February Pop Culture Round Up

February sure flew right by didn’t it? It started out freezing and with some snow around here, which is always fun (unless you’re planning to fly to Arizona to see your niece!) We made it (and balanced grapefruits from the garden) and had a great time thawing out in the desert. Now to Billings to see the nephews and hopefully not freeze. BUT the travel and weather have made for some good pop culture consumption this month…

Reading

I finally picked up God of the Woods by Liz Moore and it was just as fantastic as everyone says it is. Trust me on this one, yes it’s about a kid who disappears from a summer camp in 1975 but the mystery and perspectives and timeline jumping made for an incredible read.

I also really enjoyed The Pairing for a fun rom-com while traveling around Europe. It got me excited for San Sebastian when we go to Spain this spring! I am currently listening to Connie Chung’s memoir and enjoying it more than I thought – she tells a great story about stealing a Blues Brothers poster and wow Dan Rather was not awesome…

Listening

The month started strong with the Grammy’s where I finally discovered Doechii and I’m mad it took me this long! SNL50: The Homecoming Concert on Peacock was fantastic and the musical performances during SN50 were also pretty great. I still think about the Ladies and Gentleman doc. I know this is the “listening” not watching section but if you’re at all a music fan, this was a great month for music thanks to SNL.

I’m heavy into news podcasts lately, nothing new but just trying to keep on top of the chaos. I should probably find another pop culture podcast or a good cult or scam podcast… recommendations welcome!

Watching

Not to repeat myself but SNL50 gave us a great weekend of music and comedy. I probably should rewatch the Homecoming concert since I was also hanging out with my niece and visiting with family.

I had recommended the Scamanda podcast a couple years ago when it came out, and Hulu/ABC did a 4 part documentary that concludes with some additional info after the podcast dropped. It’s a crazy story and to watch videos of her lying to people is wild. I thought I wanted more of this genre so watched Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix and did NOT enjoy it. There’s charismatic sociopaths and then there’s narcissists, Belle Gibson is unredeemable.

I finally watched Wicked (part 1?) while on vacation and it was great, I now get why Ariana Grande is getting so much buzz, she did a GREAT job of being in on the joke of her narcissist character. I have loved Cynthia Erivo since I discovered her a few years ago in The Outsider on HBO and knew she was going to be huge some day and I would watch everything she’s in for the rest of time. She’s a perfect Elphaba and also deserves all the awards.

I decided to watch Emilia Perez and the musical stuff didn’t work for me. Zoe Saldana is fantastic, and the rest of the movie happened…For a complete 180 I watched You’re Cordially Invited and it was a very cute comedy with Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon – a perfect low key movie night.

White Lotus is BACK and that surprise return in the first episode was a gift I can’t wait to watch unfold this season. Parker Posey is perfect, and Carrie Coon bursting into tears in her room had me burst out laughing. I can’t wait for where this season goes.

I have a couple of upcoming flights which means some good reading time. Now to figure out what books make the cut and we’ll see what movies are on demand on Alaska this month, wish me luck…