A Guide To Naming Your Dog

Today is traditionally Henley Monday. It's usually a day for just a little bit of good-looking distraction when we're feeling tired and focusing on our own needs. But while I was working on today's post, the news broke about the explosions at the Boston Marathon. So I decided to change courses just a bit.

On a day when we normally need distractions from that which annoys us, let's focus on the things we're grateful for and put some good energy back into the world. 

Mr. Rogers is not only a national treasure and model of casual menswear at its finest, but someone who always brought positive light and who, even in death, reminds us of the overwhelming good that still exists even in the most trying and confusing of times in our human existence.

Say a prayer or send out your thoughts of peace and healing to the innocent people affected by the tragedy, and say a prayer for the helpers, for the people still working to make things right. Be a helper yourself if you can. Let's bring some comfort and do Mr. Rogers proud.

Menswear Fun Fact: The red sweater Mr. Fred Rogers is wearing in this picture is now on display at the Smithsonian as a "Treasure of American History". That is some powerful casual wear.

Henley Monday - New Years Eve 2012 Special

Hey ladies, hey gentleman, it's Ryan Gosling our Patron Saint of Henleys all lit up to bring you happy holiday tidings and wishes for a happy new year ahead of you. Because it's the end of the year, and you've worked so hard to come so far, he thought he'd extend to you a gift. A special mega edition of Henley Monday featuring not just one picture, but SEVEN pictures of SEVEN DIFFERENT MEN in henleys.

HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVE THE MEN OF THE AVENGERS ALL WEARING HENLEYS!!!

Jeremy Renner shooting Cupid's arrow straight through your heart for much love in your year.

The Honorable RDJ smiles down wishes for a prosperous 2013 full of fortune, fame, and delicious shwarma.

Chris Evans stews over the ways he wants to bring peace and goodwill to all here in America and all over the globe.

Giant Chris Hemsworth is tenderly cradling his teensy-tinesy baby girl just as he tenderly cradles your hopes and dreams.

Mark Ruffalo wants you to stand up for something, whether it be for yourself or for the rights of others. Don't get angry, get active!

And finally, Tom Hiddleston, with the help of our dear friend Benedict Cumberbatch, want to remind you to be safe, be great, and be productive in the coming year.

Love to all you out there, and Happy New Year!!!

Hi! I just wanted to ask if you'll be continuing your Bachelorette recaps? I love them!

Even as I type this during a commercial break, I continue to toil away at the recaps. I continue for several reasons:

1) I finish what I start and I started this, and I’m gonna finish it GD it.

2) The tiny community of Bachelor/ette lovers we have here from across the world is something I never even imagined when I started this blog for my friends a few years ago. I feel connected to you all and, frankly, indebted. Disappointing you would be rough stuff.

3) I have nowhere else to place my rage, frustrations, confusion, amusement, and a tiny belief that “the process works” but here in the vast depths of tumblr. And damn if it doesn't feel GREAT.

In short: they are on their way!

The Bachelor - Episode 6 Recap

"That's what I remember from when I watched the movie! Houses under a hill!"

Welcome back to the World Tour of Love aka Juan Pablo’s Unexpected Journey aka The Bachelor. This week we are in New Zealand, and I am muy, muy excited. To be in the land of Hobbits and Radagast and Ents AND Flight of the Concords?! These women have no idea how lucky they are. Let’s get started.

First off, is New Zealand kidding with us? Is it KIDDING with how amazingly beautiful it is? Juan Pablo arrives at Lake Taupo by sea plane, and the girls are also overjoyed to be in the wonderland of Middle Earth. The suite is so chic and has an infinity pool overlooking a gorgeous river and I CAN’T HANDLE IT. I’VE GOT TO GO.

The first one-on-one date goes to Andi. Once again, one of the front-runners who was starting to get impatient waiting for her time to shine. She’s the last woman there to get a one-on-one. Andi is thrilled and the other girls are thrilled for her, except for Cassandra. Not that Cassandra hates Andi, but she’s starting to feel really homesick. She misses her son a lot. Obviously Renee, the mother superior of this group, is the one who talks it all out with Cassandra and she gets back on track.

Juan Pablo sounds like has a little bit of a sniffle when he tells how great today is going to be with Andi. They climb into a sporty speed boat and tear off down a river and it’s just like the Brandywine. But all of the sudden, it turns into a primordial rainforest with ferns and mosses and drizzling rain. And the boat driver in his precious kiwi accent is like “get out of the boat!” and they put on aqua shoes and go walking down a stony mossy path in the river. It’s freezing. It’s kind of terrifying. I feel like they’re going to get stuck and die.

