Our Letter to a Childhood not Forgotten

A little backstory, I was at work and thumbing through my facebook feed while waiting for gymnastics to finish so I could pick up the kid, yes I happen to be a nanny.

Remember ABC's T.G.I.F.?

So it's offical. Danielle Fishel and Ben Savage will be on Disney's new show, Girl Meets World, based around Cory and Topanga's pre-teen daughter, Riley. I am both excited and nervous about this. Boy Meets World in my opinion is flawless.(No hyperbole there, if you were wondering) It has great characters, good lessons, and it's friggin hilarious. So, to have a new generation watch something like that, seems like a good thing. However, I am nervous because I don't want this series to be the black mark on the otherwise flawless series. I am guessing that is how most Boy Meets World fans are feeling right now. Since today's TV shows are so different from the more wholesome sitcoms that came before, they might do this series completely wrong. But I have high hopes for the series because the two have signed on, and Michael Jacobs, the original creator, is working on it again. (How far off could the show be with all of that.) So thought I would take this surge of Boy Meets World popularity to discuss my love of ABC's original T.G.I.F. line-up and then later this week just the love of Boy Meets World by my co-writer. (Really we both work on all the posts, we spend too much time together. She is proof reading this now! Hi!) (Hi back! We know, we have issues)

Now, don't think I am only posting something on the classic 90s T.G.I.F. Sitcoms because of the recent beginnings of a Boy Meets World sequel series. This has been on our Blog to do list for a while and I have always had an unhealthy (I mean unhealthy) obsession with Boy Meets World since it began in 1993. (I was a #trainwreck from an early age. 3 to be precise) I have marathons of it all the time. And by marathons I mean, me in my room, alone,  just watching all my favorite episodes. I tend to call them Tuesday.  I quote it constantly,. I want my future husband to have eyebrows as sexy as Eric's, and I can make anything relate back to Boy Meets World in some way. (Go ahead try me.) I know, unhealthy. But that is the #Trainwreck way.

I really just miss these great teen shows. All the teen shows now are sex and drug obsessed. They have way too much drama everywhere. I think Gossip Girl is getting away with more things than Sex and the City did at the start. Okay, maybe it's not that bad but seriously. How do these shows stay on? The Playboy Bunny Club got shutdown after a few episodes for salacious content and that show was not even geared toward a younger audience like the other over done teen shows are. Granted, I am 22 and don't like these shows for other obvious reasons. (My nostalgia)

The 90s teen shows taught actual values, and you didn't even realize you were learning because Eric or Salem the cat would say something funny right after the sappy moral of the story bit. (Except in Full House. Stupid Full House...Sorry, I have just never been a fan. Hugs do not solve a child driving a car through the kitchen wall. They just don't) The humor didn't take away from the lesson at all, it just made it more entertaining. These new shows barely have lessons at all. The most moral thing I have learned from some of them is don't be a bitch because then maybe someone might try and steal your boyfriend. However, someone is probably already trying to steal your boyfriend, anyway.

I want the people who are watching these crappy teen shows to be exposed to the wonderful-ness that was ABC's TGIF line-up. All the shows were great and worked together to make one night of tv, even if it was a show like You Wish, Teen Angel  or Two of a Kind that only got one season. They still made them fit seamlessly into the line-up. This is channel where they had themed nights and all the episodes were somehow strung together, even though they were in completely different universes; like the Time Ball night. The night where Sabrina makes a magic time ball and sends the Sabrina cast to 60s and then Boy Meets World to the 40s. These nights were more than just a line up of shows. ABC made them a fully composed night of fun and made sure each show flowed perfectly into the next. They used tiny promos and bits in between the shows to create this flow. Salem would be on Boy Meets World set during the promo/bit with the time ball and be the cause of the time change. TV doesn't do that anymore and it saddens me. Most shows just stand alone. These nights are such a creative ways to make somewhat bizarre episodes for a real world setting show. What shows now have episodes like that that are not dream sequences?

TGIF night even expanded into the Sunday night movie, The Wonderful World of Disney. Do you guys remember those? The random Disney TV Movie premieres that did not go on Disney Channel. My family would sit and watch these almost every Sunday, and if they didn't, I did. (Wow I really have always watched a lot of TV. This is really interesting to notice now...once a #trainwreck, always a #trainwreck) This was the place where Sabrina Goes to Rome and Sabrina Down Under premiered. Both of those movies are now on my hard drive because they are amazing! Having a close knit group of shows allowed for such fun expanded programming. And since the internet was not huge then, expanded programs were much more difficult. No webisodes here.

