Tag Archives: TV

Doing A Digital Cleanup Too (or Cutting Back On Some Entertainment)

Posted on January 26, 2022 | Comments Off on Doing A Digital Cleanup Too (or Cutting Back On Some Entertainment)

As I’ve been cleaning up my house and getting ready to move, I’ve also been reevaluating other things in my life. I feel like a move is a fresh start in so many ways for me. And I don’t move often (my last move was about 12 years ago), so this feels like a big opportunity to really clean up things. But I have hit a bit of a wall with going through my physical things and getting rid of stuff, so I am taking a little break from that. But while I am not cleaning up actual things, I am now working on cleaning up things that take up some mental space and not physical space.

A lot of my entertainment comes from things that are essentially on-demand for me. Almost all the tv I watch is stuff I have recorded on my DVR and I almost exclusively listen to podcasts and not music. Those things are available for me whenever I’m ready to enjoy them, but at the same time they can stack up if I’m not watching or listening to them on a regular basis. So I’ve been working on going through what I am saving, what I watch or listen to, and what I seem to be putting off.

I have an odd attachment to shows and podcasts that I’ve been enjoying for a long time. I feel a bit of loyalty and have a need to finish out a tv show or continue listening to a podcast. But as my time becomes a bit more limited, I keep putting off the things that I don’t want to enjoy but feel like I have to keep watching and listening. I don’t know why I’ve kept this up for so long (and I’m sure I could have an entire therapy appointment about it), but I’ve decided I’ve had enough of doing this and there’s no need to use up my time for things that aren’t what I want to be enjoying.

It probably seems silly that I’m writing a post about deleting series recordings on my DVR or unsubscribing to podcasts, but honestly it has made me so much happier as I’ve been doing it. I do still keep a few shows that I don’t enjoy as much has I used to but still enjoy enough to finish them out. But for shows that I was waiting a few weeks and then just binging through a bunch of episodes to clear space, I have decided I don’t need to force myself to do that for whatever arbitrary reason I have. Nobody is going to judge me for not having all the same entertainment options as I used to.

I’ve worked for a while on making sure I do things that make me happy and bring me joy. But this was something that I was putting off because in a way, any form of entertainment should be something that brings me joy. But just because the idea of watching shows or listening to podcasts makes me happy, I can still be selective in what I choose to enjoy. And if I want to keep working on managing my time better and finding ways to maximize the time I do have, then being selective in my entertainment is an important thing to do.

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Default ThumbnailGetting Back Into Podcasts (or Finding More Time Even When I’m Busier) Default ThumbnailSo Much Entertainment So Little Time (or Scheduling Leisure Time) Default ThumbnailA Major Cleanup (or Saying Goodbye To The Old Me) Default ThumbnailRemembering To Do What I Like (or Weird Disappearing Time) Default ThumbnailContinuing To Be Inspired By Podcasts (or Turning A Passion Into A Paycheck) Default ThumbnailWhat I’m Listening To (or I’m Not A Music Person)

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Getting Ready For A Fun Rewatch (or More Netflix Parties)

Posted on August 27, 2020 | Comments Off on Getting Ready For A Fun Rewatch (or More Netflix Parties)

I’ve been running a Netflix Party for one of the Facebook groups for a while now. Like I’ve said, having these twice a week have been a great thing for me. They are helping me feel like I’m being social and doing a communal thing with others. It’s helping me keep a regular schedule and have things to look forward to. And I also have gotten to know the women from this Facebook group even better now that we have this mini-group and we are texting with each other for a few hours a week.

It’s pretty simple to run the group. The only thing that can be tough is to make sure we have enough movies to vote on for our Saturday movies. But I just take a little bit of time each week to do a search on Netflix for any new movies that might be available and then another member from the group checks to make sure they are also available in Canada (since we have a few Canadian members). Picking movies is easy once we have the list since we have learned how to do polls directly in our message group. And just like having these Netflix Party nights is adding a routine to my life, so is working on the movie list and selecting the next movie.

On Wednesdays, we watch a tv show. It started as movies on Wednesdays, but we quickly switched to working through a tv show as it seemed like a lot of people wanted to do that. We decided to watch “Schitt’s Creek” as our first tv show and we finished the first 5 seasons last week. The 6th and final season isn’t going to be on Netflix for another month or so, but we will be watching that season when it is available.

