It’s an Adele song, but she’s in a happy relationship and she is not in her bathtub crying.

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Like many people, I watch YouTube videos on a daily basis. I am trying to limit my watching because the videos I watch really don’t add any value to my life in terms of completing my goals. However, it can take me several months to finish one episode of Breaking Bad, so watching random YouTube videos will have to do for now.

There are literally millions of videos you can watch on YouTube. A girl showing you how to get a smokey eye. A guy playing Grand Theft Auto. A man in his bathtub crying because his life has fallen apart while an Adele song plays in the background. A Michelle Branch music video. The options are really endless.

Needless to say, I watch a wide array of content on YouTube. Sometimes, I’m surprised that the video I’m watching actually exists. Who knew there were so many different types of YouTube videos? There are two specific types of videos that I’ve been watching a lot lately: Reddit Commentaries and modified versions of songs.

Everyone here should be familiar with Reddit, so I’m not going to try to explain what Reddit is. That would be like explaining what Facebook is. You know what Reddit is and if you don’t, then good for you.

Reddit commentary videos are exactly what they sound. They’re videos of people reading off posts from Reddit, and commenting on them. It’s a relatively simple concept, but it’s surprisingly entertaining.

Song covers have always existed, but I’ve been noticing covers of different versions of songs. Sometimes the key is changed. Sometimes there’s a different harmony or rhythm. Sometimes the lyrics are completely re-worked. I was surprised to see such a wide variety.

Update: I am no longer crying in front of piles of unfinished books. I am now crying in front of tuna sandwiches.

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As all of you already know, I am not the most productive person. I am so unproductive that one of my goals is to watch more TV. Yes, I am so unproductive that I have to make Watching TV a goal in order for me to actually do it.

I usually skip making New Year’s resolutions because I know I’m not going to complete them, or even attempt to do them, so what’s the point? Well, in an effort to be slightly more Asian, last year, I decided to set some. . Well, not surprisingly, it didn’t go so well.

Despite having little success, I decided to have the same exact goals. Partly, because I still have an interest in completing them. Partly, because I wanted to see if there’s any chance of me actually doing them. Well, it’s almost the middle of the year, and I wanted to give a brief update. Spoilers: There was very little crying.

Read at least 30 books

Believe it or not, I have read 12 books, and it’s only June. Usually at this point of the year, I would stop reading, unintentionally, of course. Well, not this year.

I have since reduced the goal from 30 to 24 because I feel that would be more feasible and realistic for me. But honestly, I’m just happy I read more than I did last year. I am a man of very low expectations, I know.

I’ve also been updating my GoodReads account. Yes, I have a GoodReads account.

The good thing is I am no longer crying in front of piles and piles unfinished books. I’m just crying over everything else.

Be consistently watching at least one TV show or movie at a time.

I still find it difficult to watch something for a long period of time, but I’ve been making progress with a few shows and movies. Very slow progress, but it’s progress. The good thing is I have a number of shows and movies that I want to watch, which was a problem before. Actually finding something to watch. That’s not an issues anymore. The problem now is to actually watch them, heh.

Write at least one short story

I’ve been trying to get started, but my motivation and inspiration to write is pretty low right now. I know I will eventually write but at this point, it may be on my deathbed, heh.

Complete the outline of my novel

Now, I have done a little work on the outline this year, but again motivation and inspiration is low. There is hope for something resembling ovel outline at the end of the year though.

Spend more time on other hobbies

I’ve done a lot of reorganization of my bookshelf and my other display areas. I’ve also been working on my action figure collection. I haven’t done much else, but obviously I have been wanting to do something crafty, especially because I have so many craft supplies. I’m not trying to start an art supply collection. Ugh.

TV pitch for the year 2020: A couple goes shopping for a new stove and finds one they like at a reasonable price and buys it

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When I was in my 20s, I used to watch crime dramas all the time. Dexter. Criminal Minds. All the CSIs. All of them. But, I don’t know, at some point, I just got tired of them. I was bored of watching people getting killed literally every episode. We get it. It’s a crime drama. People die. I just wanted something different.

