Image: Hello!, this photo is available to licence on EyeEm.
The weekly recommendations are taking a pause this week. Instead, please enjoy my best picks in TV, music, movies, podcasts, and books & comics of 2021. Happy New Year!
For anyone looking to get up to speed on the world of crypto investing, I highly recommend the InvestAnswers channel.
James started in 2021 and has a following of 387k subscribers and rising. Watching James' videos has quickly become my daily routine.
Image: Apple
Far and away the best show for me this year was Ted Lasso. It's not really about the story (which is great), it's about how it makes you feel! Every episode is an emotional rollercoaster and takes you from laughing to crying in the space of a scene, in a good way :-)
This is the best sci-fi show since Battlestar Galactica. The Expanse is a geopolitical drama that happens to be set in the near future, in space. The detail in the show is amazing, from ultra-realistic representation of the physics of space travel, to the etymology of existing languages merging over generations, the show is fantastic. I was lucky enough to binge watch the show this year ahead of the new season (6) that just started. Oye Beltalowda!
The back-stabbing, the strategizing, the family dynamics, the swearing, and cousin Greg. These are just a few reasons why Succession is one of the shows of the year (oh, and Tom!).
Bo Burnham's Netflix special Inside manages to hilariously and tragically encapsulate the many conflicting emotions and logistics of lockdown during the COVID pandemic. It is perfect.
Special mentions to the best of the new Marvel shows Loki & Hawkeye, as well as Invincible, and the final season of Lost In Space.
Image: Netflix
My October Teacher is a documentary about a diver who earns the trust of an octopus over the course of a year diving in the same area. It doesn't sound very engaging, but I guarantee you'll be hooked into the daily routine of that octopus before long :-)
I missed Doctor Sleep when it was released in 2019 but I got to watch it recently and I was surprised at how well it blended a new story (and universe) with The Shining, without relying too heavily on nods and references to the classic original but actually integrating it well into the sequel.
Image: YouTube, Mick Flannery & Susan O'Neill
My favourite album of the year is Game On by Mick Flannery & Susan O'Neill. Their voices perfectly accompany each other like two sides of a musical coin. Pure magic.
Dry Goods, the debut album from House Plants is just great, and gets better with every listen!
Check out this amazing performance at Other Voices by Rhiannon Giddens and Franceso Turrisi of the title track from their album They're Calling Me Home.
It didn't win the Eurovision, but Ukraine's entry SHUM by Go_A is an absolute banger of a tune!
Image: Startups For The Rest Of Us
Mark Blyth and Carrie Nordlund wax lyrical on the topics of the day in their very informative and entertaining podcast commentary on political and economic issues.
The Tommy, Hector, and Lorita podcast is the closest thing to a definition of Craic as you will get in audio form.
Special mention to this fantastic interview between Tim Ferriss and Balaji Srinivasan.
The book is well paced and structured, and while being easily digestible in terms of format, it sometimes makes for difficult reading in terms of content. Despite the sad nature of the events which left so many lives devastated, the cruel nature of a pandemic meant that many others were spared the worst, which makes this book, and the interviews and analysis within, so significant.
The book serves as a reminder that even though our prognosis as a society is much more optimistic in the post-vaccine era, we are still not free and clear of COVID. We all still have a responsibility to reduce the spread of infection in order to protect ourselves and others, and when the time is right, to mark the work and sacrifices made by so many.
Uncovering the secrets that lay in plain sight across the signposts of Ireland, John Creedon's That Place We Call Home takes the reader on an insightful and enjoyable journey through the history of the island and the imprints that history has left on the place names of the country.
A book full of historical facts, trivia, insights, folklore, and appreciation. The meaning of regular town and place names like Buttevant, Nobber, and Moll's Gap turn out to be not so regular in their origins. A joy to read and a book that equips you with a new lens to use when travelling the roads of Ireland.
The Great Economists by Linda Yueh is an informative and interesting combination of history, economic analysis and commentary. The book summarises the life, times, theories, and beliefs of twelve key economists throughout history, and then analyses current economic trends and the challenges of our time through the lens of those historical theories.
The weighty and complex intersection of many, sometimes contradictory, economic theories being applied to current economic issues is a challenge in itself to do in an understandable way. The author executes on this challenge excellently, delivering an accessible introduction to economics history, coupled with exemplar critical analysis.
Time Before Time is a fantastic new graphic novel from Irish comics stars Declan Shalvey and Rory McConville, with artists Joe Palmer and Chris O'Halloran. The story follows a time jumping organised crime hustler that transports desperate people to safer times in the past, until he decides to make a run for it himself. Catch up with the story in Volume 1, before it gets made into the next hit TV show!
Found This Week is a curated blog of interesting posts, articles, links and stories in the world of technology, science and life in general.
Each edition is curated by Daryl Feehely every Friday and highlights cool stuff found each week.
The first 104 editions were published on Medium before this site was created, check out the archive here.
I’m a web consultant, contract web developer, technical project manager & photographer originally from Cork, now based in Liverpool. I offer my clients strategy, planning & technical delivery services, remotely & in person. I also offer freelance CTO services to companies in need of technical bootstrapping or reinvention. If you think I can help you in your business, check out my details on http://darylfeehely.com