Since we finished a tv series (or as much of the series that we can watch now), we had to do a vote for a new show. So I spent a few days collecting nominations for shows that the group wanted to watch, we did our Canada check, and we put it up for a vote. And while there were a lot of shows that people seemed to be excited about, the clear winner was “The Good Place”.

I love “The Good Place”. It was a show that I watched every week while it was on tv. I thought it was one of the best shows that I’ve seen and it was written so beautifully. There are twists in the show and those twists made things even more amazing. Nothing in the show seemed to be done to get ratings or attention. Every episode was deliberate and thought out, and that’s why I think they ended after only 4 seasons. That was the story that the creator of the show wanted to tell and they didn’t add more just to make more episodes (and make more money). I respect that idea a lot and it just added to what I loved about the show.

I know the show pretty well and there won’t be any surprises for me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy it less. I think knowing how the show ends will make me watch all the episodes in a new light. And there are members of the group who will be watching that have not seen the show and I’m so excited to see their reactions to things that shocked me.

This Netflix Party group has become a big part of my quarantined life. I know that even if the pandemic ended by some miracle tomorrow that we would still figure out how to watch movies or a tv show together. We might not do it as often as we do now, but I have a feeling that this routine will be a part of our lives for a while. And maybe one day in the future, we will find a way to all meet up somewhere and we can do a movie night together in person.

I never thought a virtual movie/tv viewing group would be so important to me. But I guess that’s one of the things that this pandemic is making us realize. We are seeing what we don’t miss from our old lives, what we miss a lot, and what new things can bring a lot of happiness and joy to our lives.

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Default ThumbnailSo Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology) Default ThumbnailEnjoying Movie Nights (or Watching My Screeners) Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailAnother Netflix Night (or A Comedy Panel) Default ThumbnailNetflix Luncheon (or Rebels and Rule Breakers) Default ThumbnailAnother “Gilmore Girls” Adventure (or Netflix FYSee)

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FYC (or A Drive-In TV Screening Night)

Posted on August 20, 2020 | Comments Off on FYC (or A Drive-In TV Screening Night)

I get invited to screenings at different times of the year. Sometimes it’s for the SAG Awards and they are screening movies for us to vote on. Sometimes it’s just for fun and a new show is premiering and they want to get attention for it. And sometimes I get invited to For Your Consideration screenings for things I’m not voting on but they have extra space for others to join in.

There haven’t been a lot of events this year since public events are hard to do. Nobody wants to sit in a movie theater with a lot of strangers, even when wearing a mask. A lot of screenings have been things to watch at home. I have seen a few invites for those, but I don’t always feel sitting at my computer more than I need to. But then, I got an invite for something different.

This was a series of screenings being done as drive-ins on a giant screen. Normally, FYC means For Your Consideration. But at this screening, FYC meant From Your Car. They were doing them at the Rose Bowl and everyone would be staying in their cars. And the screening with space available was for “The World According to Jeff Goldblum”. I don’t know how I haven’t watched that show yet, but I haven’t. So going to a screening of it seemed like an awesome way to watch some episodes!

I didn’t really want to go alone, but it’s also tough to go with someone when you don’t know how isolated they have been lately. But I knew that my friend Dani was taking things as seriously as I was, so I texted her to see if she had been isolating recently and if she was free to go to the screening. And she said yes to both! So we decided to go together and I was so excited! I hadn’t seen Dani since March and I really wanted to hang out with a friend. Even though I saw Joanna just a few days before (from a distance), seeing a friend made me realize how much I wanted to try to find ways to do it again. I’m just so glad I have friends who are being as cautious as I am.

When we arrived at the Rose Bowl, there was a little line to get in. We were there early, so we opened the windows to the car to let some fresh air in (we figured that plus the masks helped to keep us as safe as possible). And when we were let in, we were given a flyer with some information for the night.

And then we saw a line ahead with a step and repeat set up.

But because we all were staying in our cars, I guess it was more like a drive and repeat. One car at a time went onto the carpet and they took a photo of us. And then they texted it to us right after so we could see our official photo!

Some people were taking off masks for the photo, but we didn’t. First, for safety. But also, this is such a specific moment in time and we wanted to have the masks to be able to remember this one day in the future.

We were directed to a parking spot (which was right in the center and near the front) and we were handed a bag and a menu. I thought the bag had our dinner but when I looked at it, it was a snack pack with candy, popcorn, and water!