I do realize I am speaking from a nostalgic point of view. This is the TV I grew up on and that obviously makes it better than the TV you grew up on; and every generation feels that way. (I am right though.) But these shows did perfectly encompass the 90s/early 00s, my childhood. Most of the shows started in the early 90s and then were off air by mid 2000. Boy Meets World began in 1993 and ended in April of 2000. Sabrina continued longer until 2005, but only because it was transferred to the WB, a channel that was having major success with Charmed and Buffy, and Sabrina fit right into their line up. So yes, I am biased on this topic but it's my blog (and co-writer's) and we do what we want!

So this was one rambly post so I will leave you with this....no more writing. WOO HOO! Thank God! Just my favorite Episode of my two favorite TGIF Shows. Can you guess which ones?? Sabrina and Boy Meets World. So difficult to guess from what you have read.

ENJOY!


Boy Meets World:
Season 7  Episode 3
"All Angela's Men" There is a part in this episode where it's so funny, the cast never even gets through it. You know it's good.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Season 3
Episode 16
This is the episode where N'Sync appears. Sabrina has had Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and N'sync on it. Those three episodes alone are the epitome of the 90s. Got to love TGIF!

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Nerdgasm #6: After Hours (Multiple Nerdgasm)

So being an internet nerd, you will have stumbled across the website Cracked. You know, that little site that has tons of funny things. Don't worry if you haven't, even though you will have missed a lot, including this amazing series.

I was first turned onto this series by my co-writer and quickly became obsessed. This is the type of nerd you aspire to be. They discuss, intelligently, all different aspects of nerdom/fandom/so many other things.

So this weeks nerdgasm is really a multiple nerdgasm because I am including a few of my favorite videos to get you hooked.

1. The 8 Types of TV Shows Ever Made

2. 6 Most Unintentionally Creepy Sitcom Characters (This one includes Feeny!!)

3. Why Pixar Movies are Secretly About the Apocalypse 

So I hope you enjoyed these and will check out the rest of the series on Cracked.

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Dear Jimmy Carr,

as a fan of this blog, I know that you've read our letter to David Mitchell. You're sitting there, in your desk chair wondering "Why me next? These two girls are already going to be best friends with David, can they really have more than one best friend?" Well don't worry. We are open to many variations of this friendship. There is the version where we are all best friends in one group. Where my co-writer Katie and I are best friends with the two of you individually which requires us to split our time with you (something we are definitely willing to do). You can decide or we can have a discussion with the four of us. Whichever is easiest for you, really.

Get off the phone with the nice people with the white coats #trainwrecks, I haven't lost my mind. It's more like if I just assume that Jimmy Carr, world (our world at least) famous comedian/host/adorable man is a fan of our blog, then maybe one day he actually will be. It never hurts to have hope, people!

So Jimmy, continuing with our tradition (one letter is totally a tradition, stop judging.) here is a list of reasons why we should be the best of friends.

1. What better reason than we adore your stand-up/hosting skills and really, really just want to be friends. We already love what you do, which I'm guessing is something you really love to do and so we can talk about that. That's what friends do.

2. We enjoy British panel shows. Shows that you seem to know a lot about because you are either a guest on or hosting all of them. This leads us to believe we have similar interests which is also a major component of friendship.

3. You host 8 Out of 10 Cats and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. We read the newspaper. All of these things deal with current events. Which, if we were friends, we could discuss. Have I convinced you yet?

4. We don't care about your tax scandal. I looked into it after it was referenced on 86 (ish) panel shows and wanted to know what was going on, I read all about it and said "That sucks but I love him anyways." We still believe you're a moral human being and that's really what matters. Friends have to believe in one another!

5. You have the best laugh. It is big and really fills up a room. Many people tell us that we also have big laughs and so we won't make fun of yours, we will embrace it. It doesn't hurt that because it is so funny, that anything you say that makes you laugh will also make us laugh.

6. The way you wrangle people on your shows. It is only a skilled hand and gentle(ish) tongue that could truly get those people in line. And yet you do it, and you do it well. I happen to be known as the slave driver who makes jokes among my friends and my co-writer, Katie, is the perfect person to practice on. How about it?

For these reasons, and many more do we want to be best friends with you. Just think it over, and if you want to get in contact with us, to discuss our new friendship (or you are reading this blog and are not Jimmy Carr but would like to get in contact with us); you can do so at the following:
Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora) and on
Tumblr: Aaannddimatrainwreck (official), kahildreth (Katie), stillnuttypony (Nora)

Thanksgiving with the Trainwrecks

So because one of us (not me) does not have a family (okay so she does, this is for comedic effect. Just go with it.) and the other has too much family, we spent Thanksgiving together. The day (still going on for those of you reading this on Thursday night) has been full of hilarious moments. Here is a selection of quotes from the day. No, there is no context...just quotes. It's funnier that way.


