Welcome to issue #12 - originally posted July 29, 2021.
Sorry to break the news to you, but summer - at least up here in Canada - is half over. Though the week of 36C / 96F highs are making winter seem like a distant memory.
What’s your favorite thing to do in summer that you can’t do any other time of the year? Hit reply or send me a tweet with your answer if you’ve got one.
On to the links!
Link Thought Things
I’m a big fan of Gang of Youths. And I’m a big fan of covers that are unique takes on a song instead of just simply a note for note remake. Which is why I love this Gretta Ray cover of Gang of Youth’s ‘The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows’
The Simpsons are headed into their 33rd season this fall. 33! Here’s what to expect from a writer’s panel at a recent San Diego Comic-Con panel.
Preorders for the handheld gaming device Playdate are now open. The initial order of 20,000 units are spoken for and as of now, they’re saying orders will ship in 2022.
@Anniset is a fun Instagram follow. /via Kottke.org
I’d like to think that this newsletter had a small part to play in this:
Viewership for the second season of “Ted Lasso” was six times bigger than viewership for the series premiere weekend in 2020. “Ted Lasso” brought a 200 percent increase in viewership compared to the previous launch weekend in the United States, U.K., Canada, India, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, France and more.
How TikTok’s algorithm figures you out is surprisingly simple. TikTok is still my guilty pleasure of the social media apps.
Podcasting Thought Things
If you were even vaguely aware of evangelical Christian news in the 2000’s, you likely heard of Mars Hill and it’s leader, Mark Driscoll (Wikipedia). My wife Sue (and newsletter subscriber! 👋) put me on to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, a podcast series currently at 5 episodes that tells the story of what lead to the church’s collapse in 2014.
It’s your classic American evangelical Christian story of power, conflict, celebrity, and wealth. Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts
Picture of the Week
I love living in the city and not having to walk or drive very far to get to places. But I also love that we’re a 15 minute walk to a view like this without any of the city in view.
Be curious. Not judgmental.
💖 If you’ve got a question, suggestion, or comment about anything in this email - hit reply and send me a message! 💖
Until next week - thanks for reading!
Chris Enns