Okay so it's been a long time since I did one of these...Look what I found--a draft version of my round up from last year!

2013 Round-up 

Best Book: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

Best Discovery: The Civil Wars

Best Theatrical Experience: Star Trek: Into Darkness & The Day of the Doctor

Best Animated Film: Frozen and Wreck it Ralph 

Best Website: Buzzfeed

Hardest Goodbye: The Ponds (Especially Rory) 

Looking Forward to: Veronica Mars the Movie!

And for this year--2014 Round-up 

Best Book: Yes Please

Amy Poehler is honest, genuine and someone worth knowing. She provides a peek into her life and her what following her passion took and where it took her and who she became as a result. 

She provides readers with three points of advice: Say what you want, Do what you want and Be who you are. 

Read it if you haven't and she's a great voice to carry in your purse/bag for a bit. 

Favorite Song: "Compass" by Lady Antebellum

There are a ton of a great songs and fun songs that came out this year and party jams but something from Lady Antebellum's track really resonants with my being. 

Here's the chorus for you to peruse for yourself: 

So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you're lost

And you should follow it wherever it may go

When it's all said and done you can walk instead of run

'Cause no matter what you'll never be alone

I find it encouraging, great for a road trip and simply great advice to follow. It really just became my anthem this year. 

Best New Show: Selfie

I have been made aware of the terrible truth, but from what I have seen I have enjoyed every bit of it. The cast is hilarious. I love John Cho and wish he were on TV and many other screens all the time. He and Karen Gillian (who is amazeballs) have wonderful give and take. I really wanted to see where their characters Henry and Eliza went and how they changed and effected one another. Also the supporting cast was phenomenal and split siding funny. Lastly I really enjoyed the evaluation, analysis and response to the current popular culture. 

Besides where are going to get good old Henry gems such as these:

“You need to go. Just pack your paper holes and get out of here.”

“As you can imagine, I will now be removing that jam from my playlist”

It was nominated for a People’s Choice Award—good grief ABC! Please, please oh please hear my cry Netflix!

Best Movie: Veronica Mars & Gone Girl

Veronica Mars came out in March and all of our fangirls dream came true. Surprise guest stars, Wallace and of course the ending and answers to what became of Logan and Veronica. Eep! I really enjoyed it and have never been happier to support this Kickstarter project. I’ll probably be watching it tomorrow :D

Gone Girl happens to be the most screwed up book I have ever read and became a movie I waited nearly a year to see. It was a great translation and the cast, crew, writers and director did a phenomenal job bringing it to the silver screen.  Marriage is hard and being in love is a lot different than being married. So when Amy goes missing all eyes are on Nick. I love the way that Gillian creates and builds her characters. Further I really appreciate the role of the media and the power it has over the public’s perception. Flynn’s assessment of its role in our judicial system is genius. Gillian Flynn #kudos.

Hardest Goodbye: Psych 

C'mon Son. Talk about friendship and humorous hijinks. No one does it better than Shawn and Gus. The final episode was excellent and help with the easing but I will miss the mysteries and the craziness that is Shawn Spencer and the neurotic Gus. Plus there was a musical! Doesn't get any better than Gus and Shawn and the crew singing their lungs out. 


Best Discovery: Digital reading, Sherlock & Scandal 

Yes, yes. I am late on all three fronts but now that I have discovered these amazing and wonderful things I shan't go back. Thank you Polar Vortex.

First off, I am old school about books and will probably never stop buying hard copies but its super nice to have a book in like 4 inches of tablet. And really comfortable for reading in bed.

Sherlock—okay obviously its brilliant. The casting, the production, the twist and turns; seriously this show is just great and unfortunately we have only 9 episodes at this point to keep us company as we wait for season 4 on the edge of our seats.

Scandal is just amazing; it’s clever, it’s scandalous. Kerry Washington is the modern female hero on Capitol Hill and she is amazing at everything she does—until you meet her father.  Even though Olivia Pope is the protagonist, she is flawed and faulty and just what I want to watch on a Thursday night.

Looking forward to in 2015

Parks and Recreation's Final season

I’ll be sad but I’m sure it will be fantastic. I have truly enjoyed watching this episodic series about a small parks and recreation office in Pawnee, IN. It’s been fun seeing the crazy, creative and hilarious things that Leslie Knope has gotten herself, Ron, Ann, Donna, April, Andy, Jerry, Ben and Chris into. The writers have given us sentimental and meaningful gems such as “I like you and I love you” or comedy gold like “The only thing I’ll be waving is your decapitated head on a stick in front of your weeping mother!” Yup a show for the ages and will always have a special place in my heart. I’ll always cherish blaming Jerry for anything that goes wrong in life.

