It's probably makes me less productive, but there's something about "multi-tasking" that makes me feel justified in watching YouTube, TV, and movies if I work on various projects, clean, or even walk on the treadmill while I'm doing it. So, while I've worked on sundry summer schemes-- organizing all of my mementoes from study abroad into notebooks, covering my classroom novels in contact paper, dusting baseboards, rearranging cabinets and closets, etc.-- I'm watching a lot of TV and movies these days.
Some of my favorites for anyone looking for recommendations:
YouTube (usually a treadmill pastime):
* VlogBrothers Author John Green and video blogger brother Hank converse via YouTube celebrating the awesome world of nerdom from classic literature to politics and from religion to viral videos. Their passion for everything from metaphors to mathematical formulae is contagious and much needed in the world.
* Lizzie Bennet Diaries Created by Hank Green, this adorable faux video blog is a modern day telling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from Lizzie's perspective.
TV
* Downton Abbey I don't get anything done while I'm watching this one. It is not for multi-tasking but for pure enjoyment. This British period drama is a PBS version of a soap opera according to my husband, and he's right, but it's oh-so-good, and I have no shame in being a bandwagon jumper and loving this new favorite.
* So You Think You Can Dance The auditions are over, and we're now to the top 20 competition episodes. This show highlights all the best and newest in dance and makes me wish I were a dancer.
Movies
* Shirley Temple This tap-dancing, singing, smiling, curly-haired star of the '30s and '40s has been my favorite actress since I was a little girl. As a child, I had nearly 30 of her movies on VHS, and now, thanks to a birthday present from my family, I have 18 of the essential classics on DVD. I'm making my way through many of them this summer, and I think my favorite so far in re-watching them is Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. If you've never experienced the joy of Shirley Temple, I suggest it for a first film. It's also the movie that gave me the line "I'm very self-reliant!", a line that has always stuck with me.
AFI's Top 100 A while back on this blog, I set a goal of watching all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners, but I've since discovered that I'm more interested in the movies on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies list, so I think I'm going to follow it as my checklist more so than the Oscar list. Here it is, with the ones I've seen so far in bold:
