'Secure Inside Their Dreamland'

As a person who grew up in Southern California in the '80s and '90s, I was always aware of Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo, particularly of the band's annual Halloween shows, even though I was too young to attend. Despite that awareness, I identify Danny Elfman more as a composer than a rock star, mostly thanks to his nearly 30-year collaboration with Tim Burton.

Last week, I finally got to spend Halloween with Danny Elfman as an overjoyed audience member at "Danny Elfman's Music From the Films of Tim Burton," a concert featuring suites from 15 Burton/Elfman films performed by the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra and The Page LA Choir, and conducted by John Mauceri. It was magical and moving and, most definitely, an event I'll remember for the rest of my life.

During the show, the scores were matched with video projections of Tim Burton's scene and character sketches, many I'd seen at LACMA's exhibition three years ago, and movie clips. When Danny Elfman took to the stage to perform as Jack Skellington during "The Nightmare Before Christmas" set, he performed "What's This?" alongside the scene from the movie, so he was Jack in the flesh and on the screen at the same time.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" set was what pushed me to buy my ticket, not just because it represented Danny Elfman's first live performance in 18 years, but because of the special place that movie and its characters now have in my life. I'm lucky to be the aunt to amazing kids who, though still young, have pretty cool taste, including a fondness for Tim Burton movies. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was an early favorite and now no holiday season is complete without a visit to "Sally's House," the Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction at Disneyland. Our house has a Tim Burton-themed room for the kids that's decorated with scenes from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Corpse Bride," another family favorite. (My niece dressed as "Corpse Bride" for Halloween three years ago, no doubt the only kid at her preschool to do so.)

The universe that Tim Burton has created with all of his films has always intrigued me, so strange, so cool, so unique. Now, watching the movies with the kids, I'm finding the inspiration in these movies that thousands (maybe even millions) of "strange and unusual" people the world over have always found in Tim Burton's world, that spark telling you it's OK to be different, it's OK to take chances, it's OK to be an artist, it's OK to make believe.

What fantastic messages to share with anyone, particularly kids.

The times I've watched the movies with the kids, the times my niece has acted out scenes from "Corpse Bride," the times we've ridden Haunted Mansion Holiday, our family trip to the LACMA exhibit and my niece's wide eyes when she saw the "Corpse Bride" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" "sculpts" (her word for the puppets used in both films)—all of those moments were swirling through my head as I listened to the music and watched the film clips on Halloween night, as Danny Elfman prowled the stage as Jack Skellington, as the musicians did their solos, as Conductor John Mauceri played Santa, as Catherine O'Hara appeared to sing "Sally's Lament," as Tim Burton briefly took the stage, as the audience gave ovation after ovation.

As I've written before, I believe in the power of pop culture because I know that movies, songs, TV shows, books and plays are more than just an artistic exercise or entertaining consumable, they're companions and inspirations, comforting you or pushing you along. With an audience decked out in Sally, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and Lydia costumes, I knew I wasn't the only one to feel that way. We were all there on Halloween to show our gratitude for those movies, those characters, the music that amplified everything they did, and the men who've made it all possible.

The set list:
Act 1
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
"Pee-Wee's Big Adventure"
"Beetlejuice"
"Sleepy Hollow"
"Mars Attacks"
"Big Fish"
"Batman"/"Batman Returns"

Act 2
"Planet of the Apes"
"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"
"Dark Shadows"
"Frankenweenie"
"Edward Scissorhands"
"Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas"
"Alice in Wonderland"

To get a taste of what I saw on Halloween, here's Danny Elfman singing "What's This?" in London a few weeks ago.

To the People Sitting Next to Me at a Concert: Shut Up!

I went to my first concert in 1989. It was a New Kids on the Block "Merry Merry Christmas" show at the Great Western Forum and I was 12. I stood on my chair, I jumped around, I screamed, I danced and I sang, just like the thousands of other pre-teens and teens in the crowd did that night.

One thing I didn't do, though, was talk all night.

At last night's John Mayer show at the Hollywood Bowl, the couple in front of me talked to each other all night. They laughed, showed each other pictures on their phones, passed food and drinks down to their neighbors, did pretty much everything but watch the show they, and everyone else in our section, paid good money to do.

Though the couple in front of me was the most annoying, they weren't the only people in my section talking throughout the show. When not occasionally stopping to record songs with her phone, the girl next to me talked loudly to her friend about school, work, other friends, whatever. The topper, though, was when she moved down because the talkative couple and other neighbors were disrupting her filming. How dare they!

To that girl and her friend, to the couple in front of me, to the people behind me who also talked all night, I'd like to say one thing―Shut Up!

The first concert where I remember sitting next to loud, rude people was Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper at the Arrowhead Pond in 1997. As Cyndi performed a stunning acoustic version of "True Colors," the group of friends next to me talked and talked. It was so irritating and distracting but, sadly, that's more and more the way people act at concerts.

