Mad Men Season 1

While Hubby has been gone on a business trip this week I've kept my evenings busy by re-watching season one of Mad Men. I love the costumes and sets, and although I wasn't around in 1960, it does look authentic and the colours jump off the screen -- especially in high def. This show just pulls you into the storylines of the characters and leaves you wanting more. Can't wait for August 16 when the third season is set to begin. Did Betty have the baby? Did Joan get married? Will Roger Sterling be back at Sterling Cooper? Are Betty and Don back together? Is Peggy running the show at Sterling Cooper? Did Pete and Trudy adopt a baby? And, what happened to beatnik Midge?

Childhood Memories: RIP Les Lye

This evening while checking news on the net I discovered the death of veteran actor Les Lye. While the name may not be familiar to most people, he was a regular on 'You Can't Do That On Television', one of my favorite television shows that I watched was a kid. I lived for Saturday mornings when the show came on...I think it started at 11am on CJOH...I loved that it was all kids -- except for Les Lye. The best part was the slime that fell on the each person when they said 'what?'...gooey green goodness. Great escapism for a pre-teen. I also remember being in awe of my older cousin whose locker in high school was located next to one of the child actors, Kevin, who I thought -- in my ten-year old brain -- was dreamy.

Les Lye was also part of 'Willie & Floyd', another childhood television staple. Only Canadians of a certain age will recall this show (even Hubby doesn't remember it). My older sister won a write-in contest from the show and we excitedly crowded around the television as they read her winning paragraph on why she liked her school teacher. Her prize was a small knitting machine for children. As a seven year-old I was quite impressed. That was the most memorable part of 'Willie & Floyd' for me.

Perhaps this is all part of getting older when those who were on radio and television in your childhood start dying: Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and now Les Lye.

LL Bean Catalog Bigger Than July Vogue

Yesterday I received both the July 2009 issue of Vogue and the late summer 2009 LL Bean catalog in the mail. Much to my surprise, the LL Bean catalog was heavier and had 25 more pages than Vogue. I realize that the July issue is usually one of the smallest (next to January), but this is tiny. The huge fall issue usually has more pages of ad space before the table of contents than the total amount of pages in this issues, which comes to a grand total of 134. I've been feeling guilty since dropping my subscription last December and so I'm back to supporting this Anna Wintour rag. Here's hoping they've toned down the politics, cut-back on the British writers/editors to add more of an American viewpoint, and kept the sleek design layout.