And the man upstairs I hope that he cares. If I had a penny for my thoughts I'd be a millionaire.

Quick Hitters and Random Thoughts

--Another season of Mad Men has come and gone and I don’t feel like thinking too much right now, but I’d probably rank this as my favorite or second favorite season. Mad Men is always one of those so much is happening and nothing is happening shows and that summed up the finale. We’re months removed from Lane’s demise and we see the characters making their way in this crazy time and world.

I like Pete as a character, but never really liked the stuff with Beth. Even seeing Pete get punched in the face provided diminishing returns unlike anytime Joffrey gets slapped. It could be I just don’t like Beth although Pete’s story to her at the end was top-notch stuff.

I was a little disheartened to see Megan use Don to get her foot in the door for her commercial. However, I liked Megan’s prominent role this season. Just a beautiful scene of Don walking away from that set and into a bar where Don m’f’n Draper sits down for a drink and ? Old Don? Well it was just a matter of time. 

Don’s scenes with Peggy made the finale for me. I hope that’s not the end of the second most interesting character on the show. I can’t imagine it is.

Of course I couldn’t imagine that the character who would embrace LSD on the show would be Roger Sterling. How I wished the camera would have panned out on that shot to show butt naked Bert Cooper tripping and looking out another window.

Mad Men is such a pretty show (pretty f'n white says @ChivesMcGee) and here it’s at its prettiest.

--If I wasn’t cleaning up I probably would have gone to sleep before the Pacquiao/Bradley decision was announced. I was just as shocked as Bradley looked when Michael Buffer said “and new…” Manny won the fight pretty clearly in my mind. I thought his punches were more effective, he threw more and had the upper hand in ring generalship. It wasn’t a blowout completely one-sided performance, but it wasn’t a win for Bradley. All you need to know is that Manny was a big favorite going into it, he looked little like the Manny of old and yet for the rematch he’s even a bigger favorite in Vegas. I thought Bradley would give him trouble since JMM did and even picked Tim by decision, but I’m not going out of my way to watch Pacquiao/Bradley 2.

As an aside, the announcing of Jim Lampley on Saturday was as awfully biased as I’ve ever heard.

Oh and OPEN SCORING NOW!!!

--I liked Veep well enough, but after the second and third episodes I was hoping it would continue to improve. Instead it just kind of stagnated into the weekly screw-up and the screw-up solving the screw-up. Julia-Louis Dreyfus was fantastic though. “Not Great, Admittedly” is an outstanding title for anyone’s memoirs.

--Wait, Anthony Bourdain is going to be a host of a cooking reality show on ABC?! Krusty explaining how Canyonero dumped a truckload of money in his driveway comes to mind. Though I’m all for more Nigella Lawson on my television. How Nigella and Padma’s breakfast in bed quickfire didn’t become a Top Chef staple is beyond me.

--I stopped watching Californication before last season because it just got so repetitive. Still I saw the important parts when Natalie Zea was being all Natalie Zea. The important parts of next season seem to involve Maggie Grace. Sold.

--I just assume every adult on Game of Thrones was in a British pop group back in the 90’s like Bronn. I hope Bronn’s success leads to a Robson and Jerome reunion. The music world has been waiting patiently.

--Love following @RealTimeWWII. “Smoking ban for female students at German universities: ‘Your cigarettes should go to army; also, science has proven smoking is bad for women.’” Sorry women. Your lungs just aren’t manly enough to handle smoking.

--Aasif Mandvi is going to have a show on The Cooking Channel?!

--I haven’t liked Dexter for a while so why do I watch it? I don’t know. You ask too many questions. I am happy to hear they’re not going with one main villain this year instead having several including Ray Stevenson. More happy to hear Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck is joining the crew.

--I hate exclusive clubs that discriminate. Emerald City in...Florida (I hope you were sitting down) sounds like one of those places. My man Everett Lages was kicked out of the strip club. Why? I mean sure Everett may have had a few beers, but who’s not intoxicated at a strip club? Oh, because Everett brought a kitten inside? Das racist or some “-ist” or “-ism.” The cops came because, well do cops turn down calls to strip clubs? Anyway, they called Everett a taxi and he didn’t want to leave because I assume it was the kitten’s bday and its first trip to a strip club. Everett did what any of us would do when the cops are right in front of us. Yep, he called 911, like a lot. For whatever reason the cops arrested him and I hope kitty got to go home with some kitty.

--Oral history of the ’92 Dream Team, from GQ naturally.  Gotta watch out for that doc on NBA TV this week.

--Foolishly I still haven’t made the trip to Pizaro’s, but I can now say I’ve been to Dough Pizzeria in San Antonio. Probably the highlight of any trip I’ve made to San Antonio. I need a burrata bar closer to me than San Antonio.

We took my nephews to SeaWorld and its new water park Aquatica. Aquatica was no WaterWorld or Fame City Water Works. Nothing like a trip to a water park to remind me why I never got a tattoo. Now if I can just convince water parks to hire employees whose specific duty it is to hand out t-shirts to guests who mistakenly think their bodies aren’t shaped like Meatwad.

--Eat at a Denny’s in each of the 50 states and get free Grand Slams for life? Ummm, is there a real prize here?

--About time the KKK got involved in the “Adopt-A-Highway” program. I mean that’s all we’ve asked of them this whole time, right?

--This is The Governor? Uhhh, no I don’t think so.

--“Organic mushrooms from Arizona.”

“Joke.”

Why in the hell don’t I have an app that immediately mutes and/or changes the channel when Siri commercials come on? When I bought an iPhone 4 I envisioned always having a drinking buddy, a friend in times of crisis, a subservient know-it-all at my disposal. Quickly she just became a distant relative who if I talk to it’s by accident because I butt-dialed and feel guilty about just hanging up on.

--This seems like a long and disgusting trademark to go through the process of registering.

DWIGHT YOAKAM'S CHICKEN LICKIN'S CHICKEN FRIES BREADED FULLY COOKED CHICKEN BREAST PATTIES WITH RIB MEAT BAKERSFIELD BISCUITS BRAND

--Some headlines make you shake your head no and some make you shake your head yes. “No arrest after father beats daughter’s alleged molester to death.”

--The first week of October is screaming Vegas. Wild Card playoff games that Friday with the playoffs continuing on through the weekend. A weekend in college football that includes LSU/Florida, Georgia/South Carolina, West Virginia/Texas, Nebraska/Ohio State and Miami/Notre Dame. The NFL slate features Eagles/Steelers, Ravens/Chiefs (love KC this year), Broncos/Patriots, Bills/49ers, Chargers/Saints and then a little ol’ Monday Nighter between the Texans and Jets. What I’m saying is if you’re in Vegas the first weekend in October I’ll buy you a beer.

--Saveur asked a bunch of chefs what their ideal kitchen tool of the future would be and my personal favorite was this from Anthony Martin of Tru.

"I thought it would be cool to have a cookbook based on the Tupac Coachella hologram that could project an image of a first generation chef like Escoffier walking you through chateaubriand or other recipes and show you their technique. Unless a cookbook has great photos, it's even difficult for me to read through."

$20 says Modernist Cuisine is already looking into this.

Questions, comments or if you already miss these little guys…