So, lately, I’ve been more into shows where, you know, several people don’t die in every episode. I’ve realized after all those years of drowning my soul in gritty crime dramas filled with murder that I much prefer light-hearted feel good shows filled with love and laughter. Oh no. One day, I might end up with a Live Love Laugh sign hung in my living room. Well, I still watch shows like Breaking Bad and Mr. Robot. I just don’t want to surround myself with fictional dead bodies at all times.

I have gathered a selection of my favorite TV shows, movies and books where no one dies. OK. OK. There are a few deaths in Parks and Rec, but it’s all off screen, and it’s not like an episode of Fringe where there are shapeshifter assassins wreaking havoc. Yes, they’re a thing. :p

I have suggested some of these in previous posts, but they also fit here, so I;m them in this post as well. If I can post a Michelle Branch video in seven posts, I can suggest the same thing more than once. :p

Parks And Recreation
A mockumentary about comings and goings of the Parks and Recreation department in the city of Pawnee, Indiana.

Awkward
When a girl accidentally injures herself shortly after receiving an insulting letter from an unknown person, everyone thinks she tried to kill herself.

Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan
A group of high school students vow to take revenge on a secret society of pranksters when they were framed for an act of vandalism they didn’t do

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
A young man who works at a 24-hour bookstore is curious about a group of regulars who come in to check out various books from a mysterious collection.

Brittany Runs a Marathon
A woman decides to start running after realizing she needs to make changes in her life.

Bad Words
A man decides to enter a children’s spelling bee.

Placing tacos on top a pile of books to lure people who do not read

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Here in Nostalgicism Studios, we don’t often talk about everyday life. This is a blog about nostalgia, after all. It is difficult, however, not to bring up the topic that everyone is currently obsessed with right now: What exactly happened to Amanda Bynes and when is she coming back to star in a romantic comedy about a 30-something young professional finding love in the least likely place with a man who seems like her total opposite?

Ok. Not really, but it would have been more interesting than a widespread epidemic. Yes, we’re all talking, thinking and obsessing about the Coronavirus. Most of us are stranded at home, either not working or working at home. Thankfully, I’m an Asian introvert with a speech disorder, so I am quite comfortable hiding at home. I just wish I were more productive.

Luckily, I’m still reading consistently. Unfortunately, I haven’t been doing much else. It’s actually kind of sad when you reach a point in life where it’s actually easier for you to read a book than to watch a TV show. Sigh. I guess it’s a good thing though. I’m genuinely interested in reading and I enjoy it.

Outside of the Internet, I don’t know a lot of people who read. In my family, I am the only person who reads on a consistent basis. Heck, I think I’m the only person who’s read a book in the last five years. And I’ve known very few friends and co-workers who read.

I had a former co-worker tell me that he didn’t read but was interested in reading. I gave him The Martian by Andy Weir, and as far as I know, he never ended up reading it. I understand that people are busy and finding the time and energy to read can be difficult. Well, now is the perfect time to read, don’t you think?

For the longest time, I’ve had difficulty reading on a consistent basis but now, I’ve gotten into the habit of reading a little each day. I have gathered a list of various books that I would recommend to people who do not read as a regular basis as a stepping stone. My number one tip for new readers: Don’t try to read Gone Girl.

I like to provide commentary when it comes to these kinds of lists but honestly, I’m tired and lazy at the moment, so I will just be providing a brief summary of each book. All of these books are more or less the same, really. They’re all relatively short with simple premises that can be finished in a short period of time.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

A teenage boy with autism is determined to find out what happened when he finds his neighbor’s dog dead outside.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan

A man gets a job at a mysterious bookstore and is curious about a small group of regulars who come in on a regular basis.

Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall

A teenager with agoraphobia who is at home by herself for the first time befriends her next door neighbor.

For Sale On Amazon: Traditional Bamboo Torches to Chase Obese Asian Men With (and other necessities for older Asian ladies).

