I am spending this weekend in Austin, TX. So naturally I decided to write a blog post. I am attending the very wonderful ATX Festival Season 3. I am doing my best to mingle and be friendly while attending panels and learning a lot about the television industry. Now I am hoping this will help my career but the festival itself has been great fun.
I wanted to write about the festival though because it is a very important time for me. I have been trying to better myself these past few years and I have learned a lot about who I am and who I am not. I am not a social butterfly. But I am a good listener and that is how I have always made friends. I am good at letting others have the floor. I mean we all want to speak our minds but sometimes others don't want to listen.
So this is my networking strategy. I think of one question on my own. Walk up and ask it, then just let them go on. You have to listen though to prepare your next question. I love hearing people explain new things. Even if I know about a topic already, I will ask them more questions and hopefully learn something new.
I am a semester away from graduating again so the question of what to do next is constantly looming over my head. So I am walking around this festival with business cards and my ears open. I am starting conversations and staying out of my shell. This is new and empowering while also stressful and nerve-racking. Career-wise not much may come from it but in terms of personal growth I feel I have won the gold. Cheesy? Yes, but I don't care.
If you haven't heard of ATX Television Festival you should Google it. It's really great and you should go next year if you can.
So I am on my way back from the Bahamas and I have been catching up on music and Instagram and Pinterest trends. Thank god for LTE right?
That's me chilling on the beach in the Bahamas holding my friend's coconut drink. It was amazing. I definitely went big.
However summer is kicking off and it is almost time for music to get partier than usual. So I always enjoy having an actual summer jam declared to help remind me of certain summers. Last year was undoubtedly Miley Cyrus "We Can't Stop".
2012 - Icona Pop "I Love It"
2011 - LMFAO "Party Rock Anthem"
2010 - Wiz Kalifa "Roll Up"
Just to name a few.
So here are this years possible song choices. Starting off we have the very lovely Lilly Allen song "Air Balloon"
It just makes me want to lay in that beach chair all day and never get a job.
The second song I am feeling for a summer jam is Tiesto "Let's Go" it features Icona Pop and it has a great empowering feel like most Icona Pop songs do.
Right now this is a clear front runner but June is usually the time to choose so we will have to wait and see what comes up.
I apologize for the YouTube links. I am literally in a car driving across country so I was unable to just put the video. I will update it when I get back home.
Summer jams are for you and maybe someone to share it with. It is that song that no matter what makes you fall in love with that moment. The song that will quickly kill any Summertime Sadness. (See what I did there?)
Summer is about having fun and feeling free so find your summer jam and memorize the lyrics and then song it at the top of your lungs whenever you can.
It's road trip time!!! I am currently driving cross country to Florida and then getting on a boat to the Bahamas. I have been excited for this since Feburary. I even planned a hair color which backfired. But whatever. I took a chance and that is what this post is about.
So the chance I took on my hair didn't pan out. I wanted a very soft baby blue but my hair wouldn't take the color and now I have green mermaid hair. Whatever. Not gonna bother me. 2014 has been about me coming out if my shell. Doing new things and trying new foods and going to new places. It is my "yes" year. So yes I have green hair.
When Mark and I first became really close friends right before we started dating we would always refer to ourselves as adventurers. But after a while we got comfortable and became homebodies. So this is us going on an adventure again. We love to travel and we want to see everything but it's so easy to stay at home. So we are going bigger. It is the beginning of summer and it's time to go big.
I plan on posting more pictures. I hope it inspires you to get out there and try something new. You can also follow me on Instagram to see even more. @ewilliams_12
One common subject here at Bigger, Better, Louder is certainly going to be television.I have loved television since I can remember and some of my first memories are of Captain Planet and the Biker Mice from Mars.
Now I do not proclaim to be any kind of expert in television. I only claim to have watched an excessive amount of it. That is a nice way of putting it. Even in High school, I would stay at home and watch Will & Grace or The OC in my room rather than go out. I was very much an appointment television person and thank god for DVR or I would not have a life today. Netflix has changed my life in both bad and good ways. The point is I love TV.
Now it is May and a lot of stations are announcing their changes in lineups for the fall. Some news is good and other news is upsetting. For instance, Sean Saves the World is canceled. Now I know that I only watched this show because of my love for Will & Grace. I know this and I was aware of it even when I told myself that show would get better. But it didn't and it wasn't going to. The writing and the jokes just weren't very clever and even though it was about a gay father working for an internet site, the show felt older than the Internet. The best part was Linda Lavin as Sean's mother. However, they could have made her more raunchy and offensive. Sort of like a mix of Karen Walker and Mallory Archer.
