+---------------------------------------------------+
| home // links // recs // thoughts // guestbook |
+---------------------------------------------------+
jreg (keywords: irony//humor//art//politics//terminally online) not only is he funny but he has good shit to say, i think he's actually onto some truths about the world. next to impossible to explain quickly, but if you like it you love it.
cj the x (keywords: analysis//philosophy//art//terminally online) starts off with media commentary about media you've never watched, and turns it into the best video essays you've ever watched. oftentimes incorporates life philosophy that leads you to turn off the screen and start contemplating.
brian david gilbert (keywords: variety//art//humor) this guy can upload anything and it will be good. does everything from music, skits, horror, informationals, game journalism, and more while always incorporating slightly concerning humor.
vlogbrothers (keywords: analysis//variety//philosophy//science) two brothers who have been making short videos for each other and sending them back and forth for nearly two decades. over this time span, they have discussed thousands of topics, published multiple books, started charities, and built a longstanding yet easy-to-join community.
map men (keywords: geography//analysis//variety) weird geography series (as in, the geography is weird not the series.) fast-paced discussion of interesting phenomena plus great skits because it's made by comedians.
josh czuba (keywords: self-improvement//art//analysis) the only channel that helps me fight my internet addiction lol. the way he talks convinces you to want to stop scrolling and start slowly reclaiming your mind. also releases strangely gripping short stories (like this) which are among my favorite videos on the platform.
not buying it (keywords: analysis//self-improvement) the anti-consumerist youtube space is saturated, ironically, with people doing it for the money. they record "minimalist house tours" or "1 week low-buy vlogs" or some other slop with midroll ads, going against the whole ethos. not buying it performs high quality analysis instead, a reminder to ignore both the corporate and "anti-corporate" noise.
pasta coma (keywords: humor//variety) extremely funny college student with a unique/offbeat style. started off as a cooking channel for a school project but now she does shit like hanging art in restaurants and making switzerland in her closet. seeing this in my recommended with absolutely no previous exposure to this channel made me a fan for life.
jerma deadass jerma is one of the funniest people currently alive. he does so much random outside-the-box shit like real-life sims, weird shitty games from 12 years ago, really long tier lists, jigsaw puzzles - and throughout it all it's never boring. this is because he reacts very strangely to regular stimuli, he's just so insane that it's entertaining. even when he acts normal for a bit he'll say something ridiculous that reminds you who you're watching. i linked his stream channel but it's probably better to do a youtube search for "jerma clips" to get a sense of the insanity for yourself. (here and here are good ones to get you started, ive watched so many jerma compilations it's unbelievable)
dougdoug i dont think anyone can be as funny as jerma to me, but dougdoug comes real close. specifically recommend the novel.ai adventures because the ai is so shitty that it completely derails what the "plot" of the stream was supposed to be. ridiculous self-imposed modifications, or shenanigans forcing the incorporation of twitch chat, bring some actual originality to video game streaming.
northernlion he's quick in the head and has a great vocabulary which allows him to come up with funny shit on the spot for any situation. especially entertaining when he plays geoguessr or random quizzes, or goes off on a humorous tangent about whatever's happening on twitter recently. very easy streamer to get into, i linked the officially-sanctioned clips channel to streamline it.
in progress
in progress
battlebots: my favorite show of all time. giant weaponized robots fight each other, chaos ensues. very entertaining if you like robotics, or enjoy watching explosions, hammers, giant saws, 250mph spinners, and hundreds of pounds of steel being thrown into the air.
bojack horseman: uses animal people to depict struggles with addiction, mental illness, interpersonal problems, and general adult life. its clever writing, in both silly and somber parts, cements it as one of the pinnacles of the animated genre.
breaking bad/better call saul: very strong characterization and plot that never stops. there's a reason some people call these 2 the greatest shows of all time.
good omens: watched this with my family and enjoyed it a lot. contains both humor and meaning with characters you are intensely rooting for.
death note: intricate plot and examination of good and evil. one of the most popular animes of all time for good reason, as it is quite well-constructed above and below the surface.
serial experiments lain: short, gripping, and borderline prophetic. it's about the internet, and existence, in the broadest scope of those terms.