I look forward to seeing Leslie Knope having it all with Ben Wyatt in tow (he’s totes adorable—seriously every time he wears his Letters to Cleo shirt, I lose it). The beginning of the end starts on January 13.

GG's Farewell to 2012

Traditionally I make a list of all the best things that I've found in the past year so here there are. Consider them GG approved :)

1. Best Book
No brainier! How about the books that captivated my attention in a matter of days, The Hunger Games Trilogy  Yes it's a worldwide phenomenon indeed but they have become so much more to me than that. a Suzanne Collins shares the story of Katniss Everdeen, a loner in  a post-apocalyptic world who becomes a symbol for her country. Whilst Katniss is a strong protagonist the readers are given a chance to see her struggle and the subsequent changes that come about from her journey and ability to survive.

2. Best Discovery

Doctor Who?
What can I say about this beloved  and brilliant series? Well to be honest I could go on for hours but for you guys I'll simply put it this way; this series offers adventure, courage, sacrifice, discovery, fun--simply it's magic. Viewers are given a unique opportunity to travel with a regenarating, imaginative and impossible man of a Doctor from a fanciful planet, a dark past with an iconic blue, TARDIS blue police phone box. It offers childlike, impulsive behavior, surprising and wonderfully remarkable companions--each magnificent in their own way.  And with all this knowledge, power and legendary history that the impossible Doctor provides, I cannot wait for more adventures and surprises.

3. Best Comedy

Plus Awesome Guest Stars! Hello Mr. Vice President

Parks and Recreation (please see my epic post)
Seeing as I've already written a love letter to the cast and writers of Parks and Recs I just leave you with this, if you aren't watching it get on that. I promise you won't regret it. They dynamics and juxtaposition of the cheerful can-do Leslie Knope and liberal, government hating Ron Swanson is enough to spark glee in this viewer.






4. Best Sophomore Season

I'd have to say Revenge, last season the story of Emily Thorne and her desire for revenge kept the viewers on the edge of their seats and with her return to the Hamptons and after all the drama that her detailed plans caused the writers still had a twist up their sleeves. Her mother was still alive and Emily became even more determined to bring down the Grayson's with more vengeance than ever. Ultimately the season never deterred and kept the viewers wanting more--which often proves hard to do in a second season.

5. Best Song 
"Call Me Maybe"

Yes, indeed it was the most popular song of the year, but besides the fun and easy pick up line that it provides I love the parody's and various remakes that the song sparked. Well done Carly Rae









6. Best Film 

Now this year I didn't get to the thereat all that often but I'd have to say that this summer The Avengers stole my heart and sealed it away. I've always been a major fan of superhero films and The Avengers gave us fantastic interactions between some of our favorite Marvel characters. Joss Whedon gave us all we dreamed of while anticipating the mash-up of SHIELD, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America.


7. Best Website

This year I finally succumbed and started a Twitter account. And became instantly addicted, yes indeed the best waste of time a gal could find. I'm sure all of you are familiar with Twitter but just in case, its a website that allows you to share a thought in a 140 characters and to follow people that you talk to on a daily basis and the people you wish to speak to on a daily basis. Some of my favorite tweets come from a childhood friend, Adam Levine and Mindy Kaling. It is AWESOME :) Look me up @MightyMaxine






8. Hardest Goodbye

American television provides a lot of information and a lot of series come and go, but the ones that stick around and become a part of your routine or water cooler chatter can really stick with you. If this category was about characters then the Whovian in me would most certainly have to say letting go of Ten this summer was beyond impossible. Farewell my beloved bouncy, skinny Doctor. And don't even get me started on the massacre provided by Steven Moffat in "The Angels Take Manhattan," in which we say goodbye to the beloved Ponds who became The Doctor's family.  Since this category has to do with a series as a whole, which I lost 3 of:  One Tree Hill, Chuck and Gossip Girl. I'd have to say One Tree Hill because I've been attached to that series since high school and grew up with Haley, Brooke, and Nathan. They taught me about life and survival--even if the story lines were way more dramatic than my own life--the fundamental things that everyone struggles with these characters traversed and overcame.

You are MISSING OUT

Parks and Recreation is brilliant. I admit it, I haven't seen it until now because I was little wary of it's spin off status (It debuted as a spin off of The Office). But in reality Parks and Rec is its own show. Stylistically its the same and it is from the same creators but it involves the government and politics with a personal touch. But really what makes this show separate and better than any other spin off I've seen is the SNL cast guest stars. You get Andy Samberg as way too loud Park Ranger, Fred Armisen as Venezuelian official, and Will Forte as a Twilight fanatic.