Then we were served dinner! I knew we would be getting fed at this screening, but I didn’t expect so much food and for it to be so good!

Dani and I both loved the dinner so much! I was amazed by how much we got (my snack pack wasn’t touched and I ate it another day at home). And then we relaxed and waited for the screening to start.

It was so nice to get to hang out with Dani, even if it did feel a bit weird to be in masks. But seeing a friend right now in masks is so much better than waiting until things are safe again. And we did both feel safe with masks and keeping the car windows open. We were closer than 6 feet from each other, but with all the other precautions I felt ok.

Right before the screening started, we noticed that some of the step and repeat photos were going up on the big screen. And then we saw our photo up there!

Once it was dark, the screening started. First was a recorded Q&A with Jeff Goldblum talking about the show and what inspired it. It was fun to see how excited he was about the show and that it was a real passion project of his.

We then watched 2 episodes. The first was an episode all about tattoos. Then it was an episode all about ice cream. And as the ice cream episode started, we noticed staff going from car to car again. Turns out they had ice cream for us! I didn’t get a photo of that since it was dark and I was focused on the show. But it was the perfect treat since it was such a hot night.

And then, the screening ended. There were a lot of exits from the Rose Bowl, so it didn’t take long before we were headed back. And very little traffic so Dani made it to my house really quickly. I was sad our hangout was done, but so grateful to have had a night out with a friend doing something so fun!

Even though I felt relatively safe doing this, I don’t know how often I would do something like it. I do have some friends, like Dani, who I feel like I can trust to be isolating themselves a lot. But this was a treat for me and not something I plan on doing a lot just yet. But it was the best treat to do and it helped me feel like I wasn’t just alone and waiting out this pandemic.

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Default ThumbnailSuch An LA Night (or Just Having Some Fun With A Friend) Default ThumbnailMagic Castle Fun (or Girls Night Out) Default ThumbnailLast Musical Of The Season (or A Classic Pantages Night Out) Default ThumbnailA Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine) Default ThumbnailA Night At A Screening (or Forgetting What Non-Screenings Are Like) Default ThumbnailAnother Grove Adventure (or Dinner And Not A Screening)

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Another Small Upgrade (or Making Things Easier To Watch)

Posted on December 26, 2019 | Comments Off on Another Small Upgrade (or Making Things Easier To Watch)

I try not to always splurge on the latest and greatest technology. I’m usually the person who keeps something as long as possible, even when it gets a bit outdated. I’m always having friends making fun of me for my phone because it’s so small (the reason I haven’t upgraded my phone is that I like a small phone). The only time I got something brand new as soon as it came out was my laptop, but that was something I had been waiting on for a while.

Besides my phone being a bit outdated, the other thing I have that wasn’t close to being the most recent version was my AppleTV. I got my AppleTV years ago so I could watch Netflix and Hulu on my TV. I know there are cheaper devices I could have gotten that could have accomplished the same thing, but I liked how the AppleTV worked with things I had in my iTunes account and it was worth the splurge. And I’ve been enjoying it for years (almost 9 years to be exact) even though there were features that people were able to enjoy that I couldn’t because my device was so old.

There were lots of things that I was ok with missing out on, but this year it got a bit much and I realized that I should just upgrade it. I think the final straw was when I realized I couldn’t watch Disney+ because I couldn’t access the app. I debated about getting a different device, but there were a few things that were only able to be accessed with an Apple device (like lots of movies and apps that I had things on). So getting a new AppleTV was the best option for me. I didn’t feel like braving the Apple Store so close to Christmas, but fortunately, Target had some in stock and there wasn’t a huge crowd when I happened to be passing by. I was in and out of the store in under 10 minutes with my new toy in my hands!

I’ve actually been enjoying this more than I was expecting! Obviously I’ve been able to take advantage of downloading different apps so I can watch things from different systems. I also can access my digital screeners for the SAG Awards on it so I don’t have to watch on my laptop. I spent more time than I probably should have this week with my time off watching screeners, Disney+, and all other streaming services. But I was also recovering from food poisoning and my plans were already to spend a lot of time watching shows.

