It's the Most Wonderful TIme of the Year

Sorry for being MIA lately, my fabulous brother was doing some updates on my new laptop, and as I was off from work I was sans a way of updating. Plus the holidays are always a busy time. The Boy can attest to the fact that the entire month of December, our kitchen turns into a bakery.

It was a very pop culture Christmas this year, thanks to some brilliantly crafty and slightly sneaky friends. Major props go to my friend Leslie who not only cross stiched the entire Firefly cast (four times no less), but also managed to somehow sneak away at NYCC to get the lovely Jewel Staite  sign & personalize them.

Seriously how clutch is that?

Anyways, I've decided that this post, which will probibly be my last of 2011, is the perfect time for a Best Of list, are you guys tired of them yet? So here are some of my favorite pop culture things of 2011.

• Awkward - This was by far my favorite new show of the year. I knew the moment I read the pilot that I was going to like the show, despite it being on MTV. After the first episode I was hooked, even in all it's insanity, the show is still so real. It brings me back to when I was in high school, but in the good way. I am so excited that a second season is on the way and I can't wait to see where the characters are headed.

• The Resurgence of Mark Paul Gosslaar - 2011 saw the resurgence of one of my favorite childhood actors. I practically jumped for joy when I learned that Mark Paul Gosslaar and Breckin Meyers were doing a show together. I mean seriously what more could a girl raised on Saved By the Bell and Clueless want? The show itself is hysterical, better than I had expected. But things got even better, with both the TNT tv movie Hide, and ABC Family's 12 Dates of Christmas, it felt as though MPG was EVERYWHERE and that just made life better.

• Teemagnet.com - This has to be my new favorite website. Seriously all the best geeky tshirts on display. It's my homepage...it is why I am poor.

• Revenge - I fully admit to not really knowing how the show was going to work, I mean it sounded more like an awesome movie than a tv show, but after watching the first three eps I was hooked. I'm not generally a fan of "soapy" shows but Revenge is pure, gooey, guilty pleasure tv. Madeline Stowe is amazing and Ashley Madekwe is my fashion icon.

• Ring My Bell - Speaking of the lovely Ashley Madekwe, her fashion blog, Ring My Bell is my  newest obsession. This woman is fashion icon, she has a fabulous sense of style and is an all around amazing person. 

• The Return of the Muppets -  2011 also saw the return of the Muppets to the lime light, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Having always been a Muppet fan the fact that they were getting a new movie made me giddy, add in the fact that Jason Segel wrote and stared in it and I was in HEAVEN.  

• Pop Culture Art - So one of the greatest things about going to NYCC this year was getting to go through artist alley and seeing all the amazing pop culture inspired prints. Some of my favorites include, Katie Cook, Brian Kong, Scott Ethan Ambruson and Laurie B.

• American Horror Story - One of the most frustrating/thought provoking shows which I was sucked into this year. While not as scary as I had initially thought, it definitely kept me on my toes, and filled with emotions and tons of questions. While I didn't always love what went on with the story lines, and more often than not screamed in frustration over loose ends, but it was still a wild ride.

There you have it, some of the awesome pop culture stuff of 2011.

Harry Morgan Dies at Age 96: AKA: The Entertainment Industry Has a Profound Effect

Despite the fact that the final episode "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", aired over a year before I was born, I grew up on M*A*S*H. It was and may still be both my mother and father's favorite tv show. They managed to collect all 11 seasons on DVD, slowly gathering them as Christmas and birthday gifts for each other. One of my favorite memories was when the both bought the same season for each other for Christmas one year. Not to mention that at some point they owned the M*A*S*H trivia game...yup that existed.

Anyway like I said, I grew up on the show, FX used to marathon episodes daily and I would come home from school and watch it with my mom. It was just the normal thing to do, it wasn't until I got to college that I realized it was a bit odd for someone my age to be able to describe entire episodes of a show that had been off the air for over a decade.

This morning I read on TVLine about the death of actor Harry Morgan. There was no big fanfare, in fact I almost missed the article entirely. Just a simple statement really that the man had passes away at the age of 96. You can read the article for yourself here.

It made me sad. I realize how utterly simplistic that sounds, but it's the truth. I talk to my mother often enough, as we do live on very different schedules, but reading the news made me immediately take out my phone to text her, because I knew she'd be sad too.

Despite working in the industry for years, I still am amazed at the way this silly little business has such a profound impact on our every day lives. The way it can cause such deep emotions and connections that you never really stop to think about or even notice all that much. A reminder that on some level my silly little job can, and often does have an impact.

R.I.P. Colonel Potter.

American Horror Story "Spooky Little Girl" : AKA: Seriously? We're pulling Black Dahlia now?

Okay, so I get it's a "Horror Story", says it right in the title, and there are therefore supposed to be ghosts, that's a given, but come on now, the ghost roster has gotten WAY too long. Before I continue my rant let's sound off with the ghost we know of in the house thus far:

1. Charles Montgomery
2. Nora Montgomery
3. Infatata/Thaddeus Montgomery
4. Beauregard (Constance's deformed son in the attic)
5. Hugo (Constance's cheating husband)
6. Tate
7. Troy (twin)
8. Bryan (twin)
9. Chad 
10. Patrick
11. Gladys
12. Maria
13. Female Cult member
14. Male Cult member
15. Young/old Moira
16. Hayden
17. Travis
18. Elizabeth Short

Seriously, we are up to EIGHTEEN now, in the house! Not to mention, the five classmates Tate shot, who's ghosts, though not connected to the house, were roaming about on Halloween, and the fact that somewhere Constance has another child, who very well may be in the house as well, and we aren't entirely sure what happened to Larry's wife and two daughters. I mean seriously, I really am starting to think that they've decided to throw the story out and see how many fun ghost stories and legends/guest stars they can address. Did we really need The Black Dahlia this week? Sure it was a cool idea, but I would have much rather focused on what was actually going on with the family. We got like a nano-second of Vivian, a sprinkling of Ben and no Violet whatsoever. Her mother was carted off to a psych ward, and it was basically her fault, but all we "see" of her is Ben mentioning she won't leave her room.

Also why have the police never questioned Ben about the death of Derek? Clearly, they must know he's dead by now and this is the third of Ben's patients to turn up dead. Bianca, the cult member, Sally, the boring woman who committed suicide, and now Derek, seems a little strange to me that no one thinks it's odd that all of a therapists clients are dying.

I've come too far into the season to give it up, but come on American Horror Story, make me want to stay.