Tag: Popular Culture
South Breaks Stereotypes…Or Not
10 of 20
Number of places on the Amazon “Most Well-Read Cities” list that are in the South, including number one, Alexandria, Va.; number two, Knoxville, Tenn.; number three, Miami; and number five, Orlando. The ranking is based on book, Kindle, and magazine sales, and Knoxville might not make next year’s list. It ranked high this year because of the massive quantity of copies of Fifty Shades of Gray its residents bought.
Proms Are Being Hijacked by 1% Kids
$1,139
What the average family plans to spend on their child attending a prom this year, putting the event out of reach for an increasing number of high schoolers. Custom-made dresses (to avoid possible duplication), new shoes, hair styling, professionally applied makeup, tanning sessions, limousine and tux rentals, flowers, dinner reservations, and after-parties are frequently “required” to enjoy the event.
Did the Google Doodle Overlook Asian Women on International Women’s Day?
It’s nice that Google went to all the trouble to draw up a (kind of strange) Google doodle to represent International Women’s Day. But some critics are asking what happened to the Asian women, who don’t really jump out of the graphic. There are a couple of ladies in the image that might be someone’s idea of Asian; still, Google was fair in making all the women in the doodle look a little bizarre. What do you think?
Twitter Not Amused by Rubio’s Ill-Timed Tweet
PR’s own Buck nominated Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (GOP/Tea) for the “Really Trying Way Too Hard” Hall of Fame after Rubio told the gossip site TMZ that his favorite songs of all-time are NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton,” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and Tupac’s “Killuminati.”
The likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, recently dubbed by Time Magazine the “saviour” of the party, is also brandishing a reputation as the life of the party, and nothing says frat boy quite like this tweet, posted the day the economy-wrecking sequester took effect.
If I put #HarlemShake video 2gether in Senate who should be in it?Taking suggestions now. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?utm_campaign=Fee
Rubio apparently didn’t spend the day trying to figure out how to keep from damaging the economy or how to save American jobs, but instead daydreaming about his own fantasy football-esque dance party. Here were some of the responses to his call for suggestions on his Twitter feed.*
- @jbminn — @marcorubio I’d suggest you stop wasting time and money.
- @haroldpollack — @marcorubio even I am too cool for the Harlem shake.
- @devincf — I suggest you fix the sequester.
- @Brian_Thill — LOL you are so hip!! OMG!!1! wheres my checkbook
Hope for 2013
For the sake of argument, let’s say there are no coincidences in this world (an idea otherwise known as Trish’s Law of No Coincidences).
If you disagree, then please explain to me how Americans choose the name “Hope” for the young Clydesdale featured in the 2013 Budweiser Super Bowl ad, which was born the weekend of Pres. Obama’s second inauguration.
Obama, for those who missed the last five years of history, has been needled and scorned by both Republicans and Democrats, by late-night comedians and old movie stars (O.K., maybe just Clint Eastwood), by Sarah Palin (“How’s that hopey-changy thing working for ya?”) and Hillary Clinton, all for his message of hope.
Shazam! Jim Nabors and Longtime Male Partner Marry in Washington State
For those of you saying, “Well golllleee, I didn’t know Jim Nabors was still around,” yeah, I know. But the 82-year-old Hawaii resident and his 60-something partner Stan Cadwallader flew to Seattle recently to tie the knot, now that such things are legal in Washington State.
Nabors says you’ve got to solidify something when you’ve been together as long as they have.
They couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter.
Nabors says he’s been open about his homosexuality to co-workers and friends but never acknowledged it to the media before.
Maybe times have changed enough to do a new version of Gomer Pyle, USMC featuring a Marine who can be openly gay.
Best wishes to Nabors and Cadwallader.
Chris Hughes, One of the Four Facebook Founders, Speaks Out on Mark Zuckerberg – Chris Christie Pairing
For those of you scratching your head about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recently announced fundraiser for Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, you are not alone. Yes, Christie openly appreciated the Obama administration’s help after super storm Sandy, and the great job done by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) in supplying assistance that the local community could not provide for itself. And he did blast Republicans in the U.S. House who voted against aid to Sandy victims.
But Christie also gave his full voice to helping elect Mitt Romney for president, in addition to numerous other odious Republican stances. At base, he’s a Republican, pure and simple, and he supports the party’s platform.
All of it.
Which is why Chris Hughes, editor and publisher of the New Republic, and a Facebook founder, does not agree with his former partner, Zuckerberg, on Christie. Hughes is gay, and he and his then boyfriend and now husband were guests at the very first Obama state dinner. Republicans, in case you missed it, aren’t much into being gay, at least not publicly. Here’s Hughes on ABC’s “This Week.”
I, for one, have a lot of questions about Chris Christie, particularly because less than a year ago he vetoed a marriage equality bill in the New Jersey state legislature. Which for me personally, I got married to my husband last June, [it] was just really personally frustrating. I mean, there are tens of thousands of couples in New Jersey that can’t share their love and be recognized under the law because of that decision. I’m not a single issue voter, and I think most people aren’t either, but for me personally, it would raise serious concerns about supporting someone like him.
It does for us all, Chris.
