Sprinkles Around the Web: April 15th Edition

Sprinkles from around the web

I decided to add “equality” given that I do read a lot of articles with intersectionality that cover stopping a lot of -isms, and they are all equally important. As always, these are links that I found interesting and you might too.

Me

Books Nominated for 2013 Hugo Awards!
Woohoo! Chicks Unravel Time & Chicks Dig Comics were nominated for The Hugo Awards. Big congratulations to the editors, all the other writers, and everyone else involved in the production and love of these books. 🙂

Cute Animals

Black and White Friendship Story of a 4-Year-old Girl and Her Cat
Yep, pretty sure I was exactly like this with my cat as a child.

Entrepreneurship

The Skills Most Entrepreneurs Lack
Very interesting.

Equality

Donglegate: Why the Tech Community Hates Feminists
One of the best articles I’ve read about the larger messages and lessons from Donglegate.

How to talk about a woman’s looks
Yep, even President Obama messed this one up.

To my daughter (should I have one)
A lovely thought from my friend Susie. Continue reading “Sprinkles Around the Web: April 15th Edition”

Mad Men 04×11 “Chinese Wall” TV Review

“Chinese Wall” would be the episode where everything blows up. Everything we knew was coming. I’m kind of hoping that the last few episodes will have some twists that I didn’t see coming. Rather like Peggy’s ending in Season 1 or the lawnmower accident in Season 3.

Mad Men 4x11 SCDP
SCDP rallies around to try to find a solution to their little problem. Thanks, Roger.

Oh, Peggy, hanging a lampshade on how when things go well, other things blow up in your face. Continue reading “Mad Men 04×11 “Chinese Wall” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×10 “Hands and Knees” TV Review

Wow, Mad Men is really pulling out the punches here. All drama, all the time. “Hands and Knees” definitely had me on the edge of my seat. Though I really wished I’d made predictions as there were a few things that I *knew* would happen.

Mad Men 4x10 Don is sick
Don's secrets are coming back to haunt him.

I loved the hopeful opening with Sally screaming at going to see the Beatles. You go, girl, and have the time of your life. But the joy all went downhill from there. Continue reading “Mad Men 4×10 “Hands and Knees” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×09 “The Beautiful Girls” TV Review

I love “The Beautiful Girls” for many reasons. The main one being that this episode was about the women, the varied women of Mad Men. And I don’t think this was a story the writers could’ve told without three seasons of carefully crafted background. “The Beautiful Girls” is about the variety of lives each of these women lead, and how they’re not “traditional” roles any longer.

Mad Men 4x09 Sally and the adults
Sally listens to the adults deciding her life. Something akin to how on Peanuts, the adults always mumbled gibberish.
Continue reading “Mad Men 4×09 “The Beautiful Girls” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×08 “The Summer Man” TV Review

Mad Men 4x08 Miss Blakenship carries in Don's weekly supply of alcohol
Miss Blankenship is right. We do need a drink before this episode.

“The Summer Man”‘s tone was certainly different than any episode of Mad Men before it. In way, they’re addressing the change from the 1950s to the 1960s and how all the characters are adjusting. Plus, “The Summer Man” addressed critical views on how the show treats women, specifically the causal slap-on-the-ass sexism prevalent in the first three season. “The Summer Man” takes on some of the worst out-right misogyny we’ve seen on Mad Men. Additionally, this episode addresses the changes in Don Draper. At first, Don was the mystery man, but over three seasons, we now know him. There’s no mystery, which is why I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Don takes a narrative-voice to “The Summer Man” as he begins to write a journal. Continue reading “Mad Men 4×08 “The Summer Man” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×07 “The Suitcase” TV Review

I’m going to go with everyone who said that “The Suitcase” was probably the best written and acted episode so far this season. And definitely one of the best of the series as well.

Usually, on Mad Men, we the viewers find out a lot about the characters. However, in “The Suitcase,” the characters find out a lot about each other. Specifically Don and Peggy, who are both intensely private people. When an upset and drunk Don makes Peggy stay behind to work on a suitcase ad instead of attending her birthday dinner, they both find out a lot more about each other.

