Last day of classes is in the books. The last few weeks are always simultaneously endless and fly by. I think I found strategies for productive and enjoyable classes after Thanksgiving? (Mostly structured in-class project work and open-ended big picture conversations)

What an excellent group of scholars and topics! I'm excited to dive in.

Yesterday it occured to me that it was time for SCMS notifications, and the acceptance notice appeared in my inbox a few minutes ago. See you in Chicago for "Creative Labor in the Shadow of Hollywood Hype: Marketers, Non-Union-Actors, and the Struggle for Recognition." 🎉 #SCMS26

This was such an excellent conversation! Big thanks to the SCMS Media Industries SIG for organizing it.

Emerging from my little hiatus to say that I have perhaps never been this excited about an issue of @jcmsjournal.bsky.social, i.e. the special issue of "Is it Media?" All of these articles are 100% my jam.

My friend Laura is urgently seeking a new home for two sweet kitties in/near Charleston, SC. If you have any leads or could share her post, I'd really appreciate it.

Speaking of Critical Role, I saw a panel with Liam and Sam at Rose City Comic-Con yesterday, but the true highlight of the day was an actual play set in Val'Ruvina, the setting of TPK Brewing's Leyfarer campaign (in which I play). Tons of lore drops and our GMs were amazing as beloved NPCs.

This is the perfect convergence of my research and personal interests, and I can't go! I'll be in NYC the next weekend for NYCC, and I really wish this ran longer. I'm sure there will be tons of social media posts, but that's no substitution for going in person.

I'm surprised (in a good way) to discover that the majority of students in my intro class have not only heard of the WGA/SAG strikes of 2023, but could also say generally what they were about. Also, a surprising number of them have recently watched Brokeback Mountain (because of TikTok).

Critical Role revealed details about Campaign 4 this morning, and I am stoked! I love the expanded cast, and while I didn't like the split party as much in C3, I think it will work well here (and I understand that it makes production a lot easier). Is it Thursday October 2 yet??

Oh, but it gets worse: apparently, a task force has been hard at work to develop gems like an "outcomes curator" where you can ask AI to make sure your syllabus is in good shape, and a "productivity assistant" to "schedule my work effectively each day." 🙄

Our library website now prominently links to an "AI" "research assistant" and I want to scream into the void about it. It is so upsetting to see the library, of all places, cave like that (granted, the institution may have forced their hand). Ugh.

This morning, observant Critical Role fans discovered the password-protected critrole.com/Unseal/ and a few hours later, managed to guess the password to reveal a 20-second audio snippet introducing a new setting along with this Thursday's date. Maybe we will get a little trailer for Campaign 4?

Related to the CR puzzle, Dropout also had an ARG embedded in this season of Game Changer that ultimately leads to a page where 100k people need to enter a secret word to unlock the bonus episode for this season. I did my part. (More on this: www.argn.com/2025/08/its_...)

Over the course of the day, Beacon (CR's subscription platform) sent out mobile notifications with another cryptic phrase and a link to the discord channel. The plot thickens. Hundreds of messages in the CR discord trying to crack this puzzle. (Is this what the Lost ARG was like in 2006?)

Yesterday's Critical Role newsletter included a picture of random letters arranged in a square, a new channel appeared CR's discord that only accepts commands, and people commenting on CR's latest Instagram post got DMs w/ cryptic phrases. I'm very curious to see where this leads.

I wrapped my con with wandering along the show floor and then got Dole whip from Sweet Things (IYKYK). On Preview Night, the four days seem endless; then you blink and it's Sunday afternoon. See you next year, SDCC.

I didn't know that a fan got invited to write two episodes of the final season of Xena because the showrunner liked ideas she shared online. That's wild.

Marvel has an interesting (and data-extraction focused) procedure for their swag and merch: a URL drops on their Insta stories early, leading you to sign up for a virtual queue. You get a text when it's your turn (i.e. you need to consent to getting texts).

Final day of SDCC started with some floor wandering. Now waiting for the 30th Anniversary of Xena panel, which is fan-organizd but has Renee O'Connor (who played Gabrielle) and Steven Sears (co-exec producer).

The Interview with a Vampire panel was A Vibe. Picture four thousand people, many of whom had been in the room for hours waiting for this panel combined with a very passionate fandom. There was a lot of enthusiasm. A Lot. The next season looks admittedly amazing, and I'm excited abt Talamasca, too.

Through persistence and luck, I made it into the signing line for Ron Moore at the Sony Television booth. He signed a beautiful For All Mankind poster that will probably go up in my office.

SDCC, Day 3. Starting with, you guessed it, a line, and then a panel: Inside the Writers Room, with a number of TV writers.

Peacefest, the activation for The Peacemaker s2, was impressive. A two-level night club with secret "meet Eagly" experience and a live concert featuring 80s rock, plus free drinks, and a chance to play a Peacemaker version of Mortal Kombat. All with various brand tie-ins, of course.

