This Blog is about a variety of topics that I’m interested in. My top posts are listed below. I also do regular posts on Audiobooks I’ve listened to and notes from conferences I attend.
I did a big twitter thread of the YouTube channels I am following. Below is a copy of the tweets. They are a quick description of the channel and a link to a sample video.
Lots of pop-Science and TV/Movie analysis channels plus a few on other topics.
I should mention that I watch the majority of YouTube videos at speed 1.5x since they usually speak quite slowly. To Speed up videos click on the settings “cog” and then select “Playback Speed” . YouTube lets you go up to 2x
Chris Stuckmann reviews movies. During normal times he does a couple per week. Mostly currently releases with some old ones. His reviews are low-spoiler although sometimes he’ll do an extra “Spoiler Review”. Usually around 6 minutes long. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Movie Review
Wendover Productions does explainer videos. Air & Sea travel are quite common topics. Usually a bit better researched than some of the other channels and a little longer at around 12 minutes. Around 1 video per week. The Logistics of the US Census
City Beautiful is a channel about cities and City planning. 1-2 videos per month. Usually around 10 minutes. Pitched for the amateur city and planning enthusiast Where did the rules of the road come from?
PBS Eons does videos about the history of life on Earth. Lots of Dinosaurs, early humans and the like. Run and advised by experts so info is great quality. Links to refs! Accessible but dives into the detail. Around 1 video/week. About 10 minutes each. How the Egg Came First
Pitch Meetings are a writer pitching a real (usually recent) movie or show to a studio exec. Both a played by Ryan George. Very funny. Part of the Screen Rant channel but I don’t watch their other stuff Playlist Netflix’s Tiger King Pitch Meeting
MrMobile [Michael Fisher] reviews Phones, Laptops, Smart Watches & other tech gadgets. Usually about one video/week. I like the descriptive style and good production values, Not too much spec flooding. A Stunning Smartwatch With A Familiar Failing – New Moto 360 Review
Verge Science does professional level stories about a range of Science topics. They usually are out in the field with Engineers and scientists. Why urban coyote sightings are on the rise
Alt Shift X do detailed explainer videos about Books & TV Shows like Game of Thrones, Watchmen & Westworld. Huge amounts of detail and a great style with a wall of pictures. Weekly videos when shows are on plus subscriber extras. Watchmen Explained (original comic)
The B1M talks about building and construction projects. Many videos are done with cooperation of the architects or building companies so a bit fluffy at times. But good production values and interesting topics. The World’s Tallest Modular Hotel
CineFix doesn’t a variety of Movie-related videos. Over the last year only putting about one or two per month and mostly high quality. A few years ago they were at higher volume and had more throw-aways Jojo Rabbit – What’s the Difference?
Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) does tech reviews. Mainly phones but also other gear and the odd special. His videos are extremely high quality and well researched. Averaging 2 videos per week. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: Attack of the Numbers!
How it Should have Ended does cartoons of funny alternative endings for movies. Plus some other long running series. Usually only a few minutes long. Avengers Endgame Alternate HISHE
Screen Junkies does stuff about movies. I mostly watch their “Honest Trailers” but they sometimes do ‘Serious Questions” which are good too. Honest Trailers | Terminator: Dark Fate
Half as Interesting is an offshoot of Wendover Productions (see above). It does shorter 3-5 minutes weekly videos on a quick amusing fact or happening (that doesn’t justify a longer video) United Airlines’ Men-Only Flights
Red Team Review is another movie and TV review channel. I was mostly watching them when Game of Thrones was on and since then they have had a bit less content. They are making some Game of Thrones videos narrated by the TV actors though Game of Thrones Histories & Lore – The Rains of Castamere
Signum University do online classes about Fantasy (especially Tolkien) and related literature. Their channel features their classes and related videos. I mainly follow “Exploring The Lord of the Rings”. Often sounds better at 2x or 3x speed. A Wizard of Earthsea: Session 01 – Mageborn
The Nerdwriter does approx monthly videos. Usually about a specific type of art, a painting or film making technique. Very high quality How Walter Murch Worldized Film Sound
Real Life Lore does infotainment videos. “Answers to questions that you’ve never asked. Mostly over topics like history, geography, economics and science”. This Was the World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park
Real Engineering is a bit more technical than the average popsci channel. The especially like doing videos covering flight dynamics. but they cover lots of other topics How The Ford Model T Took Over The World
CGP Grey makes high quality explainer videos. Around one every month. High quality and usually with lots of animation. The Trouble With Tumbleweed
Lessons from the Screenplay are “videos that analyze movie scripts to examine exactly how and why they are so good at telling their stories” Casino Royale — How Action Reveals Character
Lindsay Ellis does videos mostly about pop culture, Usually movies. These days she only does a few a year but they are usually 20+ minutes. The Hobbit: A Long-Expected Autopsy (Part 1/2)
I thought I’d list of the feeds/blogs/sites I currently follow. Mostly I do this via RSS using Newsblur.
MKBHD : Quality Tech Videos (RSS) – Marques Brownlee is a youtube tech reviewer. He puts out a video every week or two (probably more soon since he recently graduated and has more time). Mostly covers phones and phablets but also laptops and other tech. The videos are beautifully filmed (thats the HD part) and mostly 5-10 minutes long. A great way to keep up with the newest stuff, I do disagree with his love of phone speakers though.
Offsetting Behaviour (RSS) – Blog by economists Eric Crampton (mostly) and
Seamus Hogan. Covers a wide-range of topics with a lot of NZ orientated content. Especially some Christchurch Earthquake orientated posts. A little less interesting since Eric moved to Wellington to be part of a right-wing think tank. Tends to back up statements with references!
40 Maps that Explain World War One – A bunch of maps from all sorts of sources that explain different aspects of the origins and path of WW1. Huge rang of stuff.
Is College a Lousy Investment? – For an increasing number of kids, the extra time and money spent pursuing a college diploma will leave them worse off than they were before they set foot on campus.
Redis Crashes – Redis is running memory checks on your computer when it is idle.
Japan: high tech image, low tech reality – a place where the ATMs close at 9pm, offices without computers, fax machines in wide use and most homes without central heating
