Ashley

[00:00:00]Brett: [00:00:00] This week’s guest is Ashley Esqueda, senior producer at CNET and woman about the internet. Welcome back to the show, Ashley.

[00:00:08] Ashley: [00:00:08] You for having me back? I it’s been a few years, so I figured I was on a black list.

[00:00:12] Brett: [00:00:12] No, there was a year in there where systematic was just off the air.

[00:00:18] Ashley: [00:00:18] I got, Oh, okay. I see. I see.

[00:00:19] Brett: [00:00:19] I burnt out, I guess.

[00:00:22] Ashley: [00:00:22] My PR it was so bad. My last appearance was so bad that you had to take a year long break

[00:00:28] Brett: [00:00:28] was a slow burn because your last appearance was in 2015 and it just took until about 2019 for it really to sink in.

[00:00:36] Ashley: [00:00:36] I get it. I get it. Have that effect on people years later, they realize what have I done?

[00:00:43] Brett: [00:00:43] So how’s the pandemic treating you?

[00:00:45]Ashley: [00:00:45] You know, uh, what is good anymore? It’s as we’ve discussed, it’s all relative, right? So I’m, we’re surviving. That seems we’re very fortunate. Um, we’re very we’re we are very grateful to still be [00:01:00] employed. Um, we are very grateful that, uh, we do not have to do distance learning because our. Son who was born last year is too little for that.

[00:01:10] Um, we are, we are feeling very grateful for those things and, um, and just grateful that, uh, you know, the people that are closest to us have stayed for the most part, very healthy, um, and. Safe. So we’re, you know, it’s a, you know, the holiday season, you kind of start thinking of yourself, but all the things you’re grateful for, the things that you’re, you know, that you want to keep safe, the things that you care about.

[00:01:35] And, um, all of those things have held thus far. So I will take it as a win.

[00:01:40] Brett: [00:01:40] So when you say you’re still employed, um, what, what does your current job entail?

[00:01:47] Ashley: [00:01:47] So I, well, it’s been a fun year for CNET. So, uh, if, if you hadn’t heard, we were sold, um, we do not. Uh, any longer have CBS as a parent company, [00:02:00] we are now owned by red ventures, um, who owns a lot of websites that you might be familiar with? They own, the point sky is one that a lot of people are familiar with.

[00:02:09] Um, and so they. Yeah, good old Darren. Um, and so, uh, there are a lot of, uh, sites under sort of the CMG, uh, Seanet media group, um, banner that, that red ventures now own. So like GameSpot, um, Metacritic like all of the sites that CBS had, like a lot of them in interactive and digital have now moved over to red ventures.

[00:02:33] So, um, so, but I’m still doing the same thing, which is, uh, that I’ve been doing for almost seven years now. I’m, I’m producing and hosting a video about technology and, uh, and all of the things that touch it, which at this point is pretty much any, anything is fair game, as long as it kind of plugs in or powers on.

[00:02:51] Right.

[00:02:52]Brett: [00:02:52] Yeah. So are you you’re producing and doing on-air stuff from home?

[00:03:00] [00:03:00] Ashley: [00:03:00] Yes, uh, that has been a challenge. Um, I so funny story. So at the beginning of this year, um, I had just come back from maternity leave in November of 2019. And, uh, we had finished CES and I talked to my boss and I said, Hey, like I have a seven month old. Um, I’d really love to kind of spend a little more time at home.

[00:03:24] Um, and the office that we were in was sort of a shared space with a lot of other CBS teams. So we struggled, uh, from time to time getting booking a space in our studio and, um, And so I said, Hey, like, because that’s the case, like I could really do something at my home office. That would be nice. Um, and he said, yeah, that seems fine.

[00:03:44] Like, I’m willing to let you do that. You you’re pretty self-sufficient. And as long as you guys feel, um, at team LA that you could do your job like that. That’s cool. So, um, Huge huge props to my boss for allowing me to even just look into that. [00:04:00] Um, and as I was looking into it and sort of, kind of tinkering around with the idea, boom, the pandemic hit.

[00:04:04] And so I was a little bit ahead of the curve on having a set up, um, to record from, um, compared to some of my other colleagues at work who were taken, uh, quite a bit by surprise. And the San Francisco office for seeing is. You know, it’s a, it’s a major office. It’s where most of our employees are and they have full studios there that they shoot in, in New York as well.

[00:04:27] So, um, that was a little bit of a, more of a shock for them, uh, to have to work from home, shoot from home. Um, then, then, you know, maybe me, so, um, I got to work, right? So I cleaned out my office, which was. Up until that point a storage space for all of the baby stuff people had given us. Uh, and, and I just had not gotten around to cleaning it up.

[00:04:50] And with the help of my very lovely husband, I was able to clear the space out and kind of rework some of my furniture. Uh, thanks to animal crossing for [00:05:00] inspiring me to keep furniture away from my walls at certain points, because that was actually very oddly helpful, uh, in figuring out how to sort of Tetris all of this together.

[00:05:09] So now, um, as it stands, I actually have three different shooting spaces in about a 10 by 10, uh, office in my house. So I’ve got a desk space that is sort of a streamer setup. Uh, and it’s kind of where I do all my video meetings and there’s a bookshelf behind it, very sort of classic, uh, desk set up. And then I also have a vlogging set, which is a seated set.

[00:05:34] I have a chair there it’s, it’s free standing. There’s no desk in front of it. Uh, and that is sort of more of a set set. I painted the walls matte black. I have acoustic foam on those walls. Um, I have a shelf in the back. That’s a curated collection of items that some that are some functional and some fun.

[00:05:52] So, um, And then I also have an El Gato pop-up green screen, just in case I need to do a casting. So I’ve done a couple of [00:06:00] Splatoon online tournaments. I’ve done some e-sports casting with Nintendo, and I have continued to do that during the pandemic. So yeah, multiple shooting setups in here and throughout the year, I’ve kind of upgraded my gear and I just bought a new slider, which has been very exciting.

[00:06:16] Cause I wanted to kind of up my B roll game. I shoot all this now by myself. It’s people send product and then I have to do all the B roll. I have to do, you know, the script and I have to sit down and then be the host. And then I have to sit down and figure out, you know, how I’m going to do transitions and, and get all the shots that my editors need and then, you know, upload all of that.

[00:06:36] So it’s been, it’s been a year. It has been a tough year of adjustment, but, um, but fortunately I think that extra few weeks, like really kind of. Gave me a headstart in the way of figuring out how I could make this work. And, um, and now officially I’m I’m I think we in Los Angeles are permanent remote employees because red ventures is based in, um, back East.

[00:07:00] [00:06:59] So we were kind of, the Burbank office in particular is, uh, we’re kind of like, Oh, okay, well, I guess we all just work from home, at least for now. Like, I mean, per you know, who knows if it’ll be permanent, permanent, or if it’s just like permanently until something really big changes.

[00:07:14] Brett: [00:07:14] I have several questions.

