It’s the sixth night of Hanukkah!
The candles are getting nice and warm as a potential heat source, and there’s probably some latkes to be noshed upon, yes?
Of course!
I make two kinds of latkes each year: the Serious Eats old fashioned latke recipe where you squeeze the potato starch out of the shreds into a bowl, and the spicy sweet potato latkes I adapted from Taste of Home magazine. I don’t love latkes but I love the sweet potato ones!
So, my Hanukkah wishes for you tonight: may you have plenty of food for everyone, and plenty of jokes, too!
For our sixth night of Hanukkah, we’re giving away a Kate Spade Lucy pink wristlet!
So shiny!
Here are the details:
- Material: metallic leather
- Lining: fabric with 3 interior card slots
- Dimensions: 7.91″ W x 4.6″ H
It’s perfect for the essentials, and it’s shimmery, metallic pink. Perfect for the Year of Barbie™.
To enter, please comment and tell us what piece of media made you happy this year? It could be a tv show, a movie, a podcast, an album – or a book, we like those, too. What media brought you happiness?
Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and ready to receive many compliments on your adorable bag. May cause increased feelings of euphoria and glam!
Comments will close 13 December 2023 at or near 11:59pm ET, and winner will be announced shortly afterward.
Good luck, Happy Hanukkah, and thank you for being part of Smart Bitches!
WINNER UPDATE: Congratulations to AuntieKristin!
Loved the final season of Sex Education.
I watch an awful lot of anime. Pluto was just so good.
The live action One Piece. Loved every bit and want more now!
So video games count? Because Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to be amazing. The characters and dialogue are fantastic, and there are just. so. many. options. I’m on my second playthrough and already planning a third.
I don’t read much horror, but for some reason I really enjoy podcasts about horror books. Two of my favorites are Agatha Andrews’s SHE WORE BLACK (which, iirc, I discovered when she did a crossover episode with Smart Bitches) and Neil McRobert’s TALKING SCARED. I won’t necessarily read the books they discuss, but the conversation is always thoughtful and interesting.
Loved the Chinese drama Hidden Love!
A cat rescue organization, Tiny Kittens, has a YouTube channel with constant cams of kittens – all of whom are available for adoption. I have learned so much about cats from watching, and it’s also been a great distraction from anxiety. And since they’re in British Columbia and I am in Texas, I can resist adopting (it also helps that my passport has expired, when there is currently a bonded pair of older cats that I am coveting).
I was going to say Barbie, but I did reread Murderbot back in October.
One of those.
All the holiday rom-coms. I watch some of them with my mom, and it’s one of our holiday traditions.
The Quantum Leap revival! Sure, technically it started being aired last year, but I got more into it in 2023.
I used to be a huge fan of the original show, especially as I was in my teens back then (so everything was more intense) and I am beyond grateful that present-day me can also enjoy something that younger me loved thirty years earlier.
My husband introduced me to the BBC Shakespeare comedy “Upstart Crow.” It was a great way to shoo away anxiety and stress this year.
Legend of Zelda tears of the kingdom
For adults, my favorite was the second season is Schmigadoon (if you like musical theater, it is a MUST WATCH).
For children, I have loved reading Sheeps in a Jeep to my niblings.
Taskmaster! Episodes are available on YouTube. I just love the banter/snark/repartee among all the competitive/cooperative contestants.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie comes to mind for me 🙂
I discovered the Cinema Therapy youtube channel and I’ve been binging their content. I’ve also been digging the podcast Criminalia – their current season is on forgers.
Music, particularly the jazz singer Samara Joy. I bought her CD, then sent a digital version to my sister. She’s sooooo young and soooo good.
I got hooked on the “Fall of Civilizations” podcast. They don’t release a new one very often, but when they do, they’re thoroughly researched and can be pretty long. Fabulous podcast if you like history, especially of transformative events.
The Sesame Street Monster Foodie Truck segments with Gonger (little pink excitable chef monster) and Cookie Monster continue to be joy incarnate. They’d better keep them on after the show’s next ill-advised format change next season, bah! Guess there’s always YouTube…
I’d have to go with The Great British Bakeoff.
I recently listened to and loved Ezra Klein’s interview with Maryanne Wolf called “This is Your Brain on Deep Reading. It’s Pretty Magnificent.”
Highly highly recommend.
I was late to the party on this, but I listened to the entirety of The Magnus Archives horror fiction podcast this year and it is So. Good.
Beth Bolden’s Charleston Condors (m/m football series) have given me great joy this year.
I loved Lily O’Farrell aka Vulgadrawings on instagrams podcast ‘No Worries If Not’! It was so well done I can’t recommend it enough!
SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE!!!!! So funny and sad and bittersweet and awesome. The decorative pillows alone make it a must see.
Lots of media made me happy this year! All the 5-star books on my Goodreads, the “Barbie” movie, the latest seasons of “The Bear,” “Only Murders In The Building,” “Our Flag Means Death,” and “Abbott Elementary.”
2 favorites of this year-
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – Nicholas Cage playing himself, Pedro Pascal as a super fan in a buddy spy comedy. Perfection.
Our Flag Means Death – queer pirates. That’s all I need to say.
Barbie! Barbie! Barbie!
Dolly Parton’s new album Rockstar brought me so much joy! Specifically her cover of Wrecking Ball with Miley Cyrus.
The Diplomat with Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell had great cast synergy.
Joe Pickett series was also binge worthy (thank you, Oklahoma Metropolitan Library for your excellent DVD selection).
The Welsh Viking on YouTube fills me with delight whenever he uploads!
I enjoyed The Hevenand Earth Grocery Store, a wonderfukl novel about diverse poor people supporting one another.
I’ve gotten into the habit of following/watching YouTube videos posted by Steph Bohrer, Safiya Nygaard, and Trek Trendy They along with reading are my therapy.
The podcast A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs is so good that I became a follower on Patreon of someone for the first time ever this year.
@SBSarah: Smart Podcast Trashy Books was the second. Also, I got so excited that I managed to somehow click on the latest hide your wallet and post this comment there. Either that or I did that in a fog of tiredness with which I’m still dealing. In any case, that was embarrassing.
Now that I think of it. I think I began following this podcast last year, but everything else still applies.
I am loving the second season of The Gilded Age on HBO…the costumes alone are worth it. Also the second season of Minx on Starz.
Hackney Diamonds Rolling Stones
Dungeons and Daddies, a comedy DND podcast. Because I’m a cool person
I don’t actually consume a lot of visual or audio media. Books (and huskie videos) are my media crack. But an album playing in the background makes the best read better. My favorite discoveries in the past year were almost anything by Andrew Bird and Devotchka’s album, This Night Falls Forever.
Oh, I also like Tiny Desk Concerts. The Andrew Bird one was great, and the Taylor Swift one inspired me to actually buy one of her albums (Red (Taylor’s version)
Oh well, how did I forget about these annual giveaways! The media thing that gives me the most joy is my Kindle. I always, always have either my paperwhite or the app within reach. Always! 🙂
But in terms of one specific thing, probably the Great British Bake-off. We (as a family) caught up on a bunch of the older seasons this summer and I just love the positivity of that show.