Learning to Love The Weeknd
We started out as skeptics, but his new album Trilogy has been swiftly edging out Frank Ocean in our futuristic R&B spin cycle of late. Add to the mix his cameo on Wiz Khalifa's "Remember You" single and we're bordering on musical addiction.
NASCAR Brawlin’
Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer's barroom-style dust-up at the Sprint Cup last weekend still has us in an unexpected adrenaline tizzy. If raceway feuds like this keep escalating to the point of fisticuffs, we might be able to shut down the NHL for good.
Rolling Stones: Still a Thing
Bob Dylan's age has finally caught up with his mumbling, and Bruce Springsteen manages to crowd-surf at grandpa age. Fine, they're icons, we get it. But the Rolling Stones celebrating their 50th anniversary as a band seems more like a bonafide achievement—not least because their music still rings as true to their O.G. rock star personas as it did when JFK was alive.
Credit Cards: The New Spoons
Maybe it's not totally new as snacking innovations go. But when a pic of an unassuming Minnesota Vikings fan eating ice cream with his Visa went viral, it inspired a craaaazy mother lode of commenters to weigh in on two hot-button issues: 1) why being too lazy to get a real spoon is OK, and 2) why any girlfriend who wouldn't let you do this is obviously a really bad person.
Not Knowing What Star Wars Is
Between the controversy over Disney buying Lucasfilm and the launch of Angry Birds Star Wars, anyone of any generation who still claims to know nothing of Luke Skywalker, his droid companions or the Force itself has got to be some kind of mystical idiot savant. We worship you!
The Return of Normal TV
From Nov. 8, 2012
It seems like years since we've been able to ingest our weekly regimen of competitive singers, sitcom caricatures and sexy crimebusters without suffering through umpteen political zealots who "approved this message." Begone, campaign 2012!
Instagram's New Profile Pages
If a picture is worth a thousand Facebook likes, Instagram's new Web-based profile feature for avid digital shutterbugs is bound to birth a whole new slew of social-media cool kids.
Pixar Shorts Vol. 2 Collection
The studio that gave us Toy Story and WALL•E is finally unleashing another set of more obscure shorts that, while not as epic as the adventures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear, deliver loads of animated awesomeness for adults and their li'l freeloaders.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Master Thespian
Talk about quality over quantity. The dude takes movie roles about as often as we elect presidents, but every dang one of them is an immersive stunner that makes De Niro look like Dane Cook. What better actor to give unprecedented depth to America's most iconic president in Lincoln?
Pepsi Special
There's this stuff called dextrin. It supposedly keeps your body from absorbing fat. And it was only a matter of time until the soda industry found a way to devise a tasty and refreshing delivery system for it. Pepsi Special launches in Japan next week, presumably arriving soon on our obesity-addled shores.
Old-School GoldenEye Game
Every new Bond film gets us nostalgic for classic 007 action, and the new Skyfall is no exception. But it's the original GoldenEye video game for Nintendo 64—not Pierce Brosnan's eyebrows—that's satisfying our superspy jones this week. So good, even after all these years.
Iron Fists, the Inevitable Drinking Game
Whether Quentin Tarantino "presents" it or not, kung-fu schlockfest The Man with the Iron Fists is a Razzie front-runner at best. But the film's parade of ludicrous martial-arts maneuvers and copious blood-spraying are sure to make it the basis of an irresistible drinking game. (Decapitated bad guy spewing red all over hero's face? Chug!)
Josh Hamilton, Katie Kisser
His filmography is a mixed bag of obscure indie gems, TV roles and humdrum Gen-X fare, but Hamilton's latest gig mashing with divorcée Katie Holmes on Broadway is already the biggest break of his 20-year career.
Not Really Missing NHL Hockey at All
Maybe it's because the Olympics left us oversaturated. Maybe it's because the election felt like a sport unto itself. Whatever the reason, honestly, the hockey lockout is currently having about as much effect on our daily lives as Victoria Jackson's Twitter feed.
Brian Eno, Intrepid Music Person
LUX is Eno's first proper solo album release in seven years, and it's a mesmerizing set of gently ambient themes that fully transcend the pop marketplace. For a more interactive Eno trip, there's also Bloom, his new iPhone app that lets you create your own ethereal masterworks while waiting in line at the DMV.
The New Evil Dead Trailer
From Oct. 30, 2012:
You might be dubious of anyone remaking Sam Raimi's influential freaky-as-all-get-out horror classic. Then you might watch this blood-spattered teaser (provided you're old enough!) and suddenly be all kinds of stoked.
Candy Corn
Make no mistake: We will shamelessly devour this stuff by the handful no matter what month it is. But Halloween season seems to bring out the corn-gobbler in everyone, making each yellow-orange-and-white binge a bit more socially acceptable. And is it just us, or is this confection having a moment right now?
Ghostly WWII Soldiers
A Dutch historian superimposed vintage photos of WWII soldiers onto contemporary images of the French locations where they did battle. The creepy-cool effect makes those Call of Duty zombies seem kinda juvenile by comparison.
Instagrampires
Gigabyte upon gigabyte of inspiration for making this Hallow's Eve the bloodthirstiest one yet is only an Instagram hashtag away...
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Don't let Netflix knock-offs and the latest Shrek-themed Halloween fare keep you from checking out this seasonal cartoon classic, which is kind of an amazing metaphor for agnostic mysticism and the quiet anguish of the human condition (for real!). ABC is running it on Oct. 31.
1970s Horror Movie Trailers
Is it the overwrought voiceover narration? The creepy synth stabs? The grainy, uncomplicated shots of shrieking soon-to-be victims? Whatever it is, we can't stop watching these vintage teasers and thinking they're better than most modern-day horror flicks in full.
Honey Boo Boo Costumes
Finally, a solid excuse combine our bottomless appetites for high-fructose corn syrup, excessive glitter and saying the most inappropriate things. It's kind of shocking how many adult men we know who are going this route.
The Walking Dead
Our zombie obsession transcends the Oct. 31 holiday, but with undead brain-munchers dominating so much of current pop culture, it's nice to see show built around zombies really hitting its stride right about now. Big Tiny, we hardly knew ye!
Martha Stewart, Still Killing It
Say what you will about the domestic goddess' infamous rap sheet. She's deservedly famous for flat-out destroying the competition every Halloween, and she's still got failsafe tips on, like, EVERYTHING — costumes, carving, party favors, fake blood on cupcakes, the works.