[00:07:16] Ashley: [00:07:16] Okay, please.

[00:07:17] Brett: [00:07:17] First of all, what, when you say a slider, what is a slider?

[00:07:21] Ashley: [00:07:21] So a slider is, uh, it’s this really lovely piece of equipment. And it usually is where you Mount your camera on top and then there’s some ball-bearings. So you get these really smooth. Um, side to side shots or going, you know, from kind of, if you ever watch a movie being made, you’ll see sort of, uh, the really big cameras on rails with the director.

[00:07:44] And they’re like watching as like the camera moves forward. Okay. It’s similar to that, but much, much smaller. I’m definitely not sitting on it. Um, it’s just for the camera. And so you, uh, you put it, you Mount your camera on there and then you can slide your camera as it’s recording, uh, left to. Right. [00:08:00] Or if you, you know, rotate it.

[00:08:01] You can go front to back. So it’s, um, it’s been very, very handy getting those really nice, like smooth B roll shots of, uh, products. So it’s, I really am loving the one that I got. I picked it up on him.

[00:08:13]Brett: [00:08:13] Uh, why don’t you tell me which one it is so I can add it to the show notes.

[00:08:17] Ashley: [00:08:17] Oh, okay. It’s a it’s from new year, uh, which makes a whole bunch of production stuff. I’m sure if anybody’s listening at home who has had Dubai, a ring light or any other kind of production type stuff to do video calls from home, even if you’re not in production, you probably have seen their name on Amazon, but new year, um, they make a whole bunch of different sliders.

[00:08:38] And I think the one I have is about 24 inches long. Um, and it’s. Uh, it’s carbon fiber. So it’s a little, it was a little pricey, but it’s, uh, it’s a nice it’s it works really?

[00:08:49]Brett: [00:08:49] Yeah, well, and you’ve, you’ve got a home studio that that is, I assume, at kind of professional levels. So your equipment is not going to be [00:09:00] cheap.

[00:09:01] Ashley: [00:09:01] Yeah. I would say it’s not as expensive as a pro level studio because a lot of it I paid for out of pocket and I just, you know, Much as I would love to drop, you know, few thousand dollars on a professional grade aperture light, uh, to put in my you’ve seen like MKBHD has these like amazing aperture lights.

[00:09:20] Um, I don’t have that now. Um, and also I just don’t have a lot of space. And so I’ve had to kind of find a good middle ground of, of. Relatively affordable gear. Um, that is also, uh, a lot of times if it breaks down, if I can fold it up, like I will pay a little bit extra for that, just because space is at a premium.

[00:09:42] Brett: [00:09:42] So what I, there are two, two halves to this question, I guess, um, in your, uh, studio qualities, home studio, what kind of lighting do you use?

[00:09:55]Ashley: [00:09:55] So I have a few different types of light. I have a regular ring [00:10:00] light that I bought from new it’s new air again. Um, really generally reasonably priced, uh, production stuff that you can get in two days on Amazon, which I that’s. That’s always very important to me. Um, so I have a big kind of like, I think it’s like an 18 inch ring light, um, and that’s kind of my streaming setup right now.

[00:10:19] Uh, and then I also have, uh, oddly enough, so I have some uplighting behind the chair on this. blog set, uh, that hits the wall. It sort of washes the wall in a color. And the, um, the light bar that I bought was it was under a hundred dollars and it’s actually a DJ, a bar, a light bar for DJ that you put in like a church or at a wedding, and you can change the color on it and change the uplighting.

[00:10:48] There’s only 16 colors on it, but it’s perfect. It works exactly. For what I need it for and it wasn’t terribly expensive. So I was like, this is exactly, exactly what I need. Um, so I have that. And then I also [00:11:00] have a very lovely, uh, aperture, uh, makes these little, uh, MC lights. They’re these they’re these little small handheld lights.

[00:11:09] They’re little thicker than a phone. Okay. Um, and, uh, they’re, they’re fricking awesome. They’re magnetic. They have a full color spectrum available on them. You can change them from, uh, you know, white light to warm light, or you can do any RGB color that they have a full color wheel available to you. They have effects on them that you can make it look like theirs, their production lights they’re meant for short films or movies, like just full features, um, or TV shows.

[00:11:36] And, uh, they have these effects on them. That’ll make it look like. The light coming from off cameras, like fireworks in the sky or, uh, police sirens or whatever, you know, like if you need to sort of cast that light on a, on a talent, you can do that with these lights. Um, and they make a kit that is called the MC 12 kit.

[00:11:57] And, um, and it’s 12 [00:12:00] of these little, uh, $90 lights and, um, And so they all wirelessly charged in there. You don’t have to plug them in individually. The case is actually a wireless charging case. Uh it’s it’s really cool. It’s like really, really cool. It’s, it’s a little pricey. It’s like, I was like 1500 bucks.

[00:12:19] Um, but they make smaller versions of this kit with like wireless charging. Um, they make like a four, a four light kit for $500 or whatever, but, um, they’re awesome. I use them all the time. Uh, I popped them on, oddly enough, this is like such a weird hacky thing, but. I put them on microphone stands vertically so that I have sort of like vertical lights set up that I can do green screen lighting for.

[00:12:42] And it works beautifully. Like they work really, really well that way. So I’ve really been enjoying those. Um, and then I have also put them, uh, in the bookshelves, uh, of my, my blog set and change the color lighting there. And like, I mean, they’re just very versatile. So I’ve, I’ve really been [00:13:00] using those a lot.

[00:13:00] Brett: [00:13:00] Nice. Um, yeah, the other half of that question would be if, and you’ve kind of already answered it. If, if someone were doing. Uh, video at home that they want it to be higher quality than your average zoom call. And they only were going to buy one light. What would you recommend?

[00:13:20]Ashley: [00:13:20] Oh, if you only were going to buy one single

[00:13:23] Brett: [00:13:23] We’ll say one or two.

[00:13:25] Ashley: [00:13:25] one or two, um, I would say, depending on your budget, um, really, if you were being kind of static and you’re recording something, I would say just a classic ring light. You really can’t go wrong. A dimmable ring light that changes color temperature. Very, very good.

[00:13:44] Um, But if you were, if you were really looking to kind of have something a little more versatile that you could use in, in multiple ways, I would say pick up a couple of small led panel lights. So yeah, like a couple of those MC lights would be great. You could get, uh, they, they attached to small, you [00:14:00] know, any tripod.

[00:14:00] So if you had a little desktop tripod, you could just put them on there.

[00:14:04]Brett: [00:14:04] All right. I have an 18 inch ring light that I bought for doing video interviews and it has served me well. In fact, it gets bright enough that I can use it as a side fill light,

[00:14:17] Ashley: [00:14:17] Yeah, I have used mine

[00:14:19] Brett: [00:14:19] purpose of the ring. But yeah.

