Introducing Epbot Movie Nights!

It's a Big, Momentous, and otherwise adjective-riddled day, my friends.

NOT ONLY am I turning 42 today - thereby leveling up to becoming the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything - but also - ALSO - Epbot (this blog, in case you forgot where you were) turns 10. Ten! Can you believe we've been together a whole decade??

I actually forgot that my first Epbot post was on my birthday, and I CLEARLY did not plan this far in advance, or expect a global pandemic to be in the mix. So I've decided to focus on Epbot's anniversary first, and have my Hitchhiker's-themed birthday party (which you'll all be invited to, don't worry) later this year.

I want to celebrate Epbot first because John and I've been cooking up something new and scary, and it seems appropriate that we announce it on Epbot's 10-year-anniversary, which at the time was ALSO new and scary.

So starting this Friday, May 15th, at 8:30pm EST, I'd like to invite you to the first official Epbot Movie Night over on our shiny new Epbot Discord server.

Don't worry if you have no idea what Discord is; neither did I 'til a few months ago. It's essentially a private online chat room where you can hang with friends, watch movies or games together, and have real-time conversations through text, voice, or even video. Unlike Facebook this is going to let us interact in real time, which I hope will help us feel more connected and seen.

Just think: No algorithms hiding your posts, no waiting for someone to "like" or comment. Instead you click into a virtual space with other real live people and chat about your day, show off pictures of your latest outfit or project, ask questions, lurk and just listen to other people, etc. And because the server is private we shouldn't have many random trolls or meanies wandering through.

Here's how the Epbot Discord looks in action:

                         (This is screen grab from our test viewing of The Goonies last week.)

We also have a voice channel room if you want to actually TALK to each other, or you can grab up to 10 friends for a group video chat. I know that's a bit scary jumping in, though, so rest assured most of the areas are text-based only - including our Movie Night chat.

Discord is free to use and you only need an e-mail address to sign up. Once you're there you'll get the gist in a few minutes; it's not hard to navigate. We have a dedicated channel (or chat room) set up for Movie Night, so the plan is we all gather there this Friday to watch... 

[drumroll, please]

... BACK TO THE FUTURE. 

Aw yeeeeah.

I'm choosing BttF for the Movie Night kick-off because this is also happening this week:

Yep, Josh Gad's new reunion show is going to feature the cast of Back to the Future! WOO WOO! 

I am so excited, y'all. SO EXCITED. And who better to watch this with than my fellow geeks right here?

So Friday we'll watch the reunion show together at 8:30, then start the actual movie right around 9pm. Set your alarm clocks.

Oh, and if you want to go the extra mile, then you can dress up with me and John! Maybe something 80s, something 50s, or something Time Travel Chic to fit the Back to the Future theme? You can share photos of anything Back To The Future related during the chat, so gather up your Deloreans, your flux capacitors, and your best Biff puns embroidered on pillows, 'cuz the rest of us want to see. If you like this idea I can even add an extra Movie Chat room just for photos, so it's easier to share our silly selfies and collectibles and whatnot.

If you're not sure what I mean about dressing up, then here are my last 2 Movie Night looks, for Enchanted & The Goonies:

For Enchanted I literally took down our bedroom curtains and pinned them into a dress, lol.

You can bet I have something special planned for this Friday. ::mad scientist grin::

John and I hope to stream a new movie every Friday, and eventually I'd like to expand Movie Night to include fun stuff like photo contests, crafts, recipes, trivia games, prizes, and more. (We could also add multiple showings for different schedules and time zones.) I am giddy over all the possibilities, but first let's see if any of you are even interested.

To join the Epbot Discord server you'll need to click through this link, which, in an effort to prevent spammers/trolls, will expire tomorrow. After that I'll post a new link in my Story every day, so just check there. You only have to click through the invite link once, so I recommend clicking through now, just to join. After that, feel free to explore! We have several channels set up for things like Floofs, Crafts, Support, Introductions, etc:

 

Each channel is a separate chat room.

We've had a small group of beta testers over there the last few weeks, so you'll see our previous movie chats and plenty of conversations and introduction posts already up.

Now a few boring-but-essential technical notes for Movie Night itself:

If you own the movie we plan to watch, or can stream it for free somewhere, then just start playing it at the start time and chat along with us in the Movie Chat channel.

If you don't own the movie, then you can watch it with us inside Discord itself. Just join the aptly named "Movie Streaming" channel. However, only a max of 50 can watch in there, so arrive a few minutes early to claim your spot. Also keep in mind it could have a few glitches or buffers.

Listen, I genuinely don't know if many of you will want to do this. Maybe it'll just be me and John and the virtual chickens there Friday night. Or maybe a few of you will show, and we can make up all our own inside jokes that I'll reference later here on the blog just so you can raise your eyebrows at the screen someday and be all, "I UNDERSTOOD THAT REFERENCE" and it will be glorious.

I'm doing this so those of you who aren't on Facebook have a place of your own to interact. I've already heard from a few people saying our test Movie Nights have been the most social they've felt in months, and honestly, that's all I need. So don't worry if this doesn't sound like your thing; I know this won't be for everyone. But for those who need it, I hope - I so, so hope - this can be one more lifeline, one more point of light, through a dark and lonely time.

I love you guys. Thanks for making me the happiest 42 year old geek ever to plan a movie night. ::MWAH::

*****

Oh hey, and if you're looking for something to wear Friday, I found a cute tee over on Amazon Prime:

Save The Clock Tower t-shirt