It’s been busy ’round these parts lately. Everyone I know had a baby. Well, okay, only two people, but two of the closest people in my life. Hence the lack of blogging.

That doesn’t mean I have been ignoring my pop culture duties. That would never happen. So here are some things I’ve been digging lately.

Mad Men
A few years back, I tuned into a new show called Mad Men, lauded by critics and TV watchers alike. Watched it for about 10 minutes, realized I wasn’t paying attention, turned it off, and didn’t watch another episode until this month. Guys, I don’t know what I was thinking. This show…is SO GOOD. Over the weekend, a friend asked me how it was, and my response was one simple word: “Delectable.” That it is, and not just for Jon Hamm. (Though, lets face it…) Everything, from the cinematography, the clothes, the writing, the acting, the music (THE MUSIC, YOU GUYS. SO PERFECT)…it’s all amazing, and all a feast for the senses. It’s so good that, instead of doing my usual marathon watch, I am limiting myself to one or two at a time. (And trust me, for me, that IS limiting.) So far, I am about 2/3 of the way through season 2, and there hasn’t been one sub-par episode. Also, a word on January Jones: I have not seen her now famous SNL hosting disaster last year. Don’t want to. But in terms of dramatic acting chops? Gal has it. She has Betty Draper DOWN. Do I like her character? Not really, but damn if she doesn’t do a fine job portraying the unhappy housewife.

Also, Jon Hamm is really, really hot. Unlike a lot of hot actors today, he actually has the chops to back it up.

It’s hard to pick a favorite moment (just last night I watched Colin Hanks play guitar; this certainly goes on the list) and, like always I cannot pick just one, so here are a couple of mine from season 1. (Note: All the Mad Men clips disable embedding, so you’ll have to click over to YouTube. It’s worh it, I promise.)

Don’t fuck with Betty Draper, or her kids:

Pete shares his hunting fantasy with Peggy. (How awesome is Peggy, y’all? I love watching her grow professionally.)

Don’s carousel pitch:

Resonates on so many levels, y’all. Also, it’s no secret I am a sucker for nostalgia.

After pitching the carousel, Don thinks twice. (This ties with Matt Saracen driving out of Dillon on Friday Night Lights for best use of a song on TV)

(After this song started playing, I actually said out loud – to an empty room – “Oh, this is PERFECT!” That never happens.)

So yeah, umm, watch Mad Men. Not since Gilmore Girls has a show transported me so fully into another world.

Other things:

* Wednesday night comedies are back! Yay for Modern Family and Cougar Town.
* Sometime over the summer, I started watching Community. Somewhere in the run, I fell in love. Actually wait, I can tell you exactly when I started to love the show. When this happened:

* A few years back, I read what remains to be my favorite book ever, I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. I recently read his follow-up book, The Hour I First Believed. While it takes place in the same town, and features some of the same characters, it really doesn’t hold a candle to I Know This Much…  It’s still good, but Mr. Lamb gets a bit too caught up in his own drama for me. Kind of disappointing, because She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True are both masterpieces.

* Is anyone going to the Stewart/Colbert rallies? I kind of really want to. Is it just me?

* Another podcast has been added to my regular rotation: Radio Lab. It took me awhile to get into it, because they have an unconventional style that takes getting used to. But, they do some pretty amazing stories, and actually make science interesting a good part of the time. My favorites so far include War of the Worlds, Detective Stories, and Diagnosis. (Two of which actually aren’t that science-y. Go figure.)

But seriously, guys, go watch Mad Men. That’s really the point of this post.