#Annual Lists of TV Shows I Saw The Past Year

[jordoalejandro]

The Seventh Annual List of TV Shows I Saw the Past Year

I have once again found myself caught off-guard by this list and the Emmys.

I feel like this year it wasn’t really my fault. It was the strikes. The Emmys were postponed and I hadn’t heard or seen any advertising or talk about them so they were out of mind. And then I remembered, as September neared an end, that this was about the time of the year that they usually happened and also about the time of the year I usually post my list. God knows when the Emmys will actually occur, but as I’ve said before on this page, the List waits for no man, woman, or award show. It must go on.

And so, here’s the list of TV shows I’ve watched since-ish the last Emmys (9/12/22).

42. La Brea (Season 2 - 2022-2023, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 37) - Look, I’ll be honest, it’s hard to really care about this either way. I was looking at my notes and realized I gave every episode of La Brea this season the same mediocre letter grade. I didn’t set out to do that. I think I just felt the same kind of “blah who cares?” way about the show each time. There are shows that had episodes I rated more harshly (coming up shortly!) but those shows also had episodes here or there that I rated highly. This show just doesn’t make me feel strongly one way or another. Is that worse than a show that I hate most of the time and sometimes love? I guess? Maybe not. But I also can’t muster the will to argue this should be higher than those shows, so here it sits.

41. True Lies (Season 1 - 2023, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This show comes nowhere close to the quality of the film. It’s cheesy and ham-fisted. The actors feel wrong. It reminded me of some of the early seasons of another CBS show, MacGyver, which also was a real mess in its first few seasons before it realized that it needed to lean into the nonsense a bit more. MacGyver never got good, but it got to a more enjoyable place. Maybe True Lies could’ve gotten there someday if it could’ve continued to figure out what worked and what didn’t but it was cancelled fairly quickly so we’ll never know.

40. The Flash (Season 9 - 2023, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 35) - Disappointed but not surprised that this is where The Flash’s final season ended up. One good episode in the season, but more misses than hits, including a couple episodes I truly disliked. I’m not going to dive too deep into it but something that has happened the last few seasons is they’ve had these episodes where Flash will take a vacation or find some other reason to not be in the episode to, I guess, give Grant Gustin a mid-season shooting break? These episodes are typically the worst of the season because one, they feature the terrible side characters, and two, they usually try to be the “funny” episodes (especially grating because the writers on this show are awful at writing humor). That held true here: these episodes were painfully unfunny and annoying. It came off worse, though, because this was the final season. And it was only a 13 episode season at that. I respect these shows are a pain to shoot. You have to live in Canada away from everyone for an extended period of time. I accept giving the star a break here and there. But in the final season? 13 episodes? Why are we wasting our time here with bad filler episodes? Not that the regular episodes were that much better. The season as a whole remained plagued by the issues that have hurt this show the whole back half of its run: weak villains, annoying side characters, a dearth of ideas. Sometimes these CW shows are able to rally and go out on a semi-high. The Flash couldn’t.

39. Riverdale (Season 7 - 2023, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 40) - The final season of Riverdale had all the characters sent back in time to the 1950s. There was a reason for this but it’s not great and it doesn’t really matter. The point is, we’re back in the past for the final season. There’s a lot of potential to get wacky there. Wacky in a good way. When this show was at its best… well, it still wasn’t very good, but it was at least doing wild stuff and trying things. Unfortunately, even time travel couldn’t spark life back into it. They went back to the past and then did mostly generic teen drama stuff. Occasionally there were glimpses of something more but mostly it was a lot of stuff about how sexuality was so repressed back then and society was changing and whatever. Kind of a waste. Mostly straightforward and fairly dull and that’s no way to be for the final season of a show like Riverdale. The last couple of episodes were a nice finale though, so it at least had that.

38. Welcome to Flatch (Season 2 - 2022-2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 36) - This show improved ever so slightly. More moments of quality. It still struggles to be funny with any regularity.

37. Abbott Elementary (Season 2 - 2022-2023, ABC) (Last year’s ranking: 30) - Speaking of shows that struggle to be funny with any regularity. Like Flatch, it has its moments. I have four episodes this season rated as solid episodes. The problem is it was a 21 episode season. That’s a lot of misses.

36. CSI: Vegas (Season 2 - 2022-2023, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: 19) - The show did lose something with William Petersen ducking out. He brought a humanity and likeability to things that elevated the show from its Case-of-the-Week crime show DNA and, just like when he left the original version of this show, it more or less devolved into that basic genre fare without him. Which is all fine. It’s not bad if that’s what you want. Just not very inspiring.

35. Quantum Leap (Season 1 - 2022-2023, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It’s alright. Like the original, it’s a quasi-anthology show and so some episodes have better premises than others. Some decent ones, some weaker ones. Nothing that really blew me away. The best thing about this show is it makes me think about how shows have changed over the last 30 years since the original version aired. It has all the new stuff that shows need to have these days, like an overarching serialized mystery and secretive backstories and all that -- stuff that takes about three to five seasons to resolve -- but also the goofy “Oops our hero got sent to a different time and now must go through another adventure!” week-to-week structure of a show that debuted in the 1980s and was built to last 200 episodes. The kind of thing where you can almost hear an announcer saying during the end credits, “Well, looks like our hero didn’t make it home this episode. Tune in next week when Ben ends up in the Old West! Same time, same channel.”

34. The Walking Dead (Season 11B - 2022, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: 23) - This was a fine half a season. Serviceable. Which is, admittedly, a little bit of a letdown for a final season. They never really justified why this was the end of the show. The group had faced bigger and more personal threats than the one here so for this to be the big finale made it feel like an ending just to be an ending. All the characters were even acting like, “Well, this is it. The end. We finally won the apocalypse” as if they hadn’t faced similar groups threatening their survival half a dozen times already. They beat those groups only to have a new group pop up almost immediately. Why is this time different? I guess there’s no real way to end a show about surviving the apocalypse other than to suggest the characters have figured out a system to make it work. Or you could kill them all, I suppose. But what downer that would be. And then you can't make spinoffs.

33. The Blacklist (Season 10 - 2023, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 32) - Another show with a final season that was just fine. It wrapped things up. Did a few good things on the way out but was mostly average. Like the rest of the aforementioned shows on this list going through their final seasons, it felt about time to end things. A general sense of running on momentum and fumes.

32. Bob’s Burgers (Season 13 - 2022-2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 31) - I’ve noted this before but this show tends to put out a lot of average episodes and one or two spectacular episodes every year now. This year, episode 13.10, “The Plight Before Christmas” was a real knockout. Arguably the best episode they've ever done. In an ideal world, I’d like a few more stellar episodes in a 22 episode season, but I guess you take what you can get.

31. Secret Invasion (Miniseries - 2023, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This just wasn’t up to par for Marvel. The action wasn’t great. The writing often felt amateurish (the acting felt that way at times, too, weirdly). The show kills off some interesting, established characters and doesn’t replace them with better ones, which makes it feel like a net negative on the MCU. The biggest issue is really that they’re doing a hybrid old spy / body snatcher type story -- which, within the MCU, has a ton of potential to be great -- and the show just never has the right energy or sense of paranoia that should come from that. It plays out like a standard thriller. All of this sounds more negative than I intended. It’s fine. I’m using that word a lot in this section of this list but that’s what these shows are. They’re fine. It’s just that, given the concept, and the cast, and the MCU-ness of it all, that’s really disappointing.

30. The Walking Dead: Dead City (Season 1 - 2023, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - There’s a moment I always seem to experience when I’m playing a DLC for a video game I like. I’ll be on a new map, doing something that’s slightly different from the main game but still obviously really familiar, and I’ll think, “This is alright. I appreciate having more content. But this really just makes me miss the main game.” That’s kind of what this show feels like. Like Walking Dead DLC. Like, it’s alright. It’s cool to catch up with the characters and see them in a new map, interacting with new NPCs, getting new missions. But it’s a little watered down and I kind of just miss the original show. (Not the final couple of seasons of the original show. The earlier ones. You get the idea.)

29. The Night Agent (Season 1 - 2023, Netflix) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - When I talk about how Secret Invasion played out like a standard thriller, this is the show I’m talking about. It hits most of the notes you expect. The main characters were sort of bleh. The show needs a serious injection of personality. But, you know, it moves along fine. Has some twists and turns. If a spy thriller is what you’re looking for, this is definitely one of those.

28. Stargirl (Season 3 - 2022, CW) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The show wrapped up nicely. This was always a show that hovered around good but never really advanced to great. Some fun stuff, some goofy stuff. Enjoyable enough in the moment but nothing that will really stick with you.

27. The Company You Keep (Season 1 - 2023, ABC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A decent show about a family of criminals doing various jobs. The episode quality would vary depending on how interesting the job was but there were a few good ones. There’s a longer arc about the main criminal son falling in love with a government agent that worked fine but honestly was less interesting to me. The structure was there for this show to get better in later seasons but it’s already been cancelled so that’s that.

26. Ghosts (Season 2 - 2022-2023, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The show didn’t really get funnier but it did drop a lot of the things that annoyed me in the first season (or at least did them with less frequency). I didn’t rate any episode this season particularly highly but on the bright side, I didn’t rate any very low either. I guess it’s a similar question as shows lower on this list face: is it better to be consistent or better to have more highs and lows? Eye of the beholder.

25. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Miniseries - 2022, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - She-Hulk is sort of the other side of that coin. It had pieces that were clever and that worked and a cast of actors that were pretty good, but also some lulls. Overall, I think the writing was just not sharp enough or funny enough for it to really excel, but it was enjoyable.

24. Family Guy (Season 21 - 2022-2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 17) - Family Guy is kind of the king of the highs and lows TV comedy. A couple of excellent episodes, a few duds. Mostly good ones in between.

23. Fear the Walking Dead (Season 8A - 2023, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: 28) - This is Fear’s final season and it’s wrapping things up in a fascinating way. This show has gone through basically two iterations (seasons 1-3 and seasons 4-7) and it has decided to bring both of them to a close before it leaves. Season 8A was mostly dedicated to wrapping up Morgan’s story. It featured a massive time jump which I will constantly argue almost never works dramatically (and didn’t here) and often messes up character plots (it did here) but overall, it tied up loose ends for the character in a satisfying enough way.

22. The Simpsons (Season 34 - 2022-2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 25) - It remains The Simpsons. Couple of standout episodes. A good “Treehouse of Horror” and a strong season finale.

I’m going to do a mid-list break here to talk about a couple of TV movies or specials or whatever. I think this is how I’m going to handle these going forward because it does feel unfair to put them in the actual list but they are TV. At least, they’re more TV than movie.

Werewolf by Night has a really excellent setting and look, plus some good music. The story is not all there, though. I think it’s more about the Halloween vibe than telling a thorough story and it does nail that vibe. It’s a good watch for the season.

Similarly: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It’s sweet and funny, and, like Werewolf, has the perfect vibe for what it’s going for. Also, like Werewolf, the plot isn’t really there. I do think that’s okay, though, for both of these shorts that come in at under an hour. You just kinda do neat stuff with cool characters for 40-50 minutes and dip out. Again, makes for a great seasonal watch.

Okay, back to it.

21. Mythic Quest (Season 3 - 2022-2023, Apple TV+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I mentioned in the season 2 write up of this show that it’s about 90% a good workplace comedy and then one of out ten episodes will be this just wonderful, touching standalone piece. That mostly held true in season 3, though the workplace-ness of it all did take a step back. It was okay but not as sharp as it’s been in the past. The standalone episode this year, “Sarian”, though, was excellent. Far and away the high point of the season.

20. The Great North (Season 3 - 2022-2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 22) - Another solid year for this show.

19. 9-1-1: Lone Star (Season 4 - 2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 20) - It has its highs and lows but this show understands itself and is able to land around here on my list consistently.

18. American Dad! (Season 19B - 2022, Season 20A - 2023, TBS) (Last year’s ranking: 16) - TBS splits this show's seasons up and airs them over entire calendar years, so I’m writing this blurb about the final 14 episodes of season 19 and the first 9 episodes of season 20. Whatever. It doesn’t really matter. It was up to par.

17. So Help Me Todd (Season 1 - 2022-2023, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This is, for me, what you want from a weekly, network legal “drama” (labelled a drama because it’s an hour-long show but it’s really more of a comedy), if you were looking for that sort of thing. You get your case of the week. That’s all fine. It works. But the show is elevated by its personality and humor. The characters are good. The actors play well off of each other. It’s snappy. It tips over into too silly or annoying sometimes but I’ll live with it if that’s the cost of spicing up a show in this genre.

16. Gotham Knights (Season 1 - 2023, CW) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It took me a little bit to get into this show but once it started going it picked up momentum and finished strong. You come to like the characters more and appreciate their relationships. The story got more interesting and built to a good finale. And then it got immediately cancelled because the CW is in some kind of flux state where I don’t know if they’re even making shows anymore. It’s kind of disappointing but given the way CW superhero shows go -- good first season, okay second season, bad third season, resurgent fourth season, bad fifth and sixth seasons, seventh and final season of variable quality -- it’s probably not the worst thing. Go out on a high.

15. Welcome to Chippendales (Miniseries - 2022-2023, Hulu) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A pretty good true crime drama. It does hit a few lulls though. This is the sort of thing that probably would’ve been a much better two hour movie in the past and is now an eight episode, six hour miniseries. Still, enough interesting stuff to keep you moving through the episodes.

14. Animal Control (Season 1 - 2023, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This show is from two-thirds of the brains behind another show I’ve written about on these lists: The Moodys. I’d described that show as “likeable if not particularly funny”. That description more or less fit this show as well through a good portion of the season, though it did get better as it went on. Hopefully it continues that trend.

13. Archer (Season 13 - 2022, FXX) (Last year’s ranking: 14) - Archer has found a good level of consistent quality in its later years.

12. Reboot (Season 1 - 2022, Hulu) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Another show in this area of the list that started out a little bit slow and got better as it went along, showing potential for future seasons. Also, immediately cancelled, too, like some of those other shows.

11. The Lazarus Project (Season 1 - 2023, TNT) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Fun and twisty. It keeps switching things up and plays with the time loop story in fresh ways. It has a good sense of humor, too.

10. Ted Lasso (Season 3 - 2023, Apple TV+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Someone made the decision to make this an hour-long show and I think that was a mistake. It spread things way too thin. Too many scenes linger. Too many jokes and storylines that probably would’ve normally been cut remain. It almost makes it seem like it’s poorly edited but I think it’s just that you can actually feel it stretching for time. That said, this show still has its plentiful moments of brilliance, in both humor, character, and emotion. It’s just a shame because you can see where these fine hour-long episodes have excellent 30 minute episodes inside of them.

9. The Other Two (Season 3 - 2023, HBO Max) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It remained a tremendous, frequently hilarious send up of the entertainment industry in its final season. I do think the one issue this show found itself struggling with was when it tried to introduce dramatic stakes. It has actually sprinkled in drama fairly well in the past, but its humor has gotten so heightened (often surpassing even 30 Rock levels of absurdism) that it was giving me whiplash when they suddenly tried to bring the characters back to Earth and have them argue about their relationships. I don’t know if you can have both of those cakes and eat them, too. Still, a good send off.

8. White House Plumbers (Miniseries - 2023, HBO Max) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It’s labelled as a political satire but it’s more like a screwball comedy. I don’t know how historically accurate it is -- I’m taking everything in it with a grain of salt -- but it’s a funny, heightened look at a wacky criminal conspiracy and if you don’t take it as much more than that, you can probably enjoy it.

7. American Auto (Season 2 - 2023, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 8) - I’m not sure why this show never caught on the way Superstore did. Very funny. Good characters who played well off each other. Smart plots. Cancelled after two seasons. Seems to happen a lot with NBC comedies these days.

6. Jury Duty (Season 1 - 2023, Amazon Freevee) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I’m putting this here with extreme reservations. Is this a show? I think in the same way Borat is a movie? There’s obviously a lot of writing and acting that goes into this. And directing. I don’t know. I’m putting it at 6(ish) and if there’s a moral objection from any readers, feel free to remove it mentally. Whatever it is, it is very funny.

5. Andor (Season 1 - 2022, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A strange structure. It’s 12 episodes and it feels like every three episodes the show morphs into a different genre film. There’s the intro one, the heist film, the prison film, then the concluding film. It’s cool, though. It keeps things fresh and moving along. The writing is smart as is the plotting. The acting is strong. It’s a great look at the non-Jedi and Sith heroes and villains in the Star Wars universe.

4. The Mandalorian (Season 3 - 2023, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It does feel like the quality has taken a small hit. It’s a little goofier at times than it used to be but it’s still very enjoyable. It’s like a comfort show. I’m always having a good time while I’m watching it and if I can get eight episodes of fun adventures every year with these characters, I’ll take it as long as Jon Favreau wants to make it.

3. The Last of Us (Season 1 - 2023, HBO) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I did not care for the game. I didn’t like playing it. I found it frustrating and unenjoyable. But I enjoyed the world the game was set in. And the story it was telling. I liked everything about the game except the game itself. Or, in other words, a TV show is exactly how I’d like to experience this story. This is an excellent adaptation, capturing the game’s story and world and all-around essence. It’s intense and emotional and funny and beautiful. And it also builds on the game in wonderful ways. Episode 1.3, “Long, Long Time” expands upon something you only hear a little about in passing in the game and turns it into this truly wonderful episode of television -- the best of any I saw all year. But beyond that, the show adds these little touches as well. The cold opens of both episodes one and two are brilliant little short films that wouldn’t really have fit in the game but are terrific tone setters for the show. It’s a masterclass in how to adapt a video game.

2. Succession (Season 4 - 2023, HBO) (Last year’s ranking: 3) - They landed the plane with a terrific final season, highlighted by some truly excellent episodes. 4.3, “Connor’s Wedding” keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole episode and is the standout but the final three episodes of the season are all really great as well as the show puts a bow on this messed up family’s saga.

1. The Bear (Season 2 - 2023, Hulu) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I caught season one of The Bear not long after the last list went up and I really liked it. I don’t think it would’ve been number one or anything, but it would’ve ranked pretty highly. Season two built on season one and created the best show this year for me. It’s an intense show, and a sharp show, but also a kind show. A show that speeds things up on you and keeps you in a state of high anxiety for an entire hour-long episode and then slows way down and gets you to appreciate something so simple as a man receiving a chocolate covered banana for dessert (an unbelievably moving moment). The characters are tremendous. The ways they interact and grow are so well done. The acting is excellent. It’s a great looking show with a great soundtrack. The writing is subtle and smart. It knows when to be funny and it knows when to deliver an emotional knockout punch and sometimes does both back-to-back or even at the same time. It’s firing on all cylinders.

And so there’s the list. The second season of Winning Time and the third season of Only Murders in the Building started recently and I haven’t gotten a chance to watch them so that’s my bad. Those two have rated highly in the past. I’ll try to fit them on to next year’s list. Also, the Daryl Dixon spinoff started recently, too, and while I’m enjoying a little bit more than Dead City, it still feels like DLC. I guess we’ll find out next year if I thought it outgrew that. A tease!

Enjoy the Emmys, whenever they are.

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Read More:

Annual Lists of TV Shows I Saw the Past Year

[coll2mitts]

Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2022

I was asked to provide TV/movie recommendations from 2022, and honestly, I don't have a whole lot to say on traditional media this year. Instead, let's dive into something I'm trying to cut back on in 2023 - my YouTube obsession.

I am subscribed to over 500 creators, and I used to try to keep up with all of them. In the past few years I've realized that was a losing battle, especially with the gradual transition from short-form skit content to hour and a half long think pieces. Doesn't prevent me from trying, however, which has been to the detriment of my sanity and my sleep schedule. But now my debilitating addiction can benefit you! Here's a list of the top 10 videos that were released this year.

#10 SethEverman - metal drummer listens to ABBA for the first time

Starting off easy, here's Seth Everman playing drums to "Mamma Mia". I've listened to this dozens of times, it hits so hard.

#9 Scene Queen - Pink Hotel

Scene Queen is the perfect intersection of my musical tastes, blending pop and metal while embodying the antithesis of every pick-me girl. I wish she were around back when I was in college and that asshat Perez Hilton was drawing dicks on Lindsay Lohan's face, then maybe I would have processed my internalized misogyny wayyyy earlier. Also she's unapologetically gay as fuck, which we love to see.

