@mattsly's Quarterly Gems

A coming of age travel story in the middle of 20th century America, told from the POV of multiple different protagonists.

It's like the Sopranos in 1920s Ireland, more or less, but with Irish accents and period detail attention given to costumes, props and sets. It's so good!! Complex, complicated, compelling yet...

This is my (very eclectic!) mix of songs that I have hearted during a Peloton ride. Rolling Stones to Duran Duran to Missy Elliot to Calvin Harris. In the depths of the pandemic we got a Peloton....

In my semi-retired state, I am doing a lot more of the cooking for the family...which is not something that comes naturally to me. But I'm learning! Yes this app costs money...but it is easy to use...

(Dork alert!) This is a techie and wonky one and won't be for everyone...but Chris Dixon is a good writer and makes a strong case for the next phase of web architecture that would allow us to own...

Lots of folks seemed to think the first two seasons were better, which might be true...but Parker Posey alone made this one worth watching, along with the scenes in Thailand and the crazy island...

This one is a little "out of bounds" perhaps, but I recently realized that with a Premium Spotify account, you get 15 hours of Audiobooks per month - so basically about 1 book. This is awesome! I...

I've complied with the middle aged cliche of becoming a gardener. Like an obsessive gardener. One of my recent projects has been to install a DIY drip irrigation system for less than $100, with the...

The main protagonist is, rather than a person, a plot of land in eastern Massachusetts. The plot is made up a series of quirky and poignant stories of the people who live...and die...on that land...

Strange, mysterious, funny, stylized, well acted. So good. Is AppleTV taking the mantle from HBO for having a small but quality catalog of content? (Side note - HBO -> Max has got to be one of the...

Epic conversation that is funny, irreverent (lots of f'bombs!) and insightful. Chris is super successful and has a thoughtful perspective on raising a family in today's world, and many of the...

So good. My kids are addicted. I am addicted. And it's purple. It ain't cheap, but it does go on sale regularly at Whole Foods. And apparently is now available in Costco too.

From the author who wrote Overstory, which is my all-time favorite book. He writes these grandiose novels that tackles complicated and timely themes, full of interesting and contemplative...

Funny, dark, thriller. British. Very British. The first three seasons are really great, and Anna and I enjoyed watching them together (always on the hunt for shows that fall in the intersection of...

Tech business podcast from The NY Times (Kevin Roose) and Casey Newton who writes the substack Platformer. They have such a hilarious rapport. Also Informative. And refreshingly apolitical...which...

Yeah, my instinct was "eww" too. But really, when you think about it, it's toilet paper that's "ewww" ... a bidet is totally civilized. I'm a complete convert. As long as you have a power source...

This book really brought me back to the dawn of the Internet and my days hanging out at Williams College CTAH (iykyk) and working on all sorts of wacky projects with fun and creative and smart people.

Fun, silly family movie. Actually got the entire family including the two teenage girls to sit and watch the whole thing and even laugh a bit. Hollywood blockbuster mojo at its best. Ryan Gosling....

I am a Scott Galloway fan. He's smart but self-aware. I appreciate his irreverence. This weekly show is an insightful and humorus round up on business (mostly tech business), often featuring really...

We took a trip to Italy, and the highlight was a 4 day hiking / climbing trip that we did in the Dolomites, hiking between 3 different huts. The linked one was I think the most dramatic. The...

Funny but poignant novel about relationships and family. Starts in college when hipster students start dating...and then fast forward a few decades and life looks a lot different. The backstories...

A dark comedy based on the Carl Hiassen novel staring Vince Vaughn and based in Florida. It sits neatly in the intersection of our Venn diagram of marital television tastes (Drama, Comedy, Action)

Two brothers playing variations of electric guitars in a percussive style that feels like a movie soundtrack. This is music that makes you want to take a road trip. Or just get some work done.

Some of the things I have had success using AI for: writing code (basically all of this very website), planning out my garden, making funny pictures of my kids, planning meals, planning vacations....