[00:14:21] Ashley: [00:14:21] I have used mine. So one of the things that I have found is my ceiling is white. And so if I tilt the light straight up onto the ceiling, Uh, for product shots, I can bounce the light and diffuse it and it looks really nice. It looks really good. So, um, yeah, like bouncing light has been like a fun, a fun lesson for me to learn during pen times.

[00:14:46] Brett: [00:14:46] Yeah. I feel like a lot of people have suddenly been forced to, uh, to learn a little bit more about everything from webcams to,

[00:14:53] Ashley: [00:14:53] Yeah. Production like lighting and yeah. Yeah. It’s, it’s been, um, you know, but then there’s still those people, like, [00:15:00] you know, you get on your video calls and meetings and like there’s always that one person was just like, are you shooting this on a potato? Or like a webcam from 1996? Like, I, I, I somehow I just am not sure how that person has evaded upgrading their technology for, for so, so, so long.

[00:15:16] Brett: [00:15:16] And then there’s always, maybe not. It might be, you might have a higher ratio in your video calls, but in my video calls, there’s always one, maybe two people who have the full, like SLR with the pull, pull, focus, set

[00:15:31] Ashley: [00:15:31] I’m that? I’m that guy.

[00:15:33] Brett: [00:15:33] and make everyone else look like garbage.

[00:15:35] Ashley: [00:15:35] Yeah, it’s me, me and Brian Cooley are those two people on our calls. We have the full DSLR. I have a mirrorless I’ve, uh, I’ve uh, I shoot on, uh, my webcam quote unquote is a Fuji ex T3. And, um, and so, yeah, I shoot and I have an El Gato card that like feeds through it’s a whole, I guess the whole thing.

[00:15:52] Um, so yeah, I have that whole setup and, um, it’s just easier because otherwise I have to like plug in and unplug this webcast. I don’t [00:16:00] want to deal with that. So

[00:16:01] Brett: [00:16:01] in your line of work. There are people that show up on my calls that other than doing a lot of zoom calls, they have really no reason to own the quality set up that they do.

[00:16:14] Ashley: [00:16:14] That’s fair, but are those people, people in real life, like in real life, this is real life. Uh, are those people who. Where are we not in a pandemic? Are those people who would be like really well dressed, like everyday at work? You know what I mean? Like there are the always, like, there’s always like that one lady or guy who is just so like impeccably dressed every day for work.

[00:16:33] And you’re just like, man, I wish I had that level of commitment. I feel like it’s that same type of person. Right. It was just like, I just got to go all in on this. I have nothing better to do, and I can’t wear fancy clothes anymore because I’m just sitting in my house. So I’m going to buy like really nice video equipment.

[00:16:47]Brett: [00:16:47] Like I w when I actually worked in an office, I loved to overdress and like, I’m the guy, I’m the guy I matched like cufflinks to sock patterns. Like [00:17:00] I’m very detail oriented. Um, I wore cufflinks to work. That’s what, that’s what I’m talking about. If I could afford it, I probably would be one of those people with the.

[00:17:10] Ashley: [00:17:10] but it’s like, that’s, I feel like it’s like, it’s in the same vein, right? It’s like, that’s the best way for me to kind of wrap my head around it.

[00:17:17]Brett: [00:17:17] Okay, so still on the same track because I’m hyper-focused, for some reason, I want to know what kind of software you’re using for your video production. Mm.

[00:17:29] Ashley: [00:17:29] So fortunately, uh, for everybody who watches the videos that I make, I do not edit them. Uh I’m I’m fine. I can edit, uh, and, and I will edit if I have to, but I choose not to because we have so many more talented editors. Uh, we’re we’re on Adobe. So I use premiere to cut stuff if I, if I am cutting anything.

[00:17:50] Um, and then I also have a comic book show that I do on Twitch every other Wednesday night. Um, and [00:18:00] that show, I. Use OBS to broadcast with. So, yeah, so, and I, I make the overlays for that in Photoshop. Like I change them every two weeks based on the comic book we’re reading. Um, and, uh, yeah, so it’s, it’s, uh, I don’t use a ton of production, uh, software, but when I do like, it’s usually, it’s usually Adobe.

[00:18:23] Brett: [00:18:23] Uh, did you get a stream deck?

[00:18:25]Ashley: [00:18:25] I don’t have a stream deck yet, and I want one, but I’m also just like, man, like it’s, it’s just three talking heads. You know what I mean? Like if maybe if I start actually streaming games, like that would be a thing that I would be really into, but I feel like I’m going to try it. Maybe I’ll try it on my phone first.

[00:18:44] Cause I know you can do stream deck via your phone. So maybe, maybe I’ll do that. I’ll try the app first and then.

[00:18:50] Brett: [00:18:50] well with

[00:18:51] Ashley: [00:18:51] I I’ve heard this, I’ve heard it works very, very well, and I’m just like, okay. But, um, I’m also just like, Oh man, if I get into that rabbit hole, it feels like I’m going to be like building out a whole [00:19:00] bunch of like different layouts and overlays that I’m gonna have to change every time.

[00:19:03] And I’m just like, well, let’s do I want to do that? All that extra work? Like I just, sometimes maybe it’s easier to just pretend that I, I don’t know how to do that, that I just thought I don’t have to do it.

[00:19:12] Brett: [00:19:12] Yeah. Yeah. My, uh, my partner is, uh, a yoga instructor. Part-time. Um, but, uh, she has been doing a lot of her yoga over zoom. A lot of her classes, she teaches over zoom and we are working to be able to record her camera at the same time. She’s teaching zoom without recording the zoom call itself and OBS is our solution, but we keep running into problems with audio on a Mac.

[00:19:46] Uh, when you combine zoom and OBS, but once we have that worked out

[00:19:51] Ashley: [00:19:51] many problems with audio and OBS like so many,

[00:19:56] Brett: [00:19:56] yeah. That worked out. I can’t wait to get her hooked up with my stream deck [00:20:00] though. And, and a bunch of

[00:20:01] Ashley: [00:20:01] she’s going to

[00:20:02] Brett: [00:20:02] lower thirds and transition.

[00:20:05] Ashley: [00:20:05] And then it’s all built in that’s that’s the, really the beauty of OBS, right? It’s like, you can just have everything built in and then use stream deck. And it’s just done when it, when you’re done recording, there’s nothing to add. You just cut the crusts off the beginning of the end.

[00:20:16] You’re just like, cut, cut the cross off. And you have this beautiful little package thing that’s finished. Just like that’s it’s I, that is my favorite type of production. Put it through a TriCaster, put it through a stream deck, put it through any of that. Just, I want it done finished note, no post production, like just really prep in pre-production and make it really good.

[00:20:35] And then that way you don’t have to kill your editors. Like they just have a really nice, easy time.

[00:20:40]Brett: [00:20:40] I, uh, I’ve been working towards doing that with my podcasts. They, uh, they still require too much manual editing, but I have a soundboard and everything now. Um,

[00:20:51] Ashley: [00:20:51] That’s nice. That’s a, that’s a good, that’s a S that’s a significant thing for every podcast, right? Like the soundboard is like the key.

