EPBroadcast – A Weblog by Evan Pavlica

I just finished watching an episode of Gossip Girl from last season, titled “The Age of Dissonance”. It is only every so often that I really have the feeling, when watching a show, of the true artistic quality of television. From beautiful directing, to writing that is better than most films these days, the visual medium of television has come a long, long way from the old days of black & white vaudeville.

Don’t get me wrong, there were gems back in the day. The golden age of television really did have a lot of golden, eternally excellent programming. But modern TV goes beyond the entertainment value of the old shows, and on to the more emotional, intellectual level. In this episode in particular, the visuals: costumes, music, colors, shots; combined with music (always amazingly excellent on GG), and above all writing create this filmic, emotional piece of prose that I feel privileged to have seen. Unfortunately, Gossip Girl is not exactly appreciated by the television community. It has been marginalized because of it’s network and it’s ratings, and by the target demographic, which is mostly teenage girls. Nevertheless, this viewer would hold the show to the same high standards as Battlestar Gallactica and Mad Men. Kudos to the writers, cast, and production staff of GG, especially for this superb episode.

I just finished venting into my private journal, and wanted to post a note here about the benefits of getting your feelings down on paper. There’s something about writing things out, for me at least, that’s kind or relieving and therapeutic. People don’t journal as much as they used to any more… It was a common practice in the slower, more thoughtful days of yore to put pen to paper and chronicle the events and situations of the day. On top of that, letters provided another place for reflection as one recounted their thoughts to a far-away friend or relative.

Have we lost some part of the human experience by not writing letter any more? Has e-mail and texting and all of the social technologies undone us? Is there a chance that, without reflecting on events as much, we are not creating our own opinions? Are we losing our sense of self?

Just something to think about. I know I will try to journal more in the future.

From this Gizmodo post

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

OMG! Best Video EVER!

It’s been a busy few weeks for me. With a couple big shows taping on the lot, I’ve actually been working five days a week- something that hasn’t happened in quite a while. I really enjoy the feeling of staying busy and having a reason to be tired in the evenings. I enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with another shift completed well.

I was talking to a friend about office work earlier today, and was kind of pleased to learn that she, like me,  is not happy behind a desk. We both used to work for television shows that sucked the majority of our time (a lot of times more than 12 hours a day) away at the computer. Yes, we busy, but there was no sense of accomplishment for either of us. Just a sense of tiredness for sitting all day long.

Which finally brings me to the topic of today’s posting, Working Hard / Hardly Working. Now, since my experience at the TV show, I have been hardly working. I think everyone would agree that less than 20 hous a week is hardly. And working hard– well, it’s a little more of a fluid definition in my book. When I work on certain shows, I really am working hard, even if I’m not even there for a full 8 hour shift. I’m running up and down stairs, answering questions, solving problems, and executing procedures and instructions. There are days like today where I  work in such a hectic environment that I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t be able to handle it. It’s a living, doing what I do.

But, it’s really not, is it? After all, I don’t get enough hours to pay my bills. Thank goodness I have parents willing to help out with rent. So, is working hard long term, like working hard 60 hours a week and feeling defeated and drained? Or is working hard short term, like working one day and feeling tired but accomplished? Or was I just trapped in the wrong job before, and I need to find a full-time gig more like the one I have now to maintain that glow of pride for my work?

Hardly working is another story- I’m firmly going to say I’ve been hardly working for the past few months. But I keep myself busy at the same time– if watching television or working on the computer were job responsibilities, I  would be working hard INSTEAD of hardly working. So is it that act that you get paid for your activities the deciding factor between these two descriptors? Going further, id it how much you get REWARDED, and if so, does that sense of accomplishment count as a reward?

There are of course no answers to any of this. But it does make you think, doesn’t it? There’s a link that people have a tendancy to shelve in our age- that link is between Work and Happiness. We must remember it’s a two-way street, and if one is neglected, the other is negatively effected. Although money & the material things of the world are important, so too is the intellectual & emotional. Live life, don’t let life live you!

Accomplishing one more task for the evening, Evan Pavlica for EPBroadcast, Los Angeles.

