My Current Favorites [February 2021] Blog Tools, Instagram & Shows
We’re continuing the “Current Favorites” series with a bit of a hodgepodge of things I’ve been into lately.
Let’s start with some self-promotion, lol.
We officially launched officially two new blogs:
- Mehach.com dedicated solely to reviews of cosmetics and books. Mehach comes with a Facebook account and two Instagram accounts (the first being solely for cosmetics, the second for paper flowers). There’s a real editorial strategy behind Mehach, so I can’t wait to see you there. Mehach.com is bilingual (yay) French/English. My Spanish is still too poor and I’m too lazy to offer Spanish and Vietnamese versions.
- Nomadbento.com is the English version of this blog. So if you particularly like an article here, you’ll find the English equivalent on Nomad Bento. Just so you know, it’s machine-translated (by a bot), so some phrasings are a bit off. I’m fixing the translations as I go, but in chill mode 😀 so it’ll take me a few years.
My Content Creation Tools
When setting up these new blogs, I used some free services. I’m sure they’ll help you if you have a blog or an Instagram account.
- The tool Canva which I’ve talked about at length here to create my logos, banners, stories, and YouTube thumbnails.
- The tool Fotor which lets you make collages. I use it especially to draft Instagram grids to better place my photos.
- Then I simply use Creative Studio, Facebook’s free tool, to schedule my Facebook & Instagram posts in advance. This lets me, for example, create 3 weeks of Instagram content at once and then repeat the same work 3 weeks later, instead of thinking every day about what I plan to post.
- For the English texts, I write them myself but I always use the Grammarly tool (free) which uses AI to proofread my texts. Recently, I upgraded my account to the Premium plan (I got it at -50%, i.e., $70 a year), and my texts sound much more native all of a sudden. The Chrome extension lets you correct articles directly in WordPress.
My Favorite Shows
I loved Bling Empire on Netflix. It’s hilarious. Unlike other American reality TV shows, there’s less drama and more authenticity. They’re all Asian and all super rich (except one). They’re all new money, so there’s no tension between new and old money like in other shows. There’s one fairly poor guy who hangs out with them and says out loud what we’re all thinking: “$1100 for a pair of shoes??” They keep their Asian habits (like parties with hundreds of people for no reason) even though they were born or live in the US, so the bill is much, much steeper. There are situations so WTF that you don’t know what to think. Some scenes are so funny you wonder if it’s scripted because it’s too good! This show is super entertaining, and expect to binge-watch because it’s addictive (good thing there are just 8 episodes). Alongside these hilarious scenes, there are more serious topics like infertility, the weight of tradition, and adoption. There are plot twists, like in a real series. It can be a bit unsettling to see quite a few mediums, shamans, and therapists popping up every 30 minutes, but that’s also a very Asian practice. I think those with Asian friends or who’ve lived in Asia will appreciate this show even more. The behind-the-scenes videos are also hilarious:
Snowpiercer returned to Netflix with a season 2 that’s absolutely incredible, much more interesting than the 1st season. With Mr. Wilford as the show’s villain, a narcissistic pervert who lights up the screen. I’ve read quite a few analyses of this character’s psychology on Reddit, and some describe the ambiguous relationship between Wilford and Miss Audrey very well. I think those who don’t understand what a narcissistic pervert is will catch on very quickly by watching the show.
Oh, speaking of that, the Instagram account @balancetastartup created a buzz in 2021 by posting anonymous testimonials about the questionable working conditions at some startups. They call out, among others: Lou Yetu, Sézane, Iziwork, My Jolie Candle. I didn’t know, but there’s a trend among startups right now: working on a case study during the recruitment process. And I mean long case studies. Before, to land certain jobs, I also had to do a little exercise at home, but every time, it was just imaginary cases or a 300-word text meant to assess my skills. The work was of no use to the company trying to hire me. But now, they seem to give real case studies. So be careful, don’t become free consultants!
The second half of season 6 of Vikings is finally available on Netflix. I don’t know when I’ll watch it, knowing these are the last ones. I’m not too keen on telling myself it’s already over 🙁
p.s.: We pay really little for Netflix. By using a VPN to get an Argentine IP address and an international payment card, we pay in Argentine pesos about 6€/month for Premium access (Full HD, 5 accounts, 4 simultaneous screens or something like that). Once subscribed, no need to use the VPN anymore.
The Office (US version): JB has been watching this series on Amazon Prime for several months to improve his English, and he’s in stitches every episode. Between 1:1 lessons thanks to his CPF, the Mosalingua app I’ve already mentioned here, and watching this series, his English has improved a lot.
Undercover Billionaire is a must-watch series. Produced by Discovery, it proves that abundance and wealth are a matter of mindset, vision, and not just luck. A millionaire is dropped into the wild (well, a small American town) with $300 in his pocket, an ugly car, and a smartphone. In 90 days, he has to become a millionaire again. He does extremely well! A must-watch! Streaming because it’s not available on Amazon Prime or Netflix. I’m not saying we can all do the same as him in Europe in 90 days because we don’t have the same laws, but it’s super motivating.
That’s it, I hope you enjoyed this article. As mentioned on Instagram, all new lifestyle & cosmetic articles will now be posted on Mehach.com, the old “Beauty” articles remain on Tour du Monde 5 Continents and are accessible here. I’ll keep updating “My Current Favorites” and “Reflection” on this blog, with links to Mehach if needed.
