My Favorite Things with Christina Kovar

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Christina Kovar, who has just joined Speculative Chic as our newest contributor!

What does Christina love when she’s away from her day job in marketing? Spoiler alert: a very one-of-a-kind musical podcast, a comedy about city-slickers starting a farm, a classic princess reimagined for a new generation, a certain type of movie that is highly rewatchable and very satisfying. Curious? Read on to learn more!

Despite doing a lot of my job from home, I do spend an inordinate amount of time in my car. After working in radio for over 15 years, the magic of the format is lost on me, and I spend more time trying to categorize A songs from C songs than I do actually enjoying the music. Which is why I’ve delved into podcasts. A majority of the ones I get recommended to me are true crime, which I admit has a lot of appeal. However, my favorite ones tend to lean toward improvisational comedy. Which brings me to Off-Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast with Zach and Jess. Even just typing that out has me singing their theme song. Every episode brings on a special guest (or two or three) and the introductory conversation they have will bring forth a random idea to perform an entire musical about. It’s a once in a lifetime performance and they’ll never do the exact same one again. The songs will still be stuck in your head for a day or two, though. The episodes range from Disney owning everything to “What if Babies ruled the world?” and the level of quick thinking and improvisational skills is outstanding.

The most recent episode that I enjoyed was a recording of one of their live shows and featured fellow podcasters The Doughboys as the special guests. They improvised an entire musical based on giraffes based on a comment about how aggressive the males are when they fight with their long necks. I laughed so hard throughout the episode that I’m certain people on the road beside me were at the very least curious. I highly suggest you just give it a listen if you’re a fan of musical theater and like to laugh.

If you like to laugh, but maybe musical theater isn’t your jam, one of my favorite comedies to watch right now is Bless This Mess. It’s on its second season, but the first season was a short one – completely easy to binge. Starring Lake Bell and Dax Shepard as Rio and Mike, this fish out of water story centers around a New York couple that opts to move to a farm that Mike inherited. The only predictable part of this show is that the farm is not what Mike remembered it to be and they arrive to a shambles of a farm with dead soil. The story evolves from there with their “big city” ways clashing with the locals and building friendships the hard way. It’s packed with comedic powerhouses that make the on-screen banter seem so natural. My favorite storyline so far has been Beau and Kay’s ever-evolving marriage. If you’re a fan of Outlander, the Halloween episode is a great example of the show. It’s not entirely a stand-alone episode, but it’s light enough that you don’t need all the context to get a feeling for the series. Plus, it has David Koechner dressed as Jamie. The comedy writes itself at that point. Well, not really, because comedy is actually hard to write and writers don’t get enough credit for that sort of stuff.

Another thing that tops my list right now is She-Ra and the Princess of Power on Netflix. Now, when the series was announced I was thrilled. I loved the original She-Ra cartoon, but could see how the series didn’t really hold up to the test of time. I had all the figures and they were all the same. Hearing that Noelle Stevenson was going to head up the series gave me hope and she truly delivered. It’s diverse and relatable and the storylines are appropriate for all ages. I watched the first seasons on my own, then convinced a close friend of mine to give it a go while I was visiting her. We plowed through almost all of it in a weekend. Now, I’m enjoying being able to watch them with my six-year-old niece. In a time when children are faced with struggles that I couldn’t even begin to imagine at their age, I love that there is a show that offers them entertainment and a chance to feel seen. It makes me happy to know that this show is out there for another generation to find and that it’s a solid enough story to stand on its own so it’s also enjoyable for those that loved the original. I’ll give you a heads up, though, it will emotionally break you. I mean, you might think it’s just a cartoon with a transforming girl and a talking horse, but the emotions will surface.

Now, the last thing I’d like to highlight here on my Favorite things is not exactly a specific single thing. It is more of a specific genre within movies. I love cooking movies. Give me a movie that centers around a chef and their struggles in the kitchen and I’m on board. They have the highest rewatchability for me, not just because I enjoy watching people prepare food, but because they involve technical skills that are satisfying to watch. Don’t believe me? Go to YouTube and look up knife skills and watch someone slice a carrot in a few seconds. It’s relaxing. I’ve started to watch Chef with Jon Favreau so often that when I open the digital movie it always starts with “resume watching” because it’s my go-to movie when I just want something good to watch.

I’ll watch Burnt with Bradley Cooper, because not only can he speak French, sing, direct, and act — but he can cook too. The animated rat in Ratatouille? Yep. That too. Julie & Julia — you bet. I’ll watch Meryl Streep tower over Stanley Tucci and appreciate every lilt of her accent as she chops onions. Have you seen The Ramen Girl with Brittany Murphy? I own it, because she learns how to cook ramen in it and her struggle with language barriers is broken down by a mutual understanding of food and how it connects us. Cooking movies have become a form of comfort food all on their own to me. They offer me something that not many movies do — a look inside the kitchen. Seeing how everything gets onto the plate. It’s not the fancy dinner laid out on the table during the romantic dinner scene that gets a quick glance and then it pans back up to the couple falling in love. It’s all the work that went into it before it’s presented. It’s pulling the curtain back on something that is taken for granted so often in film. It’s giving you the behind the scenes featurette as part of the movie and those are often my favorite parts.

Christina Kovar has been a lover of fiction since she was old enough to recognize Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show. Aside from being a lifetime fan of the Muppets, Christina is a full-time supporter of J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Garner, and Alias. Her current feline companion, Kiki, is an eater of plastic and has her own Instagram account. After working in radio as an on-air personality for over 15 years, Christina took all of her experience with Social Media and Marketing to a local family owned furniture store and has been heading up their marketing strategy. When she’s not trying to make a mattress photo look inviting and comfy, she’s either watching as much scripted content as she can or trying to figure out how to get a group together for a board game night. Outdoor activities usually end up with a quick check for Pokemon Go spawns — as long as her battery holds up.

Would you like to write about YOUR favorite things for Speculative Chic? Check out our guidelines and fill out the form here.