My original plan for this post today was a travel entry. I was going to pull back the curtain on one of my favourite underrated towns in the California mountains. This week has been an emotional tumult for me. Part of it is PMS. Part of it is what’s going on in my life. The larger world seems to be falling apart anew with the loss of the iconic triumvirate: Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen.

~ Dolly Parton

My grief journey isn’t a secret. I work to not put my judgements of others grief on them. This is an aspect of being human everyone experiences, yet we seem to understand the least about. With that in mind, I’m changing today’s post in the hopes of providing a soothing balm for our collective upheaval.

It can often feel like the only chances during times like this are to crumble or to persist. To keep going. Or to stop completely. The self-imposed duality for sad times. Being too emotional means you are too much. And, let me assure you, I know a thing or too about being accused of being “too much.” Neither of these are wholly comfortable boxes to fit in.

One half of my family is quite large. French Catholic. I remember offering this piece of advice to younger cousins repeatedly:

“Humans are basically house plants with complicated emotions.”

Our basic needs are the same as plants: water, food, fresh air, sunshine.

If you’re feeling sad or overwhelmed make sure you check all these boxes. Loss doesn’t mean we don’t persist. It doesn’t mean we get to wallow. It is our job to carry the traits forward into the world we so admired in the people whose loss we have felt. So much of what these icons gave us was safety. A sense of feeling seen. Permission to be outlandish. Ridiculous in the eyes of some. Queerdo weirdos can thrive too. You don’t have to fit into anyone else’s box besides your own.

~ Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter

Parton, Curry, and Cullen helped many of us not feel alone. I remember timewarping as teenager uncomfortable in my body (see the photo proof below!), watching Dolly Parton sing with Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show when it was in reruns throughout my childhood, and playing Transformers with my younger brother from what feels like the beginning of our childhood.

Cullen is also something of a Canadian icon and when you grow up performing in The Great White North he’s a big inspiration.

~ Peter Cullen

This is what I want you to take away from your heavy feelings: be yourself. Be yourself loudly. Proudly. Weirdly. To the best of your ability.

Yesterday was the Full Moon in Pisces. Pisces is the end of the zodiac. It’s a mutable water sign. The harbinger of big feelings. Last night was the lunar eclipse. Eclipses bring big lessons often at the expense of our emotional well-being. Breathe through it. By the end of this weekend you are going to start feeling calmer.

To our recently lost icons: thank-you for the generations of creatives you helped feel seen. And, to quote the immortal Bard: “Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest”

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Carrie - little baby humblebrag here: I got screeners for the upcoming Stephen King adaptation by Mike Flanagan & started watching them yesterday. That’s all I’ve got to say!

📖 The Deal by: Elle Kennedy - the inspo behind Amazon Prime’s hockey romance show. I’m current on the Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry doesn’t start until next spring, the PWHL probably isn’t coming back until early December, so I need a little hockey in my life

_🏒 Hiking - the minute I’ve posted this I start packing for a weekend hiking & reconnecting. I can’t freaking wait!

Happy Virgo Season!

Happy Full Sturgeon Moon!

Look after yourself through this Eclipse energy!

It’s okay to be sad!

Hello! Hello! Hello!

When I was 19 I read Tropic of Cancer by: Henry Miller for the first time along with things like My Ántonia by: Willa Carter and The Dud Avocado by: Elaine Dundy because I wanted nothing more to be considered “bohemian.” While Miller may not be an author we associate with pathos, he does nail something about the human condition in this quote from The Books in My Life:

Sharing books, in particular, is something I love doing. As a young girl I hoarded my books. To the point where several of them were chewed away at by mice during a move by my mother having sat in a Canadian garage for too long. Now, when I finish a book that is especially good I’m very likely to slip it inside an envelope and send it off to a friend. It can very quickly evolve into Sisterhood of the Traveling Book!

Recently a copy of The Favorites by: Layne Fargo was read by my close friend Jordan Keeble (who is a fabulous sports writer over at A Red Arrow Blog), after a particularly good Book of the Month decision. I love it so much I had to send it to the lovely Michelle Harvath (brilliant photographer, wonderful human, and former ice dancer!), so we could all share in the messy glory of Kat, Heath, Isabella, and Garrett.

Don’t let this lead you to thinking the only thing I may share with you in a book. In many ways I am my mother’s daughter and gift-giving is one of the ways I express love. If I think you are an amazing person I’ll share my must-haves for flawless fun with you.

The Favorites by: Layne Fargo

Since I’ve teased this read above (and in my What’s Playing? segment of a previous blog), if the mythos surrounding the Nancy Kerrigan/Tanya Harding saga still compels you, as it does so many of us, Fargo’s romantic drama about succeeding at all costs is a perfect dark companion to the hockey romances which have kept us in their strangleholds ahead of Heated Rivalry season 2.

The Hunting Party by: Lucy Foley

If you’ve followed any of my cross-country (Los Angeles > Atlanta), travels from this past spring you may have seen my good friend Stacey. Geek History Lesson listeners will have also heard her as part of our #NolanClub series. Yesterday I packed this book off and sent it to Stacey because, as mentioned above, I love to pass on stories! For my money, Foley writes the best thrillers around. This dark and twisty tale takes place in the Scottish Highlands during a winter storm and unwinds a mysterious death in a group of close college friends!

Book of Longing by: Leonard Cohen

Is there anything more indulgent than stretching out on the couch in a shaft of sunlight first thing in the morning and reading a handful of poems? Originally, I bought this collection by the Canadian legend for my mother and about a decade after she posted the same copy to me, here in Los Angeles. It was circuitous, but always fated for me! I find Cohen’s deep plumbing of human emotion tremendously inspiring as I’m in the middle of my own [re]writing process.

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Love is Blind UK - probably my favourite installment of this ridiculous franchise and, allow me to assure you friends, season 3 has some real characters! The unexpected bonus has been texting my good friend (and social media guru!), Illianna about the ridiculousness!

📖 Lore of the Wilds by: Analeigh Sbrana - cosy fantasy? Yes, please! I had the please of interview Analeigh at BookCon this year and it’s been a delight to dive into her duology. Does having a beautifully signed copy help? Well, yes!

_🏒 Travel Planning - I love to bop here, there, and everywhere. Two trips on the horizon have moved into the stage where I get to actively plan our activities. This is the amuse bouche before the adventure itself.

Happy Augtober!

Happy beginning of Hallowe’en decor in the shops!

Take time to savour the small things!

Stay hydrated!

Remember when you were a child and would complain about being “bored?” If you spoke to my mother I was always “bored,” constantly “bored,” never knew what to do with myself I was so “bored!” From the moment of my twentieth birthday (I remember it vividly, I was standing on stage playing the eponymous character in Peter Pan promising never to do something as horrible as “grow up” - I’ve very rarely returned to this childhood state of boredom. So strong I would call it, in French, ennui. Yes, I have always been dramatic.

Recently, I have contrived to bring more boredom into my life. I welcome unending stretches with no commitments. Time to be quiet. Exercises in introspection. No pings from my phone. Send these my way. I spent a whole day recently reading. My only goal was to crack open The Great Gatsby and do nothing else until I finished. You can judge my success from this little vlog:

In the spirit of what I view as a success I wish boredom in your near future. Whether you are at home comfortable in your routine, out on the road to somewhere you’ve never seen before, or unsettled somewhere in between. Invite in boredom. You may be surprised what comes from it.

It’s Too Darn Hot!

This summer has been a series of muggy days in Los Angeles with temperatures reaching well over 30 degrees Celsius and friends are increasingly difficult to get a hold of. Not for a lack of trying. We’re all just trying to make it through the days balancing and battling our air conditioning and daily routines. It is Los Angeles. Everyone here is hither and thither at all times. I myself have had to wade out in this heat wave to film a daring attempt to turn on Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry’s, original computer:

If there’s one thing the heat isn’t going to stop it’s the entertainment industry’s leviathan rush forward.

Every ounce of me wonders: “Is that healthy?” as I schlep my way back home for a whirlwind of playwriting/pop culture convention prep/podcast recording and more.

Turns out creativity is a cup. Something you need to fill. Repeatedly. This type of work mandates a bit of a swirling trajectory of your life. It’s not enough to do what “self-care” buzzword uses on social media advocates for - slow down, look inward, “Treat yo’self!”

As the ancient Greeks knew, you have the leaves rooms for the muses. And this is exactly what I’ve been doing.

Listen to the Muses

At first accepting in boredom can be challenging. Boredom is something most of us work against. Our inner children rail against the fear of being “Bored!” yet again. I find it endlessly daunting. What if nothing ever emerges from the quietude?

Despite these pervasive concerns, with a little help from my friends (as The Beatles wrote), I always emerge from the boredom simply feeling better. With the seeds of new ideas.

Today I want to share some of the things I use to welcome boredom into my life. As with all the most important routine in your life it’s not enough to make space for it in your life spiritually, you have to set the stage for it - or perhaps this is the theatre kid in me being a bit dramatic again!

• special drink - for me it’s always coffee and it’s not enough to just make a coffee, I make this coffee special (“special” typically means a dash of cinnamon stirred in 9 times clockwise with intention)

• vibey music - in most desperate cases I’ll put on meditation music via my beloved Insight Time app and see what happens

• ideally a bird - on my balcony there are couple different bird feeders and my backyard plays host to several birds who are perfect watching

Alternately, if you find this a little too woo-woo and are rolling your eyes thinking “Okay, witch.” I find physical activity quite boring (or if we are being generous: meditative), and swimming is my favourite to achieve this same ends. I’m underwater. I can’t hear. All I have time to do is not hit the wall and … think.

Story Time …

I highly recommend you embrace boredom. Let her be your friend. Through allowing myself the time and space to be bored I recently overcame a huge second act problem (i.e. my entire second act …), in my current rewrite of red dirt / red storm. The worst thing that will happen is you’ll have found a few quiet minutes to yourself. The best of the worst thing that will happen is a passing sweet daydream. The best thing that will happen? You’ll have to tell me!

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 The Field of Dreams - yesterday the MLB played their third game on the shooting site of the film classic, The Field of Dreams. I loved streaming the game on Netflix and topped it off by watching the original Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan film afterward.

📖 Sense and Sensibility by: Jane Austen - another notch in my 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die list & prep for the upcoming television series

_🏒 Massage - I live inside my own head. Massage gets you into your body. This week I visited a favourite masseuse and it feels like she’s changed my life!

Happy middle of August!

Happy Lanterns premier weekend!

Can you believe X-Men 97 season 2 is over?!

Let yourself be bored!

~ Vincent Price (The Cask of Amontillado)

Iconic actor, writer, and horror host famously loved cats. Lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, equally left behind a photographic of cat fancying. Price was the type of multi-hyphenate creator I am always striving to be. There’s so much of his approach to art I take to heart. As such, to discover we share a love of felines and dedication to becoming the legendary “crazy cat lady,” I knew a silky golden lion (a common Chinese name for domestic housecats!), 🦁 would come into my adult life when the time was right.

Eight years ago, just ahead of global lockdowns, our friend and comedy superstar Nick Mundy needed to foster out a pair of kitten on behalf of CARE Rescue LA. As I squatted on my bathroom floor and released the two little rescue kittens the brave little orange boy rubbed right against my knees and changed my life:

“Oh, no, I’m going to keep him.” was my immediate thought.

If you are at all curious about how I met Nick it was when he was first called to set for our Devil in the Dark episode of The Red Shirt Diaries:

… and I can admit with absolute confidence Nick was the funniest person on the series!

A Hollywood Origin Story

CARE Rescue LA is a 501(c)(3) organization in Los Angeles Jenn Sterger had shared her involvement in with me. I’d be wishing for my first cat as an adult for a long time. Growing up my family had an orange female rescue cat named Snuggles who I now appreciate was my childhood best friend as we moved from army base to army base across Canada. She passed when I first went away to university and I’d been curious to see what having a sidekick was like. When I would visualize my ideal future I always pictured a Russian Blue. I didn’t need to copy/paste my cat. This, plus our family pets always being rescues made rescuing the obvious choice. I’m a bit of a scruffy person who came from another country, a scruffy kitty from across the county would do me just fine.

Since Brego came into my life (he was named “Tony” when we first met and I have a legendary dislike of Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, so that was never going to fly!), has taught me great lessons in pausing and slowing down. This Aries/Gemini household has found so much balance with his Taurus energy joining our household.

In celebration of Brego’s elite skill at slowing down I want to present you his favourite sun spots:

The Sling

Cat trees have been a hotly debated topic in my home for largely aesthetic purposes. The classic cat tree is ugly. I’m sorry. It’s true. When we finally got a cat tree it was, of course, enormous (floor to ceiling), and featured several perches. This sling is about five feet off the ground, offers a view of the ferals who live in the garage, and is easily Brego’s favourite snoozing spot.

Box(es)

“That’s not my garbage, that’s the cat garbage.” is a bit of a motto in my home. There are boxes (some empty, some filled with more cat garbage), and the more square they are the better they are for Brego to go full clam-mode in. That’s what we call it when he sleeps in a perfect circle.

Dad Blankets

In my home there is a modest collection known as “Dad Blankets” which are exactly what they sound like. There’s something about Dad Blankets that not only draws us, as adult children, to snuggle down in them, and keeps Brego bedding down and coming back for more.

Crammed Next to a Window

Why look for a patch of sunlight when you can press your body against it? Winter or summer. Shine or rain. You can always find Brego at some point throughout the day pressed into the glass or screen of a window in the home. The sliding glass door to the balcony is a particular favourite location for him. However, the moment the door slides open to total freedom coaxing Brego out onto the balcony is a heroic feat in and of itself!

My Lap

You’ve heard of a velcro cat? My sweet baby Brego is whatever the opposite of a velcro cat is. Brego is happiest when he’s about three feet away and we are enjoying floor time together. I often get a lot of reading done this way. It’s what makes him an A+ podcast intern. It’s only in rare moments that he chooses to numb my limbs with his 15lb glory.

Adopt Don’t Shop

If rescuing a cat has ever crossed your mind, and your lifestyle supports a moody apex predator in its weight class, I can’t encourage you enough to reach out to a local rescue, shelter, or pound to find your very own sidekick. If you are local to me, CARE Rescue LA comes with my highest recommendation and Los Angeles City Controller, Kenneth Mejia, uses his social media to bring a lot of attention to pets in LA County who could use a home.

It’s so cliché you’ll find this phrase on bumper stickers, but I promise you, once you bring a rescue pet into your life you will find yourself asking: who rescued who?

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Taskmaster: Australia - there’s nothing worse than when you catch up on a Taskmaster franchise! Of the English-language offerings Australia was the last frontier. This week we’ve caught up and are now current on season 5.

📖 The Hunting Party by: Lucy Foley - for my money, Lucy Foley writes the best thrillers on the shelf. I picked up this book earlier in the year & at 37 pages I’ve already go the spine tingles!

_🏒 Yoga - working out has been a bit of a struggle with the record heat. My Instagram channel No Limits League knows my complaints! I’ve been putting yoga in the forefront to offset not being able to go out and do as much cardio. I won’t pretend my beautiful Middle-Earth Yoga mat doesn’t help motivate!

