Thank you for coming to my 2025-2026 virtual NYE Party!
So another party is in the books. I have been hosting these virtual New Year’s Eve parties during SyFy’s two-day Twilight Zone marathon for over a decade. In fact, I hosted the first party on New Year’s Eve 2013. Initially, I was thinking of disabled people who cannot leave the house for a variety of reasons (being immunocompromised and avoiding germs, being bedridden in pain, not having energy, inaccessible gathering places, etc) and did not want anyone to be alone on this holiday. Taking advantage of the internet, I realized that we could celebrate together. Since then, people from all over the world gather every NYE; this year’s party was from December 31, 2025-January 2, 2026. We had fun as we do every year! There were old and new faces. People come for all sorts of reasons; I often hear from people who say they used to watch the iconic marathon every year with their family but their parents and siblings are gone now. I also hear from people who are recovering alcoholics who look forward to the community we have built online. All people need to join the party is a Facebook account; if you are interested in coming to the next party, please click here.
Food Puns: The Ribs You Need
One tradition that we have sustained the past decade is posting pictures of our NYE dinners with puns using the names of The Twilight Zone’s 156 episodes. This year, I had ribs, coconut butterfly shrimp, mushrooms, and mushroom soup. Guests at the party suggested the following captions for my food:
- The Ribs You Need
- The Rib Van Winkle Caper
- Coconut Butterfly Shrimp is Coming
- Will the Real Mushroom Please Stand Up?
- “If you tried to make a pun about about that dinner, you’d get a lot of ribbing about it.”
My Return to YouTube
On January 1, 2026, during the primetime hours, SyFy aired a block of some of the most iconic TZ episodes. Many of these episodes are an excellent introduction to TZ for someone who has never seen the show before. So, I ended up filming a short YouTube video inviting people to join us in the Zone. It happens to be my first YouTube video in years. With school behind me now (I finished on December 29), I will upload more videos. Subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss out!
The genius of Rod Serling is that he wrote episodes with enduring themes that are as applicable today as they were decades ago; his work addressed themes of prejudice, discrimination, and injustice (The Shelter, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street; I Am the Night–Color Me Black).
Timeless Themes in The Twilight Zone
It took me years to see it but as I discussed in my video, but Nightmare at 20,000 Feet is a great depiction for what it’s like to live with mental illness in a world full of stigma; a young William Shatner delivers a brilliant performance. Serling also wrote several episodes about man’s relationship to technology which seem especially prescient now, such as the iconic To Serve Man and the lesser known The Brain Center at Whipple’s. He also wrote stories that were just plain entertaining; I love After Hours (although my heart was beating so fast the first time I saw it) and Five Characters in Search of an Exit.
With Gratitude!
Having a myriad of chronic illnesses, it would have been impossible for me to keep this tradition going between symptoms, my full time job and graduate school without help. I want to say an extra special thank you toMatt Vandermast and Mark Davitt for doing so much of the heavy lifting for this year’s party and the past few years. I also want to thank every person who attended this year. Your presence is what makes this party special. Finally, as always, I want to thank SyFy for doing this 48-hour marathon every year.
Stay Tuned! More Articles and Videos Coming
I will be writing more blog posts and filming more YouTube videos this year. First, I will be interviewing education consultant, author, and my fellow TEDx Speaker Monica Swope about how to create a vision board. Whether you’ve done one before or are a newbie (like me), we’re going to have fun. Second, with Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ll be interviewing disabled author, Georgia K. James, about her three-part series Chronic Romance. Each book features a protagonist with a chronic illness. The three books (in order) are Butterfly, Dragonfly, and Firefly. And check out Georgia’s blog, As My Joints Turn, here.
Stay tuned!
–Jessica