I like dancing at shows, like singing along, like waving my arms and just going for it, but will rein it in because I don't want to annoy the people sitting around me. Maybe I shouldn't bother, maybe I should keep it up, stand the whole night even if every other person in my section is seated because if they won't shut up so I can hear the music why should I care if they're able to see the musician?

I know I'm slipping a bit into curmudgeon territory, lamenting the loss of civility and common courtesy in contemporary society, but I don't care. If people are behaving rudely, they need to be called out. If you want to have deep conversations with your friends, go to a restaurant, go to a bar, hang out at your house, talk on the phone or consider any of the other myriad options available that are less distracting and intrusive (both for your conversation and your neighbors) than going to a concert. You'll save a lot of money, too.

When I go to a concert, I go to hear my favorite songs played live, I go to sing along, I go to be part of a music-fanatic community, I go to turn to my friends and mouth, "Oh My God!" when a hidden gem or random cover is pulled out, but I don't go to listen to you. Please, take your conversation elsewhere because whatever you have to say isn't a tenth as interesting as whatever the night's performer has to say. Really, just shut up.

'Why Not?'

When I got my current iPod as a free replacement for the first-generation Mini I had, I decided to forgo the stress of putting music on it (How could I possibly select 500 songs from all the songs I own?) and instead dedicated this iPod to podcasts. I now subscribe to about a dozen, including "How Did This Get Made," "Pop Culture Happy Hour," "Sound Opinions" and "WTF," all of which I heartily recommend.

I also subscribe to SModcast, Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier's six-year-old podcast. The pair (with occasional fill-in co-hosts or guests) have recorded nearly 300 episodes and I'm a recent listener, so I've had some catching up to do and have been listening to the show a lot lately. A LOT. Like several a day. A lot.

Smith and Mosier met at film school more than 20 years ago and have since partnered on nearly a dozen films, with Smith the writer/director and Mosier the producer. SModcast was started as an excuse for the best friends to get together once a week and spend an hour or more having the conversations they had when they first met, sharing personal stories, dissecting the news and playing out ridiculous scenarios, mixed in with a healthy dose of dick and fart jokes, all of which is so much fun to listen in on.

A few weeks ago, Smith and Mosier discussed a news story about a man offering free room and board in exchange for the boarder dressing in a walrus suit into a "Human Centipede"-esque horror story, a story that Smith quickly turned into a screenplay, "Tusk," that begins filming soon. (Smith has written about the story of "Tusk" on his blog and for The Hollywood Reporter.)

I first wrote about the "Tusk" story in the summer and continue to eagerly follow its developments because, even though I'm not a horror movie fan, I'm inspired by what Smith and Mosier have done with this idea and with so many others. SModcast is a great example of that, as it's grown from one weekly podcast into an entire podcasting networking and online radio station with shows that tour internationally.

It's not simply tracking the progression of these ideas from inception into reality that's hitting me so hard at this point in my life, but that Smith and Mosier have been taking risks in doing these things, and are fully aware of the potential costs.

Earlier this week I listened to episode 154 "SMundance", released in February 2011, where Smith talked a bit about Sundance 2011 when he premiered his film "Red State" and announced he'd self-distribute the film, which led to a ridiculous amount of backlash. Mosier hadn't produced "Red State" because he was working on developing his own projects as a writer, director and producer, which he admitted in the episode was a big gamble.

"I've been trying to do my thing and, honestly … I just knew that if I kept doing it, I would keep doing it," he said. "I knew that I had to basically be like, 'All right, motherfuckers, swim,' I was like, I've got no choice. … I'll admit something personal, for the first time I many, many years in my life, I sit down every month and I'm figuring out how to pay my bills sometimes."

Nearly a year ago I was presented with the option of taking an assumed safe route or going out on my own, and chose the latter because I recognized how much of a trap being safe can be, because I know how easily time slips away, because I didn't want to be in suspended animation for the rest of my life and because sometimes you just have to jump. Overall, I've been secure in my decision, though every once in a while I hear a tiny doubting voice. Listing to Scott Mosier tell his own story about taking a really big chance quieted that voice and the only thing I heard after that wasn't "Why?" but "Why not?".

This fall, two-and-a-half years after "SMundance" was recorded, Mosier has been making the rounds to promote two of his projects, the acclaimed documentary "A Band Called Death", which he produced, and the upcoming animated film "Free Birds," on which he is a co-writer and co-producer. Even though my own gamble probably won't have such tangible results, it's great to see what could happen if you take a chance.