Little bonus, here is an unboxing of some fun low-waste goodies from a giveaway I recently won:

Happy August!

Happy STLV weekend!

It’s another Geek History Lesson Movie Club Livestream weekend!

Soak up the sun!

Wondering why maintaining friendships as an adult is so difficult? When I was five I ran up to another little girl on a playground in Petawawa, Ontario, Canada and I asked her “Do you want to be my friend?” she said, “Yes.” and that was that. We were immediately friends. If you are anything like me then there is something about being leaving your teens which has put inexplicable complications on the notion of ~*~friendship~*~ Have you considered putting coffee front and centre? Meeting a friend for coffee - revolutionary, I know.

This year many of my friends inside the entertainment industry and outside have found themselves unemployed and back on the job hunt. What I like to call “Broke Friend Hangs” reign supreme in my social life, prioritizing time spent together, and no-cost activities. I pride myself on carefully curating a coffee hang in my home with fun options like Cafe du Monde’s famous chicory coffee (picked up during my overnight in New Orleans this past April when my friend Stacey and I drove across the country), Tim Hortons (a treat from my homeland), served in mugs shaped like every kind of cat you could imagine.

There’s a heartwarming Japanese novel about this very principle (which also features a cat!), I highly recommend titled: Before the Coffee gets Cold.

En Français, S’il Vous Plait!

Broke Friend Hangs over coffee have opened up some of the most thoughtful, deep, and raw conversations I’ve had with some of the most beloved people in my life. Having for years prided myself on the French art of conversation (NovExpat has a great essay on it in English here), as a Canadian-born girly, now evolving this muscle being LA-based has been a delight.

The aspect French art of conversation I am referring to is mostly centered around dinner parties, however, in my opinion, it feels even more romantic over a cup of coffee prepared exactly to your taste. The idea is if you are hosting, then your responsibility is to provide the food and the job of the guest is to provide the ambiance. A good French guests arrives with topics to keep conversation flowing. In this way, responsibility is shared throughout the hang and no one is over taxed.

If you suspect your friend might be overtaxed themselves you could always have a thought-provoking question in the back of your mind for once you’ve served the coffee, settled in, and are ready to chat. Something like:

What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself recently you wished you’d known sooner?

Active Listening

Something else I pride myself on is being a lifelong learner. My friends are some of the things that interest me the most in the world. I want to know what makes them tick. I want to be a safe harbour in a storm for them. There’s a fine balance between always letting people vent at you, fighting down the urge to make any conversation about yourself, and never getting deeper than surface level. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll talk my work wife, Graeme’s, ear off about Love Island UK, but my fondest convos with him have been far more vulnerable than anyone at Casa Amor has ever managed.

What I’m driving at is the art of active listening. Ironically, active listening is a core principle of acting. While I love my profession, I’m the first to admit it’s one of the more self-centered fields of study and work.

Let go of self-consciousness and the urge to “perform”.

There’s a peace in focusing on the journey your friend is taking you on. The twists, turns, and small jokes to evoke their emotional state without compromising their own lore by inserting yourself.

In acting it’s framed as fully engaging with your scene partner’s words, subtext, and physical cues instead of just waiting for your next line. Anyone who has ever taken an improv class and finds themselves reading this is nodding: “Yes, and …?”

You’ll find yourself surprised how quickly people will open up.

Story Time …

“Broke Friend Hangs” were born from the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost everyone I knew was out of work and/or became front-line workers because employment insurance is difficult to come by as a freelance employee within the structure of the entertainment industry. Not everyone in Los Angeles has a driveway, so we tiptoed into each other’s apartments clutching takeaway coffee and stood across the living room (complete with the underscore of a HEPA air filter).

As our locally sourced coffee (I will always miss Plántate Café), grew cold clutched in our hands friends came out to me, revealed their authentic selves, announced weddings, pregnancies, and divorces, pondered moving out of Los Angeles, recommended Schitt’s Creek, shared the diagnoses of family members, and revealed more of themselves than many years of friendship up to that point had.

There was definitely something raw and revealing about 2020 and its subsequent lockdowns. While I hope to never have to go through something like that again I am grateful for the walls it brought down. I’m thankful for the people the Universe moved out of my way. I’m most grateful for the relationships it strengthened. A simple cup of coffee gave us all permission to go deeper.

I’m of the age to have grown up rolling my eyes at anyone who read Eat, Pray, Love. The movie came out when I was very young and spooled into a joke speedily. Two years ago enough women I admired had recommended me the book, so I dove into Elizabeth Gilbert’s famed memoir. I now find myself writing to you with this same recommendation.

The Eat, Pray, Love conclusion is all about being present and vulnerable in order to celebrate what makes life most enjoyable.

I’ll forever be here encouraging you to strike out on an adventure, dear reader, because travel opens up the world to you. New experiences unlocked parts of your imagination you didn’t know were locked. Broke Friend Hangs can do the same thing on a personal level. Make a pot of coffee this week, invite a friend ‘round, and talk until the coffee gets cold.

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 WPBL - tomorrow the Women’s Professoinal Baseball League plays it’s inaugural game. I’m rooting for the Los Angeles Queens!

📖 Valley Girls by: Sarah Nicole Lemon - this year I went to Yosemite for the first time & it changed my life. This book is set in the Valley & I am loving it! Currently, I am sharing my Yosemite adventures in my Instagram Stories - follow along!

_🏒 Swimming - being active out-of-doors is increasingly difficult with the heat wave over Los Angeles. Starting today I’m subbing in swimming as a temperature safe outdoor activity. Join me?

Happy last day of July!

Happy August!

Watch Women’s Sports!

Share a cup of coffee!

Year ago I heard an interview with JoClub Founder Jo Franco about her perspective on travel. Jo’s thesis is

… and she told a story about living in New York City for years before she finally rode the subway north to see The Unicorn Tapestries at The Cloisters.

I, myself, recently sought out medieval French tapestries for the first time when I was in NYC for BookCon! The first picture in this post is me standing at the exact centre of The Cloisters in one of the stunning gardens on site.

Travelling is a privilege. Travelling in the manor to which you are most accustomed is even more of a privilege. We all know where we are comfortable scrimping and saving. These aren’t always the same areas. Being able to jump on planes, trains, and automobiles isn’t always in hand. It’s then I encourage you to look within and find your inner Jo Franco. Harnessing curiosity of your hometown (whether it’s as big as Los Angeles, California or as small as Stark, Kansas), can bring as much satisfaction and delight as a trip abroad.

Staycations are lovely (and I’ll certainly drill down on them in a future musing), in the meantime here are some tidbits of insight on exploring your home with a tourist.

In an effort to channel the correct spirit for this musing I elected to take an adventure in Los Angeles simply for the heck of it.

Ever watched Skins?

… was my motto last weekend!

Throw a Dart at the Map & Go!

Like many folx, I often find myself caught up in decision fatigue. Analysis paralysis. However you choose to name it. As a quadruple Aries, I’m a naturally decisive person. I value holding opinions on the experiences I walk through the world with. Does that mean I never struggle to make up my mind? Of course not. I am still a girly who hates to be asked: “What do you want to eat for dinner?” but left to my own devices I’ll happily make the entire meal without asking for input.

The perfect day trip begins with understanding the vibe. While I am always in favour or setting the devices aside, I myself rarely unplug unless I’ve wandered into the woods. If you are going to retain your device, help set the mood for your just because adventure by putting on a tune. May I recommend the aptly named rock n roll classic, Day Tripper by: The Beatles?

Make a short list of the:

• I’ve always wanted to go there, but never have.

• I’ve always wanted to go there, but no one from here goes there.

• I’ve always wanted to go there, but never had the chance.

That are close by. I know you have a list. I do! You deserve a break from the constant email reading, text replying, and social media frenzy of modern life. If taking other considerations like time/location/budget doesn’t whittle down where you’ll be going there a load of free random number generators that will do the job for you.

For me, the decision was simple: The Getty Center and Gardens.

Then, you’ve simply “Gotta go!” Get thee to your destination of choice and go all in. Visiting The Getty Center and Gardens is a very straightforward affair. All I had to do was book a free entry time online (once my mind was made up I selected a time two hours in the future so I could wrap up recording some episodes of Geek History Lesson), park (not free), and take the free tram to the top of the Santa Monica Mountain where it rests. Want to make it feel even more like a treat? Bring along some water with your favourite fruit thrown into the mix, your favourite fancy coffee (if you haven’t read my love letter to The Flat White be sure to check it out!), or curate a vibey playlist to listen to throughout.

Take it All in

_{~ Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)}

Unless you are exploring a maze of roses (which I highly recommend the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Elizabethan Hedge Maze in Vancouver, British Columbia if that is your thing), then go where your heart takes you. Wandering around. Follow a map. Listen to a guide. Take selfies. Or do nothing at all.

Quite by accident I wandered into The Getty Research Institute moments after stepping off the tram. I won’t pretend part of this wasn’t inspired by a quest for air conditioning (it was 38C at the last afternoon arrival), and I this wound up being my favourite collection.

In the current collection is a feature of pre-Columbian Mexican artifacts and the story of how a Los Angeles-based art dealer made them trendy in the mid-twentieth century. Common design, themes, and visuals spilled over into interior decorating, Hollywood film posters, and consumer advertisements.

Here I discovered famed Mexican painter Diego Rivera for the first time. His work has been added to a future incarnation of my personal curriculum.

The rest of the exhibits in The Getty Center are classic European Art. It’s not that these are unimpressive, but they make the gallery and museum aspects feel generic. The same thing you could have seen at The Met in New York, The National Portrait Gallery in London or Edinburgh, The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, or The Louvre in Paris. Additionally, The Getty Research Center has a feature called Lost. Found. Returned. about the history and preservation of lost or stolen art with a direct tie to Los Angeles.

LA is a strange place with a unique culture often lost awash our larger entertainment industry contributions. It was grounding and compelling to get a look at the city’s mid-century culture.

A Call to Action

All those places you haven’t made time for? They’re waiting for you with open arms. If you can add a splash of the outdoors or a meal before/after to digest your adventure then you’ll have curated yourself a special event.

I think we often forget how easy it is to expand our horizons. It’s not plane tickets, TSA precheck, and crossing timezones that brings on the spirit of adventure. It doesn’t have to be earned. Finances, holidays, and PTO doesn’t have to keep you from a perfect day. Perfect days can be small scale. The expanse of your backyard can feel like a whirlwind 10 day tour.

The icing on the cake from my time at The Getty Center and Gardens was the latter half of the name - “...and Gardens.” Despite the heat I met many new friends walking children out in nature. At one point a grown man asked me: “Do you want to see a sick grasshopper?” I cannot imagine answering anything other than: “Hell, yes!” Before I knew it, a group exclusively made up of full grown adults were leaned over the most cartoonishly bright green grasshopper I’ve seen in my entire life.

If that isn’t the whimsical capper to a perfect outing, I don’t know what is?

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Crank Up the Volume’s Conversation with Seattle Torrent GM Meghan Turner - I miss the PWHL season. There’s been a lot of upheaval on my teams. I really enjoyed this convo about the evolution of The Seattle Torrent.

📖 The Titan’s Curse by: Rick Riordan - this week is San Diego Comic-Con and I felt pretty confident we’d be getting news about Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 3. This is the third book in the series.

_🏒 Insight Timer’s 10 Day Burnout & Exhaustion Challenge - started this week & I am a couple days in. This is my favourite free meditation app. Not an affy link, but feel free to join me & be my friend on that platform.

Happy San Diego Comic-Con!

Stay Cool!

Drink Lots of Water!

Travel in Your Own Backyard!

I’m writing these opening words today from my home in Los Angeles. I just stepped off the plane back from Miami. Five days of warm Atlantic waters, incredible Cuban coffee, and pop culture celebrations are now being balanced out by reading about the natural world, meditating, and cooking good food.

The Main Stage panels I hosted all weekend long have begun to trickle out starting today. If you want to check them out Chainsaw Man is now available:

Today’s missive is coming through a fog of post-convention brain, jetlag, and is going to be a pep talk from me to you. It’s rooted in a less I have learned and relearned and hope to keep relearning.

(if there’s anything you still want to know about my Florida Supercon I’m doing an AMA in my Instagram Stories today!)

“I don’t watch that show.”

One of the reunion panels I was assigned to host at Florida Supercon was the Hart of Dixie reunion with Rachel Bilson, Wilson Bethel, and Jaime King. I’ll be honest, my initial reaction was that the show was a bit out of my wheelhouse. I’m usually asked to chat with superheroes and authors - so, yes, I have chatted with Wilson Bethel in the past, but it’s almost always about Daredevil.

“The show is cute and you’ll do a great job.” my colleague Kat assured me.

And that was that.

This boost of a confidence from someone I trust and respect made me feel comfortable accepting the panel being offered to me. I didn’t know at the time it would turn out to be a gift. While it hasn’t been released to the public yet, hosting the Hart of Dixie panel was the most fun I had hosting on the Main Stage at Florida Supercon. Rachel Bilson and I talked about books, Wilson Bethel brought up flowers and art. My expectations were exceeded. I had a wonderful time.

Tell Me Something Good

Want to be sure you’ll never be scared? Unfortunately that means you may never be surprised. Or delighted. (apologies to any retail workers who are triggered by the phrase “Surprise and delight” - I have been there myself!) There’s nothing wrong with a kernel or fear or doubt to get an evolution started. Confidence will bloom when you conquer what lies beneath.

In 2022 I received a DM from my good friend, Chris Arrant (from Newsarama fame at the time), inquiring if I was looking for a job. Chris and I had worked together in the past and always gotten along on Twitter, despite the fact we lived on separate coasts and had never managed to meet when we were in the same place at the same time (during events like San Diego Comic-Con and, irony of ironies, New York Comic Con). To be completely frank with you: I was not. I was living comfortably as a freelancer without having to answer to anybody on the regular. An unruly Aries dream! It was through generous patience on Chris’ behalf that Popverse first came into my life. A new idea. Encompassing even more comic con. Opportunities for more collaboration. Something I didn’t really know if I wanted. It really was the willingness to step from freelance life to organizational structure that landed me chatting to the cast of Hart of Dixie and meeting the legends behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

Be a Hobbit

Last year The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions were re-released in cinemas. I have watched these movies every year of my life since 2003. They are a key part of my Yuletide Season tradition. If you’ve ever been a dedicated long-term fan of something you’ve probably had a similar revelation:

art will reveal something new to you each time you engage with it.

This most recent viewing of The Lord of the Rings left me with a pervasive feeling when I watched Frodo and Sam trek closer to Mordor: they’re just little guys.

Just two little guys doing the most they can to make their world a better place.

When I was a preteen I would have ironically told you Frodo Baggins was my best friend. (that is not strictly speaking true, my cat, Snuggles, was my childhood best friend), and now that I am no longer a preteen I don’t consider him to be that. If anything, I consider him to be a role model. At first blush the hobbits are frivolous. Self-indulgent. But in their best expression they are self-less.

The ultimate act of being a hobbit is to “go out your front door” as Bilbo cautions Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring. The cutest little people sometimes heading for the most challenging locales. When Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin leaves the comforts of their town they meet new friends and become new heroes simply by trying.

