Spotify + Hulu

If you’re into streaming your entertainment, Spotify has a new trick up it’s sleeve. Now, instead of paying $9.99/month for access to its’ library of 30 million+ songs, Spotify is also including a free subscription to Hulu (on-demand video/tv streaming service), a savings of $5.99/month. The Hulu subscription will include ads; but, if you are into streaming tv shows/movies and especially if you are already a Spotify subscriber, I say definitely sign up here!

Once you do sign up, be sure to log into your Spotify account and activate your Hulu subscription – this won’t happen automatically. One other note: adding networks like Showtime or HBO is not allowed ☹️. The offer is valid until June 10th, 2019, or while supplies last.

You can also add live tv streaming to your Hulu subscription for $44.99/month…. 🤔👎🏽

Here is a list of tv channels currently available on Hulu:

Spotify and Hulu are available for download on all your (mobile) devices.

Bri’s Favorite Things 2018

It’s that time again! For the 5th year in a row I’m publishing Bri’s Favorite Things, which can also be used a Holiday Gift Guide for your friends and loved ones. (See also: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014).

Because it’s year FIVE, I’m going BIGGER and BETTER and offering you TONS of options, so…. BUCKLE UP!

BOOKS & WRITING

Becoming , Crazy Rich Asians, Make Your Bed, The Four Agreements, NotebookMildliner

TECH

AirPods, White Marble iPhone Case,*Tortoiseshell iPhone Case, HP Sprocket (case, paper), Marshall Bluetooth Speaker,*Popsocket, iPad Mini

BEAUTY

FARMACY Green Clean Makeup Meltaway, Benefit Brow Pencil, Travel Size CologneLipstickBloom Perfume

ACESSORIES

Double G Brooch,*Crystal Alphabet Charm, Supreme Backpack, Mini Pochette,*Gold Diamond Initial Necklace (Silver)

TV

Outlander (STARZ), Woman in White (PBS), The Crown (Netflix), Greenleaf (OWN)

CLOTHING & SHOES

Quarter-Zip Sharpa,*Houndstooth Tweed Jacket, Adidas Trefoil Tee,*Vogue Sweatshirt, Slippers, Rain Boots, Alabama Sweatshirt

Happy Shopping!

*items I do not own

 

Brown Sugar

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Brown Sugar: A new subscription-based streaming service of classic movies. Think Netlflix for Black people. There are 111 un-edited movies (and counting) with no commercials! The service launched just this week and a free-month trial awaits you. Brown Sugar is available in the Google Play StoreiTunes App Storewww.BrownSugar.com and costs $3.99 per month.

Brown Sugar is a project from the African-American network Bounce TV. Atlanta-based Bounce TV, a multicast TV network distributed in markets across the U.S., was founded by Martin Luther King III and Georgia politician Andrew Young. #ATL

Check out the promotional video below featuring none other than Rick Ross.

Sign up here.

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Yara Shahidi

Yara Shahidi plays Zoey on ABC’s Black-ish. She’s only 16 years old and already brands herself as a budding humanitarian and activist (her words). I recently ran across Yara’s work on Tracee Ellis Ross’s Instagram page. Tracee wrote, 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾I don’t remember being this ‘woke’ or this clear when I was her age, but intelligent, conscious young women like my TV daughter @YaraShahidi give me so much hope for the future! After reading Tracee’s statement, I was intrigued so I watched the short video of Yara on Tracee’s Instagram page before finding and listening to her full speech on YouTube.

2-minute video snippet. Here are two of my favorite quotes from Yara’s speech at the 2016 Conference on Volunteering and Service (blog post):

  • Children are the anomaly if they succeed, the expectation if they fail.

  • I’m cool plus I’m black which is cool so I win twice ✌🏽️

Click the image below for more pics of Yara at the BET Awards.

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2016 TV Time

o-HBO-STREAMING-facebookA few weeks ago one of my co-workers told me she doesn’t watch tv, like ever. When I first heard this I was kind of shocked. Why? She says it’s because she’s always on her computer (i.e. The Internet). She also said when the cable man comes, The Internet is THE only thing she really cares about – in essence, WiFi is her most important at-home entertaining asset – she really could care less about the TV.

So today, I am sitting here thinking about my own tv-watching habits. If I had to summarize my week with the shows that are absolutely required for me to watch, it would go something like this:

  • Sunday: NFL (weeks when the Steelers are playing and when we get the game in Atlanta, which is not very often) + Game of Thrones & Silicon Valley on HBO.
  • Monday: NFL (same as above).
  • Tuesday: None.
  • Wednesday: None.
  • Thursday: TGIT on ABC: How to Get Away with Murder + Scandal
  • Friday: Real Time with Bill Mahr + VICE News on HBO
  • Saturday: College Football (always when Alabama is playing or other good games from time to time, mostly SEC schools).

But there’s one more thing I need to mention that’s not tied to a particular night or channel: House of Cards and Orange is the New Black on Netflix. Netflix is a MUST HAVE, just like HBO.

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abccom_logoAfter writing what I consider to be my must-have shows, something occurs to me – I watch way more tv than that each week!! So what gives? MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, I PASS THE TIME WITH HGTV, FAMILY FEUD AND LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. So, back to the original comment about watching TV and thinking about how I will spend my time in 2016 – this is not a New Year’s Resolution – it’s a:

2015 realization that I waste too much of my time watching things / entertaining myself / doing things that bring me little to no satisfaction or value to my life.

One may argue the shows I listed above are in the same category and that may certainly be true – for you. So what does this mean for me? It means I need to find something more constructive to do with my spare time and spend time watching only the short list of shows on my must watch list. I can also limit my tv-watching time to “high impact days”: Sunday, Thursday, Friday – that’s three days out of the week (now that college football is mostly over). What things could I do with all this newly-found free time?? I have a few ideas; but, that is the very question I will ponder over the next few days! #moretocome

newyearnewyou

Evolve

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grow