On holiday
Rec Room #19 – The best of summer
Kia ora, welcome back to Rec Room for 2021.
What’s the best thing you did, watched, read, listened to, ate or drank this summer? That’s the question I posed to my colleagues this week, as if summer was now over just because we’re all back at the office.
From the responses I received it appears most people used the break as an opportunity to do relaxing things like read books, eat delicious food and watch TV. It’s worth remembering that all these things can be done year round, and that it’s actually still summer for another couple of months at least. It’s going to be OK.
My summer rec is to catch up on any video series you missed on The Spinoff last year – there’s (the NZ TV Award winning) Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends, Youth Wings, Alice Snedden’s Bad News, 100 Year Forecast, On the Rag, Final Mix,Frame… Click through to find out which episode of each I personally consider to be ‘the best one’.
Keep an eye on Rec Room for new and returning vids and pods announced soon!
–Cal
Several people recommend going to see Promising Young Woman at the movies. Emily: “I just don’t even know what to say about it. It’s incredible and everyone should see it.”
Sam recommends Pretend It’s a City on Netflix. “The new docu-series from Martin Scorsese is about Fran Lebowitz, someone who has made a career out of having funny opinions. It’s indulgent as hell, but it’s worth watching for Lebowitz’s observations on art, culture and society more than it is her observations on modern technology. It’s also delightful to see how much Scorsese adores this woman, and finds her genuinely delightful; a very rare thing to see onscreen.”
Eli recommends 2021’s first viral hit, drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo. “It's a really good song that I am far too old for, and the Disney-romance-gone-bad drama behind it is almost better than the song itself.”
Duncan recommends the book Lost, Stolen or Shredded by Rick Gekoski. “It takes art or literature which has vanished, either temporarily or permanently, and tells the story of both the artefact and its significance: Byron's memoirs, a portrait of Churchill, the ol’ Mona Lisa. When it's doing that, it's tremendously engaging, as Gekoski has this beautiful tone and ability to make high art and lit feel very accessible somehow. But as it rolls along this other thread emerges, about all the cultures whose art we don't see or value, and it absolutely thunders home on that point. One of the stories is about the Uruwera McCahon mural, perhaps because he has a house in New Zealand, and I now have this vague idea that I'll bump into him somewhere, and hear the best yarns over fancy wine.”
Leonie recommends the podcast Keep It. “If you like your current affairs from shady, pop culture-obsessed queer comedians, this is the one. Ira Madison III, Aida Osman and Louis Virtel discuss the news of the week, whether it’s the US election or Armie Hammer’s lust for human flesh. They’re all TV writers and journalists, so the discourse is whip smart as well as mean and funny, plus there are a lot of oblique references to Debbie Reynolds. (See also: The Read hosted by Kid Fury and Crissle. I snort-laughed out loud at the gym listening to them talk about Kim and Kanye’s divorce.)”
Toby also recommends listening to podcasts. “I caught up with various podcasts that I had missed: The Emma Espiner / Noelle McCarthy podcast Getting Better is as brilliant as people say, and so is the Jane Yee / Duncan Greive joint Coming Home. I also listened to a heap of The Adam Buxton Podcast which is completely delightfully, gently, medicinally funny.”
Alice recommends Quinney’s Bush campground in Motupiko, Nelson region. “This is the best place in the world. There’s a motorbike track, go karts, two water slides, a man-made lake and river for swimming, an eel-feeding station and petting zoo, a skate park and basketball courts. It’s basically a giant fairground that you can pitch a tent at. Great for kids and also for adults who love waterslides and there’s a real fruit ice cream shop across the road.”
Alice (different one) recommends Satya Crispy Hummus Drops. “It’s a weird name as they taste nothing like hummus. They’re basically like the best bits of bhuja mix, but better – kinda like deep-fried spicy rice bubbles (but made with chickpea flour). I believe in India they’re called kara boondi. The good folk at Satya (a legendary group of Auckland South Indian restaurants) make them and you can get them there or from Farro or Fine O Wine. Costs $15 for a giant jar that will last you ages, unless you eat them all directly from the jar with a spoon, as I did while watching Bridgerton.”
That’s all for this week! If you’ve got a rec to share or any other business to discuss please get in touch. See you next Wednesday 👋