You can watch me chit chatting with Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and John Rhys-Davis at an Emerald City Comic Con past, here:

A Call to Action

I always to to keep trying. To be bold. No longer being a formal student it is important to me to keep pushing the limits of my comfort zone. To never take anything for granted. Something you probably know about me is I was raised in Canada. I like to joke I “grew up in the woods” and the reason I don’t have any allergies is because “I ate a lot of dirt as a kid.” Here at my big age I prioritize connecting to nature. Reading about it (Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry will change your life), spending time being a dirtbag explorer, stewardship as much as I can manage living in one of the planet’s largest metropolises.

Bears Ears and Grand Staircase are two of the States’ most important natural monuments. Presently, they could use from protection:

I encourage you to check out the graphic above. Do the research you need. Take inspired action. This is an act of bravery on my behalf to draw your attention to this issue. It’s not pop culture. And it certainly is not fun. But I do believe it is important and I suspect you may too 💜

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Obsession - I missed one of the year’s biggest horror releases when it was in cinemas, but it is out in the world now. I’m watching tonight!

📖 The Favorites by: Layne Fargo - my dear friend Jordan who writes A Red Arrow Blog (European football through the lens of an American female fan!), gave me her copy of rival ice dancing teams. I devoured it in <24 hours.

_🏒 Florida Supercon Panel Videos - if you want to follow along the Popverse Youtube Channel is going to have everything!

Happy Dog Days of Summer!

Safe Safe!

Drink Lots of Water!

Create Boldly!

As I do my final pass on this post I am sitting in South Beach, Miami. You may know it as The Magic City or, for the more gaming-minded among us, Vice City. In her 1987 book Miami, Joan Didion referred to Miami as a

“waking dream in which any possibility could and would be accommodated”

Today that vibe very much still exists at the southern end of The Sunshine State - even when your dream, like mine, was to visit the best book shoppe in Miami and purchase a Florida-based book. The spark of possibility exists amid pristine beaches, iconic brunch locations, Cuban coffee, and humid public parks that will put your childhood dominoes skills to the ultimate test. My first trip to Miami in 2023 was to host panels at Florida Supercon - it may shock you to learn I’ve returned after three years to do the very same all weekend long!

I hope if you are from the state of alligators, everglades, the Cuban Sandwich, and Cortaditos you will consider coming by to watch my make nonsense. Otherwise, I want to share what I think is a dream long weekend in and around Miami.

Day 1

I have only stayed in South Beach because of its proximity to The Miami Convention Center. I’m not necessarily advocating staying on Miami Beach, as the things I find to be most inviting about Miami to be in Miami proper. Miami Beach leaves you tucked closest to the water, where each hotel has a slice of the public beach with its own proprietary chairs and shade. Most of these hotels include spa and fitness centers and offer you a “towel card” (exactly what is sound like), which is conveniently inviting during the summer heat/humidity combo.

If you have money to splurge on The Fountainebleu you can stay in the same place as James Bond in 1964’s Goldfinger. Or, like myself, you can lie and sneak into the pool area to take pictures of the iconic semicircular shape.

If, like myself, flying to Miami takes up most of your day I advocate for checking in, off-loading your bags, then immediately heading to Versailles Famous Cuban Bakery. Many people credit Versailles with inventing The Cuban Sandwich, coffee window culture, and popularizing the Cartadito in the United States (if you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen I picked one up this trip).

Fun fact: Versailles won the James Beard Foundation Award as an American Classic in 2001.

Once you are full of Cuban food served to you by a tremendously convivial Spanish-speaking staff (I’ll add recommendations of the ceviche and the Cuban flan to round out your meal), cap off your first day with a stroll along Miami Beach.

May your night be restful and jetlag-besting,

Day 2

Waking up from your first night’s sleep take your day three bunch at R House Wynwood - a popular Miami drag bar with a perfect mix of Ru Girls and Local Queens. If you’re a drag fan R House Wynwood is the ideal spot to see what the drag scene is all about. Personally, I love to check out the drag scene in a new place I’ve travelled to. You may be surprised what you can learn about a city from watching their queens. Be sure you’ve hit up a bank or ATM on your way over so you can tip the queens properly for their playful performances.

Help you digestion with a stroll through The Miami Canals. Sometimes referred to as C-6 Canal, The Miami Canals are fed by Lake Okeechobee and connect to the Miami River. The houses are luxurious and evocative of several classic affluent Miami architectural styles.

From The Canals head to Little Havana, decamp at SW 8th Street and 15th Avenue, and settle down in Domino Park, where the truly competitive locals play an aggressive game (sometimes for money, sometimes laughing at you out of the kindness of their hearts), which is a far cry from what many of us grew up playing. The park itself is shady and, if you have a reusable water bottle on hand, manageable in almost any temperature.

Little Havana is full of bright-coloured tourist-forward shoppes populated with everything from magnets, to Cuban coffee (bagged or bricked), to postcards (with postage available to fit domestic and international needs!), and proliferate Cuban restaurants rife with local favourites.

Since you’re already in a shopping mood make your next move to Books & Books (Aragon Ave location), the “locally-owned independent neighborhood book store” and the very place I purchased my copy of the previously mentioned Miami by: Joan Didion. It’s the closest you will come to Belle’s library from Beauty and the Beast. From Books & Books stroll 10 - 15 minutes to the nearest beach and take a dip in the Atlantic to wash away your loss at dominoes earlier in the day.

You evening meal should absolutely take place at Calle Ocho which offers different fish specials perfectly prepared and easily paired with your cocktail or mocktail of choice. They also offer a number of events from sports games on a big screen to social dancing. As with Versailles and The Local House the staff speaks multiple languages and the service is Spanish-forward.

If you’re a true water baby take a moonlit dip in your nearest beach. The former lifeguard in me encourages you to simply sit in the surf and let the waves wash over your knees. Nightswimming is fun, but can always be dangerous.

Alt pitch: if you don’t want to spend a lazy day crawling through Miami you could hit up Everglades National Park. The drive is about an hour. The park is magnificent and unlike most other National Park offerings the United States has available to you. If an hour is too far there are several everglades and gator-viewing boat tours ready to pick you up from Miami to see the modern day dinosaurs.

Day 3

Following your restful night in Miami it is time for more forrays into local Miami culture. Breakfast deserves to be at The Local House. Dining outside is popular, but I defer to your own comfort with temperature when you arrive Miami Beach’s top-rated breakfast and brunch location. Even if you aren’t hungry The Local House has a delightful bilingual staff and full service coffee bar - if nothing else roll in and pick up a drink to go.

When you are ready to leave Miami pack it up and start heading south - you’re going to the Keys! In my estimation the best part of Florida is The Keys. If you only want to visit the first Key consider stopping at Biscayne National Park for more natural splendour from the tropics.

When you hit Key Largo stop for lunch at The Fish House. It’s been featured on several television shows, has its own fresh fish market, and offers the classic key lime pie. This was the first and only place I have ever had key lime pie.

Halfway to Key West you’ll pass Seven Mile Bridge. Aptly named, the bridge was destroyed theatrically in 1994’s True Lies.

The lion’s share of your day will be watching the scenery grow more and more tropical the further south you get. If you brave the drive all the way to Key West your first, and likely only, stop is The Hemingway House and Museum. Not only is this building the home of famed American author Ernest Hemingway, it is the first private home to have an in-ground pool in the keys, home to a colony of polydactyl cats (the ancestors of which Hemingway bread), but it is a key location in my favourite Timothy Dalton James Bond movie - Licence to Kill!

If you are as heroic as I was you’ll drive back to Miami in the dark and enjoy the reverse majesty of The Keys. To fuel up for the ride back swing by Moondog Café and Bakery which sports vibrant murals, colourful decor, wonderful coffee, and guava pastries which are not to be missed!

Before you leave the island for good don’t forget to stop by the marker for the Southern most tip of the United States for a quick photo op. Any navigation app can point you in the right direction.

When you set foot once again in Miami after a whirlwind 72 hours of Miami culture, coffee, and adventure, may the book you fell in love with at Books & Books keep you good company throughout your return sojourn to Miami International Airport. Count the pickleball courts as you take off! Sans doute Miami is a gem in the crown of the US’ tropics, whether you stretch out your time in the city itself, or dare to reach beyond the edge of the water, you can soak up the sun like the best of the local lizards or reach as far south as the continent will allow. No matter how far afield you desire to go, South Florida will not let you down.

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Josie and the Pussycats - since I’m hosting the reunion panel at Florida Supercon I revisited this cult classic for the first time & was amazed to discover it predicted influencers before influencers

📖 Snow Falling on Cedars by: David Guterson - I’ve been slowly making way through a list of 1,0001 books to read before you die and this PNW classic has been the perfect balm to the Miami heat

_🏒 New Video Projects - last month I started filming a new Star Trek artefacts series for Roddenberry & this week my pilot episode debuted. Give it watch below!

Happy Florida Supercon!

Safe Travels!

Stay Hydrated!

Create Boldly!

Can I tell you a secret?

For years I have proudly proclaimed that “I hate summer.”

Being born and raised in a country with only three guaranteed months of summer (September - May in Canada the chance of snow is never zero!), summer was a sacred season. Not only did it mean a break from the academic year and the pressures of competitive sports (summer was for house league sports in my childhood - soccer, dragon boating, basketball), but it was warm!

Then I lived enough of my life in small apartments in humid cities (Ottawa, Manhattan), with no air conditioning, then-then I moved to Los Angeles. Southern California is a chaparral.

an ecological community composed of shrubby plants adapted to dry summers and moist winters

~ Merriam Webster

It’s always hot in a chaparral.

Earlier this year someone on Hiking Threads (if this was you I am so sorry, I do not remember your name!), a woman wrote that she was embracing temperature discomfort. It’s okay for the weather to be cold or hot or wet or dry. We, as modern humans, can withstand a lot more than we may think spending the majority of our lives in climate controlled boxes. As an increasingly granola girly, I am really trying to embrace this mindset. With that in mind, in 2026, I am no longer a #summerhater!

This missive comes to you between my two national holidays this year. I hope if you are celebrating one, both, or neither, these days of high summer are as exciting as they were for eight-year-old-Ashley.

Hot coffee in summer? Groundbreaking?

In Leigh Bardugos’ Grishaverse the magic wielders - or Grisha - have the saying:

“Like calls to like.”

Two years ago when I spent my summer binge reading the series with my friend, and marketing guru, Illianna Gonzalez-Soto we referred to this series exclusively by the name of the first book (and subsequent Netflix streaming adaptation), “Shadow and Bone.”

In one of the coolest bit of synchronicity in my life I got to chat with Leigh Bardugo at BookCon in New York City this past April. The interview is now out for you to watch!

The Inferni are the fire wielders of The Grishaverse. They understand relationships between fire, and light, and heat, and lightning. I would love to count myself among their ranks. They are so powerful it’s crazy. While reading I immediately identified with the Inferni. A big part of my personality is being an Aries (quad: Sun, Moon, Rising, Mercury). My personality has often been described as “fiery.”

The idea of “fiery” extends to my love of coffee! When I order a drink and the barista comes back with “Hot or iced?” I often say: “You’ll take my hot coffee from my dead desiccated hands.”

Despite living in Southern California, the land of perpetual summer, I stand by it. If I am under your roof I want hot coffee in my belly. The Greek believe coffee [grounds] protects against the evil eye. Who am I to fight one of the most ancient and lasting civilizations? In the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Bud Frump (my favourite character!), has a whole song dedicated to coffee where he sings:

So this summer I am drinking …

Flat Whites ☕ Where I can get them. On a recently trip to North and South Carolina they were a bit more difficult to come by then bopping around Los Angeles, Seattle, or New York 😅 The first time I ever had a Flat White was on a set visit to The Mortal Engines (remember that movie?), while they were filming in New Zealand. The beleaguered PA who was stuck looking after us offered two options for caffeine: “Flat White or Long Black?” and my North American brain had never heard of either. In a panic I opted for the “Flat White, please.” because it proffered the chance of milk being included in the mix.

Presto Coffee Roasters (a UK-based coffee retailer), has my favourite straightforward explanation of what a Flat White is, exactly? At just 46 years old (young for a popular coffee!), Flat White have spread across the world from their birthplace in Oceania.

If 46 seems quite old to you I’ll rephrase it as: Flat Whites were invented in the 1980s. Their frequent counterpart, the latté was invented in the 1950s and the history of the cappuccino can be traced all the way back to the first decade of the 20th century.

Since I had my first Flat White in New Zealand I always assumed it had been created in the find land of kiwis and hobbits. Apparently, Australian comedian Tom Cashman (who, like myself, you may recognize as being The Taskmaster’s Assistant on Taskmaster Australia), suffered from the same incorrect belief and it sparked a touch of controversy

The truth of the matter is Flat Whites were invented in the land of the Outback - Australia! There isn’t not controversy in the word “invented” itself.

Australian Café owner Alan Preston opened his first café called “Moors: Espresso Bar” in Sydney in 1985. There he coined the shortened name “Flat White” for the specific mixture of milk and espresso. He claims to have been introduced to the idea by Italian Immigrants living in Northern Queensland throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Preston now runs a Flat White Academy.

The most notable challenger to the title of “inventor” is Fraser McInnes from New Zealand who has a revelation through a fit of boredom in Wellington in 1989.

Fun fact: Wellington is the exact city I drank my first Flat White in!

Scientifically Sound

Drinking hot coffee in the summer cools you down. Did you know that? The Smithsonian tells us so. “Iced coffee” as we think of it today, was popularized by US-based coffee chains to raise profits. While iced coffee does have an interesting history all its own dating back to 1840s Mazagran, I leave it in your capable hands to chase down those fun facts on your own.

As for my beloved hot coffee: heat from the coffee triggers your mouths sensory receptors which causes your body to sweat. Sweating cools you down. Ergo: Hot Girl Coffee Summer provides a natural cooling effect.

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 The Death of Robin Hood - whenever A24 puts out a film they have my interest, I loved The Northman, and Hugh Jackman stars. If you caught my Instagram Story yesterday evening you’ll know my full feelings

📖 The Odyssey (translated by: Emily Wilson) - this doubles as both prep for the upcoming film and for an upcoming episode of Geek History Lesson, so keep your ears open for that!

_🏒 Junk Journaling - I am guilty of having a pile of junk collected from adventures, so this week I have prioritized making spreads

Happy July!

Happy Mercury Retrograde!

Drink Hot Coffee!

Create Boldly!

Hello! Hello! Hello!

Greetings from the hush between summer months. The quiet between cons. The calm before the storm. Convention season, for me, officially started three months ago when March was still debating whether she wanted to “come in like a lion or a lamb.” From the snow-capped peaks of Mount Rainier in Washington State it certainly felt like my birth month was taking the opportunity to come in like a lion. I made my annual Popverse debut at Emerald City Comic Con in the heart of downtown Seattle.

The scheduling Goddesses blithely blessed me with the month of June off from conventions. So, naturally, I have begun filming a new hosting project (did you catch the tease in my Instagram stories?), and fled the state. As I write to you I am tucked away in a cute hotel in a small Connecticut town. From touchdown at the beginning of the week it has been a peaceful time. I promise I’m not always as dramatic as I seem!