'Better, Better, Better, Better, Better'

"Seriously, can anyone still relate to The Beatles?" asked Kitty (who I guess is the new Quinn) on this week's Beatles-themed episode of "Glee." "Pretty much the entire world," replied Blaine (who is so many good things, despite the horrid olive-green-shirt-and-brown-pants combo he was wearing this week. Why?).

Putting asides aside, I still relate to The Beatles. Always have. Always will. My mom was a 13 when The Beatles happened, the perfect age to get caught up in the hysteria (which she totally did). The band and its music remain a strong presence in her life and, as a result, have been a constant in mine.

Even though I've never met any of the band members, The Beatles still feel like family to me. I guess it makes sense that hearing the band's music, seeing their faces and listening to their stories my entire life would bond them to me, as I'm sure it has for kids of every generation since the band's initial impact.

Monday night a lifetime dream was realized when I finally got to see Paul McCartney perform live, me and my mom two of the few thousands penned in on Hollywood Blvd. for a free concert. He played 15 songs for us, and even though we were two blocks away and couldn't really see anything, I was still overwhelmed and absolutely grateful to be there and to finally hear those songs live.

I tried my best to hold it together, even though I was pretty certain as soon as I learned we'd won passes that I'd wind up crying at some point. I misted up during the soundcheck performance of "Let It Be" (but who wouldn't) but really "Hey Jude" really got me, especially when I saw a woman near me (who'd been sweetly dancing with her husband throughout the show) wipe tears from her eyes.

It was the story behind the song. It's the still-stunning knowledge of how young Paul was when he wrote the song. It was the thousand voices singing the na-na-na-nas together. It was every time I listened to The Beatles when I was happy or sad or sick or reading a book or on a car trip or in a restaurant. It was every time I've watched "Hard Day's Night" and "Help." It was everything.

Here's Monday's set list (jealous?):
"Magical Mystery Tour"
"Save Us"
"Junior's Farm"
"Jet"
"New"
"Lady Madonna"
"Birthday"
"Another Day"
"Everybody Out There"
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
"Band on the Run"
"Back in the U.S.S.R."
"Day Tripper"
"Let It Be"
"Hey Jude"

Paul's new album "New" is out next month. He's been touring, playing epic, energetic sets, and is showing no signs of slowing down. I'm anticipating local tour dates to be announced at some point and, yes, I'm sure I'll cry at least once during the show and I'm fine with that.

'Could I Interest You in Hours of Fun?'

Last December, I set seeing Morrissey in concert as my lone New Year's Resolution. Sadly, timing and a lack of funds preventing me from seeing Morrissey at either of his LA shows this past March, first at the enormous Staples Center and then at the comparably cozy Hollywood High School auditorium. With his recent talk of retirement and spate of health issues, I figured I'd forever lost my chance to go to a Morrissey concert.

I got a second chance of sorts last night thanks to the concert film "Morrissey 25: Live," which will be released on DVD in October and was shown in theaters for one night only. The film captures the Hollywood High show and I wondered how many of the faithful gathered in the theater with me last night were there back in March, one of the 2,500 lucky fans who snagged tickets during that very brief on-sale window.

I know that going to a Morrissey concert is a special experience full of pomp and ritual. This knowledge both intrigued and intimidated me. Would I stand out when I didn't do that thing at that moment in that song? Would I miss a joke or important moment because I was a first-timer, an observer, and not part of that tribe?

I don't think that Morrissey fans are unfriendly or unwelcoming; I just understand that it can be difficult for an insider to explain the rituals and traditions to an outsider. I also respect the culture their love for the music and the man has created. I went to a Phish concert a few years ago and though the music was great and the fans were so warm, I left early because I didn't belong, I didn't know what to do at the certain moments when everyone else seemed to know exactly what to do, and that's part of experience.

Being one of those people, the super-fan, the nerd, is damn fun. I adore that rush of recognition at a U2 show when Edge plays for milliseconds and I know exactly what's coming next. My friend and I are in a (hopefully) never-ending text conversation populated entirely by lines from our favorite movies and TV shows. I blocked out the weekend as soon as this fall's CommuniCon was announced. I can trace the relationships between the characters in Kevin Smith's Askewniverse and did appreciate that "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" felt like it was made just for me, and the other fans out there like me.

My own experiences being one of those people help draw me to other über-fans—I want to play in their sandbox, too. It's so effortless dealing with people who speak your same language, who know the customs and celebrate the same holidays. It makes perfect sense to me that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost built a 20-year-plus friendship on a "Star Wars" reference, that of course they'd know "that's my kind of guy" based on a little only the two of them understood.

Even though I didn't know all the songs and wasn't primed for all the applause lines in Morrissey's show, I did appreciate the excitement, the dedication, the passion his fans are so eager to express. As Abed said on "Community" (and I quoted when I wrote about the first CommuniCon), "I guess I just like liking things," though in the case of Morrissey fans (and the rest of us who are diehards for whatever else) I guess they just love loving things, their man in particular, and I was happy to sit on the sidelines last night and just be an observer.