This wasn’t the cheapest upgrade, but it wasn’t too horrible either. I didn’t get the most expensive version since I didn’t need all that it had to offer. And I figure that since I enjoyed the last one for almost 9 years that hopefully I could do the same for this one as well. And if the cost is spread over 9 years (or even 5 years), it’s not bad at all. And it does bring me a lot of happiness and makes it feel like I did a big upgrade in my house. And having that upgrade did inspire me a bit to spend even more time working on cleaning up my space and making it even better for sitting on the couch and watching movies. So having something I bought motivate me to do something I have been putting off a bit is another added bonus.

Of course, I don’t want to get into a place where I spent more time sitting and watching shows because I can finally access them on my tv. I think this week was a weird one since I had so much time off and could actually be lazy like this. When I’m in my normal schedule, I don’t think I will prioritize watching stuff on my tv over what I need to do. Of course, if I notice that I’m starting to do that I’ll have to take action and get back on track. But for now, I’m really just enjoying being able to watch things I’ve been wanting to watch and have something that feels a little fancy in my house.

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So Much Entertainment So Little Time (or Scheduling Leisure Time)

Posted on September 26, 2019 | Comments Off on So Much Entertainment So Little Time (or Scheduling Leisure Time)

I have written in the past about how I try to watch at least 1 episode of every show on tv. That used to be a much easier task. While there were a lot of new shows at the beginning of the fall tv season, it was a limited time and I was able to work through all the shows. Now, while the beginning of the fall tv season is when most of the new shows start, it’s not just happening then. And even the time that new shows premiere in the fall is longer. It seems like every week there is something new to watch and it’s becoming harder to stay on top of things.

This year, I think things got crazier for me because my schedule has been busy. I’ve had a lot of other time commitments and other things I go to in the evening. So I’m not home as much to watch tv and I don’t necessarily have time to watch shows between customers as I have before. I know this is a really stupid problem, but it is a problem when I have a way that I prepare for things that I’m used to.

The new tv season really started this week, so there have only been a few days of new shows. But I already feel very behind. I haven’t watched any new shows yet and some of the shows that I watch regularly are still sitting on my DVR. There are some shows that are more of a priority for me to watch the night they come out, so it is helping me decide if there are shows that I might want to stop watching. If I don’t care enough to watch them right away, I probably could just wait until I don’t have other things to watch and catch up on Hulu or Netflix. I do have a bit of hesitation to delete series recordings, but I’m working on being ok with that and not following shows the way I used to.

But it’s not just tv that I’m not catching up on. I love to read and I take advantage of e-books from the library for my Kindle all the time. It’s really helped me cut back on spending because I rarely buy books anymore (but I do recommend that my library buys them so I feel like I’m still supporting authors a bit). I put lots of books on hold because they usually don’t become available all at once. Until they did last week. 6 books I had on hold were available and I downloaded them all because I wanted to see if I could read at least a majority of them. But I don’t know if I’ll have time to read 6 books in 3 weeks.

If it was only the tv scheduling or reading scheduling, I think I could get it all done. But I have to decide what I will do in the evening when I have free time: read or catch up on tv. I’ve been trying to find the balance to do both, but I know it’s not really possible. Every day that I’ve tried to do both I usually don’t really get much of either done or I fall asleep reading or watching tv and then have to pay attention to it a second time.

So I’ve been working on scheduling my tv time and reading time so I set aside the time to do it and not have other things I have to work on. I’m aware how stupid this probably sounds, but since I view watching tv as research, it’s important that I set aside time for it. And while I don’t have to read, it is something that makes me really happy and I feel off when I don’t read at least a little bit each day. And scheduling my entertainment time also makes me find time to relax and not do other work things. It’s so easy for me to not stop working since I work at home. I need to remember to stop work at some point and focus on something else. So scheduling fun time is helping.

I know that once I catch up with the new tv shows and with my library books, there will be more shows to watch and books to read. But hopefully it won’t all come at me at one time so I can spend more time with each thing. But for now, I just have to schedule things so I can get through them and make sure I feel prepared for any auditions I might get for new tv shows and get through at least some of my library books.