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As with a lot of people, I have made quite a few purchases in my lifetime. I’ve realized that I’ve regretted a lot of them. However, I would rather not cry and have a nervous breakdown while writing about my many, many, many failed purchases over the years, so let’s focus on the items that I’ve loved and enjoyed. After all, here at Nostaligicism Studios, we like to focus on the positive, or at least we’re trying to. :p

USB Port Splitter

Despite being in front of screens pretty much my entire life, I do not consider myself a technological-savvy person. I am, after all, probably the only person in the world who does not have a Smartphone. Like seriously, there are 90-year-old Lithuanian grandmothers who have Iphones.

One day, I browsed amazon for something related to technology so I can stop feeling like I’m living in the 1800s. I stumbled across USB port splitters, which is a USB plug that has multiple USB ports. I don’t necessarily need it, but it helped to simplify my setup. It’s nice having everything in one place.

Tea Tree Peppermint Shampoo

I used to buy Dr. Bronners Peppermint Shampoo, but it wasn’t available to purchase on Amazon, and it did bother me that I was using a product that can double as a toilet cleaner. OK. OK. I know it’s supposed to be “natural” and “all purpose,” but I’m Asian, sue me. I’m naturally uptight. I found this as a substitute and I don’t have a lot to say about it since, you know, it’s a shampoo, and I’m a guy, but it’s lovely and no complaints from this uptight Asian.

Daredevil Action Figure

As with many collectors, I feel like I don’t own enough action figures as I should. I don’t know, it’s just I’ve been collecting for many, many, many years, and I only have a small handful. As much as I love action figures, I’m kind of a cheapskate, and I don’t like paying a ginormous amount for figures, especially because they might break or I might end up, you know hating them. Again, I’m Asian. :p

This figure, I absolutely love though, especially because it’s 12 inches. It’s a little bit hard to stand up, but as a person who has regretted many, many, many purchases, I will accept it. as a minor flaw.

Well, at least I ate a bagel for breakfast today (and other accomplishments)

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I am not a big fan of making goals for myself because I know there is a strong chance I am not going to achieve them. If there is no urgency for me to do something, I tend to push it aside. I am, of course, trying to change that because I have an incredibly long list of things I want to do, and I can’t do them if I continue to avoid them. Yes, I just saved myself thousands of dollars in therapy. Go me.

Last year, I made
a list of goals for me to do for the year. I knew it was going to be difficult for me to complete them, so I made them as simple as possible. Well, needless to say, I didn’t complete any goals, but I made progress with most of them.

Read at least 30 books

Over the years, I’ve been wanting to read more but like with everything else, it was put aside. Lately, I’ve been having more success with reading, although I’m not reading as much as I want to. Last year, I read seven books, which is a tiny amount for the average avid reader. Honestly though, I’m just glad I read more than one book, heh.

Be consistently watching at least one TV show or movie at a time.

I’ve been watching a few TV shows and movies here and there, but nothing is really sticking and I haven’t really finished anything. The problem that I have with watching TV or movies consistently is choosing what I want to watch. It always seems like I’m choosing between options that all seem good, but not great. And, also, it’s difficult for me to watch something for long periods of time. You know those people who can binge watch an entire season of a TV show in two days? I hate those people.

Write at least one short story

This is the one thing that I haven’t done at all. I’ve attempted to write short stories, but nothing came of them. Honestly, I just lack the motivation and inspiration to write one right now. With most of the other things I want to do, I just have to do them. With writing, I have to be in the right mood at the right time and some day, I’m lucky when I’m in the right mood to make lunch, let alone write a 1500 word short story. Like no.

Complete the outline of my novel

For several years, I’ve struggled with just writing a simple outline for my novel. A few months ago I’ve made progress with it after focusing on the major things that happen in the story. I haven’t worked on the outline for a while, but at least I feel like I’m at a good place right now compared to before.

Spend more time on other hobbies

I haven’t done much here either. I’ve dabbled in a tiny bit of mixed media and I’ve done a little bit of HTML coding, but I still need to work on finding the time, motivation and inspiration for my other hobbies.