The surprise release of this Esquie pin the day before I'm doing my Expedition 33 cosplay is one of those coincidences that elevate the entire con. The things you plan for at SDCC are great, but the unexpected encounters and experiences are always better.

Waiting in another line for entrance to Peacefest, the Peacemaker activation. First time any activation checked my ID to see if it matches the name on the reservation.

Glimpses from the show floor. There are some interesting brand collabs happening, like Sesame Street x Levain Bakery, where you can buy cookies and a cookie monster plush for $40 (they were already sold out for today). Also, forever the encouragement to share your experience on social media.

Things I saw wandering around: Clair Obscur Expedition 33 cosplay meet-up and Old Spice "smell like a hero" Superman pop-up.

After the Lodge, I hopped into the line for FX's Alien Earth: The Wreckage activation because the line was short (90min. Yes, that is a short line at SDCC). Glad I brought my umbrella b/c the line was in the sun. Walked through some elaborate set pieces/photo opps, but would be more fun at night.

The Paramount+ Lodge derives much of its popularity from the following: it has A/C, free chicken sliders, cocktails, and frozen lemonade, plus comfy seating and bathrooms. Also some fun photo opps and good swag. That's a win for most SDCC attendees.

SDCC Day 2 is bracketed by activations: Paramount+'s The Lodge and Peacemaker. Wandering the Gaslamp before The Lodge, I stumbled upon a sunscreen pop-up. Tons of these smaller promos happen around the con.

I napped through One Piece (sorry, One Piece, but I don't think I would have gotten much out watching episode 1132). Next up, Critical Role! B20 is almost full. I have moved up to fourth row center.

Smart of the Dragon King people to reveal that Liam O'Brien will play the lead considering that there are many Critters in the room.

Now that a ton of people have left, the Critters are moving into the front section. Still two panels to go until Critical Role.

The Avatar panel was lovely. They did a stage reading of several scenes accompanied by a display of new original watercolor illustrations, and ended the panel with a live music performance/sing along..

I have arrived! Ballroom 20, which holds 4,000 people. The view ahead of me and behind me.

There's a group of Firefly cosplayers waiting near me. The endurance of that fandom is remarkable considering Fox didn't even air the full season before canceling the show, and showed episodes out of order.

Made it to the convention center. I will be in this line for another hour, before moving to an indoor line, and then into the panel room, where the Avatar: The Last Airbender 20th Anniversary panel kicks off the day at 10am. Critical Role is at 1:45pm.

I'm up bright and early for the first day of Comic-Con. On today's agenda: Critical Role panel (for which I'm sitting through 3 other panels to ensure a good view), exhibit hall wandering, maybe the Abbott Elementary or Alien Earth activations.

Also, for no reason whatsoever, here's a reminder that I have written several articles on the experience economy, activations, and their place in Hollywood promotions, with bonus tie-ins to the platform economy. You can start here, doi.org/10.1177/1367...

We are two days out from Comic-Con, and I have never seen this many large activations announced for the con. It's a peak year. (Also, so many activations, so little research time for them considering all the lines and people at SDCC).

The Hollywood Conference affirmed my love of small, thematic conferences. I saw so many inspiring talks, and there was enough downtime to have actual conversations with people I have known for a long time and with people I just met here. I hope there will be a second iteration. #HWC2025

TIL that what's going to save Hollywood and bring back the middle tier of e.g. $35mill rom-coms is fully AI-generated films. And you'll get to produce so many more screenplays for much cheaper! You heard here* first. (*From a bunch of film producers-turned-tech bros at this conference I'm at)

I got to meet all these lovely people tonight! What an amazing, hilarious, joyful show. Thank you, #DesiQuest!!

I made a piece of software! It’s called the film|minutes video|graphic workstation. It’s pretty niche but cool if you want to take notes or do very close readings of films/videos.

HBO announced "a chaotic 1980s glam rock-inspired activation" for Peacemaker at SDCC, and the site crashed immediately from the amount of people trying to get a reservation. Clearly whichever agency is behind this was not expecting this level of enthusiasm (though really they should have).

Hell yes hell yes hell yes "The new contract also accomplishes performer safety guardrails and gains around A.I., including consent and disclosure requirements for A.I. digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike."

We're two weeks out from San Diego Comic-Con, and the activation announcements are coming in fast. Doctor Who! Abbot Elementary! Alien: Earth! Paramount+ Lodge! Most aren't doing reservations, which is A Choice, and I hope they're prepared for SDCC fans' willingness to wait in line.

I'm not sure how much they can change unless they radically reboot the narrative considering that they locked themselves into the game's divided narrative structure. IDK if a rewriting would be better. Also, whoa, did not expect this news. (I really enjoyed s2, but then I also love TLOU II).

Here's a little bit of good news for you: "Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has signed HB 3761 into law, expanding access to Art Therapy for Oregonians on Medicaid/Oregon Health Plan." And some LC faculty helped! graduate.lclark.edu/live/news/56...