Nuclear Candy

TV and ad freaks alike are obsessed with the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men, me included. Booze, broads and brainstorming, all with the 60s flair and drama many of us pine for in our rapid communication age.

And now I have a reason a bit closer to home to be three kinds of crazy about the show: they’re having a casting challenge for a spot on the show (it’s the second annual contest, actually), and my darling, dear friend Sarah is high in the running. Stunning, sassy and slightly dangerous, right?

All I ask is that you do me the great favor of voting for her (p.s. you can vote every day and on different computers etc to help her even more!). Beyond photographing excellently (credit to the Minorwhite dudes for this gorgeous shot), Sarah did all her own styling, with the exception of that massive hair, herself. And the shoot this photo comes from was taken before the Mad Men contest was announced, which goes to show how much this lady loves style, the era and creating something wondrous.

Let’s make dreams come true, people!

I’ll admit my adoration of Anthony Bourdain is no secret, but one of his latest involvements excites me for a completely different reason. His Medium Raw Challenge is a call for foodies and fans alike to submit an essay on what it means to cook food well, with the winning essay getting published in the paperback version of his latest book, well, Medium Raw. Of course, a ruckus about crowdsourcing and using undiscovered talent for content arose with the now expected clamor. Pretty standard fare.

It was Bourdain’s response that upped my interest and respect, as well as the ante for the contest entrants. To show his “commitment to the written word” and to counter the argument he would be ripping anyone off, Bourdain is giving the winner a $10,000 cash prize. His money.

Stand up move, Bourdain. Even more reason I’d like to make fun of people with you over a beer or six.

Megan went beyond the norm of prints and framed photos for personalizing her living room wall. Instead, she opted to showcase her growing plate collection — a much better approach than buying a poster or two and keeping this gorgeous set gathering dust somewhere.

Her collection stems from a fascination with vintage kitchen items, especially since seeing a Cathrineholm bowl advertised on TV.

“The simple illustration and ascetics screamed ‘Own me!’,” she said. “I can find them online, but I do so much thrifting that my biggest dream would be to find one on my own. So naturally, I started respecting other designers from the era and coming across some fantastic plates on my excursions. Now I’m a big fan of Most Danish, Dutch or Scandinavian designs for their simple forms and lovely storytelling, but I also adore American names like Franciscan, Eames, Royal China…pretty much anything that has a strong graphic nature.”

“This is just the beginning…I want my wall to build slowly, like a relationship.”

Maybe your wardrobe contains mostly neutrals. Perhaps the summer heat simplifies your style to only one or two accessories. Or maybe some days, you just want to wear as many colors as possible. If any (or all) of the above occur, turn to bold technicolor accessories to add tons of interest with absolute minimal effort. Here’s a sampling of some faves — just promise not to wear them all at once.

Beck Hansen has some of the most seemingly simple but genius ideas ever, plus he’s got the talent and connections to see them through. His recent brainchild, Record Club, is one of those concepts that makes you think “Why didn’t I think of this?!” at that same moment you tell yourself “There’s no way anyone else ever could’ve pulled this off this well.”

All he does is get some (ridiculously talented) friends together for a day, remake a classic album, and post the resulting recordings and videos online. That’s it.

Of the four albums so far, my fave cuts are INXS “Never Tear Us Apart” and Velvet Underground & Nico “Heroin” (Alt. Version). These are totally different songs and bands to cover, and the group Beck assembled for each is just as different. Not only do they have completely contrasting sounds, the accompanying videos have nearly opposite aesthetics.

Beautiful, humorous, intimate and organic.

Record Club: INXS “Never Tear Us Apart” from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico “Heroin” (Alt. Version) from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

If you remotely find any interest in nerdy men, style, iconic photography or keeping on point, then you will love Nerd Boyfriend as much as I do. This blog posts a photo daily of a celeb who could be considered nerdy in whatever way, and then breaks down the style/outfit with currently available picks.

When you’ve got content this good, words would only get in the way.

Nerds are counting down the days (ahem, 45) until the film adaptation of comic book Scott Pilgrim opens in theaters, and the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World adver-PR team seems to be churning out more content daily. I thought the coverage had peaked with the Wired interview of director SPVTW Edgar Wright conducted by star Michael Cera — a piece with the quirky wit and loveable geekiness expected of the pair with the bonus of asides on Rambo, Comic-Con and, one of my faves, Shaun of the Dead.

Then I found the Scott Pilgrim Avatar Creator, a film-branded Flash microsite where fans (new and old) can create their own video game-y character in the spirit of the movie. Click start, select guy or girl and the customization is on like Donkey Kong (seriously, the video game puns write themselves, people). The more you customize, your avatar moves from Lame to Epic. Your final creation can be shared via the social media usual suspects (Facebook, Twitter and the like), donwloaded in three different resolutions or sent as a link. Smart move, as us nerds are notorious for wanting any interaction to meet our unwaveringly specific preferences.

There’s the typical promotional content (an overlay with the film trailer, links to the offical site, Facebook, etc) but the 8-bit preloader, video game sound effects and details like falling coins and randomly assigned titles (e.g. The Bro, The Vegetarian and, my designation, Knows Everyone) give the site more flavor than your typical movie’s digital marketing effort. Add a bit of basic psychology (everyone likes to make something all about them), and it’s a fun, engaging site that adds fuel to the pre-release date fire.

Ever wake up with a song stuck in your head? Me too. Every day.

For my own obsessive knowledge and in a what could be seen as contributing evidence of our culture to future anthropologists, I created a site just to keep track of these songs. Sing along with me at Woke Up With.

One of my top must-do items is get my hands on the entirity of Robert Kirkman’s comic The Walking Dead. I’m actually kinda ashamed I haven’t even read a single issue yet. And now that production is in swing for the AMC series based on it, I absolutely have to get my read on. I’ve got until October to get it done, and you’ve got until then to be chomping at the bit for this zombie swarm to hit your tv.

But while I’ve got my nose buried in black-and-white comics, here’s what to look forward to come fall:

• writer/director/executive producer Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile)
• a commitment from AMC for 6 one-hour episodes (hopefully more)
• Kirkman keeping it all together as executive producer
• darkly beautiful makeup and costuming
• and all the other trappings of a show centering around a group of survivors trying to make it through the zombie apocolypse

The blessing and curse of being a pop culture writer is the sheer volume of material to potentially cover. Selecting just one item or event or tidbit to focus on is usually the toughest part. So for this week’s Pop Goes Your Culture, I didn’t pick. Ok, that’s a bit of a lie. I didn’t pick just one, I went with my three favorite, just below the radar pop culture happenings.

The preview for Sh*t My Dad Says (the CBS sitcom based on Justin Halpern’s @shitmydadsays) starring William Shatner was posted. Verdict? I give it one season max. The Twitter feed was golden, and Halpern got lucky with the subseqent book, but the show is just the few leftover drops being milked from this cash cow.

Then there’s I’m Remembering, a blog dedicated to pop culture from the 80s and 90s. I honestly spent four hours going through every single page of the site and rediscovering things like Otter Pops, Sit ‘n Spin and stick-on earrings. To make it even more awesome, go through the site with someone close to your age. You’ll recognize and remember different things, and their explanations may help you recall (and will give you some good blackmail material).

I saved the best for last: a zombie survival fitness class. For real. I have no idea why no one had thought of this before. Not only is it getting the business great PR and crazy waiting lists, it’s a genius idea. Genius.