#8 Ted Nivison - I Drove to Every Rainforest Café in North America

I haven't been subscribed to Ted long, but this was my gateway drug. This video is exactly as advertised, and it is a literal ride. As someone who didn't go to a Rainforest Café until I was well into my teenage years, I don't really have the nostalgia Ted clearly rode on for 10k miles in a Toyota Tacoma. But honestly, the Rainforest Cafes are the least interesting part of this masterpiece . Instead tune in for a tale of perseverance that tested a friendship to complete a truly innocuous quest.

#7 Pinely - The MrBeast-ification of Youtube

Onma island is buried a treasure chest.

Orr focuses on how click bait-y spectacle charity videos have overrun the platform, and in the creator's effort to keep high view retention, how they exploit the people they intend to help for internet clout. Its a subject I personally find fascinating as I struggle with consuming true crime content for the same reason - it's hard to shine light on a corrupt organization or violent perpetrator without exploiting the victims in some way.

His follow-up video, The MrBeast-ification of Money, analyzes the influence of these videos on how people perceive wealth and how MrBeast-esque content affects how children consider the value of a dollar. Awesome duo, check out both to get the full picture of Jimmy's influence.

#6 Worthikids - BIGTOP BURGER: DOWN

Back in 2019 before The Rise of Skywalker killed all the goodwill Star Wars had earned in my mind, I stumbled upon this video on twitter and lost my shit. "I will use the force to heal my broken body" is my inner monologue every time I drink coffee. I immediately found them on YouTube and subscribed.

Worthikids is so unbelievably talented, not only animating in their own art style, but recreating the old school stop motion Rankin/Bass aesthetic. Bigtop Burger is an ongoing series about a clown-themed food truck beefing with a zombie themed food truck, featuring the vocal talents of some of my other favorite creators like Chris Fleming and ProZD. It's completely chaotic and about the best thing I've ever seen. It was this video, however, that had me literally crying with laughter. I'm not going to spoil it because I want you to experience it fresh, but Chris' unhinged voice paired with the elastic animation style just fucking kills me.

#5 Todd in the Shadows - The Top Ten '90s Buses

Todd in the Shadows is no stranger to top 10 lists - I look forward to his annual Top 10 Worst and Top 10 Best Songs of the Year videos. When I saw this video show up in my subscriptions feed, I, for sure, thought it was a troll. I should have known better. This is legitimately a top 10 list of '90s busses. The Spice World bus makes an appearance. It's a gem.

Todd is one of my comfort youtubers. Sometimes when I'm working on stuff I'll boot up a Trainwreckords, One Hit Wonderland, or Cinemadonna playlist and just let it ride. His disgruntled analysis, while sometimes I don't always agree with cause musical tastes are unique and varied, is strangely soothing. It comes with side effects like knowing more about Cher and Gregg Allman than I ever wanted to know, like that they were married at all, but you take the good with the bad.

#4 Drew Gooden - I took Ninja's Masterclass and it ruined my life

Drew Gooden is one of the members of the conglomerate of media commentary youtubers that I follow (there are so many, legitimately, I have a problem, so much content, make it stop, I'm sure I'm going to forget some, it's inevitable, I watch too much YouTube, how do I get anything done?), but his analytical nature and sarcastic tone really resonates with me. I particularly enjoyed his retrospective on Lily Singh's talk show that addressed the struggle YouTube creators face when adjusting themselves to fit within the confines of traditional media and expand their audience while trying to keeping their existing fan base. He also has a knack of finding the weirdest movies.

This is one in a series of videos where Drew reviews educational scams provided by content creators. He had previously covered the pains some creators face with maintaining their relatability, and offering online courses seem to be the natural progression of how to transition that online success into corporate dolla dolla billz. It's depressingly hilarious how low-effort these endeavors are, which is only proven when Drew ultimately tries to follow Ninja's expert advice to become a Twitch superstar.

As someone who spent like 450 hours streaming on Twitch this year, Drew's attempt is a great encapsulation of how isolating that experience can be. If you are also a Twitch streamer, this is a must-watch.

#3 münecat - Web3.0: A Libertarian Dystopia

I found münecat a few years ago through other anti-MLM creators because of her thorough coverage of the LuLaRoe shit show. Her videos have only gotten more detailed since then, culminating in this mammoth summary on Web3.0. I have stayed willfully ignorant of all things blockchain since I was forced to listen to some dude talk about mining bitcoin at a party back in like 2017. Münecat has done all the heavy lifting here to get me up to speed on cryptobros pyramid scheme of their very own. Plus, her work always comes with a bonus music video at the end. Score!

Also, because of this gem of a video on Russell Hartley, I now own a "Gaslight me daddy" t-shirt.

#2 Jenny Nicholson - Evermore: The Theme Park That Wasn't

Jenny Nicholson has been one of my favorite creators on YouTube since I found a video of her roasting discount Halloween costumes. What her brand has evolved into is truly remarkable, providing commentary on books, movies, theme parks, fanfiction, and random finds like church Easter plays and whatever the fuck the Hallmark channel was doing on YouTube back in 2016. I now know more about The Vampire Diaries and Bronycon than any adult should. "My horny drawing of Twilight Sparkle is presented upon this long pillow with complete neutrality," lives in my head rent-free. Any topic she covers, whether I have any familiarity with it or not, is well-researched and presented in such a captivating manner that it makes you forget how long you've been watching the video. This one is almost 4 hours long and I've watched it in its entirety more than once.

Evermore is a "theme park" located in Utah that has undergone several changes since its initial announcement back in 2014. This video, which has a longer runtime than The Irishman, goes into acute detail about the man who cooked up the concept, the development process, its lackluster implementation, and the park's current operationally neutered state that leaves it with an extremely unstable future.

I don't know if YouTube is Jenny's main gig or not, but she should 100% be a script doctor or creative consultant. Her feedback is thoughtful and presented with purpose, not just for the sake of roasting (although she's also great at that). I'd want her to be my editor if my writing wasn't garbage lmao.

#1 Defunctland - Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery

If you're looking for exceptional quality YouTube content, look no farther than Defunctland. Starting out with videos focused on deprecated theme park rides, over the years they've expanded their repertoire to cover retro television shows, fast-food restaurants, and theme park management. Their series about Jim Henson is legitimately one of my favorite deep-dives on a creative. This documentary, however, may be their best work.

Defunctland has always done a phenomenal job balancing humor, history, and sentimentality in their videos. "Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery" is no exception, functioning as a love letter to unsung creatives whose impact is immense, but their identity hidden. By the end of this masterpiece I was crying for the legacy of a person I had no awareness of an hour and a half before. Kevin should be proud of his videos, because in the act of immortalizing the media and experiences that have influenced us the most, what truly stands out is their ability to tell the story in a way that is both effective and emotional.

Keep doing what you're doing, Defunctland. You're the best of the internet.

Also, for shits and giggles, my top-rated traditional media of 2022:

Movie: RRR

Music: Scene Queen - Bimbocore Vol. 1 and 2

Television: Shoresy

Game: The Frog Detective series and Psychonauts 2

Podcast: Ear Hustle

Book: If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe by Jason Pargin

Disclaimer: I follow a lot of excellent creators that did not make this list. If I posted every single video I liked this year we'd be here forever. If you want specific recommendations for creators in certain spaces, like crafting, beauty, animation, examining religious fundamentalism, etc, go ahead and ask me. But I think this is more than enough content to entertain you for the foreseeable future :)

[opheliawritesxo]

Cold Feet

Prompt (in bold): 25 – “I was worried. You could have at least called.”

Pairing: 7 – Johnny Storm x Reader

Summary: You and Johnny are engaged and happy.. right? Well that’s what you thought.

Warnings: angst, strong language

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: This is day 3 of 30 prompts. The list is here if you wanna check it out (x). Welp.. this is my first attempt at an ‘x reader’ fic from scratch. I’m truly sorry if it’s terrible. I’m so used to third person that this was tricky to write. Also, sorry not sorry ‘bout the angst.

It was a random Thursday in August when everything went to shit.

Johnny had gone to bed with you, radiating enough heat that the air conditioning was a constant staple in your life. Sometime between falling asleep and the time your alarm had gone off, Johnny was gone. It wasn’t unusual for him to leave; he was the human torch after all and one fourth of the Fantastic Four so of course he had to leave sometimes at the drop of a hat to go ahead and save the world. He always left a hasty note written in his chicken scratch or even a text if he was in a rush but this time; there was nothing.

Biting your lip, you pushed yourself out of bed and got ready for the day. You worked at the local coffee shop down the road. That’s where you two had met four years ago. The man no one thought could be tied down proposed to you on Christmas Eve just passed and you were ecstatic to finally get to marry the love of your life.

Heading into the kitchen you made yourself a morning coffee, checking your phone just in case Johnny had left you a message or a voicemail. He hadn’t. Grumbling to yourself you took a sip of your coffee before heading through to the bedroom to get ready for the day. You couldn’t bare to turn on the news lest you see anything about whoever or whatever Johnny was fighting today.

           Work went by quickly, you didn’t have a TV there, so the news wasn’t on. At least it wasn’t in Manhattan, people were going about their everyday business as normal so he couldn’t be here. The most you heard was that the Avengers were in Italy on a relief mission but the Fantastic Four rarely worked with the Avengers, only if it was something uncontainable and they needed reinforcements.

Getting home, you expected to hear Johnny’s music blasting but there was nothing. Sighing you still called out his name. No response. Still no messages or notes. You’d checked everywhere before you ran out to work in case it had slipped under the bed or fallen off the kitchen counter. To say you were worried was an understatement. If he wasn’t here by morning you told yourself you’d call him and if he didn’t answer, you’d send a message to Suzie.

Morning came and still no messages from Johnny. You’d slept at most, an hour, the entire night. Hoping every little noise you heard was Johnny coming home, every notification on your phone a text from him. Nothing.

“Fuck this.” You grumbled, rummaging for your laptop so you could check your google alerts. You didn’t have them on your phone because you knew you’d get too into them, too obsessed with every mention of Johnny and a mystery blonde, brunette or red head. You trusted him with every part of your soul, but you hated seeing the alerts even though you knew they were all just for show. Usually some fan-girl or fan-boy who wanted a picture with him and the news outlets always tried to twist it.

There was nothing.

Nada.

Diddly squat.

That was beyond unusual. The last google alert was from three days ago and it was of you and Johnny on date night. It had been one of Starks annual galas and the Fantastic Four had been invited. You’d never been to a gala before and Johnny wanted to indulge you. Looking at the photo of you two slow dancing brought tears to your eyes. Where was he?

           Searching through your contacts, you clicked on Suzie’s name. You hoped to god she’d answer. Three rings later and your future sister-in-law’s voice came down the line.

“Y/N?” She said with a soft sigh.

“H-Hey Suze.. uhm.. is Johnny alright it’s just I haven’t heard from him this morning.” Biting your nails as you waited for Suzie to tell you he’d broke his phone; they were out of cell range.. anything but-

“Yeah he’s here, hold on.. Johnny!” You felt relief wash over you. He was okay. “Uhm Y/N, sorry Reid’s just pulled him aside for a minute. I promise I’ll get him to call you as soon as he’s done.”

“Was the mission a hard one?”

“Mission?”

“Yeah.. I- you guys went on a mission right?”

“No.. haven’t been on one in a couple of weeks.” That stopped your heart. If there was no mission then why did Johnny have to leave that early without a note? You’d assumed that he’d been off saving the world when really he’d been in Manhattan the whole time. You could feel the tears starting in your eyes.

“Suzie, sorry I have to go.” You said quickly, not waiting for a reply before you hung up. Giving into the sobs that so desperately wanted to tear themselves out of your throat. Throwing your phone aside you pulled the covers back over your head and burrowed yourself in. You weren’t coming back out for anything or anyone.

It was hours later when you finally woke up, having cried yourself to sleep. The sound of the front door closing finally registered as what had woken you up. Leaning over to grab your phone you saw the missed calls from work, Suzie and Johnny.

“Hi..” You were surprised you didn’t get whiplash from how fast you turned your head to the bedroom door. Johnny was there, he looked like he hadn’t slept. “I’m sorry Y/N.” He croaked moving towards you. Raising an eyebrow, you ignored him, pushing yourself out of bed and heading into the bathroom.

“I was worried. You could have at least called.” Your voice barely above a whisper as you grabbed your toothbrush.

“I know, I know. I’m so sorry darlin’.”

“Sorry means shit to me right now.” You snapped, glaring at him. “You just upped and left! What the fuckJohnny?”

“I needed space to think..” Your toothbrush clattered into the sink. You didn’t even need to ask what he needed the space to think about. You knew. You knew because you knew Johnny like the back of your hand.

“About us? The wedding isn’t even for another eight months!”

“I.. I’m sorry.” You could feel the tears coming back, but you refused to cry.

“Say sorry one more time. I dare you.” You had hoped that there would be more bite behind your words, but you were drained. You didn’t have any fight left in you.

“Darlin’” You stopped him before he could get close enough to wrap his arms around you. You’d always ran cold; it was something you hated, the constant need for layers was always a pain in the ass. Until you met Johnny. He was a furnace, literally. He always knew how to heat you up, whether that was one of his cuddles or even just his cheeky grin thrown in your direction. Shaking your head, brushing past him as you moved to pack a bag.

“I’m going to Claire’s. You look like you could use the rest, maybe some more time to think.” You croaked. You could feel the cold seeping back into you so drastically it was like you’d just walked into a freezer.

“Please don’t go.. Y/N please!” You could hear the tears in his voice. You didn’t reply, slamming the door behind you. Walking onto the streets of Manhattan in the muggy heat of August, you pulled your jacket tighter around you try to curtail the chill seeping through you knowing that you’d just walked out on your furnace; and your heart.

[popwasabi]

“They Called Us Enemy”: George Takei Recalls Interment and Its Cautionary History

Written by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott

Illustrated by Harmony Becker

 This past weekend I got to make my annual pilgrimage to the nerd Mecca capital of the world; San Diego Comic-Con.

It’s a fun and often exhausting experience between panel hopping to see your favorite movie or TV show actors speak and standing in line often for hours just to see them or to buy merch in the Dealer’s hall.

(At least it wasn’t hot this year.)

Every year though, somehow or another, I always meet at least one celebrity be it intentionally or accidentally. Last year I got to run into Billy West, best known for his voice acting roles on Ren &Stimpy and Futurama, the year before that it was MMA legend Josh Barnett who is a huge comic book geek and before that I met my all-time favorite TV composer Bear McCreary. This year I got to not only meet, but cross a massive name off my bucket list, in George Takei.

(^It me...)

Takei needs no introduction of course; the outspoken OG Star Trek alum is now firmly an internet personality of sorts and hugely popular figure amongst my generation and nerdom alike. But he wasn’t there at Comic-Con to talk about Star Trek or any number of Science Fiction related items to his acting past. No, this time he was here to promote his new graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” based on a much darker period in his life; the infamous internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps across the country during World War II.

Takei has never been shy about his opinions on politics and society and definitely very open about his time in those camps but this graphic novel helps not only shed a light on his own personal experience there and all the nuanced feelings that came from that but just how deplorable Executive Order 9066 was on American History.

Now, with the recreation of concentration camps this time along the southern border indefinitely imprisoning migrants seeking asylum in our country, Takei’s graphic novel reminds us all why this is so wrong and why we should not turn our backs again.

“They Called Us Enemy” is one-part history book detailing key events, people and often distressing quotes from our politicians on Japanese-American concentration camps but three-parts a visual and written history of Takei’s family journey from pre-WWII internment to the present. Through his parents, his father a first generation Japanese American, his mother second generation to how the events of Pearl Harbor unlawfully stripped them of their dignity, they try their best to make sense of the situation while keeping their children from baring the weight of this shameful period of history. What is an “extended vacation” for Takei and his siblings is a prolonged agonizing experience of doubt, humiliation and degradation for his parents and the toll it takes on his father especially is told through the panels of this graphic novel.

I think the most astounding thing about this graphic novel is that it isn’t especially bitter. It’s upsetting for sure, and bitter in parts, as Takei certainly wants his reader to feel how his family felt through this period in American history but he makes a point of showing how inevitably in all things in America, the wheels of justice may be slow but they do not stop moving forward as long as there are those willing to fight for it. How Takei’s family handles this humiliating and degrading experience is both brave and sad all at once. Takei, for his and his younger siblings, part are completely ignorant of the situation they’ve been forced into and his parents do their best to keep things as normal as possible for them through this ordeal treating it as a long “vacation” for them. They do this despite the fact they’ve been forcibly torn away from their homes, given no time to pack their things, given nametags like cattle and forced to sleep and live in conditions befitting of farm animals.

America may not have led anyone into death camps, during this period, as the Germans did with the Jews but as Takei points out it was still based on fear of a perceived “enemy” and still forced Japanese Americans into these horrid conditions and to do things that our constitution and Bill of Rights explicitly states against for its citizens.

But for Takei, as a child back then, it was an adventure of sorts for he and his siblings that was shielded by his parents to keep him from grasping the full scope of what was really going on. In this way, the graphic novel is somewhat bittersweet; sweet that George and his siblings through the tireless effort of their parents was able to enjoy some level of a childhood within the camps but bitter that as he grew older he finally understood why he was there.

Through Takei’s writings and Harmony becker’s wonderful illustrations we get a grasp of the simultaneous joy and pain that Takei associates with this period in his life; how his mom, when given little time to grab her own personal belongings when the soldiers came, grabbed only things for her children such as sweets and a sewing machine to fashion them new clothes in the camps as to keep their childhoods alive, and how his father helped organize camp leadership and helped lead these disillusioned Americans who had no idea what the future held or if there was a future there at all.

It was in these camps in fact that Takei discovered his love for acting and theater, as funny as that may sound, as camp members were able to show movies within its barb-wired fences. Takei would use this inspiration when his family returned to Los Angeles to become an actor down the line and eventually take up his famous role as Sulu in “Star Trek” and the reason largely was because of the camps. As the graphic novel states Gene Rodenberry (Star Trek’s original creator) wanted a show that envisioned a future where a diverse cast of people worked together for the benefit of all humanity and having an Asian American not only be present in this cast but be a resourceful, responsible lead was paramount. Takei understanding how taking on a role that could give Asian Americans agency in popular media wanted the part immediately as it could help show the country that people who looked like him weren’t the enemy.

Fifty plus years later and he is still advocating for that representation and need for diversity today.

(Being God damn fabulous at it too)

The graphic novel does lay out many things that most average Americans are probably not familiar with; the fact that much of these Japanese-Americans belongings were liquefied and sold off after they were taken from their homes, that many of them tried to join the fight against Japan after Pearl Harbor but were turned away because of their race, and of course after the US finally needed more troops they conscripted members of these very same camps, people they had openly vilified and wrongly detained, to enlist later to become the 442nd Battalion the most decorated group of its kind during World War II.

It’s again infuriating and uplifting all at once; as Takei points out the people who chose to enlist from the camps were as much patriots and heroes as those who chose not to and who could blame them? Many Japanese Americans saw it as an opportunity to prove they were indeed Americans and show the country that had wronged them that they were as patriotic as their white counterparts. For the others it was an act of civil disobedience showing that they didn’t need prove anything to the country that had turned their backs on them.

Takei’s family chose the latter in this regard and nearly lost everything in the process.

The path toward justice is often a long and degrading road for victims and the unjustly accused. For Japanese Americans during this time it took damn near half a century before reparations were made and by then many of its oldest prisoners had passed away not knowing that America had admitted their guilt. 

Its sad and if reading about this part of history and seeing what’s happening now at the border doesn’t make your blood boil, I’m not sure what will.

“They Call Us Enemy” does a great job of not only informing Americans on what happened during this time period and Takei’s very personal story in between all that, but offers a stark warning about repeating the mistakes of the past as we are now at the border. We cannot keep going with this cycle of endlessly vilifying folks for simply looking the part of “the enemy” regardless of their legal status or us being at war with countries that happen to look like them. 

I’m of the mind that people deserve inalienable rights regardless of citizenry. Locking up people and throwing away the key indefinitely and ripping children from the arms of their screaming mothers (Something we didn’t even do to Japanese Americans) without trial is FUCKING WRONG PERIOD and ill-befitting of country that self-labels itself as the “greatest” on Earth.

