Let's Talk Fandoms

As much as we would like to forget, we all painfully remember our own teen years. This usually includes; puberty stress, family dynamics, middle school drama, and the nostalgia of the early 90's!

This week Kendra Beltran, the host of CrushGasmPodcast, joins us to go through each episode of PEN15's season one and season two (part 1), including the animated Spring Break episode! We make sure to dive deep into each cringey yet nostalgic moment represented throughout the show. We share moments from our own past that linked us to some of the characters and moments. We also make sure to take note of the adults and parents that are shown throughout the series.

Find Kendra Beltran on; Instagram: Sunny_Menagerie    Twitter: Sunny_Menagerie      Tumblr: SunnyMenagerie    Website: KendraWritesStuff    

Find Crushgasm Podcast on; Instagram: CrushgasmPodcast     Twitter: CrushgasmPodcast     Facebook: CrushgasmPodcast    Youtube: CrushgasmPodcast    Website: CrushgasmPodcast

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Anchor, and pop in to BuyMeACoffee.com/LetsTalkFandoms

Food has and will always be a major staple in everybody's life. As humans, we need food to keep us constantly active and living. Even if you aren't the most "food educated" we all have feelings and conversations about food. Along with this, the idea of watching somebody else cook has been a growing phenomenon for many decades. The ability to watch someone else make an exquisite (or even simple) dish that later you could attempt to replicate in your own home is exciting and can make food more enjoyable.  Cooking shows have been the corner stone to educational television since their conception. Later cooking shows would became repolarized with the technology boom of the early 2,000's. With heavy hitters such as; Julia Child, Jamie Oliver, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart and many more. It is no wonder the world fell in love with food through the screen.

This week I am talking with Lee-Sean Huang, a food lover in his own right. We hangout and talk about how food and the ability (or lack of abilities) to cook shaped our childhoods. We discuss how food played a major role culturally, along with how we we observe different calibrations and festivities depending on the food options (if their are any at all). We really get into the topic of Competitive Cooking Shows and what does it actually mean to be a contestant on one. What are the crazy tactics TV Programs are taking in order to keep peoples attention when cooking. Are they loosing the thing viewers love most of the shows (learning how to cook), or are they targeting an audience that is less interested in learning and more interested in the shock value of the competition?

Find Lee-Sean Huang:

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Anchor, and pop in to BuyMeACoffee.com/LetsTalkFandoms

Okay! We gotta sit down and talk about all these live action films Disney is creating! Why do entertainment companies feel they need to reboot and revamp some of societies favorite shows and films. We have seen extensions/continuations of; That's So Raven (Raven's House), Boy Meets World (Girl Meets World), Cinderella (Countless Reimagines), and many more.

In this episode, I sit down with author, B.T. Frost and talk about the different reboots and recreations we loved and hated. We talk about the many mistakes made with the many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (animated series, movies, and live actions). We dove deep into the Netflix's The Mandalorian and how stunning the creation and story building was handled. Along with discussing our many views on why big corporations put money into remakes, reboots, and  recreations. Is it just for money? Is it a way to please the fandom/fan-base? Are there other underlying factors we haven't thought about?

Make sure to heave over to Amazon.com and pick-up a copy of B.T Foster's second book in his Detective Runewall series.

For some people we share EVERYTHING with our families and for others we are more reserved, but Fandoms are something that are universally passed down through generations (even if we don't initially think so). When we think about the music we heard around the house, the first time we went to the cinema, or even our first Sunday morning cartoon sessions. Most of these are directly chosen or influenced by our parents, cousins, grandparents and even siblings. It is obvious that even if later in life we don't outwardly share our Fandoms with our family, it is clear that we do share them with our chosen family. Our partners, friends, and children. How many times have your heard some one (or maybe even said yourself) "I can't wait to show xxx this!" I usually hear it from friends about their future children. In the same way that we share meme's, videos, and articles our families shared records, VHS' and original shows.

I got to sit down with Jennifer and Patrick Joy this episode and dive into their own history with Fandoms from when they were young kids. They also give us a lot of insight on their own ideas of expressing and sharing their Fandom interests with their own children. Expressing how they try and balance between encouragement and excitement when sharing their interests with Reagan and Rianna Joy.

