Music to My Ears

During a re-recorded episode posted a day too late, I try to to make up for it by explaining my busy second week at my semester program on the East Coast. After a quick rant about the long class days and tight schedules, I give an (unsponsored) plug for Marvel's latest but first movie with an Asian lead, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings! (Not a spoiler: the movie is amazing, and everyone should watch it). I talk about the movie's homage to a portrayal of Asian culture, the beautiful costume and set designs, and the star-studded cast that portrayed every role perfectly. Unsurprisingly, this episode's recommendations include songs from both the movie's album and original score!

After the first week at my East Coast semester program, which has been keeping me busy and sleepy, I give a recap of the lectures, labs, and field days that have left me staring mindlessly at the wall in my room. I mention some necessary actions and items to give my under-prepared self a chance at surviving through the rain, mud, and dirt, and I also ponder some potential ways to lessen the burden of weight on my luggage. After a one-week hiatus, we move on to learn about Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and Apollo's twin sister. Though it is fully into September, we give summer one final huzzah with two poppy and hip-hop summer Korean tunes for this week's song recs!

In this episode, I excitedly talk about setting up my new laptop, including the new gadgets and gizmos I bought online to ensure that it lives a healthy and long life. I also give a huge list of the movies and TV shows that I have been watching and that no one asked for (common themes include: jungle, superpowers, and action!). We learn some more about Apollo's flings and wraths in Mythical Minute, and, straight from my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify, today's song recs are strong vocals and catchy melodies!

Already on my last book of the Rick Riordan's third (and currently last...) Greek mythology series, I update you guys about my future literary endeavors. I also share the current Korean drama that I've been watching with my family as well as the newest season of The Great Escape, the my favorite escape-room-esque reality show. On my most exciting note, this episode marks the beginning of the podcast's new segment, A Mythical Minute (naming in progress)! In this 5-minute segment, I share with you my very limited knowledge of Greek mythology and its starring characters, with some help from my trusty Mythlopedia books, and our first star is Apollo, the god of, among many things, archery, music, poetry, and prophecy! Finishing up this exciting episode are two song recs from a small but very talented British band I've gotten re-obsessed with!

After my laptop unfortunately crashed last week, I am recording his week's episode on my old laptop, so I sound like I'm trying to speak through a potato. On a bright note, this is probably one of my favorite episodes yet because I basically give you guys an unsponsored advertisement to read the amazing author Rick Riordan's Greek mythology series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus! They are middle school and current Courtney's favorite books of all time, and my rereading of the two series this past week has inspired the creation of a new episode segment where (hopefully starting next week) I share with you mythical legends and intros to the immortal and mortal characters of mythology! To stick with the theme of favorites, I recommend two song recs from my favorite chill low-key artists, Jeremy Zucker and Lauv!