August 2021 Reading List PART ONE (Patreon)

Don't forget we can continue the conversation in #reading-list-discussion in the discord server!

Articles

How 'Feel Good' Season 2 Redefines Healing in the #MeToo Era  - I'm still not over what Mae Martin was able to create with Feel Good season 2. It was exceptional television.

"Feel Good Season 2 set out to explore the challenging intricacies of the gray area, to seek out the delicate balance between personal healing — however that may look — and the expectation to use personal trauma as a vehicle for social change."

Hear me out: why Confessions of a Shopaholic isn't a bad movie - okay I really like this movie and movies like it. Give me good trash romcoms!

Videos

Ranking Taylor Swift's Ex Boyfriends Based on Songs Written About Them - one for the Swifties. This appeared in my recommended and I couldn't not click on it. I learned a lot but also there were songs mentioned that I hadn't heard of and a quick Google tells me they're on North American extended editions of albums or whatever. So fine. It's fine.

what it's like to expire on youtube  - I think I much prefer "expired" to "died" in terms of the lifespan of YouTube channels lol. I don't watch this creator, this video was just recommended (maybe from a Tiffany Ferguson video?) and I was intrigued. I think I mostly like watching videos like this because of the fear I have of "expiring" and I want reassurance that people who it's happened to are okay and having a jolly good time with life.

You're Not Relevant Anymore: what happens when youtubers pass their peak?  - okay yes here's that TFerg video. I watched these a while ago and thought I put this in the last reading list but maybe not?? I do actually believe I've passed my peak in terms of popularity and rate of growth (numbers wise) but I don't feel like I'm passed my peak in terms of the content I'm making, the community we're building and the message I'm trying to put out in the world... so I guess we're good for now??? Will I keep doing this even if no-one's watching?? 🤔

The Role of Wealth & Class in Lifestyle Content - okay we get it, I'm a Tiffany Ferguson/Internet Analysis STAN. This came up in the discord server following up from a convo we were having about wealth and class in terms of people saying that they're "comfortable" and how do we more accurately and honestly communicate our class/wealth status. It's a super interesting and complex topic and it's got me thinking about how in an upcoming video I asked my editor to cut out this tangent I went on about how expensive my sunglasses are and how I don't know why I spent so much money on them and I've never spent that much money on clothing/accessories since but I don't regret it because I wear them all time. But it's cut from the main video because talking about money made me feel icky and weird and it felt like I was apologising for having expensive sunglasses. I don't know.

i edited myself into high school musical  - these videos are hilarious, I love how good and bad they are at the same time. I appreciate the work put into it! Amazing!

you are not the main character. - and why that's okay! My pal Leena giving us all the pep talk we need.

a story worth telling and a story worth living are very different things. and you can have the second without experiencing the first

Answering Uncomfortable Questions With My Personal Assistant - Ali Abdaal is a bit of a controversial figure in our discord community but never fear because his (ex) assistant is here to put him in his place. She really has some amazing moments in this video and says some stuff I think we all wish we could say to Ali 😂 I didn't want to forget the bits so these are the notes I jotted down watching:

Love what Elizabeth says:

1) about not auto-romanticising quitting a 9-5 and actually seeing if there's a way to reframe 9-5 work, change your mindset or find fulfillment outside of you 9-5 instead of chasing another dream that is not guaranteed to make you happy?

2) telling Ali off for the marriage inbox - setting up unrealistic expectations and not considering the ethics of opening yourself up like that when you're a celebrity of sorts and the people reaching out are fans/know more about you than you know about them (nothing)

An honest history of an ancient and "nasty" word - Dr Kate Lister's TED talk about the word "cunt" interestingly, TED themselves age-restricted the video. The best thing I learned in this video was the connections between the word "cunt" and words that mean to be wise/knowledgeable. I love the idea of storing everything I know in my cunt.#

a series of unfortunate events - ItsRadishTime just providing more evidence that I should re-read A Series of Unfortunate Events and actually finish it this time. I gave up in my tweens at around book 11. SO CLOSE. WHY DID I NOT FINISH THEM!?