I hope you’ve had a great month! This month I flew up to visit my BFF for her birthday (and the release of Captain Marvel!) and enjoyed the warmer weather that is starting to peak out and tease us with hopes of sitting outside reading and throwing frisbees for Norm. It also had a few colder nights and a time to catch up on my DVR a bit. PLUS March Madness is upon us (damn you Villanova…) Here’s a few pieces of pop culture I’ve been enjoying in March.

Reading

I caught up on comic books this month – I was WAY over due (and maybe shamed when I went to the comic shop to pick up my box…)

I am on a female comic book author kick lately. West Coast Avengers from Kelly Thompson is still really fun. I like a good “wait is my parent back from the dead or were they lying to me all along?” story line. I finally finished G. Willow Wilson’s Captain Marvel run. She did an amazing job with the series – although that final issue felt like an unnecessary bow tie on the end. I really like Margaret Stohl and her run with Captain Marvel was great. I’m excited for what Kelly Thompson has in store!

Maneater from Portland author Chelsea Cain is a really fun series. Teenage girls no longer get their period, except every once in a while they do and they can turn into attack cats. It’s a clever premise (despite my poor description) and a locally written series (Cain wrote Mockinbird which you need to read ASAP if you want to get into comics but think they’re just for boys who like superheroes.) And, I still read The Walking Dead. I’m enjoying the new group’s leader and what’s in store there. I gave up on the show when Negan showed up, I read it I didn’t need to watch it too.

Listening

A couple of months ago a friend recommended an OPB story about PERS (yes, I know you’re jealous AND also wondering what these acronyms are). I discovered OPB Politics Now and it’s a great way to keep up to date on local political stories that since I don’t subscribe to a regional newspaper (just the Hillsboro Tribune) this gives me some statewide political updates.

I also really appreciated Wesley Morris on The Daily earlier this month talking about the Michael Jackson documentary. I don’t have the stomach to watch the doc but his insights as he grappled with growing up a huge fan of Jackson to processing his impact with his actions was very thoughtful.

Watching

Captain Marvel has been out three weeks and YES I’ve seen it twice. It’s that much fun. It makes me appreciate cats more (no one is more surprised than me by that statement) and Nick Fury.

I’ve also watched the new Amy Schumer special twice (again, it’s that good) and laughed SO HARD. It’s really great, even if her husband is a horrible artist.

I am finally catching up on the final season of You’re the Worst and it’s not as good as the previous seasons. I’m really bummed. I find I can only watch one or two episodes at a time, they’re just so awful now for some reason.

I’m sad that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is almost over. And I’m excited, yet sad, about the final season of Jane the Virgin! I really enjoyed The Other Two and I’m savoring the final few episodes of Broad City, I’m not ready for it to be over yet…

I am still loving this season of Schitt’s Creek so much so that I bought tickets for their tour when they’re in town in May! I am savoring this season of Queer Eye, it’s always just so sweet and good.

March always means March Madness – my favorite sports season. So my DVR is getting a bit more backed up than usual since my weekends are spent yelling at the TV because my bracket is a mess. How’s your bracket doing so far?

As I’m writing this the Michael Cohen testimony is happening and yes I did watch his  opening statement in my PJ’s this morning… Consuming pop culture in this political climate can be hard if you’re a political junky AND pop culture fanatic like me. I continue to find that I’ll watch TV or catch up on Twitter instead of read a book (50 pages to go…) or binge Russian Doll. There’s always a shiny object to distract me…

Reading

I have 50 pages left in The Power and I am hoping to have an update to this blog post over the weekend about it. I am LOVING this book, it’s got a Margaret Atwood vibe to it and it’s a story I think we need today. Update: I stayed up late last night and finally finished it! I REALLY loved this book. It does have one storytelling trope I don’t love, however it wasn’t as awful as some others handle it. And the story being told through multiple people is one of my FAVORITE storytelling devices. If this book had a theme song it would be this.

Last week my friend and I went to hear Angie Thomas who wrote The Hate You Give. Her new book On the Come Up just came out and I can’t wait to read it next! Powell’s did a great job with the event and it was fun to hear Thomas talk about writing the rap lyrics and how hip hop and rap have influenced her life and her writing.

