Top 5: Mad Men Characters

I may have come in a little late to the game, but I am now a huge fan of AMC's Mad Men. Over the past couple of years I've collected all four of the past seasons on DVD and now am finally able to watch new episodes! I'm so excited that it's back on the air. I have to admit, being a designer, I love seeing the pitches that SCDP pulls off. Megan's Heinz Beans timeless concept? Brilliant. Right up there with Peggy's "basket of kisses" from the lipstick testing episode. There is so much to love about this show - the fashion, the drama, the sets - but undeniably what draws you in is the intricate characters. Each of them have so many different things going on at a time that sometimes it's hard to keep up. And I love every minute of it. So in honor of last night's episode, here are my top 5 favorite characters (to date).

5. Sal Romano

It's really a shame that this character got written out of the show, because Sal was one of the most fascinating and unique characters. He was a creative director at Sterling Cooper, and the only gay character on the show. He was also married and in the closet, with boyfriends on the side, which made for some fascinating and awkward situations, especially in the 60s. His character was interesting and troubled - I wish he was still part of the cast.

4. Joan Holloway/Harris

On the surface, Joan is a sassy secretary that can hold her own with the men in her office while still exuding femininity. Underneath that, though, is a young woman torn between wanting family or a job, romance or marriage, wealth or happiness. What makes her fantastic is her high level of confidence and unmatched ability to know exactly how to act (and how everyone else should act) in every situation - something that all of the men in the ad agency depend on. Her gorgeous red hair and curvaceous Marilyn Monroe style make her a unique fashion icon unlike most women on TV today.

3. Anna Draper

Anna is such a unique character to the show. Most of the series takes place on the east coast, except for Anna, who lives in California. Everything from her nearly-hippie clothes to her sunny disposition screams Californian, a stark contrast to the dark and cynical lifestyle of Madison Avenue.  She knows all about Don's past - for a long time she was the only character who knew his real name - and still loves him like a brother despite all of the things he's done. Anna is the one point of truth and consistency in Don's life, and her death changes him. She is only featured in four episodes but has a profound impact on Jon Hamm's character.

2. Sally Draper

You don't often see fully developed child characters on adult dramas, but Mad Men does an excellent job of integrating Don and Betty's oldest daughter into the storyline. Sally is a spitfire of a young girl, full of her father's ingenuity, passion, and forwardness, as well as her mother's stubbornness. She tries to deal with an absent father, a distanced mother, younger siblings, the death of her grandfather, and eventually her parents' divorce and subsequent remarriages. It's a lot for a girl just now turning 12. Over the course of the series she has stolen and smoked her mother's cigarettes, made cocktails, learned to drive, and gone to see the Beatles. Sally knows a lot more than she lets on, and young actress Kiernan Shipka plays the troubled child beautifully.

1. Peggy Olson

Peggy is hands-down my favorite character of the entire series. If I had to choose someone from the cast that I identify with the most, it would probably be her. She's the only woman in the creative department, working hard to promote herself out of the pool of secretaries and into the world of mock-ups, pitches, and ad campaigns. She earns the respect of a lot of the men she works with, especially Don, who urges her to do better and even takes her with him when he leaves to form SCDP. She's pretty, but not a bombshell like Joan or a beauty like Megan; she often dressed frumpy and led a fairly conservative lifestyle (before the whole "secretly have Pete's illegitimate child and give it up for adoption" thing, at least). She's unlike most of the women portrayed in the show, as she values her career over marriage and housewifery, and is a lot more like leading man Don Draper than probably either of them want to admit. Despite the fact that Don's new wife Megan works at SCDP (and in creative under Peggy, no less), his "work spouse" is most definitely Peggy. Now that she's broken into the men's world of advertising she has been known to hang out with beatniks, smoke pot, and go to strip clubs with her clients. All the while rocking a Jackie-O hat like no one else on the series can.

Blue Like Jazz

On Saturday, I went with a few friends from my church to a viewing of Blue Like Jazz in Columbus. I’ve been dying to see it since I first heard it was being made a year or so ago. I read the book in college at the recommendation of some upperclassmen and absolutely loved Donald Miller’s candor and laid-back but eloquent writing style. His books along with the works of Anne Lamott are part of what inspired me to spend my senior year working on a project about writing creative non-fiction.
   
Anyway, I’ve been following the movie production via Don’s blog and Twitter, and have been excited to see how a memoir comprised of short essays could turn into a feature film. I had a hard time explaining the gist of the movie to the friends I went with – who had not read the book – even after watching the trailer. So we took the trek from Mansfield to Columbus to a theater where it was playing.
   
