August is two weeks away. Can you believe July is half over? It's crazy pants!
But you know what it means, right?
VEDA IS COMING!
What is VEDA you ask?
It is Vlog Every Day August. A bunch of people on the Internet get together, brainstorm topic ideas, and then in August we film videos based on those topics every day and comment on each others videos. For the second year, Kirsti and I are teaming up to coordinate the WeBlogWeVlog VEDA and this year we are joined by Nico and Katherine. We've been emailing back and forth planning and plotting and sharing ideas. We have A LOT of thoughts for this year.
I first started doing VEDA a few years ago and it's how I got into vlogging and YouTube and it's so much fun. I've made a ton of friends during it I can't wait to see who joins us this year.
If you've thought about vlogging, VEDA is a great place to start because you have topics given out and a bunch of people who are right there to watch your videos.
Next week, we'll be getting a Google Doc ready so participants can all brainstorm what topics we want to discuss in August, then we'll also be posting a participant list so we all can find each others YouTube channels and Twitter accounts to subscribe and follow. Also be sure to follow WeBlogWeVlog on Twitter for more updates.
It's going to be totally awesome!
Aw, it's been awhile since I've made A Very Potter MUsical reference and used a GIF for them. My heart is happy.
So... go sign up!
And yes, I realize this whole blog post was a shameless plug/ad for VEDA. But I didn't have any other ideas for this week. SUE ME.
I know it has been nearly a week since your final episode aired. If I had been a better blogger I would have planned ahead and posted this a week ago before the final episode. Or at least had it ready for Monday morning. But alas - I am not a good blogger. Just ask my readers. But please don't take this as any lack of affection.
I remember the first time I heard your cover of "Don't Stop Believin'." It was in the middle of the summer and I had taken the youth of small town Missouri on our yearly excursion to 6 Flags. It was the end of the day and we were waiting for a few of the teenagers to get off of a roller coaster so we could head home when I heard the "Da da da da da da da da Just a small town girl..." over the speakers. I thought "Is this some kind of new High School Musical thing? But that doesn't sound like Vanessa Hudgens. Huh." This wasn't an insult by any means. I love me some HSM. Little did I know...
Don't judge readers, you know you love HSM too. We're all in this together!
Flash forward a few months. I was talking with my friend Laura one day and she asked "Have you watched that new show Glee?" I told her I had heard about it and had been intending to give it a try, but just hadn't yet. She told me I had to watch it because this show was basically me as a TV show.
Poor Laura. She had no idea what was created because of that conversation.
What can I say about Glee now that it's over? I'm sitting here on a Thursday morning and I'm thinking to myself "Glee isn't on tomorrow night, what am I supposed to do now?" Those of us die-hard fans (Gleeks) have gone through a lot over the last six seasons. Ridiculous covers of songs, inconsistent writing at times, actors dying (CORY!!!! WAAAAAHHHH!), characters changing sexuality every time you turn around... yeah, you can say we've been through a lot. Let's be honest, not many of us have hung in there and lasted this long. But we are a fandom of endurance, let me tell you. But I love it.
Here are a few of the reasons I love you, Glee, so much (if you haven't seen the final episode
/season, consider this your spoiler warning):
- I was able to watch covers of songs from musicals - and it was "cool!" Glee let musical theatre take the spotlight and show people that yes, Broadway is pretty freaking amazing and you should love it too.
- Actual Broadway performers were allowed to take the spotlight and make a name for themselves. Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Johnathan Groff, etc. While some people may have heard of Idina and Kristin, but some of the others? Unless you're a Broadway nerd like me, they didn't get much attention. Now, because of Glee, they could take the spotlight and grace the world with their voices.
- I loved seeing their take on popular songs each week. I avoided watching/listening to the new songs before the episodes aired at all costs because part of the fun for me was being surprised at which song they would pull out of their pockets to somehow twist into the plot (sometimes it was perfect other times... not so much). I can genuinely say there are some versions of songs where I truly love the Glee version better than the original.
I'm looking at you "Teenage Dream." Let's be honest - when Kurt walked into Dalton Academy and saw the Warblers and met Blaine for the first time, that cover blew us all away. THEN when they reprised it in season 4 with an emotional acoustic version? Beautiful.
Which brings me to my next point...
- Oh, hi there Darren Criss.
For the record, I was a Darren Criss fan long before he was on Glee. I watched A Very Potter Musical and I remember being all "That guy playing Harry Potter is really cute. Wait... he plays guitar? Wait... he wrote the show? Wait... he covers Disney songs too???? WHO IS THIS AMAZING PERSON THAT I MUST MARRY SOMEDAY?"
Needless to say, when I saw he was going to be on Glee, I was pretty excited. Now, he gets to be on Broadway and basically do whatever he wants.
- But look at all of the other young actors/singers who got to have a chance! I loved being able to see new talent and letting them start their own careers. It'll be interesting to see where the rest of the cast ends up.
- I loved the humor of Glee. I loved how ridiculous it was and how they always made fun of themselves and the actors and plot lines and how it was just plain silly at times. I can genuinely say I literally LOL'd every episode.
- Sue Sylvester. Need I say more?