[00:20:58]Brett: [00:20:58] so aside from [00:21:00] work, how are you, uh, how are you staying sane during the, uh, the quarantine

[00:21:05]Ashley: [00:21:05] Well, I mean, I do think once again, it’s sane is a relative term. Um, you know, some days it’s, it’s, I’m reminded of, uh, I’m reminded of Spider-Man three where he’s just so happy after the alien has, after venom has infected him. And he’s just like Saturday night live in Saturday night fever and all over the place.

[00:21:27] Um, Some days it’s that. And the other days it’s reliving the yellow wallpaper, uh, that the American classic short story, uh, you know, a lot of animal crossing, just so many hours of animal crossing.

[00:21:42]Brett: [00:21:42] Yeah. You play a lot of games, right?

[00:21:44] Ashley: [00:21:44] I, well, I will say I. I played a lot of games, but I only play a handful of them at a time. So it takes me a long time to get through a game now because I have a 17 month old and it’s like, I can only play at night, but [00:22:00] then sometimes I just fall the fall asleep on the couch by nine o’clock, like we’re just exhausted.

[00:22:05] So it’s, um, It’s uh, it’s relative. I do have a, I do have a set appointment with my best friend to game every Monday. That’s like, uh, that’s a must I that’s a non-negotiable we play video games, try to like blow off some steam, play some Overwatch, um, play fall guys, maybe play some Tetris effect connected, which has been very, very fun.

[00:22:25] Um, but now I have a, I just downloaded cyber punk. So we’ll probably get into that maybe this weekend.

[00:22:30]Brett: [00:22:30] The only thing I know about cyber bug is the, uh, the news that’s been, uh, all over the. Internet with, um, a glitch. Uh, apparently it renders, um, uh, phalluses

[00:22:46]Ashley: [00:22:46] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, well, so during character creation you can choose to customize your genitalia. Um, and, and there’s like, you know, I think it’s like big, bigger, [00:23:00] biggest, or something like that, which is very funny. A lot of wish fulfillment happening in cyber punk for so many. Uh, but, but the funny thing is, is like, there is, yeah, there’s a glitch where just everybody’s junks just hanging out of their pants, like through them, there’s this a clipping issue.

[00:23:15]Brett: [00:23:15] Do you think it was, uh, do you think it was entirely accidental or was it really good for promotion?

[00:23:22] Ashley: [00:23:22] I mean, so it’s hard to say, right? Because of course it’s really funny and obviously like people are going to share. People are going to share gifts of that bug. Like it’s, it’s very funny. Um, I know I did. Uh, but on that same note, like clearly the developers, like don’t intend for these things to happen and they take pride in their work and you know, it’s, it’s been, there’s been a lot of talk about it being a buggy launch.

[00:23:50] Like the game is really buggy. Um, so high it’s like one of those things where it’s like my brother’s a game developer, he’s a game producer for world of Warcraft and like, I know that they [00:24:00] would never, like that team would never put out a bug on purpose. Right. It’s just like, it’s just not a thing they would want to do.

[00:24:06] And so, um, so I think it’s unintentional, but also just very funny, very, very funny. I’m uh, I am absolutely a middle school child when it comes to that bug. It is just really, it’s hilarious.

[00:24:18] Brett: [00:24:18] Okay. So here’s, here’s my question. If it weren’t for this bug, would you ever actually see the object itself or are they going to all the trouble to render? A realistic penis just to create a bulge.

[00:24:35]Ashley: [00:24:35] I’m guessing that there are some sex scenes in this game, or some nudity in this game where it’s like, you know, maybe you like go somewhere. They tell you to strip down and make sure you’re not wearing a wire or whatever, whatever that is. I have a feeling there’s like some. Some reason for the, for nudity and the game.

[00:24:52] And so, um, what’s cyberpunk, it’s edgy. It’s cool. Right? So it’s, it’s so, so edgy. And, um, and so in 2077, you know, people [00:25:00] just take their clothes off, I guess that’s like, uh, maybe that’s the thing. Um, maybe there’s maybe that there’s a whole neighborhood and cyber punk was just the colony of nudists. And you have to, you have to blend in.

[00:25:10] I’m not really like I haven’t played the game yet. I can’t, I can’t say for sure. Um, but, uh, yeah, I mean, I, I have a feeling there’s probably some, some aspect of the story that requires your main character V to strip down in some capacity.

[00:25:23] Brett: [00:25:23] That that makes more sense than, than going to the trouble to render something that would never be seen.

[00:25:29] Ashley: [00:25:29] Junk for junk sake. Yeah. That, that does seem well. And also just seems like a whole lot of extra work, you know, you got to do the physics of it, like, cause it’s, I mean, it is, this is very realistic. And so there’s like the, the physics of it and like, you know, it’s just, yeah, that seems like a lot of extra work for nothing.

[00:25:44] If you’re not going to actually have some gameplay element that requires you to strip down nude.

[00:25:49]Brett: [00:25:49] All right. Have you ever played, um, what’s that, what’s the game that, uh, AOC was playing among us. Is that what it was?

[00:25:58]Ashley: [00:25:58] among us. Uh, [00:26:00] man, this is such a cool game and everybody can try it. If you have a mobile device, like it’s free, so you can get it on your iPhone for free. Uh, so basically how this works is. I’ve only played it a couple of times, I’m going to be playing it for my brother’s birthday next week. This is like the birthday party that we’re doing.

[00:26:15] It’s our whole family playing among us, which should be hilarious. Um, but you have a group of people and I believe the minimum number of players is four and you’re all these little, uh, these little, little dudes and dudettes on a, um, on a spaceship. And, uh, one of you is a murderer. They’re like, you’re the imposter, you’re an imposter.

[00:26:39] You don’t belong there. And so your job, if you are the imposter is to murder everyone else on the ship. Like that’s the end game for you. You have to kill everybody on the ship. Uh, everybody else’s job is to figure out who the imposter is and throw them out the airlock. But there’s like a lot of, because you’re all playing together, you’re talking and stuff.

[00:26:59] You can say like, [00:27:00] Oh, I saw it. Like, if you’re the imposter, you can be like, Oh, I saw so-and-so come out of the engine room where that dead body was found like, Oh my God, like they, the blue is sus like that suspect. Like you got to toss them right out the airlock. So you convince people to vote for. Not you, if you’re the imposter.

[00:27:20] And so there’s like, it’s really fun. Like it’s, it’s just really, it’s just so cool. It’s like a good social game and, um, perfect for the pandemic. I mean, you know, I don’t think any. Game company wants to launch their game, uh, you know, and succeed because of something so terrible, but it certainly hasn’t hurt them, that people are looking for something social to connect with their friends and to do things, uh, to have fun with.

[00:27:45] And it’s, um, it’s like, you know, it’s like playing clue except one of you is a, yeah, it’s great. It’s, it’s really fun. I really love it. It’s it’s great. But I’ve only played it a couple of times, cause I, again, I don’t have a lot of time and I don’t have any friends, so there you go.