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Default ThumbnailAppreciating Some Laziness (or Finally Having Time To Play Catchup) Default ThumbnailRevisiting Old Characters and Stories (Or A Journey Of Re-Reading Books) Default ThumbnailSo Much Reading (or Really Taking Advantage Of The Library) Default ThumbnailHaving A Book Nerd Moment (or The Little Things That Make Me Smile) Default ThumbnailI’m a Book Nerd (or Seriously, I’m a Book Nerd) Default ThumbnailHappy 4th Of July (or Feeling Like A Lady Of Leisure)

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More Podcast Time To Relive “Felicity” (or Great Minds Think Alike)

Posted on February 8, 2019 | Comments Off on More Podcast Time To Relive “Felicity” (or Great Minds Think Alike)

A few months ago I did a guest host spot on my friend Teresa’s podcast Finding Felicity. I had the best time being a guest host and loved having the opportunity to geek out about one of my favorite tv shows. I love that Teresa is watching the show for the first time because I love having more people love the shows that I love.

The only thing that I had to be careful about when I was on the podcast the first time was how much I shared about things. I appeared on the podcast after she had only seen 2 episodes of the show so characters weren’t totally developed and she still wasn’t sure about their traits and which characters she loved and didn’t love. I did express which characters I had strong feelings about, but I had to be a bit vague and generic about it because I didn’t want to spoil anything about the show for her.

When Teresa started the podcast, she let those of us who would be guest hosts which episodes we would be on so I knew I had another episode coming up this season. And I was so excited when I saw which episode it was because I had some very strong feelings about it and had the feeling that Teresa would be the same.

I actually knew she had strong feelings about it before we met up to record because I had a question I wanted to ask her before we met up, and she had just finished the episode when she called me. She was so furious about the actions of one of the characters and was still raging about it (as was I after watching it). We got a bit of our ranting out, but we realized that we had to save it for when we were recording so we ended the call so we would be discussing it on the podcast.

When we recorded again, it was during the crazy rain storm that we had earlier this week. I joked on the episode that this proves that I’m one of the craziest “Felicity” fans because I drove to the other side of LA during rush hour in the rain to discuss it. That is the trifecta of traffic, but it was completely worth it to get to share my feelings about one of my favorite shows.

Because we both had such strong feelings about what happened in the episode, I know we kind of kept going around and around about how much we hated it and how much we hated one of the characters. It was so funny to see Teresa be as passionate about the characters as I have always been because when we talked before she was still being introduced to everyone. I also loved having the opportunity to rewatch a show that I’ve seen before and seeing how it resonates with me now versus when I’ve watched it before. I definitely have stronger feelings about some things and seeing it differently from before and it’s been a nice reflection on how I’ve changed over the years.

We did have to pause at one point in recording because we wanted to make sure that we both were able to share a majority of the things we had in our notes. The first time I was on the podcast I didn’t have notes, but I realized how important it is to be organized so I could remember everything that I wanted to say. I realize now how silly and unprofessional it was to not have notes the first time, but I’ve learned and I made sure that my notes made sense to me and covered all the points I wanted to hit.

But when Teresa and I compared notes, we definitely had a similar tone with the last note we each had (my notes are the phone ones and hers are the handwritten ones).

We both were very angry with the same character at the end (which I think pretty much everyone watching the show would feel) and we laughed about how much we felt about it. I’m sure it would be fun to debate the actions of a character and if they were good or bad, but it’s really fun to also have someone who thinks the same thing that you do about a show and you can do a deep dive into why you both had that reaction.

This episode will be live today on the Finding Felicity feed (here’s the link to iTunes and Spotify) and I hope that you all will listen to it. I’m so proud of Teresa and this amazing podcast that she’s created and I’ve been so honored to get to be on 2 different episodes. I’m hoping that I will be able to be back for the 2nd and 3rd season, and I’ve already demanding that she will bring me back for the 4th season because I have a very specific episode I want to be on because I have so much to say about it.

If you’ve been a fan of “Felicity” in the past, I really highly recommend listening to the podcast. I’ve been a subscriber and listening to Teresa and the other guest hosts and it’s been so interesting to hear what everyone has been thinking and what their experiences of the show have been. And if you’ve never seen the show before, now is the perfect time to watch it and listen to the podcast episodes that go with each tv episode. It’s a really great companion piece to the show just enhances how much fun the show is to watch!

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Finding Felicity (or Being A Total Fangirl)

Posted on October 3, 2018 | Comments Off on Finding Felicity (or Being A Total Fangirl)

I watch a lot of tv now. It’s basically my job to know what is on tv. I am trying to not watch everything for the entire season, so I’m starting to get pickier about which shows I choose to follow. But when I was growing up, I didn’t have unlimited tv time so I was very selective. I had a couple of favorite shows, and one of those favorites was “Felicity”.