Anyway, that is a disappointment I saw coming.
Among others, I am sad about are The Carrie Diaries, and Super Fun Night. Both shows felt like they had finally found their footing just when they left. I am gonna miss them. Also, the beloved Community has been canceled by NBC. This isn't a huge surprise but very disappointing since they were so close to 100 episodes and that coveted sixth season. However, Hart of Dixie is coming back for season 4!. I am pretty happy about that especially since it was moved to Fridays this spring. God that scared me. I honestly look forward to seeing Rachel Bilson every week. Much of my fashion inspiration and knowledge is accredited to her.
When something leaves though there is always a new show to take its place. There are definitely some new shows I will have to check out in the fall. The first and most exciting to me is Gotham. Combining Batman's back story and Ben McKenzie is a sure fire way to get me to watch it. The show itself centers around Gordon(McKenzie) when he is young and it looks like just starting to work in Gotham City. The town is clearly already corrupt and I believe the first season at least will be about Gordon trying to solve the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents.
There is also an interview with Bruno Heller, the showrunner, at Entertainment Weekly which will help give you a better feel for what they are going for. I am pretty excited really. I thin it looks pretty good and Fox has been known to have some good dramas. House anyone?
The second show I am getting ready for is a prequel series. Better Call Saul centers on the lawyer Saul Goodman played by Bob Odenkirk from the insanely popular and awesome AMC series Breaking Bad. Now there isn't a legit trailer for this series yet. But it is the story of Saul Goodman before he meets Walter White. Still a crooked lawyer helping out the criminals of New Mexico. Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould Better Call Saul premieres this November on AMC which I agree is still too long to wait.
The last new show I will write about today is actually an Internet series that will premiere on CW Seed. Get ready Veronica Mars fans because Dick is getting his own show!! Well maybe. The series is called Play It Again, Dick and it stars Ryan Hansen as himself trying to get an actual spin-off show for his Veronica Mars character Dick Casablancas. Rob Thomas, the creator of Veronica Mars is helping with it. It wouldn't surprise me if other members of the cast make appearances though no appearances have been confirmed.
There are several other series coming up and as we get closer to fall I will do my best to get trailers and post them so you can decide for yourself what you want to watch. But for now summer is coming, so relax and watch all of your summer favorites. Oh and you should look into checking Girl Meets World which premieres June 27 on the Disney channel. (Whatever don't judge)
Hey everyone! Some new songs have been coming out and I wanted to share them with you!
Every season I start a new playlist and it helps me compile the songs I am loving at that time. Some songs carry over from one season to the next and some only stay for one season. Some songs came out in the 90s or 80s but I am in love with them again or for the first time so they are on there as well. Also, I should say that I don't follow the actual dates of a season. For example, I started my summer 2014 playlist today and well it is still very much spring. However, the summer playlist is usually the biggest anyway.
So there is a new track from Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea called "Problem".
I was maybe too excited for this collaboration to begin with, but I was disappointed. I honestly hate the chorus. It's like this weird version of the whisper song with a 90s melody and JLO horns blaring. Why?
The second song which I am way more into is the new Lilly Allen called "Sheezus".
The video does creep me out. But the song is catchy as hell and I love the chorus. I don't know that Lorde is a diva yet, but she could be. She is still going through that whole "I'm new. I'm not like the other pop stars," even though her and Taylor Swift are already BFFs. And all of her songs already sound the same. Sorry not really a Lorde fan.
Anyway, I appreciate when Allen starts discussing periods. I get it. She is trying to put all women on the same level. "We've all got periods." I think it is kind of gross way to do it, but it grabs your attention and she definitely gets the point across.
Okay this last song is older but you have to hear it if you haven't already.
The band is called 5 Seconds of Summer and the song is titled "She Looks So Perfect".
I have to talk about the elephant in the song. Why is she wearing HIS underwear? That is worse than discussing periods. Maybe I am getting old, but that it is not sanitary.
This song is catchy as hell and I am surprised I am not hearing more of it on the radio. Maybe with more time?
Anyway, these songs are staring off the Summer 2014 playlist and though none of them have been named The Summer Jam yet, you will know when it happens.
Today is a special day. One of my bests friends and her husband celebrated their 5 year wedding anniversary tonight.
(Alfredo and Lila)
They are a wonderful couple and they really show me the meaning of true love everyday.
