Things I'm Enjoying Lately

I’ve been planning to write a general “stuff I’m enjoying recently” post for a while, and my birthday seemed as good a time as any to do it 🥳🎈

This post is largely media-centric, so there are a lot of YouTube embeds below. I might do some more posts like this on focussed on things I’m enjoying in other areas.

Gladiators (2024)

The new “reboot” of Gladiators, that’s showing on the BBC Saturday evenings is so much better than it had any right to be It’s been so much fun to watch. It’s got many of the same contests, similar-but-updated presentation, and - most importantly - the same music. I’d say the main difference between the reboot and the original is that in the reboot they seem to realise how silly the premise is and lean into it slightly.

Gladiators (1992)

Watching the reboot triggered some nostalgia for the original show and naturally pretty much all of it is available on YouTube, in all it’s low-res 90’s big-haired glory. We watched an episode with some 13 year olds who enjoy the modern version, and they were shocked to see just how little had changed (other than the haircuts and outfits)

Internet Friends - Knife Party

Every so often the algorithm in Apple Music reminds me this song exists and it becomes an earworm for several days/weeks. Warning for the embedded version below - it’s sweary.

The Build to WrestleMania 40

I dip in and out of Professional Wrestling every so often, just to see what’s happening. The best time of year to do so is January through to March/April, as you have the Royal Rumble kicking off the “road to WrestleMania”.
This year has been chaotic and messy, but oh so good. It would take a great many more paragraphs to recap all of the threads and story beats in the mix (there are many years of layers to peel back), but the headline right now is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson going full-on entitled Hollywood villain because he wasn’t able to swoop in and just take the marquee main event championship match from the rightful challenger and current fan-favourite Cody Rhodes.

Haylo Haley

One discovered through my partner’s YouTube recommendations. A Gen-Z Youtuber putting the world to rights over the really ridiculous “trends” coming out of TikTok. I’m old, I’m not on TikTok, so having someone break it down for me with the righteous fury of youth has been super enjoyable.

Nami’s Life

Another random recommendation on my partner’s YouTube account. It’s the vlog of a woman living in Japan, but there’s no talking, and you never see their face. Unless you turn on captions there is absolutely nothing to tell you what’s happening. Largely focusses on cooking and cleaning. Oddly relaxing. I’m not really sure what else to say about this, as it’s like nothing else I can think of.