Taking Stock is a monthly account of what I was up to and delicious recommendations for your binge. It was inspired by Pip whose draft you can use to come up with your own list.
I have deliberately been avoiding to take stock this year because that would mean tapping into corners that expose just how ruthless 2019 has been so far. But I figured it couldn’t have been without some spark. So here we are April!
Watch Lists
I have to ask, why do we jump through hoops to mention the number of times we have watched something? It doesn’t take away your watch hours if you don’t state that you are on your 7th watch and you’re still picking up the clues you know?
Billions – I sleep and eat Billions if we’re being honest. It gets better on your 2nd watch hear hear. Any sniff of conspiracy on Twitter and r/billions will more often than not find me 50 scrolls deep, hanging with the best of them. If you’re not watching this show, 4 seasons in, then you have a delicious binge of wealth porn in waiting. If you’re one of those people who swear that nobody in New York/real life speaks like the cast then perhaps reality Tv is the better niche? Either way, this is one of the best-written Tv shows I have watched to date.
Dream/Killer – I’m back on my documentary love-in and this was just the right true crime docu to set things off nicely. Particularly because I keep running into this defence attorney who is so badass and brings hope to the skewed justice system. That said, the production is quite shallow.
Line of Duty – It’s back, better and highly binge-worthy. I’m still in awe and in shock from last week’s ending.
Web Finds
There’s a sense of genuineness in Matt D’Avella’s content that when he crowdfunds his work on Patreon “If you don’t have the money right now please don’t feel pressure to contribute,” you would not hesitate to contribute. He is a filmmaker of note (Minimalism Documentary), Podcaster and now Youtuber. In this video, he mentions why we should say No to certain projects that may take up all our time. Take on things you are capable of doing within the scheduled time.
Speaking of supporting creators, would you pay a Premium Podcast App $7.99 a month to access your favourite podcasters ad-free? A 2017 survey showed that most podcast listeners (as high as 77%) don’t even skip ad messages.
As earlier mentioned, I don’t mind contributing to a platform like Patreon because it goes directly to the creators. Further, I’m already used to getting quality podcast content for free so a premium podcast app might take longer to understand its need. I know my opinion may evolve over time considering how I ended up as a proponent of Medium’s walled garden despite my past rants about it.
It’s often times better to ask for money than make people pay – Hank Green
Hank raises valid takes on industry newcomers such as Luminary and Brew who are ploughing on the Netflix route of paywall venture and what it means for the consumers and creators. Trevor Noah (and a bunch of other major creators) just launched his exclusive Podcast this week on Luminary – only accessible to 4 countries. Hmm.
As that happened, there has been a mass exodus from Luminary headed by Joe Rogan who announced that they were pulling their shows from the platform after it was revealed that the company hides listener data from creators. Luminary also stripped their show notes section which is commonly used to share sponsored links or any other information.
To clarify my stance on this: I've seen enough startups come and go over the years that promise to aggregate RSS blog/podcast content to "elevate the medium". They don't care. Creators are just a commodity to them. They never ask for consent and act like the saviors of a medium.
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) April 25, 2019
Blog Pick – Elodie Zone is carving a niche for herself at such a young age with so much experience. I respect that. Her latest article, Take it as it is, on the Kenyan Creative industry is a must read.
Listens
New Kenyan Podcasts – I went digging for newbies who launched this year and what a precious hole I dug myself into. I also wrote about them. You’re welcome.
Couples Therapy with Candice and Casey – Candice really holds the glue to everything about this pod. It’s her wit and Casey’s vulnerability that I keep going back to every other week. It does feel like a post-therapy analysis with every listen.
Music – Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max – Obsessed!
Woman Tag
Woman to get inspired by – Anne Bogel who reads books for a living and has one of the most content-rich websites I’ve ever come across. Perfect spot for bookish crew and women experiences.
Blog – Modern Mrs Darcy
Podcast – What Should I read Next
Book – How she does it, Reading People, I’d rather be Reading
Probably Pocket
From Always completely ignoring #MyAlwaysExperience, to AAR Insurance hiring influencers to attack Boniface Mwangi then later agreeing to offset his hospital bill after the attacks backfired, to Kenchic offering free food to a client who found worms in her food then blocking her immediately, this first quarter has been a PR nightmare. Brand forgiveness or marketing strategies? Ali Craig muses on what those two mean and a word of caution to consumers. You can read it here.
This is why people don’t read blogs these days, apparently.
Long Read – How Rupert Murdoch’s Empire of Influence Remade the World
r/Showerthoughts
Sometimes it’s healthy to not stare at your overwhelming to-do list and coast through life. When there’s pressure, take a step back and just breathe. Yes, these lists provide some sort of structure to get shit done but you don’t have to beat yourself up if things don’t go according to plan. I am learning that these days. I looked at how many tasks were overdue the other day, chuckled and kept it moving. They will get done, just not today. Productivity is more than checking off your to-do list.
Book Tag
Image Courtesy: Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon’s books are what I’ve been downing my very many mugs of hot coffee with. He is such a gifted creator who writes bite-sized practical tips to anyone into creativity and artistic forms.
Steal Like an Artist is a testament to how unoriginal our ideas are.
Show Your Work is about self-discovery rather than self-promotion and the etiquette of sharing your ideas especially online.
Keep going is his latest book that you’ll keep going back to in creatively good times when you need a boost and in low moments when you’re struggling to create.
Parenting Pages
This blog started out majorly as a parenting blog but every day there’s just something that steers me away from all that. For now, I can say Mandla is doing great. Terrible two at this point is a concept that we live by. Nothing surprises either of us anymore. Everything he does or say is pure imitation and he’s really teaching me conscious parenting in its truest form.
Kids come with a blank canvas, fill them with colour.
Every time I come across the lessons people learned from their parents I freak a little, wondering if I shall manage to parent in that aspect you know. Leaving a permanent lesson in my child’s life. I hope I do. The little pockets of wisdom, I hope to share all of them with my child and hopefully, he gets to retain even a quote.
For those people who have lost their parents,
— mwanaume.com (@MarigaThoithi) April 17, 2019
What are some of the quotes they gave that you will always remember them by?
Crafty Endeavour
None whatsoever. I need resources for this.
Pinned
The KonMari Method taught me how to store items of the identical type in the same place so that things don’t become scattered and cluttered. This is my current Pinned idea. I just need the pantry to go with it ha.
Entry
I introduced Skillshare to my life and the amount of knowledge I have amassed in less than 2 months (free trial perks) is astounding. From photography to writing to graphic design, I am embracing anything that comes close to a passion of mine. Roxane Gay’s valuable course on Crafting Personal Essays with Impact will stay with me for a long time.
Exit
This month I pulled off bold moves that I wouldn’t ordinarily think about out of fear of the unknown. I have been that person who shies away from making huge decisions that alter my reality whether in a good or bad way. I finally put my big girl pants on and it feels so good to grant myself personal autonomy and hold myself to account especially when my well being depends on it 100%
Cheers to guts!
