Baseball’s finally back. Sure, it’s in spring training, but it’s BACK!

Whoops! Sorry about the week off there! Back to the grind.

It’s also baseball season (still spring training) again! YAY!

Movies

Skyfall – I didn’t have a seamless, uninterrupted viewing thanks to Chinese food and plumbers and plumbing catastrophes, but this was definitely a beautiful movie. I’d like to watch it again to let it all sink in.

TV

How I Met Your Mother – Can’t even remember which random episode I saw, but I dug it.

Archer – Saw the one with Barry and Katjaa. It was pretty darn funny. Solid season so far.

Veep – Rewatched the first season with Katie. I can’t wait for the April return of the show.

Community – The cracks of Harmon-less Community are starting to show. I’m definitely not used to watching the show without that creative rudder, so I suppose I’ve got to start thinking of it as a new show with the same cast and premise. Like a writer change on a comic book.

Parks and Recreation – The wedding episode was so great! Best show on television right now?

The Daily Show – A few random episodes. Good stuff, but I’m way…WAY behind on current episodes.

Justified – A stretch of weaker episodes isn’t gonna turn me off of my favorite southern crime drama. No way. That Jackie Nevada girl was good looking too. Hope she keeps coming back.

New Girl – I’m impressed that the show handled Nick/Jess so well. Hopefully that’s no longer an issue for the show for the next few episodes, but I was glad to see it handled so deftly even if it means losing Doctor Sam.

The Oscars – Seth MacFarlane was kind of a sexist jerk, but you can’t expect too much, I suppose. The show was otherwise not too bad.

Music

Man, I heard this song for the first time in ages on Saturday:

Bask in City High.

Books

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan – Jake Adelstein’s tales about organized crime in Japan are fascinating and super fun to read. I almost can’t put this book down every time I start to read it.

Video Games

Fire Emblem: Awakening – I’ve stalled on playing this due to social obligations, but I’m about set to hit it hard again.

FTL: Faster Than Light – Finally unlocked the stealth ship! Now I’ve got to get type B and go for the crystal ship.

Spelunky – New skins means watching more new avatars get killed by the cave’s traps and perils. Lots of fun! Hope you’re watching my LPs.

Birthday happy hour last week (Photo by Eric)

Another year, another birthday. I continue to get older and, oddly enough, wiser.

Movies

In the Loop – I’m a big fan of Iannucci’s work and this movie doesn’t disappoint. Well, except for the fact that its ending is depressing and mostly based on real life. That part’s a huge bummer.

TV

The Thick of It – Oh man, the part where Hugh used Glen’s developmentally challenged son in a story to get out of trouble…wow…

Mythbusters – It sure takes a long, roundabout way to get to a point, but the baseball myths were all super cool to see proved/disproved. Can’t believe they left the humidity one only at plausible. I thought that was fairly definitive.

30 Rock – Not a bad finale, actually. I loved the way they wrapped everything up with Jack and Liz. Good show. I should watch the intermediate seasons that I missed.

Parks and Recreation – The in-show calzone joke thing is perhaps the most amazing thing to ever be put into a sitcom.

Justified – No one on tv is cooler than Raylan Givens. I really liked the one where he had to deal with Lindsay’s husband. This show kind of makes me want to live in Kentucky.

Community – I don’t think the show is as strong without Harmon…at least not so long as they’re gonna keep trying to ape his style. Community Babies was a particularly strained attempt to hit his level of meta.

The Mindy Project – Mindy is still pretty much the same person as my roommate. I find this show a lot funnier than the critical consensus.

New Girl – Speaking of funny shows and shows I haven’t praised nearly enough, New Girl has finally made me realize how incredible it is. It’s just been firing on every cylinder this year. Totally loved the awkward backwards moonwalk. I need to work that into my repetoire.

Archer – Still don’t really care for Ron Cadillac at all. Funny episode nonetheless.

Grammys – I’m sorry, but Frank Ocean >> Mumford & Sons.

Music

I’m not kidding…Listen to Frank Ocean

Books

Are We Winning?: Fathers and Sons in the New Golden Age of Baseball – I really love the Steve Bartman chapter. My favorite part of the book each year that I read it.

Video Games

Spelunky – I actually had me some good runs go horribly bad. Allowing the scepter of Anubis to kill you was a real jerk move, Derek Yu.

Fire Emblem: Awakening – I wasn’t expecting to get this until everyone was talking about how great it was. Know what? It’s fantastic. Addictive and fun and tough to stomach losing units, but still worth playing. Didn’t know you’d be able to customize your main character, but I love that about this game too.

Maybe it’s ripping off They Live a bit, but I really dig the way that the city seems to hate Dante.

Not a lot of things going on last week because it was busy! There was a Super Bowl that the Ravens were winning! So much fun being out in Baltimore last night.

Movies

Next week, I promise!

TV

The Thick of It – This show is so mean (like Veep!) and I love Tucker’s “bollocking face”.

Happy Endings – I think the sight gag of Marlon Wayans, Jr. giving a reluctant lapdance to Jane because he was covered in stripper glitter was the biggest laugh of 2013 so far.

New Girl – I wish they’d kept it “won’t they,” but I strangely trust New Girl in S2 to handle this Jess/Nick thing fairly well. They’ve been firing on all cylinders and this season has been a real Nick highlight.

Archer – Best Archer episode of this young season so far. Full of callbacks (almost too full) and brilliant humor. Hilarious episode.

Girls – There was so much brilliaant drama in this episode I don’t know where to start. Ray and Shoshana were the clear highlights, but Jessa and Thomas John’s fight was brilliantly acted out. This show is really clicking right now and I hope it stays strong.

Music

Beyoncé runs the world right now.

Books

A Confederacy of Dunces – Finally finished the book. The convergence of all the plots was so funny and tight and perfect. It’s definitely a book that rewards reading it all the way through. Everyone has a neat/proper ending and Ignatius’ fate felt strangely right.

Are We Winning?: Fathers and Sons in the New Golden Age of Baseball – An annual prepping for baseball season read. I love Will Leitch’s insights and his love for his Cardinals. I don’t know of a baseball book that I enjoy reading more.

Video Games

Spelunky – Thanks to a new Elgato capture card courtesy my mom for my birthday, I’m now able to capture console footage and use it to show the world how bad I am at Spelunky. So much fun, you guys!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Man, those Second Wave switches are almost way too hard to deal with. Gonna lose this game and start a new one.

DmC Devil May Cry – Who knew that this game would be so fun/awesome? I’m digging the combat system and all of Ninja Theory’s great character work. This game is stupid in all the right ways too. Loved that intro with the bat and junk food in front of Dante’s junk.

If you didn’t see Wreck-It Ralph this year then you might have missed the short that Disney put before it, “Paperman”. Guys, watch this. It’s awesome.