"You are not Flava Flav" Said Nora (me) to my uncle.

"Yeaaaa Boiiiii" The reason for the quote above.

"I hate skinny bitches"

"He is a Cat Thief"

"Katie, you're in charge of the butter."
         Katie's response "I guess no one's getting any butter."

"Don't get emotional! We're not Spanish. Oh wait yes we are."

"You guys are all a bunch of carrots."

"Evan doesn't want stuffing, he doesn't understand it!"

"You're more ON than OFF"

"Do we want our gravy thick or thin?"
      "You are asking the two people who do not eat gravy."

"I just texted him: We've had a half of a bottle of wine so far."
           ".........that's a double bottle."

"Fun fact of the day: the Welsh word for carrots, is morons."

"Well, I mean, he just dated her to sleep with her."



Just wanted to give you an insight into a holiday with the #trainwrecks. For you Americans, got any funny quotes from tonight? For all of you people not celebrating Thanksgiving today, hear anything funny during your day? Feel free to leave them in the comments!


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The Women Of Comedy

Okay, I will be the first to say, I am not a feminist nut. Seriously a well placed "get back in the kitchen" is hilarious to me. Granted if you say that to me, your house may burn to the ground. (Just a warning. Ask me about the Toaster Waffles sometime.) To many, these type of jokes seem to weaken society, but to me, it's empowering. We have literally taken that phrase and made it our own to make others laugh.

Also, I am usually not the biggest fans of female comedians. No, this is not me saying that only old weird looking white dudes are funny. Granted they are hysterical. But so many women tend to fall into the trap of either, trying to ignore that they are woman and only making the vulgerist of jokes to prove they can keep up with men, or making every joke about how they have cramps and how men are retarded. There are obviously places for those jokes, but it should not be everything. That is why in this post,  I would like to show my appreciation for my three favorite female comedians. (In no particular order.) These women know what's up.

1. Amy Poehler- Let's just start with how amazning Parks and Rec. is. It is one of the best comedies on television in my opinion. Let's hope NBC doesn't do something dumb and take it off the air. She built such great and diverse characters in this crazy little town. It makes you almost believe local politics can work. If you have not seen it, please go on netflix and watch. (See I said please. I am being nice today.) If you don't have netflix, go on hulu. If you don't have either, I am not sure why you are reading this, and I would like to ask how you survive like a #trainwreck without at least one. At least one that is borrowed (stolen) from a friend. Sorry tangent. I do that a lot. Bare with! (Miranda anyone? We will get there).

Okay back to Miss Poehler. Now we all remember her on SNL as well. She played characters like Hilary Clinton and hosted Weekend Update. She even rapped better then some actual rap artists. Then even her small appearances like presenting an Emmy, she makes an impression. I can't say "I lied!" without thinking of her. She has done so much for women in comedy.

Then not only is she an amazing Comedian, but her message is fantastic, especially in Parks and Rec. She is able to empower women though her comedy. You see this obviously kooky and over-invested person and think she is crazy. However, if she just says she is going to be President, suddenly you're like, "Well if Leslie Knope can, I can!" Her character is always uniquely herself and never wavers from that. She is the most positive female role-model, I have seen on mainstream TV in a while, but is absolutely friggin hilarious at the same time. It's like you're learning to be an empowered woman through hypnosis because as you watch you really don't realize what is happening. All of sudden you're like "I can be anything! Thanks Leslie!" Truly, she is amazing! Also, UCB is fantastic.


2. Tina Fey- She is the one who made me decide that I wanted to work in comedy. Even if I am just the coffee girl on a cable access improv group show, I don't care. I will work in comedy in some form.(Hey Chris Hardwick, do you need someone to run Nerdmelt in Chicago???? My co-writer and I would be perfect.) Hell, as long as this blog exists and I laugh while writing it, I am doing pretty good. Well, hopefully others are laughing. (Nope. Just at me then. Oh well).

But seriously. I started watching 30 Rock and was just mesmorized by it. Liz is almost the perfect example of a #Trainwreck. She makes me happy to be one. Nothing goes right in her life, she is constantly stressed, she is the nerdiest person she knows, and she barely gets the admiration she deserves. That is how I feel most of the time. (Okay, all the time.) Of course, everyone feels that way in some capacity, but she is the person I want to be, so it's more special to me!

