aspirations. Sometimes that just takes a little extra push. A push this book can give. I encourage you to give it a read.
Love Does by Bob Goff and Donald Miller:
This book of short stories and essays explores the concept of figuring out what love looks like, rather than simply defining it. We all know what it means to love, yet sometimes the line between what we know to be true and our actions becomes blurred. This book is helpful because it explains how to live a fully engaged life and how to stop putting things off, and rather lean into the wonder and whimsy of each day.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger:
This is my favorite novel of all time. Actually, my favorite book in general of all time. It depicts a story of a troubled teenager after getting expelled from his boarding school. It explores themes such as grief, innocence, and being forced to grow up. How the unknown of adulthood can be both terrifying and full of phony people. I especially love this story because of the controversy surrounding it. It pushed barriers and explored uncomfortable themes for that time period. It challenged traditional values of the 50s and uncovered a beautiful and authentic story while doing so. I also love the profanity in this novel. Of course I would. But the thing that’s brilliant about this book is that although it’s sad in some ways, it’s also hilarious. And it means something.
Eat to Love by Jenna Hollenstein:
I recommend reading Eat to Love because it helped me heal my relationship with food. It serves as a guide to those struggling in this area of their life and teaches how to take a joyful, non-diet approach to eating. The content of this book is very similar to that of Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, with common themes of mindfulness, self-respect, and food freedom.
This book by nutritionist Jenna Hollenstein is different, however, in that it incorporates meditation in the journey to cultivating a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body. If you’re someone who struggles to free your mind from shameful and intrusive thoughts about food and eating, I recommend reading this book. The goal of this book is to teach a series of exercises and meditations for mindfulness that allow you to easily identify negative thoughts and emotions around eating and food. Resetting our relationship with food and our bodies is a lot of work, and this book is a helpful tool in that journey.
This book gave me back some of the sanity I had lost to an eating disorder and served as a helpful reminder that the body I have now is just fine. It gets me through the day. I’m a healthy, able-bodied 23-year-old. That is a gift, and to hate this body I have now is both ungrateful and a waste of time and energy. This book helped me learn that. Lastly, this book challenges diet culture by explaining that we deserve to eat in a way that is nourishing, liberating, and enriching, rather than restrictive, obsessive, and shameful. A worthwhile read for sure!
Music:
Hurry Up Tomorrow- The Weeknd (Album):
Album of the year, honestly. And always on repeat for me. While the undertones are a little dark, the storyline behind the album is truly beautiful. It explores themes such as nostalgia, the search for self, isolation, self-destruction, the emotional toll of success, fear, regret, and the fact that fame is not the path to lasting fulfillment. This album was so beautifully and organically crafted and is probably my favorite album he’s released. My favorite songs from the album are Wake Me Up, Cry For Me, Baptized in Fear, Reflections Laughing, Enjoy the Show, I Can’t Wait to Get There, Niagara Falls, and Take Me Back to LA. If you take one suggestion from this post let it be this—listen to this fucking album. And if not the entire thing, at least the songs from it that I noted above.
THE LAST TIME—DESTIN CONRAD and Teezo Touchdown:
Teezo does it again. I love getting the Spotify notification that Teezo released more art. Not only because I love him, but because it’s kind of a game of Russian Roulette. Will it be amazing or some of the worst shit I’ve ever heard? Always a surprise. And if he drops a song that’s not my favorite, it usually has a weird way of growing on me.
It’s Strange— Louis the Child and K.Flay:
Discovered this song on someone’s Instagram story, believe it or not. I think most people assume no one gives rats ass what’s on their Instagram story or what song they choose to play in the background. But if the song is good enough, I make a mental note. As I did with this song. And now it’s on repeat.
RIVER—Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign:
Look, I know this is problematic, and I apologize. And you might also be thinking, “it’s 2025 why is this bitch telling me to listen to a song from a song from Vultures 2”. This song, however, has changed my brain chemistry. The outro to this song has healing powers. And the themes of exploration of the human spirit, seeking redemption, and finding solace in a higher power are meaningful and profound. Maybe it’s not the best idea to seek spiritual advice from Kayne West, and I’m not sure what the fuck is going on with that man, but this song is brilliant. Fucking brilliant. The melody, in tandem with the lyrics that explore the complexities of humanity and faith, it’s beautiful.