I’m not exactly sure how I knew about “Felicity” when the show premiered, but I started watching right from the beginning and was pretty obsessed with it from the very first episode. My obsession was so strong that when I heard about a contest to find the biggest fan of the show, my best friend (who was equally obsessed) and I had to make a tape so we could enter.

We were so upset when we didn’t win the contest, but that didn’t stop how much we loved the show. It was only 4 seasons long, but I still think of it as one of my favorites of all time. I’ve rewatched the series a few times and it still holds up and I always enjoy it each time I watch it.

So when my friend Teresa posted an idea about doing a podcast about the show, I immediately told her I had to be a part of it! Teresa never watched “Felicity” so she is doing a podcast about watching it for the first time and she is having guest co-hosts each episode who watched the show when it was on. I was so excited that she invited me to be a part of it and this week I recorded my first episode of Finding Felicity with her!

I’m not a huge fan of hearing my voice because I always think it sounds weird, so I was a bit nervous about doing a podcast. But as soon as we started recorded, I couldn’t shut up because of how much I love the show! I actually was talking too much (sorry Teresa!) and I know they are going to have to edit a lot of what I was saying down so the episode isn’t too long. But I couldn’t help myself! I have so much to say about this show and how much I love it!

This episode of Finding Felicity is about the second episode of the first season, so I had to try to remember what happened in the first two episodes and what happened after so I wouldn’t spoil anything. I did rewatch the first two episodes again just to be extra familiar with those episodes specifically. I think I didn’t really reveal too much that happens in future episodes and when I did refer to things coming up (like characters that haven’t been introduced), I was pretty vague. I was proud of myself for not spoiling things for Teresa because I really want her to experience watching the show with as few spoilers as possible for a show that is 20 years old.

I had the best time recording the episode with Teresa. We had some fun stories to share that weren’t necessarily about the show (those may or may not get cut) and I loved being able to do some personal reflection as we talked. Teresa asked me about my thoughts on the show when I watched it 20 years ago and what my thoughts are watching it now. It did give me a lot to think about and I liked having a new way to think about how my life has changed.

My episode will be available to listen to on Friday, and each Friday there will be another new episode. There will be a rotating cast of guest co-hosts and I will be coming back on for another episode toward the end of the first season. But I know I will be listening to every episode because it is such a fun podcast idea! I love when someone else is becoming a fan of something I am such a huge fan of. And I also love when I have another way to share my fandom for a show that is one that I have honestly loved for decades!

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Vulture Festival (or TV Writers and A Sing-A-Long)

Posted on November 21, 2017 | 1 comment

This past weekend was the Vulture Festival in LA. This was the first year that the event was held in LA and I was invited to come check it out! Vulture Festival is a weekend-long pop-culture event with panels featuring actors, writers, directors, and other people involved in film and TV. I was super excited to check this out and even more excited that I was invited to be press coverage there!

It still makes me a bit giddy to get a press pass for something and this time it allowed me to attend different panels. There weren’t reserved seats for press, so I tried to get there early for the panels I was attending. But because this happened on what ended up being a crazy busy weekend for me, I could only attend 2 panels (one on each day).

The panel I attended on Saturday was with Damon Lindelof (the creator/writer of Lost, The Leftovers, and lots of other amazing shows) and Mike Schur (the creator/writer of The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, and other hit shows).

This panel ended up being pretty incredible. While they both talked about their shows and they had a really great working relationship together, I really appreciated how they discussed the state of the industry. They discussed all the various sexual harassment issues happening now and they both acknowledged that they were a part of the problem. It takes a really good person to admit that you have done things that now looking back could be sexual harassment and that the other person involved might have felt like they couldn’t say anything because the person saying it was someone in power.

They also discussed how one way to stop the power issues that cause sexual harassment is to have more diversity in the writers room and in powerful positions. If it is a boys’ club, there is a risk of that mentality becoming something that isn’t positive. But if women are viewed as equals in the industry, this problem hopefully will decrease.

But there was a lot of funny stuff discussed too. Mike Schur talked about how Damon Lindelof helped him when he was creating The Good Place. And they both talked about how series finales of shows can cause lots of debate. While I haven’t watched a lot of their shows, I was inspired leaving this panel to watch more of them because I want to support creators/writers who really are good people and want to make this industry a more accepting and supportive environment.

And on Sunday, I got to go to the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Sing-A-Long panel.

