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the work's hurricane irma edition

As I write this, I’m sitting in my old childhood bedroom in central Florida, moving between watching the local news and helping my mom make our house hurricane ready. Thankfully, I’m not in an evacuation zone, so we’ll sit tight and watch the spaghetti models and ride this thing out.

To my fellow Floridians who are boarded up or evacuated: stay safe. If you’re bunkered in close quarters with family: stay sane, too. Below are some of the things I’ve turned to the past few days when the Weather Channel’s gotten too repetitive:

 BoJack Horseman Season 4 on Netflix

If you haven’t watched any of BoJack Horseman, please just stop reading this and go watch the first three seasons. It’s funny, and sad, and thoughtful, and smart ­– truly a gem of a show that’s only gotten better and deeper as it’s gone on. (Need an episode to sample? Check out Season 3 episode 4, “Fish Out of Water,” which is hailed as the show’s best.) Season 4 starts with BoJack missing after the events in the finale of season 3, but the opening episode of season 4 is still delightful and satirical in a full world of characters that continue to live in BoJack’s absence. As this show is wont to do, the second episode in season 4 takes a somber shift, highlighting its ability to place contrasting episodes next to each other and still make it work and seem genuine. I’m excited to indulge in these episodes as my power supply allows. The entire season 4 is streaming on Netflix now for all of your weekend binging pleasure.

Glowing Up podcast with Esther and Caroline

Lil Esther, whom I’ve written about before for this blog, is just a doll. She’s a funny, chill, not-so-girly girl who has a secret obsession with makeup and beauty even though she’s really bad at makeup and beauty. With her comedian-writer friend Caroline, Esther’s created a new podcast that serves as a safe space for all her glowy secret obsessions. The women play exaggerated versions of themselves and cover beauty, health, diets, products, and more, things that most smart, plain-Jane girls feel they don’t have immediate access to, or that are deemed shallow. It’s refreshing to hear these women gush over new products that they would normally feel guilty about admitting they enjoy, a relatable sentiment that affirms that sometimes, it’s ok to want to be the best, glowing version of yourself. Episodes are released weekly on iTunes.

Mario vs. Rabbids released on the Nintendo Switch

In the first strategy-based game released on Nintendo’s newest console, Mario and his gang join up with Ubisoft to bring a new game that contains all the bright, colorful décor of the Mushroom Kingdom. And it’s incredibly fun. The gameplay is a mix of combat and turn-based RPG gameplay, similar to a game called XCOM. Many fans are hailing this game as an improvement to XCOM’s gameplay, as one reviewer observes at the AV Club: “The MvR team removed the RNG frustrations, turned creeping into joyfully bouncing around the screen, and turned procedurally generated, serviceable maps into carefully crafted challenges.” It’s a wonderfully addicting game so far, and a good addition to the small but growing Switch catalog, which so far, seems to be about releasing quality, not quantity.

Alvvays releases Antisocialites

Alvvays is a band that wasn’t on my radar before, but their new album Antisocialites was passed around my work office so much this week that I couldn’t ignore it. And, honestly, it’s easy to like: it’s catchy and poppy while still remaining mellow and soft, perfect for both a relaxing morning and a sunny drive. (Or being holed up in a house on hurricane watch for a few days.) Labeled on iTunes as “comforting melancholy meeting gauzy indie pop,” there isn’t a situation where playing this album, in entirely on repeat, isn’t necessary. For your perfect weekend soundtrack, you can stream the entire album on NPR’s website.