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Anchor, and pop in to BuyMeACoffee.com/LetsTalkFandoms

In this day and age, you would be hard pressed to find someone who had never heard of the sport Quidditch, known why a Vampire's skin sparkles, or what the Hunger Games are. All of these creates have designed a world that is bigger and much longer lasting than themselves. Even when it comes to the most novice of fans, we can all agree that there are just some fantast worlds that have imparted peoples real lives. We know how conventions where people can come together, talk about these worlds, characters, and elements as if they had experienced it first hand. Many colleges and universities around the world have had Quidditch as a sanctioned and recognized sports, while multiple high schools around the UK and Canada have changed the name of many classes to appeal to a fandom filled audience (ex. Botany - Herbology, Chemistry - Potions). Now beyond all of this, we have to think about how it all started, where it all started, and who started it?

My guest this week is Jody Aberdeen. He is a an author, story consultant and a professional ghost writer. He sits with me to talk about how to start creating, building, and outlining a new world. What does it take to create the magical world of Harry Potter, or the horrific reality of a government who implements the Hunger Games? How do we, as average joes, makes something out of nothing?

Find Jody Aberdeen: Podcast @Ghostwriter and Pup Podcast, Amazon: Jody Aberdeen, Instagram@, Twitter@ Learn from Jody Aberdeen: WordPress, ThinkiFic

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Anchor, and pop in to BuyMeACoffee.com/LetsTalkFandoms

Alight, we are all wildly aware of the toxic and over drawn stereotypes that have plagued the LGBTQIA+ community when it comes to creating a "gay character" in a books, films, tv shows, ect. Well, we are fed up with these "larger than life" and incredibly damaging stereotypes that seem to paint all LGBTQIA+ characters as one note.

This week I invited some who I have admired for a long time due to their history and education within the LGBTQIA+ field. Not only are they a constant active activist in the community, but they have expanded my own ideas of what is truly means to be an ally for gay culture, gay representation. Lennon Gross joins us to talk through our collective history of knowledge when it comes to gay culture and how entertainment media has represented LGBTQIA+ characters, celebrities and TV personals. We go deep into our brains to pull out information from over 50 years ago, and discuss how characters and TV personalities were represented, treated and even poorly written. Now, we also make sure to point our the many changes we have seen (positively and negatively) in the last 10+ years that have really helped me move inclusion and diversity when it comes to gay characters forward. We made sure to point our some "heavy hitters" that really helped pave the way and put a stamp on history for some newer and more inclusive shows/films.

Find Lennon Gross on Instagram @Lemon.Grass.Studios

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Anchor, and pop in to BuyMeACoffee.com/LetsTalkFandoms

It's no surprise that a majority off fans will state, "The books are ALWAYS better!" We say this about; Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Sherlock Holmes, The Chronicles of Narnia, and so many more. I alone have said this, screaming this, debated this many times (even if I had never read the book(s). Being a hardcore book lover can be a frustrating, heartbreaking and even loving experience when your favorite books get turned into a TV Show or Film. I remember when I first learned that Alex Rider: Storm Breaker was getting turned into a film. It was exciting, inviting and exhilarating to see the story I loved coming to "life". I have a lot of feelings about the film and fully understand and support the reasons for not making any more of the Alex Rider books series into films!

This week Zara Miller jumped on the opportunity to sit down and talk with me about our shared experiences, feelings, and opinions about the Vampire Diaries series being turned into a CW (television network) Show. We talk about the MANY characters that were either changed or removed all together. Why were the main characters, Damon and Stefan Salvatore's history and heritage changed? What happened to the friendship turned relationship between Damon Salvatore and Bonnie Bennet? What the heck happened to Elena's sister (which was changed to a brother). We also look at the different plots that were played out in 8 seasons vs 13 books and why we felt some of these changes (and hiccups) were made. Elena's entire personality was changed, basically making every interaction with her different and unrecognizable. We noticed that after season 3-4 plots points and confrontations were being recycled. They show got so off the rails that the main character of the books and shows LEFT THE SHOW EARLY and the cast kept going for an additional TWO SEASONS! Insanity ensues, but Zara and I make sure to take you through all of our frustrations, loves and questions!

