READ/LISTEN/WATCH/RENT

READ: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

This is my favorite of Sedaris' novels. I read it for the first time recently and loved every story. Much like "Naked" and "Corduroy" it delves into his crazy upbringing, but really is more related to stories of him in his mid to late 20's and beyond. I really loved his story "Road Trips" which has some graphic imagery of what can happen when you hitchhike in the late 80's. If you haven't read any of Sedaris, pick up any of his books and you'll enjoy. Like Augusten Burroughs, he writes great short stories that some how fold together in a non-linear way.

LISTEN: Childish Gambino

I am not a fan of the rap music. I never got into it. It doesn't speak to me. But, Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover (Troy from Community, and from Derrick Comedy) is wonderful. He takes an indy rock approach, and even though he is an established comedy writer (wrote for 30 Rock for 3 seasons when he was 25) it isn't comedy rap. Think Atmosphere not Lonely Island. My favorite part is he writes about shit I know. He drops lines about Aubrey Plaza, Tina Fey and Dunder Mifflin. He does have some of the normal boistours rapper characteristics, but you can tell the tounge in cheek mixed with honest rap skills in every line. This guy is like Midas, everything he does is golden. And he doesn't even charge for his music. He is a comedian, actor and writer by trade who raps on the side. Enjoy folks.


WATCH: Bored to Death

Bored to Death is exactly what you want it to be. It's like Monk written by the guys from Arrested Development. When the cast is Jason Shwartzmen, Zach Galifanakis and Ted Danson, how could you honestly go wrong? The story is Jonathan Ames (Rushmore) is a depressed writer who takes Private Investigator jobs off Craigslist in his spare time, while sharing time between politician father figure/man-child George (Sam Malone) and comic book artist Ray (He who sits betweenith two ferns). The stories are nothing special (Jonathan finds a skateboard, looses a screenplay) but they are executed perfectly. And with only like 10 episodes per season, they really focus on quality. I have season 1, and can't wait to start season 2 and hopefully it will get a season 3. Great television.


RENT: The Vicious Kind

Adam Scott showed up on my radar earlier this year in Party Down. Then he went to Parks and Rec, and so I started to investigate him. Not only did I realize he was on Boy Meets World, but he also was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor last year for this movie, The Vicious Kind. Now, I had this movie in my netflix cue for months, just because I liked the synopsis, so I finally watched it, and I was blown away. It was like The Machinist meets Little Miss Sunshine. Very dark, and awkward at times, but still with heart. Brittany Snow, who I only knew as a teeny bopper, was great (And hot) and Adam Scott really was perfect. I hope that just because he is popping as a comedic actor now, that he doesn't abandon dramatic rolls, because this was one of those rare perfect movies to me. Like Garden State or Royal Tennanbaums, where as soon as it was over, I watched it again. It is for free to watch on netflix so check it out.