So You Need a Typeface

I'll be honest. I'm a huge fan of the serif.

Thanks to Maxine for literally doing nothing at work except sending me fabulous things like this.

Things I Love Today

Being really tired.

Street art.

Family.

Mad Men Season Four Recap

Mad Men premier party was a success. We had Manhattans, suits with skinny ties, form-fitting dresses and heels (sorry crab), a jello/fruit mold and some lively, timely chatter about President Kennedy's assassination and the question on every American's mind: Do you think we'll make it to the moon by the end of the decade?

Noticeably absent from the evening were Thally's lisp, Baby Eugene and Peggy's repressed, unfortunate, weirdo hair cut. Thally is growing into a beautiful, sassy bulimic exhibitionist...it seems she's replaced her tongue-thrust oral fixation with that of an esophageal kind. If we learned anything from the Thanksgiving dinner scene, it's that Thally does not like being force-fed sweet potatoes in front of mommy's new husband's family.

Peggy has become more girl-like and less Gollum-like in the year we've spent apart. She has a bob that covers her terrifying ears, sits on tables during meetings and has inside jokes with the cute new SCDP employee. (Who are you, 'Joey?') She's more assertive, extroverted and daring this season, which should make for some nice scenes with her babydaddy Mister Peter Dykeman Campbell.

Don was bringing me down pretty hard until the last scene of the episode. He lives alone, is newly anorexic (so that's where Thally got it from) and has a new penchant for getting beat up by otherwise friendly hookers. I guess the lovely school teacher got the boot? I was expecting to see her free-spriting through the first ep... I think we can file her under the "Noticeably Absent" file too.

So basically Don is a partner in a brand new and thriving agency but still hates his life. He's like a dead fish in interviews (come on Dick, we all know your secrets now, no need to be shy) and he still does not like to be told his creative is bad. (Watch it, Danskin.)Informing- I assume- his shitty attitude at work, he is seen trucking back and forth to the 'burbs to see his kids, and by default see his ex-wife and her new hubby squatting in his house. Dammit Bets, move out!

The one glimmer of hope in the bleak affair that is Don's life as a bachelor is his interview with the WSJ. After getting a stern talking-to from Sterling and Cooper, Don realizes that, omigod, he is an advertisement for the firm! Bring on the smiles! Bring in the charm! Be gone, Mid-Western humility!

I have to wait a whole week for the next ep (and you, poor reader, have to wait as long for a re-cap) and I will spend the time wisely. I realized I had not nearly enough to talk about loudly as strangers walked by, puzzling over the group of twenty-somethings dressed to the nines at 9:45 on a balmy Sunday night. I need fuel for my era-appropriate banter. Please feel free to comment below.

Crushes

After drooling over the cast of Christopher Nolan's new movie Inception, I got to thinking about my most serious famous-people crushes. I've never been one to find 'obviously' hot dudes very hot (apologies if this offends any past or current boyfriends). In fact, after compiling my list I realized it's comprised completely of nerdy-looking comedic actors, and while I'm not sure if this is solely my preference or influenced by the existing options, only one man on this list happens to be a gentile.

NAME: Seth Meyers. OCCUPATION: Ohhh Seth. Not only does he read the crap out of the cue cards on Weekend Update, he's the head writer at SNL. THING I LOVE MOST: He always looks like he is about to laugh. SUNDAY MORNING WOULD BE : A relaxing urban retreat. Pastries, great coffee, NY Times crossword puzzle, one mimosa each on his roof deck before taking a long walk through a new neighborhood.

NAME: Andy Samberg. OCCUPATION: SNL cast member, Lonely Planet co-creator, Justin Timberlake's muse, owner of a fantastic pair of lips. NERDY THING I LOVE MOST: He shared the love. His two best friends from high school are now writers on SNL and probably get free William Rast clothing on the reg. SUNDAY MORNING would be spent in Lorne Michaels suite at the Waldorf, ordering room service and playing pranks on the bell hops.

NAME: Dustin Hoffman. OCCUPATION: He graduated. NERDY THING I LOVE MOST: Well he's kind of old now. A SUNDAY MORNING WOULD ENTAIL: Shag carpeting, hungover parents and a time machine. I adore present-day Dustin Hoffman, (anyone for I Heart Huckabees?) but dear LORD was he fine in the 60's.

