I’ve been pretty busy with work and don’t have a lot of time to write this week. So, I decided to write another post about some of my favorite things I’ve watched, listened to, and read recently.
If you’re not interested in checking out my great content recommendations but are craving something finance-related, here’s a link to the main blog page where you can read my past articles.
NOTE: The content is linked in the green titles.
So, here’s what I’ve been into:
The Nothingness of Money by Lawrence Yeo
I came across this article a while ago and thought it was really insightful and thought-provoking. Lawrence Yeo has a newsletter called More To That where he writes about the “human condition” as he puts it. It’s not a finance blog, but he has a few articles on money that are some of the best I’ve read.
In this piece, he explains how our relationship with money changes throughout our life. He ponders the seemingly contradictory truth that money is a required pursuit for life, but a pointless pursuit upon death. It’s a great read. This is my favorite illustration from the piece:
The New Fear and Greed by Josh Brown
Josh Brown is the CEO and co-founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management. You may have seen him on CNBC from time to time. He also has a popular finance blog called The Reformed Broker.
In this piece, he basically summarizes the stock market activity and investment behavior we saw last year. In a time when people are making fortunes like never before, he states that fear and greed haven’t changed, but the way they’re being expressed in society has. I like his blunt writing style that cuts to the point. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
“Envy will make you take wild risks with a portfolio. The more exposure we have to the way others are investing, the more we begin to look at their returns as though that’s the appropriate benchmark. All sense of reason and perspective is left behind. If that asshole is doing it, I can do it better.
“With trillions of dollars being accumulated in full view of everyone, it’s no surprise that two feelings consistently bubble up to the surface – Insecurity and Envy – over and over again. Why am I falling behind? Why is that son of bitch not?
You can practically feel it in the air.”
This is another one of HBO Max’s limited TV series that they’ve gotten so good at doing. The show follows the survivors of a devastating flu that wipes out 99% of Earth’s population as they try to figure out life after the pandemic. It’s based on the book by Emily St. John Mandel that came out in 2014.
Yes, I know the premise hits really close to home with what we’ve experienced the last few years. It may be too soon for some. That’s fine. But the show really isn’t about a pandemic. It mainly focuses on the characters and how they deal with loss and a struggle for connection. It’s a story about kindness and humanity that balances dramatic plot points with surprisingly moving and emotional moments. I really liked it.
I’m a sucker for stories about people chasing their dreams. I’m also a sucker for musicals. So there was basically no chance I wouldn’t like this movie. It also helps that Andrew Garfield stars in it and gives an awesome performance.
The movie tells the story of aspiring musical composer Jonathan Larson (the writer/composer of Rent) as he struggles to get his career underway. It’s also Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut. I’ve listened to each song like ten times since I’ve watched it.
The description for this TV series on the Showtime website is “Part survival epic, part physiological horror, and part coming-of-age-drama.” The story follows a high school girls’ soccer team who survives a plane crash in the remote northern wilderness. Need I say more?
The show steals a lot of the elements from Lost (which is fine with me because Lost is amazing), but it has its own style. It may not be for everyone because it does deal with some dark themes and doesn’t pull punches when it comes to some gory scenes. However, if you’re fine with that, my wife and I were so hooked that we binged the first season in just a few days.
If you have any other content recommendations, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email. I’d love to hear them!
Thanks for reading!