tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68810953973119063092011-04-21T11:16:34.487-07:00my introduction to pop culture, one reference at a timepoptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-45295855136851151452008-04-01T13:29:00.001-07:002008-04-01T13:37:04.194-07:00

after many promises that vertigo was not a scary movie, i watched my first hitchcock film this past weekend! i knew hitchcock made psycho and the birds, both of which i had been warned by several people who know me well to never watch, so i was a little apprehensive about vertigo. i am happy to report that i enjoyed vertigo, and that i'm looking forward to watching rear window and north by

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-8505391755654041442008-03-27T22:23:00.000-07:002008-03-27T10:23:34.271-07:00

a friend of mine often makes statements about bad news bears in conversation. for some reason, i thought it had to do with making decisions, but just recently discovered that it is actually in reference to a movie. bad news bears, which came out in 1976, is about an alcoholic ex-professional baseball player who coaches and tries to turn a losing little league team around. there were two sequels

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-66719435665352641052008-03-20T08:29:00.000-07:002008-03-20T08:29:36.849-07:00

my exposure to poetry began at a young age with shel silverstein. i loved his fun, whimsical poems and the funny but sometimes disturbing drawings. countless hours were spent pouring over a light in the attic, where the sidewalk ends, falling up, and the giving tree. i even remember reciting one of his poems for school - something along the lines of "homework oh homework / i hate you, you stink /

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-63535573622410541702008-03-13T14:15:00.000-07:002008-03-13T14:24:56.726-07:00

it's been years since i last watched cartoons, but one of my favorites was batman. batman was awesome because he didn't have any super powers. being fabulously wealthy and devastatingly good looking was a huge bonus, but he was just a normal human being using what was available to him. the appeal of the character was that it made me feel that yes! i, too, could become an avenger in the night!

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-39133717276732044832008-03-11T10:59:00.000-07:002008-03-11T10:59:35.834-07:00

until i was in high school and finally watched a new hope, i would get star trek and star wars mixed up. the titles were too similar and i had friends who were obsessed with either or both. having never seen any movies or episodes of star trek/wars, all i knew (or so i thought) was that they were about fighting, stars and people in space. star trek, the creation of gene roddenberry, is a huge

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-6271426649056003442008-03-06T09:52:00.001-08:002008-03-11T11:06:43.795-07:00

i was discussing fashion the other day with some friends of mine, laughing about how ridiculous a lot of outfits looked in older movies. naturally, the conversation lead to terrible fashion fads of our youth. i was pretty pleased with myself for contributing hypercolor t-shirts, only to feel sheepish when no one else had ever heard of it. hypercolor clothing were temperature-sensitive items that

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-49315228281509510662008-02-12T11:29:00.001-08:002008-02-12T11:37:08.479-08:00

i finally watched the graduate! i now understand what driving across the bay bridge in the wrong direction, scuba gear, plastics, and mrs. robinson and her legs is all about. the graduate, directed by mike nichols, stars anne bancroft as mrs. robinson, dustin hoffman as benjamin braddock, and katharine ross as elaine robinson. the movie is about a recent college graduate who has an affair

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-41001852773742311602008-02-06T16:22:00.001-08:002008-02-06T16:26:55.218-08:00

the superbowl is always surrounded by a panoply of pop culture references. from famous players to football rules to sports history to commercials that make no sense at all, i usually feel a bit bewildered while watching the big game. i didn't pay too much attention to the game this year, but i did learn about the famous brady bunch episode where marcia gets hit in the nose by a football.the

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-31553080129738101512008-01-29T10:41:00.001-08:002008-01-29T10:59:07.885-08:00

i once thought stephen stills was a fictional character from brian lee o'malley's scott pilgrim comic series. however, thanks to rockband, i now know that stephen stills is in fact, a real person! the real stephen stills was part of crosby, stills & nash (and young) and buffalo springfield. the "young" is neil young, who i'd heard of, but have not yet heard his music. unfortunately, i don't

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-52350747821452239832008-01-23T10:12:00.001-08:002008-01-23T10:24:44.543-08:00

do celebrities, especially those who are no longer making hit movies, take public transportation? that was what i was trying to figure out as a man who looked very familiar got on the bus. it took quite a bit of thinking, but it finally occured to me that the man looked just like patrick swayze! the only movie i saw patrick swayze in was ghost, but his role in dirty dancing was apparently quite

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-54942100744102844162008-01-14T17:12:00.001-08:002008-01-14T17:17:33.252-08:00

other than following the olympics every two years, i never really paid any attention to sports until recently. this past winter, i learned about jimmy valvano, a former north carolina state men's basketball coach. he was the head coach when his team won the ncaa tournament in 1983. his team's win was considered a huge upset, and the ending of the game was considered one of the most famous in

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-39160194126207037782008-01-11T11:20:00.001-08:002008-01-29T10:57:30.603-08:00

although i am constantly getting them mixed up, blade and blade runner are very different movies. blade stars wesley snipes and is about vampires. blade runner features harrison ford and is about a blade runner in outer space. a final cut of blade runner was recently released for the theaters but i have yet to see any version of the movie. i thought there was a famous song associated with the

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-40303009965017718962008-01-09T13:31:00.001-08:002008-01-29T10:57:52.246-08:00

i always thought smooth criminal was originally by alien ant farm. when i found a michael jackson version of the song on my ipod, naturally, i assumed it was a cover. a casual mention of my surprise that michael jackson covered smooth criminal by alien ant farm was met with shock, disbelief, and general speechlessness. conversations about michael jackson inevitably lead to discussions of thriller

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-84690369731282996132008-01-07T15:18:00.001-08:002008-01-29T10:56:52.561-08:00

when i finally had cable at the end of 2003, one of the first things i did was turn to mtv. expecting to finally see a music video, i was disappointed to find some reality show airing instead. for weeks, i tried mtv, mtv2 and vh1 with no success. i was (and still am) confused as to why none of these "music channels" showed music videos.thanks to good weather for airstrikes and the internet, i

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-25662246691757173112008-01-04T11:49:00.001-08:002008-01-29T10:58:07.312-08:00

my exposure to the karate kid can be summed up by two distinct sets of images. one set is of all the ridiculous shower costumes i've seen people wear at halloween parties. the other set is more accurately described as a series of mini-movies featuring hands moving in a circle while a disembodied voice chants "wax on, wax off". although i borrowed the dvd from the library once, i never got around

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-24408874710570772602008-01-03T14:46:00.001-08:002008-01-29T10:58:26.284-08:00

i recently learned of pete townshend from watching a rockband commercial that mentioned scissor kicking and the windmill. according to wikipedia, pete townshend, as the principal guitarist and songwriter for the who, is quite important in the music world. the who seems to have influenced many other artists and groups, none of whom i'd ever heard of. unfortunately, i also don't know if i've ever

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881095397311906309.post-61776806785573850502007-12-31T22:58:00.000-08:002008-01-29T10:57:08.326-08:00

poptarded girl has been created!

poptardedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10824344437637250574noreply@blogger.com0