So Season 1 is only 6 episodes but it's a great set-up to the rest of the show. You get introduced to the staff of Parks and Recreation and Leslie Knope (Amy Pohler) the star, and Anne develop their friendship. Plus you get Leslie Knope on a date with an elderly person, set up by her mother. It's actually quite fantastic. And of course there's the pit, which is what brings Anne and Leslie together and rallies the department around a project. Additionally the pit provides gags for numerous people to fall in and in the next season even living space for the lovable and idiotic Andy Dwire.

As Z says and I completely agree Season 2 is where the show finds its voice. You really get to know the characters; Jerry the governmental screw up, Ron Swanson the director who hates people, the government and has an enamored relationship with breakfast foods. Honestly he has better relationships with food than with women--his ex-wives, both named Tammy are truly the devil. His first ex wife makes him act like a child and his second one works for the evil Library department and takes him down a torrential sexual spiral--its some seriously crazy junk. There's also April Ludgate, the eventual wife of Andy Dwire, apathetic young adult turned intern turned governmental assistant. Donna who lovers her Mercedes above all else. Then we have Tom Haverford who is all about entrepreneurship but he has some of the worst ideas known to man and when he gets together with Jean Ralphio the stupidity and extravagant lifestyle just escalates.

Season 2 also brings a mix up when budgetary issues arise for Pawnee's governmental and we get  Chris Traeger, an enthusiastic, health obsessed guy who puts a smile on everything and Ben Wyatt who are sent to balance the budget and get the government running again. Of course this brings the conflict that all great stories need. And as the season wraps up its quite clear that Leslie won't let a government overhaul keep her from a job, working to make Pawnee the best place to live or leave any doubt that the Parks and Recreation Department can cause change. It quite clear that Ben and Leslie are going to be butting heads.

In season 3 we continue to watch Andy chase after and eventually win over April. They get married! Also Leslie's manipulative side. We get insight into her background and a hatred for Eagleton, where whenever you go even jail you get a gift bag. And of course with working together on the Harvest Festival, the big project for the Parks and Recreation department--with its success they're back if it fails they are out, Ben falls for Leslie, but the new catch is that with him staying as the Assistant City Manager he is now her boss and not just a consultant to city of Pawnee. Unfortunately this means they can't date.

I really felt there struggle, the romantic pacing was brilliant this season and you really see the admiration in Ben's eyes. Also I couldn't understand how Chris, the new City Manager and Ben's friend couldn't see the sparks. But eventually Leslie and Ben decided to do the only thing they can---sneak behind Chris back and date. It turns out feelings are greater than rules. And if this isn't enough with their hiding their relationship Leslie inadvertently provides fodder for her mother to be attracted to Ben during a meeting. The season ends with Leslie Knope being vetted for City Council and ultimately makes the romantic secrets that much worse.

Season 4 is all about the campaign but along the way viewer's get Tom & Jean Ralphio's 720 Entertainment company, which ends up bankrupt because he and is partner spend more money on swag and hyping the company than actually doing work for clients.

Choosing to embark on the campaign Leslie and Ben decide to break it off. But when Ben starts pulling away first from being friends and then at work, Leslie can't bear the thought of him moving on or not being any part of her life--so the only choice she feels she has left is to go back to dating. This time around they decide to tell Chris and this leads to an ethics hearing, which can lead to her termination. Throughout the process Leslie seems to find an answer for everything but when things start to slip from her grasp she finds out that Ben takes the fall and resigns from his job. On the record he admits his love for her and she in turn does the same, in Leslie Knope over the top fashion.

The second half of the episode brings probably one of the worst starts to a campaign; after the scandal with Ben she drops to 1% in the polls but Leslie Knope is not a quitter and with Ben by her side they pull off the greatest combat and win the election from Bobby Newport, played by Paul Rudd who portrays a high-schooler stuck in a 30 year old. Ben is offered a job in Washington and Leslie encourages him to take it which kicks off season 5 and the shippers in a long distance relationship.

So now that Parks and Recreation has got a footing and relationships have been formed and  characters are now beloved in our hearts, this past Thursday the writers gave the fans a sweet answer to what Leslie and Ben have coming in their future. At the end of his campaign in Washington, he's offered another job in Florida. Very far from Indiana, Pawnee, and Leslie. And just when you are wondering whether the nerd and the overachiever will ever make it to their happy ending--Ben shows up, looking sharp and with a diamond. That's right kiddos Ben pops the question in classic form and Leslie not only gives him an answer but she interrupts--just she can take in the perfect moment. What does the future hold for Parks and Recreation and the future Mrs. Wyatt?

