Mid Century Madness

Barbie and Ken do Mad Men

It's no secret that I LOVE the 60's...the clothes, the music, the culture, and it seems that lately there's been a resurgence of interest in that time...in TV at least. Thanks to one of my favorite shows Mad Men, not one, not even two, but three new shows this year are set in the 50's or early 60's. First there's the BBC show The Hour which contains two things that intantly got me: the 1950's and London...1956 London to be exact and is about an aspiring, up and coming news team (is it me or does lead gal Bel look a bit like Drew Barrymore?). I've yet to see the first episode, but I will tomorrow, and will deliver my verdict after I do. Next up is NBC's The Playboy Club which has it's series premiere next month on the 19th. For those that haven't yet seen the ads that have been airing relentlessly on the network, the show takes place in the early 60's in one of the infamous Playboy clubs founded by Hugh Heffner. From what I've seen from those ads so far, a murder is involved along with plenty of back stabbing and intrigue I'm sure hahahaha. Last but not least, there's ABC's Pan Am which premieres the following week on the 25th. For this one, we take to the skies as we follow a group of Pan Am stewardesses in the early 60's. Another thing I find awesome? That it stars one of my favorite actresses Christina Ricci. While I love her in her darker roles, I'm interested to see how she'll take this one. Of course, I can't wait for the return of M M, especially since the premiere episode will be directed by Don Draper himself, Jon Hamm. Needless to say, I'll be digging out my garb inspired by and books  about the era and enjoying the view...if only I'd been quicker on the walk on part on M M draw though...

Barbie does Pan Am, 1966

The Hour:
BBC America site
Mad Men:
AMC site
Pan Am:
ABC site
The Playboy Club:
NBC site
Happy Viewing!

The Turn of the Year

Yesterday was my birthday...in other words, I turned 30 and survived (lol)! So now that I've gone over the hill relatively unscathed (only just...j/k) and lived to tell the tale, what have I gained over the course of the past 12 months? Hmmm...well, other than that whole spilled milk thing I discussed earlier, I guess the biggest thing I feel I've taken away from this year is that I have way more questions than answers. For example: why is my life nothing like I thought it would be like 5 or 10 years ago? Why is it I sometimes feel I can't seem to have a "normal" relationship? Why is it sometimes I don't feel I want one at all? Is road A (the a fore mentioned "normal" relationship, a house, kids) the right road for me to take, or should I go route B (remain single and keep my prized freedom, travel). At times I feel I want A, but then I somehow hesitate and think about B. An example: I've been in a complicated (understatement) relationship for about 6 years long distance. This person and I last saw each other physically in Dec. '08. Some weeks ago, he put forth the idea to come over for about a month in Dec. again. The problem? Not being too keen on the idea of spending pretty much 24/7 with someone for that long and believe it or not, being "physically intimate" with them. The other problem (other than not exactly being able to tell him this)? It got me wondering if it's him specifically that is bringing this on, or just the idea in general. I'm still sorting this one out. Thank the gods the issue has been dealt with (at least for now), but to bring it back to the matter at hand, if there has been a theme to my 29th year (other than the usual waiting for the bus lol), it's been question everything. It hasn't exactly been easy or pleasant, but for now, the theme is hope: hoping things fall into place, hoping they are for the best, but also not too stressful, hoping I can finally move forward somehow and break the feeling of suspension I've had for ages, etc. On the plus side, I've learned I can get lucky and find a magic quill and that Kindles are freakin' awesome! Here's to being the big 3-0 and to hoping it's way better than being 29!:)