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.

The Muppets: AKA: Childhood Revisited

There are two types of people in this world, those who like The Muppets and those who LOVE The Muppets. I've never met a person who claimed they didn't like and/or hated The Muppets. If you know one of those people, pity them, for they have no soul.

I grew up on the Muppets, not just reruns of The Muppet Show, which aired on Nickelodeon, remember when Nickelodeon had good shows?, but Sesame Street, all the Holiday specials and such. In my house, whenever a Muppet special aired, it was to be tapped, yes that's right taped, to be watched over and over again. I watched through golden years, The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie, ect., I even watched through the not so golden years, Muppets From Space, Muppet Wizard of Oz ect. I mean, you're talking to the girl who took people down to Goodspeed Opera House two years in a row to see their productions of Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas the musical, and would have continued to do so had the theatre continued to bring the show back for a third year and beyond. Seeing the Muppets without fail brings me kind of giddy joy that is so often lacking in my day to day world.

I can not even begin to tell you the pure happiness and excitement I felt at the announcement that they were making a new Muppet movie. Excitement that only heightened when I learned that Jason Segelwas writing/starring in the film. It was no secret that Jason has a tremendous love of the Muppets.

So today, after having a riddic countdown, I dragged a friend to see The Muppets. Seriously, an awesome way to spend a rainy November afternoon. This new movie, hearkened back to what we all love about those furry little creatures, it asked the question, has the world become too cynical for The Muppets to be relevant? The answer, of course not.

Sure, the world may have become far more cynical than back in the 50's when Jim Henson created them, but maybe that is why we need them more than ever. The Muppets have always been about good, clean, wholesome fun. They are a family, able to accomplish just about everything, as long as they are together. In this newest movie, the gang, who have spent many years apart, are brought back together, by Walter (the Newest Muppet), his brother Gary (Jason Segel), and Gary's long time girlfriend; Mary (Amy Adams), in order to save the Muppet theatre from a greedy oil man, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper).

What's so amazing about this new film is that Walter doesn't start off as a Muppet, he starts off as a regular-sh guy who loves the Muppets. They save him, help him feel that despite being different, there is hope. In essence Walter is all of us. All the kids/kids at heart who love and admire the Muppets. I don't know about any of you but I would JUMP at the chance to meet any of the Muppets. In fact it has always been a life long dream of mine to appear on Sesame Street, or let's face it any type of Muppet program where I got to interact with the fuzzy little creatures of  my childhood.

I give major props to Jason Segel for all his work in bringing the Muppets front and center back into our lives. Honestly I can not wait to go back and see this movie again.