Watch & Listen
I thought I’d catch you up on a couple of new things I’ve been loving lately. They fall into two different categories: watch and listen. My thoughts are short and sweet today, but I hope one or the other will be something you can enjoy as well!
Watch:
The English Game
I am so in love with this series! Written by Julian Fellows of Downton Abbey fame, it is the cross between an underdog sports drama and a Victorian drama. Set in the late 1800s, The English Game centers on some key historical figures in the evolution of the game of professional football (soccer, for us here in the states). Well-written and well-acted, it picks up on the state of football in the late 1800s where teams of amateurs competed against one another for a championship trophy. These teams had two distinct flavors—the upper class who learned to love the game while at exclusive schools and universities and the working class teams formed at mills and other such manufacturing industries. The series follows one upper class and one working class team, focusing on three historical characters who were integral to the establishment of professional football in the U.K. The history and fiction blend seamlessly. And Fellows’s dovetailing of the sport and the personal lives of these men makes the story hit on every emotional level. Well worth the watch, even if, apparently, there won’t be any more episodes.
Listen:
Pandora Shuffle Stations
I confess I shift between the various music streaming apps, mostly because I get bored. I can switch genres in each app, yes, but even then there is a rotation that becomes mind-numbing. When I hear the same thing over and over, I lose my joy in the music. When we lived in Austin, I had a local radio station I loved precisely because they didn’t stick to one type of music. Their tag line was “Playing what we want.” So I’ve long wished I could have that without making a playlist, because even in that it loses its freshness after awhile. And then as I was in my car last week, I discovered that Pandora has added a unique feature—or at least one I don’t know of on the others! Pandora will now shuffle your stations. This is a game-changer for me! I love that I can hear a classical selection, then a praise song, then a Broadway tune or an 80s pop song. That every song is a surprise of genre, artist and song. So if you are like me and need a variety of music in the car or the house or wherever, try Pandora’s Shuffle Stations!
What amazing show or movie have you watched lately? How are you choosing your music and what’s been your latest and greatest music find?
