Tag: entertainment

The 5 Podcasts That Fill the Serial-Sized Hole in My Life

Leave a comment

Like much of America I quit my job, stopped eating, and refused to leave my house last autumn after I became obsessed with Serial. Ok, so none of that is true, but I did love the podcast. My dog and I take a long walk every afternoon (or morning, depending on the time of year) and I like to listen to podcasts while we walk. I listened to just about every episode more than once, and when it ended I had to search for podcasts to fill the hole.

I’d already run through most of Marc Maron’s archives, and because I listen to NPR in my office, I didn’t really want to listen to any of its offerings. So here are some of the podcasts (Serial-related and otherwise) to fill the hole between seasons. Continue reading →

Sad News: Lena Dunham and I Probably Couldn’t Be Friends

2 Comments

20130112-210550.jpg

The second season premiere of Girls was last night. I haven’t seen it yet, because like all those people The New York Times wrote about last year, I watch the show on HBO GO, not live on TV. But this premiere has the media buzzing again.

They’re talking about the lack of diversity, Lena Dunham’s audacious nudity, and the completely insane depiction of twenty-something sexuality. Yes, Girls certainly gives us plenty to talk about. I just want to chat about why I don’t think I could be friends with Lena Dunham.

Let me start by saying I admire what she’s done professionally — maybe even jealous. She’s obviously smart, funny, and savvy. She cleaned up at the Golden Globe awards last night. But I hate every character she creates. If I ever met Hannah Horvath in person… the mind boggles… I can’t even imagine what venom would spew forth after a drink or two.

Of course, that’s sort of the point, right? Dunham wrote the character to be hard-to-like — though I assume she wants us to ultimately decide to root for her anyway. And so far, I just can’t… Continue reading →

Game of Thrones, My New iPad, & Other Things I’m Obsessed with This Week

4 Comments

It’s my first full week back to work since before Christmas, which has the potential to be depressing, but luckily I’ve got some distractions — one of which I am typing on, the other I am watching.

Over the past few months I’ve been considering two purchases: a new laptop and a Kindle. I don’t really need a new laptop, mine works fine, but it’s heavy and traveling with it is a bit arduous. During my last trip to NYC I walked from my hotel to the venue where my conference was. It wasn’t far, and I like to walk, but I was carting a big overnight bag with my giant laptop stuffed in it. I may have dislocated my shoulder. But I just haven’t been able to bring myself to buy the MacBook Air (refurbished, of course) that I had been eyeing.

Continue reading →

The Problem with Brooklyn 11223

1 Comment

I am ashamed to say I was sucked into watching a new Oxygen show called Brooklyn 11223. Yes, I’ve recently discovered that despite only getting the basic channels, I can watch lots of things On Demand. Usually I use this for good — like watching Mad Men, or an entire season of The Killing in two days in order to be caught up for the season premiere. But once in a while I end up wasting an hour of my life on something like Brooklyn 11223, which is basically a combination of The Hills, Jersey Shore, and Mob Wives. Continue reading →

Communitarianism

2 Comments

It’s no secret that I love Friday Night Lights, but one of my favorite things about the show is Slate’s TV Club coverage of it. Funnily enough, I often find myself disagreeing with the writers, wishing they’d let me into the club to voice my take on it.

For instance, they’re often talking about how bad they feel for poor Tim Riggins and his inability to get out of Dillon. I want to call them up and point out that Tim loves Dillon. Not everyone is looking to get away from the place they grew up, nor should they. Tim knows what kind of life he wants, he just doesn’t know how to get it. I want to shake them for not realizing this.

But an episode or two ago, the writers started discussing the “politics” of FNL and they decided it’s “communitarian.” This seems kind of obvious. After all, it’s a show about families, teams, and the community they all exist in. The characters that don’t think about other people often find themselves cast out. Today, though, as I was watching one of my other favorite shows on DVD, I realized that I just might be a “communitarian” — not to be confused with communist. Continue reading →