She was also the first female head writer of SNL. If that is not a thing for women, then I don't understand the world. (Well, I don't but I understand that!) She makes me want go for what I want and makes me believe that as long as I am doing what I love, I will find happiness in someway. Even if most people don't consider an over-stressed comedy junkie to be happy at all, I do.


3. Miranda Hart- Okay, I should not have favorites of favorites, but if I had to choose, Miranda Hart would win. I only recently discovered her because of my new obsession with British Panel shows. She was on Big Fat Quiz 2011. Have you seen our Big Fat Quiz of the USA post? It is quite ( and the American version of "quite" which means "very or really") good. I am biased though, but seriously, my co-writer and I worked hard! Sorry back on track! Bare with! (Get it now?? "Bare with" is a line from Miranda!) After watching the quiz,  I obviously internet stalked and found her on Would I Lie to You, The Graham Norton Show, her Sitcom and everything else. (I have a lot of free time and I don't sleep. Leave me be!) I am also ordering her book and just ordered the dvds....I kinda had an amazon.co.uk binge the other day. Yeah, no paycheck for me. Amazon is getting all my money.

Miranda is the perfect example of #trainwreck. (and I obviously am using #Trainwreck in a positive way). If you have not watched her show, here are some examples of her trainwreck-y-ness: She is constantly falling, lying, and acting just obscenely awkward in so many situations. She tells an old crush she is an olympic gymnast. And even though I watch this and constantly see how much of a mess her life is, I want to be her anyway because she just seems to be having so much fun in the not-so-perfect life she has created. She never lets criticism stop her and she lives how she wants, even if that includes fruit friends and a hoover vacuum dressed as man. So it is okay for me live online, have one friend, and watch British Panel shows and call it "research" for my career. Normal is whatever definition I choose.

Each of these woman has added great things to the comedy world and I salute each one. I hope you check out some of the things I have mentioned here because you'll laugh. And if you don't want to laugh you may want to seek help. Thanks and goodnight!


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Nerdgasm #5: Ermahgerd!

So yes, we have been a little Nerdist obsessed lately within our posts. But is that really a bad thing?? Yeah, I didn't think so. Here is one of their latest videos. Watch it all the way until the end. You will not be disappointed.


In case you are not yet following us on the Twitter and the Tumblr, feel free to @andimatrainwrec or @npalmerco08 (or both, your choice) on the Twitter and aaanndimatrainwreck (official) or stillnuttypony or kahildreth on the Tumblr. That'd be super awesome.

The Blog Turns One Month Old Today

N: Good timing for a thank you post?
K: I think so! So I guess we should do that then.

Welcome to our writing process.

That's definitely, actually, just about how it happened. I know, I don't know why anyone reads this either. (oops, there's Katie in the background "Because we're HILARIOUS. Obviously." Way to be humble Katie.)

Now that all most some of the crazy has been let out, to the real stuff.

You guys are freaking awesome. Our blog just turned one (month) old today, and we have had 1200+ views. In four weeks. Seriously, awesome sauce (yes, I just said that). For a blog that may or may not have started as a joke between the two of us, you have no idea how much all of you reading this means to us.  We've

HIJACKED! Nora has left to get our delicious bread-sticks out of the oven. Now that this blog has a following, it is time to discuss the real reason we started this. It is for my (Katie's) plan of world domination. I will need help though. As you know, Rome was not built in a day. Oh god, she's coming back. We will discuss later. *Acting Nonchalant*

And stolen back. This is a blog so I understand perfectly well that you can't see us, but I just rolled my eyes at her.

Welcome to our friendship.

Where was I...oh right, in the middle of a sentence. We've been read by countries I've never even heard of (Oman, right?), countries that I totally wish I WAS from (the UK for a certain co-writer and Spain for me. Hablas espanol? I do.), gained like a million (ish) new tumblr and twitter followers. Okay, Katie is sitting next to me and just interrupted my internal monologue with "A million, really? More like 20." I responded with "That's what the ISH is for." Co-writers, so annoying. Katie just sent an evil glare at me, awkward.

We've even been RE-TWEETED by some, okay one, of our favorite subjects. A Justin Robinett for those of you still reading this. We've also expanded our youtube-music worldviews. Stay tuned.


All in all, it has been a super mega foxy awesome hot (Starkid anyone? No?? We'll get there.) month. And we could not have done it without your support. Like seriously, we've had a blog before..one post. Went real well. You've had us for a month and we're not bored yet! Yay!

You're awesome.  I talk too much. Katie's looking at me bored. So we're done. Keep reading, we'll keep posting. We love you.



oh and one last thing THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! No seriously, we love you.




