Perfect Pop Meets 12 Documentaries
Once the littles are in bed and before Dominic starts snoring on the couch* we often tune into a bit of TV. For years we’ve categorized our television viewing as his, hers and ours — and these days, ours is almost always a documentary.
With our favorite snack in hand and a cozy blanket (we’re totally quilt and afghan people, are you?) we scroll through our movie queue and delve into history, scandal and others lives. It’s a decent way to end the night — learning something new, being traumatized by secrets and generally being fascinated.
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering two things … 1) What documentaries do we love? and 2) How on earth do we eliminate fights over who burned to popcorn? Never fear, I’ll tell ya :)
First up, documentaries. Here’s what we have recently loved …
- Blackfish /// Horrifying, but true. This film follows a few Orca whales in captivity. Walk away – You’ll never visit Sea World again.
- The Lone Soldier /// Not technically a documentary, but based on a true story. This movie tells the story of a group of Seals in 2005 on a mission to capture a Taliban leader. Walk away – Tears, appreciation and questions as to what would have happened had the saved civilians not been backstabbers.
- America the Beautiful /// Ever thought beauty in the US is misconstrued? This is the documentary for you! Walk away – How do we teach our children about true beauty?
- More Business of Being Born /// The sequel to Rikki Lake’s The Business of Being Born. After having children, Dominic and I both enjoy birthy statistics. AND YOU GET TO SEE THE FARM! Walk away – birth is soooooo cool.
- Being Elmo /// The man behind Sesame Street’s Elmo! So interesting and somewhat sad on how consuming this character was. Walk away – Career life balance is a true battle.
- Surviving the Cut /// Our brother-in-law is currently in Ranger School and this film gives an inside scoop on the process. Walk away – WE COULDN’T BE PROUDER OF YOU AARON!!!
- Death on a Factory Farm /// An undercover expose at a pig farm. Incredibly heartbreaking, but it’s foolish to go about eating blindly not knowing how food arrives on our plates. Walk away – Every time Dominic sees a pig he now comments that he wants to start a safe, happy place for pigs to be raised and properly butchered.
- Titanic’s Final Mystery /// Did you know there is a pretty scientific reason to Titanic’s sinking? Me either! I learned so much from this documentary! Walk away – Science is way over my head and it’s a miracle more cruise ships haven’t met their fate at sea.
- The Greater Good /// Vaccines, immunity, reactions and the pharmaceutical world. Very eye opening and thought provoking, especially for parents. Walk away – It’s kind of scary how money influences the healthcare system.
- Marilyn in Manhattan /// I’ve always loved Marilyn. Such an interesting peek into her life. Walk away – pretty lives aren’t always happy lives.
- Farmeggedon /// This quote sums it up and ties in well with some of the other documentaries we’ve enjoyed, “If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson Walk away – Wanna buy an island and start a commune?
- Inside Chipotle /// All the Inside clips (they’re about 20-40 minutes long) are REALLY interesting. Chipotle is our favorite one though! Walk away – When is Chipotle going to start delivering? We’re hungry … right now!
And now, the perfect companion to every documentary … Pop Secret popcorn. But it’s not just any bowl of popcorn, it’s perfectly popped popcorn; the kind that isn’t burned or leaves too many unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bowl. Yuck, yuck and yuck.
Here’s how you save the day by savin’ the popcorn …
Download the Perfect Pop app on your iPhone (make sure you’ve got a 5 and have iOS 7 ). It’s free, so no reason to wait! Do it now so you’re ready for your next documentary viewing!
Next, put a bag of Pop Secret in your microwave and enter the suggested cooking time from the packaging. Take note, this app is designed to work perfectly with Pop Secret popcorn, not necessarily other brands.
Turn up the volume on your iPhone. Point the phone’s speaker towards the microwave and keep within 3 feet.
Start the microwave, and then start the app.
The app does all the work! Perfect Pop listens to the pops and notifies you when your popcorn has reached perfection!
During our documentary date nights you won’t be hearing, “Great! There’s black pieces!” or “Why did you ignore the popcorn AGAIN?!?” … at least not around here :) Hallelujah! Now we can spend more time choosing interesting documentaries and less time worrying about the perfection of our popcorn. It’s taken care of!
Final tid bit of advice … serve your Pop Secret Homestyle popcorn with a small bowl of chocolate chips. The mix of salt, butter and chocolate followed by a cold sip of water is divine!
Download the Perfect Pop app stat and share your favorite Pop Secret flavor and documentary in the comments – I’m eager to know both!
*Dominic has been heading to the gym every day at 5am for the last few months, so by 9pm he’s tired, by 10pm he’s out cold!