NAME: Joseph Gordon-Levitt. OCCUPATION: Jon Lithgow's syndication cash cow, Indie film darling, clothes hanger. I LOVE how well this man can wear a suit. He always, always, always looks fantastic. And look! He's a smoker! A SUNDAY MORNING WOULD ENTAIL a quick jaunt to an outdoor flea market to hunt for vintage couture, two venti iced coffees to fuel our early afternoon drive to Topanga Canyon for lunch and hiking, and probably a healthy dose of misanthropic people-watching. (I imagine him to be super snarky and cleverly judgmental. Sigh.)

NAME: Marry me. OCCUPATION: Marry me. THING I LOVE MOST: Marry me. A SUNDAY MORNING WOULD ENTAIL: Marrying me.

'You're A Whore... You Know That?'

Oh, Don Draper... you cunning linguist.

While Mad Men has been on sabbatical (though Don has been busy feeding lines to Mel Gibson's sweet mouth), some of us have been driven wild with anticipation of the season four premier. Is the newly formed Sterling Cooper Draper Price Agency thriving? Is Betty still in Reno trying to finalize her divorce? Has Peggy gotten knocked up again? Are Roger and Jane still smitten in their May-December relationship? Do Joan's hips really not lie?

Whether any of that made sense to you or not, you are invited to come celebrate the return of televisions most provocative, misogynistic, booze-fueled show. It plays at 10pm this Sunday, however we encourage you to pop in around 8 to enjoy a Manhattan, dry martini or Tom Collins.

What's that you say? The kids will already be in bed and you have work in the morning? Man up. We're keeping our kid up to mix the cocktails (Gina pours a strong drink) and no one is interested in your hangover...that's why you have a bar in your office and stock in Alka-Seltzer.

Proper dress is encouraged (ties, fedoras, muted colors for men, bright knits for the women) and please feel free to bring the makings for your favorite cocktail, or coordinate with someone else and split the materials. We'll have basics and some light fare (potato chip and tuna salad casserole, jello mold, oysters.)

See you on Sunday... 1964's going to be a crazy year for the gang on Madison Ave.

Things I Love Today

Pictoral Musings

The Buck.

The heat.

The coolest spot in the house.

The grub.

The men.

The Banderas-Griffiths.

Come Mosephine in My Flying Machine

As I mentioned before, I had the opportunity to spend the Fourth in Brogue, PA. While most of you probably know this urban metropolis for its Susquehanna River Dam, Mennonite population and lack of cell service, the real attraction is The Buck. A mecca for those with a penchant for American cut-off tees and their real purdy sisters, The Buck is a Demolition Derby grandstand.

Like that isn't exciting enough, our group became famous to the crowd through Mo, who decided it was too obvious to drive to Demo Derby, and instead flew there.

True story.

Above you can see him circling down into the parking lot. Enjoy this amateur video and please don't hate on my snarky comments when asked to get out of the loading area. In my defense I was swigging a Tom Collins out of a Deer Park water bottle in an otherwise 'dry' county and my friend was fucking coming in for a landing BECAUSE HE FLEW THERE.

I hate when the Mennonites make me curse.

A Collaboration... A Celebration.

So I Have A Question...

...do you wanna have a slumber party in my basement?

Le Sigh

Life has been rather hectic as of late. Work is at DeathComInfinity levels, which is perfect because it is averaging at 100 degrees each day. I love summer but come on, that kind of heat should be illegal.

Despite the heat and work overload, there has been time for extra-curriculars. I spent an evening playing SPUD in Mt Vernon park, sailed the Magothy, saw an advanced screening of Eclipse, celebrated America with the Amish at demolition derby in Lancaster, tubed so much I think I busted an organ skipping across the water, and drank whiskey lemonades in Ruxton with some of the planet's finest people.

The theme of this summer has been PLAY! I'm finding a lot of peace in realizing that getting older doesn't mean you can't buy a giant red ball at Target and hurl it at your friends in the middle of the city, or that you shouldn't put a life jacket on like a diaper and bob around a river, or- as shown in the picture above- cartwheel off a tube.