The Weekly Bev - 14th Edition

😻 Content I’m Loving

I know I'm very late to the party on this, but I just finished watching Season 2 of The Bear…wow was I missing out. The season masterfully marries two worlds close to my heart: cooking and filmmaking. The show also does a fantastic job of placing its characters in situations that reveal their true nature, rather than just having them tell us who they are.

There's a semi-forgettable moment in episode 4 Honeydew when Lionel rescues a man stuck on a fence, and then we never really hear anything else about this throughout the season. In my opinion, the scene was there to show us who Lionel is: a caring person willing to go out of his way to help someone in distress. It might kind of a random, but scenes like this go a long way in developing an emotional connection to a character. This approach is far more engaging than simply having a character say, "I'm a caring person." It's a brilliant example of the "show, don't tell" principle, which is essential in both filmmaking and social media storytelling.

Another standout moment for me was when in episode 7 Forks when Richie works in at the Michelin-star restaurant. We see him transition from indifference for the extreme detail of fine dining hospitality, to caring more about it than any other character. Watching him go through this development naturally, over the course of an entire episode with trials and tribulations, instead of being explicitly told, makes his character development far more impactful.

The cinematography in Season 2 was also exceptional, especially the use of one-take shots. The final episode, in particular, includes a single shot that oscillates back and forth, capturing the utter chaos of the kitchen versus the calm of the dining room. It’s both exciting to watch, but also a powerful analogy for life: the end result might look pretty, but the process to get there often isn't!

Overall, Season 2 of The Bear has given me a lot to think about and plenty of inspiration for my own creative projects. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it!

❓️ Mystery Links

Un - New pickleball fits

Deux - Lovely pics from Jamey

🏆️ Top 10 Moments

To recap the vlog as we approach Day 1000, I wanted to rank my top 10 moments from the past 1000 days. Number 10 on the list? Apple.

I was in Atlanta, staying at Mallory's dad's house, when I received an email with the subject line: "Hello from Apple 🍏.” My first thought was that it had to be spam. But then I noticed the email address was from @apple.com, making it seem semi-legit. Intrigued…I replied with my phone number because they requested a call.

Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. It was actually a representative from Apple! She mentioned the upcoming iPhone release and knew that I'd shot most of my vlogs using an iPhone. To my amazement, Apple wanted to send me the new iPhone 15. I vividly remember receiving it because it was a day before my two-year anniversary of vlogging. Oh, and they also invited me to the Apple office in Los Angeles.

Meeting the Apple team in-person was surreal. We discussed the new features of the iPhone, and for full transparency they never asked for anything in return. It was purely about sharing the experience. A couple of months later, I reached out to the rep I had been in communication with and mentioned the a new computer. And they sent me one. Having started using a MacBook in 2012 when I first started filmmaking, this felt like a full-circle moment. It was a testament to how showing organic love for a product can catch even Apple's attention.

The woman from the PR team who initially contacted me explained that they had noticed my genuine enthusiasm for their products and wanted to show me more about how to get the most out of their products. At the event, there were about 30 other creators, and it was mostly educational, focusing on understanding the functionality and real potential of Apple's products.

Apple also sent me an Apple Watch and invited me to a workout class in Venice. They've included me in Zoom calls with other creators, always with an emphasis on product education.

This journey with Apple has been an incredible experience. To have such a massive company acknowledge and support my work has been extremely rewarding and thus my Apple saga sits beautiful atop my top 10 moments for the vlog (thus far). Stay tuned for the rest of the list!