[00:27:57] Brett: [00:27:57] I did, I did get to try it once with, [00:28:00] uh, with a great group of friends. And, um, I was surprisingly good at being the imposter. I took very quickly to jumping in and out of events and.

[00:28:10] Ashley: [00:28:10] my God

[00:28:11] Brett: [00:28:11] And learning when to accuse someone else, but also when to just kind of keep my mouth shut and let the conversation move.

[00:28:19] Cause

[00:28:19] Ashley: [00:28:19] or accuse yourself. That’s a good strategy.

[00:28:23] Brett: [00:28:23] If you’re overly, if you accuse someone too hard, people will immediately be

[00:28:28] Ashley: [00:28:28] you’re suspicious. That’s us. You gotta be careful. That’s super sus you gotta watch out for that.

[00:28:33] Brett: [00:28:33] It is a great social game though. And I have not played a lot of multiplayer games in general, but this one has like regular breaks that you can actually converse with people. And you really feel like you’re part of a, a team and I, I love it.

[00:28:47] Yeah,

[00:28:47] Ashley: [00:28:47] it’s, it literally is like a murder mystery dinner party, except you’re all just playing on your I-phones.

[00:28:52] Brett: [00:28:52] yeah,

[00:28:53] Ashley: [00:28:53] It’s pretty. I it’s fun. It’s really fun.

[00:28:56] Brett: [00:28:56] Um, we were talking before the show about. [00:29:00] Disney and how, uh, how crazy was it just yesterday?

[00:29:05] Ashley: [00:29:05] Uh, yes. Yesterday, I’m still recovering. Actually, I feel hung over from all the joy. So 2020 has been such a downer on so many levels personally, just, just on a macro and micro level, um, that getting so much like good nerd news, like good content via, like, it just, it was like overwhelming. Uh, to get all of that like good stuff.

[00:29:30] Just pumped into your veins. I mentioned on Twitter, I was like, this is literally like not eating sugar for five years. And then all of a sudden dying of a doughnut overdose, like this is, I felt, it felt so good while it was happening. But afterwards I was like, I’m exhausted. I feel like I’m going to faint.

[00:29:48] Like it’s just too much,

[00:29:49] Brett: [00:29:49] So give us, give us a taste. What was, uh, what was the big deal? Um,

[00:29:54] Ashley: [00:29:54] So yesterday, um, was the Disney investor day. And earlier in the week, [00:30:00] Disney announced, Oh, Hey, by the way, it’s going to be four hours long. And everybody’s like, what? Why? Like, why do you need to have four hours to talk about your stock prices or whatever turns out? Uh, they literally went through all of their announcements, uh, and what they’re doing in 20, I mean it just 20, 20, 20, 21.

[00:30:21] So Marvel, uh, got a new trailer, FA uh, Marvel dropped a trailer for wand division, which is like the last one said the they’re gonna release it in January. Uh, Falcon in the winter soldier got a full trailer. Finally, we got a trailer for low-key the new short, uh, limited series. That’s going to be on Disney, like Disney plus.

[00:30:40] Came to play yesterday. Like they’re not messing around. This is like, they went full bore, look at all this amazing stuff we’re making, we’re going in hard on superheroes and star Wars. They announced, uh, they sh they talked about Hawkeye, the series Hawkeye. They talked about. What if, which is this animated series?

[00:30:57] That’s like, uh, what if, [00:31:00] uh, there was a different, what if, um, Haley Outwell was. Uh, not captain America, but captain Britain, like, you know, like captain England, uh, what if, you know, just what ifs there, then they announced iron heart. That’s going to come on a Disney plus, which is Riri Williams, which is the kind of the successor to Tony stark in the comic books, armor Wars, like Don Cheadle is going to come back as Roddy, um, secret invasion, which they’re gonna have to.

[00:31:27] Sam Jackson come back. Like, I mean, it’s just moon Knight. Shiho Ms. Marvel, uh, captain Marvel to, uh, guardians of the galaxy holiday, special Chaim group, a bunch of short films with, with little group in it. Um, they talked about black Panther too. They talked about the third ant man movie. They talked about a new, fantastic four movie.

[00:31:48] They announced the director for that because Disney owns Fox now. So they own the fantastic four. Again, because Marvel, uh, and then they then announced like 10 star Wars [00:32:00] series. Are coming to Disney plus they’re like, ah, here’s spinoffs of the Mandalorian Rangers of the new Republic, a soca star Wars, the bad batch we’re going to do.

[00:32:09] We’re going to do star Wars and or we’re going to do high Republic. We’re going to do Obi wan Kenobi. A droid story. Lando is going to get his own event series, like a limited series. And they’re going to do an anime anthology series where a star Wars that’s just, Oh, and by the way, Patty Jenkins wonder woman director is going to direct.

[00:32:27] Rogue squadron, a star Wars movie about a dog fight against space. And then Taika YTD. We already knew he was going to make a star Wars movie. Uh, they already say, Hey, he’s going to, he’s still doing that. Um, but yeah, I mean, it’s just, there’s so much of, and that’s not, that’s just Marvel and star Wars. Like that’s not Pixar Disney animation.

[00:32:49] It is just wild to me. How much. They announced and they also announced a price increase. So it’s a Disney plus is going to go up to eight bucks a month, starting [00:33:00] in March of 2021. Um, they also announced that they’re going to do, uh, they have that bundle right now that I think is, was it 12 bucks a month, 13 bucks a month, something like that, where it’s Disney plus ESPN.

[00:33:16] A plus and Hulu, but with ads, they said, they’re going to do a version of that bundle with no ads for Hulu, uh, starting in January, uh, for 18 or 19 bucks a month.

[00:33:30] Brett: [00:33:30] Cool. So what did they do for the rest of the four hours now? I’m just kidding. That was

[00:33:34] Ashley: [00:33:34] I know, right. That was the first like half hour. And then it just, yeah, but they, they basically said they’re like, we are going to be bringing 55, zero new Marvel about new Marvel star Wars, Disney Disney series, Pixar series movies over the next few years. So like, this is, I mean, it’s just like, it is a wild thing to be that they chose.

[00:33:57] Their investor day to do this because usually it would be a [00:34:00] separate event, right? We’d be like, Oh, we’re going to roll out the slate or no, they just did it on investor day. And I guess it paid off because their stock prices went up.

[00:34:06] Brett: [00:34:06] Well, and I think based on numbers, it’s fair to say that Disney plus as a whole is a huge success.

[00:34:13] Ashley: [00:34:13] 86 million subscribers. That’s a really big deal. That’s a really big deal.

[00:34:19]Brett: [00:34:19] yeah. Enough for them to raise the price a little bit, which seems backwards to me. Like I think once you have enough users, you should be able to afford to drop the price. But also

[00:34:32] Ashley: [00:34:32] it’s a double-edged sword, right though, because it’s like the more people you have, the more they’re going to demand new content, you gotta pay for it. Yeah, I paid for it. And so it’s, you know, and if the theater and the theater system right now is a mess, like the, the, the movie theaters are all closed here in the U S like it’s a disaster.

