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talesofafangirlwithadvr · 3 years

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October/November Picks

Long time no see! So...it’s been a little bit since I’ve posted a wrap up. I had all intentions of posting one after October, but then you know life gets ahead of you and before you know it it’s Thanksgiving. Not much has changed in my viewing habits for these past two months, so I thought I’d group them together for a mega wrap up. Hope you enjoy :)

Without further ado here come some spoilers.....

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SECRET SOCIETY OF SECOND BORN ROYALS

This Disney + original movie was one of my highly anticipated watches for the fall. I am disappointed to share that it was a let down. The concept was such a cool and creative one. Having the second born in a royal family not simply be the “spare” but be the protector...with superpowers! (In a very YA way, getting their powers at a specific age.) They just should have gone about the story in a better way. I wanted more time with them learning about the powers and to make the villain stronger. Overall the acting wasn’t bad (which is good for a Disney + original), but it was just lacking. The movie was LONG and yet much did not feel like it happened. It was cool seeing Casa Loma (the castle they filmed at) as I was just there two summers ago. Sadly, I will not be watching this movie again.

VIOLETTA SEASON 3

We all already know how pumped I was when season 3 of Violetta was released on Disney Plus in September. I couldn’t believe it after waiting so long for the second season. I really enjoyed the beginning of this season and knew we would be headed down a road where I would grow tired of the storylines.

We have hit that point.

Quick Violetta rant. Things I am done with:

Roxy and Fausta plot

Fran and Diego being a secret

Herman and Priscilla

Pablo not at the studio

Milton being evil

Ludmilla lying

Recently, my sister is catching up to where I am in the season, so this has pushed me to watch more. I am on episode 43 and some of the above venting has been solved, so that is super exciting. I am finding myself wanting to watch it more now, so fingers crossed it continues to get better.

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS

Kenny Ortega has done it again! When I first heard the premise for this show and watched the trailer on Netflix I wasn’t too sure. Then both of my sisters watched it and they wouldn’t stop talking about it, so that was a sign that I needed to watch it. Since then, I have watched the show twice and can’t stop listening to the music. THIS. SHOW. :) I get the hype. It’s just so wholesome and feel good. The characters are well crafted and the episodes go way too fast. They are the kind of characters (and cast) that make you wish you were a part of the show. I can’t wait for the next season (because there better be one). Definitely add this one to your list if it’s not on their already.

THE OUTPOST

The Summer CW shows were pushed to the fall line up due to delays in filming of the originally planned shows. I hope this means that they’re getting a little more love this year. The Outpost deserves it, as it is currently in its third season. (I think it might have gotten a little more now that the 100 is over and the commercial aired during the 100′s last season. Maybe people heard Black-blood and decided to give it a go.) This season has seen a new threat and during the first eight episodes there’s been MANY twists and turns, making it hard for me to remember how this season started. There’s been a lot of unrest in the Outpost and changes in who is in charge. While there are some unnecessary plot-lines (like that Tobin had to be married), I’m really enjoying others. Like how important Janzo is, his relationship with Ren, more Munt and that TALON AND GARRETT FINALLY GOT TOGETHER!!! It makes me so happy and is what we deserve after these three seasons. I love how strong both of their characters are and how they are both Warriors. I hope the season ends strong.

PANDORA

Just like The Outpost, Pandora was originally a Summer CW show that is now airing its second season. I really enjoyed the first season (like more than I was expecting), so I went in with higher hopes for this new season. Unfortunately, I have been let down so far. With the first season, there were parts that left me confused and my biggest review of this show has always been how there were gaps or moments where I didn’t know how much time had gone by. Those kind of things I could overlook, but this season the overall plot just seems weaker. I think this in part because of so many new characters. I know a lot of the season 1 cast ended their characters’ plots away from the Academy, but I wasn’t expecting them not to be a part of this season’s story. That has been a difficult adjustment. I also feel like I only understand Jax’s story and not so much about the other government/rebellion points. It’s getting a little better, but I hope it gets to be more enjoyable.

THE SPANISH PRINCESS--SEASON 2

When I originally was creating this list I had just started this season, and felt completely different than I do right now. I just finished this season last week. Much like my above review on Pandora, The Spanish Princess wasn’t sucking me in. I had a few episodes gather on the DVR. Then once we hit episode 3 or 4 and more drama was starting/Henry was starting to show glimpses of the Henry VIII we all know, I was growing more interested. In season 2 of the Spanish Princess, we do not see a loving Catherine and Henry for long. Problems Catherine have in conceiving a boy (male heir) are one of the main focal points, as is Woolsey’s growing influence on the king. With several sub-plots this season, I specifically enjoyed learning more about Meg in Scotland (as a big Mary Queen of Scots/Reign fan, I liked seeing a portrayal of her grandmother) as well as Princess Mary Tudor (who I was unfamiliar with. I loved her and Charlie Brandon’s relationship and wish we could have gotten more.) Each week I watched this show, I found myself Googling a lot. That is always one of my favorite parts of watching a historical drama based on true events. I know right now it looks like the producers aren’t continuing with the Tudor line and might have a different part of history as their next show, but I wish they would. I’m feeling the call to watch the Tudors as it’s on Netflix and I haven’t seen it before. I want to learn more about his wives.

