You get better.

Photo by HBO

Thinking about Hannah Horvath, sitting on the beach, eating her cake, feeling weird and scared, and probably really tired, and maybe a bit exhilarated and hopeful, and wishing she could brush her teeth and take a shower, and wondering how she was going to handle the challenges life had thrown at her (including the ones she created herself), and basically, feeling kind of good, and kind of bad, about this whole adulthood thing. 

I really liked Girls, you guys.

Game of Thrones, Ep. 15, "The Ghost of Harrenhal"

Photo by HBO

This week's Game of Thrones post gets real spoilery, real fast. If you haven't seen Episode 15, "The Ghost of Harrenhal," I suggest you watch it first. Otherwise, enter at your own risk (seriously, spoilers abound).

Game of Thrones, Ep. 13, "What Is Dead May Never Die"

Photo by HBO

First, my apologies for skipping Episode 12, "The Night Lands." When I wrote my post on the premiere, I hoped to review each episode on a weekly basis. That obviously won't be happening, since I couldn't even review two consecutive episodes. Going forward, if I miss an episode or two, but still want to discuss them, I'll just include my comments in the next post. So, you'll find commentary on "The Night Lands" sprinkled throughout the below discussion of Episode 13, "What Is Dead May Never Die."

Game of Thrones, Ep. 11, "The North Remembers"

Photo by HBO

How do you talk about Game of Thrones? As someone who has read the five published books (of a planned seven) in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, discussing the HBO adaption proves a confounding task. Do you compare the show to the books, pouring over each episode with a magnifying glass, highlighting every subtle change and re-imagining? Do you allude to events from Books 3-5, even though the television series expands each book into a ten episode season, meaning the end of the current season will coincide with the ending of Book 2, A Clash of Kings? How do you talk about Game of Thrones in a way that includes as many people as possible, without limiting yourself from taking advantage of your extensive knowledge of the source material, including future plot twists?

As of now, I don't have a definitive answer. Things I do know: I enjoy watching and discussing Game of Thrones; I don't like to spoil plot developments for people who haven't read the books, particularly if those twists won't occur onscreen for years; I like comparing the show to the source material, especially since the point of view structure of the books (Martin writes in the 3rd person limited with a select cast of characters serving as the focal points of alternating chapters) doesn't always translate flawlessly to the screen. With that said, my Game of Thrones posts will include references to the books, but won't include explicit spoilers. I may say something like "This moment will be important later," but I won't say why, or when exactly that information comes back into play. Everybody clear? Great.

Let's discuss the second season premiere, "The North Remembers":

How to Be a Housewife.

Photo by The Hollywood Reporter

Earlier today, Linda Holmes at NPR's excellent pop culture blog, Monkey See, published a smart, fun, and informative essay about how to win Survivor. It got my reality-television-watching-brain spinning. Anyone who's ever read this blog knows my reality TV of choice tends to feature rich, relatively beautiful women living dramatic lives (see also: all those posts I wrote about The Hills and The City), and that Bravo's Real Housewives franchise happens to be my current fixation. Now, Housewives isn't a competition show. There's no prize at the end (besides the chance of being the next Bethenny Frankel), but that doesn't mean potential applicants couldn't use a handy guide on how to succeed in the business. Instead of offering a list of tips, I've listed five categories in which cast members find themselves placed by co-stars, fans, media outlets, and producers. Consider it a handy guide on the types of personalities the franchise attracts, and what to do when cast opposite a herd of raging narcissists (though let's be honest, if you are auditioning for this show, you are probably a raging narcissist too).

5 in '11: TV

2011 was a good year for TV. Even though Mad Men didn't air, and Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl stopped being appointment television, and Taylor Armstrong wreaked cringe-inducing havoc on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (only for Camille Grammer to rise from her first season ashes like the glorious phoenix she has revealed herself to be), it was still a good year for couch potatoes. We grappled with the frustrating humanity of Amy Jellicoe, we traversed the Seven Kingdoms with Ned Stark, and we did lots of secret, sexy things with Kalinda Sharma. It was a good year to be a TV fan! I'm still kind of mad about Taylor Armstrong (especially since I don't think any of the women will call her out at the reunion), but I'm working on it. Until then, enjoy my five (actually, six) favorite shows of 2011.

10 in '11: Music

My look back at 2011 begins with the 10 best songs I heard this year. As in years past, that doesn't necessarily mean all 10 songs debuted in 2011; this was just the first year I heard them. To be honest, I spent a lot of time this year listening to Robyn's excellent Body Talk, but since she topped last year's list, I couldn't justify including her again. That said, these entries certainly live up to her high standards. My best musical moment of 2011 occurred the day before my 25th birthday. I was in a cab crossing the Queensborough Bridge as a techno remix of Adele's "Someone Like You" came on the radio (thanks to the driver who turned up the volume). I was very hungover and wearing the previous night's clothes (I had passed out on my friend's couch, I swear), but damn if that song, the view from that bridge, and the beautiful weather that day didn't make me love New York. 

