#i highly recommend listening to this podcast in general tbh

[lialovesstuff]

It's so interesting to me, as I grow older to see how some of the reactions these kids have are very mild considering that they go through the most traumatising experiences.

I was listening to the anubis backwards podcast interview with Brad Kavanagh (which if you are an anubis fan I highly recommend you go check out because it is super interesting), and he did mention something about how the reactions had to fall in line with the fact that it is still a kid's show. So the reactions could never be too strong.

Taking this, it makes me think about how mentally distressed these students are but they could never really express that because of the PG nature of the show. Having recently rewatched the show I realised how traumatising the things that happen to these kids are and how irl these things would affect a person mentally, but sometimes it makes you angry that these things are sort of just brushed under the carpet.

I want to start off by talking about my girl Patricia. She was gaslit by everyone around her, kidnapped, betrayed by the people whom she trusted would take care of her, has no memory of what we can assume is weeks of her life, and based on the whole Piper situation we can possibly assume she feels neglected or overshadowed. I think this is what leads her to not be vulnerable in front of anyone. Yet, we don't see her express her PTSD at any point after the whole nightmare situation with Rufus. I would have really liked to have seen her PTSD or trauma addressed in some form. For example, how her and Eddie becoming a couple helped her with her nightmares because she finally felt safe with someone and she finally feels like someone believes her and loves her unconditionally.

Then there's Joy. There is so much to talk about when it comes to Joy and I will forever be mad about how the writers address istg maybe 4 times since she came back. She was kidnapped by her own father, betrayed by her teachers, almost sacrificed to some Egyptian cult, had no contact with the outside world, had her education, friends and freedom taken from her at the young age of 16 (I assume), and after all of this still being forced to go back to school and be taught and associate with the people who caused all of this. I really hate how when she came back no one even asked how she feels to be back or just generally checking on her mental health. I’m surprised she went back to that school at all tbh. It was all business as usual and even she didn’t exhibit any ptsd symptoms. I think something as simple as just showing her being terrified of being left in the same room as these teachers would make for an interesting plot point, or talking to Patricia about how she feels scared going back to school. The only time when Joy does exhibit any form of PTSD is when they are forced to wear the robes in S3 and the poor girl literally looks terrified. There’s so much to unpack with Joy, so the last thing I will say is that in S2 I feel like one of her arcs could be learning to deal with the trauma and overcome it. Also it makes me so mad that none of the adults apologised to her.

Moving on to Eddie Miller. This boy has probably dealt with abandonment issues his whole life from his dad leaving. His whole 'rebel' persona probably came about from him not having a male figure in his life and was almost trying to fill that void or not being able to cope with his dad leaving. This is probably why Eddie finds it hard to open up to people, with the first person he truly trusts (besides his mum probably) is Patricia as he says multiple times that he trusts her and he tells her directly that he likes her, which he says himself was not easy for him. He does start to build a relationship with his dad but once again it is something that gets resolved in like 5 minutes and from there they seem to have the building blocks to start building a relationship. This is nice, don't get me wrong, but given that Eddie's dad has been out of his life for years and all it took was a 5-minute convo to get their relationship rolling seems unrealistic. In the conversation, Eddie does say "you didn't want me then, and you don't want me know", which I think is a very deep line for a nick show but still I think irl a boy in Eddie's position would have had a lot more of his true feelings and emotions flow out.

Jerome is a similar case to Eddie. A boy who struggles to reconnect with his father after years. I will say I always thought this arc was really deep for a nick show. A boy finds out his father is in prison and tries to rebuild a connection with him. I do have to say that arc of Jerome rebuilding his relationship with his father has a better pace in comparison to Eddie and his dad, but still, I do imagine a boy discovering his estranged father is in prison would cause a bigger reaction, but once again going back to the idea that it is a kid's show they had to keep his reaction relatively 'neutral'. Also considering that Eugene Simon is a great actor I think he would be able to represent those emotions really well.

Of course, there is still so much to say about all of the characters in the show, but I do find this an interesting observation also in line with what Brad said on the podcast.

[wowbright]

Tag someone you want to get to know better.

I was tagged by @daisyishedwig and sort of by @gleefulpoppet!

favorite color: I find this question confusing. Do people really have favorite colors?

last song: Don't stop me now by Queen

last movie: vacation friends 2. Oh wait, no, it was Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious.

currently watching: the most recent thing I "watched" was The Dropout on Hulu, but the thing that is ongoing "watching" is The Librarian/s verse. (I say "watching" because I mostly listen in the background and look up occasionally while sewing.) So if we want actual watching, I guess that would be Liebes Kind/Dear Child, but again that is completed and not an ongoing thing.

other stuff I watched this year: our flag means death, what we do in the shadows seasons 4 and 5, all the seasons of only murders in the building, all the seasons and the movie of Miss Fisher's Murder mysteries (the Phryne Fisher version), the new quantum leap, Maniac, The Path... Honestly it's wild how much TV I have watched this year, I've been doing a lot of sewing.

shows I dropped this year/didn't finish: yellowjackets; that other horror show that takes place in the town outside of time and space that randomly sucks in people who are driving and then never lets them leave

currently reading: Feet of clay--a study of gurus by Anthony storr; Kingdom of nauvoo by Benjamin f Park; the Enchanted Castle by Edith nesbit; Dracula by Bram Stoker (in Dracula Daily Order); also there are lots of modern (last three decades) novels I have picked up recently and not been able to get very far in because apparently I am not in the brain space for any original fiction written after 1910. I think I should probably give up and go back to Dickens and Austen and the Bronte sisters, which I haven't read in a while. (I am pretty much always reading one thing or another by Nesbit.)

currently listening to: three of the above are audio books. My favorite recently discovered podcast is Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding. I don't have hoarding disorder but this is just a darn good mental health podcast in general. I highly recommend it. When it is no longer a new podcast to me, it will enter the realm of comfort podcast (ones I like to re-listen to). Other comfort podcasts are Coffee & Cults, Maintenance Phase, and Be Uncluttered. Today I listened to the latest episode of Oh No Ross and Carrie and most weeks I listen to Mormon Stories, except when I get sick of it and need a break.

currently working on: the same quilt I've been working on for the past year or so. And of course Mormon!Klaine (though TBH with the cat dying and migraines, not as much as I'd like).

current obsession: the quilt and mormon!klaine. Sewing reflective tape onto clothing, bags, umbrellas, etc. Also, using up as many arcane ingredients in our pantry as possible. Recently, I used the last of the orange extract and fennel seeds to make granola bars (sounds weird, tasted great!), the arrowroot powder in pumpkin bread and Filipino uraro cookies, the oat fiber to make muffins that didn't taste exactly like sawdust; and the mustard seeds to make cocoa mustard (which sounds weird but is actually yummy, if you like mustard). Next in line is Austrian poppy seed and nut cake to use up the rest of the 1-pound bag of poppy seeds. There's no wheat flour in it, you grind up the poppy seeds and the nuts to make a flour.

