Storytime: Part 1
We started a thing
We all have a thing, and Our Only Thing started years before we ever conceived of creating a YouTube channel or podcast.
In 2022, grace joined the same company as pablo. We were in different departments, but we soon crossed paths and began connecting monthly. These meetings were supposed to be 30-minute chats primarily about work stuff, but that’s not what actually happened.
We’d speak for an hour or more, and the majority of these conversations focused on shows, movies, video games, podcasts, books, and sometimes music (we did throw work stuff in there; we promise). grace learned quickly that pablo knew his shit when it came to story structure, especially with films/TV. If pablo recommended a movie/show to grace, she’d watch it that weekend. pablo learned quickly that grace also knew her shit due to her background in creative writing and dedicated fandom. The first time they met, they could not stop talking about Star Wars.
In late 2023, our company reduced its workforce pretty significantly. We were both impacted. By the way, it had absolutely nothing to do with the format of our monthly meetings.
So we did what we always had done. We continued to meet to discuss what we were watching, playing, listening to, or reading and how to make these stories even better.
Then in February of 2024, pablo said to grace, “Why don’t we start a YouTube channel?”
In a move that echoed Forrest Gump’s response to Jenny’s marriage proposal, grace said, “Okay.”
She didn’t hesitate or question pablo because the truth is that this 2-year friendship had been the dress rehearsal for this adventure.
And that, my friends, is how Our Only Thing became an official thing. Thank you for being part of this journey. We look forward to evolving this story with you by our sides.
Storytime: Part 2
grace's frosty reaction
My passion for nitpicking stories began when I was 7 years old. My teacher, Mrs. Young, played the 1969 Frosty the Snowman movie for my class. At the end of it, my classmates cried, clapped, and cheered.
My folded arms practically left a dent in my chest as my eyebrows contorted into curved weapons.
“Is something the matter, grace?” asked Mrs. Young.
“Yeah,” I declared. All eyes zoned in on me as the heat rose from my feet to my forehead.
“Do you want to tell us about it?”
“None of that shoulda happened,” I sneered. “Frosty shouldn’ta died.”
Mrs. Young’s head whipped to the side like a curious German Shepherd. “What do you mean?”
“If Karen woulda worn a snowsuit, Frosty wouldn'ta melted. Who goes to the North Pole in a dress?”
A laugh escaped Mrs. Young’s mouth while many of my classmates rolled their eyes.
“I never thought about it that way,” said Mrs Young.
In my next report card, Mrs. Young wrote a note to my parents: grace’s reasoning skills are well beyond her years. It’s truly wonderful.
Today, I have a note for Mrs. Young: I didn’t understand your compliment back then, but I do now. Thank you for your unwavering support. You’re truly wonderful.
How do I feel about Frosty the Snowman now?
Karen is the real villain of this story. Most of us don’t have the luxury of getting Santa Claus to save our consciences.
Why is this movie celebrated? It’s just as scarring as the original version of The Little Mermaid. Please don’t Google it. Save yourself. It’s too late for me.
Credibility factor: I’m a creative writer and author. I paid a fortune to my alma mater, so I could properly Sherlock Holmes the shit out of literature.
Motto: Fake it till you make it.
Favorite word: Fuck, of course. It’s so versatile. How many other words in the English language convey rage, fright, disappointment, joy, bewilderment, disdain, pain, hopelessness, and amazement? It’s also a…
- Verb (fuck off; wait—I bet your mind was in the gutter lol).
- Adjective (this fucking thing).
- Noun (fucker).
- Interjection (Fuck!).
Best fucking word ever!
Biggest pet peeve: Lazy people (i.e. Karen’s laziness killed Frosty).
Fun fact: I type 100+ words per minute (WPM) accurately, as long as my nails are short. I type around 60-70 WPM with long nails.
Storytime: Part 3
pablo's cinematic adventures
They call me “The Devourer of Stories.” In Spanish that’s “El Devorador de Cuentos.”
I don’t know why I translated that for you; I don’t really speak Spanish.
Anywho, I don’t have a childhood media criticism story like grace, but what I do have is plenty of stories about my times at the cinema.
There was the time I went to see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on opening day. At the part where Lo tells Jen his story of chasing shooting stars as a child but now as an adult he’s found the brightest star of all in her, the man sitting next to me said,
“That’s some G shit right there.”
And the time I went to see The Lord of the Rings, and when Gandalf fell into the pit with the Balrog, a man sitting a few seats away from me yelled at the screen,
“Man, Randolph, come BACK!”
And moments later as the scene transitioned to the Fellowship processing their grief, the man could be heard sniffling, repeating,
“Come back…”
And, finally, there’s the time I went to see Kangaroo Jack (in the theater!) and during the Rapper’s Delight scene, a number of people (separately!) started dancing in the aisles.
All of this is to say I have been surrounded by the very finest in media literacy my whole life.
Credibility factor: I got my start writing for Television Without Pity (RIP), recapping the reboot of...
- Melrose Place (Jessica Lucas foreva!).
- Undercovers (Gugu Mbatha-Raw foreva!).
- Revenge (Emily VanCamp foreva!).
- Expedition Impossible (Dave Salmoni foreva!).
The 2010s were a trip, man.
My brother and I then co-created Trailers Without Pity, an animated web series that broke down—and often derided—film trailers.
I currently have film criticism bylines at Book and Film Globe.
Motto: Don’t fake the funk on the nasty dunk.
Favorite word: Cromulent.
Biggest pet peeve: My great dane named Peeve.
Fun fact: Jeffrey Wright once walked out of my session at SXSW.
