Enthusiastic Recommendations — August 1, 2025

I can’t believe it’s August already! I don’t specifically feel like this year is going quickly, but looking ahead to the busyness of September, I can’t believe it’s already so close.

Important family follow-up: Sophia can now roll unassisted! She’s only going from back to front so far, but it’s big news in the Hurley household. We also took her to her first baby swim class this week, and it was adorable.

This week has been interesting for me, as it’s been my first full week working on Cross Forward projects. I’m still very much immersing myself in the hows and whats of app marketing, and I’m finding it fascinating so far. It’s not a huge leap from the work I’m used to, but looking at the differences is a fun challenge. I’m excited to share my first public-facing work on this later in the year.

Here are some recommendations for you:

• I’ve found myself thinking quite a bit more about Fantastic Four: First Steps. I look forward to seeing that movie again when it arrives on Disney+. It’s stuck with me more than I expected, partly due to the fantastic score by Michael Giacchino. The main Fantastic Four theme is an absolute banger—it’s available on streaming services now, and it gives me goosebumps whenever I hear it.
• We’re still catching up with some of our favorite shows that have returned recently, and this week we’ve been enjoying the new season of Somebody Feed Phil. This is one of my absolute favorite shows; it’s just a pleasant and fun experience. Phil Rosenthal (creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) travels the world eating amazing food and meeting lovely people. His wonderful view of humanity brings me joy and hope. He’s also hilarious. I cannot recommend this show enough — it’s pure joy.
• Brendon Bigley has been on a tear recently with videos on his Wavelengths YouTube channel. I really enjoyed this video chronicling each Animal Crossing game (as I desperately hope for a new one soon), and also this video discussing the Switch’s launch lineup compared to previous Nintendo consoles. There’s a section in the middle that’s completely bonkers, and I feel like only Brendon could pull it off.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I’ll see you on the internet.