John Mayer and His Travelling Band at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

During his show on Saturday night in Irvine, John Mayer took several opportunities to thank the audience for showing up, for braving the traffic (which actually wasn't bad), for being patient over the last three years as he regained his voice, for "defending me to your friends over drinks," and for general love and support.

Deserved or not, John Mayer does attract negative attention. He's a punch line. He's a tabloid headline. He talks too much. He dates too much. He's too much.

If it wasn't for the music, maybe I would feel the same way, but for the past 12 years, I have had the music and that's why I'm a fan. "Why Georgia?" got me to buy "Room for Squares," and ever since, I've eagerly counted down to the release of each new album, including "Paradise Valley," coming Aug. 20. All those songs are what got to me to read the interviews, follow his blogs and go to the shows (seven to date).

Saturday's show heavily featured songs from last year's "Born and Raised" and the soon-to-be-released "Paradise Valley," songs with an open, easy, strum-around-the-campfire feel. Older songs "Half of My Heart" and "Who Says" were reworked, sped up, clanging, thumping.

For the first time, I sat through a John Mayer concert, partially in deference to the other people in my section and partially because it just felt right to relax and listen.

I'm going to John Mayer's show at the Hollywood Bowl in October. Maybe I'll dance, maybe I'll sit, maybe the set list will rock harder, maybe it will be mellower. Regardless, I know I'll be happy to be in the room, listening to the words, listening to the music, singing along.

Saturday night's set list:

Queen of California
Paper Doll
I Don't Trust Myself
Fool to Love You
Something Like Olivia
Half of My Heart
Vultures
LA Song (In Your Atmosphere)
Free Fallin'
Wildfire
Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad
Love Is a Verb
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Waiting on the World to Change
If I Ever Get Around to Living
Who Says
They Call Me the Breeze
Born and Raised
Age of Worry
Gravity
Face to Call Home
Let My Love Open the Door

'Let's Be Outspoken, Let's Be Ridiculous, Let's Solve the World's Problems'

I've been waiting months to see "Before Midnight," so excited that Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater were ready to share another chapter in the now-decades-long story of Jesse and Celine. The movie went into wide release today and I went this afternoon, and walked out.

I haven't walked out of many movies, I've actually sat through some really terrible movies, but a few minutes into the epic third-act hotel fight scene, I couldn't stand it anymore and left the theater. I understand that "Before Midnight," and the two movies that preceded it, are about two people talking every aspect of life and relationships nearly to death, but I didn't care enough about these two people, their fights and their circumstances to stick around.

I'm a member of Generation X, we're navel-gazers, we over-analyze and over-share. It started in the confessionals on the first seasons of "The Real World" and has found its way into social media, our need to tell everyone who we are, how we feel, what we're thinking about. That compulsion has lead to some great art and important revelations, but today, in that movie theater, it was just annoying. As the small child told his warring parents in the commercial for Dr. Marvin Monroe's therapy practice on "The Simpsons," "Why don't you both shut up?!"

Jesse and Celine are awful people, or at least at a point in their lives where they're acting awfully. I couldn't pick a side; I had no one to root for because they were both so selfish and ridiculous. Even when they're not fighting, they're constantly picking at each other. Why should I care if their relationship falls apart when I don't even understand why they're in a relationship in the first place?

The hook of these three movies is that the audience wants to know what happens to Jesse and Celine. Did they meet six months later? Did they spend the night together? I wanted to know the answers to those questions, but I've lost interest in the answers to any new questions posed by "Before Midnight."

Well Worth the Wait

I've been making my way through some TV-on-DVD sets this past week—"Daria," "Undeclared" and, currently, "Parker Lewis Can't Lose." The kind of marathon viewing DVDs make possible sparks nostalgia, taking me back to who I was and what the world was when I first watched these shows (The house shirts! The combat boots! The answering machines!).

Going through episode after episode, I also started missing the old way we watched TV, having to wait a week or longer between episodes, the tension building over how cliffhangers would be resolved, our relationships with characters deepening as we spent months or years with them. Now being able to watch an entire season in one day, that payoff is gone.

Because I watched these three series (and the others I own on DVD), live on TV the first time around, I remember the waiting, the wondering, so major plot developments, like Lizzie and Steven getting together on "Undeclared," are less jarring because I remember it taking a few weeks to build as opposed to just a few minutes.

With Netflix releasing every episode of the new season of "Arrested Development" in one chunk for fans to devour in one sitting or savor over the course of several days, as opposed to being parsed out over several weeks or months in a traditional TV schedule, I wonder if our viewing experience is being diminished. I do enjoy marathon viewing of shows I've already seen but am not sure if I could develop the same intense appreciation for a show I've only seen on DVD as I have for the shows like "Daria," "Gilmore Girls" and "Parks & Recreation" because I invested months of viewing in each.

