Hello All,

The Lord of the Rings, Ennio Morricone and quick world history from this week’s interestingness.

1. One Zoom to Rule Them All. All the Lord of The Rings fans out there do not miss this one. The entire cast of The Lord of The Rings is back enacting the scenes from the movies.

2. For anyone interested in quick history lessons, explore World history through family tree charts.

3. We are miserable without people, it is almost like having them around by the wonderfully witty Manu Joseph

4. This is why sports is so important. Check this compilation of beautiful sportsmanship

5. Music :

   • 1000 musicians playing Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve / Rockin'1000 in unison.

   • Jolene Cover by this incredibly talented family The Petersens. Look out for Mumma Peterson rocking the bass in the background

   • This glorious mashup by Pomplamoose : Pumped Up Kicks /Radiohead

   • Just another Father-Daughter duo singing together Yes, I have Ghosts by the Legend David Gilmour and Romany Gilmour!

6. Ever wondered Why Giants are always slow in movies?

7. Music has not been as memorable as it used to be. Let’s understand why music died post 80s or maybe late 90s.

8. Costumed drummer goes crazy with the drums at a children’s music concert.

9. The Simpsons is the gold standard for pop cultural references and prediction. In other words, there is a Simpsons meme for any life situation. How about having access to all of that in one place.

10. RIP Ennio Morricone. The man who made the most heroic tunes ever!

11. Schitt’s Creek has been a revelation to me. Mostly for poking fun at Gen-Z so mercifully. The star of the show is Moira Rose and her outrageous vocabulary. Here’s a compilation of Moira and her words

12. Movies/ TV shows :

    • The Plague Dogs : An animated adaptation of Richard Adams' novel, about a pair of dogs who escape from a research laboratory and try to survive in the wild with the help of a cunning fox

    • Napolean Dynamite . Remember the meme “ I guess you can say, things are getting pretty serious “ it is from this movie.

    • Arrested Development.

    • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

    • Simpsons from 1989 onwards.

    If you are seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.

    That’s All Folks. See you around next time.

Hello All,

The prediction of Youtube, AI bots who can cry and bygone era of charm from this week’s interestingness.

1. Jamie Oliver’s most delicious Chicken and Mushroom Soup.

2. David Lynch talks about where ideas come from.

3. Predicting YouTube in 1980, describing a spacewalk in 1952, describing pocket computers in detail in 1950 and other Asimov things. Also, such dignified old world charm ( more on that in the movies section below ). When did talk shows shift from this to knowing mundane details of some insignificant actor’s diet plans?

4. Westworld S2 Ep 8 Kiksuya is probably the best episode of any TV series I have watched in a while. The depth of story/ plot, cinematography, music, and acting is superlative in this episode. Also, the whole episode is in a Native American language called Lakota :

   Excerpt from a review I read about the episode:-

   "With the best stories, sometimes there is very little to say by way of analysis. There might be nothing to decode, nor hints to speculate about. One full of loss, purpose, kindness, and yearning freedom. And so culminates another beautiful episode — my favorite of the series so far — about the weapon of memory, the refusal to stay in our lanes, and the peaceful gathering to bring people into a better world."

   Ramin Djawadi’s brilliant cover of Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box perfectly peaks at the definitive moment in the episode when the AI bot sheds a tear ( no spoilers )

5. Picture-based reference guides for anything and everything. It is difficult to explain this without a picture :)

6. . TV :

   • History 101 on Netflix: 20-25 mins of information-packed episodes on various topics.

   • Space Force It is such a joy to watch Steve Carell and Malkovich in the same frame trying to put boots on the Moon.

7. Music : Ludovico Einaudi plays 12 Songs From Home. How does this man barely even touch the piano and create such music?

8. . I have always wanted to read more and have gloriously failed at it. Sometime last year onwards that has changed a tiny bit. My current daily reading comprises of Cosmos, Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers and 20 years of Dilbert ( Scott Adams’s comments after every strip makes this version truly a collector’s edition )

9. Movies :

   • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf watch this for vicious old world charm

   • Castle In the Sky

   • My Neighbours The Yamadas (From the Director of Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday and Princess Kaguya). I am utterly in love with this not at all Ghibli-like animation style

10. YouTube algorithm springs up such gems at times. Say hello to the human-computer ( watch from around the 15th minute onwards if you like to skip to the magic bit ). Once again why is everyone so polite and dignified in this video/ TV program? When and why did we lose that?

If you are seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.

That’s All Folks. See you around next time.