Tagging (no pressure): @kurtsascot @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @1908jmd @kurtmckinnon

[adventures-written]

Are there any AU’s you’d like to explore but haven’t had the chance to yet? for any of your muses doesn't just have to be for the tri bois uwu

Munday Meme

I do have a guilty one for the Tri-beans. A sort of Swap!AU that was inspired by some fanart I saw where basically Vash is the one out to murder mankind because he wants to 'save' them. Save them from death, poverty, themselves, etc. And Vash also wants to kill all the plants in the end, as well as him and his brother. And Nai is the...I wouldn't say good guy? But he's not a murderous hobo. He doesn't overly like human's, but he's not completely sold on Vash's idea of killing.

Beyond my Hyper-obsession of Trigun?

I have a problem with picking up RP muses from fandoms that aren't overly popular to RP.

One of those would be The Magnus Archives. Currently they're making a sequel to the podcast horror drama, but if you haven't listened to this one I do highly recommend. I won't spoil too much, but essentially, I have a few ideas for what happened to some of the Mains after the end that I would love exploring.

I am always looking for an excuse to RP my android bean Connor from Detroit: Become Human in his human verse. I find his human verse fun, it puts a spin on things and having other characters as the androids instead certainly would change the dynamics. I'm also a sucker for a young, upbeat Detective story.

As an aside, I do want to explore more of my OC's in general. I have to fix up their bios still, but I think I have some good beans in there....And some assholes because I naturally gravitate to that characteristic apparently. So that's not really an 'AU', I guess. More so a wishlist. I just have to get the courage to throw them at people tbh.

[pastelbunnygirl]

Football is so stupid I gotta be honest, I do not understand how people like it. Get so crazy they physically assault others for it, temu ad reference here but like in other times too.

Sports in general (football and soccer mostly) cause so much hate abd violence. Sexual and physical assault whenever a game wins or loses. Its terrifying seeing. They put out warning for women for when it happens because its just so normal. Im talking non-american soccer (football i guess) here for that.

I listened to a podcast recently (Pick Me Up I'm Scares ep 8, spotify) and it dives deeper into the implications of sports. It actually high lighted a lot of good points you don't think about. The whole podcast is really insightful tbh. I highly recommend it, it is very radical however down to earth still.

[venhedish]

Tagged by: @fallcolorspringrapid! Thank yew! I feel like I’m back on MySpace (affectionate).

Last song listened to: Glasser - Apply (which also happens to be my current favorite song and I can’t stop listening to it help.)

Last movie watched: Wow, uh. I don’t watch many movies anymore, I guess? I think it was Knives Out with @kalutyka a couple weeks ago.

Last tv show watched: Surprisingly NOT Supernatural. I watched a couple episodes of The Owl House before bed last night. Highly recommend, btw!

Last limited-series watched (bc it deserves its own category): Queen’s Gambit, I’m pretty sure. Sexy, sexy, chess! Also recommended.

Currently reading: My fic answer - Who Watches Over Me by Nyxocity (J2 movie star/bodyguard enemies to lovers AU. I’m like halfway through it). Non fic answer - Mouthful of Birds by Samantha Schweblin (horror/fantasy short story collection - “Schweblin's stories have the feel of a sleepless night, where every shadow and bump in the dark take on huge implications, leaving your pulse racing, and the line between the real and the strange blurs.” Very Good so far!)

Looking forward to: My beloved @kalutyka is gonna be here in my house this time next week, and then we’re road-tripping to the beach!! And on the way back we’re getting lunch with @ravingliberal!!! ❤❤❤

Last podcast: The Plaidcast Supernatural Rewatch. I’m only a few episodes in, but boy do I love it already. Very good and cool literary analysis of the show by two friends who know what they’re talking about. I’ve already learned a bunch of cool shit I had no idea about (and also I agree with their takes, so I’m biased).

Current project: A thousand WIPs or plans for fic-to-come, but the most complete is The dreaded Mystery Spot darkfic. Also my SPN proship discord server has decided on a whim to star a minecraft server and build the bunker, among other things, so that too, I guess.

Curent mood: Lazy, randomly chilly rainy mid-spring day. I’ve accomplished nothing of value, but I’m content.

Current wish: To get back on my bullshit and manage a more consistent sleep and work schedule. I’ve been all over the place in terms of sleep and productivity, and I really, really need to get myself back to a more steady, predictable daily schedule.

Currently learning: How to play arpeggios on the ukulele.

Last fic read: A Room with You in it, by yourperiphery. AFAIK this fic isn’t on the internet anymore, but I have a pdf copy if anyone is interested! Non-AU J2 fic that chronicles a year after the end of s3 (written before s4 aired based on some of the wild predictions this fic made on the direction the show would go, lol). VERY sweet idiots-to-lovers slow burn fic. Y’all really caught me in the middle of an RPF binge, lmao.

Currently craving: a back massage tbh. wouldnt say no to ice cream, but i’d literally never say no to ice cream, so.

Tagging: @kalutyka, @ohnoitsthebat, @cassandraleeds, @loverofdemoncorns, and @ghost-go-roasty-mctoasty because why not? Also in general just consider yourself tagged by me if you wanna play. I will not stop you, I promise.

[mistergrass]

a dump of podcast thoughts/recs

I have been listening to a whole lot of podcasts in the last month, and so I thought I’d just lay out what I’ve listened to so far and my general thoughts (but I’m not gonna tag any of them because I might get too honest - which means REALLY no one is gonna care about this lmao) 

I would also love some recs for both fiction and non-fiction if anyone’s got any! 

Fiction:

The Magnus Archives - This is, unsurprisingly, my top top recommendation for podcasts. The story being told is so intricate and well thought-out. I love pieces of media where I can turn my brain off and trust that the creators know exactly what they’re doing. And I love anything that knows its intent from episode 1. I think I could go on for ages praising this podcast, but tldr; 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

The Penumbra Podcast (Junoverse) - I am not a fan of high fantasy, which is the main reason I haven’t listened to Second Citadel (other than the one-off eps in s1), so I’ll just focus on the Juno Steel stories. But I listened to this after catching up with TMA because so many people seemed to recommend it. Because of that, I think I might have gone into it with slightly higher-than-necessary expectations....

Here are things I like about it: the environment is well sound-scaped (especially in later eps), the universe is really cool and fun to learn about, and the romantic subplot between Juno and Peter really is a great time. 

That being said, I can get a little frustrated with the writing at times. Story beats are sometimes paced oddly, and at other times the narration can over-explain what’s going on -- especially wrt character emotions. S2 I think is the biggest culprit of this “tell don’t show” method, and it can expand to hurt the individual mysteries and the set-up of the metaplot, too. Overall, S2 was a real dredge to get through. (But credit where credit is due, Juno Steel and The Monster’s Reflection were incredibly crafted episodes of that season). 

But it was worth it to me for S3, which is a fun vibe and shifts from focusing on individual mysteries to character explorations in a found-family dynamic. The real strength of this podcast are the unique and engaging characters and their dynamics (which is why when Juno isolates himself in S2, it gets kind of dull). It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely been a very entertaining season. 

Uhhhh, kind of recommend? Maybe only if you’re really into the noir/sci-fi/detective genre. 

