The Land of Random 👾
The Land of Random 👾
Shuffle Sundays #25 • Bo Burnham, Master of None, The Land of Random, Jonathan Higbee, Metroid Dread, and more.
Hello and welcome to Shuffle Sundays, a weekly curated list of content I thought was worth sharing with more people.
When I started Shuffle Sundays back in January, I’ve heard many people saying that it takes writing about 25 issues of a newsletter for you (the writer) to find your “voice”. Well, here I am publishing my own 25th issue! It’s crazy how quickly the numbers start to pile up when you are doing something consistently.
25 is not a magical number, and not a rule set in stone, of course. But looking back through my (still recent) journey, I do feel that I am arriving now at a place where I’m getting more and more comfortable with the structure I created around this weekly project, both in terms of writing, but also all the behind-the-scenes, from ideation to the final product each week. Not to say that things will never change around here, but I’m pretty happy with the place where I am right here, right now. So here’s to 25 more, enjoy the read!
🎧 Soundtrack: Kings of Convenience - Peace Or Love
🍿 Bo Burnham: Inside
{something to watch • comedy tv special, 87 minutes}
I’m not exaggerating when I say that Inside is one of the most interesting, funny, and innovative things I’ve seen on TV recently. But then you may think I say this to most of the content I share here, right?
I wasn’t really familiar with Burnham’s work until I hit play on this comedy special, and I’m so glad I did it without knowing what I was signing up for. What amazes me about Inside, is that is not only created and written by Bo, but it was also entirely shot by him alone at his house. Comedy is tricky to recommend, because something one may find hilarious, another may feel offended by it. But if his style clicks, you’ll be up for a real treat!
And if, like me, you finished watching hungrily for more, make sure to check his earlier tv specials Make Happy and What.
📺 Master of None: Moments in Love
{something to watch • tv-series, 3 seasons}
You may know Master of None by its first two great seasons, created and starred by Aziz Ansari, previously famous for the popular show Parks and Recreation.
But while the first two seasons were mostly centered around the life of Dev (Ansari), this third one, titled Moments in Love, takes place sometime later and follows the everyday life of Dev’s friend Denise, now married with her wife and living in upstate NY, as a best-selling author struggling to finish her upcoming new book.
The show is beautifully photographed, taking advantage of being produced with all the restrictions of the pandemic, contemplating the viewer with lots of distant and stationary angles, letting us be almost a voyeur of their lives.
Unfortunately, like many LGBTQ+ stories, this is not exactly a happy one, so be ready for some real-life (and heavy at times) drama, which culminates in an ending that I didn’t really enjoy it. Don’t want to give any spoilers, so happy to discuss it further, if you want to reply to this message and keep the conversation going.
📪 The Land of Random
{something to read • newsletter}
If you are one of the readers that enjoy this newsletter for the randomness factor on each new issue, you have to check this one out.
Created and written by David Nichols, The Land of Random is everything that the name suggests and much more. A weekly newsletter that promises to bring back the playfulness of the old internet every Monday morning. David also happens to be one of the first people I connected with within the early days of my own journey.
If you need any proof of randomness before subscribing, some of his recent issues include a Watermelon Ham, a place that you can buy Ramen by mail, polluted popsicles, digital aquariums, and much more. Predictability is a word that doesn’t exist in The Land of Random!
🔀 On a different note:
🤔 • as we approach the second half of the year, you may enjoy this simple roadmap I recently created in Notion to help you reflect on what happened so far and realign for what’s coming. Check out the Mid-Year Review template here:
👨🏻🎤 • I’m still not a fan of Coldplay’s new single Higher Power, but the music video they recently put out has some really cool visuals for sci-fi/cyberpunk fans out there. Watch it here.
🕹 • the video game conference E3 happened online in the past week, and amongst many exciting announcements, the one I’m really looking forward to playing is Metroid Dread, the new 2D entry on the Metroid series, coming out on October 8th for the Nintendo Switch. Check out the trailer:
⚡️ Something to Inspire
Jonathan Higbee is a New York-based photographer who is often noted for his street photography, but his portfolio also includes fine art and commercial work. I especially love his “Coincidences” series, which recently became a book. Check out his website or Instagram for more. Here are some favorites:
💽 New Music
{something to listen to • albums & singles}
This week I'm particularly interested in checking the new albums from Griff, H.E.R., and Kings of Convenience. Also, new tracks from Leon Bridges, Rodrigo Amarante, Twin Shadows, The Killers (with Bruce Springsteen), Yves Tumor, and many more. If you’re curious to hear some of these songs and more, make sure to follow my 2021 playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with new releases:
👋🏼 See you next Sunday
My name is Leo Mascaro and you are receiving this email because you signed up for Shuffle Sundays, a weekly curated list of content I thought was worth sharing with more people. If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe using the box below:
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