Andi uses the trusting Juan Pablo through the rocks as a metaphor for a relationship and just letting go and trusting Juan Pablo! Oh but then they find the waterfalls of hot springs! That’s so cool. Let’s go you guys. Let’s quit our jobs and just move to New Zealand.

“It was definitely the most amazing date I’ve ever been on. It was cold. It was hot,” Andi says. Those are the two most important factors in any date: extreme temperature variations. But Andi still feels like they need to have a good evening portion of the date to really connect.

They are at Te Puora which is a geyser and while a picturesque setting to be sure, I don’t imagine it being too pleasant because from what I know of geysers, they smell. Really bad. Sulphur smells like rotting eggs. And geysers are all about the sulphur. But the two love birds don’t seem to mind. Also, why doesn’t my spell check recognize sulphur? It’s an element. A pretty common one. It knows uranium but not sulphur!? DUMB SPELL CHECK.

“Ooo, somebody’s exploding right now. Oh, the big one?” Juan Pablo turns around because the geyser is going off big time. It totally ruins dinner because of the sudden downpour, so they huddle away under a blanket. Now looking on the geysers from afar, they snuggle and have a heart to heart about what everyone talks about on the Bachelor: the future, wanting love, wanting to spend their lives with someone. She gets the rose because why not? They have chemistry, and I still like Andi.

Everyone is gunning for the second one-on-one date, but the group date card arrives first. “Let love roll!” Sharleen, Chelsie, Renee, Nikki, Kat, and Cassandra are on it. Which means Clare has the one-on-one date. That seems rude and dumb.

But back to the group date at hand, Rotorua is the site and it’s a sweeping landscape, very windy, very pretty. It’s Cassandra’s 22nd birthday, y’all! She’s feeling very positive after her talk with Renee and is hopeful for a fairytale ending.

“This is my favorite place I’ve ever been. It reminds me, kind of, of Ohio, except we don’t have hills,” Chelsie tells JP. Which…where do I start Chelsie? That’s just NONSENSE. Regardless, after their little picnic they get to the crest of a hill and see the “oggo” run. It’s that thing you’ve probably seen before where people climb into giant, clear, inflatable balls and go rolling down hills. In this case they make them get into bathing suits and hop in a hot tub first, presumably to slick them down a bit so they don’t tear their flesh as they roll.

Everyone has so much fun and Nikki even manages to make-out with him in the “oggo”. It does look pretty cool even though when you climb out it looks a lot like a baby being ungracefully born.

Omg. Omg. Omg. OMG. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD THEY ARE HAVING DINNER AT HOBBITON! HOBBITON. THE REAL HOBBITON SET FROM LORD OF THE RINGS AND THE HOBBIT. IT’S SPECTACULAR. IT’S BEAUTIFUL AND I WOULD BE CRYING.

Sharleen is the only one with the appropriate reaction though: “This is so f***ing cool!”

I mean they are basically having dinner at BAG F**KING END.

Renee and JP have some special time first. They snuggle on a little hobbit bench in front of a little hobbit table and they have a little hobbit make-out sesh! Now he and Nikki have alone time on the same little hobbit bench. Nikki takes the opportunity to tell him how she feels, “I’m totally falling for you.” I don’t know, y’all. How weird would it be to have to check in weekly with a guy to say “here are exactly where my emotions for you are at”?

When he and Sharleen settle down, he immediately goes to kiss her and she once again does the weird neck face thing. The producers play some spunky, plucky music because Sharleen is awkward. “This process is a little inorganic for me,” Sharleen blurts out in a much longer word vomit of why she’s doubting what’s happening. And Juan Pablo continues to be the WORST DUDE because he just tells her to shut up and stop doubting herself. I mean on the one hand, yeah I’d want to be comforted but he always does it in this “stop being crazy, woman!” way.

Cassandra and the girls have fun celebrating her birthday, and she is gunning for the rose.  The girls keep calling the rose “the precious” and that rules. Whoever started that (I think Chelsie) gets all of my roses forever.

But then simple Cassandra is up for her time, “Oh that’s what I remember from when I watched the movie! The houses are like under a hill!” Yes Cassandra. That is the only important thing to pull away from Lord of the Rings: houses under hills. Despite not appreciating great film, she just is so excited that there could be a man who is a father figure for her son Trey. She pours her heart out to him about how much she respects him as a dad and she feels ready for love!

