Hey guys, so I'm going to apologize early for this one because I honestly haven't even picked up Divergent and totally got wrapped up in other things so far this week. Sorry! I'm also currently a chapter away from finishing the first installment of the Game of Thrones series and I hate starting a different book while I'm still working on another one. I promise to have a mild review with questions/concerns up by next Thursday.
My distractions were also partially due to the fact that I got roped in to a new television program on Hulu called Reign on the CW. If you are unfamiliar with the show, it supposedly follows a fictional version of Mary, Queen of Scots through her adolescent years as she attempts to save her country by forging an alliance through marriage with France. So far it's been less than historical, however it's a nice plot line with all the made-up characters that never existed. I will be tuning in for the second half of season one on the 23rd.
Also on my radar for television, (as this has been a lazy week of roaming about the house with little to nothing to keep me busy), is the new season of The Bachelor, which I've already warned you about. The only reason I'm watching is because of Juan Pablo, which is somewhat obvious. Also, I've heard that there's a Phi Mu girl amongst the potential bachelorettes, so I will be following her progress as she is automatically my favorite by default. I will not be able to live tweet the show, however, due to the fact that I have no cable and have been watching online the day after it airs. As soon as there's a show on Sundays that I enjoy, I will be live tweeting that.
(DIOS MIO...)
In addition to the new Bachelor, Cougar Town has returned for a fifth season and I could not be more excited! I have loved this show since its inception and I think it's hilarious. If I had to rank it, it would fall somewhere around New Girl in my "favorite comedy" pool. I can't wait to see how they work the new plot line of this season!
Well, that's basically it. TV has been controlling my life now that everyone is coming back from their winter break. Castle returned this week, (tearing at my heart strings), as well as Agents of Shield and Bones set to return this coming Monday with How I Met Your Mother. I have a lot more that I'm following with new shows popping up on my radar every few days, but I'm only morally invested in a select few.
I enjoy these shows because of the variations in plot structure and character developments as it pertains to my knowledge about the two. I think TV does lend itself to a larger infrastructure of literacy that we have yet to explore, but try telling that to an "obese" child addicted to Adventure Time who spends hours of uncultured time on the couch some some Cheetos... I'm sure I'll learn more about the differences as I continue my digital literacy studies next semester, but for now I'll just let TV be entertainment. I only have about a week left before I start my last two classes and I want to make the most of this downtime while I have it. Again, sorry this post is short! If you have any questions or just want to talk about any of the shows I listed or any of the ones you watch, let me know in the comments or Twitter or anywhere really. Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
I hope everyone had a fabulous post-holiday weekend! It definitely feels like January now... These frigid temperatures are set to stay with us up here in the north east for awhile, so I'm trying not to skimp on heat. That being said, I have spent a great deal of time indoors as of late and I am not ashamed of it.
Whilst inside, I have been paying close attention to the drama that has risen out of YouTube lately dealing with Grace Helbig. For those of you who don't know, Grace is a YouTube personality and classy individual who, until recently, uploaded video blogs to her main channel "DailyGrace" on the MyDamnChannel network. Since her contract with them seems to have expired, Grace has chosen to start over on her own channel, thus preserving her content, (since MyDamnChannel wouldn't let her keep her old content on the "DailyGrace" channel siting copyright issues). It seems as though Grace and MyDamnChannel had a falling out of sorts, however everyone seems to be happy now and Grace has her new channel from which to control her own content.
This is all well and good, but when you move channels and go from over two million subscribers to less than 500,000, it takes a bit of wind out of your sails. Grace has not asked any of her original subscribers to switch, however the Internet has taken it upon itself to educate the masses and let them know what's going on. Grace's many friends through YouTube, including author John Green, Mamrie and Hannah Hart, her brother Tim, and many more came together to draw awareness to this change. The amount of YouTuber support throughout this ordeal has proven to be very beneficial for Grace and extremely uplifting. I've never seen this type of support before from an online community and it was great to get to watch all these people support Grace in her endeavors. She still has a long way to go, but if she stays true to herself she should be just fine, if not better than before.
As you may know, I've been following the YouTube community closely since the beginning of last year, (it feels weird to say that...). I have 52 subscriptions and watch a few vloggers religiously every day, including Grace. Seeing as my viewership has varied over the course of a year, I plan on experimenting and exploring with new channels and people this year, including Grace's new channel, in order to track her progress. It's been an exciting year for YouTube and I can't wait for what this year brings, including the YouTube documentary Vlogumentary, which is set to come out this year. If you want to know what's happening in the YouTube or online community as a whole, check out Tubefilter, "the curator of online video," including news, reviews and more.
In other news, because of the new year, my husband and I have decided to implement some new rules and goals for our lives this year. One of them being the "no spend" rule for January. This idea came from my wonderful mother-in-law, who practices this rule as well. All you have to do is not spend any money you don't need to spend. Obviously bills and groceries are necessary, but going out to eat, going to the movies, shopping for clothes, etc. are off limits until February. That way we have money to save for more important things. It also teaches us to appreciate the things we have and enjoy ourselves from home, which I have no problem with.
That's it for today. I'm in the middle of a Star Wars marathon with a cup of coffee and I plan on continuing throughout the day. I've also started reading Divergent, so if you have any questions for me about the book, or anything about reading in general, I will be answering them on Thursday through my Twitter account with the hash-tag "#LaxDivergent" Tweet me your questions, comments and predictions! (if you are reading it with me for the first time) Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
PS: For your viewing pleasure:
Jimmy Fallon Late Night with Justin Timberlake: "History of Rap"