Death by Dying - The worst thing about this podcast is that there’s only five episodes. Oh my GOD what a gem of a show. The deadpan, absurdist humor in this show is so insanely up my alley and so well-written. But one thing I love about this podcast is that even in five episodes with a format that is mostly obituary-of-the-week, the emotional arcs of the characters are really well-maintained. Charolette, in particular, is a tragic character to follow through the MC’s eyes, but in a way that makes total sense considering the situation. This show is so clever, so fun, and finds ways to be really poignant at times, too. 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

Two Princes - I know I said I don’t like high fantasy, but I’m also gay and sometimes that just beats out. Who doesn’t like a light, fluffy story about two princes falling in love in some perilous magic forest? It’s a gas. Also, it’s just really well-produced and an easy listen. You very much get what’s on the tin,  and that tin is some high-quality and very tasty cheese. 

RECOMMEND 

Limetown - God, I’m so upset about this one. 

The first season is a masterpiece. WONDERFULLY produced, beautifully sound-scaped, insanely intriguing and engaging, along with a wonderful MC who is far from perfect in her endeavor for forbidden knowledge. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. 

The second season... is fine! You still want to know what’s going on, so it’s easy to keep listening. But, tbh, it takes a bit of an odd turn. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I would’ve been okay with the shift in direction if it was leading somewhere satisfying. But the S2 finale is... well. Choices were made, I guess. I’ll just say that I was really cheated out of an emotional pay-off. 

If there was a promise of a 3rd season that would explain these things in more depth, I might let it off. But it looks like the production team is shifting its focus to the TV series being made out of this. I might watch it -- but I am worried now that they won’t know how to land the plane no matter how smooth the take-off is. 

Despite everything, RECOMMEND 

Archive 81 - (I have only finished through S2) 

My feelings on this show is that I do not have the auditory processing skills required to keep up, lmao. But I don’t think I can really hold that against this podcast. This show doesn’t hold the audience’s hands, which is something I actually really like (even if I do get lost sometimes in what’s happening, lmao). This is obviously another case of the creators knowing EXACTLY where they’re going in the story, too. I also don’t think I’ve heard any other podcast with sound-scaping at this level. The biggest themes of this show are sound and ritual, and itreally follows through on that wrt how the sound is edited. The vibe of it is so mysterious and unique, it does such a good job of making you feel like you’re in a totally different world.

RECOMMEND

Wooden Overcoats - (I have only finished through S1)

This show definitely has a Fawlty Towers feel to it, and the humor is very fast-paced and British in that very specific UK-sitcom way. Because of that the humor is very dry, but definitely fun to listen to. And the characters are a real hysterical bunch.

My biggest critique, however, is that sometimes the episodes end in a way that feels like a big bummer. British sitcoms of this nature usually hinge upon an incompetent/anti-hero MC who tends to deserve the different comical misfortunes that fall upon them. Usually they get up afterwards, having learned nothing, and the cycle continues in a harmless way. But sometimes that vibe doesn’t really hit, and a few episodes will end with these big tonal shifts where the schadenfreude ends up drying out. You sort of just end up feeling bad for everyone involved instead lol. It’s what has me hesitating going into the next season, but I’ll definitely start it up eventually. It’s well produced, and honestly the characters are just too fun to keep away from (Antigone in particular is my favorite). 

If you like British sitcoms, I’d recommend. Or if you’re looking for a cynical laugh. 

Other podcasts I’ve started are EOS 10, and Dreamboy. I really didn’t like the first episode of Dreamboy, but I’m gonna give it another try since it’s so short. EOS 10 seems well-produced, but not really up my personal alley. 

Non-Fiction 

I’m not gonna give these ones as long of blurbs, just know I recommend them all highly. 

You Must Remember This -  Old Hollywood history that is wonderfully researched, and focuses a lot on women of the time. The recounting of these histories feels very honest and she really doesn’t pull any punches when giving detailed and accurate accounts. A truly wonderful show. 

Welcome to Your Fantasy - A deep dive on the history of Chippendales that is WILDLY entertaining. I sort of can’t believe I got as sucked in as I did. The host has a wonderful humor about her, but is still great at getting to the heart of some of the heavier issues at hand. 

Last Podcast on the Left - My favorite true crime/conspiracy podcast by a long mile. It’s equally hilarious and well-researched. I know a lot of people are kind of anti-true crime lately which is very understandable, but I do appreciate each of the host’s personal philosophies on the matter, which I think comes through in a lot of their episodes. 

[uglyseason]

do u have any recommendations? things ur into at the moment? like tv shows, books, movies, music, recipes, whatevaaa?? 🤠💘

YES. Very much Kylie Minogue’s new album DISCO. The podcasts On Being with Krista Tippett and Levar Burton Reads. Other albums: In a poem unlimited by US Girls, Saâda Bonaire self-titled, Jp4 by junglepussy, blood by Kelsey Lu, Manj by Joomanji, haiku hands self-titled, victim of love by Elton john 🥰, foam by Divino niño. Yola’s cover of goodbye yellow brick road is my number one song rec.

Movies... first of all I think everyone needs to revisit the matrix trilogy because I thought the sequels were amazing and I don’t get why they get a bad rap. Sorry to Bother You was amazing. Event Horizon if you’re into space or horror at all lol. Sort of alien vibes to it but not as sexy. Also recommend alien of course lol. The Thing if you haven’t seen it!! Josie and the Pussycats absolute essential. If you’re a person who still hasn’t watched brokeback mountain don’t speak to me tbh...

Highly highly recommend the documentary 13th if you never watched it — it’s free on YouTube. I also really liked knock down the house, also free on YouTube.

I HIGHLY recommend watching the megan thee stallion npr tiny desk concert.

The following cooking videos on YouTube: Alison Roman Hosts Passover Dinner, 7-Course Convenience Store Tasting Menu with Sohla El-Waylly, Samin Nosrat Makes the Perfect Lasagna.

Sally’s baking addiction has a ton of really delicious recipes and my go to muffin recipe. Also lots of good baking recipes on the King Arthur Flour website lmao.

My favorite books I read this year: all about love by bell hooks, freedom is a constant struggle by Angela Davis, my year of rest and relaxation by ottessa moshfegh, homegoing by yaa gyasi, the lathe of heaven by Ursula K Le Guin

My favorite tv show right now is very much star trek the next generation but I don’t know if I’d say I Recommend it persay because it takes a very sophisticated person like myself to really Get It hahaha. however it is my favorite show of all time now

I recommend...... practicing saying I love you to people. Getting a plant for yourself and naming it and looking after it. Listening to disco. Allowing yourself to explore your own identity. Trying to bake bread if you never have before because it’s really not as hard as you’d think!! Also I recently tried pumpkin bread with craisins in it idk why I never thought of that before??? Deluxe

[panelshowsource]

yes, that’s from 8 out of 10 cats s20e05!

i’ve been watching panel shows for way too long not to know this but i love that for u. did you know alex horne and roisin conaty are the same age? roisin looks eternally 30 years old she is aging like a goddess

...

anon: *something completely unrelated to roisin conaty* panelshowsource: how can i make this about roisin conaty

i feel u anon... i think it comes down to the reality that most people don’t watch more than 2 or 3 of the most popular contemporary panel shows. when i got into panel shows over 10 years ago, i watch watching buzzcocks, old ass mtw, argumental, you have been watching, etc. so i wasn’t indoctrinated the way many new generation viewers have been, and tbh the comedy (“comedy”?) back then was unsurprisingly of a different uh taste. there’s a reason a lot of it hasn’t aged well, you know? i don’t know if the tumblr population who love relaxed father david mitchell, wholesome alex horne, and bearded political commentator frankie boyle are going to go back and watch the “classic” era of a panel shows that were essentially an edgy boys club, let alone enjoy it. and i understand. but, you know, that does in turn limit the variety of content we’re going to see on tumblr. i don’t post a lot anymore but i will keep this in mind in the future!