[00:34:49] And so it’s, you know, they gotta pay for it. And so it’s like, you know, you get an extra $86 million a month. That’ll and that’s not even really like a lot of money in the way of, you know, making a [00:35:00] movie of, you know, a live action star Wars movie yeah. Is $300 million. So it’s like, so it’s just. They got to pay for it somehow they got to pay for it.

[00:35:10] Brett: [00:35:10] And they’re not skimping on content. That’s for sure.

[00:35:13] Ashley: [00:35:13] They’re definitely not. And, and I have a feeling the next few years, like some people had said, Oh, well, Disney plus is not really worth it because it’s just the Mandalorian and like all the Disney stuff. And if you don’t have a, you know, kids in your family or you don’t watch a lot of animated films like this, it’s like not really worth it.

[00:35:27] Now. It seems like in the coming years, it will certainly be worth it. Um, and you know, for eight bucks a month, which is still cheaper than. You know, most like a lot of streaming starts at 10 bucks, 15 bucks and HBO max, 15 bucks. So half the price of that. So,

[00:35:46]Brett: [00:35:46] All right. Well, this is where I’m going to take a, a break for a sponsor,

[00:35:52] (Sponsor) Thanks to Better Help for sponsoring this episode.

[00:35:56] and that brings us to our, our top three picks. Are you [00:36:00] ready for top three picks?

[00:36:01] Ashley: [00:36:01] Yeah, let’s talk about it.

[00:36:03] Brett: [00:36:03] All right. I look forward. Regular listeners know this because I say it every week, but I no longer do my top three picks.

[00:36:13] So this is all us talking about your top three pigs.

[00:36:16]Ashley: [00:36:16] Amazing.

[00:36:18]Brett: [00:36:18] Um, I was, I was waiting to see if you were going to express some kind of disappointment or if you were going to be like super into that. So

[00:36:25] Ashley: [00:36:25] It’s just all about me right now. It just feels really good. Um, no, I’m actually, I’m going to, I’m going to ask you what Blake, what are you? What’s the, what’s your number one? I want you to just your top one pick. What’s the thing you’re into right now.

[00:36:38] Brett: [00:36:38] Um, the ultimate hacking keyboard version, too,

[00:36:42]Ashley: [00:36:42] Oh,

[00:36:44] Brett: [00:36:44] that and the graveyard book by Neil Gaiman,

[00:36:47]Ashley: [00:36:47] that’s a very good

[00:36:49] Brett: [00:36:49] also children of blood and bone and children of virtue and vengeance.

[00:36:53] Ashley: [00:36:53] They’re making that they’re making that Disney plus they said the option did

[00:36:56] Brett: [00:36:56] Are you serious? Oh, man,

[00:36:58] Ashley: [00:36:58] they did yesterday.

[00:37:00] [00:36:59] Brett: [00:36:59] that would be amazing. That book was so good. Awesome. Okay. You just made my year. Well, so

[00:37:07] Ashley: [00:37:07] I asked what you were

[00:37:08] Brett: [00:37:08] ultimate hacking keyboard just contacted me today cause I have been evangelizing for the version one keyboard for a year or two now. And they’re like, Hey, we, we, we noticed that you’re really into your keyboard.

[00:37:22] Would you like to help test our prototype of the version two that we announced a couple of weeks ago with all of the extra modules. And I was like, Merry Christmas. Yes.

[00:37:33] Ashley: [00:37:33] Yes.

[00:37:34] Brett: [00:37:34] now I’m even more into it, but yeah. Anyway, anyway,

[00:37:38] Ashley: [00:37:38] I love when that happens. I love when you’re a fan of something and then the company reaches out and there’s like, Hey, we just really love that. You’re a fan. Do you want to check this thing out? Like, I really, I, I appreciate that. Cause it’s like just, it feels very organic. Like you don’t feel like you’re begging for anything, but also you don’t feel like they’re begging you for anything.

[00:37:53] Like, it’s just, it’s a nice as is nice. It feels, feels really good and very mutual. So mutual agreement. Um, so [00:38:00] what am I let’s see, what am I into, um, right now I am playing just a lovely. Aside from siren funk, which everybody’s playing. Um, I’m playing a lovely indie game by thunder Lotus called spirit fairer, and I am enjoying it so very much.

[00:38:16] Um, it feels like a good year to play this game. It’s, it’s sad. Um, but also very poignant, very heartwarming. Uh, so you are Stella. Hmm, Stella, uh, takes over for char on. Um, so you are now the spirit fair. You are, you have a beautiful ship that you can upgrade and you have to find spirits who need ferrying to the other side.

[00:38:42] To the ever door as it were in this game. And there’s a little bit of management in it. Um, there’s some cooking. You can, you have to craft a little bit, you find resources and craft to be able to upgrade parts of your ship or the little cabins that you make for the people that you pick up, the spirits that you pick [00:39:00] up.

[00:39:00] Um, but the stories are just so beautiful. Um, one of the first spirits you pick up is, and they, all of the spirits manifest themselves as animals. So, uh, one of the first spirits you pick up is Gwen and. She is a deer and she, uh, she’s just beautifully animated. It looks like you’re playing a movie. It’s this beautiful, like hand drawn animation.

[00:39:27] And, um, she talks about how she, she smokes. And so when she talks to you about her journey, like every now and again, she’ll talk to you as you go through her quest line about her, her life and how she lost it. And, uh, it turns out she got lung cancer and like there’s, you know, it’s, it’s just, it’s so. Um, poignant again, the word that I can use to describe it’s the best word that I can think of.

[00:39:52] Um, and it’s, it’s really just such a lovely game and it’s so relaxing and calming. Um, and, and sad. I, every time I have to say goodbye [00:40:00] to one of these spirits, like I’ve cried, like, is it, if you really make a connection with them and it’s just, the writing is so good and, um, and so wonderful. And I, I cannot, um, praise thunder, Lotus enough for making this.

[00:40:13] Great. Beautiful. I love indie games. I love these small, uh, stories. Cause you know, you can just tell so much love went into making it like these people who made this game just truly, uh, truly, truly loved, um, truly loved what they were making and they were really proud of it. So

[00:40:32] Brett: [00:40:32] Sound really nice. Uh, what platform does that on?

[00:40:35] Ashley: [00:40:35] Uh, I’m not sure all of them, but I’m playing it on switch.

[00:40:39]Yeah, so, but it’s, it’s just so good and, and, and wonderful. And I. I cannot sing its praises enough. I I’m really enjoying it. And it’s um, it’s, it’s so funny. It’s like, it’s such a bittersweet game. It’s you play it. And it’s just really lovely. And there are these moments where you have, uh, you know, you give one of the spirits, their favorite dish, that the dish, they enjoyed the most in life, [00:41:00] like pork chops or whatever.

