Hi Everyone!

I’ve been visiting the library a good bit this summer, making good use of my library card by reading up a storm. Without school and the copious amount of pages of reading each week, I have found it so much easier to pick up a book/novel and go to town on it. On my most recent visit, though, I walked by a table advertising a summer reading challenge for kids, and my brain immediately started percolating an idea. 

While not everyone gets to enjoy the same amount of free time as a college student or child, I do think Summer is the perfect opportunity to have some fun in the sun by grabbing the latest cheesy romance novel, intricate Sci-fi/High Fantasy story, or really any book that’s been on your radar. So, as of this newsletter’s release, I am starting the What’s Up With Will? Reading! Summer Challenge. 

From now until the end of Labor Day(what I believe to be the end of the Spiritual Summer), I am challenging you to read two books and then tell me about them. To make things a bit more interesting, for those who complete the summer challenge, there will be a surprise in store!

With that said, let’s find out What’s Up With Will…

As I am exploring the current literature involving wine education and qualitative research methodologies, it seems that the majority of professors conducting this research are in either the hospitality or business sectors of academia. While I thought of this as initially slightly disheartening to see that there is little academic conversation surrounding the communicative or sociological perspectives of wine, I have since changed my tune. While these are different disciplines from what I want to enter, seeing that these other fields use qualitative methodologies shows a need for this kind of research, but also that there is interest and demand for this type of study. I also foresee that I could ask the communicative/sociological questions I am more interested in, while also providing important research that can be used by the wine industry at large.

As I mentioned last week, I reached out to some mentors, and I am scheduling time to chat about my next direction. For the time being, though, I wanted to take a week off and focus on another one of my goals this summer: overhauling my public speaking curriculum. I don’t think I mentioned it yet, but I recently received word that I am going to be teaching not one, but two classes this upcoming semester!

This last semester was a trial by fire (and I say that in the best way possible). I learned a lot about teaching last semester, from classroom management to the actual lesson plans themselves. Some things worked incredibly well, yet others might not have clicked as well with the students. Now, though, I am another semester older and another semester wiser.  I have been making adjustments to my lesson plans, taking out a couple of lectures and assignments as well as messing around with due dates and activities. I also have a few new ideas that I want to try as well. 

Rylee once told me that Beauty and the Beast was her favorite Disney movie growing up because she sees a lot of herself in the main character, Belle, so when I saw the Broadway musical was coming into town, I figured that tickets for opening day would be a perfect early National Girlfriend Day gift.

(FYI: National Girlfriend Day is on Saturday, August 1st. Last year, I didn’t give y’all much notice of this very important holiday, so here is an early reminder to avoid a repeat of last year). On Tuesday, we headed into SF!

You might be surprised that Beauty and the Beast’s Composer, Alan Menken, and lyricist, Howard Ashman, originally conceived it as a Broadway musical. While it ultimately took shape as a film, three years later a theatrical production came to fruition. Beauty and the Beast was Disney’s first foray into Broadway and was a smash hit with nine Tony nominations and one win. Since its inception, this tale as old as time has also stood the test of time, being the 11th longest-running Broadway show¹

In SF, the show was absolutely stunning on all levels. From the performance to intricate set design, costuming, lighting, and special effects, everything was superb and is exactly what I would expect from a Disney Theatrical production. The musical, though, adds new songs (including one that was cut from the original movie) and depth to the characters of the film, especially Beast, who gets his own stand-alone vocal number. In a sense, it felt like watching it live was akin to one of those 2000’s DVDs packed full of special features. More importantly, though, Rylee said that she loved seeing her favorite story come to life on stage.

By the way, this production was done at the Orpheum Theater, which also marks the first time that I have been to a theater where I have been onstage before I have been an audience member. It’s kind of odd, and yet really cool at the same time.

Another Week, Another Patented Will Willis Day Trip! After being intrigued by one of the “About Martinez” pamphlets at the A.F. Bray Courthouse, I decided that this week’s excursion would be Martinez.

The Martinez Historical Society is located in an 1890s Victorian cottage known as the Borland Home, which was at one point a dental office. However, it was saved by the historical society from being demolished and turned into a parking lot, and now acts as the Martinez Museum. For once, people seemed to know what they had before it was gone, and didn’t put up a parking lot. Although I don’t know if most people’s definitions of paradise is going to the dentist….

While you might not hear about Martinez with the same enthusiasm as SF or LA, it is one of California’s oldest towns, and became a major transportation hub during the gold rush because of its access to ferries across the Carquinez Strait to the gold mines, and the railroads that connected it to places all over the world. While its economy changed over time from agriculture to oil refining, the museum highlighted Martinez’s multi-faceted history alongside some hidden easter eggs. 

In addition to being the birthplace of New York Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio, Martinez also claims to be the birthplace of the martini. Legend has it that one miner who just struck it rich ordered champagne in a Martinez bar. Unfortunately, there was none on hand at the time, so the bartender made the “Martinez Special”: 3 parts of Old Tom Gin to 1 part of dry Sauterne wine and a dash of orange bitters, stirred with ice and served with an olive. This miner liked it so much that he asked for one the moment he got into San Francisco. While the name of the cocktail itself morphed into the martini we know today, its roots trace back to the same libation given to that fortunate miner.