If we are to pretend we are the good guys in any of these types of conflicts we better start acting like it. FUCKING NAZIS in Nuremberg were given trials after World War II; you cannot tell me an “illegal” doesn’t deserve a chance at a hearing.

I’m often very angry and bitter about the state of the country these days and where we appear to be trending as a society but Takei’s book is not all doom in gloom when it comes to its warning on where we currently stand on justice. As the graphic novel states:

Our strength as a country is that we are capable of change, we are capable of becoming the pillars of democracy and justice that we profess to be through the valiant efforts of those who fight for it. Whether it was the Abolitionists of the Civil War period, Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights era or for these wrongly interred folks, Fred Korematsu, Yuri Kochiyama, Wayne Collins, or Daniel K. Inouye, we will always find a way to move forward as long as brave individuals come together to fight for what’s right.

We can be those brave individuals too, so long as we stand up, voice our disapproval and move the needle of our democracy. We still have all the power here to affect change. We cannot let the wrongs of the past continue on in our present, our democracy and the very fabric of decency, respect, and justice depend on it. Takei’s family and 120,000 plus Japanese Americans who suffered through this depend on us being better for the present and future.

Don’t turn your back on it. Not now, not ever.

[captainkurosolaire]

Update: Hello, Friend.

 So I want to come out and give some teasers and hints what I have planned. First of all, I’d like to thank the warm reception of me getting more active and being able to do far more threads again my passion and abnormal hunger has returned for this. That I’m breathing in fresh oxygen for the first time in years that I’ve either neglected myself or lost myself towards due to my own personal negligence. Alright. ~ So writing I’m going to be overall increasing this year ideally because of my drive right now. I’ve got a lot chips on my shoulder but that’s a good thing forcing myself to over burden and stack myself against the odds seems to be what I lacked. It’s just who I am and need to constantly be, I’ve never not known adversity. So I’ve got a Budokai 3 planned it’s [this] -- but this time when it comes out it’ll be a lot more stakes at the cost, think it’s still paramount, I keep that annual somehow intact. There’s going to be a new pirate match-type, stipulation, and I think it’ll be fun as hell to build that and design it out. I’m overall excited. Recently I got fortunate and met someone of the goddess virtues who’s led me towards the creative tools to eventually expand my writing into more creation putting that whole clan [TCK] to actual meaning from my youth. So I’ve learned a few things, I’m saving for a rainy day. I def want to try possibly putting and creating my own audio’s in projects for the writings and there’s going to be a few other things but It’ll probably take me much longer to really grasp that. Ideally that’s all stuff I get down by next year, least, I’m setting for my ambitious deadline course. Since self-teaching is all I’ve ever really had and been effective in. I’m a monkey with a wrench kinda guy. Because I do believe, there’s going to be a new ‘War’ arc. I’ve got tons and I mean ton’s of antagonists, conflicts, rival crews, I’ve got fables, legends, myths, I’ve got ton’s of material I want to bring into existence to dazzle out. I can’t really go into my own game without really resolving the stories here and actually improving. With recently my inclusion and decision to bring NPC Crews, I plan on making their own morale's and beliefs, I wouldn’t really fully consider this a multi-muse blog, it’s like a scuffed one. I’d say they’re just attachments or accessories required for the Captain now. They’ll be brought in their own story-lines respectively, I’ll probably just sort of give them their own narratives and their reasons, I thinking they get their own endings and their functions. Got to eventually make their move-sets though and make rival crew’s that have to oppose polar opposite that put some actual struggle in this sumbitch’. There’s going to be more fun in these stories a lot of comedy I want to try branching into in my respectful genre. I want to also forewarn there’s going to massive blood, horror, gore and a lot more violence alongside the angst and dramatic flares or sensitive real antagonistic threats that’ll be overpower AF to combat but can be nerfed with plot :D. These upcoming conflicts they’re going to be literally all pirate as we can get which mean’s some heinous things exist. So I might just make my own trigger warning like TW:VD so it’s universal for my stuff so if people want to restrict them from being seen that they can evade easily. This blog always been +18/Adult though, I don’t have to worry about being censored by 4kids we saw how they treated Yugioh. But yeah, it’s not going to be all sunshine but it’s not also going to be always stormy anymore either. The characters introduced ideally if I learn and pull them off right alongside the readers, will lightened up things and this cast isn’t going to be your atypical assorted, they’re going to be insane and generically outcasts. Which is fitting and I wouldn’t believe it could be done any other way. Probably make lots of fluffers to for impactful death’s. There’s going to be homages and a lot of references as I want to try writing as if this is a long-term actual story or a TV show of sorts that almost has no-ending so expect it to fill like One Piece or something it’ll take 1000000 episodes for us to get to the ending, this game is more likely to die out before I burn out or this site, knowing the direction of Tumblr lately... :P It’s just constantly me aligning the flow and plot pieces cause I really need to learn transitioning better while also remaining less wordy though don’t like setting myself to one writing style as some characters require other definitive structures. Ideally won’t affect to much my current RP thread load, either. That I’ve been racking out and actually putting out. Like the old me is starting to resurface who was able to DM for tons of people or when I first got into this. I thought about stockpiling prompts, but I don’t feel like it’s anything I want to do anymore cause that’s essentially just me master-listing at the ending of a year or Volume anyway. I’d rather just find the time and energy for a good solid day, one shot like I do everything put the quality in and release like two chapters a month or more depending my vitality. The support and recently plotters, friends, and other story-lines to all the passion surrounding that still ember’s on, I’ve got loads of credit to call out it’s been unreal. I’ve never been well with accepting or expressing myself sort of why I turned towards writing. Might try to find a plausible way to make things more interactive too or some sort of swaying branches that can be had too by either polls or Captain’s interactions with other characters who either empower or give him carrying weights during anytime I need him in far-future storytelling to explain and give meaning. Since lot of the crew can run these plot things too in their own dedicated parts when we get past their introductions and ‘the climb’ beginning for their narrative. Lot of these plot points and stuff though definitely intend sharing with plot people or just overall continue supporting other characters as the caped-robin. This sorta just came to be learned after reflecting. ‘why isn’t there anything I can’t do?’ and now I just got to channel this into something cosmically kinetic. So no sleeping for the wicked, wake up every day to thrive and strive to be better than myself in lasting. Well peace ~ until later mateys. To quote in the immortal, K.V signature: ‘Word.’

[theycallmebeccawrites]

Perfectly Imperfect: Chapter 6

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Wren Arnold (OFC)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: n/a

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Perfectly Imperfect Masterlist | Chris & Wren Masterlist

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

August through October 2020

After Wren left, Chris spent the first two days mad at her for the way she had forced him to tell her about Jessa. He'd already felt like a massive failure, but now that his best friend knew, he felt like even more of one.

Not to mention that he had been completely blindsided by her announcement. So much so that the full impact of her sudden departure didn't hit him until Sunday night when his brother showed up at the house with Addy, who'd spent the weekend with his mom. Wren being gone meant that he had no one to help him out with Addy for the next week or the weeks after that. He waited until after Addy was in bed to call his mom and see if she and/or his sisters could help him out at all.

The biggest adjustment to the schedule was that Addy started attending daycare every day. For the first two days, it was ok but by Wednesday the toddler started acting out. It started during dinner with his mom and siblings; Addy was fine one minute and then screaming and crying for Wren the next.

Chris did his best to console her, but nothing he did could change the fact that Wren had abandoned her. It took the better part of two hours to get Addy to fall asleep and then Chris had to leave her at his mom's house because he had an early call time the next morning. It broke his heart to leave his little girl there when she was so upset, but he didn't have a choice.

As the week progressed, Addy's temper tantrums got worse and began to remind Chris of the ones that they had experienced shortly after he and Addy had moved out of his mom's house. She would be perfectly fine one moment and then dissolve into a puddle of tears and flinging limbs. Each time, it took him hours to settle her down.

By Friday night, Chris's anger with Wren reached a boiling point. He was livid with her for the way that she had just waltzed out of their lives like it was no big deal, like they would be perfectly fine without her. Especially after she had all but forced him to tell her about Jessa not wanting Addy. That fact alone should have stopped her from leaving, but no, his former best friend had run out of their lives like her pants were on fire.

His mom's annual end of summer barbeque was that weekend and Chris hoped Wren would show up so he could have words with her, but unlike years previous, neither she nor her parents came. He tried to drink away the unease that settled in his chest over their absence, but it only proved to be his downfall. All the angry thoughts he'd had about Wren during the week forced themselves out of his mouth and he spewed them to anyone who would listen.

Chris woke up the next morning with a killer hangover and a sick feeling that had nothing to do with the amount of drinking he'd done the night before. He couldn't remember everything he had said, but he remembered enough to know it had been bad.

Scott was the one to draw the short straw, or so he claimed, and escorted Chris out of their mom's house with the promise of a greasy breakfast. It was over their choice hangover food at a local hole-in-the-wall dinner that Scott laid all the cards on the table.

"Wren did not abandon Addy," he stated. "She did not abandon you, either. She isn't Jessa, Chris. Besides, you knew from the very beginning of this whole arrangement that she was going to go back to work in the fall."

Chris didn't argue with him, because logically he knew that his brother was speaking the truth. It didn't, however, softened the blow that was Wren walking out of his and Addy's lives.

"Maybe you should talk to someone," his brother suggested. "What you went through with Jessa changed you, Chris. The past week shows that you're still holding onto a lot of anger towards her, but it came out towards Wren and not the person you're really mad at."

Chris took Scott's word to heart and arranged for a therapist to meet with him one day a week during his lunch break on set. The first session was the awkward get to know you type that left him feeling frustrated and ready to call it all off, but he stuck with it. Following the second and third appointments, he felt a little better after getting things off his chest. He found he was still angry with Jessa, but he didn't want to punch a wall every time he thought of her anymore.

As part of his healing process, Chris realize he had to change things for himself and Addy. His mom and sisters were making it work, but he hated the nights when Addy stayed with them and he hated that he hardly got to spend any time alone with her. Sure, they had their weekends, but they'd spent more of those weekends with her in front of the TV while he tried to tackle all the household chores that fell by the wayside during the week.

It was during one of their rare full weekends together that he finally had a chance to teach Addy how to ride a bicycle with training wheels. As he watched her pedal her heart out, the solution to his problem presented itself in the form of his next door neighbor, Miss Loretta. Addy was delighted to see the 60-something year-old woman and Chris vaguely recalled Wren mentioning the woman to him in one of their chats earlier in the summer.

Miss Loretta was a widowed woman whose four grandsons had been students of Wren's. She had retired shortly after her oldest grandson had been born and had spent the last several years playing nanny to her grandkids, but they were all in school now which left her lots of time for volunteering.

It took Chris a week after meeting Miss Loretta to offer her the job as Addy's nanny and his part time housekeeper. She accepted immediately and started the next week. The change in Addy was almost overnight after they'd gotten her back to the schedule she'd been on during the summer. She still attended daycare five days a week, but left either right before or right after lunch and took naps at home.

During the first week of October, Chris used a day off from filming to take Addy to see the therapist that was helping him work out his Jessa issues. Things had gotten better since Miss Loretta had taken over Addy's care, but Chris still wanted to make sure his little girl was ok. Having two women who she dearly loved walk out of her life within months of each other couldn't be good. Not that he had mentioned Wren to the therapist yet. That was a whole different situation, one that he himself wasn't entirely sure about.

Addy was hesitant, at first, when they arrived at the therapist's office, but once she saw all the toys there were to play with, she had all but run into the room. Chris sat in the room next door watching her interactions with the therapist through a one-way mirror. The session lasted only thirty minutes or so before the therapist came into where Chris was waiting and assured Chris that, at that time, Addy appeared to be a perfectly normal 3-year-old.

It wasn't until Chris's next session that the therapist brought up the topic that Addy had talked about most: Wren.

"Wren is or was, I don't know exactly what she is now, but we were best friends," Chris explained. "She helped me with Addy this summer, but took a job out of state in early August."

"And how did that make you feel?" the therapist asked. "Especially on the heels of Jessa leaving the two of you."

The question forced Chris to rehash what he had told the therapist during their first meeting, but this time, he had included the parts about Wren. The first time, he had sort of glossed over her, but he knew he couldn't this time. He found that once he started talking about Wren, he couldn't stop.

Even after his appointment ended, Wren stayed at the forefront of his mind. He was able to finish the work day and do what he needed with Addy, but after that, his mind became an instant replay of the moments in his and Wren's life together.

He remembered the first time he kissed her and the way his lips had tasted like her blue raspberry chapstick after the kiss. The fact that he remembered the flavor surprised him, especially since he couldn't remember recall what the perfumes that Jessa or any of his previous girlfriends had worn without walking past the scent.

From there, his mind traveled to his senior prom and the way that Wren had sought him out after his date had gotten back together with her ex. He had been ready to leave the prom, but she had talked him into staying and had even offered to be his date for the rest of the night since she'd come with a group of friends.

Then came the memories of the stupid antics they'd gotten into in their twenties. Like the time he'd visited her at school and snuck into the girls only dorm and then had nearly gotten discovered by the resident assistant. Or that New Year's Eve when they'd stayed up all night talking and hadn't gone to bed until the sun had come up on January 1st.

All that thinking led him to one conclusion: Wren had taken a piece of his heart with her when she'd left and, with every memory that flickered across his brain, the hole got a little bigger. It was in the wee hours of the morning that the truth of the situation punched him in the gut: he had lost his best friend and he had no one to blame but himself.

Chapter 7

Want to find me off tumblr? I'm @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

My tag list is always open, just let me know if you'd like to be added!

[moviechats]

Way Too Early Predictions: Oscars 2020

Hello. It’s me, again.

I know we’re still digesting Hollywood’s Biggest Night and reminiscing about the past few months of Awards and Honors (just me....?). But it’s time to put that behind us. We’re looking towards the future now.

I always enjoy award season, even if it is disappointing and I’m left bitter and defeated. But guess what? We always have next year to look forward to. And now we’re going to take a sneak peak at what may be on the horizon for 2020.

It’s time...for my Way Too Early Oscar Predictions

During the Oscars this year we were treated to a nice little teaser for Martin Scorsese’s latest film, the Irishman which will most likely be competing next year. I’ve been following this film since it was announced, ready for the Oscar potential that comes with any Scorsese film. Right now, all that’s listed for a synopsis on IMDB is, “A mob hitman recalls his possible involvement with the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa.“ I mean...sign me up right there. The cast also features Oscar veterans, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, as well as Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel. It’s been a hot minute since Scorsese’s last Best Director win and even his last nomination. The only thing that slows this train down for me is the fact it’s been scooped up by Netflix. I still don’t think Netflix movies should be considered for Oscars and I absolutely hate watching movies at home that should be seen in the theater. Unless Netflix releases this into theaters and acts as a distributor, I may not be as hyped about this when it’s actually released as I am now. But...I’m still super into this and wouldn’t be at all surprised if it becomes an award show darling.

Potential nominations: Picture, Director, Acting, Screenplay

Speaking of another film starting it’s campaign early...

The first full trailer for the Elton John biopic, Rocket Man just dropped this past week and you know after the success of Bohemian Rhapsody they’ll be setting their sights on awards. Taron Egerton seems a high prospect for a Best Actor nomination and I’d love to see this nominated for costumes (the same way I wanted Bohemian to be nominated...iconic looks!). I’m super excited about this one since I just caught Elton on his last tour and, to be honest, I love any movie about musicians (but don’t classify them as musicals!). Several articles have already claimed Taron has started his campaign for award seasons (after he showed up to sing at Elton’s annual Oscar party), and honestly why shouldn’t he? The only foreseeable problem (besides the possibility it could always be terrible...we’ve only seen the trailer) is that it comes out in May. In entertainment terms, it’s practically an eternity between May and true Oscar season. I mean, A Star is Born came out in October (although it premiered in August at the Venice Film Festival) and lost steam so fast, by the time January rolled around it seemed like a distant memory. I’m not sure this could pull off a Best Picture nomination. It will probably depend on what else is nominated and how many films they decide.

Potential nominations: Picture, Acting, Screenplay, Costumes, Cinematography

It’s not a biopic, but another film based on a true story coming in hot is  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a film featuring Tom Hanks as the iconic Mr. Rogers. It’s not a biopic about Rogers’ life, but rather a true story revolving around his friendship with journalist Tom Junod. I’m personally glad it’s not a biopic or biography-type movie, since we already had the phenomenal documentary released this past year. Tom Hanks has already started generating Oscar buzz even though all we’ve been granted is a single photo of him in character. That’s all we need, though! Tom is the perfect choice to play the kind and gentle Rogers and a Best Actor nomination is probably on the horizon. It’s also directed by Marielle Heller who helmed one of my favorite films of 2018, Can You Ever Forgive Me. I sincerely hope the Academy fixes their screw up of 2018 and nominates her next year. I’d like to say it’s a lock, but since she’s a woman, who knows (yes I’m throwing shade at the Academy. I’ll do it all day)? With a November release date, they definitely have awards on the brain.

Potential nominations: Actor, Director, Screenplay

The film that I’m personally the most excited for is Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I love Tarantino films and really just Tarantino in general. When the announcement about this film was initially made, it mentioned the Manson murders and, despite my love for Tarantino, I will admit I rolled my eyes and thought “not another one.” But the synopsis has shifted, now listed on IMDB as “A faded TV actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles” with Wikipedia mentioning all of this taking place during the same time as the Manson murder. So now I’m more intrigued. Where does Sharon Tate fit in? How do they Manson murders come in to play? Oh my goodness I already can’t wait for this film. As if that wasn’t enough, our main leads are two former Hollywood “It” men, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. As far as I can remember, the two have never starred in a film together which is insane. The film also boats a cast that includes Margot Robbie, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, and Kurt Russell. With all those names, it seems likely that someone will land an acting nomination. There’s probably going to be stiff competition, but I’d love if Leonardo snagged another Best Actor (or  even Supporting Actor) nomination and it’d be great to see Brad Pitt maybe even win. Hollywood loves Hollywood and they seem pretty fond of Tarantino, so I wouldn’t be surprised with a Best Picture nod and maybe even a Golden Globe win. Tarantino has also won the Original Screenplay Oscar twice, so a nomination seems almost given. This also marks his ninth movie, which if he sticks with the plan, will be his second to last before his retirement (or long hiatus. I have a hard time believing he’d be gone for long). If he starts playing that up again, it could help boost him to a nomination, if not a win.

Predicted nominations: Director, Acting, Screenplay,

Some other titles being tossed around...

Harriet, about the life of Harriet Tubman, has started gaining steam. I haven’t read too much about it yet, but given the powerful figure it’s about, it seems ripe for Award Season. Predicted nominations: Best Picture and Best Actress.

The Report made quite the splash at Sundance. I have mixed feelings, since I usually find any films about our government not directed by Adam McKay to be boring and dry. Listen, we live with the government, we don’t need to be reminded of what’s going on. But this one does have two of my favorite people, Adam Driver and Annette Bening, and started generating Oscar buzz as soon as its premier was over. I’d die if Adam Driver makes another trip to the Academy Awards and I don’t know what I’d do if he wins. Annette Bening may be our Glenn Close of next season, as she has also never won an Oscar and it could be her time. Predicted nominations: Picture, Actress, (supporting) Actor, Screenplay

Little Women will be Greta Gerwig’s next feature film, following on the success of Lady Bird, which saw it’s own Oscar acknowledgement (although it left empty handed). I’ve never been a fan of the story, but to be honest I’ve never read all of it. I’m giving this a chance since I love Greta and the cast includes her darling Saoirse Ronan and everybody’s boyfriend Timothée Chalamet, as well as Emma Watson, Florence Pugh (my favorite fresh face) and Meryl Streep (an Oscar staple). Could this be incredibly boring? Yes. But it could also be an award season favorite since it is a period piece. The Academy loves those.. Predicted nominations: Picture, Director, Screenplay, Costumes.

These are just some of the titles that have been thrown around so far. After my least favorite year for film in a long time, I’m looking forward to this new crop. Tarantino, Scorsese, Gerwig, a film with Adam Driver, and biopics abound! I’m so ready for 2019. Here we go.