In case you are not yet following us on the Twitter and the Tumblr, feel free to @andimatrainwrec or @npalmerco08 (or both, your choice) on the Twitter and aaanndimatrainwreck (official) or stillnuttypony or kahildreth on the Tumblr. That'd be super awesome.

Dear David Mitchell,

You don't know me and my favorite (and okay, only) blog-cowriter/friend but we should all be best friends. You may be asking why, okay so you're not actually reading this and therefore asking nothing but just go with it #trainwrecks. Luckily for you, we have compiled a list of all the reasons why we should become best friends.

1. We probably all need more friends. I'm just guessing on your part but my co-writer and I definitely could use one more. Every friend counts! And best friends count even more!

2. We all have a temper. And yes yes, the majority of the human population has a temper but we three seem to have the same sort of temper. I like to call mine rage but maybe you don't. That's okay! Friends need something to debate about.

3. We rant about the same things. Speaking of that temper, you seem to rant on your web show, David Mitchell's Soapbox, about the same sorts of things WE rant about to each other. Things like: spelling mistakes, asking inappropriate questions, men's resistance to go to the doctor, and tv rudeness, and traffic...I tend to rant a lot about traffic.

4. We are all opinion-havers. Yes everyone has opinions, but ours are right! And we are all quite loud about them.

5. You never want to dance. And we, collectively, have what the US comedian Christian Finnigan calls a high dancing threshold. To paraphrase Finnigan, everyone has an invisible line inside of them that when they hear music they have to dance. Now, while I have a reasonably low dancing threshold, my co-writer has quite a high one. So I know that between the three of us, the music has to be really good for us to dance.

6. Not that I know what good music actually is. The last album that I actually bought was...the last physical album that I remember buying...album...was apparently so long ago that I cannot remember it. At all. I understand that you have only two albums...friends yet?

7. We all seem to have no social skills. This reminds me of a time when I was with friends reminiscing of a time where they could not get me to leave because they wouldn't just up and SAY that it was time to leave. After the telling of this story their friend turns to me and asks "Do you have aspergers?" And our friend turns to him and says "Do you have aspergers?"  Oh you've stopped reading this? That's okay, happens to me all time with my real friends. Even my co-writer has stopped reading this.

8. We're all writers. Well you're a writer as in you get paid to write. We...well we write.

9. We sometimes wonder who lets us talk/put things into the internet/be in public. Do you have this problem as well? If we were best friends, we could discuss this.

10. We all clarify our statements. On the off-chance that someone listening to us may be ready to jump down our throats and say things like "well technically, you can't be (insert obnoxious correction here)" we instead, clarify our sentences. Don't believe me? Read the beginning of this letter because it's there, I promise.

So these are all of the reasons why we should be best friends. But if they didn't convince you, here's one more. Being best friends with you means that we get to meet and be friends with all of your super funny, comedian friends! You know, like Rob Brydon, David Walliams, Alan Davies, Jonathan Ross, and Jimmy Carr. Okay, so we want to be best friends with Jimmy too. He's getting the next letter!


Yours truly,
The #Trainwrecks
-Katie and Nora

Trainwrecks and Nora's Infinite Playlist

I do not know who Chris Brown is. I cannot pick him out of a line-up nor name even one song he currently has on the radio. I also cannot recognize Justin Beiber songs and sometimes I'm convinced that Nikki Minaj and Jesse J are the same person.  I haven't listened to the Top 40 radio stations since Chamillionaire was popular. Do you remember Chamillionaire? I do, and if we're ever in a situation where someone needs to know the lyrics to Ridin' Dirty, I got this. Sorry- got distracted.

Now where was I, right. Music. I want to make something clear, I love music. My iPod is the soundtrack to my life (when I'm not listening to the Nerdist Podcast of course), music gets me through my morning ritual where I either try on 8 things before I commit or throw on the first three things I see, it gets me through my 45 minute commute three times a week and on my night to cook it helps me navigate through my kitchen. I've also got a great respect for people who can get up in front of a million (or hell, fifteen) people and sing out their deepest feelings. And I grew up listening to those Top 40 stations, but really in the last four years, unless it's on the country station, I've got nothing. My true music peak was between '98 and '05 and then that stuff entertained me until I went to college, where I picked up more musical soundtracks as well as hits from the '80s and '90s.

Thinking about it now, a normal person would probably be terrified at the look of my iPod as it's all 90's pop, early noughties rap and 80's classics...with a lot of musical theatre thrown in. Luckily for me, there's no normal people here, just us #trainwrecks.