Mad Men 4x07 Miss Blakenship and Peggy at Don's door
Miss Blakenship says goodnight as Peggy doesn't realize she's in for an all-nighter.

I was really pleased that this episode was so Peggy-heavy on content because she hasn’t had a ton of material this season. Sure, we find out more about her ambitions professionally and watch her meet her new friends in the art scene. But we’ve all been dying to find out what’s up with her and Duck, why she keeps Mark around, and just what floral-patterned dresses her sister and mother are wearing these days. Continue reading “Mad Men 4×07 “The Suitcase” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×06 “Waldorf Stories” TV Review

The problem with having a small company is that everyone knows everyone and you know exactly what you stand. This is what’s happened to Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce (SCDP). They used to be the big shark in the pond and now they’re a guppie along with everyone else. This why winning a Clio, an advertising award, was so important to the whole business. Same with Don’s interview in the first episode, “Public Relations.”

In “Waldorf Stories,” the world revolves around who you know, what you’re given credit for, or who you’re given control of. No one speaks to this better than the inept Danny Siegel. Danny is Jane Sterling’s cousin and the only reason Don and Peggy interview him is because of his connection to Roger. Danny only has one idea “cure for the common ___,” and he doesn’t present himself in a way that gives anyone confidence that he has more ideas.

Mad Men 4x06 Danny, Don, and Peggy
Don and Peggy interview Danny and ask later if they're on Candid Camera.

Plus, Danny name-drops Roger one too many times. Personally, I’m not a fan of nepotism, but in the Mad Men world, just like the real world, who you know can mean everything. Especially if you lack talent. For instance, we all know Roger Sterling was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. And recently, Roger has been questioning how he fits into the world anymore and just what his job at SCDP is. Or what others’ impressions of him are. He used to be on top of the world, but now he’s hanging onto Lucky Strike and being called out for being a racist. Sadly, for Roger, his once growing clout has been diminishing lately. Continue reading “Mad Men 4×06 “Waldorf Stories” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×05 “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” TV Review

I felt “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” was a lighter episode than the ones that came before it. (Lighter in depth of content, not in tone.) A step-up for the next several episodes as the week before ended several plotlines, particularly a couple coming to head in Don’s life. Not that there still isn’t room for the Golden Boy to fall down some more.

Mad Men 4x05 Peggy and John with the Honda motorcycle
Peggy and John fake a commercial. Peggy knows she has the best job ever.

Significant threads: Continue reading “Mad Men 4×05 “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×04 “The Rejected” TV Review

Perhaps the theme of “The Rejected” was that sometimes advertising goes too far or it goes just far enough to reveal our true faces. Of course, this is not the advertising of yesterday. This is not the kind which made Don famous and talked about the health benefits of cigarettes. No, this is the advertising of Peggy’s Western Union and of Dr. Faye Miller’s psychology. It pushes buttons people didn’t know they had. Or perhaps more importantly, things they thought they’d buried.

Mad Men 4x04 Roger
Roger lets Lee know they need to get off the phone because Manhattan's on fire. On fire with everyone's feelings, which is why Roger's retreating to his office.

Of course, when their true hearts are revealed, they all want to put them away and keep them private. Nothing signals this more than Don being protective of the photo of him and Anna, which arrived in the mail that day. Continue reading “Mad Men 4×04 “The Rejected” TV Review”

Mad Men 4×03 “The Good News” TV Review

Finally, this was the episode I’d been waiting for. One which dug into the lives of other characters besides Don Draper’s very depressing, and mostly likely very short, bachelorhood.

Mad Men 4x03 The Good News Joan
Joan kicks off this episode in a fiery passion and a gorgeous dress.

We find out where Joan is after ending her Season 3 stalemate with her new husband enlisted in the army and her being the office manager. Continue reading “Mad Men 4×03 “The Good News” TV Review”