I knew this one was going to be packed, so I got there early to get a good seat. I lucked out by getting a seat on the end of the second row. This panel included actors, writers, choreographers, producers, and creators of the show. They talked about a lot of things about having a musical comedy on tv like how sometimes the songs are finished the night before the actor has to record them. They also discussed how the show has taken a more serious turn but that there is still comedy in those darker moments.

And throughout the entire panel, they had sing-a-longs with different songs of the show. Most of the time, the actor that sang it in the show sang it at the panel too. But a lot of people in the audience sang too (I didn’t since my singing voice is horrible). But to me, I loved watching how much everyone who wasn’t singing loved seeing their co-stars and co-workers singing their hearts out and having fun.

It’s so clear that everyone on this show has a blast working on it and they know how lucky they are to be a part of something so special. I can only hope to get to be a part of something like this one day.

And one of the coolest things that happened at the panel was that they premiered a song that will be coming up on the show. It was the first time it had been shown and most of the actors hadn’t seen the final cut either. Everyone on stage and in the audience was laughing so hard and I can’t wait for this episode to air (I believe it is the next episode).

I really wish that I had been able to attend more panels over the weekend. I heard amazing things about so many other panels but the schedule just wasn’t going to work for me. But now I know to be on the lookout for when the Vulture Festival will be back in LA because I want to save the entire weekend for it! It was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt and I wish I had more time to explore there. I had only been there once or twice before and I wanted to check out more. There was also an event after each panel at the pool that I had to skip out on because of needing to get back home.

But even though my time at the Vulture Festival was limited, I had a great time and left feeling very inspired and creative. That’s exactly how I want to feel every day!

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Another Netflix Night (or A Comedy Panel)

Posted on May 30, 2017 | Comments Off on Another Netflix Night (or A Comedy Panel)

Recently I wrote about going to the Gilmore Girls panel that Netflix had put on. That was an awesome night and I had so much fun there. I knew that Netflix was doing an entire series of events, but I figured that going to that one was the one chance I was going to have. But last week, I got an email from the SAG-AFTRA Film Society letting me know that I could RSVP for another one!

This time, I was invited to a panel of comedy shows on Netflix. This panel included Alan Yang from “Master of None”, Bill Burr from “F Is For Family”, Chelsea Handler from “Chelsea”, Judd Apatow from “Love”, Marta Kauffman from “Grace and Frankie”, and Victor Fresco from “Santa Clarita Diet”. Even though I don’t watch all these shows (although they have been on my list for a while), I was so excited to go and hear what they had to say!

I had the option to bring a guest with me, but unfortunately none of my friends could make it. I used to attend events like this alone all the time, but I’ve gotten used to having someone with me. But I was solo for the night and that was ok. I was able to get in line pretty early so I figured I’d be able to get a great seat. I wasn’t worried about seeing all the Netflix stuff in the space since I had seen it the time before, so once I got inside I immediately headed to the panel area.

So many of the seats were reserved so it was pretty limited seating. But I found what seemed to be a pretty great seat and was happy to just sit and wait for the panel to start.

Since I was alone, I spent the time waiting for the panel reading and working on my phone. They did have food and drinks like last time, but I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t get anything. But it seemed like the snacks were different and they had some sort of fried chicken thing instead of the hamburgers they had at the other panel.

When it was closer to the time that the panel was going to start, people started to come sit down. I’m lucky I got a seat because it felt like about half the room ended up standing in the back the entire time. But because I was sitting and the seats were on a flat surface, I ended up not really having a view of the stage. The guy in front of me was pretty tall and most of the time I was just staring at the back of his head.

But it’s ok that I couldn’t see anything since I just wanted to listen to the stories that the panel had to share. It’s always so inspiring to hear people talk about projects that they have worked on and what the challenges were that they had to overcome. It makes me feel that I’m doing the right stuff when I hear others who have had the same struggles that I have had too. And I love hearing about how working on a streaming network like Netflix is different from a broadcast or cable network. Streaming is still a newish thing but it’s nice to learn about the common things most shows on streaming networks face.

The entire panel was about an hour-long, but I wished it could have been longer. There were so many people up there and I wished they could have had more time to speak. But it was a nice sample of learning more about each of them and it got me feeling like I need to watch more of those shows on Netflix soon. I’m behind on Netflix shows, but since summer is usually quiet for most tv shows I follow I know that I will be catching up soon enough.