My goals for this year is going to be the exact same as last year. Honestly though, I just want to do SOMETHING relating to all five goals. I don’t have to read 30 books. I just want to do things consistently and not feel like I’m useless. Of course, listening to sad folk songs does not help, but hey, I like what I like.

The Bookshelf of a Confused Asian Man: Part 27 of 246

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This might be too soon for a bookshelf update but I made a major change to it, and wanted to share it as soon as possible. Also, honestly, I’m too lazy to write about anything else.

So for the top and middle of the shelf, everything pretty much stayed the same.

As you can see here.

And here.

Here, we have some minor changes. I cleared the “shelf of death,” and just added a few books that I kind of, sort of want to read but aren’t a huge priority. It feels empty, of course, but it’s nice having an empty space in a bookshelf.

Now, for the major change. I took out all the Gundam kits and just filled it with my miscellaneous books and books that I’m not planning on reading for a while. Having the Gundam kits on the bottom shelf bothered me for the longest time, but I didn’t have anywhere to put them at the time. I’ve found a space for them, and it makes me happy to see my bookshelf mostly full of books. 🙂

A girl named Veronica Mars who’s a 24 year-old librarian in Iowa

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If you’ve read my blurb, you might wonder why 2004 is a significant year for me. It’s not really significant, really. It’s just the year that I graduated high school but, for reason, when I think of a year that’s nostalgic to me, I think of the year 2004.

Now, as much as I would to do a single post about the various things in pop culture in the year 2004 that I’m nostalgic for, no one has the time to go through 25 YouTube videos and a post that would most likely be 17 pages long. When I’m nostalgic for the past, I almost always think of TV. I’ve always been a fan of TV. I enjoy having flashbacks of me watching TV shows that no longer exist, so let’s focus on TV.

Veronica Mars
A teenage girl is trying to solve the murder of her best friend while investigating various cases in her small town of Neptune, California.

Of all of the shows that premiered in 2004, Veronica Mars is perhaps the most influential and nostalgic. It didn’t get a movie and a fourth season a decade later for no reason, heh. Why and how did it become such a popular show? It’s just a standard procedural crime drama.

While it may be true that it’s just another “crime of the week” show,” it focuses on a bigger story line and highlights the characters and the relationships on the show. It makes the characters more relatable to the audience, despite the premise of the show not being realistic to everyday life.

Boston Legal
Two eccentric lawyers take on cases while trying to balance their work and personal lives

Procedural law dramas are typically boring,dramatic and they all blend together. Well, Boston Legal is quite different. There are some serious moments, of course, but the general tone of the show is light-hearted, fun and a little bit ridiculous. And, in the end, it all balances out to a well-rounded procedural law drama that stands out in a sea of stuffy law dramas.

Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide
A middle school student shares his tips on how to deal with every day situations and dilemmas every student faces.

Originally, I wanted to discuss this wonderful gem here.

But I thought it would be too obscure to discuss, and I don’t really know how to summarize the show other than, “It’s a show about a girl dealing with life.” But it’s a catchy theme song, at least.

Instead, I’m going to talk about Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, which I view as one of the most popular live action shows from a children’s network. It’s a show with a simple premise and is extremely relatable, even for an older audience. It was quirky. It was fun. It was light-hearted. It was even thought-provoking. It was the perfect combination for a TV show aimed toward kids.

Surprise! I’m a 19-year-old White girl! Oh. Wait. No. I’m still an obese Asian guy.

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This is the moment all of you have been waiting for. Yes, it’s the moment where I reveal that I’m a 19-year-old White girl pretending to be an obese Asian man in his early 30s. No, not really, but how exciting would that post be? It’s just another boring, uneventful bookshelf tour.

The bookshelf hasn’t changed that much from the last update, but the few changes I made really made a difference to how it looks.

