Sparking Joy

A short list of a few things brought me joy in 2025

Jan 10, 2026

We’ve finished the first full week of 2026, and I’m already so, so tired of everything.

In an attempt to brighten my spirits (and maybe yours), I have accumulated a few things that brought me joy in the past year. Sure, there was plenty that brought me fear, anger, and existential dread, but I’m in need of some light in all this godforsaken darkness,

These are just a sampling of the joyous things of 2025, and I’m sure there are plenty of others, even more specific to you and yours. Maybe this list will resonate with you. Maybe you’ll find a couple of nuggets you missed or never knew about. At the very least, I hope it brings you a tiny bit of joy. We all could use some.

Jacob Collier. For some reason only the algorithmic gods understand, I clicked on Jacob Collier Improvises the National Symphony Orchestra (Live from The Kennedy Center) and was transfixed for 18 minutes. I’ve never heard of Jacob Collier. I still don’t know much about this man. All I know is that he’s a musical genius who made me forget the horribleness of this world for a few minutes. That’s an invaluable gift.

I quickly went down the rabbit hole of Jacob Collier, finding some live performances on YouTube and his output on Spotify. I haven’t listened to everything yet, but his style basically blends jazz, pop, and R&B with experimental music and synthwave. His improvisational live performances of familiar songs are uncanny. He’s a concert-quality pianist, tenor voice, and conductor. He’s simply the most unbelievable talent I’ve ever watched. I think he might be made of music.

If you’ve never heard of him, may I recommend starting with his version of How Deep Is Your Love Live from Fort Lauderdale. His arrangement is creative, unlike anything I’ve ever heard, and his interaction with the audience is both manic and amazing.

The Pitt. My wife and I do not usually have the same taste in television shows. However, I begged her to watch this with me, and she obliged. We were transfixed. We waited until the entire season was complete, so we binged it straight through. I knew Noah Wyle was going to win an Emmy. He’s amazing in it.

I can’t wait for Season Two.

The Rick Roll. In the newest Benoit Blanc movie, Wake Up Dead Man, most of the movie is set in a large church with a lovely church organ. There are several funny moments, but the amazing organ joke made me laugh out loud.

However, the fact that one of the sets in the movie was also used in the Rick Astley video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” was an inside joke that, when I learned about it, made me smile uncontrollably.

Superman and Krypto. I loved the James Gunn Superman movie. However, when I first saw the teaser clip, and it was heavy on Krypto, I was uneasy. I should not have worried. In many ways, Krypto stole the movie. However, what I really loved was the movie's core message: an immigrant trying his best, often failing and flailing, but continuing to do the next right thing. It was not a subtle note to today's leaders. Don’t worry, though, they didn’t get it. They never get it.

The Voice Message. Matt Wolf’s two-part documentary, Pee-wee as Himself, features marvelous archival footage that tracks Paul Reubens’ rise as Pee-wee Herman and his fall after his arrest and vilification. I learned so much about Reubens that I simply did not know.

It’s also about the making of the documentary itself. Throughout, Wolf navigates Reubens’ doubt about whether to cooperate and tell his story. The voicemail Reubens left Wolf shortly before he died says everything about his desire to control his legacy, right up to the end. It was heartbreaking, but he was finally able to set the story the way he wanted.

The Cigarette Exchange. Sinners is my favorite film of 2025. Yes, I know I haven’t seen hardly anything. Still, it ought to win best picture and probably won’t. I knew Michael B. Jordan was a great actor and that he was playing twins in the movie, but early in the film, when his two characters pass a cigarette between them, I completely forgot it was one actor doing that. It was so mind-blowing, I had to watch it again. Astounding bit of filmmaking.

Gavin Newsom’s trolling. I know it’s not actually him writing the posts, but his social media team has been on point. Newsom exposed Trump’s deranged, all-caps rants and AI meme-trolling by doing his own version, and it’s really funny and biting.

Ultimately, it doesn’t mean much. However, it certainly catapulted him into the spotlight, and he’s now the odds-on favorite to be the Democrats’ choice in 2028. Of course, that’s a long way from now. Anything can happen (and probably will).

Andor Season 2. It’s not going to win the Emmy, but it should. Easily the best thing I watched last year. Of course, I didn’t watch everything. I’m sure someone will have a few recommendations for things I should watch. I welcome them one and all.

The Reading. I read ten books this year: In Any Lifetime, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Leave the World Behind, The Gone World, Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride, The Algebra of Happiness, The Whyte Python World Tour, Winterset Hollow, Digital Minimalism, and Dark Matter. My wife read 120, so I need to catch up. I’m not sure which was my favorite, maybe The Whyte Python World Tour. I highly recommend all these books. In fact, I highly recommend reading some fiction this year in general to step away from reality for a little while and enjoy a whole different universe.

I’m setting a goal to double my reading in 2026. Wish me luck.

The Basement Alchemy – Live from the Basement. The concert was one of the coolest watches I had in 2025. I love how he not only played every instrument, but also crafted the video to look like a full band, even though it’s just one guy playing them all. Somehow Shai Pelled’s videos caught my eye, and then I was sucked into this super small, independent artist and his work. He has a couple of albums of material and a bunch of videos. Catch him on Spotify and YouTube

Be seeing you.

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