I used to get so impatient waiting through a six-week hiatus for my favorite shows, anxious to know how the conflicts would resolve. Even when having to wade through the frustrations of pre-empting and schedule swaps, the payoff of a brand-new episode usually made it worth the while. If the waiting is erased and time invested lessened, will our relationships with our favorite shows and characters weaken? Will we even have favorite shows anymore? Or will all shows, episodes, characters, plots and settings be mashed together as more bits of the endless stream of content flowing at us?

'Now a Major Motion Picture!'

I don't remember what movie I went to see, but last fall I saw the trailer for "Anna Karenina." It was stunning, the clothes, the sets of the play-within-the-film, the romance, the tragedy. I had to see it.

I missed the movie in theaters, finally catching it a few months ago on-demand after excitedly reading the book, which I enjoyed far more than I thought I would. My affection for the book matched with the impression left by the movie's trailer, I was prepared to be blown away.

I wasn't.

"Anna Karenina" is a big book with a half-dozen main characters leading paralleling and intersecting story lines. A two-hour-and-10-minute movie couldn't do the book justice. Too much had to be left out, left unsaid, implied or overly expositioned. Like most film adaptations, "Anna Karenina" was a mess and a disappointment.

I've read many hundreds of books in my life. Reading is one of my favorite activities and this year, thanks to the extra time I now have on my hands, I've indulged. I've read memoirs, classics (including the aforementioned "Anna Karenina"), essay collections, fiction, nonfiction. I've bought stacks of books, borrowed a few, made lists of what I want to read next. It's been a fantastic excursion.

Though I read it in high school (like so many of us), I used the release of the new film adaptation, and the recent reading of Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast," with its somewhat cutting descriptions of the man and his muse, as excuses to re-read Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." It's a really short book, less than 200 pages, so I read it in about two days with the hope of doing something I haven't done in ages—seeing the movie on opening day.

The new Baz Luhrmann adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" has built an insane amount of buzz and garnered really terrible reviews. I've followed some of the buzz (The Clothes! The Jewels! Leo! Carey!) and taken the reviews with a grain of salt. I like Lurhmann's films, his style, the work of his production designer/costume designer/production partner/wife Catherine Martin, and felt like I knew what I was in for and would enjoy the experience regardless.

I wanted to, I really did. I just couldn't.

The problem isn't the direction, the acting, the costumes, the sets, the music, the 3-D, the various tricks and bells and whistles. The problem is this is a film adaptation of a much-loved, much-analyzed, must-scrutinized book; a book that's existed in the hearts and minds of millions of readers for nearly 100 years; a book that, like most books, shouldn't be a movie.

Leaving the movie theater, I tried to think of good adaptations. The "Harry Potter" series came to mind, but even those compressed too much, left out too much, quickly explained away too much. "The Joy Luck Club" may be the best but maybe that's because Amy Tan's writing style feels so verbal that it was just easier to transfer it from the page to the screen.

Film adaptations of my beloved Hemingway's classics have been terrible. The voiceover opening to "The Sun Also Rises" made me laugh out loud. Casting in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "The Old Man and the Sea" was horrid. So many great characters, so much beautiful language, the tension, the struggles, all completely flat on the screen.

It's become so cliché, but Hollywood does have few new ideas, so of course studios are going to keep buying the rights to adapt popular books. As has been proven far too many times in the past, the great majority of those adaptations are going to be terrible. Like Gatsby building his fortune to win Daisy's love, the studios will forge ahead with their adaptations, even if it's a lost cause.

'I Guess I Just Like Liking Things'

There was a new episode of "Community" tonight. After months of waiting, of dropped bombs and delayed debuts, it feels fantastic knowing that brand-new Greendale 7 adventures exist.

Being a (sometimes-obsessive) fan of a beautiful array of television shows and bands, I've come to realize that many people just don't understand the joy brought by the promise of a new television episode or album. They don't quote lines or memorize facts or run their own scenarios. They just watch or listen and then move on.

Luckily, diehard fans have always found ways to gather and share their obsessions. The internet has made this so easy, just a few keystrokes and you can find a discussion thread or entire forum dedicated to pretty much any piece of pop culture ever generated. The wonders of technology!

What's been exciting for me is when those discussions move offline, when fans get the opportunity to gather in the real world to celebrate their shared love. That happened this past weekend at CommuniCon, a celebration of the television show by fans and for fans.

The event was held at LA City College, which was used for many exterior shots during "Community's" first season. It featured a writers' panel, supporting actors' panel ("No Small Parts"), Q&A with show creator Dan Harmon ("Dan Harmon and a Microphone"), costume contest, art show and fan testimonials.