My point here (in case it wasn't glaringly obvious) is that I know next to nothing about popular music today. But in these last four months, I've found something new to help me learn. I've discovered, with the help of my friend/co-writer on this very blog, a hidden (okay, hidden to me) world of young people, 18-25ish, who are recording covers of popular songs and uploading them onto YouTube.

I know what you're thinking "Why do I care? They probably just sound like the overproduced originals." You'd be wrong. 

Many of the covers are done acoustically, and can change the way you look at a song (I'm looking at you, Starships by Madilyn Bailey and E.T. by Tyler Ward). They also mash songs together by the same artist (Adele Medley by Justin Robinett, Michael Henry and Alex Goot, the video that actually started this entire new obsession for us) & the artists are all friends! Good for the fans because that means we get to hear awesome collaborations (One More Night by Alex Goot and Friends). 

These videos are mostly well produced and cover all genres. So if you don't like Top 40 stuff (although, seriously, you should try them because they're awesome) but country's more your thing, Justin Robinett and Michael Henry's version of If I Die Young gives me chills every time.  I'm also newly in love with Corey Gray's cover of (Kissed You) Good Night. Seriously awesome. And we cannot forget Somewhere With You by Tyler Ward. If you happen to love acapella as much as I do (which would be a lot so, I'll just challenge you to do so. ), try I Won't Give Up by Peter Hollens. So many chills were had by this song, and he does this all by himself! Oh how I wish I had the skills.

Okay, so you're on Youtube and you're out of Chad Sugg covers to listen to. What are you to do (besides listen to Begin Again until you know it by heart and then some)? Why not try some of his originals? This one mentions Harry Potter! 

 One of my favorite things about these artists is that the majority are giant nerds who just want to share these things that they love with the world. Sound like anyone we know? Also: go watch Alex Goot, Chad Sugg and Dave Days sing Call Me Maybe you won't be disappointed, promise.

I'm assuming you're all anxious to go listen to all of these covers that I've linked you to, so I'll wrap it up. Since becoming exposed to these videos I've definitely come to realize that not all of today's pop music sucks and the songs that might not be to my favor can still be songs that I enjoy...they just have to be sung by different people.

If all else fails, at least you can maybe start to recognize the originals on the radio. Maybe you'll even sing along and pretend you don't only know the song because you heard Madilyn Bailey cover it (Wild Ones, look it up).  Or, maybe you'll own up to it and turn your friends onto the wonder that is the YouTube artists. Whatever, it's all up to you. But whatever you do, you'll always have us #trainwrecks to come talk to (or read about).

Okay, I've taken forever to wrap it up, I know.  I lied! (Amy Poheler anyone? Really? No one? It happens) But I couldn't write a post about my favorite Youtube artists without mentioning that I'm going to see them in person. Alex Goot and some of his very best friends are currently on tour and later this month my fellow #trainwreck Katie and I are going to see them. Cue fangirl scream.

        And yes, I'm well aware that I could in fact have written this post with out mentioning that but it just didn't feel right. You understand me though, right?

To hear more about my Youtube findings/read the ridiculous things that we tweet/tumble you can follow us here: Twitter: Andimatrainwrec (Katie), npalmerco08 (Nora)

Tumblr: Aaannddimatrainwreck (official), kahildreth (Katie), stillnuttypony (Nora)

You Can't Stop Serenity or Joss Whedon

Dedication is something you see a lot of in the nerd world. We #trainwrecks love our shows/books/movies/etc to an immense to an even unhealthy degree. We do anything for our them like spend our whole paychecks to see a very tiny, very far away Joss Whedon at comic con. It's completely worth it to us every time too.

I specifically want to speak of who I think is the single most dedicated fan base in the nerd world and that is those of the Browncoats. The Firefly fans. First let's look at the facts

1. This show aired and was cancelled 10 years ago
2. It only had 14 episodes
3. At the time, the actors were not the most famous.
4. It aired out of order
5. It aired on Fox

And yet here we are 10 years later and there is a movie and the Science channel just aired a 10 year anniversary special with most of the cast. It's amazing to see that this show still lives, and it will still live. I can't see the fan base diminishing any time soon and there are many reasons for that.