There were only about a dozen other people in the theater (not the entire cinema, just the one where Blue Like Jazz was being shown) which was kind of nice and sad at the same time. I was a bit worried that my friend’s wouldn’t like it, but the film turned out to be very good. I really enjoyed their choices in the adaptation – like Don’s mother’s affair, his friend being a lesbian, and other changes – and thought it told the story well. In my opinion, it showed a much closer to real-life view of what Christians deal with in world than the majority of Christian films. I have often found that movies paint a rose-colored version of life and I really enjoyed that the film included drinking, partying, cursing, the whole nine yards. It didn’t shy away from things just because it’s a “Christian” film.
   
I looked up some reviews and it seems like most people felt that the movie was too lukewarm and not hot or cold enough to make anyone happy. A cursory reading of a review from the New York Post shows that secular viewers found the film nice but dodging real questions of faith by pretending to be realistic. On the other end of the spectrum, Christianity Today said the movie was a “quirky and genuinely funny indie” but didn’t talk enough about Jesus and salvation and that the ending was somewhat unsatisfying.
   
Which, if you paid attention to the film, was the point. The title comes from Don’s realization that life, like jazz, doesn’t resolve cleanly – and that’s what makes jazz wonderful. So it makes sense that the movie doesn’t have a nicely-packaged ending. And in response to the New York Post, the point of the film wasn’t to answer all of religion’s questions, but to show Christians (and non-Christians) that life doesn’t become perfect because of faith. I thought it was excellent, enjoyable, and would definitely watch it again.

Look I'm Famous! (Sort Of)

I'm pretty excited about this so I'm posting it everywhere! I just opened the new issue of RELEVANT magazine and found a note I tweeted to them, look:

Top 5: Defictionalized Products

They say art imitates life, but it seems that more and more often life is beginning to imitate art. Case in point: the phrase used in the title of this post, "defictionalized products": it refers to items used in books or movies that became so popular among fans that it was created in real life (hence, no longer fiction). People have become so enthralled with entertainment that we get super excited when what was once imaginary comes to reality. One of my favorite stories of art creeping over into life comes from the 1993 film Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock. The movie is set in 2032, in the city of San Angeles, which was created by combining San Diego and Los Angeles after a massive earthquake in 2010. Apparently only one restaurant chain survived the post-earthquake Franchise Wars and went on to become the fanciest place to go for a meal: Taco Bell. In the 90s when this movie was made, the Taco Bell logo looked like this:

The logo was redesigned for the movie to make it look like it was from the future, and appeared like this:

And the pink-and-purple logo was so well-received that the company actually changed their entire branding to that look, leaving us with the current logo:

Straight from fiction to real life! I love it when that happens. But enough about Taco Bell - below are my favorite products that made the leap to the real world. 

5. The Batphone

In the classic Batman TV show starring Adam West, Commissioner Gordon would call the caped crusader on his private line, ringing in to a red blinking phone. Now you can actually buy this phone - which doesn't call out but blinks on incoming calls - for a mere $125!

4. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans 

As Harry Potter fans know, Every Flavor Beans literally come in every flavor - and I don't just mean the traditional fruit and spice varieties, but also such favorites as grass, fish, earwax, and vomit. When the films started to be released, this tie-in product was also released in stores. I had some in 2005, when I went to a midnight showing of Goblet of Fire with a group from college. No one was brave enough to eat more than one.

3. Red Swingline Stapler

In the cult classic Office Space, underappreciated character Milton constantly complains about others taking his red stapler from his desk. He gets so frustrated that he threatens to burn down the company - and does. Fans loved the quotable Milton so much that not only did his oft-repeated phrase "I believe you have my stapler?" make it onto officer vernacular but the company Swingline received so many requests for the red stapler that they released a limited edition one at office supply stores in 2002. For the filming of the movie they just took a regular stapler and spray-painted it.

2. Nike Mags

In the second installment of the Back to the Future franchise, Marty McFly travels to the year 2015 and wears a pair of awesome sneakers with automatic shoe laces. They became so popular that Nike released a pair that looked similar to them in 2008, and even inspired a guy to invent his own self-tying laces. Then in the fall of 2011 Nike released the Mags - an exact replica of the shoes worn by Michael J. Fox in the film, complete with LED lights. The shoes were auctioned off on a special Ebay account with all proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox foundation,  supporting Parkinson's research.