I volunteered at the event, working the registration table as participants in the "No Small Parts" panel were arriving. "Black Hitler" (actor Brisco Diggs) was joking around with everyone. The elevator opened and there was Vicki (actress Danielle Kaplowitz). Up the stairs came Quendra with a Qu (actress Marcy McCusker). Next came Garrett (actor Erik Charles Nielsen), followed soon by Neil (actor Charley Koontz) and Todd (actor David Neher, who's also fantastic as Benjamin on "New Girl"). They were swarmed, people screamed when they saw the actors, got pictures and autographs.

Dan Harmon got a standing ovation when he arrived and was visibly moved. Yvette Nicole Brown and Gillian Jacobs made surprise appearances, causing even more excitement. Throughout the day, with each new story, bit of trivia and guest appearance, the love for the show, from its fans and creators, grew.

I didn't get any autographs or a picture with any of the panelists, but I did get my own piece of "Community" to cherish, an Arizona Matchbook Company matchbook that was created for the "Competitive Ecology" episode. I'm a fan of production design, all the work it takes to create the pieces big and small necessary to the worlds my favorite shows and movies exist within, so this was the perfect souvenir.

During his talk, Dan Harmon asked fans to keep holding conventions and promised he'd keep showing up. When the show ends (which could be as soon as this spring), it's good to know the spirit of "Community" will live on. You can read more about the event in this article from The Occidental Weekly.

For more information on CommuiCon, including a link to a video of "Dan Harmon and a Microphone," click here.

More of my pictures from Saturday are below:

'I Hated Sam & Diane'

During last year's PaleyFest panel for "New Girl," the panelists were asked about Jess and Nick's developing relationship. The moderator asked the audience if they'd like to see the two coupled up and the theater erupted in cheers and applause.

I didn't join in the applause. In fact, I think I was the only person in the room whose response to the question was an emphatic "No!" On Tuesday's episode, Nick kissed Jess. The moment had been building over the last few episodes so I knew it was coming. When it happened, though, I cringed a bit.

As I wrote nearly two years ago when Leslie and Ben finally kissed on "Parks & Recreation," I'm generally not a fan of the will-they-or-won't-they storyline. I find it forced and predictable—a woman and man spend any amount of time together so, of course, there has to be this huge build up of feelings.

I choose to believe not. Maybe it's my naïveté, but I don't think that every female/male relationship rides on a current of sexual tension just waiting to swell up and overtake everybody. I think friendships can develop into romantic relationships or stay as friendships, but believe, no matter how common television and movies try to tell us it is, that friends don't continually spiral toward and away from each other, not completely understanding the true depths of their feelings and driving everyone around them absolutely insane.

Despite my problems with this plotline, other fans seem to eat this stuff up, as evidenced both by the number of shows that follow this path (EW.com did a gallery of favorite will-they-or-won't-they couples here) and the super-swoony comments that followed Tuesday's "New Girl." I'd prefer more shows to explore the idea of women and men being friends, mentors/protégés or colleagues, such as has happened on "30 Rock" with Liz and Jack, "Parks & Recreation" with Leslie and Ron, and "The Mindy Project" with Mindy and Danny (please, please, please leave them as friends), but know I'll probably have to suffer through more friends dealing with unexpressed romantic tension on television and in movies.

Blerg.

'Butterfly in the Sky'

I'm in need of a new project, something positive to occupy my time and my mind. I truly enjoyed going back through my CD collection last year so was looking for something in a similar vein. An exchange with a friend flipped the switch—I will read more books.

Reading is one of the greatest things to do in life, yet, at my best, I'm a sporadic avid reader. I feel fulfilled and content and accomplished when one book's ending smoothly flows into another's start but, usually, there are huge gaps in my reading life.

Maybe this year could be the year to end all that.

I'm aiming for one book a week but would be satisfied with two a month. My first book for this project is "Grace: A Memoir," by Grace Coddington, creative director of American Vogue. I'll happily take recommendations for what can follow.

'The Only Baggage You Can Bring'

It took most of the year, but I finally made my way through my CD collection. I've listened to 348 CDs by 138 artists. I relived some of the high and low points of my life by listening to this music. I liked, or even loved, more of the CDs than I thought I would and have no plans to get rid of anything. I do, however, want to buy more, more, more.

I finished off last week with my U2 collection and plan to give those CDs a closer listen, so will likely have more to say about that soon. In the meantime, here's everything that's been filling my ears for the past few months.