Next month I will find myself in Vice City, the land of Dexter, the subject of Joan Didion’s 1987 journalistic prose offering, and the home of Florida Super Con - or, as I affectionately refer to it: “FSC”

a blast from FSC past!

Full schedule coming, but you’ll be able to see me hosting on the Main Stage alongside the stars of: Josie and the Pussycats, Daredevil: Born Again, The Defenders, Hart of Dixie, and a few other places in The Miami Beach Convention Center throughout the weekend.

Where ya been, girl?

You may also have noticed I took a little sabbatical from our weekly correspondences. Fear not, gentle reader, I was merely indulging in the messiness of another split season of Bridgerton, the introduction of Dunk and Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the death of one of my favourite television character in season 5 of For All Mankind while squirreling away notions, musings, and thoughts for future blog posts.

In my sabbatical I have been doing a lot of writing. Writing has long been something which has sung to my soul. When I seriously started writing fiction as a pre-teen - and allow me to assure you, I took my notebooks full of handwritten self-inserts deadly serious! - those long run-on handwritten sentences became my port in the storm. This was even before acting came along & claimed my heart, although I have a litany of school and church plays in my early childhood which may contradict this narrative. Since entering into my adult and collaborating with a professional writer (who, admittedly and deservedly, is better than I), writing has been a little elusive. The self-doubt has crept in.

Last year I was determined not to be afraid of writing anymore. If some of the things I have spent my valuable time (and sometimes my valuable money), watching can make it to fruition, good for them. But I have no reason to doubt my own talents. If it takes me a couple years to perfect what is now known around the house as my “space play” and clarify the alternating timelines, what a wonderful journey I get to go on in search of the right words.

The stories still live in my heart and if I put them out in the world and other people don’t love them, well, frankly that is their loss.

As an Aries who just escaped a Saturn Return, growth is on my mind for 2026. As is rest simultaneously, which I can admit, oftentimes seems contradictory. To push myself harder, enjoy the challenge, and accept the outcomes with more grace.

My friend, Paul, watched and documented an early part of the difficult birth of red dirt / red storm in a hush space of convention season and said to me sweetly of future projects:

Paul’s not an actor, but he knows something of performance and showpersonship. His point was supportive. Helping. Admiring. But, I mentioned I’m an Aries, thus I can’t help but view anything as a challenge. Since I was 18 I’ve wanted to do the most indulgent thing an actor can do: write and star in a one woman show. To stand up there and open myself up to an audience. To embody bravery and magic. And invite stranger to come along with me.

So, I invite in the challenge this year.

À propos of “vampires” … I recently finished reading V.E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil and if you 1) like vampire stories or 2) haven’t checked it out yet I highly recommend!

Like a vampire, creating a solo show could be the most dangerous thing I ever do. It’s already in turn felt indulgent, and silly, and scary, and self-serving. In a particular moment of panic late last year (while I may or may not have been quietly crying), I wished for the chance to practice. To try. The famous American theatrical institution, The Actors Studio, was designed to be a gym for actors. A place to stretch. Try new things. Push your limits. Fail spectacularly, but privately. Get up. And do it all again.

This is what I needed. A one woman show in microcosm!

I’m also producing …

Here I want to pause and reveal:

Another one woman show? What I lovingly refer to as “My Robin Play” has debuted at Emerald City Comic Con this year, polished at C2E2, and I have my eye on her Off-Off-Off-Off-Broadway debut during New York Comic Con this fall 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Last summer while touring red dirt / red storm across the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit I saw a lot of “Powerpoint plays.” They are exactly what they sound like. At the same time Powerpoint “shows” have proliferated the Los Angeles comedy community. On every corner I see a new one person show on a topic of their passion advertised. From the personal to the patently ridiculous.

If you’ve listened to Geek History Lesson for long enough you know I can trap a crowd of people in a room talking about why Robin is the best superhero. So I did just that!

When (when - we are manifesting, we are believing 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️), I get to perform at New York Comic Con should I film it? Comment and let me know!

Coffee with Notes of Gratitude

While I was born a night owl, over the past year I’ve watched myself evolve into a morning person. The accompanying cups of coffee have evolved from sugary Peppermint Mochas to the Australasian Flat White.

The lovely quote which opened this passage is from the Kimya Dawson song, Tire Swing:

These precious mornings have built what this new Coffee. Cats. Create. journey is going to be:

I’m grateful for this incubation and for you riding or dying with me through it. Next week we dive into the new chapter.

What’s Playing?

Every week I want to peel back the curtain and show you what is inspiring me!

📺 Widow’s Bay - recent Geek History Lesson guest, Stacey Schrom, has been after me to watch the horror/comedy series, I love Matthew Rhys, and began watching last night
📖 Fox and I: an Uncommon Friendship by: Catherine Raven - I wanted some nature reading on a recent camping trip, plus, foxes are my favourite animals
**_{Winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award * 2022 Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winner * Shortlisted for the John Burroughs Medal * Finalist for the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize * Shortlisted for a Reading the West Book Award
🏒} Pickleball - This year we hopped on the trend and I have been playing across countries.

Happy June!

Happy Summer!

Stay Cool!

Create Boldly!

Quick confession: I’ve been binge watching the second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives while planning and writing this week’s blog and it has taken most of my self-control to not title this post: Can MomTok survive this?

Considering it’s a pretty anti-caffeine cast and this week’s theme is coffee the irony does not escape me.

“Decaf is for quitters.” is a joke I often lob at my mother, who I have core memories of carrying a mug of coffee around each PMQ we lived in for no longer than three years in a go. Ah, Canadian military life! These days her life has taken on a slower pace which includes replacing caffeinated coffee with a decaf blend. Meanwhile with the winter holidays about to kick off with American Thanksgiving (there are too many Thanksgivings in my life as a dual citizen of North America!), I’m making an effort to shop small.

“Shop small” if a buzzword that the more marketing savvy have flooded my social media feeds with for the past couple years. The irony is “shop small” is exactly that - a buzzword created by giant corporate marketers at American Express in 2010. They launch a campaign titled Small Business Saturday as a way to encourage even more spending the day after the US’s Black Friday for consumers to ease our guilt.

I mean … any reason to seek out smaller creators on every scale. There’s a reason I’m forever linking Coffalo in these posts. I’m passionate about both!

With seven weeks to go until the end of the year I have a box of Coffalo coffee bags (whole beans! I am a whole beans girly!), I will be gifting to folx in my life. Whatever doesn’t find a good home gets to stay in my home - a fun and unserious solution for all involved!

If you cast your mind back to the holiday season of last year you may remember in addition to the now annual Red Cup Day, American coffee mega corporation Starbucks made news for all the wrong reasons. Not because they had finally tossed the PSL to the curb and embraced my preferred holiday drink, the Peppermint Mocha, but because their workers were on strike ahead of Christmas week.

Last week I was excited to scoop up my first Peppermint Mocha of the year! There was even a discussion in celebration of the start of the season in our Discord.

But don’t let last year’s strike ending fool you. Yesterday was 2025’s Red Cup Day and the start of another strike - a stark reminder that almost none of the Starbucks workers’ demands were met:

I’ve found myself having the same conversation with friends over the past 30 hours. It makes me adore them even more. Where are we all supporting instead of Starbucks to find new versions of our favourite drinks this holiday season? Here’s a list from me and my closest friends of choices for what you can enjoy sipping all winter long. I, for one, will be sampling the peppermint options at each and every single one of them!

So, me and my girls have been talking …

First and foremost: support your mom and pop cafés! The small coffee shoppes in your area always have popular options and they always, always taste better. For this list, I curated options the most readers will be able to visit. If you are an LA local my shorts list of recs are:

☕ Zweet Café

☕ Kaleido Coffee (located in the Shop Tansy LA parking lot)

☕ The Boy and the Bear

Peep my mini tour of Zweet below 👀

@ashleyvrobinsonVibe Check: working away in a cute local café when your work is 90% reading fiction. It's giving city Studio Ghibli 📚☕️ #coffeeshopaesthetic #baristalife #cafevibes #cozycorners #workvibes #romanticizingmylife #romanticizinglife #cafe #dreamjob #cutecoffeeshop #zweetcafe #bookish #bookworm #booktok #reading

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If you are not in Los Angeles - I’m so sad you don’t get to experience the lovely rain we are presently experiencing. When the women of MomTok aren’t shouting at each other on my screen I’m currently being treated to the soft pitter patter and refreshing smell wafting in - I’ve compiled a list of alts to Starbucks for you to vote with your dollar at through the end of the year:

☕ Dutch Bros

Last years during our New England Holiday Tour the history of Dutch immigrants to the region reared its head again and again and you can see it to this very day in the name of this coffee chain. Their menu item Candy Cane Mocha is delicious, sugary, and will let you see through time and space!

Honourable mentioned to Dunkn for having genuinely good coffee, a Peppermint Mocha Cold Brew that will cure anyone of jetlag, and a new commercial featuring Jennifer Affleck from … what? The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives!

Bet you didn’t think I could work my latest binge in one more time!

☕ Caribou Coffee

Two years ago I visited Minneapolis, Minnesota for the first time. I wanted to snag a selfie with the Mary Tyler Moore statue and I want to try Caribou Coffee. One of my theatre school roommates was born and raised in The North Star State and he extolled their virtues to me non-stop. Caribou offers The Ho Ho Mint Mocha, which is by far the most fun holiday beverage name to say! Throughout the pastry selections you’ll see Caribou’s German immigrant heritage making itself known!

☕ Peet’s Coffee

I have to rep for California! I simply have to! Pre-lockdown we visited a friend who was living and working in Berkley, California at the time and we went on a trip to the first Peets to ever do the dang thing! For the holidays Peets made the elite decision to have an entire line of peppermint-centric drinks which is led by the love of my palate, the Peppermint Mocha.

For a deeper peek inside my world: for a few years I have been endeavouring to make my own version of a Peppermint Mocha at home. Home made is always best. I’m getting closer than previous years efforts. If I break through, you will be the first to know!

Caffeine Bear from Eastern Europe to Southern California

Parks are liminal spaces and magical places. They are slice of the natural world tucked away in urban sprawl. Central Park is one of my favourite places in the world. It offers a refuge from the hustle and bustle of New York City. Tucked away on the opposite side of the continental United States in my home of Los Angeles is a little park I often walk and read in. Sometimes Alan Richardson is doing laps around the water. And one day there was a coffee cart along the path.

… proclaims Caffeine Bear.

Haha - no! Caffeine!

… with the quote on their website:

“We will bring European coffee traditions and excellent service for you and your guests”

The roots of Caffeine Bear are Ukranian - much like my own! You may also recall from a Blog Post Past my favourite café in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada was also Ukranian!

Moka Pots are at the centre of most European coffee cultures, though Ukranian coffee traditions reach well beyond Espresso … which Italy doesn’t have the strangle hold on you may imagine! According to ukraine.ua:

I have such an emotional reaction to see Caffeine Bear thriving in Los Angeles! Sometimes I adore about LA is it’s a city of immigrants. Yes, it makes travelling for Thanksgiving a touch difficult, but it also means you can start a dream of carrying your cultural legacy to the streets of Los Angeles from massive events to a tiny cart on two wheels on the side of a path ina public park.

I am sad to admit to you I have only seen Caffeine Bear organically once and have resorted to chasing them via Instagram since then. Please pray to Brigid (pre-Christian Celtic goddess of the hearth many #witchtok members name as the “Goddess of Coffee!”), I am able to stumble upon them again soon!

Indie Creator Resources

Alumnae Theatre is Accepting Unproduced Play Submissions 🎭

Toronto-based theatre company Alumnae Theatre is now accepting unproduced scripts for their upcoming season. The turn around is quick and due tonight by 9pm EST! Full details here.

Orlando Fringe Festival 2026 Lottery Closes this Weekend 🚨

I actually saw a reminder for this from a friend I met on tour this past summer and wanted to pass the reminder on to YOU! Orlando is the premier Fringe Festival in the United States and particularly extolled for its status in the Storytelling category. Applications due Saturday, November 15th @ 5pm EST.

Cute Moka Pot on Sale! ☕

For the coffee lovers reading if you are not a French Press or Pour Over girly these Moka Pots are available in multiple colours, work on any stovetop, and make a better espresso than a K-cup could ever!

My kitchen colour is red - what’s yours?

The BEST Book I’ve Read this Year? 📸

Last week I finished reading both Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Percival Evertt’s James. Last year I picked up a copy of James after visiting Mark Twain’s house in Connecticut. After I cracked the book I read the whole thing in less than 36 hours. It is beyond excellent. Moving. Beautiful. Can’t recommend enough!

Happy November!

Happy Late Autumn Weather!

Stay Warm!

Have a great weekend!

Little orange boy. My best friend. The bush cat who hunts me at night. Connoisseur of cardboard to the point he got a bowel obstruction. Afeared of everything outside the four walls he lives in. Except for the female feral cat who lives outside and is tougher than my sweet indoor kitty cat will ever be. Everyone wants to reach out and interact with him and he will not let you.

Especially if you are a man.

Don’t take it personally.

That’s just the rules.

I grew up with a little orange girl cat. I never thought I’d be the person who repeated pets. Over and over again the same little creature sharing a life with. When we agreed to foster “for two weeks” two brothers in the scorching hot month of August my little orange boy padded out of the carrier, rubbed up against me, and my first thought was:

“Oh, no, I think he’s for me.”

I named the skittish kitten after Aragorn Elessar’s skittish horse, Brego. A kingly name. The hours sitting in companionable silence where we are close-but-not-too-close. The year it took for him to lay on top of me. The months before he meowed his scratchy little meow. The tears shed in a veterinarian’s office, demanding answers from a man who showed our relationship no respect and certainly nothing close to the love I feel for you.

Your lifespan is so much shorter than mine and from the time you were six months old I’ve been stressing about it coming to an end. It’s the honour of my life to be your best friend for the entirety of yours.

Even when you bite me.

It took me a while to learn that’s a sign of affection in your mysterious cat language. The slow blinks were what I understood. You are so soft that when your sharpness comes out to play it startles me.

I understand the love hidden there too.

There are many people who don’t see you are an important part of my family. Or even our family as a family. In absentia of children. But I know better.

I’ll be your best friend for your entire life. And you will be my soul cat.

You can hear me wax further poetic about Brego on Steven Ray Morris (soon-to-be Geek History Lesson guest!),

Okay, Let’s Do This … One More Con! Let’s Meet Up - IRL & Online

Long story long: “Intern Brego” (as my good friend and marketing guru, Illianna Gonzalez-Soto and many Geek History Lesson listeners call him), came into my life when Nicky Mundy (who also made a guest appearance on Geek History Lesson and guest starred on The Red Shirt Diaries), needed an emergency foster and we were available.

If you are Super Friend on Patreon and have ever participated in our Secret Santa’s you know I always ask for the monetary amount suggested to be donated to Care Rescue LA. They are the incredible women who rescued Brego before he came to our home.

✨ Consider donating to Care Rescue LA this holiday season

✨ Jawiin Book Club is almost halfway through: Dune: Messiah

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

Further to our Patreon home base: if you want to join a Mind University-themed Secret Santa you have until December 1st to fill out the form at our Discord level!

