Buzz Rant and Rave

In the second half of the end of 2013 review podcast extravaganza, Amy Watts [http://wattsay.tumblr.com] and Dan Suitor [http://dansuitor.com/] join me to discuss the best of the year in the medium for pop culture that had the best year: television. Among the shows that we discuss include House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Brooklyn 9-9, Key and Peele, The Mindy Project, How I Met Your Mother, Girls, Enlightened, and the US version of Top Gear. We also look forward to some of what’s coming up in this new year of 2014.

In the first part of our year-end review of the pop culture of 2013 that spoke to us, Dan comes off as uncomfortably familiar with Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock, I admit my horrible addiction to Candy Crush Saga and Amy confesses to her unfamiliarity with the musical genre of butt rock. UPDATE (Jan. 5, 2013) If you attempted to listen to it earlier, I posted a version that was mixed wrong. The sound quality on this is not pristine, but the levels are correct. We discuss music, film, books, and try to put off talking about television into part 2. Some of the linkable things that we mentioned in this episode include: Linda Holmes, NPR Monkey See, The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We’re All Going To Miss Almost Everything [http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/21/135508305/the-sad-beautiful-fact-that-were-all-going-to-miss-almost-everything] Andrew’s Spotify playlist of some 2013 music [http://open.spotify.com/user/andrewraff/playlist/5Q2tcRfzPY0I7YmwbPXVIm] Janelle Monae, Electric Lady [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FDX9CGW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00FDX9CGW&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00FDX9CGW] Elvis Costello and the Roots, Wise Up Ghost [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D2I8E46/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00D2I8E46&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00D2I8E46] Code Name Verity [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423152883/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1423152883&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1423152883] Two Boys Kissing [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BO4GQZO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00BO4GQZO&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00BO4GQZO] League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DXKJ6IQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DXKJ6IQ&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00DXKJ6IQ] We gave very short shrift to Alan Sepinwall’s The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers, and Slayers Who Change [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B26PWFE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B26PWFE&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00B26PWFE], but I have to add my recommendation for it to Dan’s. Captive Audience [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AMYGFXK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AMYGFXK&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00AMYGFXK] You Don’t Know Me but You Don’t Like Me: Phish, Insane Clown Posse, and My Misadventures with Two of Music’s Most Maligned Tribes [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A286QIA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00A286QIA&linkCode=as2&tag=andrewrcom0b-20][http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=andrewrcom0b-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00A286QIA] In the forthcoming part 2 of this conversation, we discuss the medium that we all agree provided the best entertainments of the year: television.

The long-awaited (and longer-delayed) second episode of this season is finally here. Amy, Dan, and I resume our discussion of pop culture, talking about binge watching television, what we binge-watched over the summer, and fought with Skype. The second half of this recording will surface some time in the future, when I have a chance to go through and pick up the pieces and reassemble them into something listenable. Until then, please suggest a word or phrase that I can use to wrap up the show and enjoy this season’s snazzy new theme song.

The Buzz Rant & Rave Podcast is back for another season! I’m joined by our pop culture panel of Amy Watts [http://twitter.com/amywatts] and Dan Suitor [http://twitter.com/nakedbabyphotos] to talk summer entertainment, Twitter, engaging with culture, B-entertainment, and whether the weather encourages media consumption.

In the thrilling conclusion to our pop culture panel discussion on this new(ish) TV season, I chat with Amy Watts [http://twitter.com/amywatts] and Dan Suitor [http://twitter.com/NakedBabyPhotos] about the shows that we’re most excited to see return. And they’re all on Sunday night. Wall Street Journal: The Making of TV’s Hottest Drama [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444450004578004391758939364.html] Here’s a quick list of organizations that are helping out in communities hit by Hurricane Sandy here in the New York/New Jersey area. Region-wide: * American Red Cross Volunteer [http://www.redcross.org/support/volunteer/disaster-volunteer] or donate [http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations] * AmeriCares [https://secure.americares.org/site/Donation2?df_id=11884&11884.donation=form1] * Jewish Federations of America Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund [http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=258452] New York City: * Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City [https://www.nyc.gov/html/fund/html/donate/donate.shtml] * New York Cares [http://newyorkcares.org] Brooklyn: * Brooklyn Recovery Fund [http://www.brooklyncommunityfoundation.org/brooklyn-recovery-fund-1] * Red Hook Initiative [http://www.rhicenter.org] * How to Help Gerritsen Beach [http://www.gerritsenbeach.net/2012/11/01/how-to-help-us/] * Restore Red Hook [http://restoreredhook.org] Staten Island * Staten Island Recovers [https://statenisland.recovers.org] And here are some more comprehensive lists of resources and especially opportunities to volunteer, from Brooklyn Heights Blog [http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/50966#more-50966] and Manhattan Users Guide [http://manhattanusersguide.com/article/more-ways-to-help].