OBSESSIONS
OBSESSIONS WHAT WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH.
LEARN
PLAY LEGO MODEL KITS
NPR LIFE KIT PODCAST
WHY DO WE LOVE IT? Call it nostalgia. Call it a second childhood. Whatever it is, several months back I re-discovered the delights of playing with Legos. Those multi-colored plastic interlocking bricks of various shapes and sizes are every bit as fun as I approach retirement as they were before I was school-age. The only real difference is the breadth and scope of what’s available. At some point over the last five decades or so, Lego added model kits based on space exploration, movies, pop culture and more. I’ll admit to first scoffing at the idea of Legos that come with step-by-step build instructions. Where’s the fun and imagination in that? Turns out, there are plenty of both. So far I have recreated the city of Paris and three dinosaur skeletons. Next up is Darth Vador’s meditation chamber from the Star Wars movies franchise and on deck is the Apollo 11 lunar lander.
WHY DO WE LOVE IT? The NPR Life Kit podcast is the perfect listen for anyone who is on a mission for selfimprovement. The podcast tackles one topic in-depth every week, from waking up early to deciding whether to freeze your eggs, and gives you tips on how to apply the tips in your own life. Life Kit even has specific subcategories for episodes dealing with certain topics like health, money and parenting if you are looking to focus your learning. — SAM SCHIPANI
LISTEN “IN THESE SILENT DAYS” BY BRANDI CARLISLE WHY DO WE LOVE IT? I can’t stop listening to Brandi Carlisle’s most recently released album “In These Silent Days.” I am a longtime fan of Brandi Carlisle, and this, her seventh studio album, is chock-full of heartwrenching apology ballads, melancholy love songs and toe-thumping country-folk romps that I have come to expect from the singer-songwriter, but with an air of maturity that can only come from the experience and success that Carlisle has earned over the course of her career. — SAM SCHIPANI
14 / BANGOR METRO January/February 2022
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— JULIA BAYLY