[00:41:01] And they just are so happy and then you can hug them and talk to them. And then they’re like these little mini games as you go where you have to like capture lightning in a bottle or, you know, it’s. It’s really, really, really good. I, so well-made so, so, so well-made.

[00:41:16] Brett: [00:41:16] Nice. It sounds like, um, it could be cathartic for people dealing with grief as well.

[00:41:22] Ashley: [00:41:22] Very much so, um, I’ve recommended it to a lot of, uh, people who have lost somebody, um, either this year or previous years. I know, um, there’s one spirit in particular that really reminds me of my grandma, who I lost a few years ago. Um, sort of suddenly. And so, um, it’s just, it, it really is just such a beautiful take on, um, on death and in grief and it’s, it’s very good.

[00:41:48] Very, very good. So just enjoying it so much.

[00:41:51] Brett: [00:41:51] That’s an amazing Peck.

[00:41:52] Ashley: [00:41:52] Yeah. So, um, that would be one. And then I am also, and I want to make sure that I get the name of this book, right? Hold on one [00:42:00] second. So if you’ve ever heard of hyperbole and a half, um, there’s a new book that she, Allie broche is back. She, she published us a second book called solutions and other problems.

[00:42:14]And, uh, I am reading that right now. And it is very funny. Um, it is, it is very, very funny. Uh, she, one of the stories she tells in this book is like how she, she, how she realized as a small child that, uh, there were other people in the world, like she’s like, I, one day I realized, like, I think it’s Richard, their neighbor.

[00:42:41] Richard was like another person who like, lived in a different house. Like she’s like, and I was so like, I was basically like spying on him. Like I was so interested in like what he was doing and she’s like, and then like I started, she goes in one day, I crawled through his cat flap and I was in his [00:43:00] house.

[00:43:00] She’s like, and she was like three, just like digitally. I don’t know what I was doing. I was just in there. I was super interested in Richard. Like I just wanted to know what his deal was. And she started like stealing from him, like Charlotte taking little like knickknacks or like little things around his house and like putting them in her drawer.

[00:43:16] And then, and then her parents asked her at one point, like, what, you know, where were you? And she was like, Oh, I was just hanging out with Richard. Who was this? Like single man by himself in this house. And so her parents are very concerned about this and they were like, uh, our daughter said she’d been hanging out with you.

[00:43:33] And he’s like, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Cause he’s just the never saw her. She wasn’t actually, she goes, of course, like we weren’t actually hanging out. Like I was just in his house. And so one day. Her parents like open this drawer and see all of his stuff. And she tried to steal his cat.

[00:43:49] That was the thing that got her caught. She tried to steal his cat. That was the thing that, that gave, gave up the goose. And, um, Oh my God. It’s just that story the way she tells it. It’s just so [00:44:00] funny and she, I’m so glad she’s doing okay. I know. Um, she struggles with depression and, um, she’s very transparent about it.

[00:44:09] And so I was very happy to see that, um, To see that she was writing another book and, uh, and that she, and that she is just this funny as she has always been. So I, I I’ve really enjoyed that. God, it’s really funny. Just so good.

[00:44:24] Brett: [00:44:24] Nice. Nice. Um, there was a new book coming out. The Jenny Lawson,

[00:44:31] Ashley: [00:44:31] Yes.

[00:44:31] Brett: [00:44:31] the blog is

[00:44:32] Ashley: [00:44:32] blog S.

[00:44:34] Brett: [00:44:34] have a new book too.

[00:44:35] Ashley: [00:44:35] I believe so she’s, let’s see. I think she’s writing a new one right now to even, um, it’s called, I think the new one is called broken and next year it’s called broken in the best possible way.

[00:44:47] Brett: [00:44:47] Yep. That’s the one.

[00:44:49] Ashley: [00:44:49] Yeah. And then, uh, the one that most recently came out, I think was you are here and owner’s manual.

[00:44:55] So, and that was also I’ve read all her books. I got, I love her. She’s just, she is so, so, [00:45:00] so funny.

[00:45:00] Brett: [00:45:00] Yeah. I saw her, I saw her speak at a Barnes and noble or like do a reading and she had, she had to stop halfway through, uh, like anxiety attack, which just made her like all the more human cause. I mean, that’s the kind of stuff she writes about all the time. Anyway. Uh, so it was not unexpected for anyone there, but yeah, it was, she didn’t stick around for any book signing because she was having a rough day.

[00:45:26] But again, super relatable.

[00:45:28]Ashley: [00:45:28] Yeah. Yeah, she’s great. Um, I love that she, I feel so bad. She has a bookstore and, uh, she’s a physical bookstore that she bought called nowhere. And, um, And it was supposed to open this year and then it didn’t. So, um, she’s still, they’re still waiting. They’re still just waiting to open it.

[00:45:48] Brett: [00:45:48] Yeah, it’s a rough, rough time for that.

[00:45:52] Ashley: [00:45:52] Man. It’s just, it’s so hard out there. It’s so hard. I know. So too many people who have small businesses, too many people who, [00:46:00] you know, just like, man, I read a story today in the Washington post about a lady who was a, uh, a waitress at Disney world for 15 years. And she’s like, I love my job. And she really just expected.

[00:46:11] Things to go back to normal and she just still hasn’t, you know, she was one of the, the workers laid off, um, earlier this year and it’s just like, man, it’s just tough stuff out there. So, but, um, but yeah, so I I’m, I’m enjoying definitely enjoying Allie broche I will enjoy Allie broche until my dying breath.

[00:46:29] I’m sure. Um, and then I think the last thing I’m enjoying is, um, one of the things that I’m really into right now is, uh, Um, I’m really into I’m really well. I’m just, I’m torn here because it’s like I could pick a game, but I already picked a game. So I guess I might say, I mean, I’m really into the Mandalorian, but who isn’t,

[00:46:53] Brett: [00:46:53] I definitely am.

[00:46:55] Ashley: [00:46:55] Who isn’t I haven’t seen the most recent episode, but like, I think we can all [00:47:00] agree that if I just say, can you believe what happened on the last episode of the Mandalorian?

[00:47:04] It was amazing. It’s just a blanket statement that will carry you to, whenever you listen to this episode.

[00:47:10] Brett: [00:47:10] Weirdly, I can’t, my partner will watch it with me, but she doesn’t seem to love it the way I do

[00:47:18]Ashley: [00:47:18] It’s isn’t it just the perfect expression of like what star Wars is supposed to be. I think it is, um,

[00:47:24] Brett: [00:47:24] Because I mean, star Wars and I don’t mean to offend any star Wars fans, but star Wars is a pretty kind of like childlike view. Of this, this future. Um,

[00:47:38] Ashley: [00:47:38] it’s, it’s a space adventure. It’s a space cereal. And if you think of it as like a comic book, a real life comic book brought to life, like that’s what it is.

