Site Stuff

OK, so I’m back! The missus and I went on a short vacation to Myrtle Beach, then came home and left around 40 hours later for another trip. But we have nothing planned for the next several months, so I should be able to get back to the Mad Men recaps soon!

I swapped out the banners on the site. It’s kind of funny: I saw a cool picture on the Internet that I wanted to use as a Facebook cover image. I opened it in Paint.NET and edited it….then I thought of another cool image… and the next thing you know I’ve created a stockpile of Facebook covers. And today, for no good reason at all, I decided to convert them to banners for this site:

The Clash London CallingThe Clash: The iconic cover of the infamous London Calling album.

Joy DivisionJoy Division: The famous pic of the band on the bridge over Princess Road in Hulme.

Japan PolaroidsJapan: Details of the cover of the 1980 album Gentlemen Take Polaroids.

Lord NelsonLord Nelson: British naval hero of the Napoleonic Era and all-around bad ass.

London UndergroundLondon Underground: The world-famous map of London’s subway system.

Kate flipsKate Winslet: The greatest actress of my generation flips you off, British style!

Art RooneyArt Rooney: A.K.A. “The Chief”, the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.

Jack LambertJack Lambert: One of Rooney’s all-time best players: the much feared Jack Lambert!

Edwin HubbleEdwin Hubble: American astronomer and all-around awesome dude!

Top 10 Tunes

Here’s my top 10 song chart for the week ending May 27, 2012, courtesy of the home office in London:

1) Marsheaux – “Summer”
2) Marsheaux – “Thirteen/True”
3) The Psychedelic Furs – “Pretty In Pink”
4) Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf”
5) Guadalcanal Diary – “Always Saturday”
6) The Cardigans – “Do You Believe”
7) The Go-Go’s – “Head Over Heels”
8) The Jesus and Mary Chain – “The Hardest Walk”
9) The Pipettes – “Pull Shapes”
10) The Rolling Stones – “Gimme Shelter”

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-27

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Top 10 Tunes

Here’s my top 10 song chart for the week ending May 20, 2012, courtesy of the home office in London:

1) Saint Etienne – “I’ve Got Your Music”
2) Madonna – “Love Profusion”
3) Freezepop – “Pop Music is Not a Crime”
4) Beach House – “Wild”
5) Beach House – “Lazuli”
6) Marsheaux – “Summer”
7) Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
8) Beach House – “Other People”
9) Beach House – “Myth”
10) Saint Etienne – “Heading For The Fair”

Amy Beth Hayes

Amy Beth Hayes
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To paraphrase Wikipedia:

Amy Beth Hayes (born 1982) is a Welsh actress. Born in Abergavenny, Wales, but growing up in England, she made her screen debut in the 2008 Doctor Who episode “The Stolen Earth” and the same year she was cast in a lead role in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes. She also starred in the UK Channel 4 comedy-drama Sirens as Sgt. Maxine Fox.

I think she looks a bit like a cross between Christina Applegate and Kristen Bell, no? And there are some awesome NSFW pics of her from Misfits if you Google Image search her name.

Amy Beth Hayes 2
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-20

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The Movie Location Game (Special Engagement!)

Yes, it’s back, for one day only!

The game is simple: I post a picture of a movie location, you guess which movie it’s from. Hints will appear after the picture; highlight them to read. Using TinEye or Google in ANY WAY is cheating. There are no prizes, other than bragging rights.

LOCATION #1 – This home played a central role in a 1940s film that’s considered THE classic of its genre.

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HINTS (highlight to view): I hope you have enough insurance!

LOCATION #2 – Although this building has appeared in many TV shows and movies, the film I’m thinking of was an 80s smash.

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HINTS (highlight to view): I hope you’re from the right side of the tracks!

LOCATION #3 – This restaurant is seen at the beginning of a 1970s smash hit. The studio, however, was sure would be a giant flop.

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HINTS (highlight to view): If you’re not leaving you’re… and if you’re not dead you’re…

Answers after the jump!

Continue reading “The Movie Location Game (Special Engagement!)”

Mad Men: “Far Away Places”

“Far Away Places” is different type of episode. Rather than follow a standard linear timeline, it focuses on a day on the life of three characters, Peggy, Roger and Don, with plot lines woven between the three characters. Instead of a traditional recap, I’m going to recap each character’s day. Note that “Other Stuff” will follow the linear format, with factoids and notes listed in the order they appear in the episode.

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PEGGY’S DAY: The episode opens with Peggy and Abe arguing about her obsession with work and its impact on their love life. Abe asks her to go to the movies later that day, but Peggy says she can’t think because she has her big presentation for Heinz. The two argue, and Abe leaves. Don and Megan leave the office to visit a prospective client, leaving Peggy to pitch Heinz by herself. The Heinz folks don’t like her idea (and seem to not like the idea of a woman pitching to them generally), and Peggy nearly gets into a shouting match with them. Peggy leaves the office to blow off steam by having a few drinks. On a whim, she goes to see a movie. She sees a young man in the audience smoking a joint, and partakes herself. She then gives the young man a handjob in the theatre. She goes back to the office, where she sees Ginsberg arguing with his father. She passes out on Don’s sofa, only to be awakened later by a frantic call from Don. Peggy goes back to her office and finds Ginsberg there. She asks about his past and he initially tells her that he’s from Mars. But he eventually admits that his father isn’t his biological father, and that he was born in a concentration camp in World War II and lived in an Swedish orphanage until he was five. Peggy, moved by his story, goes home, calls Abe and invites him over.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “Far Away Places””

Mad Men: “Signal 30”

This episode begins with a group of people sitting in a high school classroom watching a film about car wrecks. It’s obvious that this is a driver’s education class, and Pete Campbell is one of the students. He laughs at the film, and a pretty young girl tuns around and smiles at him.

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He smiles back at her, and looks at her legs.

Later that night he’s in bed with Trudy, wide awake thanks to a leaky kitchen faucet, which is making loud dripping sounds. He gets out of bed, finds his toolbox and appears to fix the problem.

The next morning, we see Rebecca trying to get Lane to hurry up and get ready for a social engagement. Lane asks if they just want a nice lunch, why not go to the park? Rebecca says she wants to get to the pub and enjoy the chitchat with friends. Lane says that they’re her friends, not his, and that he’s never enjoyed spending hours in pubs watching football. He also says that he hates “bringing England over in pieces”, and that it’s for the homesick. Lane sighs and tell Rebecca that her face becomes lovely when she tells him she needs something. He takes a long slug off his drink…

We then see him at the pub, happily cheering England on with his (Rebecca’s?) friend Edwin Baker. Later, the two couples eat lunch at the pub, and while the women talk about the differences between England and America, Edwin mentions that he might want to throw some business SCDP’s way.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “Signal 30””

Top 10 Tunes

Here’s my top 10 song chart for the week ending May 13, 2012, courtesy of the home office in London:

1) Saint Etienne – “I’ve Got Your Music (Single Version)”
2) Blouse – “Shadow”
3) Beach House – “Myth”
4) Saint Etienne – “Heart Failed (In The Back Of A Taxi)”
5) Marsheaux – “Ghost”
6) Metric – “Youth Without Youth”
7) The Raveonettes – “Night Comes Out”
8) Best Coast – “The Only Place”
9) Madonna – “Frozen”
10) The Police – “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”