Just an FYI. This might be a video-less Five on Friday. I've been in bed with a cold, so you'll only get a video if I manage to film one today. If that happens, you'll find it at the end of this post. What an exciting surprise to look forward to!

Hamilton (musical). Everytime I turn around some is mentioning the musical, Hamilton, so I decided to listen to it. And now I know why everyone loves it. It’s the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the major players during the Revolutionary War, set to a rap/pop fusion musical soundtrack that is just too catchy. I loved it immediately because of the music. I loved it even more when I saw the diverse cast and heard Lin-Manuel Miranda (who wrote the book, music and lyrics) talk about the immigrant story that was at the core of Hamilton. I won’t be able to see the actual musical anytime soon, but the soundtrack is so listenable. But beware, I can’t get the songs out of my head because they are just that catchy.

Alias/Jessica Jones (comic book series). If you haven’t heard, Netflix’s follow up to Daredevil is Jessica Jones. If, like me, you have no idea who Jessica Jones is and what role she plays in the Marvel Universe, check out the series that started it all called, Alias. Alias came out in the early 2000s and was written by the prolific Brian Michael Bendis, and tells the stories of the aforementioned Jessica Jones, a former costumed superhero and now a troubled private detective. Personally, I like the premise, but the first few issues of the series, collected in Alias, Volume 1, have been a little bit muddled. I am glad I’m reading it though because I like having some of the backstory for the show, which looks great. So, if you’re like me, check it out here.

Billions in Change. If you’ve spent any time on YouTube these past couple of weeks you might have seen a bit of the trailer for a film called Billions in Change. I personally skipped it numerous times before I actually let it play past Manoj Bhargava saying he was the founder of 5 Hour Energy. I thought it was probably just some sort of funny little ad for his energy drink, but boy was I wrong. Instead it was a trailer for a documentary about the work that Manoj is doing with his 5 Hour Energy fortune to help people. That’s right, he has decided to use 99% of his $4 billion on some of the greatest sustainability issues, like clean water and energy, that face us. To me the solutions that he is focuses on aren’t the most important part of this, it’s, in fact, that he is working on these projects at all. If all companies and billionaire worked this way… I can’t even imagine. Check out the documentary here.

Glowforge (3D laser printer). I talked about 3D printers a few weeks ago and now I’ve found another super cool printer called Glowforge. Where 3D printers build items out of plastic, Glowforge cuts and etches already made products in a certain shape (which can then be assembled into 3D models). This technology has been around for a while, but Glowforge is (1) accessible to the consumer as it is expensive at $2,500, but much less expensive than similar products of the past and, (2) very consumer friendly with its easy-to-use design interface. Now, I have yet to personally try this product, but I’m excited to at some point. If it does what it says it does this could be great for small scale design and production. Check it out.

Soylent (meal replacement). Another product that I have yet to try, but am excited about. There are tons of meal replacement options out there, but something about Soylent’s marketing has made it a thing. A thing I want to try. When I’m working, I just sit in front of the computer and sometimes get too into what I’m doing and find getting food just a hassle. Having something quick, easy and nutritionally sound would be very helpful. But that also doesn’t mean I hate food, but I do hate trying to find something for every meal. Having Soylent as an option for some meals and then cooking the rest of my meals seems too good to be true. That’s the overall reason why I’m excited. I also like that the flavor is neutral and that there is a large community around customizing Soylent, which I haven’t seen with other meal replacement options. I’ve watched a bunch of videos about Soylent and it seems like people feel full on Soylent and what they really miss is the social time and the act of eating. That problem is solved by my idea of a mix of food and Soylent. I’ll have to check into the nutritional soundness claims more, but if they are true, I might just try it out for myself. If you want a well-balanced examination of Soylent check out this video below.

And look it's the video. A little late, but here nonetheless. Enjoy!

Welcome to the weekend, everyone. There will be new posts and videos next week, so make sure you follow me on social media to find out all the haps. XOXO DAPHNE