[00:47:47] Brett: [00:47:47] Like I am, I am by nature. I’m a, I’m a Trek guy, but I really enjoy star Wars for what it is. And I feel like the Mandalorian completely encapsulates that kind of childlike. Wonder for me.

[00:48:00] [00:47:59] Ashley: [00:47:59] Yep. And that’s sort of like, um, there’s a handcrafted quality to the Mandalorian that like really, I think matters. And I don’t, I’m not one of those people, who’s just like completely anti special effects. Um, but have you seen, I’m sure you have it, you saw the gallery episodes on Disney plus where it’s like, here’s how we make the Mandalorian.

[00:48:21] Brett: [00:48:21] are those there because I would love to watch

[00:48:23] Ashley: [00:48:23] Oh, my God, Brett, you got to watch them. Okay. So on Disney plus they have this thing called the gallery. The Mandalorian. And it’s a series of, I think it’s six episodes. Um, and each one of them it’s like, they talk to the directors and then they do an actor’s round table and then they do, but one of the episodes is about the volume, which is the giant led

[00:48:43] Brett: [00:48:43] I have read about it.

[00:48:44] Ashley: [00:48:44] the Mandalorian on it.

[00:48:45] And it’s, um, it’s incredible. Uh, the technology involved in bringing that show to life and making it look the way it does is, um, is really just an accomplishment. Just, just an absolute. Visionary thing. Like it’s, [00:49:00] it’s just an incredible thing. And, um, and to see it in action and to see how it works is just, wow.

[00:49:08] Just, wow.

[00:49:09] Brett: [00:49:09] I need to watch that

[00:49:10] Ashley: [00:49:10] You’ve got

[00:49:11] Brett: [00:49:11] I read about that set and then watch it. The show. And in my head, knowing like this, the, all these led panels, like running all of these graphics to create the set, but I couldn’t in watching it. I couldn’t imagine how it worked. Like

[00:49:27] Ashley: [00:49:27] How it

[00:49:28] Brett: [00:49:28] it all blended so seamlessly.

[00:49:30] Ashley: [00:49:30] They do. And it’s so good. And, but to watch them the way that they feel, it’s just, it, it is incredible. Like it just, it is amazing. And it’s, it is an amazing thing in the way. It’s an amazing accomplishment in the way of, you know, you don’t need volumetric lighting added by, you know, rotoscoping and stuff.

[00:49:49] Cause it’s there it’s just exists. Like it’s, it’s just right there. And th the thing that is reflecting in Mandos helmet is the thing that is in front of him. It’s just being played on a screen. And it’s just, [00:50:00] I mean, man, it’s just, it’s so impressive. So, so impressive.

[00:50:04] Brett: [00:50:04] Awesome. I have some, I have some research to do.

[00:50:08] Ashley: [00:50:08] Yeah, save it. So my recommendation is cause the, the final season second season finale is next Friday, right? So it’s our next Thursday night or whatever, whenever it drops. Um, so once it’s over, save it for Christmas time, like give it to yourself as a nice Christmas gift. Just relax, watch a whole bunch of episodes of it at the gallery.

[00:50:27] And, um, and, and enjoy that because it is a very good behind the scenes making of.

[00:50:31] Brett: [00:50:31] Awesome. All right, will do. Um, in reference to a previous conversation, I have to tell you one, one charming story. Um, I’m going to say, say her last name wrong. Cause I always do, even though I I’ve known them for many years, but uh, my friend, Jesse Chartier, uh, who is married, you may know David Chartier or Chartier.

[00:50:58] Ashley: [00:50:58] I think so. Yeah.

[00:50:59] Brett: [00:50:59] used to write [00:51:00] for ARS Technica and, uh, the unofficial Apple weblog. Um, anyway, she dressed up as Patty Jenkins to go with us to Comicon and then interviewed everybody who was dressed as wonder woman

[00:51:15] Ashley: [00:51:15] Oh, wow.

[00:51:16] Brett: [00:51:16] and the wonder women. Cause players loved it like to, to, uh, to every single one of them, uh, where it’s just ecstatic to like get interviewed by cosplay petty Jenkins.

[00:51:31] Anyway, I thought you might appreciate that.

[00:51:33] Ashley: [00:51:33] That is, that’s a really good idea.

[00:51:36] Brett: [00:51:36] Yeah. We all thought so with Jesse’s brilliant.

[00:51:39]Ashley: [00:51:39] That’s amazing. That’s so fun.

[00:51:42] Brett: [00:51:42] Yeah. All right. Well, Um, where can people find you? Should they want to know more?

[00:51:50] Ashley: [00:51:50] Uh, I mean, you know, the only place I’m hanging outs on Twitter, I hate, I hate even if I deleted my Facebook account, I don’t, I don’t exist anywhere else on the internet, but Twitter now, I just, I can’t, [00:52:00] I just can’t, I can’t deal. I can’t deal with Facebook anymore. Um, yeah, I’m on Twitter. I’m at Ashley’s together on Twitter is super easy to find me.

[00:52:07] I’m always online. Um, I, I am. Yeah. And, um, I just like, I like talking to people, so come stop by say hello.

[00:52:17] Brett: [00:52:17] Yeah, I will say a quick Google for your name. Turns up plenty of results

[00:52:22] Ashley: [00:52:22] Yeah. I mean, you could Google me. That’s that’s fine. But I mean, it’s just, you know, if you want the real pure unfiltered view of the Ashlea Skedda experience, it’s definitely on Twitter.

[00:52:33]Brett: [00:52:33] and lots of it.

[00:52:35] Ashley: [00:52:35] Yeah, and lots of it. God don’t ever turn notifications on for me. Like, it’s just not a good idea. I don’t recommend it.

[00:52:41] You, you will immediately throw your phone into space and you’ll never see it again. Yeah.

[00:52:46] Brett: [00:52:46] All right. Well, thanks so much for taking the time today,

[00:52:49] Ashley: [00:52:49] Thanks. I’ll see you again. In what, five years? 2025. I just say call it 2025,

[00:52:53] Brett: [00:52:53] three, three to five years,

[00:52:55] Ashley: [00:52:55] three to five. Okay. Three to five.

[00:52:56] Brett: [00:52:56] I’ll have my people call your people.

[00:52:59] Ashley: [00:52:59] Yeah, let’s say [00:53:00] January, uh, January 1st, 20, let’s say 20, 20, 20, 24.

[00:53:05] Brett: [00:53:05] Yeah.

[00:53:05] Ashley: [00:53:05] cause that’s about, it’s about three years from now. So this is about three years from now. So let’s just say, just send me an email, just, uh, just exclamation point.

[00:53:12] Remind me, uh, to reach out

[00:53:15] Brett: [00:53:15] we’ll see. We’ll see if you still remember who I am in three years.

[00:53:19] Ashley: [00:53:19] I am getting old, so I might not. Let’s all be honest.

[00:53:23] Brett: [00:53:23] All right. Well, have a great week.

[00:53:26] Ashley: [00:53:26] You too.