1. Wonka Candy

In 1964, British children's author Roald Dahl published the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the story of a poor little boy who gets to tour the fantastical candy factory of the eccentric Willy Wonka. It was later adapted to film in 1971, considered to be the classic favorite featuring Gene Wilder as Wonka, and again in 2005 directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the chocolatier. The book and films featured amazing edible treats, including fizzy lifting drinks, chocolate rivers, and hot ice cream for cold days. With the release of the first film in 1971 The Willy Wonka Candy Company began selling Wonka Bars and created other types of popular candy, including BottleCaps, Nerds, SweeTarts, Pixy Stix, Laffy Taffy, Fun Dip, Runts and Spree. Bought by Nestle in the 1980s, now all packages of Wonka candy include a reference to the original book and author Roald Dahl. Other products inspired by the film include the recent release of lickable wallpaper installed in a London elevator. (I also believe that Extra's line of dessert gums featuring flavors like strawberry shortcake, key lime pie, and orange creamsicle and apple pie were influenced by Wonka's whole meal in a single piece of gum, and keep hoping they'll come out with a blueberry pie flavor so I can say, "You're turning violet, Violet!" - although I'm not sure I'd chew it for fear of plumping up like Violet Beauregarde and having to be rolled to the Juicing Room).

Top 5: iPhone Apps

After waiting (rather impatiently), I finally have an iPhone! My home computer, laptop, and mp3 player are all white Apple products, and it had been killing me that my cell phone was a clunky black first-generation Droid. Two weeks ago my phone upgrade was finally available, so I used the money I got back from my state tax return and purchased a shiny white iPhone 4S. Now everything matches! And syncs properly! I'm one happy girl.

Since getting my new phone I've been downloading all sorts of things from the App Store, since so many apps are only available on the iPhone platform. It's weird how some companies wouldn't (or for some reason couldn't) create the same app for the Android system. I actually had a list of all the things I wanted but was not able to download on my old phone, ready and waiting for my upgrade. Below are my favorite (non-gaming) apps so far.

5. Instagram

I had been checking periodically to see when this would be available, and was so excited to finally be able to use it on my new iPhone - then they released the Android version the same weekend as I turned off my Droid. Figures. I love being able to take/edit/share photos so quickly; it's great to be able to share things I'm seeing or experiencing almost instantly. And now it's owned by Facebook, so we'll see how that goes...






4. WhatTheFont

As a graphic designer, I use MyFont.com's What the Font! tool all the time. I even have it pinned to my bookmarks bar next to the link to iStock, that's how often I use it at work. Often we'll get low-res logos and need to replicate them larger, and What the Font! is a super easy way to identify a font when you don't recognize it or know its name. With the iPhone app you can take a picture, run it through the program, and it will tell you the closest font. How sweet is that??




3. Flipboard

I actually discovered this app in an iPad commercial - it was one of the apps loaded on the home screen in the ad. It had a great looking logo (I totally judge apps by logo/user interface) so I looked it up to see what it did. Turns out that Flipboard is basically an RSS reader - it delivers news and updates to your phone either from sources you frequent (such as popular blogs or online magazines) or from a variety of sources on a specific  topic (like technology, book reviews, or celebrity gossip). It's easy to use and gives you a quick visual overview of everything that is happening in your sphere of interest. 

2. SoundHound

I've been using SoundHound for a couple of years on my Droid, and it's one of the few apps that I carried over to the new operating system. It's a music recognition app that you turn on while a song is playing to find out the title and artist. There are other apps that do the same thing but I've always had good luck with SoundHound, with the exception of one locally-based band whose song always came up as some obscure song by The Bangles. Plus it features a giant "start recording" button that is really easy to hit while going 70 on the highway (don't tell my mom I do that). I often use its bookmarking tool to remember songs I want to download later.


1. Evernote

This is one of the best apps ever created, probably in my top 3 after mobile banking and DropBox (that was a LIFESAVER during college - if you don't have it go sign up now!). It's a cloud-type service that lets you save web clippings, photos, and text (for free!) to reference later. What's awesome about this is that you can access it from anywhere - your phone, your desktop computer, or online using any computer. So I can type a grocery list and have it on my phone, or make a note while waiting in line at the bank and have it saved to my laptop, or even save photos and information in a note and collaborate with another Evernote user. I use it to store things I want to post to Pinterest, keep lists of books I am looking for, and keep ideas for future blog posts (yes, there is a whole list of Top 5 ideas!). You can even tag your notes and search them by keyword or category. The possibilities are endless - they already make Evernote Hello (a way to remember people you meet), Evernote Food (for recipes, food photos and restaurant locations), and Evernote Peek (a flashcard app that utilizes the iPad smart cover), but you can use the app for just about anything.

What app do you use often? Anything I need to be downloading?