also i don’t wanna start shit but after meeting james personally and listening to so many other people talk about what he’s like irl it’s amazing to me people still fictionalise a big sweetie pie image for him but i kinda digress

lmfao tbh me too

i posted an update on easter!! praise jizzus!

they don’t happen often because thankfully the thirst has slowed down but also because i lose 50+ followers every time i reblog it (on account of it being so long but also riddled with perversion) so i’m sure it’s lowkey annoying lmao

anon if u think lee mack terrible please go back and read the thirst masterpost...i got ppl sending me messages about being fucked w frank skinner’s long fingernail. like. i need therapy bc of this

i wonder how his style of comedy would go on taskmaster!! since he’s more of a banter king than anything else, jimmy sitting in a room by himself doing crafts seems like it could be more of a miss than a hit? and yet...i need to see it. someone tweet at alex

so first of all ur a hero. last christmas i got drunk w my roommate and watched the holiday special and i really thought i had transcended. but tbf i watched the latest episode yesterday completely sober and seeing gray-haired john barrowman drink tea off an old man’s asshole was pretty much the same experience, so i guess that’s just the power of juice. i highly recommend u go back and watch the series when gino replaced fearne (oof sorry fearne) bc 1) it’s truly, truly peak chaotic panel show and 2) holly is there...because holly just quit the show lmao i am fucking sad

it’s from their podcast!!

anon...in fucking DEED

anon i’m gonna do something i’ve probably never done on this blog bc it’s never(??) happened and admit to you that i have no idea what that is :(

i love that my inbox is literally just random miles appreciation

f.a.q. // watch links masterpost

[m-ayamiko]

For Charis ;)

There can be different approaches to learning French, and I don’t think I started or are currently am learning in the best way haha. But I will link some useful resources that definitely did teach me something

For starters, here is a link to a post that talks about how to approach language learning based on how you learn:(https://ipablo6.tumblr.com/post/165748273056/language-learning-made-easy)

immersion

I think it is important to imMerSe yourself into the language/culture. So you become more comfortable with it. This can happen by (along side doing planned and formated study) watching shows in French, listening to music and podcasts in French and finding other ways to fill your brain with the language without it always being seen as ‘learning time’. If there are any shows or movies that you know really well/ liked alot in English, hopefully you can find it in French bc whilst listening to the French vers, you won’t be completely lost and confused as to what is happening

Sometimes I watch Peppa Pig in French harhar and I think it is good listening practice, as to how french is actually spoke (tbh it is kinda hard to hear understand sometimes, thankfully there are often subs harhahr)

some cartoons in FrencH:

- peppa pig :p

- lazy town );

- miraculous ladybug ;)

- charlie and lola :)

music:

- oui, oui baguette 

- *fraincais

- french covers of english songs

books:

- childrens books, that may be easier to understand?

- books for beginner 

- poems, novels and plays (probably a higher level of words used)

youtube:

- youtubers recommended by aspoonfulofsugar

- recommended by naomisfrench

- wendigofrench has recommended ‘What the cut’ for intermediate level

movies:

- disney movies 

I also recently set my phone to French, which seems scary but wasn’t even a terrible idea. If it is too overwhelming at first, you can find your way back to the settings and change the language back. Since having it in French, I have learnt different words easily because they keep popping up (like ‘cancel’, ‘settings’ and just some apps in different languages). Highly recommended

Incase you get lost on social media if your phone is in french 

vocabulary

There is a post that lists important vocabulary to learn whilst starting a new language. It is very useful to have a set group of vocab to learn at one time so it is easier to stay focused on a certain topic (especially when self learning), well tha’ts what I think. Once you get into learning the language (following Tumblr accs, watching shows and all that) you will often come across new cool fun exciting vocab and I think that it is important to write down those snippets that you find and include them in their respectable postitions in the list, or maybe you could just learn/revise them seperate to the list thing

If you have anything that you have a big interest in something, like space, finding a vocabukary list for that topic will be good to learn so that you can feel comfortable and talk about things that you enjoy talking about, instead of just learning general terms.

learning slang is also similar to being able to personalise your speech!

vocab list thing:

- recommended by aspoonfulofsugar

- art

- philosophy 

- interstellar 

- university

- gardening

- typically teen expressions

questions :D

It is good to know how to ask for things ig. A good post on asking questions by studyegn 

creating goals and milestones

without having a set curriculum and teacher to guide and record your progress, having self made goals and milestones can be very useful. There is a post that shares some recommendations for language learning milestones and I have been using some myself

One of my goals is to create a diary ind French! Which kind of forces myself to learn how to express feelings and be able to recount the day in French

some posts specific to self-expression: - feelings

- ‘diary writing in french’

other resources

I have not really committed to any one specific app for french (since the best ones seem to be the ones that ask for money, realizashun). But there are apps that I have used that have been good and could help if used consistently. I think it wouldn’t be good to rely on only one app to teach you everything, it would be good to search around on how different sites and apps differently teach one topic and search if there is more information on one topic than what a app/site is telling you 

apps:

- duolingo harhar

- drops (i tried using this app to also learn tagalog *two eyes looking to the side emoji* - memrise

- rosetta stone ? i think itz money 

sites:

- https://frenchtogether.com/learn-french-youtube/

- https://www.clozemaster.com/l/fra-eng

- 11 hr french learning class 

idk what else to add, there is probably a lot that could be added like grammar resources but i don’t know great grammar resources myself

WELL THEN, thnk yuo 4 read

[bryndeavour]

Sort of a derail from Morseverse content.. Due to health things unrelated to the pandemic, I’ve been dealing with some home quarantines of family members for about two months now. Remember to pop out and get some fresh air and sunlight every once in a while, even if it’s your front step or back door!

Also here’s what we have been marathoning (and our suggestions for marathons)... We’ve been ingesting a lot of DND but it’s such a good long run and fun source of content.

Podcasts

The Adventure Zone - McElroy’s play DND! I’m sure you have heard of it but it’s a great time to start.

Not Another DND Podcast - A boy scout, a hillbilly elf and a himbo raised by dwarves go on adventures.

Welcome to Night Vale - Have you never? Do you wanna? No time is better than now.

David Tennant Does a Podcast with... - Just listen to david tennant talk.

Trees a Crowd - A nature podcast by David Oakes (huge crush)

YouTube

Dimension 20: Fantasy High (season 2 ongoing) - DND Meets high schoolers. Super fun, amazing character development, love love love.

Dimension 20: Escape from the Bloodkeep - When the Dark Lord falls, what do his villainous generals do??? Be super wholesomely evil, tbh.

English Heritage - The Victorian Way - Cooking... Victorian Style!

Dropout.tv (College Humor)

More Dimension 20 seasons as well as game shows, sketch comedy, etc. This is a paid service but there’s a 7 day free trial so why not capitalize? Unsleeping City, which may be my fave D20 campaign, is up here.

