A Fortnight's Best: June 12 – 26

By Jordan Gamble on June 28, 2012

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The things we liked/loathed/didn’t understand from the last two weeks, in no particular order:

1. Well, it’s nationals of the Miss Universe of Childhood Geekery, and you need a blockbuster talent to knock all those other contestants out of the water. Better start prepping your astonished gasps and expert hand-waving, because playing the Harry Potter theme on crystal glasses is GONNA WIN IT ALL BABY.

2. Twitter was down for a like an hour last week, and the social media continuum bent back on itself as Twitter users took to their other cyber outlets to bitch about it. Twitter users then discovered that Google+ is inhabiated by indignant 13-year-old assholes.

3. The Oklahoma City Thunder have grown up fast, going to the NBA Finals with a roster so young most of them can’t even rent cars yet. But they were still gracious in defeat in Game 5 against the Miami Heat. This poor 6-year-old Thunder fan, however, hasn’t quite mastered that whole stoicism thing yet.

4. In the past two weeks I’ve caught up on the 10-episode season of HBO’s freshman dramedy Girls. And last Sunday’s most excellent season finale was at times bizarre yet still spot-on, and brilliantly left each character in circumstances 180 degrees from where they started. I can’t believe I have to wait until next spring to catch Season 2. — Traci Heston, Guest Writer

5. PT

Anderson and Quentin Tarantino: the auteur battle royale. Cuts of Mr. Anderson’s latest film, “The Master,” look so minimalist that somewhere the haunt of Stanley Kubrick has to smile (or whatever a Kubrickian haunt does). Contrast that with (another) wildly revisionist and colorful history lesson from Mr. Tarantino in “Django Unchained” and the second half of 2012 shapes up to save the cinematic year. — Colin Rich, Managing Editor

6. Who knew there was such a thing as the Travel Photographer of the Year competition? Well, thanks to the BBC, we can all get a glimpse at some our world’s most stunning features through the eyes (and lenses) of some of the world’s best photographers. This will be the best spent six minutes of your life, guaranteed. — Maija Gustin, Columnist

7. Confirmed: Bella and Edward’s kid is suitably creepy, and Renesme is still a dumb name.Rich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl / Alt + Shift + B)Italic (Ctrl / Alt + Shift + I)Strikethrough (Alt + Shift + D)Unordered list (Alt + Shift + U)Ordered list (Alt + Shift + O)Blockquote (Alt + Shift + Q)Align Left (Alt + Shift + L)Align Center (Alt + Shift + C)Align Right (Alt + Shift + R)Insert/edit link (Alt + Shift + A)Unlink (Alt + Shift + S)Insert More Tag (Alt + Shift + T)Proofread WritingToggle fullscreen mode (Alt + Shift + G)Show/Hide Kitchen Sink (Alt + Shift + Z)
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The things we liked/loathed/didn’t understand from the last two weeks, in no particular order:
1. Well, it’s nationals of the Miss Universe of Childhood Geekery, and you need a blockbuster talent to knock all those other contestants out of the water. Better start prepping your astonished gasps and expert hand-waving, because playing the Harry Potter theme on crystal glasses is GONNA WIN IT ALL BABY.

2. Twitter was down for a like an hour last week, and the social media continuum bent back on itself as Twitter users took to their other cyber outlets to bitch about it. Twitter users then discovered that Google+ is inhabiated by indignant 13-year-old assholes.
3. The Oklahoma City Thunder have grown up fast, going to the NBA Finals with a roster so young most of them can’t even rent cars yet. But they were still gracious in defeat in Game 5 against the Miami Heat. This poor 6-year-old Thunder fan, however, hasn’t quite mastered that whole stoicism thing yet.
4. In the past two weeks I’ve caught up on the 10-episode season of HBO’s freshman dramedy Girls. And last Sunday’s most excellent season finale was at times bizarre yet still spot-on, and brilliantly left each character in circumstances 180 degrees from where they started. I can’t believe I have to wait until next spring to catch Season 2. — Traci Heston, Guest Writer
5. PT Anderson and Quentin Tarantino: the auteur battle royale. Cuts of Mr. Anderson’s latest film, “The Master,” look so minimalist that somewhere the haunt of Stanley Kubrick has to smile (or whatever a Kubrickian haunt does). Contrast that with (another) wildly revisionist and colorful history lesson from Mr. Tarantino in “Django Unchained” and the second half of 2012 shapes up to save the cinematic year. — Colin Rich, Managing Editor
6. Who knew there was such a thing as the Travel Photographer of the Year competition? Well, thanks to the BBC, we can all get a glimpse at some our world’s most stunning features through the eyes (and lenses) of some of the world’s best photographers. This will be the best spent six minutes of your life, guaranteed. — Maija Gustin, Columnist
7. Confirmed: Bella and Edward’s kid is suitably creepy, and Renesme is still a dumb name.
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