monty python and the holy grail: one of my favorite movies of all time, raucously funny and you can reference it for the rest of your life. a group of knights go through various trials and tribulations to find the holy grail, but every scene is a hit. honorable mention to life of brian, another monty python movie that's almost as good.
the princess bride: parody romance movie that's also hilarious. the characters in this one are so nuts they actually seem like they could be real.
reservoir dogs: the ability to tell an epic theft story while jumping back and forth in time to reveal character motivations makes this a masterpiece. while i like pulp fiction as well, reservoir dogs is the better tarantino movie because it's tighter. never wasting a moment on fluff, it keeps you focused the entire time.
fight club: yeah no shit, it's renowned for a reason. one of those movies you just have to see at least once, and you'll definitely enjoy the ride.
one flew over the cuckoo's nest: the cast of characters present in a mental asylum make it not only entertaining but also rebellious. im shocked at the amount of people who havent seen this one, it's fire.
godfather/godfather 2: they're good whatever hot take
guns akimbo: my favorite action movie. about a loser guy who wakes up with guns bolted to his hands, forced to participate in an underground livestreamed fighting ring. hidden gem (read: nobody else has seen this movie so i try to promote it all over the place)
use open source software whenever possible.
you definitely want to be using vlc over windows media player or quicktime player. vlc is lighter, has a better subtitle system, and can play just about any format, codec, or file extension you throw at it.
my torrent client of choice is qbittorrent, it has every feature and you will see it recommended everywhere. ive also had good experiences with deluge but it's a bit outdated now as it hasnt been updated in years.
ive used surfshark because it's cheap, but wouldnt really recommend as they removed port forwarding when it was previously a selling point; never trust stuff that is shilled by youtubers. mullvad is the most private vpn and the best choice if you don't care about port forwarding. if you want port forwarding use proton paid tier.
i assume you're using firefox if you read this far in the software section. if you're not, respectfully, what are you doing lol? you can easily switch over your bookmarks, passwords, and browser history, plus you'll be able to use adblockers since chrome has banned most of them.
speaking of adblockers, ublock origin is by far the most comprehensive. other recommended extensions: behind the overlay for a paywall blocker, adnauseam and disconnect for privacy. i also use youtube playback speed control to watch videos at 4x speed B)
i highly suggest you ARCHIVE YOUR SHIT. if your computer dies tomorrow, imagine everything you'd lose. the best strategy is to identify critically important data and back it up to an external ssd. i would recommend samsung ssds as they are reliable and go on sale frequently, but any drive is a better deal than professional data recovery.
old macbooks and macbook pros (by "old" i mean 2010-2015) are good linux machines and underrated options for cheap computers. since the old ones originally retailed for an arm and a leg, the components are of good quality (except 2015/16-2019's butterfly keyboard, please do not buy a machine with that joke of an input system.) ironically, the new arm macbooks suffer more compatability issues than old x86 ones. the mid-2012 macbook pro, which i used for years until its drive died, is regarded as one of the best macbooks over made. anecdotally, i picked up my current one, a mid-2015 macbook pro, for cheap at a local computer shop and it was well worth the money.
of course, thinkpads are always good too.
in order to do work when you dont want to, you have to either disengage all the way or engage all the way.
to disengage, force boredom by throwing your phone across the room and staring at the wall. in most cases (notably, not high-stress tasks) your brain will choose the work over the lack of stimulation.
to engage, the key is associating a sensory thing with work. once a sense is engaged, it's not in the background distracting you from what you want to do. most people do this with music: a genre, a playlist, or a song. something like lofi would be a genre. you can make a playlist of songs (or find one on youtube, search "procrastination playlist") that you ONLY listen to when doing work to permanently build that association. or you can listen to one song/track, like this, on loop until it becomes background noise.
another great tip is "coworking" streamers on twitch. when you and the streamer are doing the work at the same time it feels much less intimidating. the 3 people in chat will hold you accountable, the twitch bot will make completion feel more rewarding, and becoming part of a small community makes it easier to rebuild your discipline skills in addition to its psychological benefits.