Pop Culture That's Making Me Happy Right Now

  
I started to make a list of things that are making me happy, generally, and then I realized just how much of it was media-related. Listen, I know there's more to life than movies and TV and podcasts and books, but they're the things that tend to lift my spirits most — or at least the things that are easiest to identify sometimes.
 
Hope you can find a recommendation or two in here. And I'd love to hear some of your faves, too! 
 
Barbie
I finally saw the all-pink film phenomenon whose marketing campaign so relentlessly and cheerfully tortured us all, and it was just as delightful and decadent as expected. It was the first time I'd been to a movie theater since before the pandemic (!), and I was surprised to find myself laughing out loud surprisingly often.
 
Ugly Betty
My mom used to watch this show and was constantly recommending it to me, but for whatever reason, it never much interested me. I recently wanted something a little bit light-hearted, so I turned this on, and I was immediately in. Some of it doesn't hold up, in terms of language, terminology, and, of course, jokes, but in terms of vibe? It's timeless.
 
Who? Weekly
This is another one that's been recommended to me for a while (though more like months, not years), and I finally got around to starting it. I decided that I needed to start from the beginning... except the podcast started in 2016, which means I'm currently listening to seven-year-old gossip about D-list-and-below celebrities on 1.6 speed... and loving it.  
  
Radically Content
I used to "know" the author, Jamie Varon, back in the OG blogging days. I always admired her writing and how effortlessly cool she was. It's wild, then, to read this memoir-slash-self-help book about her own experiences and self-esteem issues and massive, intentional emotional overhaul — further proof that we never know what anyone else is really going through. 
  
The Godfather
No, I'd never seen The Godfather before. Yes, I recently watched it for the very first time, and I was surprised to discover how much I loved it. I don't know what I thought it would be like, but it was very Sopranos-esque, so of course I loved it. Young Al Pacino was so hot! I finally get it. We've started watching The Godfather II, but I needed a little intermission.  
 
The Golden Bachelor
OK, OK, this new spin on an old reality show hasn't started yet, but I'm really looking forward to watching Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old grandfather from Indiana find love a few years after losing his wife. And as always, I also look forward to listening to two of my favorite podcasts, Bachelor Party and Love to See It, recap the fun.  
 
"Plastic Hearts"
This song is a few years old, but I started listening to it after I first heard Miley Cyrus's newest song, "Used to Be Young." I love that one, too, but "Plastic Hearts" is just so damn dancy. I discovered it on an afternoon when I'd done a little day drinking at the nearby food truck park, and I just played it on repeat while I tipsily bopped around my kitchen and washed dishes.

Soooo what have you been watching/reading/listening to these days? Always taking recommendations!