[stoweboyd]

2019-01-23 - Daybook

There's so much passing my desk, I can't keep up.

:::

Panic is on the agenda at Davos – but it’s too little too late | Aditya Chakrabortty

Pity the poor billionaire, for today he feels a new and unsettling emotion: fear. The world order he once clung to is crumbling faster than the value of the pound. In its place, he frets, will come chaos. Remember this, as the plutocrats gather this week high above us in the ski resort of Davos: they are terrified.

Whatever dog-eared platitudes they may recycle for the TV cameras, what grips them is the havoc far below. Just look at the new report from the summit organisers that begins by asking plaintively, “Is the world sleepwalking into a crisis?” In the accompanying survey of a thousand bosses, money men (because finance, like wealth, is still mainly a male thing) and other “Davos decision-makers”, nine out of 10 say they fear a trade war or other “economic confrontation between major powers”. Most confess to mounting anxieties about “populist and nativist agendas” and “public anger against elites”. As the cause of this political earthquake, they identify two shifting tectonic plates: climate change and “increasing polarisation of societies”.

In its pretend innocence, its barefaced blame-shifting, its sheer ruddy sauce, this is akin to arsonists wailing about the flames from their own bonfire. Populism of all stripes may be anathema to the billionaire class, but they helped create it. For decades, they inflicted insecurity on the rest of us and told us it was for our own good. They have rigged an economic system so that it paid them bonanzas and stiffed others. They have lobbied and funded politicians to give them the easiest of rides. Topped with red Maga caps and yellow vests, this backlash is uglier and more uncouth than anything you’ll see in the snow-capped Alps, but the high rollers meeting there can claim exec producer credits for the whole rotten lot. Shame it’s such a downer for dividends.

[...]

I can think of no better metaphor for the current disarray of the Davos set than the fact that Emmanuel Macron – surely the elite’s platonic ideal of a politician, with his eyes of leporid brightness, his stint as an investment banker and his start-up party – cannot attend this week’s jamboree because he has to stay at home and deal with the gilets jaunes. It’s a bummer when the working poor spoil your holiday plans.

:::

How Companies Secretly Boost Their Glassdoor Ratings | Rolfe Winkler and Andrea Fuller let us in on the Glassdoor secret: any game will be gamed.

Glassdoor has become an important arbiter of employee sentiment in today’s highly competitive job market. A Wall Street Journal investigation shows it can be manipulated by employers trying to sway opinion in their favor.

[...]

In the summer of 2017, SpaceX recruiter Brittany Jacobson sent emails encouraging employees to post reviews in order to make Glassdoor’s “Best” list, said a person familiar with the effort. Workers were offered free SpaceX mugs for completing their review, said the person.

That followed a push in 2016, according to a second person, who said that SpaceX’s human-resources chief, Brian Bjelde, had taken notice of negative reviews that complained about SpaceX’s long hours and poor management.

SpaceX employees flooded Glassdoor with 180 five-star reviews in October 2016. In most months that year, it earned less than a dozen five-star reviews. It had other spikes in 2017 and 2018.

Some months with high numbers of reviews came after interns were recruited, according to the first person familiar with the effort. They provided more than 84% of five-star reviews in July 2016 and in August 2017. Glassdoor allows users to filter out certain employee categories, such as interns and contractors.

Ms. Jacobson took credit for the campaigns on her LinkedIn profile, writing that she executed “company-wide employer branding campaigns” on Glassdoor, increasing the number of reviews by more than 1,000, raising the company’s overall rating to 4.4 stars from 3.8 and resulting in SpaceX landing on Glassdoor’s “Best” list two years in a row.

Same story with SAP, Bain, etc.

#wfd

:::

I Have a Dream | John Hagel

#readlater

:::

The Real future of the Platform Economy: Citizen Entrepreneurship and a Market Reset | Simon Cicero

#readlater

:::

Thingification | Euan Semple's glorious brevity:

The process of thingification (turning a useful idea into the latest thing and thereby rendering it useless) appears unstoppable. In the context of work it happened with collaboration, innovation, and creativity. It is even happening with disruption! It happened with blogging, it happened with YouTube, it's happening with podcasting.

All these potentially powerful attempts at building a new world using new tools being rendered safe by assimilation into the old.

Is this inevitable, or can we each do our bit to stop it happening? Being careful with our use of language, particularly jargon. Checking our intent and resisting bandwagons. Ignoring the most blatant attempts at cooption and manipulation.

Every time someone calls themselves a "social media influencer" an angel dies.

Snap.

#wfd

:::

CEOs' curbed confidence spells caution | PwC's 22nd Annual Global CEO Survey shows that 2018's confidence has run into headwinds [emphasis mine]

Reality check -- Last year saw a record jump in optimism regarding global growth prospects in 2018, and this exuberance translated across regions. This year, by contrast, saw a record jump in pessimism, with nearly 30% of CEOs projecting a decline in global economic growth, up from a mere 5% last year. CEOs also reported a noteworthy dip in confidence in their own organisations’ revenue prospects over the short (12-month) and medium (three-year) term. If CEOs’ confidence continues to be a leading indicator, global economic growth will slow down in 2019.

Look inside-out for growth -- Across the survey rang a general theme of hunkering down as CEOs adapt to the strong nationalist and populist sentiment sweeping the globe. The threats they consider most pressing are less existential (e.g. terrorism, climate change) and more related to the ease of doing business in the markets where they operate (e.g. overregulation, policy uncertainty, availability of key skills, trade conflicts). When asked to identify the most attractive foreign markets for investment, CEOs are narrowing their choices and expressing more uncertainty.

Mind the information and skills gaps -- In addition to the fault lines developing geopolitically, CEOs are working to bridge the gaps in their own capabilities. Organisations are struggling to translate a deluge of data into better decision making. There is a shortage of skilled talent to clean, integrate, and extract value from big data and move beyond baby steps toward artificial intelligence (AI). One of the more striking findings in this year’s survey was the fact that — despite billions of dollars of investment and priority positioning on the C-suite agenda — the gap between the information CEOs need and what they get has not closed in the past ten years.

Uh-oh.

See CEOs Freak Out, in process.

#wfd

:::

I've fallen behind on Esko Kilpi's contributions:

Living with paradoxes – Esko Kilpi – Medium

Biology, Blockchains and Quantum Physics – Esko Kilpi – Medium

I am not I – Medium

#readlater

:::

Design Unbound. Designing for Emergence in a White Water World | Ann Pendleton-Jullian and John Seely Brown

I need to get a review copy

#readlater

:::

Crisp's Blog » Bootstrapping a Working Agreement for the Agile Team | I like this approach to consent-based voting.

#wfd

:::

Using Neuroscience to Make Feedback Work and Feel Better | David Rock, Beth Jones, and Chris Weller:

Research has found roughly 87 percent of employees want to “be developed” in their job, but only a third report actually receiving the feedback they need to engage and improve. The reason for the gap is hardly a mystery: Typical feedback conversations are about as pleasant as a root canal. Managers dread them because it’s often unclear what kind of feedback the employee wants or needs, and employees dread them because even light criticism can feel like an assault on their status and credibility. Indeed, West and Thorson’s new study found that receivers’ heart rates jumped enough to indicate moderate or extreme duress in unprompted feedback situations.

[...]

Research is suggesting that by switching from giving feedback to asking for it, organizations can tilt their culture toward continuous improvement.

[...]

Psychologists have come to label this phenomenon “brittle smiles.” It happens when people try to adhere to a “culture of niceness,” as West calls it, even though they really want to speak or act more candidly and critically. So they overcompensate. They smile too much and become overly positive in their speech.

To West’s mind, asking for feedback is the best way to avoid brittle smiles and the culture of niceness. “When you ask for feedback, you’re licensing people to be critical of you,” she says. “It may feel a little more uncomfortable, but you’re going to get honest, more constructive feedback.”

[...]

West says it’s up to employees to equip their managers with the right kinds of questions — a help-them-help-you approach to feedback, she says. These can include “Could you please give feedback on my presentation skills?” or “Should I have spoken up more in yesterday’s meeting?” The tactic helps managers avoid what relationship psychologists call “kitchen sinking.”

In kitchen sinking, “You say one thing that sucks, and then you pile everything else on that sucks,” West says. When employees ask for explicit feedback, they give their manager clearer boundaries.

[The essay also includes a pull quote on Mental Contrasting, that is a good standalone takeaway.]

#wfd

#feedback #mentalcontrasting

:::

After the Storm | Ben Ehrenreich

The son of Barbara Enrenreich

#readlater

:::

“The Linux of social media”—How LiveJournal pioneered (then lost) blogging | A long, sad story with no real lessons to be learned.

#livejournal

:::

US government v Silicon Valley: Oracle said to owe $400m to women and minorities | Technology | The Guardian

#readlater #wfd

:::

How leaders are navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution | Deloitte

A year ago, Deloitte’s inaugural survey assessing private and public sector readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution observed a “tension between hope and ambiguity.” We found while executives conceptually understood the profound business and societal changes Industry 4.0 may bring, they were less certain how they could take action to benefit. The Fourth Industrial Revolution enables an increasingly globalized world, one in which advanced technologies can drive new opportunities, diverse ideas can be heard, and new forms of communication may come to the fore (for a detailed definition of Industry 4.0, see What is Industry 4.0?). But how are leaders adjusting? Our new survey suggests many who think they are ready may still not be as prepared as they need to be. But the good news is leaders seem to be gaining a much deeper understanding of Industry 4.0, are increasingly aware of the challenges before them, and are viewing the actions needed to succeed more realistically.

Our latest survey polled more than 2,000 C-suite executives across 19 countries, coupled with select interviews. The goal was to uncover how leaders are taking effective action, where they are making the most progress, and what sets the most effective leaders apart.

Executives express a genuine commitment to improving the world. Leaders rated “societal impact” as the most important factor when evaluating their organizations’ annual performance, ahead of financial performance and customer or employee satisfaction. In the past year, three-quarters of respondents said their organizations took steps to make or change products or services with societal impact in mind. Many are motivated by the promise of new revenue and growth, but leaders are split on whether such initiatives can and will generate profit.

Executives are struggling to develop effective strategies in today’s rapidly changing markets. Faced with an ever-increasing array of new technologies, leaders acknowledged they have too many options from which to choose and, in some cases, they lack the strategic vision to help guide their efforts. Organizational influences also challenge leaders as they seek to navigate Industry 4.0. Many leaders reported their companies don’t follow clearly defined decision-making processes, and organizational silos limit their ability to develop and share knowledge to determine effective strategies.

Leaders continue to focus more on using advanced technologies to protect their positions rather than make bold investments to drive disruption. Although many of the businesses that have made investments in technology are seeing payoffs, others are finding it difficult to take the step toward investing—even as digital technologies are engendering more global connections and creating new opportunities within new markets and localized economies. Challenges include being too focused on short-term results and lacking understanding, business cases, and leadership vision. Leaders acknowledge the ethical implications inherent with new technology, but few companies are even talking about how to manage those challenges, let alone actively putting policies in place to do so. Further, business leaders and governments continue to wrestle with how to regulate Industry 4.0 technologies.

The skills challenge becomes clearer, but so do differences between executives and their millennial workforces. Last year, most leaders (86 percent) thought their organizations were doing enough to create a workforce for Industry 4.0. This year, as more leaders recognize the growing skills gap, only 47 percent are as confident in their efforts. On the bright side, twice as many leaders indicate their organizations will do what they can to train their existing employees rather than hire new ones. And they’re more optimistic than last year that autonomous tech will augment, rather than replace, humans. But research from Deloitte Global’s annual millennial survey suggests leaders and employees (particularly younger ones) differ on which skills are most needed and who is responsible for developing them.

I guess all the consulting companies are writing reports for Davos.

#readlater

:::

[frankpiers]

They surveyed about 400 black and white preadolescent students aka tweens in the Midwest over the course of a year.

The study, which appears in Communication Research, was conducted by Nicole Martins, an assistant professor of telecommunications in the Indiana University, and Kristen Harrison, professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan. They surveyed about 400 black and white preadolescent students aka tweens in the Midwest over the course of a year. Instead of looking at specific shows, they focused on how much time the kids were spending watching TV, period, llantas 4x4 online and how it impacted their self esteem. The texts and contemporary artworks in the exhibition underline this axial dimension of the Ka this is the way in which the believer becomes and these are the practices that ensure a continual reorientation towards the centre. I cannot think of anything comparably paradigmatic in other religions. There are some comparisons, but they do not seem to occupy as large a place in the religious imagination as Mecca and Ka do for Muslims (although the place of the Jerusalem temple comes close for Jews). Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatchco ordinator, Woo O'Reilly, said while the overall result was good Canberra residents could improve the health of urban waterways by changing their behaviour."One of the issues in urban waterways is the entry of nutrients [into the environment] through leaf fall," she said. 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It could not get a positive score for riparian vegetation condition as it has none. January 2014 to date: Project partner in a Norwegian Government project entitled Development of a CWR conservation strategies for Norway. This project involves transfer sac camelbak lobo of skills developed in agrobiodiversity conservation in Europe and there specific application in Norway. It involves collaborative research in plants surveying, seed conservation, genetic diversity studies and utilisation.. These stop gaps need a sustainable fix, especially at a time when visitor numbers and expectations are rising. Warmer weather prompts more not fewer visits to state parks, trails and boat accesses. Customers want DNR to extend seasons, not shorten them. Extremely successfully, Quite possibly a run you want to on occasion, But still it blow the bigger organize charges. I decided to taken into consideration one of chanel ágynemű last week alongside this relative, I seemed to be shocked for everyone to see a jacket hat important, I turned over the cost and so jeered. These types of people thought $180. These people put me to SHAME!The Classics Club originates on the A Room of One Own blog. To join, you make a list of 50 classics you plan to read within five years, including an ending date. This you post on your own blog. She did her clinical internship year at the James nike black tn 001 H. mustang női cipő árgép Quillen VA (APA accredited). After completing her research and clinical training, she undertook a clinical postdoctoral fellowship in perinatal psychology at the University of Michigan, Department of Psychiatry (APA accredited). The foursome from New York, which saw their second album Contra top the US charts, are headlining several festivals this summer, including Latitude.Robert Johnson, associate editor of the fashion magazine GQ, said: "Preppy is back. Ms Birnbach has been working on the sequel, which will have a 150,000 first print run, for some time.As well as unveiling the new "Prep Manifesto" it will update aspiring prepsters on how to live in a new century, with sections on how to choose an avatar and the etiquette of texting at the table (and the answer is: don't!).Alice Richardson, who blogs about preppy things at the blogspot Summer is a Verb, credited the wider Eighties revival with helping to reignite the prep school look."The Eighties were all about being preppy. Plus prep has a 'quality over quantity' mentality that is a welcome shift after the past several decades of gluttony. By the time Paltrow was blubbering on stage and accepting her Academy Award, Lauren's fast growing apparel company was registering annual sales gains of 16 percent followed the next year by a gain of 13 percent. Lauren could do no wrong, it seemed. But that was the last year the Bronx born designer would dress a Best Actress Oscar winner.. In other, more detailed coverage of Stephen Bannon, there were various perspectives represented. You dismiss the words of those you see as inherently biased. That is your judgement, but it does not invalidate the role and purpose of quoting from the head of the Anti Defamation League as well as other thinkers and critics.

[jordoalejandro]

The Sixth Annual List of TV Shows I Saw the Past Year

The list kind of caught me off-guard this year. A little while ago I was thinking, “I should check out when the Emmys are” and then I did and it was a few weeks away and then I thought, “Oh dang, better get going on that.”

This is a shorter list than previous years. It’s in part because, again, I forgot the Emmys were coming up and so I just didn’t watch the new seasons of a handful of shows and also, I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t watch that many shows period. I was probably doing other stuff. It’s none of your business.

So anyway, I eventually got going on the list and now here it is: the list of shows I’ve watched since-ish the last Emmy Awards (9/19/21).

40. Riverdale (Season 6 - 2021-2022, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 39) - I don’t know if this is the worst show I watched this year. Probably not. But that’s how it feels to me on a personal level. “Hate watching” implies you’re getting some kind of perverse joy from watching a show you think is bad. I don’t think I’m doing that here. I think I’m “disappointed watching” this. The show just feels tired. The actors feel tired. Most of them seem like they’re phoning it in. The drama feels tired. A lot of repetitive beats. A lot of dull storylines. Even the wild swings the show takes feel tired. The main cast all get superpowers this season. Sure. Why not? The show is going through the motions and I’m going through the motions watching it. Season seven will mercifully be its last. Probably a season or two or three too late but it’s the right choice.

39. The Last O.G. (Season 4 - 2021, TBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The show went through another overhaul in-between seasons. After a really bad season three, I was hoping to see some improvement but unfortunately it didn’t seem to help. The writing wasn’t as terribly broad as it was in season three, but it wasn’t good either. The storylines and jokes were way too obvious. The drama felt forced. The show as a whole came across as weirdly amateurish. The acting from the non-main characters was community theater-level. Even things like the sets, the lighting, and the camera work were all really cheap looking. The whole thing often felt like a college production class. The best parts of the season all came from what was likely Tracy Morgan improvising. He and Ryan Gaul are trying to wring laughs out of the material but you can only do so much. Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who I’ve shouted out multiple times on this blog, was again excellent. Way too strong an acting job for a show like this but she has not disappointed in anything I’ve seen her pop up in.

38. The Endgame (Season 1 - 2022, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This probably could’ve slotted in a few spots higher, just on a quality level, but it’s down here because I got so tired with its nonsense by the end of the season. It’s one of those shows where the main character villain has this insanely complicated plan with a thousand moving parts and they’re always one step ahead. Even when those types of thrillers are done well they can be exhausting to watch and stretch the boundaries of what you’re willing to logically accept. This one was not done particularly well so it mostly just turned the FBI agent protagonists into complete morons when the situation called for it. Lots of making of decisions that you as a viewer immediately know will backfire (and you usually already know how they'll backfire). A frustrating watch. The central mystery and backstory wasn’t exactly interesting either, so really what are you even getting out of this?

37. La Brea (Season 1 - 2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A mostly nonsense show. A bunch of CGI that is SyFy channel-level bad, as is most of the acting. Weirdly, not a ton actually happens on a show that is about characters being thrown back in time. Lots of uninteresting conversations and walking around, mostly, and then every now and then our heroes are attacked by a Windows XP saber-toothed tiger.

36. Welcome to Flatch (Season 1 - 2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A shockingly unfunny show. I’ve wondered this about comedies, how some of them seem incapable of even just accidentally running into something hilarious. You have all these writers and directors and actors working on this and you still go three or four episodes without a solid laugh. Not a single person pitched even an A- joke over that span. A show like this might actually be able to get away with that lack of humor if it made up for it in the story or characters. Come up with a plot that has some surprises or some heart or something. This show has just about none of it. Flat plots, flat characters. I say all of this generally. There are moments in this – which is why it’s a few spots up from the bottom of the list – where there’s a glimmer of hope. You squint and go, “Oh, okay, maybe…” So I do think there’s still some potential here for the show to be better but the writing must improve. A lot.

35. The Flash (Season 8 - 2021-2022, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 40) - Another CW show, like Riverdale, that feels like it’s limping to the finish line. A disjointed season. A lot of stuff from seasons past thrown at the wall but nothing sticking. Instead of feeling like, “Ooh, a blast from the past” it comes off more like they’re out of ideas. I think the problem is that, look: the guy’s superpower is running fast. This show is eight seasons and 170+ episodes in and though the writers have tried here and there to make the Flash have something different to do than “run faster than he’s ever run before,” at the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to. It's probably hard to keep finding new stories when that’s the core you must return to every time. At least, I assume it must be because it seems like they haven’t been able to find those new stories for several seasons now.

34. Batwoman (Season 3 - 2021-2022, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 38) - In some of Arrow’s (and to a lesser extent, Flash’s) better seasons, you forgot it was a CW show. The quality of the writing, acting, and production was good enough to do that. Batwoman, in its three seasons of existence, never got there. It frankly never got close. It started out fine-ish and got worse. The characters were not compelling, the acting was mostly sub-par, and the writing, in terms of both dialogue and plot, was almost always weak. It’s a show that didn’t know its third season would be its last but which limped to the finish line all the same. It’s become a CW tradition!