My own three year anniversary is on Monday with the one I love. We aren't married, but we have been together three years and we have been best friends longer than that.
(Mark and I)
Why do we celebrate anniversaries? What is it about them that makes them so important to us?
It really feels like just another day and usually our anniversaries fall on workdays so we don't have time to celebrate them. However, I can tell you several anniversaries of mine.
Of course as most women I have an anniversary with my cat. This August My cat and I will have been best friends for eleven years. Through high school, college, internships, and grad school she has been there complaining and whining about how she doesn't get enough wet food. She sleeps by me almost every night except when she doesn't want to wake me up to get her something. Her name is Layla and she lays out on in the sun.
(Layla and I)
My parents of course have always been together. They fight and bicker at one another, but they truly do love one another. They have been together over thirty years. Their anniversary is June 14th.
(My Parents)
Even birthdays are anniversaries. I can't ever forget my brother's birthday. First of all it is August 1st so its easy to remember. Also, he would never let me live it down. Seriously, I would never hear the end of it.
(Ben and I)
Why do I know all of this? Birthdays, anniversaries, I even remember days some of my closest friends have been taken from me. (Love you Sheldon, Drew, and Morgan)
I don't believe there is one answer to this question. People remember things for many reasons. but I remember these days because these are people or animals who changed me. My parents for obvious reasons. They raised me, they created the environment I grew up in. Although we may not always see eye to eye, I have a respect for them and their hard work. They taught me hard work and how to appreciate what you have.
My cat teaches me that I can be what I want to and not to take crap from anybody. She is very strong willed. Seriously though if you mess with her she just runs and hides and you never get to see her until you leave and she forgets who you are.
My brother, Ben, teaches me to appreciate things in a new way. He is a music lover and I mean that in the strongest way possible. He loves all music and will judge it all on an equal scale. You can check out his blog Culture Greyhound and see just how much. We love to discuss new music, TV series, film, and culture trends. I always learn something from him and he makes me really figure out why I feel what I feel about something and it makes me a stronger person.
My best friend Lila teaches me to stay strong in what I believe and never let people push me around. She has the strongest faith of anyone I know. Because of that she has shown me what true love looks like and I hope Mark and I can have as much love as her and her husband do.
My Mark teaches me how to be my own person and how to not care what people think. He teaches me not to worry and how to just let life work out the way its supposed to. He teaches me how to pick myself up when I am down and how to truly support someone and be their one and only. Yes, he has taught me a lot, but he is the love of my life and I spend most of my time with him. It was inevitable.
The most important thing that all of the people mentioned and a few others not mentioned and Layla the cat have taught me though is that I should love myself. That isn't the easiest lesson to learn for anyone and to have so many people constantly make me feel worth it is the greatest feeling of all. That is why anniversaries of any kind are worth remembering. It is important to celebrate the people you love.
Happy Anniversary Dalila and Alfredo and Happy Anniversary Mark!
PARTY TIP: You have the right to not party with people who bring you down. - Andrew WK
I know I posted just yesterday, but I have something new for you!!
2 things have been brought to my attention even though one of which I already new about.
(thank you bro and B)
The first being the mesmerizing new Avril Lavigne video for "Hello Kitty", It was on YouTube, but it has since been taken down because people have been ofended by it. It is stil on her website however. You can check it out here.
I know, right? It's kind of great. I don't believe in guilty pleasures or being embarrassed for things that make me happy so I will admit I still love Avril. This song is weird and random and ridiculous and not even the catchiest thing she has ever written, but I still like it and this video is weirdly adorable. With her pink skirt and biker gloves, she just weirds me out and still makes me want to dance along side her.
Many people have been offended by it though and claim that it is racist. I can see where they are coming from, but my opinion is that Avril was just doing what her director told her to do. The video was created for the Japanese market and by a bunch of Japanese artists and directors. So I stand by my opinion and that the video is weird and random and fun.
The second thing I wanted to share with the world is the great new app I found. That's right an app which I learned about through InStyle's website. It s called The Find and it is FREE. What is does is it helps you do your online shopping all at once. Want to find the best price with free shipping on those new Michael Kors watches? Easy. you literally need one tab open and on this site. Now you can even do it from your phone or tablet. I know I sound like an ad right now, but it really is a lifesaver. I can't tell you how much time it has saved me already. I freaking love it. PARTY TIP: Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never be afraid to dance. - Andrew WK Stay awesome, - Emy