A Personal Note Ahead of Remembrance Day

Tuesday is the day which will forever be known, in my heart, as Remembrance Day. As the daughter of an officer, descendant of a long line of military men, with a brother who currently serves, and a Veteran husband I find November 11th to be the best day to reflect on blessings and feel thankful. In the States we call the holiday Veterans’ Day in celebration of those still living who served.

A quote Meghan Markle extolls which I find particularly resonate on Remembrance Day (despite being someone who has never served), is:

“Place your hand over your heart. Feel that? It’s called purpose. You’re here for a reason.”

The military is a complex, leviathan machine. There are many things about it I do not understand nor agree with. However, I respect anyone who takes on the task of serving. If you have a service member in your life below are what I consider to be the best lists of freebies and discounts for 2025:

✨ The Military Wallet

✨ The American Legion

✨ US Veterans Magazine

Please also consider supporting the veteran nearest and dearest to my heart, Jason Inman, by picking up his 2019 book Super Soldiers: A Salute to the Comic Book Heroes and Villains Who Fought for Their Country. It explores the intersection of service members and superheroes and makes the perfect gift this holiday series.

You can scoop up a signed copy here!

Unsinkable Sam, the Cat Who Survived WWII

Cats are unknowable in any age. It’s only recently this feline has come to be known as “Unsinkable Sam”. Throughout his life he bore many monikers including: Oscar and Oskar. He came to be known as “Oskar” during a tenure with the German people. Like myself, it appears this good boy shared an affinity for Germany.

Cats are often described as being “liquid” rather than solids. This couldn’t be a more fitting description for Unsinkable Sam who survived no less than three vessels (German battleship Bismarck, British destroyer HMS Cossack, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal) sinking into the ocean.

We will leave off the complete lack of proof of his presence on 2/3 of these ships and instead choose to believe because it is more whimsical. You think eco-tourism is all the rage? Unsinkable Sam was engaging in War Time Tourism from West to Central Europe!

I will, however, tack on a detail which further confuses Unsinkable Sam’s identity: in many of his most famous photographs and artistic representations Unsinkable Sam is represented as a tuxedo cat. In spite of this several of the first-hand accounts specify a “ginger cat”. As the mother of ginger cats this detail particularly struck me.

Cats are also known to be incredibly fickle creatures. I often accuse Brego of being fickle, then follow up my accusation by inquiring: “Who raised you!?”

Unsinkable Sam served time in both the German Kriegsmarine and the British Royal Navy. This makes him one degree away from being a Good Canadian Boy and definitely a turncoat. I leave it to you, dear reader, to determine where his true allegiance may have lain - if anywhere at all.

His mythos spans the years 1941 - 1955, a not unimpressive length of time for any enlisted man.

There are a number of journalistically credible sources telling the story of Unsinkable Sam-cum-Osc/kar including:

• Miracle of the Ark Royal (Sunday Post)

• Cat with seven more lives to go (Belfast Telegraph)

• Stories of Ark Royal’s Last Hours (Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury)

• There were a few shy tears (Daily Express)

• The Bismarck’s Cat Now in Londonderry (Londonderry Sentinel)

• Four-Footed Ulster Prisoner of War (Belfast Telegraph)

• The Bismarck Cat - Eire Lady’s Romance (Londonderry Sentinel)

• Navy’s Most Sunk Cat - Oscar On The Air (Londonderry Sentinel)

This level of fame achieved pre-digital age by a creature with no concept of fame makes modern day travel influencers (or those aspiring to be, as I count myself), laughable. The true tale of Unsinkable Sam is much more centered around human beings’ obsession with these peculiar little creatures. Nyan Cat before Nyan Cat, if you will. A meme before memes.

Indie Creator Resources

Emerald City Comic Con (Closes this Week) & C2E2 Panel Submissions 📚

Emerald City Comic Con has open panel submissions which close November 11th, 2025 and C2E2 has open panel submissions which close December 1st, 2025.

Saskatoon Fringe Festival 2026 Lottery is Open 🚨

As I’ve written about in past installments, Saskatoon was my favourite Fringe Festival from my 2025 tour. Applications are a simple Google Form and due by November 25th @ 5pm CST.

BEST Unsinkable Sam Book 📚

For the cat lovers in your life this Yuletide Holiday Season this Italian picture book is considered to be the finest you can get! A perfect read for cat lovers of all age! Meow!

For Funzies 📸

I’m going to simply recommend you Super Soldiers again because in my very biased opinion, it is deeply moving.

Happy November!

Happy Veterans Day!

Do something nice for yourself today!

Have a great weekend!

The premise of this entire blog post feels like the embodiment of the 😅 emoji.

More commonly abbreviated to NYCC, New York Comic Con has become the marathon at the end of my year-long gauntlet of Main Stage hosting, coffee sipping, comfy-shoe wearing, celebrity interviewing, probably struggling not to swear - and intentionally catching my mother in a French-language conversation to seek five minutes of peace to myself within the confines of Hell’s Kitchen’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. During my most recent residency at NYCC I was housed on the 26th floor (albeit, in fact, the 25th floor because the hotel opted to not accurately label the 13th floor. Side note: I love a 13th floor. Give me a room on the 13th floor any time, any where on the planet!), and couldn’t help feeling the vibes of Daredevil and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ shared origin story.

(if you’re not familiar with that canon crossover, you have some homework to do, my friend!)

I thrilled every single second I got to spend in, as the Schuyler Sisters put it:

“The greatest city in the world.”

While Marvel Comics superheroes likely find themselves wondering how many concussions is too many? I confess I found the refrain of my NYCC being a bit more mundane: how many videos is too many? They’re going to find their way out to audiences, but I hosted 27 interviews in four days. (please imagine: Mike Colter, Bryce Dallas Howard, George R.R. Martin)

It was leviathan.

It was exceptional. Some appropriately New York-themed highlights have begun trickling out to viewers via Popverse’s tiktok. Turns out there’s a level of charm only The Fantastic Four can bring to bear:

@popversesaysMICHAEL CHIKLIS & IOAN GRUFFUDD would return in AVENGERS DOOMSDAY or SECRET WARS | NYCC 2025 @michaelchiklis and Ioan Gruffudd introduced a generation of fans to Ben Grimm and Reed Richards. From the Main Stage at @New York Comic Con they share with Popverse's own @Ashley Victoria Robinson and fans if they would be interested in reprising their roles as The Thing and Mister Fantastic? #nycc #Newyorkcomiccon #michaelchiklis #ioangruffud #fantasticfour

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@popversesaysMichael Chiklis HONEST about wearing THE THING suit in FANTASTIC FOUR | New York Comic Con 2025 The ever loving Thing, Michael Chiklis, gets honest with fans on the Main Stage at @New York Comic Con last weekend about the stress of playing Ben Grimm. #nycc #Newyorkcomiccon #michaelchiklis #fantasticfour #thething

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@popversesaysIoan Gruffudd does MISTER FANTASTIC's (REED RICHARDS') accent | New York Comic Con 2025 The smartest man in the Marvel Universe Ioan Gruffudd takes on the challenge from Popverse's own @Ashley Victoria Robinson to perform his Reed Richards' accent for fans live on the Main Stage at @New York Comic Con last weekend. #nycc #Newyorkcomiccon #ioangruffudd #fantasticfour #reedricahrds

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As a newly minted fan of The Fantastic Four this was a pretty special hour I spent.

Okay, Let’s Do This … One More Con! Let’s Meet Up - IRL & Online

Autumn embraced me in New York City. My feet found their way to my favourite multi-lingual book shoppe, Rizzoli Bookstore. They are the self-described “Most beautiful bookstore in New York.” and I think they’re right. The Francophone in me always finds my way in for new stories. This turn brought me to Nobel Prize winner L’Africain. I’ll be posting a tour of Rizzoli Bookstore on my socials soon. In the meantime, my favourite video from NYCC is definitely this:

@ashleyvrobinsonThis is the coolest part of my job 🎤👏🏻😻 #nycc #newyorkcity #newyorkcomiccon #host #hosting

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The north east isn’t done with me yet. I have the good fortune of one more convention in my near future. This one is specifically video gamed and tech-themed. I love a bit of everything! It’s also in a state I haven’t yet stepped foot in - another bonus for the content creating trip.

✨ PAX Unplugged tickets (yes, I’ll be there! Baby’s first PAX!)

✨ #GHLMovieClub launches Back to the Future series tomorrow (full details)

✨ Jawiin Book Club new book: Dune: Messiah

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

Between #GHLMovieClub and the #JawiinBookClub you can video chat with me via Patreon every other week until the end of the year if Philadelphia is too far a jaunt.

red dirt / red storm Update

She may be sleeping, but she is not forgotten. This week I’m undertaking a new round of rewrite, while last week I took steps to ensure red dirt / red storm returns to the stage in 2026. We’ll be making our debut in The United States as well as reprising a Canadian tour leg - though on a new stage in a new city.

For those who may not love attending live theatre: the video version[s] filmed during last summer’s Edmonton Fringe Festival will soon be available on line.

George R.R. Martin was NYCC’s First Attendee

A Song of Ice and Fire and its television progeny (Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon), may not instill the friendliest of feelings in its readers. I’ve read every book under the Westerosi banner and I adore them all. My love for Theon Greyjoy knows no bounds. To my dying day I will insist Robb Stark deserved one POV chapter.

Scribe George R.R. Martin is an author I mentally shelve alongside Dune creator Frank Herbert. Not only do they share the moniker of being masters of their craft, but additionally masters of their genres.

They share something else. A love of the American South West.

While developing Dune (Arrakis. Desert Planet.), Herbert ingested various mind-opening substances and wandered around the Oregon Sand Dune. What a wild sentence to write. And it’s all true.

For his part, George R.R. Martin has done stints in Los Angeles across his decades working in the entertainment industry. To this very day, while he’s still frequently in the same city as me, he holds residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In numerous interviews Martin he extolled his love of Santa Fe, stating his home there is the only sanctuary where he can write.

But, once upon a time, like myself, and generations of travelling creators past, present, and future, George R.R. Martin lived in New York City.

Mostly because he was born in Bayonne, New Jersey right across the water.

1964 was a pretty incredible year in pop culture:

• The Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your Hand launches The British Invasion in the US

• The Beatles also release the film A Hard Day’s Night

• Mary Poppins is released from Disney

• Jason Inman’s favourite (and the object best), James Bond movie is released: Goldfinger

• Bewitched, The Munsters, and The Addams Family are all on television

• John le Carré publishes The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

• Doctor Who has been on BBC for 1 year

• Children read The Giving Tree by: Shel Silverstein and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by: Roald Dahl for the first time

• Daredevil debuts at Marvel Comics

And the West Village sees the juvenile debut incarnation of what will become today’s New York Comic Con.

(July 24, 1964 was the birth of New York Comic Con and it was held at the Workman’s Circle Building)

During the Main Stage panel highlighting A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms at NYCC this year Martin said:

What’s particularly funny about the timeline surrounding the “age” of New York Comic Con is next year is somehow the “25th Anniversary” celebration. I can only assume it’s the 25th anniversary of what we consider to be the contemporary version of the show.

I’m certain Mr. Martin has something to say about that!

When I spoke with him at New York Comic Con, Martin share there was a North Star guiding him to the event: Doctor Strange. Not only did he travel to seek out a group of like-minded fans, but the man who would become such a legendary creators sought out the creators who inspired him.

And where did all those creators travel from? Ditko and Lee lived in New York City at the time. The 1960s comic conventions were a precursor to events like New York and San Diego Comic-Con where companies fly in talent from across the globe.

I can’t help but wonder how many Doctor Strange comics he walked away clutching, himself?

From a travel perspective the greatest piece of irony is Martin would have travelled farther and from longer in 2025 than the comfortable stroll he may have had back in 1964.

In this case you don’t simply have to take my word for it! I have an interview with George R.R. Martin coming out via Popverse in the coming weeks and the man himself is a prolific blogger dropping updates, insights, and teases about The Winds of Winter and A Song of Spring on his official website.

I did ask Martin a quick question about the series end when we’d stopped recording and thanked him for my favourite character: Theon Greyjoy. He did laugh a told me, “He’s not dead in the books!” so I remain hopeful that not only will be see the final installments’ publication, but I may not find myself in tears by the end.

If you cast your mind back you may recall I hosted a Game of Thrones aftershow for Collider during the final season. I wanted to drop our review of the finale episode wherein I invite you to watch a grown man scream in my face:

Indie Creator Resources

Emerald City Comic Con & C2E2 Panel Submissions are Still Open 📚

Emerald City Comic Con has open panel submissions which close November 11th, 2025 and C2E2 has open panel submissions which close December 1st, 2025.

Ottawa Fringe has Numerous Grants for Theatre Artists Open 🚨

Canada’s Capitol Fringe has an open application for grant funding toward original plays. Full details on their Official Website. Deadline is December 11th, 2025.

English Language Translation of the French Book I Bought in NYC 📚

If you want to read what I am reading outside of joining the #JawiinBookClub here you can find the English translation titled The African and read along with me. I often share what I’m reading in my Instagram stories.

For Funzies 📸

If this blog wasn’t enough NYCC for you check out this fun recap video I made for Popverse!

Happy Spook Season!

Happy Hallowe’ek!

May you not forget to carve & eat your pumpkins!

Have a cool weekend!

Today is the best holiday of the entire year - Hobbit Day! This year Hobbit Day falls on the same day as the Autumnal Equinox, which makes it an extra special one.

I know you are used to finding these missives in your inbox on Fridays, but I thought leaving off to share today’s unique undertaking justified leaving off until Monday.

To me, Hobbit Day isn’t simply an exercise in participatory fandom. For decades Tolkien devotees have been holding small scale celebrations which have only bloomed and grown with the popularity of The Lord of the Rings original film trilogy.

Here is one of my favourite moments being amongst my fellow hobbits: hosting The Lord of the Rings Reunion Panel at C2E2 this year. I carry so much gratitude in my heart for this hour. It was honestly amazing. Here’s a fun clip encompassing my love of The Lord of the Rings and Jason Inman’s love of Lost.

Watch the full panel here.

“I don’t think [s]he knows about Second Breakfast, Pip.”

If you follow me on Instagram (and if you aren’t - to quote Francesca Amber - what are you even doing with your life?), you’ve likely seen my foray into #alongexpectedhobbitday. This community building exercise hosted by @kieranjanesbooks and @acornturned is a month-long prompt set which has been giving me the gentlest reminders of today’s looming holiday.

Early this year a less-than-kind soul in my life described my eating habits are being “like a bird”. Most of what I eat on a normal day revolves on what I’m having for lunch. In spite of that, you can catch my destroying a bowl of macaroni and cheese at any and all available opportunities. Thanksgiving and Yuletide? Forget about it! With this in mind, when I decided I was going to “eat the hobbit meals” I decided to try and make the Baggins’ meal schedule conform to my usual table spreads.

What are the “Hobbit Meals?”

