Tom's Top 3: June 2, 2026
Liminal Spaces, Familiar Faces, and New Places
Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Movies/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
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[Movie] A24 - Backrooms
I am not a horror movie fan, but Backrooms has been on my radar for a while. The movie has killed at the box office, grossing over $126M worldwide so far. It also set some records—it’s the largest opening weekend for an A24 film and the biggest debut for an original horror movie in history.
The most impressive fact is that it was directed by a 20-year-old YouTube star, Kane Parsons.
Despite all the hooplah, I was still nervous heading into this movie because, well, I’m a scaredy cat. But my friend encouraged me, saying it’s “not super scary, more so creepy.” So I braved the theater, and it was indeed creepy.
But I’m proud that I saw it, because I was rewarded with an amazing film. Now the dialogue is nothing to write home about, but the acting is great and the cinematography has you on edge the entire movie. They give you just enough information to understand what’s going on without over-explaining.
All in all, I found it to be a really effective horror movie, well worth the praise.
[YouTube] Harvard University - Conan O’Brien Delivers the Commencement Address | Harvard Commencement 2026
I did not know that Conan went to Harvard (which was kind of the point of a lot of his speech). But man, is he just the best.
This is hands down the funniest commencement speech I’ve ever seen.
While being laugh-out-loud funny throughout, Conan also stressed three principles that have guided him throughout his career:
Knowing he has done absolutely nothing alone
Learning to embrace pivoting
Recognizing the role of luck in his life
On that last point, one thing he said really stuck with me:
If you carry your victories lightly, other qualities—kindness, originality, courage, humor, and humanity—have room to emerge.
[YouTube] NFL on ESPN - SEISMIC TRADE | How the Myles Garrett deal impact the Rams and Browns’ futures
Go Rams.
There is also rumor that Aaron Donald might come out of retirement to play alongside Garrett.
If you made it to this point, drop a comment to say hi. And as always, please like and consider sharing with a friend who you think would enjoy! I’ll be back next week. ✌️