TV

I don’t pay for cable or any of that so all of my TV is via services - Netflix, Amazon Prime, Britbox/Acorn/Masterpiece. BUT there are a couple reliable streaming sites I highly recommend, though you MUST have adblock software. newepisodes.co and tornado.to are the main ones. 

Anyway soothing show suggestions that are very low stress (mostly mysteries but not all) -

Shakespeare & Hathaway

McDonald & Dodds

Midsomer Murders

Father Brown

Death In Paradise

Any of Robson Green’s travel/fishing shows.

Hairy Bikers cooking series

Lords & Ladles - Chefs cook in Irish manor houses in the original way they did historically, sourcing the ingredients from the grounds of the manor and learning history in the process!

VIDEO GAMES!!

This is a great time to play the games you haven’t touched. We’ve been playing-

Borderlands 3 (has 2 player local co-op!)

Darksiders: Genesis (also has 2 player co-op!)

Diablo 3 (has 2 player co-op)

Star Wars Fallen Order (the only well done, uncontroversial star wars story in years)

The Outer Worlds (Fallout meets Dragon Age meets Bioshock and honestly so fucking good and less complicated than all of them)

Assassins Creed: Odyssey (family feels and romance, open world, lots of DLC and you can play as a lady finally!)

[charlieism]

Any podcast recs?

woo yes!! i love podcasts!! i’ll get right into my favs :D click the read more bc it gets kinda long

The Adventure Zone

If youre on tumblr youve probably heard of this already. It’s created by the McElroys, and follow the adventures of Taako, Magnus and Merle and a lot of fun other side characters all voiced by Griffin. Its hilarious and full of goofs, but the story it weaves Will make you cry by the end, there are so many plot twists, gays, found family tropes, its just ugh. amazing. very good to listen to if u want a laugh tbh, but the episode are pretty long, up to an hour and a half. but the story is beautiful, the characters are amazing, n i feel like im constantly laughing at jokes i dont even understand bc the mcelroys r Just That Funny. there are also other arcs u can listen to, like amnesty, which is about a trio of monster hunters, commitment, which is about superheros, and dust, which is a western supernatural mystery!

EOS 10

This is for sure one of my favourite podcasts ever. The characters are so easy to love and all so complex with very human issues, except its set in space surrounded by aliens so the shenanigans are never-ending and all so, so entertaining. the general plot is about dr. dalias, a surgeon on the space station EOS 10, and his friends and coworkers dr. urivdian, jane, and levi the hypochondriac, chaotic alien prince (and akmazian, the gay space pirate). the relationships between the characters are to die for, the gays are beautiful, and its fucking hilarious. 10/10 recommend, the episodes are relatively short between 10-15 minutes so its very easy to listen to.

Wolf 359

This was the second podcast I ever listened to, and will forever be held close in my heart. it starts off as a funny, light-hearted podcast based on the logs of communications officer doug eiffel, an astronaut aboard the USS Hephaestus, a spacecraft with only 2 other crewmembers, commander Minkowski and scientist Hilbert. eventually more characters are introduced such as captain lovelace, and the SI-5 crew Jacobi, Kepler, and Maxwell. the series goes from something entertaining and joking to a story with an unfolding plot that honestly blows me away, morally grey characters and the complex relationships between everyone, and amazing character development. the episode start out pretty short but they get longer as the plot progresses. you’ll laugh too many times to count, find yourself crying near the end and wonder how you got here, and fall in love w the characters, the jokes and the mystery. i cant recommend it enough (eiffels development ugh my fucking boy…..)

The Penumbra Podcast

This podcast is so fucking fun. its a detective-noir type storyline set far into the future on mars. it follows PI Juno Steel, a detective in Hyperion City, and all the cases he lands and has to solve. its intriguing as hell, the characters draw you in completely bc theyre so layered and complex but so easy to love, its gay as FUCK (theres only one straight person on mars lol) and its v enjoyable listening to juno’s character development and his interactions with other characters (namely nureyev and rita). im literally never bored listening to this podcast, and if the detective theme wouldn’t typically be your thing i swear you should listen to it anyway because with how its set on mars, in space, in the future, there are things youd never imagine and worldbuilding so smooth and surprising and fun. there are hilarious moments, tragic moments, heartbreaking moments, heart-healing moments, and just. the whole thing is brilliant dude. i adore it. (theres also a lot of mini episodes set in different universes like old western lesbians, and the Second Citadel, which runs alongside juno’s universe and is kind of a knights vs monsters fun thing but theyre also all bisexual lol).

Time Bombs

This is a mini-podcast made by the same creators as wolf 359. its only 3 episodes long so if u want something quick to listen to this is v good! its about a bomb squad on new years eve as Simon Teller tries to break the record of most bombs defused in a year. its very funny, easy to listen to, and just a fun lil thing!

Lake Clarity

Now this boy is a horror podcast. Its about a bunch of teens who go up to the abandoned Camp Clarity for a trip together before they graduate. they uncover abandoned military bases and a conspiracy, mutations and monsters, and get picked off one by one. i admit i never finished the second season but i greatly enjoyed the first! it was interesting (and they acknowledged the slightly basic set up in show a lot lol) but i like it!

King Falls AM

I only recently started listening to this one but its so good dude!! its set in a radio show in King Falls, hosted by Sammy and Ben. Sammy just came to the town from the city and Ben has lived in King Falls his whole life: we listen to the strange events happening around town as they happen and ben and sammy report on them, listen to the residents send in calls about their weird situations, meet new characters, and get a lil freaked out by some spooky things! its funny, its odd, its creepy at times, its the perfect blend of humour, supernatural, and horror!

And now for some honourable mentions

Welcome To Nightvale

This is one you’ve probably heard of as well. WTNV is a radio show hosted by Cecil Palmer, a citizen of the town of Nightvale, which has got to be the weirdest town in the world. its delightfully strange, entertaining, fun to listen to, and i havent finished it but i like it and i know a TON of other people adore it, its v popular!!

The Magnus Archives

Another horror podcast, I never got very far through it (mainly bc i just. struggle to listen to jon’s voice and accent rip) but the gist of it is a british archivist is going thru some archives n recording the stories. its full of monsters, supernatural stuff n creepy stories. people love it, if ur into horror n creepy stuff then i recommend this one!

The Bright Sessions

Another one I never got very far through, it follows dr. bright, a therapist for the ‘strange and unusual’ and her sessions with various super-powered people, for example empaths, time-travellers, etc etc. im not sure why i didnt get v far thru bc it is v intriguing and has a lot of potential, im sure id pick it back up one day! i think it could have a lot of cool overlapping storylines if u dig that!

Directive

This short podcast is very interesting, its about a man who is on a spacecraft alone looking after people in stasis for many years, and isnt allowed any real contact with other people on the ship outside of a video call once a night. there are plot twists, you will randomly find yourself crying by the end of it bc of the raw emotion, and it can be a little slow in the start but its worth the quick listen!! it goes into the effects of isolation and moral dilemmas on a person and is v interesting!

And now just some ones on my to-listen list that have been highly recommended to me!