One of those reasons is definitely the cast and crew. I  have never heard of a cast more bonded or more dedicated to a show than the firefly cast. None of them stayed in their trailers when they were not filming. They would all hang out on the ship like they really were the crew on Serenity. Nathan Fillion even said that he fell in love with this show and that Captain Mal was the best character he ever played and ever will play. When he found out the show was cancelled he could not sleep that night. He feared that the production would slow, and they would give up, but that obviously was not the case. He arrived the next morning, and everyone gave it everything they had. If they were going out, they were going out with the best show they could. They kept the mantra of "Whats the worst fox can do? Cancel us?" Even after they wrapped, all the cast remained in touch. Alan Tudyk even hosted a "we don't work for fox anymore" party. I mean they all came back to film the movie too. Nathan could not believe it was really happening. It took a few days of shooting for the surrealism that Joss pulled it off to wear off. The cast's love of the show projected into their performance and made us love the show even more.

The second thing that kept this going is Joss himself. "Don't bet against Joss" said Morena who plays Inara. Joss did not want to see this be the end of his vision. And when Joss decides something, that is it. He will get what he wants. Have you ever watch one of his shows after he has been told it is being cancelled? (Buffy season 7 and Angel season 5). It becomes more amazing. He makes everyone upstairs regret their decisions. Joss did have a lot of road blocks in getting the script to become a feature film. I mean who wants to produce a failed tv show and make it a movie? To most execs that is just throwing money away. Alan even gave him the button from Out of Gas and told Joss to press it when they "got their miracle." And they did.  In the end though, it was Joss' belief in his script that made others believe in it too. It was his effort that us Serenity.

And obviously third is the fans themselves. The ones that wait outside for days to get that glimpse of Nathan, Joss, Alan, Adam, Sean, Jewel, Morena, Summer, Ron and Gina. The people who buy and wear the funny looking Jayne hats. The people who watch Castle just hoping Nathan will throw in another reference. These people keep the show going by showing it to others, creating great fan art and writing blogs in dedication to it. Nathan said during last years comic con something to the effect of; the worst thing was not Firefly being cancelled, the worst thing was Firefly dying. But as everyone can see the show is not dying. You can't stop Serenity.

So this post is for all of you. All the people that believed in this little show and created something more out of it. We thank you!

Nerdgasm #4

We've met right? You know that I love everything to do with the Nerdist? Watch this video because it not only takes nerdy stuffs happening around the internet this week, the show is formatted in a sports center type thing. Katie calls it SportsCenter for Nerds.

Just watch it.

Do You Know Who Stephen Fry Is?

So the other day, I spent my night watching QI a British Panel show. (No I don't watch too many...okay maybe I do but it's my sad/awesome life choice. Don't Judge me.) Anyhoo, this show is hosted by none other than the great Stephen Fry. Please tell me that when your read that name you knew who it was. He is a phenomenal and super famous British Comedian. He had a show with Hugh Laurie (House) for god's sake.

Well, I told my mother what I was doing, and in a vain attempt to make it seem less frivolous to her, I told her it was hosted by Stephen Fry.  He is a credible, renowned comedian that anyone would want to watch, and therefore my mother would obviously approve of my activities.  However, she just looked at me and asked, "Who is that?" I was floored. How could she not know? Everyone knows. Right? Right? I am not crazy? Well, I am but that's another post. So, I then asked my friend and co-writer of this blog if it was weird my mother did not know who he was. She agreed (see not crazy...okay she is not the best person to vouch for sanity), but then she told me her family really had no idea who it was either. So I was back to square one.

All these occurrences made me think. Maybe my world view is skewed, and I have not realized it until now. I literally watch and research so much into my shows that what I consider common knowledge may not be common at all. Not everyone knows who Stephen Fry is. Not everyone knows that Who is not Doctor Who's surname. (Catherine Tate). Not everyone knows that Supernatural started 2005, along with a lot of other great shows like The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and so on. 2005 was really a good year. Sorry off topic.  Not everyone knows that Joss Whedon's reaction to the writers strike was to write Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. Not everyone knows that the Mascot of Greendale is the Human Beings. Not everyone knows that "Once More with Feeling" premiered almost exactly 11 years ago today. Not everyone knows that J.K. Rowling's favorite animal is an otter and that's why Hermione's (the character she considers most like herself) patronus is also an otter. And that Jack Russell Terriers are known to chase otters which is why Ron's patronus is a Terrier because he chased/liked Hermione. Okay, I that last one is a stretch. I got a little carried away.

But seriously, I really thought that people would know who Stephen Fry is regardless of their British, TV, or comedy interests. He is just a known name. I guess that is not true. Now, I am reflecting on all my TV facts and just wondering which is me being a #trainwreck and which is just a me being normal (as normal as I can be.)

It could be a generational thing. Do You know who Stephen Fry is?

