Mugs "Must" List

Your weekly round up of all my pop-culture awareness suggestions of the week:

1. M&Ms Premiums
Why perfection needs to be improved, I'm not sure, but I am intrigued with the triple chocolate and mocha flavors of Premium M&Ms being advertised. The packaging has been upgraded, and the outer shell has been transformed into a marble-swirl pattern. I contemplated making a special trip to Wal-Mart to taste-test these goodies, but I decided that would require me to emerge from my pajamas. And, I do have ice cream in the freezer, so we're not at a life-or-death-chocolate-situation. (The link takes you to a candy blog which has a very detailed review.)

2. The Kite Runner
Even if you've already read the book by Khaled Hosseini, this movie is worth seeing. Having read the book, I was prepared for the seriousness of the story, but I did not expect the movie to match the intensity of the book. This is one of the few movies that I think is equal to, if not better than, the original book. The story revolves around two young boys in Afghanistan, with the Soviet invasion in 1979, and subsequent Taliban takeover, serving as the backdrop. This is a sobering film that doesn't pull any punches; if you're not up for reading some subtitles and getting engrossed in deep drama, then skip this and watch a rom-com instead. But if you're willing to try something that will actually engage your brain, rent this.

3. Democratic National Convention - Denver
If you thought the Olympics was exciting - hold on to your hats people! (Just kidding - this Special TV Programming will in no way compensate for the Olympics high I've been on for two weeks). If nothing else, just realize that many stations are airing at least one hour of coverage each night, so don't expect to gear up for your primetime favorites quite yet. For the true politicos out there... ha! My fans who are true politicos are definitely not getting their election news from this blog! But for those of you who want to know who's interrupting your Grey's Anatomy rerun - Monday night features Michelle Obama, Tuesday is Hillary, Wednesday is Joe Biden (VP candidate), and Thursday is Barack. And there you go - I've done my civic duty to educate the masses.