Limetown

Wooden Overcoats

Within the Wires

Rabbits

Alice Isn’t Dead

[pynkhues]

do you have advice on how to be more of a critical thinker/ tips on how to analyse shows?? bc i love yours but god i couldnt do it even if you paid me, i've got no skills

Oh gosh, thank you, anon! And I highly doubt you have no skills! All of this stuff is both learnt (I watch a truly shocking amount of movies, haha) and something that I genuinely think comes naturally to us as a species. I think humans like stories. I think we see that in historic - particularly Indigenous - traditions of oral storytelling, I think we see that in fairytales and fables, in modern films and TV - - hell, I even think it with tabloids (like, fuck, I kind of love that glossy magazines can build a story out of a celebrity getting a coffee from Starbucks [Not with her BOYFRIEND?? They’re clearly on the rocks, etc etc etc])

With that in mind, I think really learning how to unpack a story comes down to a pretty simple question.

Why? 

When it comes to storytelling (and life tbh), everything is a choice that somebody has made - whether that be a writing choice, an acting choice, a costume choice, an art department choice. Somebody has sat down and decided that something looks, sounds, feels the way that it does, and they’ll have a reason for it. Stories aren’t made by accident - they’re the result of a lot of work done by a lot of people - so feel empowered to ask that story questions - interrogate it - really ask it why, because somebody’s work and reasoning is generally behind it (and in my experience - those people love that you notice and want to engage with it, even when you have an opinion that might deviate from their intention).

Like - - okay, lets look at an example. 

Beth wears a lot of floral, and her house is decorated with a lot of floral, which means that at least one person has made that choice. Probably a writer, who likely wrote it into a script at some point. Great! Likely though - that writer wrote it into that script, and a costume team and art department / set dressers ran with it and then doubled down on it, so now we have multiple creatives making an active creative choice to decorate Beth and Beth’s life in floral. 

Why would they do that? What do floral prints mean? 

Well, floral is culturally and socially something that is very feminine, and often heavily associated with beauty and motherhood (gosh, just think of any sort of mother’s day card or promotion). Flowers are also something that can represent a blossoming (which I think you could genuinely argue with Beth), and certain flowers represent very specific things - like lilies (innocence), daisies (youth), roses (love) or poppies (death) - none of the latter are relevant in this situation, but you get the gist. 

Beth dresses in a range of floral, which implies they’re going for a broader association with it - unlike, say, American Beauty, which used recurring rose imagery to directly contradict the idea of ‘love’ - which takes us back to the original point - femininity, beauty and motherhood, and they use it to draw a very stark parallel to the life it is that Beth’s actually living. She’s wearing floral when she’s arguing with FBI agents, or as a costume with other mothers. It’s being used to amplify the contrast between what it is she’s doing and the image that she wants to project to the world / arguably the woman that she is. 

What I’m getting at, is that if you notice an image, or an item that’s recurring, just let yourself think about it. 

So let���s try again.

Let’s think about Beth’s bourbon, or Rio’s gun. 

These are two items that the writers keep putting in front of us, which means that they mean something to them, and therefore the characters and the story. 

Why? 

Well, season one establishes that Beth drinks bourbon usually after a long day, when she’s criming with the girls, when she’s just really fucking done. This is reiterated in season two, and then it’s something that Rio learns about her, orders her, and deliberately leaves her when he takes back her money. 

Season one told us that bourbon is what Beth drinks when she’s at her rawest and her most vulnerable. Rio knowing that narratively, is telling us that Rio knows Beth. 

Like I said in an earlier post, Rio’s gun has a lot of weight to it, and is typically accompanied with a shift in narrative tension. So why would that be? Well, the gun is dangerous. It represents Rio at his most dangerous. If it represents Rio at his most dangerous, it means that it generally also represents Rio at his most powerful, so you can infer from that that the gun is symbolic of power, which particularly comes into play when he gives it to Beth in 1.10 and again in 2.13. Rio’s giving Beth power which she gives back to him in 2.01, and seizes and then actually gives to Turner in 2.13 (which is very interesting to me generally, haha). 

So yeah! I guess asking a story why, and paying attention to recurring imagery - both physical and more symbolic, is probably my biggest recommendation of where to start. If you notice an image repeating too, and don’t know what it means, feel empowered to google it too! There’s no shame in that. I’ve done that plenty of times, haha, because we can’t all be across everything after all. ;-)

Otherwise, I’d really suggest listening to podcasts or interviews, and watching things that help to break down stories and creative and story-business process. 

In particular, I really love TheNerdWriter and Lindsay Ellis on YouTube, I also watch/listen to a lot of interviews with writers and directors through things like The Hollywood Reporter roundtables, and podcasts like Australian Screenwriters, Scriptnotes, How Did This Get Made (which is v funny). I’m also going to do a shameless plug here, haha, and say that I have a very-amateur podcast (full disclaimer - our audio quality can be not-great) with a friend too called Lady Parts which is about genre films, but particularly about roles and representations of women in those genre films.

There are also some pretty amazing books out there too. An entry-level one is Film Art (which is unfortunately a bit expensive!) but is an incredible resource full of screencaps and script pages which helps to break down choices and storytelling and imagery, and Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer (who wrote Annihilation!) which is more about writing, but is an incredible resource for understanding story generally. 

I hope that’s a helpful start, anon! And if anyone has any other tips, you should leave ‘em in the comments :-)

[velvetrouge]

I have recently started learning mandarin by myself since my school doesn’t offer any classes, I was wondering if you have any tips for studying or websites that I could use?

Hi there, sorry I took so long to answer this because this answer took me a really long time to compile 😂 First of all, great to know you are learning Chinese! Actually Mandarin is just a spoken form of Chinese, but I assume you are planning to learn how to read and write Chinese as well :D I’ve received quite a few questions about learning Chinese ever since I started this blog, so I thought I should write a detailed answer about this. 

LONG ANSWER AHEAD

Before you start, do note there are actually two sets of (overlapping) Chinese characters out there, 

1. Traditional Chinese characters (used in Taiwan and Hong Kong)  

2. Simplified Chinese characters (used in Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia). 

I’m from Singapore so I learned simplified Chinese, I can generally read traditional Chinese as well though I have great difficulty writing them because I’m too used to simplified characters 😂😂 You don’t have to learn both, but it’s good to know the difference since you will probably encounter both types of characters at some point when you are studying Chinese/ consuming Chinese entertainment.

I definitely recommend learning Hanyu pinyin to help with the pronunciation of the words, but do note that pinyin is neither the Chinese alphabet nor meant to be a substitute for Chinese characters. There is no alphabet for Chinese… we do have Chinese radicals (further explained here) which is not really an alphabet but more like components of a character 🤔 For the most part, to learn Chinese characters you have to memorise them. Maybe you can set yourself a goal of memorising a few characters a day to kickstart the process, actually if possible I would recommend getting a Chinese copy book/app like this one: 

Writing the characters over and over is the best way to remember the words imo, also this will help you practise your handwriting! 

A good dictionary is a must, for Chinese-English dictionaries the best one I have tried so far is the app Pleco. I used to have this book of 成语 (Chinese idioms) and 俗语 (Chinese sayings) as well that I had to memorise for school, but I think you can just learn them online (found some here) if you want :D You should probably wait till your Chinese reaches intermediate~advanced level before starting on those though, if not the whole thing might be kind of confusing. 