33. The Walking Dead: World Beyond (Season 2 - 2021, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: 34) - Ultimately a forgettable, disposable show. No real high points or low points in the second and final season. It was probably slightly worse than the first season just because it split up the main cast for most of it but not by a whole lot. In the end, the show ran its course, told its story, and left very little impact.

32. The Blacklist (Season 9 - 2021-2022, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 28) - Here’s how you know The Blacklist is in some trouble. In the early seasons, when an episode’s title would appear at the start of the program, it would have the name of the character on the titular Blacklist who would be the focus of the episode and then it would have their number on the list. So you would get some in the low 100-150 range and know, “Okay this is more of a weird, side villain.” Then you’d get a few in the 20-100 range and know they were a more serious foe. And then, around the end of the season, you’d start to get to the people under 20 who were like the big bads of the season or other main characters. Well, the creators of the show clearly didn’t plan for it to go on this long. They had probably put about 150 names on the list and now, almost 200 episodes into the show’s run, they’ve run through all the good numbers and have had to expand the list, putting themselves in a place where they're constantly scraping the bottom of the barrel. Every episode now starts with, like, “Bad Guy of the Week. No. 179.” or some similarly high number. It sounds very silly but it has to be this way to logically work with the show’s lore. You can’t suddenly introduce someone who’s extremely dangerous because James Spader’s know-it-all character at the center of the show would’ve placed them nearer to the top of the Blacklist. Thus, you end up with a season here that feels kind of lame. (And, by the way, it’s not going to get better on this front. You can’t invent new numbers.) Look, even trapped into this lore corner, the show could’ve written its way out. It didn’t really. It was a pretty weak season and probably an indication they’re going to need to switch some things up going forward to inject some life into this thing. (In fairness to the show, they seemed to understand this and there was some indication at the end of the season that they might be doing just that. Guess we’ll see.)

31. Bob’s Burgers (Season 12 - 2021-2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 30) - For the last few years, the show has been hovering down here on this list. It tends to reel off an excellent episode once a year, but outside of that it feels like it doesn’t have a lot of surprises left. The plots have familiar beats. The dialogue, especially, is starting to feel stale. It might have to do with the bones of the show. It’s about a pretty basic family and its stories are told in a pretty grounded way, more so than the other cartoons it shares a Sunday evening lineup with, so maybe there’s just so many places you can go with it and after a while, it feels like you’ve seen it all.

30. Abbott Elementary (Season 1 - 2021-2022, ABC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I’m shocked this show has received the level of praise and accolades that it has. As of season one, it’s a supremely average show with just a few high points. Its characters are broad, bordering on one-note caricatures. Its plots and jokes are basic, often going exactly the way you think they’re going to go. There’s definitely potential here if they can sharpen things but it’s wild to see people falling over themselves to laud what is an unremarkable workplace comedy.

29. Tales of the Walking Dead (Season 1 - 2022, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - As I’ve written before about anthology shows, they’ll really only take you as far as the story of the week connects with you. Some weeks are better, some weeks are worse. I will note that this particular show, so far, seems to have a problem getting there. Like, some of these episodes will have a good nugget of an idea (episode two being a time-loop story) but then fail to really deliver a truly satisfying episode (it doesn’t use the time-loop structure particularly well and then ends on a pretty flat note). It feels like they haven’t done a good job of figuring out how to tell a sharp story in just an hour’s time. I think this show has potential (one-off stories in the zombie apocalypse that can get really wild and weird) but it needs to figure out how to hone its storytelling to reach it.

28. Fear the Walking Dead (Season 7 - 2021-2022, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: 11) - Season six of the show ended with a bunch of bombs going off, creating a nuclear wasteland. On last year’s list, I noted this set up an intriguing seventh season. I’m here to report it was not as intriguing as I’d hoped. It honestly felt like the show just got away from the producers. They wanted to pit main characters against one another but couldn’t kill them so a lot of the season became this back and forth dance where characters would fight and yell at each other and then retreat and do it again an episode or two later. Unclear character motivations. Janky plots. A real disjointed season. The show ultimately did kill off quite a few characters by the end of the season which is probably a good thing. It’ll make it easier to do another hard-ish reset. This show has gone through one before and been made better for it. I think that can be the case here.

27. Ghosts (Season 1 - 2021-2022, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A fine freshman season for Ghosts with a handful of solid episodes and a few above-average ones. It’s not a particularly funny show. Maybe a couple laughs throughout the whole thing, but it will occasionally nail a story and show off some surprising depth. Still, I do wish it was funnier. It’s in love with the joke of the main girl who can hear the ghosts responding to something one of the ghosts said and then scrambling to cover up when a person who can’t see the ghosts goes “Excuse me?” It also particularly likes having the ghosts yell continuously at someone, trying to get them to hear them even though they’ve been dead for centuries and know they cannot be heard. They keep yelling though, because the writers find it funny when the main girl snaps at them and, once again, has to weakly explain to someone who can’t see or hear the ghosts why she yelled. They overused these joke setups to the point of embarrassment. The show also has another problem: its whole concept is that this couple obtains a mansion deep in the woods and then starts seeing and interacting with the ghosts that are stuck there. Something like 80-90% of the show takes place in said mansion in the woods. This leads to plot after plot of some guest character randomly visiting. You really quickly start seeing the sitcom writing gears turning underneath (“Don’t forget, my boss is coming to stay the weekend.” “I can’t believe your sister showed up uninvited!” etc. etc.). This is coming off more negatively than I feel about the show. I’m sort of neutral about it. I’d like to see where it goes and if it can improve, but I am worried about these things I mentioned. They could turn this into a very grating show very quickly.

26. Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (TV Film - 2021, The Roku Channel) (Last year’s ranking: 32) - Listen, should this have been on the Movies I Saw list? I guess? It's not really a movie. It's more of a TV show holiday special. And really what it was was a sort of pilot for the Roku Channel to see if there was value in trying to produce more episodes of this show. So in this increasingly blurred area between TV and film, I’m calling it TV. Also, it just felt like TV. It was like a decent two-part Christmas episode of this show, so that’s why it’s in this post and that’s why it’s landed here on this list. Sue me.

25. The Simpsons (Season 33 - 2021-2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 23) - I’ll pass on writing too much about the 33rd season of The Simpsons. I’ll just note it was a decent season, with the high point being a two-part homage to Fargo that was a lot of fun (33.6 and 33.7 - "A Serious Flanders Parts 1 & 2").

24. Snowpiercer (Season 3 - 2022, TNT) (Last year’s ranking: 21) - Snowpiercer had an alright season though I do think it’s reaching the end of the line (pun absolutely and thoroughly intended). It’s been renewed for a fourth and final season and that feels right. It’s been three seasons of basically battling back and forth for control of the train and it’s starting to get a little tired. They do a decent job of flipping the script every now and then and keeping the show fresh enough to be enjoyable, but there’s probably only so many times you can do that.

23. The Walking Dead (Season 11A - 2021-2022, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: 29) - It’s not the most inspired season The Walking Dead has done, but it’s pretty good overall. It has dipped its storytelling toe into classism in a post-apocalypse high society (what seemed like a utopia has a dark underside! whoa!) and it’s like: do we have to? Aren’t there enough shows already doing this in some form or another? The Walking Dead has always worked better as more of a survivalist story. It’s dirtier. And it has zombies. I would’ve preferred that but this is, like I said, pretty good overall still.

22. The Great North (Season 2 - 2021-2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 24) - Solid sophomore season. I don’t have a ton to add. It’s pretty comfortable in its role already.

21. Duncanville (Season 3 - 2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 22) - I’d come to enjoy this show. I think it was starting to find its groove. At times, its tone and humor reminded me a little bit of one of my favorite animated shows ever, The Critic. Duncanville wasn’t entirely close, in terms of consistent quality, but there were moments where I saw it. Anyway, the show got canceled. (Maybe. They’re going to put the remaining completed episodes on Hulu and see if Hulu has interest picking it up for more but I’m expecting it’ll probably join the graveyard of so many other shows that went unsaved by a streamer.)

20. 9-1-1: Lone Star (Season 3 - 2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 13) - I like most of the characters on this show so that keeps me interested, even when things get pretty silly.

19. CSI: Vegas (Season 1 - 2021, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The original CSI was always solid as a crime procedural but was particularly good at creating likable characters. This reboot/sequel series isn’t quite there yet but shows some promise. It did a fine job with the crime stories, but the new characters were just alright. It was a smart move to bring William Petersen back as he injected immediate likability, but he only joined for a one season arc and won’t be returning for season two. The success of the show is going to rest on how well they can continue to flesh out the new characters now that he’s gone.

18. Impeachment: American Crime Story (Season 3 - 2021, FX) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It certainly has its moments, and it picked up momentum as the season went on, but I do think there was just not quite enough meat on the bones for the full 10 episodes. Strong acting performances.

17. Family Guy (Season 20 - 2021-2022, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 18) - Good year for Family Guy. No real stinkers, though nothing that really stood out as exceptional either. Lots of average to pretty good episodes, which is a nice quality level to maintain for 20 shows, at least.

16. American Dad! (Season 19A - 2022, TBS) (Last year’s ranking: 9) - This show aired the first eight episodes of this season in January and just aired the ninth episode of season 19 this past week. So I guess I’m just reviewing the first eight episodes of the season, which I’ve dubbed season 19A, and I’m here to report: they were good.

15. Ms. Marvel (Season 1 - 2022, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Good humor and characters. Clever visuals. Decent action sequences. Probably the one knock is that it was trying to show off so many aspects of Pakistani Muslim culture throughout that a lot of times it came off a little too much like a Wikipedia article on the subject. The dialogue was so clearly written to give the viewer cultural information that it came off extremely unnatural and pulled you out of things.

14. Archer (Season 12 - 2021, FXX) (Last year’s ranking: 25) - Another strong season for Archer. I mentioned last year that they returned the show to its spy roots and I think it’s been a positive move. They’re only doing eight episodes a year now and it’s back in their comfort zone so they can focus on what they do well and put out good episode after good episode.

13. Legends of Tomorrow (Season 7 - 2021-2022, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 15) - Remember what I wrote about Batwoman? How you never forgot it was a CW show? The same could be said for Legends of Tomorrow, but in a good way. Low budget, silly concept, sort of no reason to exist. And yet, basically from around season three on, everyone in the cast and crew realized that that CW-ness of it all freed them up to do whatever the hell they wanted. The show took big swings – sometimes missed, often landed – but they were never afraid to go for the wildest thing they could think of. Very few shows on the basic broadcast channels do that and I’ll miss this one because of it.

12. Animal Kingdom (Season 6 - 2022, TNT) (Last year’s ranking: 10) - I’ll miss this show, too. For me, it was the perfect summer show. Fun escapism, a great vibe. This is the exact kind of show you want 10-13 episodes of from late May through August. As for season six of this show, though? Last year, after a somewhat weaker fifth season I predicted a very good final season. And well… look, this final season was fine. It was probably my least favorite of all the seasons but it was fine. I enjoyed it for the most part but ultimately, it felt uninspired. Let me get spoilery and dive deep into it for a little here. So the thing is: this show, for its first four seasons, was really about Ellen Barkin’s character Smurf. She was the matriarch of this crime family and her extremely complicated relationship with her sons and grandson was the primary driving force of this show. What was being set up through the early seasons was the final clash between Smurf and her grandson J. It was pretty clear -- because this was a crime show and crime shows all sort of head towards the same bleak ending -- that things would get bad and bloody and the empire would fall and the only question would be who would survive in the end. But then something interesting happened. Smurf was killed off in the penultimate episode of season four. (From what I can tell, this was more a personnel-based decision rather than a plot-based one.) And then another interesting thing happened. The episode after Smurf’s death was fascinating. It wasn’t a revolutionary episode but the vibe was totally different. It was like a cloud had been lifted. Smurf had been this domineering, abusive presence in all these characters’ lives for so long and for the first time, they were free of her. And you saw hints in that episode that maybe these characters might be able to change course. That the show might be able to explore what it would be like to get out from under her shadow and try to build their own lives (while still doing fun stuff like heists and what have you). Season five kind of built on this idea, but you could tell it was struggling a little bit with what to do without Smurf as the big bad at the core of it. And season six was kind of a mess in a similar sense. It spent a lot of time sort of searching for stuff to do. There were a lot of subplots for the majority of the early part of season six that never really paid off and, in retrospect, now feel like they were killing time until we got to the endgame of the season and of the show. And what was that endgame? Basically what it always had been. That's really the most disappointing thing. That after everything, it came back to J needing revenge against a woman who’s been dead for a while. Of course, it’s hard to write out a satisfying plot revolving around getting revenge on a dead person, so the writers had J instead turn his vengeful eye towards Smurf’s sons, essentially for not standing up to her in their youth. They were victims of her abuse, too. That’s something the show showed us multiple times while she was alive and weirdly, drove home even harder with flashbacks after her character was dead. And yet the writers chose to lean back into the most obvious ending. One that felt like it was outlined in season one. For me, if you’re going to do something so bold as to kill off the main villain of the show in season four of six, you have to be willing to adjust. To change things and explore new paths and new endings. By not doing that, by sticking with what was likely the original ending, it made basically everything we’ve seen since Smurf’s death feel pointless. Why did we go through any of this? Why not just end the show at season four then? I want to stress again: I didn’t even hate this season. It more or less worked. But I think I’m just disappointed. This show had always done a good job of surprising me. Of swerving when I didn’t expect it. And for its big finale, it rode right along the rails to an inevitable, unsurprising finish. 

11. The Book of Boba Fett (Season 1 - 2021-2022, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - There’s some fun stuff in here and certainly some wonkiness. It’s weirdly more The Mandalorian season 2.5 than its own separate thing. It’s like if a TV show took four episodes in the middle of the season and followed a side character for a while, which I guess is the sort of experimental thing you can do in the age of streaming. In that sense, it’s certainly not my favorite season of The Mandalorian, but entertaining nonetheless.

10. Mr. Mayor (Season 2 - 2022, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 7) - This was a very funny show and I was really enjoying it which meant it was only a matter of time until it was canceled. It felt like it had a lot of life left in it and it’s a real shame that it’s already gone.

9. Love, Victor (Season 3 - 2022, Hulu) (Last year’s ranking: 8) - Love, Victor is another show, like Animal Kingdom, that had a messy final season. Also, like Animal Kingdom, I enjoyed it anyway. I can just also acknowledge that it was a bit of a mess. For the first five or six episodes this year, everything was rolling along like a normal season, and then, sort of suddenly, in the last couple of episodes, everything picks up the pace to an extreme level. Plots are wrapped up, characters break up and get together with other people, big life decisions are made, and then the show kind of just ends. I have no real knowledge of the situation, but seasons one and two had ten episodes apiece and season three had eight. My guess is that the producers were told late in the process that season three was the end and they needed to wrap things up, so they tried to do that as quickly as possible in the remaining episodes they had. And it wraps up fine – the characters all sort of sprint to their satisfying endpoints – but you definitely don’t get a lot of time to catch your breath as it does.

8. American Auto (Season 1 - 2021-2022, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Created by the same guy who created Superstore and it has a lot of that show’s DNA in it. Not that it’s particularly original DNA. It’s a workplace comedy. But this is a good one. It performed well right out of the gate and had a couple of really excellent episodes in its first season.

7. Our Flag Means Death (Season 1 - 2022 - HBO Max) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - A delightful comedy that had a surprising amount of layers to it. You think it’s going to be a silly pirate show but it unfolds into this unexpectedly sweet love story. Great characters.

6. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Miniseries - 2022, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Like The Book of Boba Fett, there’s definitely a little wonkiness to this, but there’s a lot of excellent stuff as well. It’s great to see Ewan McGregor back in this role and he does a wonderful job with it. Really strong finish.

5. Only Murders in the Building (Season 2 - 2022, Hulu) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - It’s fun enough just watching Steve Martin and Martin Short play off of each other and do their thing. It’s even better when you add Selena Gomez, who is, weirdly, a fantastic third person in this grouping. It’s even better when you add in a compelling mystery at the core of the season. This is a cleverly written show with a fun cast of characters and a surprising bit of humanity as well.

4. Moon Knight (Miniseries - 2022, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - First off, Oscar Isaac is so good at the center of this. He plays multiple characters in this and each one has his own charm. The show itself is a real ride. It’s only six episodes but it reinvents itself like three times throughout. It’s funny, it’s trippy and mind-bending, it has solid action pieces. If there’s one knock against it, the ending is fairly weak. It’s a shame it couldn’t really stick the landing, but what came before was very strong and that’s why it’s up here.

3. Succession (Season 3 - 2021, HBO) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I’d been meaning to catch up on this show for a while and finally did and it is as good as everyone says. So sharply written. Great score. Fantastic acting from the entire cast.

2. Hawkeye (Miniseries - 2021, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The MCU’s Die Hard. It’s six lean episodes that are all a ton of fun. The heroes are great, they have plus chemistry and play off each other well. The villains are unique. The action scenes are excellently done. The dialogue is strong. There are some fun twists and turns. It’s not the most groundbreaking show but it just delivers episode after episode and I enjoyed it immensely. 

1. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (Season 1 - HBO) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I love what this show did with the sports drama. It understood that the story it was telling, about the 1980s Showtime Lakers, had all these personalities that were larger than life, so it decided to tell the story like that. Go bigger than big. Everything about this is going for it. It’s shot and edited over the top. The plots are exaggerated versions of what happened. The acting is big. John C. Reilly is doing an amazing job as Jerry Buss but there’s great acting from just about the whole cast.

I do feel like it’s almost a little unfair to have so many Disney+ miniseries near the top of the list. They have huge budgets and only have to support six episodes versus twenty or so. I should probably have some kind of weighted system or something to balance that out but that’s way too much math so I’m not going to do that.

Enjoy the Emmys.

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Read More:

Annual Lists of TV Shows I Saw the Past Year

[your-dietician]

What will ESPN’s coverage of the NHL look like next season?

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/nhl/what-will-espns-coverage-of-the-nhl-look-like-next-season/

What will ESPN’s coverage of the NHL look like next season?

The network’s coverage starts with the July 21 Seattle expansion draft, hosted by Chris Fowler on ESPN2. John Buccigross will host the NHL Draft two days later. Those shows will be produced by NHL Network.

When Gross spoke over the phone this past week, ESPN (which reportedly paid $410 million a year for seven years of NHL rights) and Turner ($225 million a year over the same period) still hadn’t divvied the games. The NHL had yet to release its 2021-22 schedule. Its puck- and player-tracking data has not seen the light of day.

“One thing we’re trying to get our arms around is what analytics teams and coaches use to showcase in our game coverage, our studio coverage,” Gross said. “Camera positions is another thing we’re looking at, talking to the league to see how we can showcase and document the games.”

Strategy and speed are the buzzwords Gross hears in his daily conversations with NHL people. Capturing both, while serving hard-core fans, hooking viewers from the massive pool of casual sports viewers who don’t give hockey much thought, attracting diverse genders and backgrounds . . . all are among Gross’s concerns.

“There has to be a level of entertainment without it being forced,” he said. “There’s really nothing worse on TV than forced fun. We have to find our spots, when we get [Chris] Chelios and [Mark] Messier together, who have a relationship. We’ll mix and match with other folks.”

Chelios and Messier, along with Steve Levy, will likely work the major events. “We know how that works,” Gross said. Hearing the two Hall of Famers, owners of some sharp elbows, chime in on player safety decisions should be interesting.

While he may not be hockey’s answer to Charles Barkley, Chelios does seem like a straight shooter. In a phone call, he acknowledged he wasn’t looking for a gig when he reached out to ESPN after the announcement. He was calling as a dad, hoping that his daughter, Lightning TV reporter Caley Chelios, was on the network’s radar.

“I like to think I’ll call it like it is,” said Chelios, 59, “Even though it’s a little different than when I played, hockey’s hockey.”

Messier, Chelios, Hilary Knight, Ray Ferraro, Brian Boucher, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall were among the first names Gross mentioned when speaking about his roster, but a lineup has yet to be solidified. He noted that women will be featured prominently in on-air roles.

The list of local connections is long, from Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.), A.J. Mleczko (Nantucket/Harvard), former Red Sox play-by-play man Sean McDonough (Boston), Buccigross (who has Boston roots), Rick DiPietro (Winthrop/Boston University), ex-Boston College Eagles Blake Bolden and Bob Wischusen, and Emily Kaplan, a former Globie.