🍃 Breakfast

🍃 Second Breakfast

🍃 Elevensies

🍃 Luncheon

🍃 Afternoon Team

🍃 Dinner

🍃 Supper

Some creators have mapped out elaborate Hobbit Day Meal Plans over the years. Tea with Tolkien’s Party Plan is going to be my 2026 inspiration, I think. They range from largely plant-based bites, to traditionally country English. From sustainable and cruelty-free to sweet or junk-food based. Above all, hobbits have big hearts. And Hobbit Day menus can look like whatever you need to fill your cup. And fill your belly too!

With the in mind here is what my Hobbit Day Meals looked like this year:

🥧 Breakfast (7:30am) - bacon and eggs

🥧 Second Breakfast (9am) - raspberries, dried fruit (date, apricots, mango), and a cup of coffee (Coffalo, of course!)

🥧 Elevensies (11am) - green tea and nuts (walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)

🥧 Luncheon (1pm) - oatmeal with blueberries and a fruit-and-beet smoothie

🥧 Afternoon Team (3pm) - English breakfast tea (with honey and oatmilk), molasses scone

🥧 Dinner (5pm) - simple salad (lettuce, yellow and purple carrots, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar)

🥧 Supper (7pm) - slow cooker pork ribs with potato chips

With the summer finally dwindling behind us I find Hobbit Day an ideal time to shift my focus in getting cosy. Hobbits are great stewards of many things including: home, hearth, food, family, comfort, and ease. Whether, like myself, you are celebrating Hobbit Day solo, attending a gathering, or only now learning it exists I believe you, too, can benefit by channeling your inner Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, or Pippin.

Future Hobbit Day Resources

Hosting Hobbit Day How-To 🍽️

NPR (yes, that NPR!), has a full feature on how to plan your Hobbit Day outing which makes a wonderful companion to the Tea with Tolkien blog listed above.

Flora of Middle-Earth is for Sale on Kindle 📚

Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Judd’s Flora of Middle-Earth was one of my favourite books published last year. It’s my favourite book on Tolkien or the world of Middle-Earth to have come out in years. A collection of plants (fictional and recognizable from Earth), are highlighted throughout accompanied by gorgeous botany drawings. The pages are full of whimsy and I can lose myself flicking through these pages for hours!

Tea Time with Tolkien 🍵

You may have noticed my Hobbit Day Meal featured two cups of tea. In fact, I’m considering making another cup to reward myself once I’ve posted this blog! The Art of Tea has a great resource providing insight on how to best pair teas with sweet treats. Have I taken notes for Thanksgiving (Canadian AND American), and Yuletide this year? I have!

Fall-Themed Hobbit Day Menu 📸

Since today is also the Autumnal Equinox and the Bagginses’ birthday you may be inclined to explore pumpkins, cinnamon, apples, and all the classic signs of fall. At least for those of us raised in North America! Rin Hunter has an autumn-themed menu I will be pulling inspiration from in the coming months as I dream up next year’s menu.

Happy Monday!

Happy Hobbit Day!

May the road rise up to meet you!

Have a lovely beginning of autumn!

It was all the way back in 2007 I started to learn the dips and dives of Winnipeg, Manitoba. I didn’t travel further across the prairies of my homeland until summer this year. You’ve read a lot about my journey to Create, but another key niche to my journeys was caffeine. From $1.26 CAD cups of Tim Horton’s coffee with a “splash of oatmilk” (unless you are in Canadian airports, which for reasons unknown refuse to carry dairy-milk), to bespoke roasteries tucked away in alternately the most beauty or most grubby crannies for the cities. There were many, many “Flate White with oatmilk, please!”s consume. Believe me when I tell you I have whittle down this list to only the most energy-inducing highlights!

Winnipeg

Sho Coffee & Bar (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - Sho proclaims to be “the first place in Winnipeg with European-quality coffee.” - and they deliver on this promise with great aplomb. Not only does Sho bring classic European design (light and dark, clean lines), but the menu is trendier than all of its competition (local and provincial). Considering it is run by Vlad - with a delightful light European accent and wonderful suggestions to plus up your order - “Just a dash of cinnamon for a hint of flavour!” - it’s no wonder Sho consistently provided the best sips I’ve had all summer. The staff is friendly, the craft is serious, and the Flat White is the best I’ve had outside Oceania. If your feet find themselves in Winnipeg do the right thing and swing by Sho. Tell Vlad I sent you!

Museo Coffee Co (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) - It’s difficult to put my finger on what makes a Ukrainian café resonate as much as Museo did nestled on Broadway in Saskatoon, maybe it was being “down the block, around the corner” from our Fringe home at the Cosmo Senior Centre, they serve all the seasonal treats you expect, roast their own beans in house, or the presentation of the most beautiful Flat White on the flattest province? They have a ton of heart and speedily dispatch crowds brought in by either the Saskatoon Fringe Festival or Broadway Days. The addition of cinnamon rolls (sans raisins), the size of your head for under $5 means you are not going to go wrong when you choose to treat yourself to Museo!

Anvil Coffee House (Edmonton, Alberta) - This is my most tucked away hidden gem of a recommendation. Anvil feels like the type of place you would sneak away to for a cosy first date. The food was simple and warm, perfect accompaniment for breakfast in the coolest city. Edmonton rarely made it about 16C while I was there, but my customary “Flat White with oatmilk, please!” was so heartwarming I ordered it twice upon first visit. Anvil does waffle between being full of patrons and rather secluded, so if you and your loud sibling roll in you will get to heart how good the interior acoustics are first hand!

Home Brew. Let’s Meet Up - IRL & Online

Summer days were whittled away where the buffalo roam. I’m not kidding. I sought out herds of bison in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Edmonton. I brought home almost exclusively bison-themed souvenirs from each location. Now that I’m back home in Los Angeles I’ve spent every day carefully crafting my perfect home cup of coffee. It’s been a lovely ritual to grind my Coffalo Beans and partake in this minutes-long daily ritual.

✨ Shakes on the Rocks Tickets on sale NOW (Sept 13 @ 2pm)

✨ Popverse write up of Shakes on the Rocks’ latest gag

✨ My preferred Coffalo Coffee Roast (Roam Free Roast), not an affy link! I just love them!

✨ Jawiin Book Club Cosy Autumn Read

✨ My latest post for #alongexpectedhobbitday 2025

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

I return to the stage in LA tomorrow at 2pm for a matinée performance of Shakes on the Rocks. Both Hamlet and MacBeth are on the wheel. Both are two plays I’ve done many times before and Hamlet is my favourite thing written in the English language. We’re introducing something called “The Rando” for our debut day drinking show. If you are in Burbank tomorrow come out to see if I survive all the way to the end of the play!

Halipuu's Campfire Barista in the Scandinavian Woods

Cosy mysteries (Hygge Hideaway Cozy Mysteries are my personal faves), petrifying monster horror (Let the Right One In is the first vampire book I had to stop reading after dark), and Hygge principles (The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living makes the perfect guidebook), are the three things I most strongly associate with the Scandinavian peninsula. Besides Jason’s surprised ethnic heritage, of course.

Lapland in Northern Finland is the dreamiest Yuletide destination I could possibly imagine. It claims Santa Claus as a resident. And reaches up into the arctic circle.

Not exactly the backdrop for an elite, world class barista to set up shoppe, one would imagine?

HaliPuu’s “Campfire Barista” disagrees!

“HaliPuu’s Campfire Barista brings you the flavours of Lapland with a modern twist. The Demeter certified artisan coffee beans from Metsäpaahtimo roastery, crystal clear well water and the smoky heat of a campfire combine to make the best specialty coffees north of the Arctic Circle. All freshly hand made while you watch!

We also offer a selection of freshly made sweet treats, both vegan and non-vegan. Our delicacies are made with local, Arctic ingredients such as lingonberries and chaga, and they are all superbly yummy.”

These super unique, supremely artisanal beverages are a double travel wonder. Not only do patrons often travel from all over the world (not me sitting in sunny Southern California contemplating if I can pull of a visit in 2026), but the barista themself takes quite a trek to bring precious, precious caffeine to your hot little hands.

Steffan Wunderink is the eponymous “Campfire Barista” who dedicates himself to the love of his craft and his traditional homeland.

Although not open until the late month of November, the official website features a Where to Find the Campfire Barista section as they sling their beans in the middle of the arctic forest. Forest, perhaps, being an overzealous adjective for the scrub tundra. The coffee sled - yes, you read that correctly, “sled” - is based in Levi, Finland, near the traditional Christmas market.

I first discovered The Campfire Barista a couple years ago when I watched Gordon, Gino and Fred: Desperately Seeking Santa. If you don’t know this about me I love all things Gordon Ramay! I was even featured on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen in season 24!

You can meet Wunderink the same way I did with this playlist.

Everything is made from scratch and the item which most excites me in the homemade lingonberry marshmallow! Lingonberry is one of the most traditional and most important berries in Scandinavia. They are tart and perfect. What little proliferation they have in North America can be credited to Ikea.

One of the things Wunderink popularized was the inclusion of “chaga” in his beverages. If you live in a place like Los Angeles (i.e. perpetually chasing the next trend), you’ve probably heard of chaga. You can credited The Campfire Barista.

Take a peek at a sample menu below:

The woods The Campfire Barista whisks you away to are owned by Wunderink’s wife’s father. Not only does he curate an artisanal drink, he curates an experience, and welcome into ancestral land. When I visualize the Danish principles of Hygge (yes, I realize Denmark and Finland are not the same - Denmark is where Hamlet lives!), and the perfect warm winter fuel I can’t imagine a more magical place to meld them all together

Indie Creator Resources

Emerald City Comic Con Panel Submissions are Open 📚

Seattle’s finest comic book convention, Emerald City Comic Con, has open panel submissions. Podcasts, cosplay, creators, everyone! Pitch your ideas if you are in the PNW! Submissions close November 11th, 2025.

C2E2 Panel Submissions are Open 📚

Chicago’s finest comic book convention, C2E2, has open panel submissions. Podcasts, cosplay, creators, everyone! Pitch your ideas if you are in Chitown! Submissions close December 1st, 2025.

Above the Curve Theatre holding General Auditions & Holiday Cabaet Submission 🚨

Los Angeles-based theatre company (ft. Diana De Luna of The Tony Soto Show), is holding general auditions and submissions for their upcoming holiday cabaret on September 21st. That give you a couple weeks to get your materials together! Full details on their Official Instagram.

My Exact Pour Over Coffee Pot is on Sale

Being the only coffee drinker in the household means I don’t need to make a giant pot daily. But, you know me, I do enjoy my rituals! My mum gifted me this Pour Over set and I love each little step. Plus, the filter is reusable. I wash it between each use and throw it in with my laundry when the wash is on.

For Funzies 📸

Hoping to perform for you in Los Angeles at Shakes on the Rocks this weekend! I want to see you! I’m shameless!

Happy Friday!

Happy Shakes Eve!

May your coffee be hot and strong!

Have a cool weekend!

This is my third time sitting down to try and publish this final missive from red dirt / red storm’s whirlwind tour across the Canadian prairies hopping from Winnipeg to Saskatoon to Edmonton Fringe Festival. This chapter has been an increasingly difficult one to have to close. I suspect this is largely because it’s not fully over. This first incarnation of my “strike play” has come to a close, however like most art, red dirt / red storm has a life of its own. After an incredibly difficult birth she is going into rewrites. Another period of growth. There’s an episode of The Simpsons where Lisa tells Nelson Muntz it’s not good-bye it’s: “Small ya later.”

This is my “smell ya later” missive to red dirt / red storm

Ending my adventure at the Edmonton Fringe Festival was quite an undertaking. Edmonton is the largest Fringe Festival in North America. Second only in the world to the legendary Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We’ve built all summer toward this crescendo.

My favourite patron review from the summer came from Krissy Berkholtz at Edmonton Fringe:

August was my first time ever visiting Edmonton or Alberta - the province my sibling has lived in for years. In addition to the professional, my weeks there also highlighted some of the loveliest moments of my personal life as well. I was bizarrely forewarned in both Winnipeg and Saskatoon:

“Oh, you’re from California. Edmonton is like Texas.”

… it’s not!

Following in the great trend of major European cities, most Canadian cities are cut down the middle by a river (Stratford, Ontario, where I went to high school is cut by the Avon River), on a bay (Toronto is on the bank of Toronto Bay, part of Lake Ontario), or on the shores of one of the three oceans we border (Vancouver is nestled on the Pacific shores, much the same way my home in Los Angeles is), Edmonton is very much the same. Saskatchewan is cut by the Saskatchewan River which extends all the way to Edmonton (locals refer to the body of water as the “North Saskatchewan River”). It’s also nestled near the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, thus has a ravine splitting the city. I spent many hours navigating the ravine as I traipsed to-and-from Fringe Central and in order to connect with the natural landscape of the big city.

Fun fact: Edmonton is the most northerly major city in Canada (and North America, but extension).

I promised my last post from Saskatoon to share the red dirt / red storm playlist with you - here it is!

In my time since returning from Edmonton I’ve been turning my focus inward. So much of this “reentry stage” has been reconnecting with myself after I’ve given over so much time, love, and energy to touring red dirt / red storm. When astronauts come back to Earth they have a decontamination period. There are exact procedures for their returning to real life. I’ve landed during the hottest days Southern California has seen all year. Edmonton was quite cool for summer (high of 16C and rain every day!), to 36C all day every day.

“Hot and heavy” doesn’t even begin to describe it 😅

This weekend is the Full Blood Moon in Pisces which will be undergoing an Eclipse. It’s the height of Virgo Season. Time to get organized. Make plans. Reflect on yourself. Eclipses are the time for quiet reflection, shadow work, and turning inward. How lucky am I to have the star aligning with where I am, personally?

Where am I going NEXT?! Even MOAR Tickets on Sale

Initially, I planned to take all of September off from performing. Embrace the philosophies of the Shire folk. Celebrate Hobbit Day (Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ shared birthday on September 22nd). Maybe do a little bit of writing if the mood struck. New York Comic Con is coming up quickly in October which will be demanding a lot of my attention, as it has every year since I began hosting for Popverse and ReedPop. The day after I landed back home in Los Angeles I was asked by Shakes on the Rocks to perform in the September show which will be on Saturday, September 13th @ 2pm at the Roguelike Tavern.

Something I am doing to preserve my hobbitish leanings is participating in #alongexpectedhobbitday. This is a series of online prompts on Instagram in order to connect a community of Tolkien-fiends leading up to Hobbit Day. If you follow me you’ll notice these posts going up every Friday this month. Join me!

✨ Shakes on the Rocks Tickets on sale NOW (Sept 13 @ 2pm)

✨ My first post for #alongexpectedhobbitday 2025

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

✨ New York Comic Con tickets

The snapshot on the top features yours truly playing Charles; The Wrestler from As You Like It this past spring. If you are a Shakespeare geek, like myself, you have probably deduced this was captured during the scene where

If you aren’t familiar with Shakes on the Rocks I’ve been a company member for a couple years and Popverse has written very nice coverage of all my performances with them. Jason Inman, Diego Anthony Nuñez, Cristian Rivas, and many other members of the local Geek History Lesson community have found themselves in the audience. If you ever roll by you never know what familiar faces you may espies!