BLOOM— Doechii:
We all know and love Doechii. And while this song was one of my favorites from the Alligator Bites Never Heal album, it isn’t talked about enough. This song is about balancing your responsibilities with your dreams and how often it feels as if we’re neglecting parts of our lives or not doing enough each day. I think this song is extremely relatable. Balancing life is difficult. She puts this concept into lyrics in quite a meaningful way, which I love. Especially the part of the song where she says, “You gotta put pieces in places, It’s 24 hours, You take part of those hours, you do what you can do, And you go to bed.” Because period.
Podcasts:
The Rebecca Leigh Podcast episode 148: Let’s talk secrets of high-vibe, magnetic women! Make these shifts to raise your self-worth & vibration:
I love the Rebecca Leigh Podcast, but this episode in general, because I feel like confidence is such an important topic. Everyone struggles or has struggled with confidence in some capacity. And this episode explores the things confident and magnetic women do and how we can become more intentional about these things. I also love how the tips in this episode have nothing to do with appearance but rather the internal shifts and changes we can make today. I suggest listening to this episode because it talks about how confident women don’t always beg for external validation, don’t talk poorly about themselves, follow their inner path, take care of themselves, focus on positivity, create from their souls, love alone time, and work on their energy. All the tips she gives are super helpful when implemented into our daily lives.
Diabetes Digital Podcast by Food Heaven: How to Build Body Image Resilience w/ Dr. Lindsay Kite:
This is such an important discussion to listen to for anyone struggling with body image. During this podcast episode, Dr. Lindsay Kite, co-author of More Than a Body and founder of Beauty Redefined, shares her insights on the concept of beauty, self-objectification, how the media influences the ways we define beauty, and how to build resilience when it comes to body image issues. I think this subject matter is exceptionally important and also something a lot of people struggle with. This conversation is very resourceful for anyone looking to build body image resilience and learn more about navigating the world in an appearance-focused society. This podcast episode also introduced me to the book More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament by Lindsay and Lexie Kite, which was very beneficial for me and helped me shift my outlook and perspective when it came to the way I viewed my body.
The Genius Life Episode 444: Exposing the Dark Secrets of the Food Industry That Keep Us Sick:
This is by far one of the most interesting podcast episodes I’ve ever listened to. This discussion genuinely taught me so much about why we need more transparency in the food industry. Jason Karp, a health and wellness entrepreneur and activist, is interviewed to expose the hidden dangers in the food industry and share his story of how he advocates for safer and more transparent food practices. Topics such as the FDA’s corrupt regulatory system and ethical issues with Kellogg’s are explored in depth. Give this episode a listen if this topic seems interesting to you.
Make Fit Simple episode 36: Teaching Positive Body Image to your Kids While Improving Your Own:
I first listened to this episode in college, and let me tell you, even though I don’t have kids, it was exactly what I needed to hear. The truth is that body image issues can affect anyone regardless of gender, age, or background, and keeping this subject an ongoing conversation is important. This episode dissects the research on body image and shares the importance of speaking positively about your body, especially around children. For those of you with young children, she shares tips on how to model a healthy body image for your kids. She also explains why improving your own body image is key when trying to help your children achieve a healthy body image, too. The insights shared in this episode truly set me forward on the path to loving my body, and I hope it can do the same for you.
Inside Anna’s Mind: Hustle Culture + Procrastination:
I love this podcast, but specifically this episode, where Anna shares her experience with hustle culture. As someone who used to be obsessed with perfection and productivity, I found it helpful to hear someone else’s view on this issue. We need to prioritize our mental health and wellbeing, and allowing time for our minds and bodies to rest is a central part of that. She also talks about topics such as self-comparison and how the opinions of others can slow us down. We can feel discouraged and procrastinate or work to the point of burnout if we base our productivity on that of everyone else around us rather than our own internal guidance system. We don’t always have to be productive and push ourselves too hard. A little push is always a good thing, but taken to the extreme, hustle culture and perfectionism could be our downfall.
Closing:
And now to conclude,
All this shit I suggested, I absolutely love. I eat it up. However, take these suggestions with a grain of salt. My taste can be questionable at times. Also, I know a lot of these shows, podcast episodes, movies, and music are a little dated. Personally, I don’t think that matters. New isn’t always better. Better is better. Anyway, if you’re looking for more shit to watch, read, or listen to, I encourage you to take these recommendations. If you feel like it.
Ok, enough of the banter, I’ll post something next week. Thanks for reading, love.