Monthly Clickables - First Edition!
Useful? Weird? Wonderful?? Here are links I clicked this month, that you may also find of interest!
This is the very first edition of Monthly Clickables, a new feature included with paid subscriptions to Making This up as I Go. On the last day of each month I send out an update on what’s been filling my personal time and intellectual time so that the things enriching my life might bring extra value to yours!
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Today brings a close to the month of February as we say hello to March.
February may have been a shorty of a month, but much like the shortest of my 5th grade classmates, it was also action packed!
To represent where my head went in Feburary, there are nine Clickables for your consideration here which I’ve broken into these three categories:
Readables (stuff I read)
Watchables (stuff I watched)
Edibles (recipes I tested that were worth it!)
On a personal note…
I started off the month with a BANG by having a birthday (an annual tradition since I was born!). We combined the celebration of my birth with the closing party for our amazing run of USS Improvise the Next Generation the Musical at Funhouse Lounge.
My friend Josh gifted me a jigsaw puzzle which may have been the most stress relieving fun I enjoyed all month!
In between political worries, performing improv, relaxing into jigsaw puzzles, and writing essays for Making This up as I Go, I also contributed editing eyes to a family member’s book, consulting ears to clients and colleagues in Portland, Chicago, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan, and still managed to try a few new recipes here and there!
The month ended with a surprise snow storm which gave my family some much needed snowball fight time.
And now… The Clickables!
In future months, these highlights may include links to things more directly related to interpersonal communication skills, improv theatre or both. That is not the purpose of this share out however. Truthfully, professionally related articles are lend themselves much better to weekly discussion threads.
My intent in sharing things with you that have captured my free-time attention, is to help round out your understanding of me as a human who has a multitude of interests just like you!
I have also found over the years that when we talk about our interests, even when we disagree, these discussions create surprisingly strong bonds. Your opinions matter to me! So if you have strong reactions (positive or negative) to any of the links below, please share those thoughts so we can talk about them!
Now on to the highlights…
Readables AKA Stuff I read:
This Cochrane Meta-analysis that my good friend called “the Schrödinger's cat of Covid Interventions” entitled Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses (read all of it’s glorious pages here). Drawing data only from randomized controlled trials, the authors conclude that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu‐like illness/COVID‐like illness” and that “wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu; and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu‐like illness, or respiratory illness.” However they also disclaimer their findings with the standard “results might change when further evidence becomes available. Relatively low numbers of people followed the guidance about wearing masks or about hand hygiene, which may have affected the results of the studies.”
Read the whole thing yourself (I cannot emphasize enough how long it is), and then tell me which of your foregone conclusions it reinforces!
Pictured: Aden’s cat, observed as alive on a couch. Mask not detected. I’ve read and loved every single post from former cast member of Duck Duck Boom Alex Dobrenko on his stack:
His writing style is super relatable for me, or as our mutual friend Troy describes it, "it's a nice little blog." This past week I particularly enjoyed his humble take on the oh-so-hot A.I. debate:I found this conversation from the Honestly podcast & the Free Press to be a particularly insightful dive into children and literacy. Looking back to the 70s and more recently at covid, the conversation on why and how reading is taught to our children was well worth the listen if you know any kids, or care about the future of this country. Podcasts count as reading… right?
Watchables AKA Stuff I watched!
I’ve decided Youtube is for crafts! Which is why I enjoyed this tutorial on crocheting slippers. Actually I watched it (and bookmarked it) for a very exciting Sunday yarn arts plan in the works for me in early March. Perhaps if you’re lucky I’ll share an update in the next edition of Monthly Clickables letting you know the results of my attempt!
My husband and I finally dedicated an entire half-day with a couple of friends to watching the (controversial?) action-packed Tollywood film RRR. It did not disappoint!
We rounded out our month of being entertained with the final season of His Dark Materials on HBO. If you read and enjoyed the book trilogy by Phillip Pullman (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass), then you might enjoy this series. My husband and I agreed, they did an excellent job, including leaving me super angry at the end of the series that the amazing story in we start out with, was building up to all this… weird at the end. I mean, what exactly is the moral of the story supposed to be here? I DEMAND MORE TALKING BEARS!
And finally last but not least…
Edibles AKA Recipes I tried that worked!
Sourdough Pretzel Bites from Lynn’s Way of Life. What goes with the Super Bowl? Dippable foods! I’m still kind of obsessed with my sourdough starter (it’s alive!!) so I looked for a recipe that would let me use it. This recipe did! Success!
I made a beer cheese for guests to dip these into which was also successful, but I lost the recipe! Nightshade Free Salsa Verde from Wellness Trickle. My mother has been reducing her intake of inflammatory foods, so when we invited her over for taco night I wanted to find a salsa that tasted great without tomato. This recipe blew my mind! Roasted cucumber??? WHAT?? It was amazing. Cook this, you won’t regret it!
Super Easy Roast Delicata Squash which is now my favorite alternative to french fries (I have a potato intolerance). These easy to follow instructions from Rachel Cooks have been game changing in our house. I’m such a lucky gal!
That’s it for February… onward to March!
Let me know which if any of these links were interesting to you! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Are there things you think I would enjoy reading or watching? Recipes you think I should try? Send your recommendations my way! If I love your suggestion, I’ll be sure to include it in next months Clickables with a special shoutout to you!
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