This TV Show
Mad Men
Don Draper, you are slightly closed minded and a serial adulter, but holy smokes do I love you. Jon Hamm plays the leading man in this popular TV show that I recently got into thanks to Netflix. I absolutely love it. It's smart and visceral, and it makes you think. Unlike the usual zingy, face paced world of TV, this show isn't afraid to take it's time so it can really pack an emotional punch. It does this often, since I cry pretty much every 3-4 episodes. My favorite seasons were the first and fourth, but really they are all wonderful.
This Song
"Heart Skips A Beat" by Olly Murs
As my friend Kathryn would say, "why are all the good ones imports?!" Olly Murs is another winner from the UK X-Factor, but that doesn't mean he hasn't got talent. With a distinct voice, plenty of charisma and glee, and very interesting instrumentation to back it up, he puts out a very fun song. The American single includes Chiddy Bang, but both versions are excellent. It's just a fun pop song with a modern, slightly throwback production. The world can never have enough of those.
This Actor
Chris Hemsworth
Of all, of all the Hemsworths, Chris is my favorite. I mean, the man is basically a real life Disney prince. He's a fine actor with plenty of charisma and it doesn't hurt that the man is really really really ridiculously good looking. He's also happily married with a baby and can tell an amusing, non-boring story about being a parent on a talk show. He's the total package!
This Actress/Writer/Director/Awesome person
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham is pretty much my hero. Well, okay, that's a little over the top, but I really do admire any 25-year-old who has her own show and is so unafraid to be naked. Lena's show is funny, touching, hopeful, and terribly honest. 'Girls' was something I was prepared to loathe and instead I loved it. The seventh episode, "Welcome to Bushwick, aka The Crackcident" was my favorite half hour of TV ever.
This Book
"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Everyone who I discuss books with knows that I simply adore John Green. His book came out at the beginning of the year, and I'm still thinking about it now (it's August, by the way). The book is about a girl named Hazel who has terminal cancer and falls in love with Agusutus, a boy whose cancer is in remission. They have adventures and John Green's amazing prose will make you love this triumphantly sad, and surprisingly hopeful, novel. Also, he makes Indianapolis sound cool.
This Album
'Electra Heart' by Marina and the Diamonds
I simply love things that are fun to listen to, and this album is just that. The album is infused with electro-beats and sung by a girl who sounds like she's talking, instead of singing (in a good way). It's like the musical version of being in some diva's backstage dressing room. There's no one out there like Marina and the Diamonds. They're part pin-up girl, part European club goer, part mysterious chanteuse.
This Website
Grantland
Though I barely understand professional basketball (someone teach me), I've been following Bill Simmons, a great writer whose written for past publications such as Sports Illustrated, on Twitter for a long time. Naturally, when he launched his website Grantland, which comments on both pop culture and sports, I was immediately hooked. I love when people can write intelligently and still make it appealing, and the writers on this website almost always accomplish this. Also, I enjoy listening to the BS Report podcast, especially when people like Lena Dunham and Chuck Klosterman stop by.
This Movie
'The Kids Are All Right'
I spend most of my movie watching time watching films for my 2012 project, but this is one I discovered recently though it hit it's cultural height two years ago when it was nominated for a slew of awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture. I love this movie because it has a few principal cast members, all of whom are excellent, and it tells a very simple story about a family. It's well done from every angle. I only wish I had seen this when it came out!
This Restaurant
The Sink
Boulder is such a college town, right? Well, that doesn't mean this post-grad can't enjoy the food. The Sink is a popular place on the hill that serves very delicious burgers. It's a huge restaurant, yet it feels like a hole-in-the wall. The low ceilings and the freedom to graffiti the walls makes it feel like an undiscovered place, even though Obama went there (and subsequently some poor girl spilled her yogurt on him).
This Singer
Ed Sheeran
I guess all the musical entries will be British-themed. Ed Sheeran is someone I found by simply going over to the BBC website to see what's on the charts across the pond (I do this regularly because I'm a weirdo...and the Brits sometimes have better taste). He's a singer-songwriter who strongly resembles Ron Weasley, but certainly does not sound like him. A gifted guitarist who loves music (he often plays solo and relies on looping, or "playing with pedals" as I call it), he writes songs with quirky lyrics. Though some of the tracks on his debut album, +, are juvenile, he shows real potential and maturity on tracks like "Lego House" and "Small Bump." His best track, and the one on American radio now, is "The A-Team." It's officially the best song about a heroine-addicted prostitute since....well, I don't know many others about that particular subject. Still, he's great. Keep and eye on him.
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