Nerdgasm #3

Quidditch Pong Rules

1. Choose what team goes first with your sorting hat!
2. If the quaffle (ping pong ball) goes through a hoop and makes it in a cup, it counts as two (much like if the ball were to bounce).
3. If the quaffle goes through a hoop, the enemy team is allowed to use their bludgers (hands) to knock it out of the way.
4. When there is one cup left, the snitch must be used. Trust me, this makes things a lot more difficult. I made my snitch by just wrapping a ball in yellow duct tape and attaching a few wings made out of paper, but you could easily use a yellow ping pong ball with glued on wings.
5. Finish off the night with the Expelliarmus shot and enjoy.

Repeat until you have magical powers. Obliviate, indeed.

For more info check here-

source: http://foodbeast.com/content/2012/11/04/so-quidditch-pong-is-a-thing-here-are-the-rules/

If I Were to Have a Dating Profile...

It would definitely be full of things sane people would say. To give you a quick "what not to do" lesson on dating profiles, I've taken this totally random profile that I just happened to find and have copied some of the....more #trainwreck worthy parts here. Let's see if we can figure out where this totally random author went wrong.

Favorite Music: Currently in a "I hate the Top 40 stations so I'm only listening to the country station" phase, but I've also been known to listen to those Top 40 stations (anything there from roughly '98 to '05 I've got down.) Could be worse, you could have listed Bieber...or current Brittany Spears songs (and no, those are not the only things I know about today's pop music.)

Favorite Music continued: I'm also currently in a "Find people on the internet --> become mildly obsessed with their covers/original music" Search Youtube for Justin Robinett, Alex Goot, and Chad Sugg...they are fantastic.  Okay, no one (except for you and your awesome friends) knows who these people are.  And let's face it, all of these people looking at your profile are way too into bands you've never heard of.

Favorite TV Shows: And I'm also in love with British Panel quiz shows...don't laugh, just YouTube The Big Fat Quiz of the Year '06-'11 or the 80's 90's or 00's.  Or, if music's your thing try Never Mind the Buzzcocks from season 23ish on, and if you really just like watching funny people be funny (With British accents of course) try Would I Lie to You...Last one I promise (for now), if you're super smart or just like having all of your favorite hosts/guests from the BFQ or Buzzcocks or WILTY in one place AND happen to love Stephen Fry go watch QI its his game show where he throws out interesting facts about things that we've most likely forgotten about and actually have to use our brains to remember...I know, crazy.  Woah, slow down crazy. These shows are all better watched with groups anyways, better to wait until you meet that lucky someone in person to introduce them to your friends favorite celebrities, such as: Jimmy Carr, Rob Brydon, Jason Manford and Phil Jupitus...oops, now I’m doing it.

The Six Things I Could Never Do Without: This is a stupid question but: Friends, family, (although at this point, those are really the same thing) books, diet coke (or coffee), good food, Theater, and vodka with seltzer...or a screwdriver...or half long island iced tea and half lemonade...or 312 ....alright fine I cheated, I had more than six things and almost half are alcoholic drinks. Don't judge, can YOU really live without your favorite drink? Alright, not bad...but maybe next time focus more on things like laughter or love and less on alcohol. Although really, it's near impossible to pick just six favorite things. (Also,she's right, it is a stupid question.)


You Should Message Me If: I'm obnoxious and long-winded, I know, but how about message me if you have something actual to say and not just hi? Is that too much to ask? Probably. Well, at least you know you're obnoxious and long-winded. Hopefully you also know that by now, everyone has long since stopped reading your profile because we live in a generation of "tl;dr."

I feel like if this hopeful dater were to write a defense she'd say (and really, I'm just guessing here) that the reason her profile is set-up like this is because this is a true representation of who she is as  a person. That those are all things she really loves and is passionate about; and that yes, there is a very high probability someone can name a popular band or song and she'll say "No I'm sure I've never heard this before...is it on the country station?" That isn't it better that we get all of our "crazy" out at once instead of locking our true-selves away until the 3rd/5th/25th date in accordance with some silly rules that people apparently follow?  Yeah, she'd definitely say something like that.

Anyways my dear #trainwrecks, have we learned anything from this sad, sad attempt at a dating profile? Well, if it's only one thing, I think I've learned that this person will be single forever. 

Extra Post 2: Kate Nash Performs Buffy Musical "Once More With Feeling"

Here is the link to the website that has all the videos taken from the concert.

Kate Nash Performing "Once More with Feeling."

It is sadly not the whole concert. Hopefully, they did film it, and we can get it someday. However in the mean time, watch these great clips.

This proves that we are not the only crazies who still watch/sing this entire episode. It really does make me feel better. How about you?

ENJOY!