I do this occasionally, talk about things that are giving me pleasure or helping me get through a tough week. I stole the idea from the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, which used to end every episode with each guest making this kind of selection. So, for February of 2025, here are three random things that are making me happy!
La Brea (Peacock)
I will admit that I don’t always have the most refined taste in TV shows, but this recent show on Peacock really grabbed hold of me. IT follows a group of people who fall through a sinkhole in LA and are transported back to (we think) the year 10,000 BC. Now, we’re getting a sense that it may be more complicated than that, but that’s the premise. Is it objectively good? No. There are numerous problems with the writing and worldbuilding. But it is compelling, and the characters are an engaging group. I kind of think of this as a Discount version of Lost because it’s similar in concept and execution. But unlike Lost, there major characters who are queer, which feels like progress.
So, I’ve just finished season one, and I am INVESTED. I checked to make sure it didn’t get canceled without an ending, and it did wrap up in a satisfactory manner, according to my google search. It’s annoying that the final season is not on Peacock right now, but on Tubi. But it’s expected to return to Peacock soon, and if I absolutely need to, I can rent the final season on Apple TV. Which I just might do.
So yeah, sometimes you need a fun goofy TV show that takes itself way too seriously for its budget. It’s really hitting the spot right now.
The 2025 Brandon Sanderson Lectures (YouTube)
Every once in a while, Brandon Sanderson, the bestselling SFF writer, will record the lectures he gives his Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy Class at Brigham Young University. The last time he did this, it was about five years ago, so I guess he figured that it was time to revisit the practice.
His lectures are phenomenal, covering his approach to Worldbuilding, Plot, and Character. He admits that this is HIS approach, not the ONLY approach, but as someone who is 9 books into their own SFF publishing career, his approach is a really good one. He’s also an engaging lecturer, who uses humor and lots of grounded examples of the points he is illustrating. He’s covered all of this territory before in the old lecture series, but in 2025 it’s obvious that he’s considering a lot of things in new ways. They’ve become my weekend tradition, as a new lecture is usually released every Friday. He’s just finished three weeks on plot, which had been the area I most struggled in before, and which his previous lectures had really helped me with. It was amazing revisiting this, seeing what new things he had to say, and applying it to my own work.
I highly recommend these lectures for anyone who wants to write SFF on a professional level, whether through traditional or indie publishing. He covers what the state of the art is right now, so you can either adapt to it or bounce away from it in intelligent ways.
Photoshop
Photoshop is one of the gold standard tools in graphic design right now, but I wouldn’t say that most people really enjoy using it. It’s kind of regarded as a necessary evil, and I wholeheartedly understand that attitude. However, I come here not to bury Photoshop but the praise it today. I’ve been doing a deep dive into how it works through all of 2024, as part of my formal schooling, which resulted in my earning a certificate in Digital Art and Graphic Design last December. At this point, I’ve completed dozens of projects, and I feel like I am finally figuring out how it works. Using Photoshop, stock art, and generative tools, I’ve made the covers for my two latest books and yesterday completed the wraparound paperback cover for one of them. I’m really happy with how they’ve turned out and consider them some of my best covers, better than several of the ones I paid hundreds of dollars for. I’ve also made several graphic memes I’ve shared on social media.
It’s a hard app to teach yourself, I know that. I’m glad I had formal instruction, and now I know enough to do a deep dive into different tips and tricks. There are a lot of videos on YouTube that will help you with particular strategies, as well as giving a more general overview. I’m doing work now that is way beyond whatever I had once thought myself capable of doing.
Yes, Adobe is kind of a monster as a corporation, and there are other tools available for free or lower cost that do the same thing. I honestly acknowledge these points. However, this is what I learned in my classes, and it is the most powerful of all the tools available anyway, so it’s what I’m using.
Honestly expanding my graphic design tools has been a super fun process, and I’m looking for new ways to challenge myself. So, Photoshop is a lot of fun right now, and it’s one of the things that is making me happy right now.