For websites, I have never tried learning Chinese online before so I don’t have first-hand experience of any of the online Chinese learning sites, but I did find this list of online resources for learning Chinese which is really comprehensive. it covers sites and apps for everything from reading and writing Chinese characters to all types of podcasts. Actually you know what, there are more resources available online than I thought, there are even apps for you to connect to native Chinese speakers (I didn’t even know those existed until I wrote this answer) 👀 That list of sites and apps pretty much covers every aspect of learning Chinese so I don’t have much else to add tbh 😂😂 Just gonna recommend some entertainment options that will hopefully make your learning process more enjoyable! 

(Below are mostly my personal song/ show/ manhua recommendations)

For songs there are really way too many so it’s kind of hard to draw up a list, maybe you can start with the songs of some of the more famous artistes like Jay Chou, A-mei, Eason Chan, Faye Wong, Mayday, Stefani Sun, Jam Hsiao… You can search for Mandopop playlists on Spotify for a start! I’m personally quite fond of 逃跑计划, Lala Hsu and 陈粒’s songs.

Also randomly recommending 夜空中最亮的星 and 平凡之路 because they are my favourite songs (夜空中最亮的星 almost made me cry the first time I heard it, even now after listening to it for so many times it still gives me the same feeling 👵🏻).

For dramas my favourite drama by far is Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜), which imo is the best drama I’ve ever watched. My sister and I were obsessed with this show and recommended it to all our friends, it was so good!!

(side note I think Hu Ge’s face is especially suited for historical dramas)

Some other dramas I liked were Ode to Joy, The Fierce wife (Taiwanese) and The Legend of Zhen Huan, Nirvana in Fire Season 2 was also just released this year! My friend recommends Tens Miles of Peach Blossoms which she said made her cry a lot, and I think Yang Mi’s latest drama The Negotiator is quite popular too though I haven’t watched it yet. I actually don’t have a lot of dramas to recommend because I don’t really watch them 😂😂 But coming from someone who don’t particularly like watching dramas, Nirvana in Fire is really so freaking good…

Anyway besides songs and dramas, my other recommendations are 1) Web novels and 2) Manhua.

I highly recommend reading web novels (I mostly read on them on qidian), the Chinese web novel community is seriously gigantic and I’ve honestly only explored a very very very tiny fraction of their offerings because there are so many popular web novels out there. Btw even if you can’t read Chinese there are English sites (webnovel l wuxiaworld) where you can read the Chinese web novels translated into English for free, so you can enjoy them regardless of your Chinese abilities :D One well-known novel on both the English and Chinese site is The King’s Avatar (全职高手), which was made into a gorgeous Chinese anime last year

First episode here!

Btw if you download the qidian app they have this audio book function that I thought was pretty handy, you can listen to your favourite novels being read to you ->

(Click 听书 and it will lead to the audio)

(One of my favourite novels 惊悚乐园／Thriller Paradise!)

For manhua I mostly read my manhua on kuaikanmanhua, 腾讯动漫 and occasionally dongmanmanhua. I made a short list of BL recommendations previously here, some other non-BL manhua I’m currently following are:

DOLO命运胶囊 (the art for this series is really beautiful) 

女王的手术刀

哥哥是大笨蛋

看脸时代 (This one is Korean and really popular, it’s translated into English as well under the title Lookism but personally I prefer the Chinese translation) 

A friend of mine recommended Duoluo Dalu (novel here) and Battle Through The Heavens (novel here) which I haven’t read yet, but if I’m not wrong both series are popular 👀   

That’s all I can think of for now! Kind of off topic but from the perspective of an overseas Chinese I think Mainland Chinese entertainment have improved a lot in recent years. When I was young I could only remember a few shows from China like 还珠格格, Journey to the West, and Return of the Condor Heroes, and my own childhood was dominated by Japanese manga and Taiwanese Mandopop/ idol dramas (that’s how I learned to read traditional Chinese lol). But now there is an increasing number of quality productions from China, which is great for someone like me who is fond of Chinese entertainment (sadly Singapore’s Chinese entertainment scene is pretty lacking and Hong Kong and Taiwan’s entertainment industry have been declining, Singapore is currently pretty much dominated by Kpop and K-dramas). Hopefully Chinese entertainment will continue to get better and better in the near future ^^

In any case this list is non-exhaustive, but my answer is getting way too long so I’ll just stop here. I’ll add any future recommendations under the recs tag, hope this helps! 

[heavyweightheart]

What podcast did you download might I ask? Diet culture podcast sounds cool! Also. Any other podcasts you recommend? I've been getting into them lately!

it was this episode of the food psych podcast which is an excellent show in general. i really wanted them to dive deeper into the interactions btwn diet culture and disability but there’s only so much that can be said in under an hour. very worth listening to tho!

so yeah highly recommend food psych – christy harrison really knows her stuff, even if some of her guests don’t. tbh there are food/body podcasts that i listen to very selectively (chris sandel’s real health radio, kaila prins’ finding our hunger, recovery warriors if you’re wanting ed-specific, our old friend tabitha farrar has some great guests) but nothing i’d recommend wholesale for those topics. my friend recently recommended she’s all fat, which i’m excited to check out. 

otherwise i listen to leftist political podcasts which are truly terrible when it comes to food & body issues lol you might as well listen to npr or become a breatharian 

[jonasmaurer]

Oura ring review + is it worth it?

Sharing my thoughts and full review of the Oura Ring. Pros, cons, sleep tracking, fit, and is it worth it?

If you see me out and about right now (jk, we don’t go anywhere) you’ll see me sporting some intense bling: my new Oura ring.

(Ok not really *bling* but it’s a giant ring!)

After hearing so many rave reviews about the Oura ring, I finally decided to give it a try. I’ve been listening to Superhuman on Audible, and Dave Asprey is a huge fan (and now investor) of the company, and Dr. Minkoff also said he loves his Oura ring when I interviewed him for the podcast. I decided to go for it and was so pumped when it arrived last week!

Oura ring review + is it worth it?

What is the Oura ring and how does it work?

The Oura ring measures blood volume and uses this info to calculate respiratory rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability

Time of day

Movement and

Body temperature

From here, it also collects data regarding sleep, including your heart rate variability, time in bed, time asleep, and the stages of sleep (deep sleep, light sleep, etc.).

The things that really convinced me to order the ring is that it can be an excellent tool for improving sleep and performance. It gives you a “readiness score” each morning depending on your sleep and how you recovered from the previous day’s activity. You can use this information to notice habits that affect how you recover and how you feel, and also know when it’s a good day to push yourself and when it’s a good time to scale back.

Here’s what the ordering process is like:

You order and pay for the ring, but before you receive the actual ring, you receive a sizing kit in the mail. The sizing kit recommends picking a sample plastic ring and wearing it for 24 hours before determining your size, since our fingers can swell during the day.

This part was a little tricky for me because my fingers are small. I wear a size 4.5 on my ring finger and the smallest size they offer is a 6. This one works even though it is a bit loose. Heads up: the Oura is large and in charge.

At the same time, it’s truly incredible that they packed this technology into a ring.