In addition to the martini, the museum also shed light on another alcoholic part of its history: winemaking. Spanish Missionaries planted the first grape vines in Martinez all the way back in the early 17th century, and winemaking continued to grow and grow in the region, with there being at least 15 wineries in Martinez at one point in time. However, Prohibition damaged the industry, forcing many of the wineries to shut down operations, and after its repeal, Napa and Sonoma quickly overshadowed it. However, I checked on my phone, and I was surprised to couple of wineries still open.

Viano Vineyards is a 5th-generation family-run vineyard, dating all the way back to 1920, and more importantly, is open to visitors. I did not know what I was expecting driving there, and it certainly didn’t help that as I drove up I noticed a “Warning: Dog on Property” sign. My fears quickly dissolved when I opened the car door. I was immediately greeted by a ray of sunshine golden retriever who politely guided me to the tasting room. I tried two wines made from grapes grown on the property: a light, crisp, and fruit-forward white blend of French Colombard, Chenin Blanc, and Muscat, and their flagship 100-year-old vine Zinfandel with a delicate mouthfeel and concentrated fruit notes.

You never know where you are going to end up on a Will Willis Day trip. Sometimes it’s a deep cultural and intellectual excursion, and sometimes, I am just drinking wine in the middle of nowhere. The variety is what makes it exciting, though.

Rylee and I flew down to Anaheim for a Summer Disneyland Trip! Before I dive into it, I want to preface this section by saying that I am not a Disney Adult. I am an adult who enjoys going to Disney. Big Difference. While this would be the third time we would visit Disneyland for its 70th Anniversary, I still loved going back one last time! (Third time’s the charm) It got me thinking, though: what makes Disneyland a place that I keep coming back to time after time? 

It seems that there is a lot of research on all things Disney, because obviously there is tons of research for one of the world’s largest media conglomerates. Even then, I was shocked by the sheer volume, to the extent that there is a subsection of academia focusing exclusively on studying Disney known as Disney Studies Research (sidenote: do you think I could do this as a PhD?). Thankfully, author AJ Wolfe distills the large body of research on this subject in Disney Adults: Exploring (And Falling In Love With) A Magical Subculture into 5 main categories: escapism, safety and predictability, immersion, community, and nostalgia².

Who doesn’t want to escape their work and life responsibilities from time to time and spend their time in a world of fantasy and happiness? Even the most basic form of a vacation involves an escape, yet Disneyland itself can feel like an extra embodiment of the feeling of escape. Walking through Americana-adorned buildings in Mainstreet USA or the cobblestoned buildings in the shade of the (let’s be honest, tiny) castle in Fantasyland, I could not get any further away from my life in Northern California. 

Every time I go to Disneyland, I can reliably expect what is going to happen. This is not to say that every trip is going to be the same. Every time I go, there is some new festival/celebration with new foods and drinks to try and new characters walking around the park. Yet, at every visit, I can expect the lands to be the same with paint that never fades, clean streets throughout the park, and that whenever I take a trip to the Collector’s Private Vault to break the Guardians of the Galaxy in Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, I know there is going to be a happy ending.

It’s one thing to see a musical of a Disney classic. It’s another thing to be fully immersed in the movie. I can be drinking a R&D Martini in a beaker as I walk down the Avengers Campus and cheer to Groot and Iron Man. I can also try my luck at removing the sword in the stone, or marvel in the glow of Cars Land neon signage. Disneyland does sensory engagement and immersion to the nth degree. It captures all of the senses with forced perspective optical illusions and “smellizers” that pump custom smells into the air.

There’s also something special about being surrounded by a crowd of people who also like going to Disney. Sure, there might be a couple of significant others who were begrudgingly forced to join their partners, but for the most part, I noticed that a lot of people around me had smiles on their faces. There were some people dressed up in outfits resembling their favorite characters, some ride enthusiasts optimizing their strategy for optimal coaster time, and others (including Rylee and me) who would walk around from pin board to pin board looking for a diamond in the rough to add to our collections. 

Finally, there’s the nostalgic factor of it all. Going to Disney creates strong positive memories that we want to experience again and again. It reminds us of being in awe of our favorite childhood movies, and for me, it brings back my Disney World trips with my extended family, one of the few times I got to see them. While maybe others have better capability to separate themselves from previous memories, I can’t help but think back to those memories of being in my “happy place” surrounded by those close to me, and that reflects into the new memories.

However, researchers recognize that not all nostalgia is good. There are two types: Restorative and Reflective. Restorative is the bad kind. It makes you use good memories as a Band-Aid to avoid your current life circumstances. Reflective, on the other hand, is the good kind. It’s when you think of positive memories to bring you happiness and strength in your current life. As I think back on my time at Disney, I think there have been times when I have fallen firmly into the restorative category, especially when I was struggling to figure out what I was doing with my life after graduating with my bachelor’s degree. Instead, I could just think of my next Disney trip and think of all the good times that I had before. I think things have changed, though. As I got on the current life path that I am on now, these trips became less about retreating to moments of the past, and more about capitalizing on how happy these memories make me. I also recognize how I am making new memories to cherish after every trip.

So maybe that’s why I go to Disneyland again and again, or maybe it’s one of the countless other reasons why. All I can say for sure is that Rylee and I had a wonderful time, and we will be back at Disney at some point in the future.

Occasionally, SNL UK skits have been popping up on my YouTube feed, and I have been loving all of them so far. Historically, it’s always been that a comedy show would first appear in the UK, get popular, and then an americanized version would pop up. The Office, House of Cards, Shameless, American Idol, and the list goes on and on. It’s about time where the opposite happens!