But Sharleen gets the date rose, and then JP pulls Cassandra aside for a moment. The other women assume it’s to tell her happy birthday. But no…it’s not. “You’re one of my special ones, you know that,” he starts. He hems and haws around the point but finally tells her that he’s going to send her home to her son because the feeling just isn’t there. She is incredibly gracious and says she’s disappointed. So he tells her NOT TO BE DISAPPOINTED. DUDE. LET PEOPLE FEEL THE FEELINGS THEY FEEL. THEY ARE ALLOWED TO FEEL FEELINGS.

He sends her home with a hug and some secret words. Poor thing. She’s so wee. And on her birthday??? Worst birthday ever. The producers overlay a truly depressing song to fit the mood in the New Zealand rain.

Oh but the bright side is that there’s a Hobbiton cat that’s lounging next to Chelsie when JP comes back in from the rain!

Now, now, now let’s get to the juicy stuff: Clare’s one-on-one date. Tensions ran pretty high in Vietnam after that little ocean fling, so I expect a high volume of drama today. Clare is expecting an apology for the way he behaved, but I’m not so sure she needs one. I don’t know.  He kicks right off by acknowledging the tension from the week before. He does apologize for being kind of harsh and making a mistake and misleading her. They make progress, but honestly I don’t give a hot shit about any of this. Clare is annoying and stupid and the ocean thing is a NON-ISSUE.

What is great though is the backdrop of their picnic. You know at the end of the Fellowship when the uruk-hai over take them and Aragorn realizes Frodo has to go it alone to Mordor and so Frodo pushes off his little boat into a river with a rocky shore? It’s like the river with the rocky shore and perfectly clear blue water.  But in this case there are no uruk-hai to carry Clare away and make her stop being on my TV. My kingdom for an uruk-hai.

Juan Pablo makes her promise not to cry because of him anymore. Again with the controlling of feelings? What is that? Is that thinly-veiled machismo? I don’t like it.

At dinner it’s more of the same conversation. I’m so bored. They change into sweats just to keep it so, so chill and cool and casual. JP is beyond horny for Clare. She gets the rose despite being incredibly annoying. But I’m starting to hate Juan Pablo too, so they’ll be perfect together.

The cocktail party and rose ceremony are taking place at an incredible sheep farm that I’ve decided is Rohan.  Our beloved host Chris Harrison finally gets to have a fireside chat with Juan Pablo! Chrarrison, please, please you rational man, help this fool of a Took.

The women are very quiet and tense at the cocktail party. There are three women with roses already, and Cassandra has already gone home, so that leaves three roses and four ladies. Everyone is freaking out.  Each of the women has good time to talk to Juan Pablo and make sure he knows where they are at emotionally. More than ever this season it feels like a harem/sultan situation.

Andi, Sharleen, and Clare all have roses and Juan is emotional before the rose ceremony officially begins. He calls Nikki first because she’s one of his top favorites; Renee is next because he likes her a lot too and darn it, so do we; and the final rose goes to…….Chelsie. Good. Very good. It was time for Kat to go home. Their relationship was not progressing despite how much she loved telling Juan Pablo about her alcoholic father. You’ll land on your feet Kat.

But after Kat leaves, Sharleen starts to have doubts about still being there. Well, I guess she’s had the doubts from the beginning but starts to really voice them here in Rohan. She feels “guilty in a way” because other girls might actually have a better relationship with him. As next week in Miami comes, she’s giving him one more week, one more chance and if she doesn’t feel it, she’ll go home.

What a cool ultimatum! That makes things interesting for sure!  I can’t wait. As you well know by now, recaps up on Wednesday, and I’m over on twitter @chasspod losing my mind about the Olympics until then. Love and many a wonderful, unexpected journey to you all!

Two Recomendations In One!

I often find myself clicking endlessly through Netflix trying to find something, anything to watch that matches my mood. I love a good documentary as much as the next socially conscious functioning member of society in her mid-twenties, but those can sometimes be so dark and downtrodden. When I’ve just come home from a particularly hard day at work, I don’t really have the peace of mind to watch FORGIVING DR. MENGELE which has been on my queue for two years. It’s in those times that I find myself craving a certain “je ne sais quoi” in viewing: nothing too heavy, but not so light that I lose interest.

Enter Linda Holmes. Who’s that now? That’s Linda Holmes, head writer and editor of NPR’s pop culture blog Monkey See. At least, that’s how she intros herself on the weekly pop culture round table podcast she hosts called POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR. It’s a terrific cast of characters from NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson, theater and movie critic Trey Graham, and the ever ebullient Glen Weldon who writes about books and comic books for the NPR website. Each week they discuss a few carefully curated topics ranging from current affairs to things like “Pop Culture to which All Children Should Be Exposed”. My favorite part comes at the end of each 45-55 minute episode, however, when they discuss “What is Making You Happy This Week?”, a chance for each contributor to mention something in the zeitgeist that is making them happy in which the listener can also partake.