Here’s a full review of the Oura ring and what to expect:

Set-up: Setup was fairly easy. After selecting my size online, the actual ring arrived about 5 days later. Once you get the ring plugged in and the app set up on your phone, it’s very straightforward from here. I received the ring late afternoon and was excited to wear it to sleep and view my sleep stats.

App use: The app is incredible. It’s so easy to navigate and I was in nerd heaven with all of the data they provide. It’s really cool to see your heart rate variability while you’re sleeping. The app provides helpful tips based on your score (like why a certain number may be higher or lower than usual) and encourages you to alternate your workout intensities. (<— vs my apple watch which tells me to stop being lazy when I really need an off day.) For example, if my readiness score is low, it automatically sets a lower activity goal for that day, encouraging me to rest and recover.

Pros:

– Readiness score (0-100). The readiness score is based on how well you slept, how well you’ve been sleeping in general, your body temperature, resting heart rate, previous day activity, activity balance, and recovery index (how your heart rate stabilizes throughout the night). When you click the readiness score, you can get detailed information on each component plus applicable tips. I can already tell that this will significantly help with my personal workouts. On a day that I had a 94 readiness score, I was feeling awesome and hopped on the Peloton bike. I got my first 30-minute PR in a LONG time!! (When you’ve had the bike for 2+ years, it gets harder and harder to set new records.)

– Sleep tracking. When you click your sleep score for the day (0-100), you get detailed info on total sleep, efficiency, restfulness, REM sleep, deep sleep, latency and timing. Just like the readiness score, you can click to get more information on sleep stages and resting heart rate throughout the night. This has been insightful for me and also proved what I already knew to be true: I sleep like a rockstar when Tom is home and sleep like trash when he’s traveling.

– The app syncs with your Apple Watch health app. For example, if do a barre workout but am not wearing the ring, my watch will send the data to my Oura app and I still get credit. I think this is amazing because I don’t think I’ll wear my ring for super heavy lifting workouts.

– Battery life and charging. The battery lasts about a week and charges extremely fast.

– Temperature tracking. This is an interesting component that can play a part in detecting sickness. Also, for women, it can be helpful for those who are tracking their temperature for their menstrual cycles. I’ve been tracking my cycle for about 10 years now so I know the second I ovulate lol but still an interesting addition to the ring.

Cons:

– Size. TBH, I was disappointed when I pulled the ring out of the box because it’s so giant. I thought it would drive me bonkers, but after a day or so, I’m used to it. Also, the nice thing is that you don’t have to wear it all the time. They can collect more data if you do, but if you’re going out or dressed up, you can skip it. For now, it hasn’t been a problem to wear it 24/7.

– Step counter is off. I don’t find the step counter to be as accurate as my Apple watch, but that’s not really my purpose for owning an Oura ring.

– Price. At $299, it’s not a cheap fitness gadget. Do I think it’s worth the cost? It depends on your goals and budget. If you’re looking for a step counter and basic exercise tracker, I would go with a Fitbit or something similar. If you want to deep dive into your sleep and activity habits and make some changes, I highly recommend it.

– Data, but not as many recommendations. The data is only helpful if you know what to do with it. For example, if I have two giant glasses of wine before bed and my sleep rating is lower, I know that I need to stick to one glass and have it earlier in the evening. A heavy meal, too much screen time, and caffeine can all affect my sleep score, which in turn, affects my readiness score. You definitely have to pay attention to your day’s structure and see how it affects sleep, performance, and how you feel. The ring is there for guidance and information.

All in all, I’ve been extremely happy and in nerd heaven with the ring and all of the data. I feel like I’ve been smarter about my sleep and workouts, which was the goal.

Are you into wearable fitness gadgets? What’s your fave?

xo

Gina

Note: this post is not sponsored and the ring wasn’t gifted. Just wanted to share my thoughts and review if anyone is considering adding it to their collection. 

The post Oura ring review + is it worth it? appeared first on The Fitnessista.

Oura ring review + is it worth it? published first on https://olimpsportnutritionde.tumblr.com/

[cynessie]

tagged by @mooitstimdrake

i have not done one of these in years. YEARS. 

RULES: Share 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions provided by the tagger, tag 11 awesome people and leave 11 questions for them to answer!

11 Facts

i ate turkey chili for dinner tonight

i go to a figure drawing class on Wednesdays

i’m so short. i’m not even 5′2″. it’s so depressing. makes me feel so... low, if you will. 

I WAS GONNA GET A CAT AS SOON AS I MOVED OUT OF MY PARENTS HOUSE BUT THEN I FOUND OUT MY ROOMMATE WAS ALLERGIC. NOW I CAN’T GET ONE UNTIL NEXT YEAR WHEN SHE MOVES IN WITH HER BF AND I JUST. >:((((((

but it’s okay because now i’m planning on getting two cats

i have adhd

my BLUE car’s bluetooth ID is “Blue Lion” and also has a little acryllic Blue Lion/Lance keychain hanging on the rearview mirror

i like the podcast Reply All a lot. it’s really good. i highly recommend it.

i make a smoothie for breakfast every weekday to bring to work

i really loved working at AnimeNext this year and i wanna work more conventions in the future

im getting tatoos on both inner lower arms eventually. just have to figure out what i want first.

11 Questions

If you were to make a new blog dedicated to one single thing (fandom, hobby/activity, etc) what would it be?

voltron probably

If you could have any kind of animal as a pet, what would you have?

A CAT. I REALLY JUST WANT A CAT HONESTLY OKAY.

Who was your favorite teacher and why were they your favorite?

my favorite teacher was actually my math tutor in high school. she was a teacher too but i never actually took her class because it was for honors math students which i obviously was not. but she was the only math teacher i ever had who didn’t make me feel stupid for being bad at math. also she was hilarious.

What’s your guilty pleasure (and I’m challenging you not to say some kind of food)?

going to art stores and buying supplies i know i will never use. also buying makeup i will never/rarely wear.

Favorite pizza topping?

sausage

What’s the last thing you bought (that wasn’t food)?

gas for my car...

What upcoming movies/tv shows are you looking forward to? Any recommendations (this could be anything just throw your best pitch at me)?

young justice honestly. and miraculous ladybug. rachel, im pretty sure you watch most of the things i watch. but im currently watching white collar so if you haven’t seen that, i recommend it.

What’s your favorite thing to wear that you own?

my maroon skinny jeans tbh

What was your first pet?

a dog named jasper

If you could learn any language, what would it be?

MY OWN FUCKING ETHNIC LANGUAGE SPANISH BECAUSE IM A FAILURE WHO CAN’T SPEAK IT

My questions

Where is the coolest place you’ve ever been?

What was the first thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up?

Look to your right. What do you see?

What are you procrastinating on?

Which family member are you closest too and what is their name?

What’s the last song you listened to?

What do you generally carry in your bag/pockets when you go out?

What is one thing you are excited for?

Do you believe in ghosts?

What is a skill you want to learn?

Tell me a joke.

tagging @ikeikebabyy @fudeh @theravioliyoyo @irisannwest @wallywestisbae @victoriasgaysecret @themysticwonder @redlacedbird @keyith @dickqrayson @ilikewafflesmorethanlifeitself @figsandnewtons

tagged 12 people sorry. in my defense two of them have already been tagged so they only half count anyway.