December Pop Culture Round Up

‘Tis the Season to consume pop culture! The holidays means festive movies, time to catch up on TV shows, binge new things with family and maybe even read. (maybe). Here’s a few things that have kept me jolly this season…

Reading

I finally caught up with Ms. Marvel and as G. Willow Wilsons run with Kamala wraps up I am sad to see her go, but excited for what the new writer has in store for Kamala.

I also caught up on Nancy Drew – a great comic series by one of my favorite writers, Kelly Thompson (also a Portland author – huzzah!). This take on Nancy Drew was really fun and brought her original sensibility and smarts to the 21st Century. Bonus – yay the Hardy Boys!

I head to a warm location for a week of vacation shortly and can’t WAIT to overload my suitcase with books to FINALLY get caught up!

Listening

December was the month of listening to a lot of crazy and new podcasts. A few weeks back my friend texted me about The Dream. And I devoured it in a week. The Dream is about networking marketing/direct sales/MLM/pyramid schemes – whatever you want to call them. I happen to have a lot of friends who are involved to varying degrees of success with this business model and this podcast was fascinating. The show is very one sided, but still I found it fascinating!

Then I read about Unerased which is a short podcast series (4 eps) about Conversion Therapy. It’s a topic I knew a little about but have been fascinated by how terrible it is. The final episode tells an incredible story…

Somehow I discovered Standoff, another short podcast series about Ruby Ridge. Earlier this year I watched a limited series about David Koresh and the Waco standoff. They start by referencing what happened at Ruby Ridge. I went to college in Spokane so was familiar with the white supremacy community but didn’t really know the details. This series told a story I knew bits and pieces of but finally learned a whole lot more, and what it means for us in 2018 and beyond.

Watching

Thanks to a sick day I watched the entire 2nd season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And I loved it. I liked the first season but didn’t binge it. I think this is a binge series. You don’t need to watch them all in a day, but the more consistent you are I think it may lead to additional enjoyment.

I loved the mid-season finale of The Good Place and D’Arcy Carden deserves EVERY award for “Janet.” WOW.

The new Ellen Degeneres Netflix special is AWESOME. Perfect for the whole family (yes, grandma will laugh at Back that Ass Up) and very very funny. I hope she continues to tour and do more specials. The John Mulaney Kid Gorgeous special was also GREAT if you’re looking for another good comedy special.

Holiday Watching

Every year I watch White Christmas which I can almost completely recite. Friends may have not been aware of that on a recent viewing.

I always make sure to watch A Muppet Family Christmas – which you can only find on You Tube and A Muppet Christmas Carol. Both make my annual holiday must list.

This year while watching Love Actually I discovered that I actually don’t like the movie. I like the Pointer Sisters dance scene and that’s about it. These are the hot takes you come for, I know.

I also really enjoyed the Schitts Creek Christmas Special. The Paul Schaffer cameo was just what every holiday party needs!

Finally, I kept the John Legend & Chrissy Tiegen Christmas Special on repeat this year. It was so great. It had every 90’s TV trope and I LOVED IT!

What pop culture is keeping you sane this holiday season?