Kendra makes videos "about architecture in pop culture and how it connects to the places we live" that are funny and informative. They also often lead me to going down my own rabbit holes far beyond the videos, which I think is a good sign of their quality.
Right before graduating highschool my english teacher decided to take our class on a walk around the neighborhood to identify architectural features on the buildings nearby. I've always moved around a lot and always had terrible landlords. I couldn't let myself understand why other people got so attached to houses. I saw it as naivety. That walk let me loosen my grip on that notion and be more open to learning about my surroundings, even if I know they'll change.
Kendra's videos are like that walk in laid-back video form, with sources and pop-culture as a fun jumping off point!
Feb 6, 2025
Related Recs
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my recs in YouTube are spoiled with rpdr and kpop vids, but i still keeping track of new videos on some of my favorite channels
DamiLee channel is one of them, i like her videos so much! She is talking about architecture, and always sharing a lot of interesting information and giving ideas to think about. I personally like her video about different architecture in movies, the one where she discussed the design of prisons, and the new one about bunkers and living in the post apocalyptic world
Oct 21, 2024
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Death By Thrifting-Vlogs about thrifting and some other stuff.
Kendall Hoyt-she recently released a series about dating on NYC. She also does stuff with outfits, vlogs, etc. I started watching ‘cause I really like her camera presence.
This one isn’t necessarily slow, but Jules Dapper. She makes videos about random stuff but she makes you just as invested as she is on the topic. She’s also very funny. She has the video The Most Mysterious Illness in History talking about the fear people developed when glass had just started to become a popular material, where rich people thought they were made of glass and would shatter. I also like Let’s Bully Hans Christian Andersen, where she talks about what a weird guy he was lol. These are from her series Dapper History but she has other series on her channel as well.
Lola Sebastian also makes great videos about miscellaneous stuff. I particularly liked her last video Stupid Sexy Tennis Movies. But the one that made me care for her as a creator, was her Anthony Bourdain video: Anthony Bourdain: A Love Song. (She stood out, as before that, I didn’t care for Anthony Bourdain at all but I watched her whole video).
Nov 20, 2024
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Kel Lauren - They make videos on graphic design, but I find them really entertaining, even as someone who has no interest in being a graphic designer. Every time I watch their videos, I just feel instantly relaxed. I don't think they've been posting as much lately, but they have a great & unique backlog of vids to go through! Something very different from what other YT'ers are doing.
Ashley Norton - If you like Mic's Mike, Ashley's content is in in a similar fun, pop-culture commentary vein. Hers is more straightforward talking with less fun gimmicks (no wall-webs like Mike does), but she's still very funny and compassionate in her approach to topics. She covers nostalgic topics like old bandom drama and 2000s/early 2010s TV stars/shows. I like that she seems to focus on what she's interested in, instead of recycling the same discourse/hot topics that the algorithm pushes.
Mila Tequila - She does a lot of longform retrospectives on 2000s phenomenons, so they're really good for putting on and listening to while you're painting, cleaning, etc. I also appreciate that she doesn't have the specific type of boring, monotone, video-essay voice that can make a lot of people zone out! Hers feels more conversational.
Casey Aonso & UnCarley - Both do some fun pop culture tier list ranking vids that I think Mike's Mic enjoyers would like! UnCarley does some videos similar to his style with wall webs & Casey's whole channel is great.
ModernGurlz & Mina Le - Have some great fashion content! Modern Gurlz has some really interesting trend analysis videos & Mina Le does great interesting commentary on fashion history.
As for individual videos, this one had some refreshing relatability & charm that I feel like I haven't seen in a hot second on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/ZFhA26rPNy4?si=d9bmyekxAEv0zC5s
Feb 8, 2024
Top Recs from @greenstar
1d ago
Feb 8, 2025
Lately I've been spending too much time scouring every corner of eBay I can for the cheapest and most delightful soviet era porcelain figurines available
I didn't even realize it until diving head first into this rabbit hole, but I have had soviet era porcelain figurines my whole life (a bunny and a bull for those curious), so I guess I was always destined to develop a fondness for the form, and eventually dig a little deeper into it.
There is something so incredibly charming and also incredibly interesting about these porcelain pieces! These little guys!
There's a lot of history to dig into that I've barely scratched the surface of AT ALL, but I'm fascinated by how porcelain reflected the common sentiments* of the times, the economic conditions, the artistic movements and ideas of the day, and also the ability (or lack thereof) of people to stay in one place and hold onto something so "useless" and easily broken.
I have very, very few things from any of my ancestors. Figurines like these make me think about the way history and art are passed down to us, forgotten, broken, left behind, sold in thrift stores and online, if they survive at all.
Figurine collections are kind of a barometer of safety and stability, or at least how dedicated to the illusion of it you might be.
They also make me think about how useful "useless" things can be. How even art that is purely decorative can be thought-provoking (by for example valorizing "folks"), or just make you happy (via being very cute! Or expert use of color and form!).
Grannies collect this shit for many good reasons and I'm starting to catch on.
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* Notably the $$$ collectors type ones are the ethnographic figurines, something I NEED to read an academic paper about.
Especially, because Ive noticed some of these figurines depicting "ethnic types" are inaccurate copies of earlier prints, which themselves should be placed under immense scrutiny! This is all extra interesting in the context of the porcelain industry transitioning from imperial rule to the soviet era. The ways of talking about ethnicity changed, (in addition obviously to y'know, everything!) but the products produced largely remained the same. Lots to think about!!!
Jan 31, 2025