The Doors
The Best of the Doors

Guns N Roses
Appetite for Destruction
Lies
The Spaghetti Incident
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion II

Motley Crue
Decade of Decadence
Too Fast for Love

The Eagles
Their Greatest Hits
Don Henley: Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits

Henry Rollins
The Boxed Life
Wartime: Fast Food for Thought
Rollins Band: Insert Band Here: Live in Australia 1990
Sweatbox
A Rollins in the Wry
Rollins Band: Yellow Blues
Rollins Band: A Clockwork Orange Stage
Big Ugly Mouth/Short Walk on a Long Pier
Think Tank
Live at the Westbeth Theater
Talk Is Cheap Volume 1
Talk Is Cheap Volume 2
Talk Is Cheap Volume 3
Talk Is Cheap Volume 4
Spoken Word Guy 2
Spoken Word Guy
Nights Behind the Tree Line

Tina Turner
Tina Live in Europe Disc 1
Tina Live in Europe Disc 2
Simply the Best

Stray Cats
Best of the Stray Cats-Rock This Town
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Brian Setzer Live
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Guitar Slinger
Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Dirty Boogie
Brian Setzer: Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute to Sun Records

NKOTB
Face the Music

The Black Crowes
Three Snakes and One Charm
By Your Side
Lions
Shake Your Money Maker
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Live Circus '95
Croweology

INXS
Elegantly Wasted
Live Baby Live
Shabooh Shoobah
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
The Greatest Hits
The Swing
INXS
Kick
X
Welcome to Wherever You Are
Listen Like Thieves
Beneath the Colours
Shine Like It Does

Ashley MacIsaac
Hi How Are You Today?

Original Soundtrack
Dazed and Confused

En Vogue
Funky Divas

Poison
Poison's Greatest Hits

Live
Throwing Copper

Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth

The Rolling Stones
Bridges to Babylon
Hot Rocks

Kevin & Bean
A Family Christmas in Your Ass
Super Christmas

Original Soundtrack
Grease

Spice Girls
Spice
Spice World
Geri Halliwell: Schizophonic
Goodbye

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Born to Run
Born in the U.S.A.

Bangles
Greatest Hits

Original Soundtrack
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Everclear
So Much for the Afterglow

Stevie Nicks
The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits
Trouble in Shangri-La
Fleetwood Mac: The Dance
The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks

Depeche Mode
The Singles 86-98
The Singles 81-85
Dave Gahan: Hourglass

The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Greatest Hits

Alanis Morissette
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Unplugged
Under Rug Swept
Jagged Little Pill
So-Called Chaos
Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
The Collection
Flavors of Entanglement
Havoc and Bright Lights

Mariah Carey
#1s

Culture Club
VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments

Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Heart Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits 1985-1995

The Allman Brothers Band
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979

Etta James
The Best of Etta James: The Millennium Collection

Hole
Celebrity Skin
Courtney Love: America's Sweetheart

Abba
Gold: Greatest Hits

Carole King
Tapestry
Love Makes the World
The Living Room Tour

Taylor Dayne
Tell It to My Heart
Can't Fight Fate

Sinead O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sean-Nos Nua

Tracey Chapman
Telling Stories

George Michael
Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
Faith

Aretha Franklin
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin: The '60s

The Beatles
Abbey Road
1
Original Soundtrack: I Am Sam
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Let It Be
John Lennon: The John Lennon Collection
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles (The White Album)
Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur
Magical Mystery Tour
Past Masters

Various Artists
100% Dance

Janet Jackson
Design of a Decade: 1986/1996

Destiny's Child
Survivor

Bobby Darin
The Ultimate Bobby Darin

Cyndi Lauper
She's So Unusual

Nirvana
Unplugged in New York
Foo Fighters: Skin and Bones

The Pretenders
The Singles

No Doubt
Rock Steady
Tragic Kingdom
Return of Saturn
The Singles 1992-2003
Gwen Stefani: Love Angel Music Baby
Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape
Push & Shove

Jewel
This Way

Social Distortion
Live at The Roxy

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Deja Vu

Kylie Minogue
Fever
Body Language
The Best of Kylie Minogue

Blondie
Greatest Hits

Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World (Bleed American)

The Proclaimers
The Best Of …

Janis Joplin
18 Essential Songs

The Ramones
All the Stuff (And More) Volume Two

The Clash
The Singles

Nelly Furtado
Whoa, Nelly!

Billy Idol
Greatest Hits

The Cars
Complete Greatest Hits

The Osbournes
The Osbourne Family Album

Green Day
International Superhits!
Insomniac
American Idiot
21st Century Breakdown
Uno!
Dos!
Tre!