Gross said another fan favorite from the past, play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne, remains an option. He spoke with the agent for Thorne, 73, this past week.

“We’re not done yet,” Gross said. “We want to see what the schedule looks like, and what other decisions we have to make. We still have time.”

What’s the game-changing idea that will separate ESPN? It won’t be glow pucks and robots (fun as they were for younger fans in the ’90s). What’s hockey’s version of the K-Zone?

“Some people thought the first-and-10 line would be too intrusive,” Gross mused. “Now you can’t really watch a game without it.”

AWARD SEASON

One voter’s ballot in depth

Connor McDavid became the first unanimous MVP since Wayne Gretzky in 1982, collecting all 100 first-place votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy.DARRYL DYCK/Associated Press

I consider it a privilege to vote on year-end NHL awards as part of my duties with the Professional Hockey Writers Association. I’m not alone. My peers and I want to get it right.

When it came to this season’s MVP, I believe we did.

Connor McDavid earned all 100 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy, becoming the second unanimous MVP ever (Wayne Gretzky, 1982). McDavid’s 105 points in 56 games goes down as one of the most dominant seasons in league history. He was playing at a different speed than everyone else.

In the voting bloc — trimmed from about 175 to 100 members, and dispersed regionally to address imbalances created by the divisional-only schedule — we saw some refreshingly progressive thinking, and as always, some strange calls. One Edmonton writer voted McDavid’s teammate, Leon Draisaitl, second for the Selke. Draisaitl made strides this season, but it would be generous to call him an above-average defensive forward, much less elite.

In this space last year, I delved into my methodology, which blends in-person viewings, video study, and number-crunching. Obviously this season, I relied more on the latter two. I was among the few beat writers who traveled all season, but I only watched the East Division up close.

My ballot, and some quick takes:

Hart Trophy — 1. McDavid; 2. Auston Matthews; 3. Nathan MacKinnon; 4. Aleksander Barkov; 5. Brad Marchand.

Relatively easy calls. McDavid was incredible, and the other four were the driving forces on good teams. Marchand was ranked as high as No. 2 on six ballots.

Norris Trophy — 1. Adam Fox; 2. Cale Makar; 3. Charlie McAvoy; 4. Dougie Hamilton; 5. MacKenzie Weegar.

A youth movement, and an ECAC/Hockey East top three. Makar (UMass) missed 12 games, or 21 percent of the season, leaving the door open for Fox (Harvard), who was the Rangers’ MVP in his second season. McAvoy (BU) might be the best five-on-five defender in the game. Weegar opened eyes after Aaron Ekblad’s injury. Eleven blue liners earned top-three votes. Victor Hedman was down-ballot for me, after an injury-plagued regular season. Don’t ask me why someone gave Kris Letang a first-place vote. Fun fact: Fox is the first player of Jewish descent to win a major NHL award.

Calder Trophy — 1. Kirill Kaprizov; 2. Jason Robertson; 3. Alex Nedeljkovic; 4. Josh Norris; 5. Igor Shesterkin.

Kaprizov (27 goals and 51 points in 55 games) was a slam dunk, though Robertson had a brief midseason run that made it interesting.

Lady Byng Trophy — 1. Jaccob Slavin; 2. Jared Spurgeon; 3. Barkov; 4. Roope Hintz; 5. Johnny Gaudreau.

I’ve said before that writers should not vote for this. Referees should. Slavin, an elite defender playing heavy minutes, committed one penalty all season (for shooting the puck over the glass). Good enough for me.

Selke Trophy — 1. Barkov; 2. Patrice Bergeron; 3. Joel Eriksson Ek; 4. Phillip Danault; 5. Joe Pavelski.

Barkov had a strong MVP case, but his 200-foot excellence was properly recognized here. Bergeron is still Bergeron. Could see Danault, after his lockdown playoffs, be front of mind for a lot of voters next season.

The PWHA does not vote on the Vezina Trophy (the general managers selected Marc-Andre Fleury), but we do pick the year-end All-Star teams. My goalies, in order, were Andrei Vasilevskiy, Fleury, and Juuse Saros. We also pick All-Rookie teams. I had Kaprizov, Robertson, and Norris as my forwards, Ty Smith and K’Andre Miller as my defensemen, and Nedeljkovic in goal.

ETC.

League will not rush to judgment

Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league is waiting for an independent review of the Blackhawks alleged cover-up of sexual abuse before proceeding.Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

The alleged cover-up of sexual assault by the Blackhawks was the leading topic in Gary Bettman’s annual pre-Stanley Cup Final news conference this past week. Rightfully so.

Bettman said the league learned of the allegations “relatively recently” and will wait for an independent review.

According to a lawsuit filed in May, a former Blackhawks player alleges he and another player were assaulted by then-video coach Brad Aldrich during the team’s 2010 championship run. The team’s leadership, which included current GM Stan Bowman, were allegedly informed of the incident by then-skills coach Paul Vincent, whom the players had told.

Aldrich later worked at a high school in Michigan, where he was convicted of sexual assault involving a student. He is now on Michigan’s sex offender registry.

Multiple ex-Blackhawks, including Nick Boynton, Daniel Carcillo (then with the Flyers), and Brent Sopel, spoke out this past week. One unnamed player told The Athletic that “every guy on the team knew.” Captain Jonathan Toews took issue with that, telling that outlet he didn’t hear about the allegations until the end of that summer. He said he couldn’t say for sure if the team “mishandled” the situation.

Bettman, a former lawyer, pumped the brakes. “Let us see what the investigation reveals, and then we can figure out what comes next,” he said. “I think everyone is jumping too far, too fast. This is going to be handled appropriately and professionally, and done right.”

Let’s hope so.

Beijing Olympics not a given

Commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL has concerns over the feasibility of sending players to the Olympics next winter.Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Later in his Q&A, Bettman shared the league’s “real concerns” over whether it was “sensible” to have a two-week shutdown for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Wait, what?

After sitting out 2018 — and watching interest in Olympic hockey wane — the NHL and NHLPA last summer collectively bargained to participate in the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympics, pending further agreement with both parties, the IIHF, and IOC. But there is no plan yet.

COVID-19 variants remain a worry, and NBC isn’t likely to lobby on the NHL’s inclusion following the expiration of the TV deal. The NHL hopes to release its 2021-22 schedule shortly after the Cup Final.

“Time is running very short,” Bettman said, which came as disappointing news to Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman.

“The Olympics is one of the biggest dreams of mine and I haven’t been able to participate in one. This might be the last chance I get. That sucks to hear,” said Hedman, who was left off Team Sweden in 2014. “When you get an opportunity to represent your country on the biggest stage, it’s one of those things that you’ll probably never forget. For me, it’s obviously something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life and something I want to do before I hang up my skates.”

Pride working on title defense

The Boston Pride, two-time Isobel Cup winners, are preparing a title defense for 2021-22.Mary Schwalm/Associated Press

The NWHL’s Boston Pride are deep into an Isobel Cup summer, hauling the trophy from New England lake houses to the Grand Canyon.

As he preps for a title defense, coach Paul Mara is playing his cards close. After a few defections, he’s using his newfound salary-cap space — the league doubled the ceiling to $300,000 — to bring in some outside help.

“Working on a few things,” he said.

The NWHL is feeling momentum entering its seventh season. An influx of sponsorship dollars, visibility from its Isobel Cup playoffs broadcast on NBCSN, and a lot of player raises have elevated the mood.

Since last month, the four franchises under league control — the Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, and Minnesota Whitecaps — were sold to private owners, making it a league of six independent clubs. Expansion is on the horizon, with Montreal a primary target.

Also notable: This past week’s draft, which was streamed on Twitch, included appearances from a range of pro sports personalities, including NHL league and team executives, and USA Hockey reps. The NWHL hasn’t always had such vocal support.

For all the growth, players aren’t yet earning a living wage. Contracts are yearly. Outside opportunities create a talent drain.

The Pride lost president Hayley Moore to the AHL (vice president of hockey operations), replacing her with 1998 US Olympian Colleen Coyne. They are searching for a GM, after Karilyn Pilch this past week signed on with the Chicago Blackhawks’ scouting and player development department.

They also need a few good forwards. Mary Parker, Carlee Turner, and Lexie Laing departed for job and school reasons. Czech standout Tereza Vanisova signed with Leksands IF in Sweden, which will better help her participate in a demanding Olympic training schedule.

League MVP Jillian Dempsey, recovered from shoulder surgery, returns with All-Star linemates McKenna Brand and Christina Putigna, the No. 1 defense pair of Kaleigh Fratkin (two-time NWHL Defender of the Year) and Mallory Souliotis, and netminders Lovisa Selander and Victoria Hanson. That crew, plus whomever Mara can lure to town, should keep the Pride near the top of the standings.

Unlike last season, when the Pride got a boost from No. 1 overall pick Sammy Davis (BU) and six drafted rookies, the draft won’t have a major impact. Because they lost their 2021 first- and second-round picks when they traded up to select Davis, and dealt their third-rounder to Buffalo for future considerations, the Pride picked in the fourth and fifth rounds (Weston’s Finley Frechette and Beverly’s Abby Nearis, both forwards).

The NWHL’s player pool was thinned after the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility, leading many of the top draft-eligible players to return to school. Because of that, Boston isn’t the only team that believes next year’s draft will be loaded.

Loose pucks

Bruce Cassidy (left) has been promoting from within, with assistant coach Jay Pandolfo (center) leaving for Boston University.Winslow Townson/Associated Press

The Bruins have promoted from within of late, calling up coaches from Providence and the player development ranks. It makes sense that fourth-year P-Bruins coach Jay Leach would replace Jay Pandolfo on Bruce Cassidy’s staff, but player development staffers Chris Kelly and Jamie Langenbrunner will also get a look. Like Pandolfo, they were two-way forwards with long NHL résumés . . . As for Pandolfo, the move to BU gives him a shorter path to a head coaching gig. Albie O’Connell, who is entering the final year of his deal, has had a spotty run . . . Bruins strength and conditioning assistant Kenny Whittier also made the move to BU . . . A few first-timers joined NHL benches this past week, including two ex-players, Alex Tanguay (Detroit assistant) and Tuomo Ruutu (Florida assistant), and André Tourigny (Arizona coach). The latter move was particularly interesting, for a league that often recycles head coaches . . . Toews, after a year out of the spotlight with a mysterious illness, is back on the ice. He posted a video message to fans after a practice, saying doctors told him he has “chronic immune response syndrome,” a catch-all term for constant, debilitating stress reactions. Still dealing with a few symptoms, the Blackhawks’ captain believes the condition was brought on by a nasty bout with COVID-19 in February 2020, before the pandemic hit in full; the toll of 13 NHL seasons; and the year-round hockey training schedule he’s followed since he was a young teenager. “I think there’s a lot of things that just piled up,” he said, “where my body just fell apart.” He hopes to return in October . . . Edmonton trimmed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’s $6 million cap hit, but took a beating on term, when it locked up the No. 2 center to an eight-year, $41 million deal with a full no-move clause. He will be 36 when it expires. “No contract is perfect,” GM Ken Holland acknowledged . . . Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon’s take on game jersey ads, which are coming to the NHL sooner rather than later: “If we look like Formula One or NASCAR, that’d be fine with me.” . . . Glad to see college athletes everywhere get a chance to make some cash off their name and image, following the Supreme Court’s hammering of the paternalistic NCAA. A small step, long overdue.

Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.

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[yvonneconnelltotalimagery]

The Ghd Story

Nothing is known of the inventor of the iconic hair straighteners / hair iron, except where they were discovered, South Korea by British born Martin Penny.

Martin Penny had many years’ experience in the Hair industry. Owning 3 salons and working as a stylist / manager who employed over 100 staff , before moving on to hair and beauty product distribution, hence his trip to South Korea.

·         In 2000 Founded by Martin Penny the brand ghd© was born. Development of GHD hair straightening iron with the advanced technology revolutionised hair styling forever.  (Martin Penny; 1956  -  2019)

·         By 2001, Martin had enrolled 2 fellow hairdressing partners Gary Douglas and Robert Powls into this new venture. The 3 entrepreneurs collaborated and bought the rights from the Korean inventor.  They recognised the potential of the product that cut the time and effort needed to achieve amazing results at for users both in salon and at home. The foundling company based itself in Leeds.

In the two years that followed, word of mouth was the only advertising. The company’s one product boomed in growing sales both in the UK and the rest of the world , it’s believed net worth of £12million against the projected £2- £3 m.

 Before long ghd’s were everywhere. Featured in glossy magazines, they became the  must have beauty accessory of celebrities. Endorsements including Jennifer Anniston, Victoria Beckham, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltro and Madonna boosted the brands popularity.

·         2003 ghd© launched its first TV advertising campaign.  Sponsoring “The Salon”. ( A British reality show.) More ads would follow, some of which quite controversial.

·         2004 saw the launch of an annual  *Pink limited edition*  ghd with every set sold £10 is donated, recent total has raised approximately £2.5 million for Breakthrough Cancer Charity.      

·         2019 saw  Tattoo artist Davis Allen’s design decorated irons raise $1 million for Breast Cancer charities worldwide. Other charities also benefit from donations.

·         2005  The Sunday Times, listed ghd as the world’s fastest growing after an intensive worldwide marketing campaign helped by the genius association to global cancer charities.

·         2006 saw the Jemella Group  purchased by Lloyds Development Capita for £55million and was sold on just 11 months later to Montagu Private Equity for an incredible £160million.

·         2009 a famous series of advertisements titled 'Twisted Fairy tales', with story characters such as Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella with the tagline "You can do anything with your hair".  Saw far reaching success.

·         2011 ghd became  is the first ever hair tool sponsor for a Victoria's Secret fashion show. An annual event that attracts a huge audience.

·         Today and the future………

Ghd continue to grow and develop new products using new technology exclusively  in their own research and development labs. Tthey continue to come up with many innovative products some of which listed here from  in their Innovative Styling Portfolio

·         ghd launches into new categories: hairdryers in 2012 with ghd air®, followed by curling in 2014 with ghd curve®.

·         Our core styler technology performance is enhanced via tri-zone® technology, ultimately creating our most premium styler, ghd platinum®.

·         New dual-zone technology introduced and our ghd gold® styler reimagined

 The future of ghd sees no limits as it has went from an  International to Global successful brand sensation

 Some photos from past advertising campaigns I like. 

Every girl want to be a princess deep down i think. 

https://www.ft.com/content/de72f4f0-0177-11e0-9b29-00144feab49a

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/ghd-cinderella-rkcr-y-r/1036079

And the confidence a Good Hair Day can give. 

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/ghd-launches-twisted-fairytales-ad-campaign/964943

Even shorter hair can look good. 

https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ghd-scarlett-collection-campaign

a star studded night out maybe ? 

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/10/26/ghd-appoints-threepipe-reply-integrated-christmas-gifting-campaign

Know what you want and get it. 

http://www.loveretouch.com/gallery.php?series=1711769

back to the theatre for a first class performance. 

https://www.ghdhair.com/ghd-platinum-plus-hub

You can have this dramatic chance of image too with Ghd’s products. tutorials available from the official site; 

https://abancommercials.com/uk-ad/22228/ghd-ghd-rise-professional-hot-brush-tutorial-root-lift-waves-advert

This years *Pink* advertising for breast cancer charities. 

Take Control .  

https://abancommercials.com/uk-ad/21375/ghd-take-control-now-ghd-pink-advert

Story References;

https://www.ghdhair.com/about-us/the-history-of-ghd

http://www.ghdcompare.com/content/16/history-of-ghd

https://ghds.weebly.com/a-brief-history-of-ghd.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Hair_Day#cite_note-trendluxury-7    

[brianjpatterson]

SPOTLIGHT: My relationship to failure

If you’re just joining Spotlight, then this is my personal journal of my personal journey as a performer. It’s a kind of way for me to look back on all of my experiences, and lessons I’ve learned, while simultaneously sharing what I’ve learned with you. Disclaimer: The word PERSONAL was utilized twice in the first sentence. Therefore, this is not the gospel or the truth, it’s just me sharing MY experiences in an effort to assist, if possible, in other people’s discovery (end disclaimer). Today, I’m taking a small break from my A+B=C method which focuses on “Brian’s B’s” (Being, Behavior, and Business), to talk about something that I think we all encounter….FAILURE.

I post a lot about success and achievement in this blog site in the form of strategies I have developed, and even my own wins. Recently, I had been feeling like a very big failure. Therefore, today, I’m going to talk to you about my failures. My failures far outperform my successes, and couple of weeks ago I was feeling out of sorts, and had been feeling that way for about a week or so. The day I started writing this, I ended up going to the gym, doing a Zumba class, and afterwards listening to Jem & the Holograms’ “We Can Change It” on repeat (because it’s one of the most positive and uplifting songs I’ve ever heard…Not only that, but it takes me back to a much simpler time in my life, and always puts a smile on my face). So there I was listening to Jem, while doing what I call a “White Boy Workout”. You know, the kind where you lift the heaviest weights possible and angry grunt a lot. White boys, please don’t be offended. As the late, great Joan Rivers said, “It’s a fucking joke!” lol :) At any rate, I often do that kind of workout when I’m letting off steam, and I REALLY needed to let off some steam because I was feeling like a complete and total failure. Why? Well, let me give you some details to set up my current situation. It started with a list of unfortunate events at the end of 2016. First, the big named clients for whom I normally worked, and who provided me with over 70% of my annual income, were not hiring for 2017. I also found out in mid-2017 that they weren’t going to be hiring for the second year in a row. Second, my assistance from said jobs had expired at the end of 2017. Third, my agent, who provided the remainder/other portion of my income (and with whom I’d been signed for the last nine years), decided to shut down the agency and close their doors for good. Fourth, around this time multiple members of my family were contacting me in a near desperate state because my other parent was also experiencing what were percieved as a potential major health concern. Fifth, and last but not least, my living situation had become even more toxic…again (that’s an entire essay in itself, and one I’ll save for another day). The culmination of all these things forced me to make a very big change in my life, which was to move from the nest I’d created for myself over the last 14 years in San Francisco, and try a new market. So I packed up my things, and headed for Los Angeles to live with my adoptive brother. Now I am in a new market, where no one knows me, and no one knows my work history, talents, or my work ethic. Not to mention, I had to utilize my savings and have also accumulated a bit of debt over the past two years just trying to survive and stay afloat. This brings me to my situation from a few weeks ago where I was feeling kind of lost and alone, and without any income or upcoming work. For all intents and purposes, I’m essentially completely starting over in my life in nearly every way. Needless to say, I have been feeling like a GIANT failure. In addition, after reviewing my annual business plan only days before, I reviewed my list of goals. By nature they should take me to the next level of my career, but I am now living in a place where I’m a nobody and can’t see how to achieve these new goals. This for me highlighted the fact that I was once again a giant failure in life…period. Yet, there’s that word ‘once again’. I have been here before, and I’m willing to bet that many others have either felt like this, or have also been in similar situations; Especially other performers. So how do I (we) transform my (our) failures into successes? I’m guessing the answer lies in failing some more.

FAIL MORE TO ENDURE

In a previous post, where I discussed my approach to making a living as an actor, I mention that statistically the average performer (specifically actor) only books 10% of every thing for which they might audition. Utilizing this statistic against the average day rate of pay for the market in which I lived (San Francisco), I calculated that I would need to attend approximately 25-30 auditions per month just to break even on monthly expenses. Keep in mind if you look at this another way, this would mean that I would be failing to book approximately 23-27 times EACH MONTH! That means over the last 7 years, I failed to book a job over 1,900 times. Many of them were very VERY good paying jobs that could’ve taken me many other places. To exemplify, there were approximately 4 big budget SAG national commercials in that mix, all of them paying what would have been the equivalent of my annual salary. I was placed on a hold/check avail for all of them…and I booked none of them; Failed. I won’t even go into detail about the network tv show for which I was being strongly considered. Long story short, the director received my name and resume from a mutual friend, but after reviewing my materials, he said that he “wouldn’t waste putting me in a supporting role”; Failed! Yes, that’s only a couple of examples to help illustrate how my failures have far outweighed my successes. But much like my equation for breaking even on monthly expenses while living in San Francisco, the equation for success is similar. Failing a lot ensures achieving at least 10% success from failures. So I have to go out there and fail s’more! Why? Well, first off it’s how we build durability.