Speaking of familiar faces …

Colin Mocherie Performs Worldwide

Seconds upon arriving at the Fringe Grounds in Edmonton I learned Colin Mocherie was among the 200+ shows red dirt / red storm was performing with.

And, yes, much to my devastation, tickets had long since sold out for a performance I was assured “will be recorded and you’ll be able to find soon” …

… by the by we did record the final two performances of red dirt / red storm and they are off in the editor’s bay as I sit finishing up this blog. Those will be available very soon for you to watch from anywhere on the planet!

Another Fun Fact: over a decade ago when Whose Line is it, Anyway? was revived by The CW and begun shooting in Los Angeles again a friend of mind was Colin Mocherie’s stand in. As a result, I was invited to attend a taping of the show. Yes, it was amazing! Watching performers of that calibre do it right in front of your eyes in nothing short of tremendously impressive. About once a year someone send me a screenshot with some version of the “is this you!?” message along with it.

(if you want to keep your eyes open for me I am wearing the good Canadian uniform of: a denim jacket!)

If you were not raised on Whose Line the way I was you may not know that THE CW incarnation is not the second, but the third version of the show. It originated in England and brought Colin Mocherie across the Atlantic from Canada to be amongst its principal cast members. In many ways this gig would have been a homecoming for Mocherie, who isn’t Canadian by birth, rather Scottish.

It’s all in the last name!

As long as I’ve been alive I’ve always known Canada has extraordinarily low birth rates. The rhetoric has always been that Canada’s population only grows because of immigration.

Colin Mocherie follows this motto. When he was seven his family moved to Montreal before settling in Vancouver, British Columbia - the soon-to-be film capitol of Canada. Arguably, because it outstrips Los Angeles in terms of volume of production actively shooting there, all of North America now.

He eventually began teaching TheatreSports (short form improv games), and met Ryan Stiles while they were both instructing in New Zealand. They both wound up in Second City Toronto together, despite Stiles being born in Seattle (but to Canadian parents!), then doing what so many Canadian performers do: moved to Los Angeles!

I wouldn’t know anything about that …

Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s Mocherie auditioned for Channel 4’s Whose Line is it Anyway? three times before he joined the show and stayed with it until it ended it’s UK run.

Truisms can be trite and I often find them annoying, however, Colin is such a clear example of: if at first you don’t succeed try, try again! I would be remiss not to include it here.

As often happens with Canadian performers (and Australians, and Kiwis, and anyone Commonwealth, really …), you have to find success abroad before Canada welcomes you home with open arms as a success story. Canada’s Drag Race host Brooke Lynn Hytes is another prime example of that who left Toronto, joined Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, was a finalist on season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and now is a certified Canadian superstar.

During my childhood Mocherie hosted a parody news show (think The Colbert Report), called This Hour has 22 Minutes and made recurring appearances on The Red Green Show. You can watch full episodes of both on Youtube:

All the while Mocherie has performed in The United States, Canada, and The United Kingdom, performed live standup and improv show, taught workshops, been an advocate, won a tonne of awards including: two Canadian Comedy Awards, a Gemini Award, and a Writers Guild of Canada award, Canadian Comedy Person of the Year at the 2013 Canadian Comedy Awards …

… and been a staple of the Canadian Associations of Fringe Festivals!

This is an especial overlapping of travel and acting I aspire to.

Indie Creator Resources

Grants for Canadian Citizens 📚

The Ottawa Fringe Festival (the first Fringe Festival I ever performed at!), has released their full list of Grants available for Theatre Artists based in Ontario or who are Canadian citizens. They vary, so comb through for your specific needs. Find the list here.

The Roguelike Tavern Needs a Boost 💸

The aforementioned Roguelike Tavern is the Los Angeles homebase of Shakes on the Rock. Due to a burst pipe they had to shut down for an entire week while repairs were made. In order to keep their doors open and keep us performing in stage space consider not only buying a ticket to Shakes’ September show, but dropping a couple $5 to The Roguelike’s GoFundMe.

Breaking Through the Lens $10k Grant for Women & Queer Filmmakers 🚨

There are two grants up for grabs right now. The early deadline was September 1st, but the late deadline is October 1st. If you are a woman or queer-identifying person check it out and apply. Alumni have been featured at Sundance, The Academy Awards, and the Peabody Awards.

My fave Noise Cancelling Headphones for Editing are on Sale …

Being home means I’ve been doing a lot of video and podcast editing this week. I’d be nothing without these headphones. I know many readers are also undertaking these same tasks. Whether you’re working at home, home away from home, on a plane, on site, anywhere, these headphones are a must!

For Funzies 📸

Hoping to perform for you in Los Angeles at Shakes on the Rocks! I want to see you! I’m shameless!

Happy Friday!

Happy September!

I’m happy to be back writing for you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Whenever I go to Kansas everyone says to me “Oh, it’s so flat!” This isn’t a statement I agree with. You want flat? My friend, Texas is flaaaaaaaat. That’s where the idea of the “great big sky” comes from. Kansas has hills and inclines. When I started telling folx I was headed out to Saskatoon for the Saskatoon Fringe Festival I heard one of two things:

1. “That’s my favourite Fringe Festival in the world!”

2. “Saskatoon is so flat.”

Someone told me “when you are in Saskatoon you can see where you are heading 8 miles away, you just don’t know how to get there”. Friends, let me tell, you Saskatoon is not all that flat. I have to write up and down a hill to get to-and-from my billet to the Fringe Central grounds and The Cosmo Seniors Centre which has been our home for the past week. Tomorrow is our final show before we head out to the Edmonton Fringe Festival - the largest of its kind not only in Canada, but all of North America!

The assertion that Saskatoon Fringe Festival is “my favourite Fringe Festival in the world!” is on its way to being something I wholeheartedly agree with. Not to be dramatic, but they do everything right. The staff is insightful, friendly, and supportive, the venues are all close together, the citizens go out and see all the weird shows we’ve brought in from all over the world, and the city is COOL!

Last Thanksgiving when I visited Boise, Idaho for the first time I found myself repeatedly asking: “Is Boise cool!?” as I fell more and more in love with the city. I’ve had the same experience during these amazing days in Saskatoon! Everything I knew about province of Saskatchewan came from the 2003 song, Saskatchewan:

Please imagine teenage Ashley scream-singing this song.

Side bar: I’m crafting a red dirt / red storm Spotify playlist which will eventually be shared with the public which is a mixture of both music which inspired me writing, music we use during the preshow/show of the 2025 tour, and songs which have been staples of the travel side of tour. Saskatchewan will definitely be included!

Today the Lion’s Gate Portal opens. It’s the most powerful astrological times of the year for manifesting your goals and bringing your dreams to reality. red dirt / red storm is carrying so much good will forward through this Leo Season.

I’ve been referring to the Saskatoon leg of this Fringe tour as “the second burn” belying the fact I’ve been consuming a lot of space-themed media and now know a few key terms about space travel. “Burn” means “the firing of a rocket engine to change a spacecraft's trajectory or velocity” and is an important part of moving in or out of orbit. Little did I know when I came up with this “clever” idea for an Instagram caption it would capture the evolution red dirt / red storm has taken in Saskatchewan.

MOAR Reviews (+ bonus Geek History Lesson connection!) & Edmonton Tickets on Sale

Traditionally in theatre you don’t want to read reviews. Especially as an actor. When I lived and worked in Stratford there were actors who would not allow ANYONE to talk about reviews to them. When you are producing Fringe Theatre you have to operate a lot like publishing comic books on Kickstarter or releasing a Star Trek parody webseries. You’ve got to read all of your reviews on the off-chance there’s something helpful. Whether that be a positive line or two you can use as a pull quote or a piece of critique you can use to improve your work.

✨ Edmonton Fringe Tickets on sale NOW (Aug 15 - 23)

✨ Saskatoon Star Phoenix ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2 Review (shows listed in alphabetical order, scroll for us!)

✨ Culture Gecko Review

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

I mentioned Geek History Lesson above. That’s my podcast. A couple weeks ago a listener from Edmonton reached out to see if red dirt / red storm would be coming to the Edmonton Fringe Festival (we are!), and one night in Saskatoon I met another Geek History Lesson listener who so generously wrote about us. What a treat!

(please, please, please, always feel like you can reach out to me or stop me and say hello!)

I’ve gushed about Saskatoon, but my favourite Patron review still comes out of our time at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival:

Here are some of my favourite things written about red dirt / red storm from our reviewers in Saskatoon:

❤️ “It’s not often one can call a show “cool,” but this really is just a dang cool show.” - PodSask
❤️ “ This production borrows from the unrelenting emotional wallop presenting a series of fast paced vignettes highlighting S and Clark’s relationship from a meat cute introduction to a barrage of intensity that burns as brightly as the stars above their Mars habitat which the production is set.” - Culture Gecko

❤️ “Robinson and Second Star to the Right Productions have outdone themselves with a truly uncomfortable and tense performance from Robinson that will linger and haunt you.” - Culture Gecko

❤️ “Playwright Ashley Victoria Robinson has crafted a harmony of space-opera narrative and grounded detail in red dirt/red storm. The story follows two lovers as they search for hope and a future — trying not to lose each other along the way — in a life amongst the stars.” - Saskatoon Star Phoenix

❤️ “excellent performances on stage … keep the ship on course, and the breadth of emotion and life laid bare on stage is sure to leave audiences on the edge of their seats” - Saskatoon Star Phoenix

Joni Mitchell is Travel Goals

Our previous storytime highlighted Bruce Horak, one of the “Kings of Fringe.” That’s a phrase you’ll hear thrown around Fringe Festivals often when discussing some of the icons of the travelling craft who have been at this since I was a child, if not longer. Today I want to highlight a gem from Saskatchewan and the world famous Joni Mitchelle immediately sprang to mind!

Do I ever wish I could take a big yellow taxi from Saskatoon to Edmonton. *insert sweating laughing emoji face here*

Mitchell may have been born in Alberta, but she was raised right here in Saskatoon. In a time before TikTok or Youtube or Spotify or any of the tools currently at our disposal to get art out in the world she toured around Canadian coffee shoppes and bars honing her craft.

By now you are familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s assertion from Outliers that 10,000 hours of practice make you an expert. The Beatles’ early years in Hamburg, Germany are often cited as the perfect example of this principle. I think Mitchell’s is equally comparable. The Beatles played in music halls where audiences entered knowing they were going to be engaging with music. They were present for the vibe. If you have ever performed in a “non-tradition” or “site-specific” space you know the fight of capturing and holding someone’s attention.

How often have you, yourself, entered a coffee shoppe, seen a performer and thought, “Oh, no, this is death.”

Mitchell perfected her skill in folk music under just these circumstances.

Fun fact: the city of Saskatoon boasts the site of her very first ever public performance. It was at The Louis Riel Coffee House in Saskatoon. Presently, there’s a plaque where The Louis Riel Coffee House once stood and where Joni Mitchelle first played on Hallowe’en (how magical!), in 1962. She also went on to play at The Broadway Theatre which is an official Saskatoon Fringe venue (although, sadly, not ours, we are at the Cosmo Senior’s Centre). The Louis Riel Coffee House is no longer open. It closed so long ago you can’t easily ascertain when it closed.

Google failed me and I failed you on this front.

If you don’t recognize the name “Louis Riel” you are clearly not Canadian and have some history to study, my friend.

Mitchell’s career carried her out of Saskatoon to the big city of Calgary and The Depression Coffee House. The Depression Coffee House is a pretty iconic part of underground Canadian gay culture. So whether you are into queer history or music history the name feels frightening and ironic. It’s located in the basement of Club Carousel (making the name even more appropriate if you have ever been in a Canadian basement in the middle of a Canadian winter), and now enjoys protected status as a Heritage Site.

Like myself, Mitchell made the capitalist leap from Canada to the United States. When she married her first husband in 1965 they initially moved to Detroit, MI and upon separation she left for New York City in 1967. It was that same year Mitchell began to perform in New York City. In 1968 she had a record deal and recorded Song to a Seagull. By 1969 she was performing songs from this album on stage at the Carnegie Music Hall in NYC.

Pretty impressive!

How Many Cats Have You Met?

Such a good question, thank-you for asking. There’s one “official” Fringe cat who lives outdoors in Saskatoon. She’s a tabby who lives somewhere between The Cosmo Senior’s Centre and The Refinery. Every time I walk past her someone I am with inevitably and companionably shouts: “That’s the Fringe cat!”

A little further from the Fringe grounds, before you hit Broadway (this is real Saskatoon specific, so I’m going to leave you to Google it as geography is not one of my strong points), there’s another female cat. She’s a stunning black cat who was clearly raised indoors because her tummy is not a trap. She’ll often follow me for a full block before it’s time for her to return home and me to return to my second home (the stage).

Fringe-ships (the subject of a future blog I’ve been noodling on), was something I expected. Fringe cats were not. They have been the delight of my Saskatoon Fringe experience. I hope from this blog you can see I have so much in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to love.

Indie Creator Resources

Orlando Fringe Apps are Open🚨

The Orlando Fringe Festival is one of the American-based Fringe Festivals that’s highly thought of by folx on the international tour scene. They do a something pretty unique which is two festivals a year. They have a mini-Fringe in January which is currently open for applications.

Jem Rolls has Started a Newsletter 📓

Travelling English poet extraordinaire who doesn’t write a single thing down or publish it ever, Jem Rolls, has finally put something semi-permanent out into the world for us in the form of a newsletter. I’ve subscribed and look forward to the missives which have just begun hitting my inbox.

My fave Notebooks are on Sale … 📚

“Bigger than a pocket, smaller than a schoolbook” are the dimensions I’m looking for when I need a new notebook. One of my standards is currently on sale. You’re creative. This is a great place to store your brainworms!

For Funzies 📸

Hoping to perform for you in Edmonton! I want to see you! I’m shameless!

Happy Friday!

You are stardust! You are golden!

I close festival two tomorrow!

Have a wonderful weekend!

I’m writing this from backstage (which is technically “below stage” in a good Canadian basement!), of the West End Cultural Centre. The incredible former-church-turned-performance-venue which is my first stop performing red dirt / red storm this summer. In approximately 45 minutes I will have trod the boards where icons such as Orville Peck (of all people!), have performed before. Earlier today we had our tech (setting lights, confirming staging, often using all props for the first time), and tech dress rehearsal (same as the latter add costumes), which are usually reserved for a completely different two days. But, this is FRINGE! Less than an hour after completing the first full run through of red dirt / red storm I’ll be performing it for the first time anywhere in the world.

Today has been:

Warm thanks from the bottom of my heart to the sweet baby angels who sent gifts to the WECC to celebrate red dirt / red storm’s world premier. Receiving these tokens was incredibly humbling.

This week’s installment was going to be “Coffee” - and I have found my coffee shoppe in Winnipeg after about a week of searching. However, crafting this for you on opening night feels like we’re going to have to remain firmly in “Create” for an additional week. Today is also Mercury Retrograde and the onset of Cancer Season. For the astrologically uninitiated among you: that means I’ve been crying a lot.

Future Ashley cutting in here to let you know the above is as far as I got on opening night. Please imagine everything that follows carefully crafted two days later in the same dressing room with even more crying in between. This will probably land in your inbox very late Friday night. “No rest for the wicked” and such as …

Let’s kick off with our customary and full-length red dirt / red storm update, shall we?

