Monthly Wrap-up: August & September 2018

Ah, the start of the new academic year accompanied by the reappearance of an old friend, Fall. For many, myself included, it marks a fresh start: a chance to prioritize for the upcoming year, remind yourself of the goals you set to accomplish and add any additional ones if necessary. With the commencement of the autumnal season also comes a renewed sense of vigor, energy, and determination. And change, new and improved habits and ways of thinking replace less productive and positive tendencies, as readily as the browning leaves fall to make way for younger, healthier ones. Yes, this might just be my favorite time of year.

That said, you may have noticed that I revamped the space to suit the mood of the season and I really do like it, it's very festive and elicits a very warm and cozy feeling, don't you think?

I know, I know...this is appalling, even for me. And what's strange is that I wasn't in a reading runt so much as a lack of motivation to pick up a book and read it, but in the past weeks, I've gotten better. I started reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a few days ago and I'm making pretty good progress considering 1) I've been pretty busy with school stuff and; 2) it's a voluminous book (a good eight hundred and sixty-something pages). I have not yet finished reading Voyager and The Lord of the Rings, but that's not to say that I won't. In fact, I'll pick up where I left off just after I finish my Order of the Phoenix.

Instead of recommending the usual album or artist, this month I'll be suggesting that you give a listen to a certain podcast for a change: Revolutions, hosted by Mike Duncan. In this podcast, Mike Duncan provides his listeners with a wealth of information (down to the tiniest details) on revolutions that have taken place over the course of history, these include the well-known the French, American Haitian, and as well as multiple English Revolutions! Whether you want to learn about a specific revolution or just want to brush up on your world history, I'd definitely recommend that you delve into this one, it's a winner!

I don't know if I ever mentioned this before on the blog, but I watched The Handmaid's Tale and was taken up with season two the past few weeks. I'm not usually one to watch depressing shows (that's a lie, I watched Death Note until the very end), but I was invested in this one because I had read the book a few months ago and after watching season one, I wanted to see how the showrunners would continue the story seeing as there was no more textual basis. The cinematography is very distinctive to this show and is reminiscent of how Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was filmed, in continuous shots. All in all, I understand why it's an Emmy-award winning show and I enjoyed the seasons I watched. I think I'll watch the third season when it comes out, but it's not exactly driving me crazy in anticipation.