The very first audition I attended was in Pittsburgh, PA and it was for a toothpaste commercial. I had just been introduced to theatre in high school, and was performing in the spring musical for the first time. I went into the audition and naturally I totally BOMBED IT! I was completely horrible and even though I felt as though I was invincible, I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job, and I knew it as soon as I left the audition room. I cried for the longest time and didn’t attend an audition again for probably a year. Which of course was next year’s school spring musical audition. While in high school I built up a small ability to endure these auditions and it got stronger and stronger each year. Cut to twenty five years later, I now find the audition process to be a normal thing. Although I still experience nerves, it’s become normal and natural for me and I’ve built up a kind of inoculation to it where I can navigate it much better. I’ve built up a durability to it. Durability is one of the coolest after effects of failing often. The more we fail, the more durable we become so that things don’t have such a crippling effect on us.

FAIL MORE TO MASTER

Another great after effect of more failures, is mastery and/or learning. For this, I always think of one example in particular. I was on set with another actor one day and he was talking about things that inspired him, and how many actors often aren’t very good in their early years. He used the example of Eva Longoria, and he claimed that she wasn’t very good during her early soap opera days. I stopped him and asked him if he knew about the conditions under which soap opera actors operate. He admitted he didn’t know, and so I told him. A lot of the time, soap opera actors are given scripts merely minutes or hours before shooting. This can also sometimes be true of many other episodic television as well. The business side of much of entertainment operates so quickly that it doesn’t always leave the adequate space or room for in depth actor preparation. Specifically soap operas. So when he saw Eva Longoria, he saw someone who was probably new to the business and hadn’t had practice operating under those kinds of circumstances. After hearing this, the actor with whom I was working, better understood the circumstances under which Eva was operating (EVERYONE has different circumstances in life, and it’s always great to keep this in mind). This was a great example of someone who failed in order to master. Once Ms. Longoria had an understanding of the system, she knew how to work with it and even began mastering it. This was evident in her work on other shows in the future as she really kicked some ass on screen!

I have failed like that in many ways. The only difference is that I used San Francisco as my training ground for a lot of it. A few of the things I was mediocre at during the beginning of my stay in SF were: acting for the camera (I started in theatre so everything started too big), TelePrompTer, stunts for camera, and voiceover. When I first began each of these I sucked ass. I was horrible, but I kept working on each of them and became good. Some came easier than others, but I knew getting good was important because by the time I got back to LA I would need to be ready and prepared to work. My previous experience of LA was that the city and entertainment industry was a business and those who were actually working wanted to work with people who could work at their level and could contribute to efficiency and profitability. That means a mastery of job skills. Right now the skill I’m learning is moving to a new market. I’m in the early phases, and I’m failing (EPICALLY) at the moment, but I’m slowly learning how to master it. After I’ve mastered it, I’ll be ready to do the next step, which I believe, is to climb that ladder of success!

FAIL MORE TO CLIMB

Once we are able to build up durability and master our skills, we can then more effectively and efficiently climb the ladder of success. The ladder of success is often a difficult climb without strength, durability, grit, thorough skills, and developed talents. Usually, when ascending any kind of ladder, each step is more and more challenging; Requiring more evolved skills and responsibilities. But know that the more you fail, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to climb faster and easier.

CONCLUSION

Personally, I work hard, which means that I also fail hard. Every time that you see one of my successes, that often (but not always) means I’ve failed exponentially just to get there. In the past, I have failed many many times. I’ve failed at auditions, I’ve failed at tasks, and I’ve even failed at achievement. Currently, I’m failing in a major way in my transition into a new market. However, failure is a natural part of the equation for success. We often think that failures are the end all and be all of our endeavors. However, that mindset prevents us from gaining many of it’s benefits. Because, in fact, the sooner we can perceive and internalize the benefits of failure, the better. The more we fail, learn from our failures, and build up our durability to failures, the sooner we can climb the ladder of success. So I invite you all to look at failure through this lens. Change your conversation about it. Because it’s then, that you can watch failure work in your favor!

[jordoalejandro]

The Fifth Annual List of TV Shows I Saw the Past Year

This is another weird year for the list.

For one, a handful of shows are still on some kind of COVID related delay or hiatus.

Two, I dropped quite a few shows. Some I just bailed on because I had no patience to watch another season of them. Some shows I never got around to because I had an Apple TV+ free subscription that came with my iPhone and that ran out and I didn’t pay to renew it. (Here’s my quick review of Apple TV+: the quality of the shows is good but the quantity leaves a lot to be desired. You could probably pay for a month and binge through everything you have any interest in.)

Three, a lot of shows that I’m reviewing here have seasons that aren’t finished. They’re still going. Most are at least close to finishing. Some that have just started I’m going to wait on and review on next year’s list. But a handful of shows on this list are chugging along. I’m trying to factor that into my reviews but it's obviously a bit unfair to the shows. On the other hand, who cares?

So it’ll be a list with fewer entries, comprised of full seasons of shows and shows I watched most of. The list must happen, though. However it has to happen, it must happen.

Here’s the list of shows I’ve watched since the last Emmy Awards.

41. The Equalizer (Season 1 - 2021, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The Equalizer is a fascinating show. You know how with some shows people will say the show is fully realized from the pilot? It’s usually presented as a good thing -- a show that knew what it was from the start and executed that vision. The Equalizer is that but in a bad way. It’s a show that from the pilot has felt like it was already in its tired ninth season, trudging along, writers and actors and everyone just going through the motions because they’re trapped in their contracts. There’s nothing fresh about this. No life to it. Uninteresting plots. Weak dialogue. Characters -- both heroes and villains -- that you’ve seen a thousand times (the nerdy IT expert, the troublesome teenage child of the main character, the generic good looking older white guy boss figure, blah blah blah). A show that’s already in late-stage syndication mode.

40. The Flash (Season 7 - 2021, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 49) - Speaking of late-stage syndication mode, The Flash has been in a creative tailspin for several years now. A big part of the problem is they just have no ideas left in the tank for villains on this show. This leads to them either reusing old ones (which doesn’t have a ton of dramatic impact -- we’ve seen The Flash beat all these people before), or digging through comic canon for the ones they have left (they’ve been unused this long for a reason). The other problem is it turns out running fast as a solution to every issue gets old very quickly. The producers must have felt this, and having gotten tired of telling Barry he has to run faster than he’s ever run before, they’ve switched it up and are now telling him to love people harder than he’s ever loved them before. Beyond the structural problems, the show is just not working on a very basic level. The writing has gotten super corny. The acting seems off. They’ve introduced new characters that are not working. The Flash had my worst rated episode this year and the weird thing was, it wasn’t even a mess of an episode. Like, functionally, it worked. It went from point A to point B and all that fine. But the problem was the titular Flash took off in the first few minutes of the episode to have sex with his wife on an island (not a joke) and didn’t return until the last few minutes of the episode. In between, viewers received a very boring, very boilerplate episode of The Flash, starring one of the new side characters it’s incredibly hard to care about. And she interacted with some even more to-the-side side characters and had some relationship issues with them and on and on until they inevitably saved the day in the end and it was so dull and so pointless that it made me say out loud, “What is this? Why am I watching this? Who could possibly care about anything that is happening on screen right now?” I felt that a lot during this season of The Flash. That was the only time I felt compelled to articulate it, but I felt it a lot. And that’s not a great place to be with a show.

39. Riverdale (Season 5 - 2021, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 50) - Here’s a little insight as to how stupid Riverdale can be. Between episodes three and four of this season (episode three was what would’ve been the season finale of season 4, which was cut short by COVID so at least it's not wholly random, in fairness), Riverdale did a seven year time jump. This seven year time jump landed them in the year… 2021. They shifted everything that happened in the first four seasons of their show, including dozens upon dozens of current day pop culture references, about a decade into the past. And why did they do this? So they could change a few things and then basically keep telling the same exact stories they were telling the first four years of this show. Just stupid nonsense. Stupid nonsense all around. Which, to be fair, I actually used to look forward to from this show. I’ve argued here that it’s at its best when it’s being as stupid as possible, but this year the nonsense just doesn’t seem inspired. They’re recycling some plots. The actors seem checked out. Maybe all the years of nonsense have finally taken their toll on them.

38. Batwoman (Season 2 - 2021, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 43) - Batwoman lost its main actress in between seasons, which obviously put it at a difficult crossroads. In my opinion, the wise thing to do would have probably been to recast as best as possible and carry on. Instead, the show chose to go a different direction and cast a new person to play an entirely new character. There was maybe a way this could work, but you likely have to retool the entire show to get there. Instead, they changed nothing but the main character and inserted her into the middle of the old character’s world, forcing her to have the same supporting characters and deal with some of the same storylines the old character was dealing with. This led to a lot of story beats where new Batwoman had to interact with old Batwoman’s family. What was in season one drama between Batwoman and her sister, or her father, became drama between the new Batwoman and this crazy lady she just met, or this guy she barely knows. As you might be able to guess, this added an air of “who cares?” to the proceedings. Also, the whole season essentially became an origin story for new Batwoman, which was a problem because that’s basically what season one of the show was. It wasn't super engrossing. That said, let me put aside the issues raised there. Having to recast your main actress is obviously a tough situation. They didn’t handle it well, but it was tough. Here’s why this show is still all the way down here on the list: bad execution. Week in, week out: bad plots, bad dialogue, dumb subplots, forgettable villains. A lot of the same issues that are plaguing The Flash. The show is simply not executing. It’s like these superhero CW shows don’t know how to do writers’ rooms over Zoom.

37. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Season 2 - 2021, Freeform) (Last year’s ranking: 47) - I said last year I didn’t know if I liked this show or not. I think the fact that I’ve put it near the bottom of my list for two years in a row has answered that for me. It’s a kind of fascinating show in how, I guess… aimless it is. Floating from one scene to the next, one plot to the next, one episode to the next, no real driving force. A comedy that’s not really funny. A drama that isn’t very strong. A few good moments in a season of ten half-hour episodes. Would I have watched a third season? Yeah, probably. Not in a hate-watch way, but also not in a like-watch way. I’m glad it got canceled because it means I’m free of it. Would I recommend to other people any of the shows I’ve seen from Josh Thomas? No. Definitely not. Will I watch whatever Josh Thomas writes next? Yeah, probably. Though I can’t say why.

36. Soulmates (Season 1 - 2020, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This was a short Black Mirror-esque anthology series that ran out of interesting stories to tell surprisingly quick. Like, third episode quick. This show’s problem is that, while Black Mirror has freedom to tell lots of different stories, Soulmates is restrained by its premise: a short time into the future a company creates a test that can match you to your soulmate with 100% accuracy. It’s not a bad premise, but you can sort of imagine how it would constrain the storytelling possibilities. The test matches you with someone surprising, the test matches you with the wrong person, etc. etc. The whole thing was only six episodes and it felt repetitive even within that small amount.

35. Debris (Season 1 - 2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Debris was created by J. H. Wyman, who did a lot of work on Fringe, one of my favorite sci-fi shows ever. Unfortunately, Debris was just a pale imitation of Fringe. The characters weren’t strong enough. The ideas weren’t intriguing enough. The episodes were often flat. They just didn’t have enough action or drama or horror or twists or whatever you might be hoping for from a show like this. They’d have a lot of walking around and looking at stuff and people talking about the stuff that was happening and then they’d kind of just peter out. A real disappointment.

34. The Walking Dead: World Beyond (Season 1 - 2020, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - You know how teenagers can often be the worst characters on a TV show? How they can exist just to act bratty and make really stupid decisions? Well, imagine a whole show of that. I’m half-joking. It’s not that bad. There’s some fun stuff and it works as a companion piece in this series of shows, but for the most part, it’s a lot of watching teenagers make really stupid decisions and almost getting themselves killed.

33. Stargirl (Season 2 - 2021, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 36) - Speaking of teenagers making really stupid decisions and almost getting themselves killed... Stargirl is a bit of a strange show. It’s kind of lighthearted, but also weirdly dark (more children die in this show than died in all the other shows I watched this year combined). It has some interesting characters and some absolutely ridiculous ones. Some fun episodes, but what also feels like quite a bit of filler. It’s not bad, it’s just also not great.

32. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (Season 2 - 2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 20) - The first season of this show was about a handful of things, but the big emotional throughline was about Zoey dealing with the impending death of her father, who had been diagnosed with an incurable neurological disease. While the other plotlines in the show could be hit or miss, there was always emotional meat on that bone, so to speak. Well, minor spoiler alert I guess, but her father died at the end of the first season from the aforementioned incurable disease. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the second season of the show really laid bare how important that throughline was to the whole thing. Without it, the show felt rudderless. There were a lot of pieces of plots but nothing really anchoring them the way her father’s storyline did. Plus, there was a lot more love-triangle stuff, which wasn’t the most original, compelling plot the first season and grew even more tiresome in the second. The show sort of became like late-stage Glee for me, where I stopped caring about the plots and just listened for the songs. That more or less worked with Glee because almost all the people on that show were excellent singers. It works much less on this show because maybe (generously) half the performers are good singers.

31. MacGyver (Season 5 - 2020-2021, CBS) (Last year’s ranking: 26) - It was a pretty weak final season for MacGyver. They abandoned some interesting storylines from last season in a disappointing way. In fairness, it’s because last season got shortened by COVID and I guess for whatever reason they couldn’t find a way to pick back up where they left off. But still, they had a tough time regaining the momentum after they lost it. The cancellation was without warning from CBS, too, so there’s no real conclusion to anything. Just an average season finale that suddenly became a series finale. Tough way to go out.

30. Bob's Burgers (Season 11 - 2020-2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 38) - I was looking back at my episode ratings for this show from the last two years and realized they were pretty similar. Both last year and this year, there was only one episode per season that I thought was pretty good. There was also one episode each year I thought was awful. And then, basically, there were 21 episodes each season that were fine. Just fine. A few laughs. Nothing really engrossing. Worked well enough to keep me entertained and not much more.

29. The Walking Dead (Season 10B - 2021, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: 29) - The eleventh season of the show is currently on-going. That’ll be on next year’s list. This is just for a grouping of six episodes that aired earlier this year. They were extremely forgettable with the exception of two episodes. I enjoyed “One More” quite a bit and I really liked the Negan origin story episode: “Here’s Negan”. Probably one of the best episodes they’d done in years.

28. The Blacklist (Season 8 - 2020-2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 39) - A slight improvement for this show from last year. A handful of average episodes, a few very good ones. A really fascinating choice made at the end of the season that makes me interested in seeing what next season will be like.

27. The Moodys (Season 2 - 2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 46) - I described this show last season as “likeable if not particularly funny” and said if it was to come back, the writing would have to get sharper. That remains pretty accurate. The writing was slightly better, though not enough to make this a truly good show.

26. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Season 1 - 2021, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This show was way too overstuffed to really work well, which seems a poor choice made in the writing process. It has like a dozen different ideas it wants to touch on and doesn’t really execute any single one of them in a satisfying manner. The real shame of it is there was a good show in here if they just chose to keep things simple. The best episode by far featured Falcon and the Winter Soldier going on a mission with Baron Zemo. That was it. They went to a shady bar of villains and did some spy stuff. Blew some stuff up. Fought some bad guys. That’s the show! Sticking with a core of that and cutting the 20-something unnecessary side characters would’ve gone a long way.

25. Archer (Season 11 - 2020, FXX) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - The show returned to its spy satire roots and started clicking again. It’s not at the level of its earlier peak seasons, but it’s still reliable for some good laughs.

24. The Great North (Season 1 - 2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Solid animated comedy from two of the writers of Bob’s Burgers. It obviously borrows a lot from the style and tone of that show. I do find The Great North a little fresher. The writing is a little sharper, the stories are a little more interesting (but it also isn’t in its 11th season like Bob’s Burgers so it’s not a wholly fair comparison). It slots in nicely with the other FOX Sunday animation shows.

23. The Simpsons (Season 32 - 2020-2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 37) - I essentially write the same thing every year about The Simpsons. Some highs, some lows. I felt the quality of episodes this season, for whatever reason, was generally a little bit higher than last, thus it’s up here.

22. Duncanville (Season 2 - 2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 34) - It didn’t make the huge leap in quality I was hoping for, but it was consistently above average this season, with a couple of flashes of excellence.

21. Snowpiercer (Season 2 - 2021, TNT) (Last year’s ranking: 14) - Decent second season for this show. Started a bit slowly but picked up in the back half. Sean Bean was a good addition to the cast. If it dropped in quality from season one, it might be because I liked this show as my stupid summer show and season two aired during the winter. High possibility this affected my opinion of it.

20. Chad (Season 1 - 2021, TBS) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This isn’t a show for people who can’t handle cringe comedy. It lives there. And if the joke isn’t landing, which sometimes it doesn’t on this show, then you’re just trapped in a scene. But! But the jokes often do land, and when they do, they are very good. It’s also occasionally a touching show. The main character is a little dick, but the show also has a lot of sympathy for him -- he’s the son of immigrants trying so hard to fit in in middle school, to be what he perceives to be normal, in a battle with his own identity, in some of the most difficult years in a teen's life. You hate him but you also feel for him and want him to win. It’s a show with a little more depth than I thought it would have coming in.

19. What If…? (Season 1 - 2021, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - You know how it is with anthology shows: you win some, you lose some. The show is better at coming up with concepts than executing them, I think. Episodes feel a little rushed (generally because they’re trying to tell a movie’s worth -- or sometimes multiple movies’ worth -- of story in half an hour) and sometimes they feel like they just end because they've reached their time limit. Overall though, it’s a fun way to just try different things in the Marvel Universe.

18. Family Guy (Season 19 - 2020-2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 24) - I barely even write blurbs about Family Guy on these lists anymore. It’s very consistent. This is around where it ends up on every list.

17. Alex Rider (Season 1 - 2020, IMDbTV) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Fun fact: I watched this show as part of an online paid focus group thing. I’ll just tell you what I told the people who ran the focus group. It’s good. It’s sleek and well-made. It moves just a little too slow for a spy thriller but not to the point of being boring. The show does need a little more life though. Some more quips and liveliness. It’s pretty preposterous on a conceptual level. A teenager is recruited into MI6 to be a spy and save the world. Don’t play that too seriously. Everyone understands this is teenage James Bond, so be that. Lean into it.

16. Prodigal Son (Season 2 - 2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 28) - A fun second and final season for Prodigal Son. They only did 13 episodes for this season so they got to do a little more long term storytelling and fewer cases-of-the-week (this show handles those well anyway so not necessarily a bad thing). The bummer is that the show got canceled without much warning so they didn’t get to wrap things up, leaving on not quite a cliffhanger, but a fairly open-ended note.

15. Legends of Tomorrow (Season 6 - 2021, CW) (Last year’s ranking: 11) - The only show on the CW that seems to be in control of what it’s doing. Not as good a season as last season, but still quality work. Good characters, funny, imaginative.

14. Fargo (Season 4 - 2020, FX) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - First time on a list for Fargo since the very first TV list I wrote in 2017. An impressive hiatus. I will say, I do think this was the weakest of the four seasons of Fargo. It took way too long to get the train rolling, though when it did, it got much better and delivered four really strong episodes at the end of the season. When it’s on, Fargo can fire on cylinders in storytelling and characters and dialogue that very few shows on TV can match up with. This season’s issue was that it took far too long to be on.

13. 9-1-1: Lone Star (Season 2 - 2021, FOX) (Last year’s ranking: 35) - I've really come to enjoy this show. I think this show found a groove in season two, putting out pretty consistently above-average episodes. It still has a lot of over-the-top silliness, but the characters are strong and most of the plots work.

12. Superstore (Season 6 - 2020-2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 25) - Superstore was one of the few shows to incorporate COVID into their storylines in a natural way and manage to find humor in the situation, so bravo for both attempting that and succeeding at it. Behind the scenes, the show lost their main star, America Ferrera, at the start of the season, which should obviously have been a tough blow to take, but the rest of the ensemble stepped up and the show continued on without missing a beat in quality. Then, after filming nine episodes, they learned that this would be their final season, so the producers transitioned really well into endgame mode, crafting a strong backstretch of episodes to wrap everything up. I would guess with all the behind the scenes stuff and shooting this whole thing in the midst of a pandemic, this was the most difficult of the show’s six seasons to create. The fact that they were able to deliver such a satisfying finale through all of it is very impressive.

