One Fun Thing

Tyler talks about the mental fortitude required for maintaining one's composure against an adversarial smoke detector, Amanda reveals some of the darndest things kids say at her summer job, and even treats listeners to a rare sample of her "teacher voice."

Tyler is excited about the "personal knowledge management" app Obsidian, but Amanda doesn't bite, so that might have to be a different show. Amanda's forged a genuine friendship, and Tyler started painting in the absence of any social plans last weekend, but he enjoyed the excuse to visit the local art store and put on some old, stained jeans.

Amanda's steadfast bravery continues into the after show.

(Recorded Monday, July 19, 2021)

• Paper Fortune Teller (Wikipedia)
• Obsidian App
• "Linking Your Thinking" Obsidian Tutorial (YouTube)
• Notion App
• Monica CRM
• How to paint like Pablo Picasso (Cubism) – with Corey D'Augustine | IN THE STUDIO (YouTube)

Your hosts are back from an unplanned break after Amanda wrapped up her busy semester and Tyler wrapped up his vaccinations and went outside. Amanda talks about the journals of a young girl in the 2000s, and Tyler muses that he should try to dictate personal logs in the format popularized in Star Trek.

There's a discussion on friendships and communities while your friends figure out how to get back into the world, but like that masterful XKCD comic presents, socializing was difficult before this mess, too.

Tyler rediscovers Junji Ito and he's very excited about it, and Amanda gets her feet cheese-grated by a professional.

(Recorded Thursday, May 27, 2021)

• Boimler's "Captain's Log" in Star Trek: Lower Decks
• Sisko's Captain's Log in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• David Sedaris on Keeping a Diary in the Age of Over-Sharing (YouTube)
• Junji Ito (Wikipedia)
• The Enigma of Amigara Fault (Read right-to-left)
• Uzumaki (Wikipedia)

Tyler's optimistism from the previous episode was short-lived, and he's crashed from his high rather spectacularly. Nevertheless, he collects himself enough to follow up about voice texts from episode 19, and then eagerly passes it off to his co-host for an update on the Bubble System and the anticipated list of Amanda's picks for springtime records. The latter topic sparks some reminiscince of past music experiences, through portable CD players, iPods, and mix CDs.

Amanda will eventually begin work on her "Sad Songs To Listen To In The Car When You're Crying" playlist.

(Recorded Wednesday, April 7, 2021)

• The Pleasures Of Conversing via Voice Text from The New Yorker
• Federico Viticci's comments on Voice Texts from MacStories
• Red Garland’s Piano (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Novo Amor – Cannot Be, Whatsoever ("Opaline" Music Video, Spotify, Apple Music)
• Marianas Trench – Phantoms (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Erik Whittacre – Light & Gold (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Gabriel Fauré – Requiem (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Chopin –  Nocturne in E♭ Major (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Ola Gjeilo – The Ground (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Barilla Created Spotify Playlists That Will Help You Cook Your Pasta Just Right (delish.com, Barilla Italia Spotify)
• 8Tracks
• iPod Nano 2nd Generation (Wikipedia)
• Walkman 40th Anniversary Video (YouTube)
• Sony DAPs
• Astell & Kern Website

Tyler had a good week, Amanda had a week. Spring is finally here though, and your hosts are 1/4 vaccinated.

Springtime records are discussed, Amanda has a new Macbook Air, and she's eager to share her new productivity system, "The Bubble System." It has sizes and colors.

(Recorded Thursday, March 24, 2021)

• Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Say Anything by Say Anything (Spotify, Apple Music)
• People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest (Spotify, Apple Music)
• April In Paris by Count Bassie (Spotify, Apple Music)
• Long Legged Larry by Aesop Rock (Official Video, Spotify, Apple Music)

One of your hosts tries to kick off the podcast with her cheeks stuffed with snacks, but we won’t tell you who.

Amanda has some ups and downs with the semester and some complications with recitals, Tyler talks about his strategies for staying in touch with people without social media, and shares some ways he stumbled into memorable conversations throughout the winter.

(Recorded Wednesday, March 10, 2021)

• "Why You Need A Database" blog post by Derek Sivers
• Monica CRM (Website, Github)
• Greg Piece's Drafts App (Website, App Store)

Amanda's been enjoying some treats, which prompts your hosts to talk a little bit about candy before crashing back into reality and discussing some pandemic-related challenges at the start of Amanda's second semester of grad school.

• Oreo Thins Mint Flavor Creme Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
• Circus Peanuts

Your hosts are feeling a little cold, and instead of using the power of imagination to transport them to lush jungles or balmy beaches, they talk about the coldest they’ve ever felt indoors. This transitions to the heater Amanda has, and how loud it is. She just can’t win.

Amanda talks about her developing TikTok career and social media presence. She got her first sixteen likes, which was invigorating, but recording duets with other musicians has proven challenging.

Tyler talks about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which he has enjoyed very much during the pandemic, and Amanda talks pancakes.

(Recorded on Saturday, January 23, 2021)

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) - You Should See It
• Deep Dive playlist
• Movies With Mikey playlist

Your hosts are both feeling the weight of the tenth month of the pandemic, and everything feels exhausting all the time. While lamenting about that, there's some talk about consistent journaling and personal photography to both process and maintain a first-hand account of events through a very lonely and stressful era.

(Recorded on Saturday, January 16, 2021)

• Indoguration of Major Biden (YouTube, 22m)
• Five-Minute Journal app ($4.99, iOS and Android)

What a week. Your hosts are growing weary from living through historically significant events (and not the fun kind), but they spend an hour away from the real threats of the present to talk to each other about traveling, moving, and Amanda's lists.

Amanda gets to edit the show for the first time, and it should go really smoothly for her, as long as nobody tries to clip their nails during the recording 🤞🏻

(Recorded on Sunday, January 10, 2021)

There's some talk of regional foods from your hosts' home regions, and Tyler thinks you should really try salt potatoes sometime. Amanda chats about productivity and bullet journaling, and Tyler comes clean about being entirely devoid of holiday cheer and spirit.

(Recorded on Saturday, December 26, 2020)

• Salt Potatoes on Wikipedia
• Buckeye Candy on Wikipedia
• Perspective: A solution to tech’s lingering diversity problem? Try thinking about ketchup (LA Times)
• Reply All #52: Raising The Bar
• Back To Work #247: On A Farm With A Monkey
• Bullet Journal Website
• The Burner List on Medium