BLOWN AWAY

In a complete shift from a period piece, here is another Netflix show I thoroughly enjoyed watching last month. Do you find the act of glass blowing to be extremely interesting, but you would never dream of trying yourself? Or do you like competition game shows that are not like anything else you’ve watched before? Then Blown Away might be for you! It’s a very fast watch with only a handful of episodes that are about a half hour a piece. (I honestly wished they were a bit longer because it was SO GOOD!) Each contestant is a glass blower and they get to show off their skills by competing in a specific challenge. Each episode you see someone get eliminated until the final where the winner gets a residency at Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York. This show came out in 2019 and I am hoping a second season comes out.

LIFE IN PIECES

This CBS comedy was one that I remember loving when it first came out. But I only remember watching the first season because then I couldn’t remember which day it was on. (It’s going to sound weird, but because I don’t watch a lot on this network I often forget it exists. We also only had a one room DVR at the time, so we couldn’t tape more than 2 things. Oh, the joys of multi-room DVR). After I finished my re-watch of Derry Girls in September, I was looking for another sitcom to re-watch. This was when I stumbled on the full series of Life in Pieces on Amazon video. (It’s free to watch with Prime.) I was so surprised to see there were 4 seasons! Since then I have been watching a good amount of episodes when I sit down to watch it. Now I’m about mid way in the second season. I highly recommend this show if you haven’t seen it before. It gives vibes of Modern Family. Very short episodes that include four storylines. The format is one that I haven’t seen done before in a sitcom.

SUPERMARKET SWEEP

The revival of the beloved game show from the early 90s is now hosted by Leslie Johns and is the best thing you should be watching on Sunday nights. If you know your grocery shopping list like the back of your hand then you are all set for this show. Leslie Johns is hilarious as are the cast of characters that are regulars in her supermarket. I think it would be a great TV show to be on and I’m not just saying that because I want one of the sweatshirts (although that would be great). If you want (another) feel-good watch, look no further! You catch up on demand.

RE-WATCHING

ANNE WITH AN E

It’s hard to believe that we only got the third season of Anne with an E at the beginning of this year (as this year feels like its been going on forever and when I watched the third season I was in a much less stressed place). Currently, I am teaching a class involving Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. The main focus is on how these stories get adapted in recent times and include such modern plots (and sub-plots). Naturally Anne with an E is perfect for this topic (and after watching season 3 at the start of the year) was one of my major reasons for choosing this topic. (The other being Greta Gerwig’s latest Little Women.) As I’ve been planning my schedule, I’ve re-watched this show. There is something so great about watching it from season 1 all the way through to season 3. You get to watch them grow up and it’s crazy to see how young they first were. Comparing it more to the novel has been a fun time, but also analyzing it more has been great and made me appreciate it even more. With all the stress of our current situation watching this show has made me escape and feel good. (Yes, I know I’ve used that word a lot in this wrap up, but it’s true.)

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Hopefully my next wrap up isn’t as delayed. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season!

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booksbroadwaybbc · 6 years

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Mastering Social: Stage 1 - Make People Talk via /r/selfimprovement

Mastering Social: Stage 1 - Make People Talk

Introduction

Like many of you on this sub, I developed poor social skills growing up. I had crippling social anxiety, an inability to connect with others, and a total lack of interest in other people. Over the years, I have developed my social skills a lot and am no longer the shy, awkward person I used to be. However, I still have a long way to go and still find myself facing many difficulties. Recently, I've decided to be much more intentional about improving my social skills, because much like any other skill, social skills are something you can develop and master. With that being said I've started crafting a guide for improvement that I will map out as I personally go down this path of improvement. I've decided to share this guide, and my corresponding journey with the sub, as I hope it will be of value to someone besides myself.

Breaking it Down in Stages

I find learning to be really effective when you break it down in stages. It's comforting to know you're following a path and that at each stage you are clearly more skilled and ready for the next stage. This is why it's somewhat straightforward to get someone to improve at lifting. You know what the stages are (it usually consists of how much weight you can lift) and mastering one stage clearly sets you up for the next stage. In a similar vein I will be breaking down socializing in multiple stages.

Making People Talk

The first stage is all about making people talk. This won’t necessarily make people like you, but it will help kill one thing that can easily make people not want to be around you: awkwardness. People don’t like awkward silences when they barely know each other. It implants in their mind that either A) you are boring or B) you all are incapable of connecting. Thus, this stage is all about building the fundamentals for creating endless conversation. You will have mastered this stage when you can create endless conversation with anyone or any group of people. Obviously, this seems daunting but there are ways to improve.

Before we get into that, let's first understand what the fundamentals to endless conversation are. Ultimately, conversation is all about finding mutual topics of interest. If you really like talking about football, and you meet someone else that loves talking about football I'm sure you'll have a great, awkward free conversation. However, fortunately or unfortunately it's not necessarily socially acceptable to meet up with someone, exchange a list of topics you like to talk about, see if there is anything mutual, and move on. Instead, there are some verbal gymnastics that need to happen. Thus improving at this stage is two fold: you must increase the pool of topics you can participate in and you must learn how to lead conversations towards mutual topics of interest.

