A quick rundown of what I’m currently reading, watching and playing.

READING: A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. I’m finally sinking my teeth into the first book of this epic fantasy series and it’s like re-watching the first season of HBO series all over again, but with more detail and backstory and no Ros. I’m appreciating the density of A Game of Thrones since I’m coming off of reading The Hunger Games books, which while rife with enough detail to escape into, just don’t rival the sheer epicness of Martin’s universe.

WATCHING: Game of Thrones and Girls on HBO. Sensing a theme here? I’m liking this season of GoT although I hate seeing the Starks so fractured and scattered. The introduction of new characters and locales has been refreshing (hmmm, Qarth?), but more satisfying is the fleshing out of certain minor characters including Renly and Gendry, the latter who’s my favorite new-ish character (least favorite newbie: Melisandre, who almost matches Joffrey in the insufferable category). The series lends itself to descend into all kinds of Lost-esque character mazes but I’m trusting that with the source material, it’s less likely to do so. After succumbing to much buzz, I’ve also been watching Girls. Jury’s still out on that one for me.

PLAYING: Gasp! I haven’t been gaming much lately, for a number of reasons, but I HAVE been enjoying some live music and caught Brazilian electroclashers CSS last week. And it hit me like a rock, per below.

What are you reading/watching/playing/listening to?

You may have already gleaned some of these from my Facebook page but here are a couple of links that kept me clicking this week.

Not everyone is a fan of HBO’s Girls. If you’re a TV superfan such as myself, you have probably heard all the buzz surrounding the new Judd Apatow-produced series Girls debuting on HBO this weekend. This Mother Jones writer, however, refutes the hype. Guess I will just have to wait and see for myself on Sunday night.

EA was named the “worst company in America” according to Consumerist readers because of the controversial ending to Mass Effect 3. The fan outcry has resulted in BioWare’s capitulation and a new, “extended cut” ending will be released this summer. But there’s also a case to be made for angry fans to just leave well enough alone. For that, there’s pretty excellent this TIME article.

I smell reality TV show! The business behind K-Pop stardom.

And finally, dug up from the archives of E3s of yore, the guys at Eurekamatic recently posted this segment highlighting the Booth BOYS of gaming conventions. Why should guys get to do all the ogling?

Pilot season is coming to a close, some of the most dynamic cable shows are just starting up again, a little movie called The Hunger Games came out and Rihanna probably just changed her hair color 3 times in the time it took for you to read this sentence The pop culture world is buzzing overtime and as a superfan, my media plate overfloweth. It’s like being at one of those awesome Vegas-style buffets where you can just keep piling on plate after plate of shrimp cocktail, cheesecake, prime rib, crab legs and (oh, what the heck) more cheesecake and never get full – instead, you’re just enjoying the variety and taste sensations. Here’s a rundown of what I’m reading, watching and playing right now.

READING: TIME Magazine, “The Truth About Oil.” I get about a million magazines sent to my house every week (thanks, unused frequent flier miles!) and the cover of a recent TIME issue caught my attention and that of my wallet. As a native Californian, I’ve spent more of my life in a car than I’d like to admit, and more tethered to the up-downs of gas prices than, say, someone who’s had access to public transportation her whole life. Lately, it seems the hurt at the pump is feeling extra bruise-y.

WATCHING: Shahs of Sunset on Bravo. I tune in for Reza’s snappy one-liners and the show’s emphasis on the immigrant family experience. It’s cleverly cut with colorful characters to boot. And while my Persian-American friends probably want to strangle me for supporting this show, I see it as another slice of the American cultural pie, albeit one with political refugees and real estate moguls.

PLAYING: Angry Birds in Space. Lately, I haven’t been able to block out several hours to do anything on the couch (unless it’s powering through Game of Thrones episodes). Translation: I haven’t fired up my consoles in awhile for some hardcore gaming. Which is fine because the casual gamer in me is adoring the latest Angry Birds, mostly for the impressive space physics. I have to one-hand clap for Rovio: They definitely know how to innovate when it comes to massacring obnoxious green pigs via launching birds.

What are YOU reading/watching/playing?

The latest trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman hit the interwebs today, with Charlize Theron as the deliciously evil, vain queen in hot pursuit of Kristen Stewart, the latter of the blood-red lips and hair black as night. Of the dueling Snow White movies out this year, this one is much more suited to my taste. Mirror, Mirror looks fun and all, but I get my dose of villainous cougars by watching The Real Housewives: Any City. Also, is Chris Hemsworth contractually obligated to wield something (axe, hammer) in all of his movies? I hope so.

It’s tax season so like many, I’ve been plugging away in my office, wading through receipts and crunching numbers until I am 80% sure I have arthritis. During a well-deserved (!) social media break, I stumbled upon this video of one of my favorite nerds, astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, answering a TIME reader’s question about what he finds most astounding about the universe. When I get caught in the minutiae of everyday life, I like to be reminded that I am, indeed, small but connected to something “big” at the same time.

And because I feel like it’s my duty to counter something inspirational with something totally hilarious/amusing, actress/funnywoman/now my favorite lady emcee ever Amber Tamblyn recently punked (not “Punk’d”) R&B singer and actor Tyrese Gibson after Gibson solicited Tamblyn about doing a musical collaboration, mistaking her for model/Kanye arm candy, Amber Rose. The resulting email and iPhone beats exchange are blowing up the interwebs. The future Mrs. David Cross (yep, she’s engaged to Tobias Funke) says she’s 86% sorry for the prank, but you’ll be 120% stoked that you spent 20 minutes reading their “dialogue.”

A baby sloth is dressed up in a printed makeshift onesie after being slathered in lard as treatment for mange. And, really, mange has never before looked so adorable. Warning: Watching this video through until the very end will cause cute overload.