Houston, we have lift off!

The Pressure of an Opening Night Review & Saskatoon Tickets on Sale

Los Angeles launched me into 2025 with a mass of fire. I’m sure you remember. It was international news. We travelled to New Zealand in March and the kind Kiwis were inquiring after our homes and safety. Manitoba decided to welcome me back for the first time since I was teenager in much the same fashion. With burning open arms. Not to worry, Winnipeg is largely untouched by the forest fires raging to the north and we’re safe. Here’s what has been on my docket in the meantime:

✅ cover Winnipeg in red dirt / red storm posters and postcards

✅ review the amazing photo call pics we took in Toronto

✅ open red dirt / red storm

✅ open red dirt / red storm the same day your first reviewer comes

✅ schedule the show you are going to film (for all the nice friends who can’t come to Winnipeg, Saskatoon, or Edmonton this summer)

✅ cry

✅ sell tickets (get yours, prairie friends: Winnipeg Fringe)

✅ see as many other shows as possible

Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

Tonight we closed our second show. Our run in Winnipeg is already half over.

Star Trek Connection: one of the shows at this year’s Winnipeg Fringe is directed by Bruce Horak. Bruce played Hemmer on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. (more on him later)

Needless to say that is a must-see!

Updated exciting links & Review highlights!

✨ Official Instagram

✨ Winnipeg Tickets on sale NOW! (July 16 - 27)

✨ Saskatoon Tickets on sale NOW! (July 31 - Aug 9)

✨ Edmonton Fringe Tickets on sale Aug 6th

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

I mentioned earlier we had a reviewer come to opening. TBH that’s pretty much my nightmare. Winnipeg Fringe has a very intrepid indie mag called The Jenny Revue which is dedicated to reviewing every single show at the Fringe. This provides every single one of us with potential pull-quotes and feedback for future shows. I’ve been excited to meet them since I rolled into Winnipeg:

Made my dream come true TODAY!

Here are some of my favourite things they wrote about red dirt / red storm:

❤️ “reminiscent of Apple TV’s For All Mankind”
❤️ “strong pacing and a rich atmosphere”

❤️ “Both actors deliver emotionally resonant performances”

❤️ “there are moments of genuine connection that hint at a deeper theme about legacy and aspiration”

❤️ “the kind of moving, genre-blending sci-fi theatre unique to the festival”

Bruce Horak OWNS Canadian Fringe

During our last storytime I told you about the amazing Sarah Bernhardt and her tour playing Hamlet in at the end of the 19th Century. Today I want to to bring you the tale of another “Travelling Creator” and, like myself, another CANADIAN Travelling Creator at that! #JusticeForHemmer’s inspiration: Bruce Horak, himself.

Horak lives in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, home of The Stratford Festival of Canada and the small city I went to high school AND began my acting career in. The Venn Diagram here is about to be personal and WILD!

For 25 years Horak has been touring and performing Fringe Festivals across Canada with the company Monster Theatre. His first work with them came in (say it with me, Conan fans!), the year 2000:

THE CANADA SHOW: The Complete History of Canada in One Hour!

Written by Ryan Gladstone and Bruce Horak, Featuring Ryan Gladstone, Bruce Horak and Aaron Olney, Directed by Duval Lang

The Canada Show premiers on the outdoor stage at Calgary’s Shakespeare in the Park. It then tours to the Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Festivals. Little did we know that 10 years later we’ll still be performing this play!

After a bunch of other shows which bring Horak to: Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton (as well as touring the province of Alberta), Toronto, Montreal, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Vancouver (as well as a school tour of the province of British Columbia), Sasakatoon, Kelowna, Orlando, Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Surrey, Victoria, London (Ontario), Saltspring Island, Kamloops, Coquitlam, Ashcroft, and probably some other cool places I skimmed over because my contacts are really dry from crying on stage.

A few years later Horak really made a splash with This Is Cancer

CANCER gives the cabaret performance of a lifetime!

In this critically acclaimed and award-winning one-man, satirical cabaret Bruce Horak brings CANCER to life.

A cancer survivor himself, and one of Canada’s only legally blind professional actors, Bruce Horak brings a fresh and funny perspective to a disease that too many of us will face and that so many of us could use a good laugh at.

Co-Created and Directed by award-winning director/performer Rebecca Northan (Canadian Comedy Award – Best Sketch Group, Gemini and Dora Award nominee, CTV’s “Alice, I Think”) "THIS IS CANCER:” will leave you wondering how you could fall in love with such a deadly performer.

WINNER Outstanding Actor in a Musical or Comedy (Betty Mitchell Awards, Calgary, 2007), a TWISI award for outstanding contribution to the arts in Nova Scotia, and Critics' Pick at the Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festivals.

This is Cancer even made its way Stateside hitting up performance venues in places like Portland. Which, if you’ve ever been to Portland, simply feels correct.

How is this like Hemmer?

Hemmer is an Andorian. I love Andorians. Here I will shamelessly plug the Star Trek: Lower Decks comic book where an Andorian first officer is named after yours truly! Pick up the issues because they are genuinely good and to see if you can spot me - the hair cut gives it away! Andorians are blunt to the point of being mean.

Hemmer is hard-headed, the smartest character in the room, and ultimately self-sacrificing. Each of these qualities is the mark of good Fringe artist. Of a dedicated performer. Of an enterprising creator.

Indie Theatre Resources

Shameless Self-Promotion 🚨

I want to open this by encouraging you to always be shameless. If you aren’t confident enough to stand behind your original work no one else is going to be. Stand ten toes down behind your creativity! The much aforementioned Jenny Revue has a Shameless Self-Promotion feature available for free for all Winnipeg Fringe performers to crow about our work. Make use of this tool!

Multi-Disciplinary Festival for Femme Creative 🚨

SkirtsAPlenty is hosting a festival in March 2026 coinciding with International Women’s Day that is currently open for submissions. Performances have a 30 minute limit. Titled The Maps We Make. Submit your works here.

So you wanna be a playwright … 📚

I’d encourage you to pick a medium where it’s easier to make money, but if, like myself, the theatre lures you in Playwrights on Playwrighting is a wealth of knowledge from almost exclusively white male American playwrights. If you can let that go there is some really solid advice.

For Funzies 📸

Still hoping to perform for you in Winnipeg! I want to see you! I’m shameless!

Happy Friday!

Live long and prosper!

I survived my opening!

May you find delight in the coming days!

Sweet siren song of creativity. You can be the cruelest mistress. Over the years you’ve shown me my fair share of heartbreak and you’ve shown this same unflinching attitude to my betters. Whether it’s Homer struggling to pen The Odyssey and birth an entire archetype by himself all those long years ago, Christopher Nolan’s frustration when his trailer for The Odyssey was snatched up and unceremoniously dropped online earlier this week, or actual mermaids wondering how they went from being feared creatures adjacent to gorgons to sweet singing maidens Under the Sea - the path to creative fulfillment never did run smooth.

After our first foray into “Cats” this week I’m welcoming you back to the realm of “Create.” In an effort not to fall prey to Summertime Sadness I know many people diving head first into projects seeded last year or even further back. It is oppressively hot in the Northern Hemisphere. Will your creative juices cool you down? Probably not. But, hey, catharsis is a powerful tool and stranger things have happened.

First, I want to give you a little update on what is brewing for red dirt / red storm.

Prepare to blast off!

Travelling While You Work and Tickets on Sale

“It’s so humid.” has been my refrain in the three days I’ve spent back in Canada following the dry heat I’ve become accustomed to after over a decade living in Southern California. From the minute I touched foot back on the soil of my homeland I’ve had to tackle a very long to do list:

✅ block red dirt / red storm (took 2 days)

✅ memorize all my lines (on day 3 so far and about ⅔ of the way through)

✅ meetings with Production and Staff (2/2 done)

✅ design all lighting cues

✅ create a tech script

✅ buy costume pieces

✅ confirm all Festival-provided housing

⭕ take promotional photos

⭕ shoot an entire run through

⭕ design all sound cues

⭕ finalize poster design for first Festival (Winnipeg Fringe)

⭕ order posters & handbills for first Festival

All powered by just one single cup of Tim Horton’s coffee so far.

My time in active in-person rehearsals has been incredible so far and I’m so grateful to be housed by friends. Our entire time here (1 week total), is going to cost my less than some of my most expensive single days on my recent trip to Europe.

Here are some other exciting links!

✨ Official Instagram

✨ Winnipeg Tickets on sale NOW! (July 16 - 27)

✨ Saskatoon Fringe page UPDATED to include us! Tickets on sale SOON!

✨ Second Star to the Right ko-fi Page!

If the “Coffee” in “Coffee. Cats. Create.” is what drew you here you can do me a solid by buying me a coffee any time over the next two months. red dirt / red storm is a collaboration of international artists touring three provinces that I am completely self-funding. Any little helps.

/SHAMELESS PLUG

Geek History Lesson podcast fans will also be able to hear a familiar voice no less than three times throughout red dirt / red storm!!

Here is also where I’d like to make use of the comment section present on every Substack: are there specific details you’d like me to get into about touring red dirt / red storm this summer? Any advice I can offer to aspiring creatives? How to produce original work at a breakneck pace? Writing 60 pages of original content in 1 week? Rewriting and editing and rewriting and editing? I’m planning to share a deeper collection of updates and stories as we race toward our world premier, but I’d also love to help you out as well.

One Woman Hamlet on European Tour

Storytime! In our last installment Epic Cats for Trying Times I told you the story of Brünnhilde the Valkyrie Cat. Today I want to introduce you to Sarah Bernhardt. A “Travelling Creator” in her own right, Bernhardt was a renowned actress who spanned the 19th into the 20th Centuries. She performed for Queen Victoria. Oscar Wilde was a fan. The great American writer Mark Twain once said:

It’s well known the best on-stage theatrical role is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

☝🏻 Fun Fact: my FAVOURITE play AND what I consider to be the best thing ever written in the English language ☝🏻

Bernhardt cast herself as Hamlet (in French), in Paris at the Théâtre de Ville in Paris which she took over then renamed the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt. Her performance was so lauded young women fell in love with her and would wait to sneak into her dressing room convinced she was a young man. Bernhardt then brought the French-language production to London. The West End loved her so much this Hamlet went on to play in Stratford at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater.

In 1899.

1900 saw her starring in a film adaptation which is alternately titled Hamlet or Le Duel d'Hamlet. This made her not only the first woman to play Hamlet, but the first woman to play Hamlet on film.

If you are curious about Bernhardt’s Hamlet it’s a difficult find, but here is the sword fight scene with Laertes.

Fun Fact: Laertes is my favourite role in all of Hamlet and one of my standard audition monologues is his good-bye to Ophelia.

What are MY Takeaways?

As someone who has written a play, is self-funding, producing, and has cast myself in the lead I can’t help but admire Bernhardt’s bravado and daring-do. She was a woman of action. Hamlet is a man of in-action.

I aspire to this level of self-confidence. While I would never dare compare my relative talent to that of Bernhardt I would be very gratified if her spirit wanted to bless red dirt / red storm as we make our way across Canada this summer.

Indie Theatre Resources

Best for Femme Playwrights 🚨

Los Angeles Female Playwright Initiative is an LA-based collective dedicated to representing and reviewing the most underrepresented playwrights - femmes. They make great efforts to see all femme-written works on LA stages and were wonderful supporters of The Bearer of Bad News when I brought it to The Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2023. Connect with & support their efforts here.

New Workshop Opportunity for Queer Playwrights 🚨

Spring Awakening OBC cast member Gideon Glick has launched Blue Roses Project - a New Orleans-based incubator for new works by queer playwrights. Submit your new works here.

Best Hamnet since Hamlet 📚

My favourite book of 2023. Soon to be adapted to a movie. The Song of Achilles of Hamlet. Get thee to a nunnery.

For Funzies 📸

Come see me in Winnipeg! I want to see you! I’m shameless!

Happy Friday!

Have an inspiring weekend!

Thanks for opening!

May your weather be bearable!

If you made it all the way to the end: I have a number of nice paid subscribers. I’m developing a live video option for paid subscribers that’s tentatively called “Coffee Date.”

As I sat down to write to you this week I was planning the opening volley of scientific evidence from Wisconsin’s Carroll University which concluded that cat people are smarter than dog people.

… states the headline from Live Science.

I also considered sharing the epic tale of Brünnhilde with you. She’s a mainstay of my Instagram feed.

Okay, I lied, I will tell you the TL;DR on Brünnhilde because I am invested:

The OG photo - seen above - was taken in 1936 featuring, apparently, the most patient cat on the planet? Brünnhilde is (not only a Marvel Comics characters), one of the most famous Valkyries immortalized in Wagner’s opera Der Ring des Nibelungen, which you may not think you know, but Bugs Bunny definitely expose you to as a young child.

Brünnhilde went immediately viral for her magnificence and in early 2023 a second photo emerged:

In what was one of the greatest moments of my life. There isn’t much else known about Brünnhilde outside of these two photographs. I refuse to acknowledge the colourized versions some folx have made of her. She is majestic in her original rendering. Why is she dressed as her namesake? Was Brünnhilde famous in her time?

What I really think these famous photos make clear is the captive nature of our feline overlords.

The power of Brego

My orange boy “has a kingly name”

Fun fact: “Brego” is not a Tolkien book canon character. He was an invention of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens in their adaptations of The Lord of the Rings.

Naming him after a work of art which is entirely an act of healing from the horrors of the First World War was a bit of psychic foresight on my behalf. Brego foster-failed into our lives in 2018. Right before the end of the world as we know it.

New conversations and coping mechanisms were all the rage in 2020. The height of Brego’s terrible twos. All of our rituals and all of the recipients of conversation we had come to rely on were washed away through wave after wave of lockdown. The way each of us adapted illustrated, for me, the ramping up of ideas and perspectives.

I, myself, am not the most social animal. I waffle between craving the attention of the spotlight and wishing to slink on by unperceived. I’ll admit it, when stay-at-home orders were first introduced I was thrilled to chill. As times became tougher Brego became my emotional support. Without two brain cells to rub together he absorbed fears and anxieties into his orange fur.

When friends started coming to visit again he was always asked after.

The grumpiest, “scariest” people in my life love him the best. Cats, by their quiet, contained nature bring out the best in all of us if we are open to letting them.

Kitty Cat Resources

Best Cat Rescue 🚨

Care Rescue LA is where we initially fostered Brego from. Every Secret Santa Gift I ask for in a year is as a donation to them on his behalf. If you are in LA consider fostering with them. If you are not, donate here.

Da Bird 🚨

The most elite of all cat toys. Brego’s top obsession with or without the influence of his preferred catnip!

Resources for Cat Parents 💻

My favourite Instagram account educator about house cat care and behaviour. Learn along with me here.

For Funzies 📸

Need a chuckle? Love cats? Merv The Pet is a SOUND ON-worthy follow. I discovered her antics through artist Nicola Scott and it’s the best gift (other than signing my copies of Black Magic), she has ever given me!

Happy Friday!

Pet a cute animal or touch some grass!

Thanks for reading!

Do something fun today!