Ultimately Parks and Recreation is definitely GG approved. And to show my love here are a few of my favorite gags from the show:

1. Ron pulls his tooth out; the best part is that Ben just takes off, no questions asked, he turns and runs out the door. (3.9 "Andy and April's Fancy Party")



2. Ron/the whole department drunk on Snakejuice--the liquior Tom invented. (3.13 "The Fight")



3. Denmark declares war on Peru (4.7 "The Treaty")



4. Ben's interview with Dennis Feinstein. (4.10 "Citizen Knope")
With Ben resigning he attempts to move to the private sector and goes on a few interviews. The most memorable being with Dennis Feinstein a fragrance mogul, but what makes the interview high-octane humor is that the current accountant for the company is in the room, making it that much more awkward.

5. Ben's fear of cops (3.4 "Ron & Tammy: Part Two"/ 4.15 "Dave Returns")




I've said all that I can and hope you check out this humorous look at the government, the friendships and relationships.

Television for the Week of September 16th

This is where I talk about all the tv I watched during the week. Featuring Boardwalk Empire, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Project Runway.

Oops, it's already 2012

But let's talk about our favorite TV things of 2011, shall we? Not too much text in this one, just lists and some crappy photoshopping. All in no particular order:

5 Favorite TV shows of 2011:

1. Game of Thrones (Favorite episode: 1.09 "Baelor"*)
2. Doctor Who (favorite episode: 6.10 "The Girl Who Waited")
3. Breaking Bad (favorite episode: 4.13 "Face Off")
4. Parks & Recreation (favorite episode: 3.13 "The Fight")
5. Community (favorite episode: 3.04 "Remedial Chaos Theory")

*Favorite episodes are just those aired THIS year

5 Favorite TV Characters of 2011:

1. Britta Perry "Community"
2. Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad"
3. The Doctor "Doctor Who"
4. Rory Williams "Doctor Who"
5. Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire"

5 TV Boyfriends of 2011:

1. Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill (Doctor and Rory "Doctor Who") - yes, I cheated
2. Richard Madden (Robb Stark "Game of Thrones")
3. Donald Glover (Troy Barnes "Community")
4. Michael Pitt (Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire")
5. Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad")

5 TV Girlfriends of 2011:

1. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen "Game of Thrones")
2. Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry "Community")
3. Karen Gillan (Amy Pond "Doctor Who")
4. Zooey Deschanel (Jess Day "New Girl")
5. Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope "Parks & Recreation")

5 Favorite TV ships of 2011:

1. Amy/Rory "Doctor Who"
2. Troy/Abed "Community"
3. Leslie/Ben "Parks & Recreation"
4. Jimmy/Richard "Boardwalk Empire"
5. Sam/Jon "Game of Thrones"

Yeah! Now it's Zozizzle and Good Grief's your turn! What were some of your favorite TV things of 2011?

12/8/11 Week In TV Podcast: No Longer Living Under a Rock

The Ashitaka's Angels: Week in TV podcast 12/8/11 by Ashitaka's Angels

Nay, reader, your eyes do not deceive you. THE OTHER TWO THIRDS OF THE ASHITAKA'S ANGELS ARE STILL ALIVE!!! Many thanks to Good Grief, who has been holding down the fort while Lea and I were living under a rock. Well, living under a rock and watching lots of TV. Last night, we decided, "Hey, we should probably talk about all this TV we're watching. Now, if only there was some place on the internet where we could discuss all the shows that we watch....like... a TV blog. Oh, wait!" Then, we made this podcast. Warning: it is a bit of a WHOPPER. In terms of length, that is.
It is not, unfortunately, a chocolate-covered malt ball or a hamburger.

For those brave souls who end up listening to the whole thing, there's a digital hug waiting for you.
For those who do not want that and want to skip around, here's the rundown on what we discuss:

00:00-04:59 Boardwalk Empire: S2E11 "Under God's Power She Flourishes"

05:00-09:18 The Walking Dead: Season 2 in general

09:19-12:00 New Girl: overall impressions

12:01-13:50 Modern Family: S3E10 "Express Christmas"

13:51-18:00 The Office: S8E10 "Christmas Wishes"

18:01-24:00 Parks & Rec: S4E10 "Citizen Knope"

24:01-35:15 Community: S3E10 "Regional Holiday Music"/ Doctor Who Christmas Special Flail/ Inspector Spacetime Christmas Wish

35:16-40:00 Breaking Bad: Its similarities to Glee, how it has shattered Lea's life, and how she wants it to shatter mine

Enjoy :)