Weezer
Weezer (The Green Album)
Weezer (The Blue Album)
Maladriot
Pinkerton
Make Believe
Raditude
Weezer (The Red Album)

R.E.M.
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
And I Feel Fine … R.E.M. The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987

The Cranberries
Everybody Else Is Doing It so Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993)
No Need to Argue (The Complete Sessions 1994-1995)

Van Morrison
Astral Weeks
Tupelo Honey
Moondance

Van Halen
Van Halen
The Best of Both Worlds

Original Soundtrack
Clueless

X
Los Angeles/Wild Gift

Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain

Norah Jones
Come Away With Me
Feels Like Home

The Vines
Highly Evolved
Winning Days

The Corrs
Live in Dublin
In Blue
Borrowed Heaven
Talk on Corners (Special Edition)
Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Home

John Mayer
Room for Squares
Heavier Things
Any Given Thursday
Inside Wants Out
John Mayer Trio: Try!
Continuum
Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles
The Village Sessions
Battle Studies
Born & Raised

Ryan Adams
Gold

Linda Rondstadt
The Very Best of Linda Rondstadt

BBMAK
Sooner or Later

Ashlee Simpson
Autobiography
I Am Me
Bittersweet World

Robbie Williams
The Ego Has Landed
Escapology

Daniel Lanois
Shine

P!nk
M!ssundaztood

Television
Marquee Moon

Simon & Garfunkel
The Best of Simon & Garfunkel

Sheryl Crow
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow

Neil McCormick
The Ghost Who Walks

The Pogues
The Very Best Of …

Pearl Jam
Ten

Lionel Hampton
Golden Vibes/Silver Vibes

Various Artists
Metal Mania -- Stripped

Natasha Bedingfield
Unwritten

Damien Rice
9
O

Original Soundtrack
Saturday Night Fever

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out

KT Tunstall
Eye to the Telescope

Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae

The Partridge Family
The Very Best of The Partridge Family

Pat Benatar
Greatest Hits

James Blunt
Back to Bedlam
All the Lost Souls

Dusty Springfield
Dusty in Memphis

Squeeze
Singles

Donovan
The Essential Donovan

Nina Simone
Nina Simone's Finest Hour

Billie Holiday
Billie's Best

Blink-182
Greatest Hits

Madness
Ultimate Collection

Kaiser Chiefs
Employment
Yours Truly, Angry Mob

Aerosmith
Young Lust

Bob Marley
Legend

Original Soundtrack
Once

Fall Out Boy
Infinity on High
From Under the Cork Tree
Take This to Your Grave
Evening Out With Your Girlfriend
My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side of My Tongue
**** Live in Phoenix
Folie a Deux
Believers Never Die

Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Why Do Birds Sing?

Amy Winehouse
Back to Black
Frank
Lioness: Hidden Treasures

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
She's the One

The Kinks
The Story of The Kinks

Adam Ant
The Essential Adam Ant

A New Found Glory
From the Screen to Your Stereo
From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II

Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo

Fergie
The Dutchess
Black Eyed Peas: The E-N-D

Original Soundtrack
Dirty Dancing: The Collector's Edition

The Ruse
Midnight in the City

Michael Jackson
The Essential Michael Jackson

Robert Plant & Alison Kraus
Raising Sand

Bryan Greenberg
Waiting for Now
We Don't Have Forever

Glee
The Christmas Album

Bloc Party
Various

Young the Giant
Young the Giant

She & Him
A Very She & Him Christmas

Adele
19
21

Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach: Painted From Memory
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
My Aim Is True (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: All This Useless Beauty (Rhino reissue)
Spike (Rhino reissue)
When I Was Cruel
This Years Model (Rhino reissue)
North
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Armed Forces (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costelo and The Attractions: Trust (Rhion reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Get Happy
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: National Ransom
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Punch the Clock (Rhion reissue)
Original Soundtrack: De-Lovely
Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Delivery Man
Elvis Costello Live With the Metropole Orkest: My Flame Burns Blue
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussant: The River in Reverse
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

Madonna
Erotica
The Immaculate Collection
Original Soundtrack: Evita
Ray of Light
Something to Remember
True Blue
Like a Prayer
Bedtime Stories
Madonna
Live a Virgin
Music
You Can Dance
I'm Breathless
GHV2
Original Soundtrack: Who's That Girl
American Life
Remixed & Revisited
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
Confessions on a Dance Floor
The Confessions Tour
Original Soundtrack: Vision Quest
Hard Candy
Sticky & Sweet Tour
Celebration
Glee: The Power of Madonna
MDNA (clean and deluxe versions)

U2
The Best of 1980-1990 & The B-Sides
Rattle and Hum
All That You Can't Leave Behind
Achtung Baby (Original and Super Deluxe Edition reissue)
The Joshua Tree (Original and 20th Anniversary reissue)
Zooropa
War (Original and Reissue)
October (Original and Reissue)
The Unforgettable Fire (Original and 25th Anniversary reissue)
Boy (Original and Reissue)
7
Pop
Wide Awake in America
Under a Blood Red Sky (Original and Reissue)
Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1
The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides
Original Soundtrack: Moulin Rouge
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 18: Singles
No Line on the Horizon (original and deluxe)
Original Soundtrack: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Various: Every Mother Counts