Don Draper

Let's get one thing clear from the start: I love "Mad Men," and this stylish series about life on Madison Avenue in the 1960s is by far the best drama on television. It's steeped in authentic period detail while still speaking more eloquently than any other TV drama to America today. But there is historical detail, and then there is historical detail. And when it comes to keepers of the historical flame in Baltimore, this is a city that loves its past and can be downright picky about it. "Mad Men" opens Season 3 tonight at 10 on AMC with a business trip to Baltimore.

Finally, Baltimore gets a chance to look good on prime time TV - and it's on the most stylish and honored drama on television no less. It's the Baltimore of the 1960s, unfortunately, not Baltimore today. But nevertheless, Baltimore is featured prominently in the Aug. 16 premiere episode of Season 3 of AMC's Mad Men, last year's winner of the Emmy as the best drama on television. And what viewers will see of the city - from Haussner's restaurant to the Belvedere Hotel - makes Baltimore look like a first-rate East Coast urban center with good hotels, restaurants, night life and thriving businesses.

Advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is having health concerns and a sudden problem in bed. His strikingly beautiful wife, Betty Draper (January Jones), meanwhile, is feeling feminist Betty Friedan's "nameless aching discontent" worse than ever in their suburban Connecticut life, and has taken up horseback riding and flirting with strangers to try and fill the void. Copywriter Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) has a most unwelcome office mate, as well as a host of problems in her new role as unwed mother.

One thinks of that scene from "The Wizard of Oz" where Toto pulls back the curtain and the "great and powerful Oz" is revealed to be only an old man manipulating a smoke and fire machine. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" bellows the Wizard as the man tries to pull the covering back into place. One suspects that if he were not reposing in a watery grave just now, Osama bin Laden would be doing something very similar. After all, in the two months since Navy SEALs killed him in a raid, American officials have released a series of revelations deeply unflattering to his image as a terrorist mastermind.

The vintage Coca-Cola machine is a gorgeous artifact of American history, so Coke has wisely made it a centerpiece to its Father's Day campaign (my apologies for being a bit late on this). Nostalgia-bait? Don Draper would approve. And, because you're seeing it on this blog, the commercial has a Baltimore connection, specifically local singer-songwriter Mike McFadden's song "Get It Together" is used in "The Perfectionist" clip. Watch it above, and listen to the multi-instrumentalist's music at McFadden's Facebook page . McFadden plays his album release show at the 8x10 in Federal Hill on June 29 with The Lombards, Drunken Camel and Cool Hand & the Swagger (it's getting hard to come up with new band names, huh?

'South Park' gets West to wake up South Park may have accomplished the impossible - getting Kanye West to check his ego. The Comedy Central cartoon skewered the rapper Wednesday. West responded Thursday on his blog, saying that the show was funny but that it also hurt his feelings and has helped him realize that maybe he needs to stop saying how great he is. West wrote in typical all-caps: "I JUST WANT TO BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM."

The return of crisp, cool autumn air beckons the past. It conjures feelings of nostalgia, a need for something warm, familiar and classic. The simple, smoky Manhattan represents this return to the season. The good Manhattan's fragrance connects to the world of Don Draper or, even further back, to Prohibition-era glamour. To me, the setting for enjoying a good Manhattan only contributes to the lore of the cocktail - and nowhere embodies the sophistication of the drink more than the Prime Rib in Mount Vernon.

"Don't be a stranger" -- Peggy Olson I went to a wedding a few weeks ago, and the conversation at my table, as it often does, turned to "Mad Men. " A few guests were very adamant about Season 5; "lackluster" and "disappointing" were the most commonly used words. I've been back and forth about this season, but have always thought there has been more good moments than bad. After last week's glaring misstep, I was getting worried. But tonight's beyond-excellent episode, which ranks right up there with episodes "The Suitcase" and "Shut the Door.

Ten years ago, Nini Sarmiento and Rob Degenhard were scouring flea markets, antiques stores and yard sales searching for midcentury modern pieces to furnish their Rodgers Forge townhouse. They were having such a good time — and becoming so good at it — that one vendor suggested they try selling furniture themselves. And so Home Anthology was born. Today their Catonsville store has become a destination for those seeking midcentury modern, vintage, and retro furniture and accessories.