The biggest change really is that I’ve since went on a book buying spree, and it looks a lot more like a bookshelf than a cluttered mess. The top shelf and the shelf below it holds fantasy and mystery books. I also took out the green pot and added my Dexter bobble head. Also just for fun, I added a Death Note clock. Even though I want to showcase mostly books, I do want to throw in a few other things as well.

The next shelf, remains largely unchanged. It just holds male coming-of-age YA novels, with a few random knickknacks. Hmm. I honest forgot the Stewie figure was there, heh.

The shelf below that, again, remains largely unchanged. I decided to split the books into hardcovers and paperbacks, then separated the by male and female protagonists. I then divided them by both color and genre, if possible. I know, it’s a complicated system but so far, it’s working. And, because I have a large selection of books with female Asian-American protagonists, I just added an Asian teacup just for a bit of fun.

The next shelf is more or less the same as the shelf above, but with adult books. The Lego police car is still there. but I also added a road sign.

Below that shelf is what I like to call the “shelf of death” I’ve just been putting books that I’ve either read before or don’t have a lot of interest in reading. And, I have some extra space just in case I need it. Well, let’s face it, I will need it soon. xD

For most of my updates, the bottom shelf has largely been left unchanged. In the last bookshelf update, Nancy kindly made the suggestion of piling the Gundam kits into two columns, instead of three, and it looks so much better now. I then put all of my miscellaneous books next to the kits, The boats more or less remained the same as they did last time.

Compared to other bookshef updates, I am quite happy with the result, and I don’t think I’m going to make any significant changes anytime soon. Small changes, however, well, yeah…I’ve already made some five seconds after I took the photos. I’m Asian. Sue me.

My Favorite YouTuber: A man who eats sandwiches and cries afterwards

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Yet again, I was planning on doing a bookshelf tour, but I’m quite lazy right now to not only take photos of my bookshelf, but to also edit them, since the photos are of such low quality. And, honestly, I need to get out a post now before an angry mob of Asian moms chase me with bamboo torches.

I’ve been wanting to do posts about YouTube channels and videos that I enjoy watching, but I’ve just never gotten to it. Yeah, sure. Let’s add yet another thing for me to do on the giant list of things I want to do but probably never will.

Like with everyone, there are certain videos that I bookmark for later use, whether it be for a blog post or to watch it repeatedly. Of course, with me, I’m lazy so when I “bookmark” YouTube videos, I just like them and it gets saved to my liked videos list. It’s sufficient enough.

I went through my list of liked videos and I’m just going to compare and contrast the different themes and video styles and share why I saved these videos to begin with. I am going to focus on user-created content, so no music videos of Michelle Branch.

The Traditional DIY Video

Back when I had TV, I would watch home decorating and renovation shows all the time. Now that I don’t, I enjoy watching various people doing renovations and smaller projects on their homes. This particular video I was drawn to because of the combination of the music, the voice over, the helpful visuals and and the clear instructions. The end result is a cute, helpful video that anyone can watch.

An Informational Video With Humor and/or Sass

Now, humor and dry wit isn’t for everyone, but I quite enjoy videos that I find both to be helpful and funny. It’s a rare combination that not a lot of people can achieve. You wouldn’t expect that from a video about knives, but thus guy pulls it off. It’s unexpected, and doesn’t come across as trying too hard. It’s natural, and it flows. Err, wait…that’s not the best way to put it, but you know what I mean.

Something Amazing Someone has Done that Takes a Lot of Time and Skill

Although I try to be, I’m not a very artistic person, so I am always amazed when someone creates an amazing piece of art. This guy for example creates figures and statues from polymer clay, and I can barely draw a circle, despite my large array of art supplies. I’m also captivated by his voice because it stands out and he is giving clear instructions and commentary while not being technical.

A Video you Never Thought Anyone Would Actually Make

Lets face it. There’s not a lot of originality these days. We’re all seeing the same twenty videos being made by thousands of YouTubers. Once in a while though, comes a video that stands out. This one happens to be about a guy reviewing an Amish romance novel. Yeah. That’s different from “10 YA novels you should read before you die!” We have enough lists.