Things I'm Loving (v.18)

Sourdough painting, Agatha All Along, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, green web-hosting, and improving your SEO with a Sticky Blogging course.

Oct 04, 2024

Welcome to this week’s edition of Things I’m Loving! And welcome to all the new subscribers— thank you for being a part of this community!

If you ever come across something you think I’d enjoy, please do pass it along, and maybe it’ll make its way into a future edition.

Something that’s relaxing

My friend Bunny Morgan-Brown shared this YouTube channel with me, and it is SO soothing to watch. I’ve never tried to paint sourdough, but phew could I spend hours watching someone else paint it.

Something to listen to

By the time this issue hits your inbox, we’ll have four episodes of Agatha All Along, which has been a fun watch so far.

“The Ballad of the Witches’ Road (sacred chant version)” from the second episode has vibes similar to many old chanting songs, and the harmonies may remind you of some of the sea shanties that were so popular a few years ago.

I was telling a friend the other day that the songwriting team (who also wrote Frozen’s songs) are today’s version of Alan Menken from the 90s. Everything they write is catchy and engaging, AND, Disney uses them for an array of projects.

Something to make you laugh (and cry!)

A promotional image of Hunt for the Wilderpeople the film featuring various characters posing in front of trees and some helicopters flying over above. The main character in the centre is an older white man in brown stetson hat, blue plaid shirt and holds a brown hunting rifle to his side.

I stumbled onto Hunt for the Wilderpeople while watching my friends’ dog a few weeks back. And let me tell you, it’s a gem of a movie.

The movie is about a boy who lands with a family, as a foster, and the journey that ensues. I won’t tell you much more, because it’s so good and SPOILERS (to quote River Song). I laughed so hard watching it, and I also cried at points.

In vibe, it’s similar in some ways to Secondhand Lions, but it’s not at all the same movie. (Also, how the fuck is that movie 21 years old. #garbage).

Something to help the environment

There are so many different ways to show up for the causes that’re important to you.

One thing that AI has brought up for me, is what are the impacts of all the language learning models (and servers associated with them) on power and electricity demand? (I think a conversation about the other ethical implications is important, but I don’t fall into a strictly anti-AI camp, fwiw).

A photo of a sterile white server room with blocks of vertical casing for the servers in black and white with bunches of blue cables hanging above.

As I grow my own digital footprint across multiple homes (Substack, Patreon, three different websites, to say nothing of the stories that I publish with national publications or my social media platforms), I feel like it’s more important to consider my own electricity consumption.

A while back, Tad Hargrave, from Marketing for Hippies, shared this resource for website hosting that’s more green.

I really appreciate how the price is reasonable and how the service holds multiple accreditations to back up its claim of being eco-hosting. Although I haven’t moved my own sites there yet, I’m strongly considering it.

Wildcard: Something I’m reviewing:

With my new website being live, I’ve been reviewing some old courses I have taken about blog post writing and how to create/write blog posts that are compelling and relevant to your readers/community.

A screenshot of the Sticky Blogging website homepage with a smiling photo of middle-aged blonde white woman standing in front of some background trees to the right and some text to the left. The text reads: Let’s find your true fans, and also, When you stop chasing page views and start blogging for your true fans, your readers will stick around longer. And that means more social media shares, more email subscribers, and yes—more page views. GET STARTED NOW »

The best one, imo, is Kelly Holmes’ Sticky Blogging Course, which is closed for registration right now, but generally runs once or twice a year. I think it’s due for another live round at some point over the next few months, if you’re curious about it. Here’s an affiliate link for her site and a regular link.

A screenshot of the Sticky Blogging “Learn” tab’s course listings, with a large title that reads “Courses Available” with 2 courses underneath. The first, that does not feature a button is “Sticky Blogging”, a Masterclass style course with the founder but it is currently closed. The 2nd course is “Sticky SEO” which is self-paced and has a register now button.

Kelly’s Sticky SEO course is also robust, but it hasn’t been updated yet for 2024, so I wouldn’t recommend purchasing it until she updates it.

**Coming in last minute to add that she sent out at email on Weds (Oct 2nd) and is running a live version of her (very reasonably-priced) workshop Be Binge-Worthy: A workshop for Content Creators (that’s an affiliate link, but if you want a reg link, here it is!). The last day to sign up is Weds October 9th, and the workshop happens on the 10th.**

Hope all those in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying some autumnal vibes! And that those in the Southern Hemisphere are welcoming the early days of spring!

PS: If you live in the United States, you can order four free COVID tests again.

Stone Soup Stories

Discussion about this post