I am insanely behind on my comics and haven’t even been to pick up my box since the end of the year, whoops! That’ll change in the next couple of days and I’m a little afraid of what’s in store…

Watching

I’m enjoying this season of Top Chef as usual. Perfect timing for the James Beard Semifinalists list to show up this week! Speaking of food tv…my friends and their son are obsessed with the Great British Baking Show and introduced me to it a few weeks back. I totally get the appeal of the show and agree the original hosts were WAAAAYYY better!

I finally finished Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It wrapped up the story well but this last season being split in two (which I hate) made me forget what had happened a lot of the time!

In advance of the Oscars my husband and I watched ONE movie the night before – Bohemian Rhapsody and it WAS AWESOME. Once we finished we immediately watched the full Live Aid video on You Tube.

I gave up on The Passage. I really wanted to like it but it’s not working for me. I may go back at the end of the season to binge but for now I’m going to pass. I started watching Drunk History again. I go in spurts with this show, but this season has been hilarious – the drugs episode was so fantastic. I’m also loving (and sad about) the last season of Broad City. It’s an almost perfect show. Also almost perfect? This season of Schitts Creek and Brooklyn 99. 

Listening

Last week I saw Justin Timberlake in concert and he was AMAZING. The man loves to perform and he is SO FUN to watch. At one point there was a campfire on stage (yes with flames) it was great. So, I’ve been listening to a lot more JT lately. And, yes more Queen obviously…

Thanks to the Grammy’s I discovered I really do love Cardi B.  Pro tip: the Weezer Teal Album is SO DAMN GREAT.

As for podcasts, I finally finished the second season of Slow Burn which I really liked/found fascinating. A friend had recently recommended an OPB interview and I discovered the OPB Politics Now podcast which is a great way for me to learn more about statewide political issues. Which is super helpful given what I’m up to this year.

The Daily episode about the Oscars was REALLY insightful – I’ve always appreciated Wesley Morris and he does a great job of explaining what the Oscars got wrong this year.

So, what pop culture is keeping you sane in this political climate and during snow storms?

And we’re already one month into 2019 – wow that was fast! I started off the year with a week in Hawaii on a girls trip. It was restful and exactly what I needed. And it included reading TWO books, so I’m feeling pretty good about my pop culture goals for 2019 (30 books!) Here’s what’s keeping me sane this winter…

Reading

On vacation I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Hillbilly Elegy. Why yes, those are completely different books. I loved Eleanor Oliphant – she’s not a character you see a lot of in books, and the story was great. Watching this completely broken person try to reinvent herself was wonderful. I have already shared my copy with a friend.

Hillbilly Elegy should be required reading for Americans. If you aren’t sure why we are where we are today in this country, this book can help. I didn’t know much about the story till I started reading it. The authors memoir of growing up in Appalachia and the life and advantages and disadvantages he had were fascinating. He also makes great observations and some recommendations for what we can do as a country to fix systemic problems in education, healthcare and human decency. I will gladly lend you my copy of this book, just ask!

I returned from vacation with lofty reading goals (I packed 6 books and only read 4) and instead picked up The Power at Costco based on an awesome recommendation by one of my clients. I just started reading it and it’s SO GOOD.

Listening

On vacation my friend recommended the second season of Slow Burn about the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. I was alive when it happened but was in college and not paying attention to politics. It is GREAT.

I still keep up on Pod Save America, The Daily and if I miss it, I’ll listen to The Rachel Maddow Show. I feel like there’s something else I listened to I’m forgetting to tell you about…

Watching

On the plane ride home I finally watched Crazy Rich Asians and it was just as fun and sweet as everyone said. If you haven’t watched it yet, get on it, it does not disappoint. Also, now I want to go to Singapore…

The season finale of The Good Place was sweet and lovely and that show is just about perfect. You should be watching it.

I am also loving Crazy Ex Girlfriend and have no idea how they’ll wrap up the series. I thought it was almost done but this season has 18 episodes, not 13 like the previous two, so there’s time to properly wrap this up.

This season of Schitts Creek is fantastic so far. Moira’s self involved-ness puts mine to shame. This season of Top Chef has been super fun and now I want to go to Kentucky and drink bourbon. I’m so glad that Brooklyn 99 is back! The honeymoon episode was genius and Andre Braugher is the perfect actor.

A few years back I read The Passage and now it’s a TV show. I watched the pilot and wasn’t in love with it, but I’ll give it a few more episodes to see. The book was SO detailed I’m curious how they’ll pull off a few things.

What pop culture is keeping you sane and warm this winter?