LA County Mall at Night

Originally uploaded by celloevan

I took this from the steps of the Music Center in downtown LA, while waiting for the doors of the Ahmanson Theatre to open. I was on my way to see Minskys a new musical by the creators of Annie and The Drowsy Chaperone. It was a fantastic play; the book was witty, and the music up-beat and fun. I especially loved it’s campy quality. Just as Chaperone is over-the-top, colorful, and (for lack of a better word) gay as all hell, so is Minskys. In the tough times ahead, I see this new musical doing well, providing an escape for the masses.

I took this picture to remind myself, however, of something else. Los Angeles had this cool ‘mall’ across from the music center. It includes (from left to right) the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration (LA County Departments), the Downtown LA Courthouse, City Hall, and the Superior out of Los Angeles. It is important, because these buildings, centralized in this way, are a symbol of our great city, its laws, its government, and its people. Just as the national mall in Washington is a memorial to the greatness of the United States government, this mall is the true civil center of the city of angels. Cool, no?Faithfully yours,

Evan, for the Broadcast.

 As we make our way into another year, it seems like a good idea to reflect back on what’s gone on this year. I feel personally retrospective because a lot has happened in my life, and I feel that a lot of people feel the same. Society seems to have changed as a whole- I described it recently to someone as a shift in the paradigm. It’s odd, but collectively we are thinking and acting differently than we ever have in my lifetime. Freaks me out. 

So, what has changed? There are two main things: The end of a dark era, as we elected Barak Obama to the White house and terminated the reign of stupidity that was hallmarked by President Bush, and the beginning of a new, even possibly darker era of economic recession- that perhaps can even be as  bad a depression.  But what does this mean? I feel like a new government gives us reason for hope. After all, these two big changes are far mutually exclusive. We knew Senator McCain, although experienced in a great many things, was not the right person to bring us out of the toilet of economic situations. It’s yet to be seen if President-elect Obama will have that great an impact, but the fact that there is hope for some people is a cause for celebration. At the same time, there is the recession. I can’t remember the market crash of the eighties, and when the tech bubble burst neither I nor anyone I knew was really effected,  so I never really processed it as a historical event. But this current problem runs so deep it’s got me a litle scared. With economic experts predicting another large fall in the exchanges in the first few weeks of the new year, I fear that the free-fall will be absolute, and devestate the country and the planet like the great depression of the 1930s. 

So, we have fear and hope. But that’s not all we have to take with us- there’s been some good times in the last year, like Tina Fey imitating Governor Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. Hilarious, and memorable for years to come! There’s been advances in technology that will allow us to  live cleaner, greener lives. We have re-built our TV broadcasting industry, readying the American public for digital broacasting and finally being ready for the termination of analog transmissions in February 2009. We awarded a Tony to “In the Heights” and gave “30 Rock” a record number of Emmys.  It was a good year, for the most part. 

On a personal level,  I accomplished more in this year than in most others. I graduated college, started and got fired from my first real job in the TV industry. I made new friends, lost old ones, and was forced to move. I experienced amazing things like seeing Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown perform “No Air” for “Idol Gives Back” and paging and then going to the after party for the Survivor Finale. Sure, there are things I wish I could have done- kept my job at “The Doctors”, go out with a boyfriend or two, etc. etc. But again, a good year!

I always wonder, and worry, that people are such cynics that they don’t realize the good stuff in their lives. And do people really expose themselves to the right things? We took my aunt to see “The Nutcracker” during the holidays. She had not been to a performing arts event in DECADES! Are people depriving themselves of something which would give them balance and perspective and just not realizing it? How do you raise awareness of such a loose concept? After all, opening one’s mind isn’t limited to the arts. (Although I personally feel that the best way to enlightenment is through the artisic mediums- emotional expression!) 

After looking back, now it’s time to look forward. What does tomorrow and this new year bring? I share a paranoia about the future with many people. Sometimes things just seem so bad that it seems the world’s close to it’s end. Other times, you feel like the world is goign to go on forever, and you’re afraid of missing any part of it. Who knows what lies up the sleeves of the fates? I say, keep going ’til you can’t go any more. Persevere. It’s all good.

From Philadelphia, Happy New Year.

–Evan Pavlica, The EPBroadcast