PS: Thanks to the lovely Becca Marsh for having awesome music taste. I technically stole 1/5 of this list from her list from last year. In other words, if Becca writes a Best of 2011 series, go read that instead. 

To do list.

Watch: Happy Endings

Why: Because Casey Wilson as Penny and Adam Pally as Max (above) are killing it on this show. Watching Happy Endings is like hanging out with all of your best friends at their funniest and most adventurous. It makes you feel like that time you all went to brunch and randomly decided to get champagne drunk on a Sunday (and it was awesome).

Reintroducing the Beverly Hills Housewives.

One of my favorite things about the Real Housewives franchise is discovering the new introductions the women fashion for themselves in later seasons. The first season opening credits always feature boring statements along the lines of "I love being rich," and "My life is awesome." Every credits sequence thereafter finds the women doing damage control in regards to their previous performance - the mean are really nice, the crazy are really sane, everyone loves divorce, etc.

Game of Thrones with Mom and Dad.

Over Labor Day weekend, I convinced my parents to subscribe to HBO. I did this for purely selfish reasons: so I could watch the first season of Game of Thrones in HD (since finishing A Dance with Dragons, I have been obsessed with all things Westeros). Mom and Dad joined me in viewing all ten episodes in under two days. Below, I have compiled their best analysis.

Song for you.

This might be my favorite thing Robyn has done.

Also: the dubstep remix of this song (talk about an earworm).

On Bossy.

Below, you'll find my favorite quotes from Tina Fey's funny, non-fiction book Bossypants (is it a memoir? I say no. It kind of reads like an episode of Saturday Night Live, if that makes any sense. It jumps around a lot both topically and chronologically, and is smart and funny*).

The Big Ten: Books

Today, I bring you my ten favorite books of 2010. The list includes one short story collection, four works of literary fiction, an essay collection, a graphic novel and a dystopian young adult series. The majority of the entries came easily (only number 10 had to fight for its spot). Numbers 6-4 might as well be grouped all together; my thoughts on their ordering change moment to moment. My complete 2010 reading list can be found in the sidebar, but click below for more specific remarks on the year's best.

The Big Ten: TV

The Big Ten continues with a look at the ten television shows I considered appointment viewing over the last year. These are the series I watched religiously, the episodes I talked about obsessively and the moments that left a lasting impression. The grand total amounts to two reality shows, three comedies, and five dramas (NBC wins the network showdown with three entries). Some of the omissions surprised me (old favorites The Hills, Glee and True Blood are no where to be found), and I have a feeling some of the year's late entries (The Vampire Diaries, for instance) will have a strong case for inclusion come the end of 2011. Until then . . .

The Big Ten: Music

Title Pending's Big Ten begins with a look at the ten songs that wormed their way into my brain and decided to stay this past year. Not all of them were released in 2010 (Girls Aloud's "Biology," was first released in England in 2005), but 2010 was the year I first heard them. This year's list is a mix of dance, pop, folk, alternative rock, and even a little country crooning. Numbers 10-7 could be rearranged without much argument, and the top two stand mountains above the rest, but overall, I find this a fair representation of the last year according to my iPod.

The Big Ten: Introduction

You guys, it's almost 2011! When did that happen? I swear, just yesterday I was returning to the office after Labor Day weekend, steadying myself for the fall busy season, and wondering if I would make it to Thanksgiving. It's been a whirlwind three months since I last posted, during which I turned 24 (hello, mid-twenties), survived the aforementioned fall busy season, saw Wicked for the second time, attended Homecoming Weekend in Massachusetts and celebrated Thanksgiving in Maine, and of course, consumed my fair share of television, music, movies and books.

Since I last posted . . .

I saw The Kids Are All Right, Inception and The Young Victoria. I loved Kids the most; Maree and I sat in the theater for a good ten minutes after the credits rolled, hugging each other and happy crying. Annette Bening's performance blew me away.

Song for you.

Scaling the Hills: Lo

In wake of the Hills series finale, I'm taking an in-depth look at each of the show's primary (meaning, they made the opening credits) cast members, in order to discern what about them (if anything) made for good TV.

We continue with Lo Bosworth.

Queens for a year.

Attention readers: In two weeks, I'm trading the high-rises of Manhattan for the row-houses of Astoria. Gone will be my immediate access to the Union Square Barnes & Noble and the Madison Square Park Shake Shack. In their stead, I'm gaining a bigger, cheaper apartment and a new neighborhood to explore. Exploration, however, benefits from recommendation, and so I ask you this: have any of you ever been to Queens, and if so, where should I go when I get there?