Hey, guys!
so, for the curious, I was able to pass the final states exam meaning that I have finally finished the first stage of university studies!
Given I have more time now, I want to expand on the Starboy brand and thus have created an Instagram account dedicated to it. The plan is to post the recommendations from the newsletter there after publishing it for people that don’t like the newsletter format and it can also serve as a reminder for the recommendations themselves. If you haven’t then please give me a follow. More content is coming soon!
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is literally my favourite TV shows of all time. You have probably heard about it, but for some sad reason the show is not really popular in the Czech Republic. One line pitch would be: it’s like the office, but with better side characters, and it gets better as the series goes. The creator was also working on The Office, so it’s not a surprise.
The show focuses on Leslie Knope. Leslie is second-in-command in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. She is extremely hard-working, caring, ambitious, and competent at her job. She truly believes in the government and is a true public servant. This goes against the libertarian point-of-view of her boss Ron Swanson who want the government to not exist and would rather have everything privatized. Like I have mentioned above the characters are the best part of the series. You have charming and funny Tom Haverford, who is a wannabe entrepreneur trying his best to gain contacts and influence to start his own side business. You have sarcastic and sassy April, an intern who hates her job and is in a relationship with a guy, who is openly gay and simultaneously dating another guy. The list could continue forever!
If you are quick to drop shows, or don’t really have the patience for shows to get good, I advise you to skip the first season. It’s quite short, but it is apparent that the writers haven’t fully figured out the characters yet. It also has the only boring character in the series, which slowly phases out of the series by the end of the second season. Two of the best characters are also introduced in the second season. Long story short, watch Parks and Recreation, start from season 2 and get ready for a fun ride that only gets better with every season ending with the most satisfying series finale ever!
Locke (2013)
Locke is a very unique film. There is one on-screen actor, practically one location and a very limited number of possible camera angles. The whole movie revolves around a night drive from Birmingham to London. Our main character, played by Tom Hardy, is a site manager on a construction site. On the night of the biggest concrete pour of his career something comes up and he has to leave everything behind. When I say everything I mean pretty much everything. Throughout the whole film, we only see Tom Hardy. He is engaging with other people throughout the film but it is done only on the phone.
The movie is written and directed by Steven Knight. Knight is a fascinating creator. He has had hits like Peaky Blinders, but also huge blunders like Serenity.. This particular project of his I would classify as a hit. It is especially thanks to Hardy’s performance. The whole movie hinges on it, and with a lesser actor would have been boring and monotonous. Hardy is able to be engaging, he is emotional without being over the top and you can see his struggle the whole time. There is a specific phone call at the end which on the surface is a normal phone call, but with the context of the film it will most probably break you. At least that was the case for me.
There are interesting actors in supporting roles as well like Olivia Coleman, Tom Holland, and Andrew Scott (Moriarty from Sherlock), so even their voice acting is good enough to keep the concept appealing.
I have seen other movies where the gimmick of a isolated main character is the focal point, but out of those Locke is probably the best.
CHINDOGU: THE UNUSELESS INVENTIONS OF KENJI KAWAKAMI
You may have noticed that I enjoy how weird Japan is. Another example of such weirdness are chindogus. Chindogu is a term coined by a genius named Kenji Kawakami. They are essentially inventions which solve one certain problem but miss the big picture. Usually they are fun, yet very shameful. You have probably noticed the picture below and are already curious, but if not then maybe the fact that the selfie stick was actually a chindogu imagined by the creator back in 1983 could intrigue you. Anyway the article dives deep into the phenomenon. I personally find it very charming.
Joshua Weissman
There are two types of people in this world. People that eat to live, and people that live to eat. I’m a representative of the live-to-eat camp. Given that I’m still more of a eater than a cook(er). Regardless I have still dabbled a bit into cooking and that has mostly been as a reaction to a YouTube video a saying “yeah, I could probably do that”. My favourite food channel that regularly make me feels that I can also cook is Joshua Weissman. Joshua used to a chef at the great restaurant in LA (at least I think it was LA) until he started his YouTube channel, and I’m glad that he did.
Joshua has multiple series on his channel that focus on slightly different things. You have “But Better”, where he takes a popular fast food dish and makes a superior version of it at home. Then you have “But Cheaper”, where he take a dish and show you that the food itself is easy to make at home at a fraction of the price. Joshua is full of energy and charisma, has a great personality and all of it translates well on to camera.
Here is a list of my favourite videos of his:
- Making The Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich At Home | But Better
- The Easiest Crispy Korean Fried Chicken (2 Ways)
- Easy 2 Dollar Pasta | But Cheaper
Why Rolls-Royce Cars Are So Expensive | So Expensive
I am not really a car guy, never have been. However, I can still find some appreciation for a special, well-made piece of craftsmanship. Rolls Royce is definitely a prime example of this. I have never been in one so far, but whatever I know about the company and their cars I have always found interesting. Last week I came upon a video on from Business Insider from their series of “So expensive” and my respect for the company have definitely increased. The level of customization Roll Royce offers is so specific (car’s colour palette matches your dogs, the rooftop light are set-up to match the night sky on the day of your birth) and so outrageous (crushing diamonds and maxing them into the paint). Once my influencer career explodes, I’m definitely getting one.
That’s all for today! Hope you enjoyed this one. Already working on the next one and are super excited for that one!
Until next time, yours truly,
Starboy