Proving once and for all that I have my finger on the pulse of what youth today really want, I’m continuing my list of favorites from the so-called Golden Age of Radio. You older, out-of-touch squares can stop reading now and go listen to punk rock or trip-hop or whatever it is seniors are into these days.

Now that the fogeys are out of the (metaphorical) room, read and listen on...

Let’s consider a comedy, namely, Our Miss Brooks.

Premiering in 1948, Our Miss Brooks was an immediate success, garnering awards and a loyal fan base for its lead actress, Eve Arden.

People don’t speak of Eve Arden as much as her talent warrants. She had fantastic comic timing, capable of evoking laugh-out-loud moments with a single, monosyllabic word.

Our Miss Brooks has flimsy, unimaginative plot-lines, and you’ll never listen to it because you “can’t wait to find out what happens next.” The show is great because the cast is great, and Eve Arden delivers punch-lines with such wry deftness, it’s as if Touchstone from As You Like It has been reincarnated as a public high school teacher.

INTRODUCTION

Today is the birthday of PBS and also Teachers' Day. For any reader that might not know, PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is a non-profit American public broadcasting television network headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It was founded on this date (5 October, 1970), 42 years ago, in 1970, after the termination of its predecessor, National Educational Television (NET).

Watch 1969 Senate Hearings on PBS. See more from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Many Americans share fond memories of watching children's programs like Sesame Street (which began on NET) and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (which debuted on CBC). If your parents weren't unhealthily preoccupied with celebrity culture or car chases, you may've suffered as they turned commandeered the TV to watch PBS Newshour with it's in-depth coverage of "hard news."

As you may already know, "the cold winds are rising" - much like my expectations when it comes to the adaptation of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series from sequential novels to the HBO-helmed Game of Thrones teleplay. Within a few months I find myself irrevocably hooked on the books, having thus far ruined every plot twist and intriguing turn through the season three finale (A Storm of Swords might just be the very best book in the series) and after having recently seen the first episode of season one, I have to admit that I'm beginning to feel a kinship with those people out there in the great wide nerdiverse that identify as gamers, though the alignment of said familiarity be chaotic neutral at best.

That said, I cannot waaaiiit for the proper DVD release of Game of Thrones season one; I just wanna hold it. That first episode was such satisfying viewing, even given my foreknowledge of what's to come, that I'm saving all my geeky esteem for the March 6 release date so I can dig leisurely into said boxed set, desperately laden with extra features and all. And if details like the three horn blasts that punctuate the season two teaser below don't make everyone of your hairs stand on end, shivering with dreadfully sweet anticipation, then consider your craven gamer ass on notice!

Oh, 2011! Can it be it’s only been a year since I knew ye? This was a year of firsts: The first time I had a kitten who liked to lick new, clean plastic with an almost fetishistic zeal; the first year I lived in Los Angeles without working the floor at my beloved Amoeba Music Hollywood (I miss you, desperate holiday shoppers!); the first year I grew more than one grey hair at the same time (I blame you, traffic on Fairfax!)

It was also the year I suddenly, and without any obvious explanation, decided I loved and wanted to see any and all films of the horror genre. This came as a surprise to me. My boyfriend accuses me often of only liking films where nothing ever happens – preferably with a lone clock ticking in the corner of an otherwise quiet room. It annoys me when he claims this, mostly because I cannot defend myself.

The horror section in Amoeba Music’s DVD section provided me with many hours of happy judging-a-book-by-its-cover moments. Some gems I was hypnotized by were…