Here are some more youtube favorites. 1. Simon Roper is a graduate student in archaeology (or is it anthropology?) who has nonetheless taken historical linguistics (and particularly the history of English) as his youtube focus. Simon’s delivery is artless and dry and he is frighteningly precocious, like one of those severely nerdy young kids who are so deep into their nerdism that you wonder if they’re ever going to discover sex or make a successful social adjustment (Simon sometimes paints his fingernails in Day-Glo colors). His videos are utterly without technical sophistication, though not without occasional wood-be natural-poetic moments. (English God-wottery.) Simon is also an excellent mimic. He normally speaks with what I suppose is a Cumbrian accent, bur he can ‘do’ standard American (Michigan or upstate New York) almost perfectly. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChnRk6mxWsSOGElm8phdSxw 2. Jackson Crawford is a Norse linguist who has produced new translations of some of the classic Viking sagas. Apparently Norse nerdism is a popular thing now, and Crawford is definitely one of the stars of that subculture. Crawford knows a good deal about other Germanic languages, Indo-European languages in general, and J.R.R. Tolkien, which explains how I got drawn into his orbit. He teaches in Colorado (the western, mountainous part) and wears cowboy hats and shoots his videos in the great woodsy outdoors. That doesn’t do much for me but I like his dry delivery and rather cynical outlook, both of which seem very true to what I know of the Viking spirit. If Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name was into Norse, he’d be Jackson Crawford. https://www.youtube.com/c/JacksonCrawford
I spend most of my time on Youtube watching astrology videos, which if you had asked me about five years ago I would have laughed at. But that's because I have lots of natal planets in Virgo.
I like watching mechanics building high-end bikes. Watching the precision and the click of a torque socket is oddly cathartic.
Stumbled onto this recently. Late to the party as half a million plus already follow. Mustie1 He fixes things. Lots and lots of things. Sometimes strange things. Fixing things is good. (Also sometimes builds things.) https://youtube.com/c/mustie1
Forgot to mention the Lock-picking Lawyer. Remarkable channel that genuinely makes you think about security & the theatre associated with it. Your Yale locks are from the mid nineteenth century, your padlocks mostly earlier, and anyway - cordless angle grinders are a thing. https://www.youtube.com/c/lockpickinglawyer/videos And recently started watching this chap. Youngish machine-obsessed workaholic, but there's something restful about watching machines work. Andrew Camarata: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndrewCamarata/videos
For some reason I have been watching a lot of old international football matches from the 60s and 70s, mostly of England. Many of these are from youtuber duckjive1 (https://www.youtube.com/user/duckjive1) who is a Spurs and England fan. The film quality varies a great deal, but it is fun for me to finally watch matches I had previously only read about. It is also sometimes a little disheartening. I watched England's elimination from the Euro finals by Germany in '72, and then the two traumatic matches against the Poles in '73. I think someone could create a fine play or dramatic film about the last year and a half of Ramsey's tenure. Martin Amis even suggested a title, The Nervous Breakdown of Alf Ramsey.
I recently started watching James Hoffman who makes videos about coffee and by sheer coincidence is from the UK. Very much a specialty channel. (Do you love coffee? Obsess over it? It might be for you.) You might be amused by the time he brewed coffee from a tin sealed in the 1950s. I use a moka pot at home and enjoyed his recent review of different variants on the pot and improved technique. It's sort of... play, in a way?
I know tits all about electronics beyond 'survival' multi tester basics (literally... I thank god for VDE drivers about once a week when I don't test first), while slightly hating that fact. Big Clive - gradually teaching some modicum of understanding by osmosis, with the most mellifluous Glaswegian/Manx accent. I may have fallen asleep with it in the background a few times. Watched an hour of him talking about installing Glasgow's Christmas lights... https://www.youtube.com/c/bigclive This is what Yewchoob is good at, scattered among its wider cesspit. Stone cold expertise presented in an engaging way.
Mandatory program for archaeotechnicians like me, who deal with bronze casting Always making swords is boring: But iron production also has its charm:
Public service video from Big Clive re 'Lichtenberg' fractal wood-burning using Microwave transformers and other such stupidity. Just... don't. (I have a long history of electrickery idiocy, believing some basic understanding of principles has saved my life a few times, but a healthy respect for microwave transformer gubbins. Basically: nope.) I only share as I seem to have seen a lot of 'Hey, this is way kule' sites/vids lately. No harm in spreading 'Stop it!' stuff more widely. Massive current. No matter the Voltage. Think. Harder.
Stretch or push ? This bloke is a genius. Also, an ecological warrior, getting the most out of precious resources. Take care whilst driving on wet tarmac. Stretch version. "DIY tyer changer" The push version, also serves as a lunch bar table. Rather more expensive to make. MV - Manual Tire fitter
Beginning the long and expensive road of re-commissioning a Blackhawk for private use. I'm kind of astonished you can buy a Blackhawk. Ridiculously pleasing items. Though I suppose they've been with us a fair while now. "Welcome to the Blackhawk community". FFS.
Recently, I like to watch these videos where American opera singer, Elizabeth Zharoff examines the talents of Heavy Rock frontmen such as Ian Gillan, Robert Plant and Ronnie James Dio. I especially like her enthusiasm when listening to these performances for the first time. However, her knowledge of the music and the bands history etc is not great:
Def not one of those no-commentary, elevator music in the background, look-how-i-made-this-fantastic-thing-you-have-no-hope-at-all-of-sculpting channels; shares his mistakes / admits he's impatient / not the best at planning ahead.