A few weeks ago Linda Holmes had sent out a few wayward tweets regarding a show called MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES that had come recommended to her. Shortly after, MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES came up as Linda’s choice for what was making her happy that week. Despite having VASTLY different opinions on the most recent HOBBIT film, Linda Holmes has never led me astray in a pop culture recommendation. So when I read the IMDb byline of the show, I knew I had to watch.

It reads: Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920's Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit.

What else could you possibly want or need in a TV show? All thirteen episodes of the first of two seasons are streaming on Netflix, so the task isn’t monumental. It’s a costume drama; so even with riveting stories and charisma absolutely bursting through the screen, it’s beautiful to look at. And for me, it is a thrilling look into history in a part of the world I honestly don’t know much about.

There’s romance; there’s murder; there’s fashion; there’s dancing; there’s a pair of communist cab drivers; there’s a lesbian, cross-dressing surgeon; there’s a ladies maid who overcomes her fear of the telephone; there’s intrigue! There’s everything, INCLUDING a dashing, devilishly handsome and masculine police inspector Detective Jack Robinson.

Miss Phryne Fisher is the embodiment of a Roaring Twenties, 20th century woman. I powered through the first six episodes in one day, and then loved it so much that I slowly and deliberately took a full week to watch the remaining seven episodes. I cannot recommend this show highly enough, especially to those of you between television “projects”. If you’ve just finished BREAKING BAD and are about to endeavor upon DEXTER, MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES might just be the perfect palate cleanser you’ve been looking for. Or, if you just need thirteen episodes of pure delight, there’s no way you can miss out on this fabulous show.

I would, of course, also be remiss in failing to mention that POP CULTURE HAPPY HOUR has provided pop culture enjoyment in dividends in the three years I've been listening to it. Really wonderful stuff.

Henley Monday -

Hi everyone! I hope you're pulling through as best you can today. I'll keep it short and get straight to the henley point: How adorable is Martin Freeman here? Can you even handle it? I barely can.

He is every bit a classic, charming off-beat and insanely talented Brit who brings great joy to me in all his roles. He brings great joy to me here as well in such soothing blue tones with a cheeky little grin. Thanks for the pick-me-up Martin!

Well the reason I watched The Bachelorette last year was because they were advertising our first season of The Bachelor everywhere (I'm Australian) and I remembered seeing parts of Trista Rehn's season years ago. I really enjoyed the Australian Bachelor & I would recommend it but apart from that I haven't seen any other version. There is a second Australian season later this year but no Aussie Bachelorette yet :( I'm tempted to watch the Canadian Bachelor though!

Everyone, let's all get down on our knees and thank MyLatestDream for brining international versions of The Bachelor Franchise to our attentions.

That is so amazing. I think now that we have some downtime before Andi's season starts (yay Andi!), I'll try out Aussie and Canadian bachelor. I'm typically a bigger fan of the Bachelorette, so I hope Australia gets one soon! Thanks for the vital info, you're the best gal!

This research is going to be so fun too, for instance IS THERE IRISH BACHELOR?

How surprised are you that Marquel is still around? Not just because The Bachelor is usually...well. But because of his jester ways and picnic table shirts too.

"HIS JESTER WAYS"!!!!!!!! That's amazing.

YES. Yes. What in the hell is he still doing there? I think his days are definitely numbered. When he literally just sat on that couch and made her stand up in her formal gown "to teach her some self-defense moves" I thought for sure that was his kiss of death because WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT? But poor little Tasos went home instead. Although Tasos' time was up for sure. He was not up to snuff.

I'm coming for ya Marquel...just you wait....

"This" is the new "That":

Twitter PornBots are the new deposed Princes of Nigeria, internet scam-wise.

Henley Monday - 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?! She's BACK?!?! 

Yes, folks, it's true. SHE'S BACK. After a prolonged absence due to many and exotic travels I am BACK and OUT OF CONTROL with this Henley Monday because guess what I'm posting Henleys ALL WEEK. THAT'S RIGHT ALL WEEK. BECAUSE I WAS GONE. AND NOW I'M BACK. AND I DEEPLY LOVE AND CHERISH ALL OF YOU AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH I AM GIVING UNTIL YOUR CUP RUNNETH OVER WITH HOTTIES IN HENLEYS. 

We start off this Monday with third-time featuree Aaron Tveit on his 30th BIRTHDAY! SO MANY CAPS BECAUSE OF SO MUCH EXCITEMENT! Happy Birthday, Aaron. Long may you and your perfect smile and elegant coiffure and angelic voice live.