Nicholas Sparks Film Adaptations

As someone who loves literature, I try to give every book a chance. I don't like to write off an author as "lame" before I've read at least one of their books, even if it is about sparkly century-old vampires with crushes on susceptible young women. So when it comes to Nicholas Sparks, know that I've read a couple of his books - A Walk to Remember and The Notebook, to be exact - and still think he's one of the most repetitive authors out there. Probably the only one to top him would be Danielle Steele - my mom used to read her books, and after about a dozen she realized they're all the same plot but the characters have different names, hair colors and careers. Not my idea of a good read.

So I was at Target the other day, browsing through the book section while waiting for our prescriptions to be filled, and found an entire endcap devoted to Nicholas Sparks, specifically the novels that have been adapted into movies. After the initial eye-roll, I noticed something a little fishy.

 

The cover for Dear John based on the 2010 movie looks suspiciously like the cover of Message in a Bottle, from the film with Kevin Costner in 1999. Dark-haired guy snuggling with a blonde on the beach, centered in the shot? Sounds like a great idea... 

 But then I looked at the rest of the books on the shelf, and that's when it got really good. 

 

Really? Is that all the characters do in Sparks' novels, nearly kiss while touching their lover's face?  Didn't anyone realize that all of the covers look EXACTLY THE SAME? Or did they do it on purpose as part of some marketing strategy? I just don't get it. 

Thankfully, the one book/movie I actually did like - probably because it reminds me of fun times I had watching it at sleep overs during high school - doesn't look exactly like all of the rest of the film adaptation covers. 

 

It does still include the two main characters happily in each others arms, though. I guess that's the signature look for Nicholas Sparks movies. Word has it that his 2010 novel Save Haven is set to be adapted into a film by 2013. It's set in North Carolina, so maybe it's time for another snuggling on the beach cover? I guess we'll have to wait and see...

March Novel: The Bell Jar

This month's selection, The Bell Jar, was included on the 2012 reading list for a few different reasons: first, it is considered a classic, as in a no English major worth their salt has never read Sylvia Plath kind of classic; and second, it is important to me to read classic novels written by women. I choose my reading list after carefully scouring best-seller lists, lists of American classics, and recommendations from other readers. It seems that, overwhelmingly, the books commonly considered to be classics - both traditional and modern - are written by men. Out of TIME Magazine's list of the top 100 novels, only 15 had female authors. That's less than a quarter, which seems low to me, as women have been publishing novels since the mid 1800s or earlier.

Read more >> 

Top 5: Little Debbie Snacks

Depending on where you grew up, your childhood treats were made by Hostess, Tastycake, or the infamous Little Debbie. When I was a kid Hostess were more "special-occasion" snacks - we only got them when Mom made a trip to the local Hostess outlet - and they don't sell Tastycakes around here, so when we had cookies at school or church, it was often in the slim box of the Little Debbie desserts. I grew up with a diabetic mom, so we didn't keep cookies in the house much, so getting a box of these were a Big Deal. Even though I'm old enough to buy them myself, and they're only like $1 a box, I still think of it as a treat when I get to have some Little Debbie's.

5. Oatmeal Creame Pie

These are the most generic of the Little Debbie's, and are very popular among grandparents, which is where most of us are introduced to them. It's like eating vanilla ice cream - plain and simple, but oh so good.





4. Nutty Bars

These are always a favorite among kids, partially for their peanut-buttery goodness, and partly because it is tradition to eat at least one of them by peeling them apart layer by layer. What is it about dissecting food that makes it so appealing to children? Who knows.  I always liked that they were crispy, unlike most of the Little Debbie snacks.





3. Cosmic Brownies

I'm sure they have a million calories or something, but these are some of the best brownies ever created. They are dense and fudgy and studded with bright candy-coated chocolate chips that make them out of this world (pun fully intended). My dad used to bring them home from school at the end of the year and stick them in the fridge - to this day my favorite way to eat them is chilled. Mmmm.



 2. Fudge Rounds

Seriously, who doesn't like Fudge Rounds? It's two chocolate cookies, drizzled with chocolate frosting, sandwiched together with chocolate filling. In other words, the perfect amount of chocolate. These are also pretty tasty chilled but I will eat them no matter what the temperature.



1. Star Crunch

My Great-Grandma Betty used to keep her cupboard stocked with Little Debbies for when the grandkids came to visit, and Star Crunches were one of her favorites. It wasn't long before I was hooked, too. Gooey caramel and rice crispies covered in chocolate? Yes, please! I can eat a whole box of these by myself. When it comes to Star Crunch I don't share well.