Make sure to head over to Amazon.com and pick-up a copy of Zara Miller's new book "I Am Cecilia". You can find Zara Miller on;

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro

Okay, so we all know Fabio Lanzoni from the many romantic novel covers, but so many of us don't actually read these novels (myself included). Why is it that Romance Novels are seen as "erotic" or "only for women"? This week, I got the chance to talk with Lyndell Williams, a Best Selling Author who rights sexy, elaborate and inclusive romance novels. She talks with us about why she started writing and why she focuses on African American females along with highlighting interracial couples. After talking with Lyndell, I have gained a new excitement and want when it comes to her romance novels. She even gives us exclusive information about projects she is working on at this very moment! Listen to her talk about her vast array of characters and their assorted love lives.

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro Find Our Guest Lyndell Williams on Instagram @LaylaWritesLove, Twitter @LaylaWritesLove, and find her books on Amazon.com Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

So, remember that episode of The Brady Bunch when Carol Brady found a pack of cigarettes in Greg's jacket pocket and the entire episode revolved around if the parents believed Greg's lie when he stated that they weren't his? I do! I remember it effecting me pretty hard, always thinking, "I would NEVER smoke!" Yet, I was also watching 90210, Degrassi, Criminal Minds, Family Guy and many other shows that depicted a lot worse then smoking. Why and how are we (as the viewing audience) affected and changed by the media we watch, and how does addiction shown in entertainment media change our opinions? Does it change our opinions?

This episode I got the opportunity to sit down and talk about this, and much more, with the incredibly funny, smart and positive Even Smith. Not only is he the co-host of Delta Sparks Pod along with @Andie.At.Electrical, but he is also a recovering addict. Even gives us a peak behind the certain and lets us in on a world that I am not enterally familiar with. Through his experiences and history with addiction and recovery, we take a closer look at how addiction and recovery are portrayed, analyzed and discussed in many different entertainment mediums. How is the show, "Mom" showing their AA meetings, and how are they making it recognizable and relatable to others who have gone through it? Why are we not surprised and shocked that Dr. Gregory House is addicted to pain killers while still being employed? Why is it easier to digest animated shows that are portraying addiction such as; American Dad, Archer, The Boondocks? Is it the responsibility of those who are making the shows, movies, music videos, documentaries to educate and inform the viewing audience? When does the line get crossed, when do we we say that it is too much? When will Tabloids and Magazines stop using a relapse as "Breaking News"?

Cover Art: @Psych_a_relic Intro Music: @RiRiRetro

Find Our Guest Even Smith on Instagram @E.S.Sparks, Podcast: Delta Sparks Pod; Instagram, Twitter, Website and all podcast streaming platforms. Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on; Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

*Please Note* This episode contains some topics and discussions that might not be suitable for all ages. My guest and I suggest those under the age of 16 to be heavily advised of topics that are discussed in this week's episode. Please note that this episode contains Trigger Warnings that will be placed throughout this episode. Topics include; addiction of many varieties that include but are not limited to; drugs and alcohol, body dysmorphia and addictive behaviors. Along with; suicide, addiction recovery, criminal acts and behaviors. My guest will also be talking about their own experiences and history with addiction and recovery with himself and their family. Please note there will be stronger language than in most other episodes.

Addiction Hotlines/Resources:

This week we welcome the author of "Looking for the Sun", S.R. Carter to the podcast as we discuss some of our favorite and some questionable book covers. Carter was in the process of finalizing her own book cover when we recorded this episode, allowing her to give me (and our listeners) a look behind the curtains when talking about having a publication company helping you along the way. We give our own opinions on a multitude of different covers ranging from; book series, comic books, children's books, autobiographies and some that are downright confusing. We even got an exclusive in-depth dissection of S.R. Carter's own book cover and how it relates to the story inside. Carter's book released one week after our recording date and it has already made it onto my own shelf. Make sure to scoop up a copy and learn more about why we all should be "Looking for the Sun".

Cover Art: @psych_a_relic, Intro Music: @ririretro.

Find our guest S.R. Carter on; Instagram @SRCarter_ , Twitter @SRCarter_ Find "Looking for the Sun" on Amazon @S.R. Carter. Remember to #KeepTalkingFandoms with us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!