Once the panel was done, I decided to wander around the various setups for the Netflix shows to see if anything was different. Most of the stuff was the same, but some were moved around to different areas of the space so it felt new. And of course, I had to stop by my favorite thing from last time: the bubble wall!

It was a different color this time (last time was more blue) so of course I did a mini-photo shoot in there! I don’t know why I love that bubble wall so much, but it just makes me happy!

It was feeling a bit crowded in the space and it was a bit awkward hanging out in there so I decided to head back home. I know that I should be ok at events like that alone, but it’s not as fun when I don’t have someone enjoying all the cool stuff with me. Hopefully if I get invited to more Netflix events I’ll be able to bring another plus one with me.

But even with not really doing much else beyond sitting and listening to the panel, I have to say that this was another amazing night. I love getting to be a part of events like this and it motivates me more and more each time I get to see people who have had success like I dream of having one day.

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Another “Gilmore Girls” Adventure (or Netflix FYSee)

Posted on May 16, 2017 | 1 comment

I’ve talked about being a big “Gilmore Girls” fan on here before. It’s a show that I loved when it was on the air (my mom and I watched together) and I still love when I see repeats on tv. And when “Gilmore Girls” came back to have a new season on Netflix, there were a bunch of events related to the show that happened in LA. I didn’t make it to all of them, but I did attend the pop up event at UCLA a little while back.

Right now, tv shows are starting to prepare their award season campaigns. They are usually called FYC events (FYC means For Your Consideration). But Netflix is doing something extra called FYSee that is open to people who aren’t necessarily those in charge of nominating shows. They are a combination of a screening, panel with cast members, and an amazing space that has lots of stuff to check out. I got invited to attend the “Gilmore Girls” FYSee event through a couple of organizations I’m a part of and I RSVPed immediately! And my friend Elisa (who is a part of my Pantages group) is a huge fan too and she was super excited to get to go too!

This event was held in a huge space that had different areas dedicated to different Netflix shows.

I think my favorite section was the giant bubble wall (I believe that it was a part of the “Luke Cage” set up). They were the perfect place to take some awesome photos and I think I might have gotten a bit obsessed with how fun it was in there!

The space for the panel was on one end of the space and when we walked in we immediately saw a little set up similar to Luke’s Diner that had some of the things I saw at the UCLA event.

And on the other side was a giant candy bar! Everything was in individual servings and Elisa and I both took a few things to try. Both of us agreed that the pretzels were the best snack.

We went to claim seats in the panel area and while we headed over there we saw a waiter bringing around little sliders to eat. I wasn’t expecting food at this event (there was also a bar) so I was pleasantly surprised by the food options and this was a pretty filling dinner.

Because we went quickly to claim seats, we were in the front row on the side of the stage. I laughed because it reminded me about how we have our Pantages seats toward the front but off to the side.

We had gotten there a bit early so there was a bit of time to wait. But we used that time to enjoy our food, catch up, and just enjoy being at a fun event. And when things were getting started they played a pretty funny clip from one of the episodes of the newest season before the panel started.

The panel was Lauren Graham (who played Lorelei) and the moderator was Mae Whitman who starred with Lauren Graham in “Parenthood” and also had a small part in the new season of “Gilmore Girls”. The panel started with Mae Whitman asking Lauren Graham a bunch of really great questions about coming back to a show after many years away and how the production worked. And then the Q&A was open to the audience.

I’ve attended a lot of Q&A events where the audience can ask questions and sometimes they can get a bit ridiculous. But this audience was really great and had some nice and insightful questions to ask that I was interested in hearing the answers for (instead of asking questions like how they can get a job on that show).

After the panel was done, there was about an hour before the screening started. I was originally planning on trying to stay for the screening, but I’ve already seen all the new episodes at home since they are on Netflix. And it was getting a bit late for me so I was tired. Elisa was feeling the same way I was so we took time to go around all the various installations for the Netflix shows and have some more of the amazing pretzels!

I loved how much fun this event was. I know I’m so lucky that they opened it up to people who aren’t necessarily those who are nominating shows and I really appreciated how they made this a fun mix between a formal event to nominate shows and a fan event. It was a great opportunity to learn more about a show that I love and to make me want more episodes! I have no clue if Netflix will be doing another season, but if they do I hope that there are more “Gilmore Girls” events for me to go to!

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