11. Fear The Walking Dead (Season 6 - 2020-2021, AMC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I’d say this season was not as strong as last, but I still found it very good, and generally more enjoyable in recent years than the original flavor Walking Dead. A fascinating story choice at the end of the season, setting up an intriguing seventh season.

10. Animal Kingdom (Season 5 - 2021, TNT) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Not the strongest season Animal Kingdom has had, but the show is still one of my favorites. This season is sort of about the characters searching for their identity in a new world, which is interesting in its own right but perhaps not as much as pulling off daring heists? I get the sense this season is doing some prep work in anticipation of next season, the show’s last. I’m predicting a very good final season.

9. American Dad! (Season 18 - 2021, TBS) (Last year’s ranking: 23) - A return to form for the show. Much improved over last season for me.

8. Love, Victor (Season 2 - 2021, Hulu) (Last year’s ranking: 5) - Just a minor step down in quality from the first season, I think mostly because the show lost a little focus. Season one was about Victor’s journey to self-acceptance and coming out, season two was more about dealing with the fallout from all that. There wasn’t a super-strong throughline. But still a very sweet show. Funny. Romantic. Very enjoyable.

7. Mr. Mayor (Season 1 - 2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - This show is going to be good. I’m calling it. It already had a very strong first season with one of my favorite comedic episodes of any show this year in 1.6 “Respect in the Workplace”. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock behind the scenes, a very good cast in front of the camera, this show is set up to become one of my favorites.

6. Mythic Quest (Season 2 - 2021, Apple TV+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Mythic Quest is a fascinating show. For 90% of its episodes, it’s just a very good workplace comedy. And then, every now and then, it just uncorks a truly fantastic standalone episode. Season one did this with episode 1.5 “A Dark Quiet Death”. The show also released a quarantine episode called, appropriately, “Quarantine” that was probably my favorite COVID-related TV episode, one that should serve as a nice time capsule for this period at some point down the road. Season two was an improvement in quality overall from season one, and it also featured a tremendous two-part standalone story (episodes 2.6 “Backstory!” and 2.7 “Peter”). It’s a funny show with good characters and a surprising amount of heart.

5. The Other Two (Season 2 - 2021, HBO Max) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Great, great satire of the entertainment industry. Excellent characters. Fantastic writing. Often hilarious, but it also has some depth to it when it comes to matters surrounding the core family.

4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 8 - 2021, NBC) (Last year’s ranking: 7) - It’s only appropriate that this show ends up here in its final season. I once wrote about this show that I was never excited to see it pop up in my DVR, despite really enjoying it when I actually got around to watching the individual episodes. This final season was essentially a bunch of very special episodes. The show felt it was obligated to tackle all kinds of important real world topics instead of just being a goofy sitcom. It didn’t really work and it made me once again unenthused about starting up an episode. And yet, the show’s actually plotting within episodes and joke-writing ability is so incredibly strong that once I started the episode, I found myself really, really enjoying it as always. The series finale is a great example. Super obvious character arcs, things you saw telegraphed from basically the beginning of the season, and yet, the episode was still pitch perfect. Hilarious and moving and exactly how you'd hope for a show to wrap up. Stuck the landing brilliantly. This was a show that always succeeded in spite of itself. In spite of its premise and its core identity. It succeeded because it was always one of the sharpest written shows on television. Its final season was no different.

3. WandaVision (Season 1 - 2021, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - I really enjoyed the early episodes of this show, where they went to great lengths to capture the setting and feel of various past eras of television. They did an incredible job with the sets and costumes, and beyond that, even the writing was very good at aping the styles of the eras being portrayed. But as much as I enjoyed the early episodes, I really loved when the show took a turn and slowly unfolded into a piece about one character’s loss and grief. A tremendous second gear. A fantastic show overall.

2. The Mandalorian (Season 2 - 2020, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: 2) - A tremendously fun show. Didn’t lose a step from season one.

1. Loki (Season 1 - 2021, Disney+) (Last year’s ranking: N/A) - Loved this show. Not just from a storytelling perspective. On that alone, it’s an excellent show. Some fun mystery stuff, some mind-bending stuff, clever, funny writing, great characters, solid drama. Beyond that though, I was just loving everything I was seeing and hearing on screen. The sets -- everything from the TVA headquarters to alien planets -- look amazing. The costumes are great. The music is superb. The show just had everything firing on all cylinders. It was brilliantly done.

So there we have it. Like I mentioned, some of these shows are still going on and have a few episodes left in their seasons. I might come back and do some light editing on this list if any of those shows do something truly surprising in a good or bad way in those final episodes but the likelihood is they probably won’t do enough to wildly change my opinion of them.

Or, if you’re reading this in the future, maybe I’ve already done that and that adjusted list is the list you’re looking at!

Wow.

Mind. Blown.

- - - - -

Read More:

Annual Lists of TV Shows I Saw the Past Year

[the-last-airbadger]

My 2017

The end of the year is in sight, and so it is time to, once again, write a long post in which I look back on the past year and get all sentimental and stuff. It’s fun! And since I’ve kinda made an annual tradition out of it, why the fuck not?

I’m gonna be using the same questions/categories as I did last year for maximum comparison (and so I know what to write about), so if you want to read last year’s post, I’ll link it here: (x)

The Beginning of 2017 vs. Now I definately think that there’s a huge difference between the beginning of the year and the end. When this year started, I was sooooo busy with school. I had multiple test weeks coming up and I was behind on almost all my subjects. The stress of all that stuff caused me to feel really unhappy, and apart from that my transition also wasn’t really moving forward. And now? Now I’m five months on T, finished with school, and even though work is still stressfull at the moment and I’m still not really happy, I can say that I’m a lot happier than I was at the beginning of the year. I also feel like at the beginning of the year I was kinda stuck in a negative mindset. I felt lonely all the time, and I had just started to realise that I was a very insecure person and I felt really lonely and busy and isolated and I just wasn’t in a good place, ya know? And I feel like in the past year I’ve become better at dealing with my insecurities and with jealousy, which has increased the value I have of myself, which has definately improved my quality of life. 

So, to summarise it: Since the beginning of the year I’ve reached multiple of my goals, reached some milestones and, most importantly, I’ve grown as a person.

Best things about 2017 So many good things happened this year! I don’t even know where to begin, so I’ll try to start with things that happened at the beginning of the year and just see where it leads me. I hope I won’t forget anything lmao.

Okay, so first of all, Voltron season 2, 3 and 4 were all released this year! Three seasons! That’s crazy! I didn’t really enjoy the last two that much, but damn, season 2 was really fun! Other tv shows that got new seasons this year were Stranger Things, Doctor Who (I can’t believe I’ve only finished the tenth doctors seasons this year! I can’t believe I’ve not been into Doctor Who for more than a year! It’s so much funn!!!!), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (which reminds me, I started watching “the good place” this year! Amazing show!), and Sense8! Speaking of sense8, I only started watching it in the beginning of this year, and it has easily become one of my favourite shows ever! I’m so glad I got to watch this show this year! 

Then in february, I discovered the band One Ok Rock, which is one of my favourite bands at the moment. It’s crazy to think I haven’t even known them for a year, because they’ve become such an integral part of my music library. And so have Lindsey Stirling and Ed Sheeran by the way! I went to a Lindsey Stirling concert in March and have become a huge fan of her latest album “brave enough” ever since then. And Ed Sheeran’s album “Devide” had some amazing songs on it that I connected with instantly and have helped me through some hard times. I really can’t believe I’ve only been listening to these songs for like nine months or something. It feels like it’s been forever. The same goes for a certain musical genre by the way, but we’ll get into that later!!

Then in may, two amazing things happened, first of all I got to perform on a huge stage with my choir, and met some famous dutch people there! Roel van Velzen for example! That was crazy! We were on TV!!! 

The second thing is, I finished my exams and was done with school! This made me feel sooooo much happier. I instantly just felt a lot better and suddenly had time to do stuff I liked, like read and write and play the piano. Honestly, those months (end of may - end of august) were some of the best months I’ve had in a loooong time. I wish I could go back sometimes lmao.

So yeah, I graduated, turned eightteen, went to Ireland for the first time. All of that stuff was amazing. Then, on the 28th of june, I went to the hospital and got one of the best surprises I’ve ever gotten. I COULD FINALLY, FINALLY, GO ON T! If I had to pick my best day of the year, I’d probably choose this day. Testosterone has already improved my life so much and I’ve only been on it for five months. I can’t imagine how much it will change me in the next year and I also can’t wait to find out!!

Oh, and after that, I GOT INTO KPOP! I started really listening to Day6 during my vacation to ireland, but around the end of august/beginning of september, I started to get really really into SHINee, and in extention, to kpop. Honestly, this might sound dramatic, but Day6 and SHINee have added so much to my life. Their music and just their personalities never fail to make me smile, and they bring me comfort when I feel down. Since a few weeks, BTS has also been added to that list. Their music and the members just really mean a lot to me, so I’d say kpop is definately one of the best things that happened to me this year. 

Then I got a job in september, and I can’t really remember if anything big has happened since then. The only thing I can really think of is I SAW JACKSEPTICEYE LIVE! That evening was such a fun evening and it was awesome to finally get to see one of my heroes in person and to be in the same room with him and see that he’s actually real, haha. I don’t think I’ve screamed that much anywhere else this year. 

Oh, and I also went to my first pride this year! Sadly, I couldn’t stay there very long because of work, but it was amazing and I can’t wait to go again!

I also started my youtube channel this year, which is cool. I really love making content for it, but unfortunately it takes a lot of time that I usually don’t have. I hope I’ll be able to keep it up for another year!

So, I think that’s it for this year. If you look at it like this it’s actually quite a lot of positive stuff! That’s always good.

OH AND HOW COULD I FORGET I went to london with my mom this year! It was only two nights but it was amazing and I had loads of fun there! 

And another thing I wanted to add is I feel like I’ve become a lot closer with my friends this past year. I guess that’s just what happens when you know them for a year longer, but idk. We see eachother a lot less than last year and despite that we’ve only become closer and I think that’s a really amazing thing.

OH, and I started to watch the You’re So Brave podcast by Chase Ross & Aaron Ansuini and oh my god have these dudes helped me a lot in the past year. Thank you guys so so much!!!

My resolutions for 2017? I haven’t looked at my resolutions for this year since I posted them last year... oops. But I remember quite a few of them and I believe I’ve achieved some of them so I’m just going to copy-paste them here and adress them all individually

Go on Testosterone, for real this time - Did that!! I went on T on the 28th of July 2017 and am now Five months and Three days on T!

Write more! - .... well I guess I failed that one. I wrote exactly four pages in the past year

Save money and buy new jeans, flannels and hoodies - I did save money, and bought my favourite flannel, hoodie and jeans this year, so I guess that counts

Finish School! - DID THAT

Read a lot of books! - Sadly, I didn’t manage to achieve my reading goal on goodreads. I only read 22 books this year when I wanted to read 35. Last year, I read about the same amount, so I’d count this as a fail.

Stay Hydrated! - Idek if I did this lmao. I did become more aware of what I’m eating and what I should eat more and less to stay healthy, so I’m going to count this as a win

Try to make my tumblr blog a safe and positive place for everyone - I’ll let you guys be the judge of that

Stay positive - I’ve definately tried this, so that’s good enough

Try to be the best person I can be - I’ve become a lot more self aware the past year, and I did find out what my flaws were and how to work on them, so I think I did this.

Fight my insecurities - As I’ve stated in the beginning of this post, I think I’ve become better at dealing with them, so I’d say yeah, I did that!

Reach 200 followers on tumblr!! - Did that! I’ve got about 280 followers now!!

So yeah, overall I think I did pretty good in the past year! Better than I expected at least haha

Expectations for 2018 Okay, let’s see. I’m expecting I’ll keep my job until around june/july. I’ll turn nineteen in june, and I’m going to see Paramore, Markiplier, Ed Sheeran and Dan and Phil live this year! Really looking forward to that!! Then in september I’m going to start university, and I think that I’m going to have Top-Surgery somewhere between september and december of this year. Apart from that I don’t really know what to expect. I think university will be quite easy for me education-wise, and hard social-wise, since I’m not good around strangers and might have some slight social anxiety. But apart from that I don’t really have a clear vision for the future. I am probably going to start learing how to drive so I might get my driver’s liscence this year. Who knows? It’ll be a mystery until I’ve lived it guys.

2018 Resolutions? I am feeling ambitious rn so I’m probably gonna set the bar too high but oh well who cares let’s do this

Finally decide what to study

Get Top-Surgery

Write at least 100 pages of a story

Accomplish my reading challenge on goodreads (I’m gonna try 35 books again)

Start University

Make new friends

Stop with my acting classes

Learn how to drive

Improve my drawing skills (maybe make a comic?)

Reach 300 followers on Tumblr

Get more than 20 subs on Youtube and consistently create content for my channel

Learn Divenire on the Piano

Dye my hair

Continue to shower every day (Hygene is important!)

Start working out/exercising regularely

Get new glasses

And yeah, that’s it! I hope you’ve all enjoyed going along on this journey through my past year with me. Looking back on the past year is always one of my favourite parts of new year’s eve. It’s so good to look back and see all that you’ve accomplished in a year and it just makes me really sentimental and stuff and I like that. 

Anyways, I hope you all have a great evening, and I’ll see you guys next year!

[fullregalia]

hindsight.

2020 is almost here, and looking back on the decade, well... I am not entirely sure if I see things with more clarity (though I did finally get new glasses). The end of a decade! I don’t know if we learned anything besides the fact that tiny sunglasses will always look dumb. This decade basically continued the downward trend of good things while all the bad things seemed to happen at an increasing clip. Thinking about all of that would be far too depressing (RIP David Bowie, democracy, the climate), so I’ll stick with a year in review. As usual, I try to have my annual recounting of the months that have elapsed a little more thoroughly in December, since Rosh Hashanah kicks off this season of thinking ahead and looking back. 

I think a lot about this line in Vampire Weekend’s “How Long?” off Father of the Bride: “Why’s it feel like Halloween since Christmas 2017?″ Honestly, the latter half of this decade has been haunted in so many ways--and a new decade perhaps brings with it opportunities for change (are you registered to vote?). While most of the ghosts of twenty-teens past haunt me in mournful ways, some of them loom large in productive ways as they led me to making some of the biggest steps I’ve taken in my life in a long time.

The most obvious break in time this year was my move to Philadelphia in August. The beginning of 2019 was filled with uncertainty about where I’d get into school and what the end of my year would look like. While I don’t regret moving to Philadelphia, something happened to me recently that has been a truly unfortunate note to end the year on: I was attacked and mugged in my neighborhood a week and a half ago, and it’s been a difficult experience to reckon with. I’ve been going back to NYC about once a month since I left, and it’s been really good to have these monthly trips to get to Abraço or visit the Met--and given the shock of being assaulted, it was even more of a mental salve just to be in a city that shaped the past 12 years of my life (for better and for worse, if we’re being frank). 

So there was beginning grad school, and moving, but there was also all the cultural markers of the year that make these changes much easier to cope with. Here’s a round-up of (some of) the works and words that shaped my year, made me laugh, or engrossed me enough to take me out of my own head for a few hours at a time: 

MUSIC According to Spotify, John Coltrane happened to be my artist of the decade, but as referenced above, Vampire Weekend’s new album dominated my ears this year. Hilariously and fittingly, “Unbearably White” was my most played song in 2019. FoTB also introduced me to Steve Lacy and The Internet, thankfully. I tried to get a little more prog rock into my aural diet, and there were also more contemporary albums that came into heavy rotation. There was the revelation of Big Thief (the guitar on Cattails) and the brief, beautiful Purple Mountains project; Solange’s Binz helped me to do laps around the reservoir in Central Park, and there were nights alone when all I needed was to just put on Angel Olsen when I got home from work. As fall semester took over most of my time, I turned more to classical standards like Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet to get me through the work, and as ever I rely on Popcast to keep me up to speed on what the kids are listening to (looking at you 100 Gecs and Billie Eilish).  

BOOKS The beginning of grad school made it harder to keep up with my reading for fun, but I managed to get through enough books (28) to make a few recommendations. First, there’s Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror, which I thought was funny and thoughtful, and an eloquent and incisive analysis of what it means to be alive, and particularly a thirty-something, in this truly bizarre era. 

There were also a lot of series in my hold list this year: the Rachel Cusk trilogy and Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet. I mostly read women, and read more non-fiction this year than last (shout outs to Anand Giridharadas, Eric Klinenberg, and Samuel Stein--all of whom recommend public sector solutions to a private sector failures). As with every year, the list of books I want to read grew even longer. This winter break has proven itself thus far to be a week of recovering from being mugged and having a bad cold by mostly watching Netflix, maybe there will be more time to read in the second half of break and during the spring semester.

On a related note: there was a lot of great longform journalism this year. While there was very important work done about foreign affairs, corruption, and structural inequities, there were also many articles about how ridiculous living in Brooklyn (and LA) is. 

TV But the former PBS employee in me wouldn’t be able to finish up an overview of 2019 without writing about the medium that I love so much I had to abstain from it for the past four months, for fear of a distraction I couldn’t resist. As we all know, Succession is the best rich person melodrama we have, and I’m grateful for its place in my Sunday night routine while I settled into grad school. I have already written 2,000 words on it before, so I will simply leave you with this beautiful monologue: “I’m an enigma. You can’t pigeonhole me. I’m there and then I’m gone. I’m intellectually promiscuous, but culturally conservative. I work hard but I don’t play hard, I play easy, why would you play hard?”

Before my tv hiatus began in August, I was tempted to actually say sod it and move to England for grad school when Fleabag season 2 dropped. (Forgive me father, for I have sincerely wanted to see a priest make out with a parishioner.) But while Fleabag put canned G&Ts and hot priests on the map, Russian Doll payed homage to the past life of Tompkins Square Park, and got Harry Nilsson stuck in all our heads for the month of February. And what would my twitter feed have been without the irreverent brilliance of “You have no good car ideas!” guy from I Think You Should Leave? (*dabs, yells “you love your mother in-law!”*)

There was an overwhelming choice of streaming, movies, and podcast content this year. My podcast diet remained mostly the same (Who? Weekly, Talking Politics, Why is This Happening?, FiveThirtyEight, Slate Money) but I added What a Day--along with adding a crush on Gideon Resnick to my “unattainable ‘face for podcast’ dudes who will never date me” crush list, and getting Akilah Hughes’ headlines jingle stuck in my head. I miss Kara on Keep It! but I am also grateful for Naomi Ekperigin’s presence on Hysteria (and every other show she makes better with her presence). Throughout this year, and increasingly over the past decade, podcasts have kept me company, kept me in the loop, and kept me going on the most difficult days.

Lastly, as I mentioned, being mugged was a horrible experience. But there were a lot of other things that happened this year that were far less traumatic and mostly just absurd. Remember WeWork? The Tesla truck? Cliff wife? 2019 was pretty dumb. Though I appreciated every meme on Hunter Harris’ twitter. In the less-dumb, slightly more life-affirming department: I saw good friends get married and have children, got my hands on clay, cooked and baked, drank amazing coffee in Copenhagen (and fell in love with the cesca chair), and did things that scare me (grad school, moving, meeting cool new people, introducing those people to deranged twitter memes). 

Getting back to where I started--How Long?--I’m writing this on Christmas Day, or as I like to refer to it, National Annual Fudgesicle Day™, and I hope you have all had a Jordan Christmas or at least an excessive amount of Chinese food. Christmas is usually a low-key day for me (even when it’s also Hanukkah) and even though the year has been decidedly high-key (Brexit! Beto stood on so many things! I saw Ilana Glazer in LA!!) perhaps we can turn 2020 down from 11, where it feels like we’ve been since 2017. With only a few days left in the decade, I don’t really think there’s much change that can happen between now and then, but I do hope that the beginning of this next decade--life goes on, elections are held, and unknown adventures await--can bring renewed motivation, and the chance to shed some of the hurt and grief of the last one. Here’s to the year to come, may it bring us all health, happiness, and peace.