Develop Your Knowledge Base

By developing your knowledge base you increase the pool of topics you can participate in. The key here is knowing at least a little bit of info for a large range of topics. For myself, I divide ‘gaining knowledge’ into six different ways: exploring, learning, listening, reading, watching, and brainstorming.

Exploring should consist of going to new places and experiences. Ever know those people that seem to know where the good restaurants in the city are? Or know those people that know all the cool events happening around town? These are people that make an effort to explore. Not only does this allow you to be the person in the know, but it gives you wealth of conversation starters and ways in which you can relate with others.

Learning should be all about cool social things you can learn about that are helpful in social situations. For example, this is a place for learning about making a wide variety of cocktails. Think about what this will do for you: it gives you something to talk about and it makes someone feel good (assuming the drink tastes good). You might see some overlap here between this and the explore category. Ultimately, you can divide up the categories however you like, but I find it helpful to split up the idea of learning things going on around me (explore) and learning things that will stay as internal skills (learn).

Listening is reserved to podcasts and music. Podcasts are great ways to disseminate ideas that you can in turn use to talk about multiple different things. Music is also something you should become very well versed in as almost everyone likes some type of music. Knowing music gives you a great chance of connecting with someone on something.

The next two categories are self-explanatory. Reading is exactly how it sounds: any written media you find including books, poems, articles, essays, etc. Watching includes movies, shows, and any talks online. The 'shows' part is incredibly important. Especially in this day and age where so many people watch Netflix, knowing about shows is important when it comes to talking with people and connecting with them on something.

Finally, the last category is brainstorming. I reserve this category for ideas. Ever meant someone that was able to ask those really interesting questions that got you thinking? i.e. "Why haven't drones been more of a force in deliveries?" By constantly thinking of ideas and writing down those ideas, you start getting into territory where you can ask really interesting questions.

Your goal should be to add one item to each of these categories once a week. For example:

Discovered a nearby sushi place right next to work. They have happy hour every day at 5.

Cooked a new dish: Ravioli with Pumpkin Alfredo

Found a new song by John Lennon and wrote down my opinion on the lyrics behind the song

Got through 100 pages in a new book: To Kill a Mockingbird

Started watching West World

Had a cool brainstorming session about how we could get past the current bottlenecks in getting drones mainstream

Keep a Social Journal

Besides developing your knowledge base, you need to get a journal. The purpose of this journal is to keep track of four things: conversation topics you couldn't contribute to, conversation starters, conversation transitions, and observations. All these are key to learning how to lead conversations towards mutual topics of interest.

First, it's always important to jot down after every conversation a conversation topic that you couldn't contribute to. This is because you can then use that as fuel towards developing your knowledge base. Don't know what book to read? Maybe recently you were at a meetup and people were talking exclusively about tennis and the US Open but you know nothing about that. Pick up a book on the history of the US Open and who the famous players in the game have been.

Conversation starters and conversation transitions are key pieces to conversation. They are the main ingredients towards leading a conversation to a mutual topic of interest. It's somewhat awkward if people are talking about tennis and then you suddenly blurt out that you were playing this awesome Xbox One game the other day. Instead, you need to figure out how to properly lead the conversation to video games. Maybe someone mentions that Osaka used to play video games as a kid (I don't know if this is true or not, but using it for the sake of the example). Then you could say, "Speaking of video games, anyone ever played XYZ game?" Look at that! You successfully transitioned the conversation to video games in a believable way.

Finally, record in your social journal observations you see while walking around. The weather sucks? The grass looks less green than usual? Elevator looks shinier than usual? Whatever it may be, observations serve as a great way to open up to a stranger. It's imperative that you practice recording observations so that you can come up with them on the fly.

Side Piece: Making Conversations more Enjoyable

Aside: This section is not necessary for mastering stage 1.

Up to this point you will have many ways of keeping a conversation going, but just because you can keep a conversation going doesn’t mean it’s enjoyable. In each stage of this entire guide, I will be feeding you some extra conversation fundamentals that make your conversations more enjoyable. The first fundamental is using questions correctly. Using too many questions make people feel at times like it’s an interview, so you have to use them wisely. Furthermore, questions can make people feel like you’re prying too much (more on this in stage 2). The best way to use questions is to explore a topic you don’t know too much about or start a new conversation topic. This is an earnest approach to using questions, but the questions have to be good and broad to be most effective. Keep a log of effective questions that you think of or hear people talk about (this can also go in with your social journal if you like).

Conclusion

That wraps up this stage. For the eager wondering what is coming next here is a breakdown of all the stages:

Stage 1: Make People Talk (That's this article!)

Stage 2: Make People Feel at Ease

Stage 3: Make People Laugh

Stage 4: Make People Feel Important

Stage 5: Make People Feel a Part of Something Great

Stage 6: Make People Respect You

Stage 7: Make People Love You

Until next time!

Submitted September 10, 2018 at 06:26PM by throwawayties1 via reddit https://ift.tt/2O0YlrD

#IFTTT #reddit

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