- Rachel Berry. I know not everyone liked her - and I get it. She was obnoxious and annoying and awful. But I loved her. I loved how much she wanted to be on Broadway and how she endured all of the bullying at school. I loved her drive. It was who I wished I was brave enough to be... just maybe a bit nicer. Especially towards the beginning. What I noticed though was how much I cared about her ending.
In the last episode she sang a song written by Darren Criss (he actually wrote it FOR her and had always wanted to write a song specifically for Lea Michelle) called "This Time." It was beautiful. I remember thinking about Rachel and my thoughts about her character. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to succeed on Broadway. I wanted her to learn and grow as a person. Then I realized - which guy she ended up with was the last thing on my mind. I cared to an extent, but not really.
I was Rachel and Finn all the way, don't get me wrong. But in a weird way, Rachel without Finn was almost a good thing. It's rare when the main female character in a major TV show can walk away at the end and her love life isn't necessarily at the forefront of your mind.
For the record, the more I think about Rachel and Jesse St. James ending up together the more I like it. I had always wondered what it would be like if they actually gave them a chance. I could write a whole blog post for that. But I'll spare you. That's what Tumblr is for.
- And finally, since this blog post is long enough and people who don't care about Glee quit reading long ago, your message of love and acceptance. Yes, at times it was cheesy. Sometimes you were off point. There were topics and issues you could have handled better. But it all came from a place of innocence and wanting people to accept each other for who they are. So many fans were inspired by the diverse cast and the many messages this show gave.
I think Sue Sylvester said it best in the last episode. She was talking to Kurt and Blaine, and she said how she may not have always agreed with them, or how they went about things. BUT, it got conversation going and she didn't even know she had an opinion about certain things until she met Kurt and Blaine.
That's what's important I feel like. You don't have to agree with everything. You don't have to like how people go about things. But it got you to think, didn't it? It got conversation going. Conversations we need to have.
So, thank you Glee. Thank you for the music, characters, crazy plots, and helping us all to get the conversation going and learn to love and accept one another.
Do you remember Valentines Day when you were a kid?
Working at a pre-school right now, we've been talking a lot about Valentines Day and how we're having a big party for it tomorrow. It makes me reminisce about when I was in elementary school and having class Valentines Day parties.
Going to the store with my mom to pick out what box of Valentines I would give to my classmates and decorating our mailboxes or bags in class. It was always a lot of fun.
Did you ever make a huge deal about who would get which Valentine? I totally did. My teacher was always obvious because the box gave you a specific teacher card ... usually. Everyone else was always a challenge.
First there was the card for your best friend at the moment. They obviously needed one which was awesome and cool and the best card ever to show you really were BFFs.
Then you would pick out the card for him. Yup. The crush. It had to be perfect. It had to be way cooler than the other cards you would give to the rest of the boys in class, but it couldn't be too mushy or something because then OBVIOUSLY he would figure out you had a crush on him and that just COULD NOT HAPPEN EVER.
As Ron Weasley would say "You never tell a girl you like her. It makes you look like an idiot."
Or in my case, a boy.
Also, if any of you can find me GIF of Ron saying that quote from A Very Potter Musical, you will be my best friend forever. I couldn't find one anywhere.
Anyways.
Then you would get to school and everyone would hand out the cards and you would love to see which ones you got and be all mad if someone else got the same box of cards as you.
Good times. Good times.
It was a simpler time when we were all innocent (for the most part) and life wasn't as complicated. In a way, I'm actually really excited for the pre-school party tomorrow.
But that also might be because of chocolate and parents are running it, so basically we teachers just get to sit back and enjoy.
What are your favorite Valentines Day memories from when you were younger?
I have seriously been neglecting the blog this month.
Okay, maybe not seriously, but I feel as though I haven't been posting much. This is for two reasons.
1) I simply don't have a whole lot to blog about. Now that summer is over and school has started up again, my life is pretty boring. I go to work, play practice, come home, sleep. Repeat. Eating, researching steampunk, and watching Netflix is thrown in there as well. (Anyone else completely addicted to Vampire Diaries? Cause I totally am.) I could write random stupid stuff, but you lovely readers deserve better than that.
2) I've been busy doing VEDA (Vlog Every Day August). If you haven't seen my videos, check out my YouTube channel here. Even though the videos are short, it takes a lot of time to make them. I'm getting the hang of it and it's been pretty fun. Although I'll be glad to not do this every single day. While I've been enjoying VEDA - it's a lot of work and I don't have time to make every single video awesome. BUT, if anyone has tips or knows how to do certain effects (like showing recaps of your previous video...), let me know! I want to learn more.
That's been my August.
Which means it's time to share with you the songs I've been listening to all month!
Also, in September I am taking a break from sponsors. I feel like I haven't been the best sponsor host and need to rethink some things. Maybe in October I'll it up again and it will be even better! In the meantime, check out my sponsor from August and September - Angie! She's outrageously awesome and I think you will love love love her! Her blog is: http://www.lariatsandlavender.com/ She's one of the sweetest people you will find on the internet. I promise.
One of my favorite pictures of Angie!
I will still continue monthly themes for anyone who wants to guest blog. September's theme is "All God's Creatures." Which means... ANIMALS!!!!
Anyways. Back to the music I've been listening to.
