Archive for the ‘Pop Culture’ Category
Here are a few more terms you’ve got to know to survive in today’s culture. Use these in your conversations today and you’ll quickly gain a reputation for being more fly-daddy than Timbaland. Word up, homeyz!
Catch more terms here.
Nerdjacking / Bieberjacking
Completely dominating an already in-progress conversation with extreme and/or unnecessary detail about one’s passion (technology, celebrities, etc.), without awareness or acknowledgement of the listener’s rapidly waning interest, lack of understanding, and irritation about the subject at hand.
Example Usage:
Wife: “So, where do you want to eat tonight? I was thinking that…”
Son: “Ooh! I just installed Lion on the iMac. It’s pretty cool but it doesn’t have the kernel capacity of Snow Leopard. I’m thinking about installing Otter – it’s way more fun and gives me more multi-tasking capability and…”
Daughter: “Oh my gosh! Look at this! Justin Bieber just got a new haircut! It’s sooooo cute. Dad, you should get your hair cut this way. Well, maybe not, you don’t have much hair…”
Me: “OK – this is out of hand. Marc, quit nerdjacking our conversation. Lia, quit Bieberjacking Marc’s nerdjack.”
I’ve noticed a weird trend recently in pop music. I’m not a music industry expert, but I think it’s called “sampling.” These songs stand alone as original compositions, but at some point they interject a few bars or a chorus from another song that hit the charts in prior months, years, or decades. For example:
- Flo Rida’s song Who Dat Girl revs up with the first couple of measures of Katy Perry’s California Gurls.
- The Enrique Iglesias/Pit Bull hit I like It interweaves a verse from Lionel Richie’s 1983 Song All Night Long (…party, karamu, fiesta, forever…).
- The Black Eyed Peas smash The Time (Dirty Bit) steals quite a bit of the melody from the Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes 1987 Dirty Dancing chart-topper (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.
If I ruled the world (and I’m currently putting my evil plan in place), these are a few combinations I would definitely commission.
- Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In the Dark with Abba’s Dancing Queen. Imagine if you will, “Ooo.. see that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the Dancing Queen, ‘cause my gun’s for hire, even if we’re just dancing in the dark…” I’ll get Lady GaGa to sing Abba’s part, Barry Manilow to rap out Bruce’s part, and DJ Khaled to remix the whole thing as an overlay/round. Instant. Awesome. Hit.
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Social media is a great way to dip your toe in the waters of an active social life. Those of us who have lived as isolated hermits most of our lives can find real satisfaction in connecting with peeps that we’ve never met, and more importantly, will probably never have to engage with in real life. This can lead to a serious narcissistic temptation when it suddenly hits us – “Whoa! I can be whoever I want to be and portray whatever image I want to reflect of myself.”
I don’t think most of us necessarily do this with intent, it just sort of happens over time. If you’re friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, you know that I want you to think I’m totally street, into the rap scene, and I’m really good at it. Unfortunately, my delivery of this image often backfires and I come across sounding more like a 50-year-old black woman on hormone therapy.
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Today I give you another tasting from my list of odd words that I’d like to hear more often in casual conversation. Again, I challenge you – pick a word or two from this list and work them into a conversation today. Let me know what reactions you get in the comments section!
Nidorosity [nidoros’ity]
This word is just fun to say. Especially after eating a corned beef sandwich or salami po boy.
Meaning:
(noun) Belching with the taste of undigested meat.
Example:
Cerillio did not realize that his chronic nidorosity rapidly killed the romantic mood for Shontelle. He assumed her gagging and vomiting in her mouth was the result of food poisoning contracted from her favorite East L.A. taco truck.
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It was the 80’s. Truly, there were so many things to love about this decade, but just as many to be embarrassed about. I recently took a virtual spin through my memories of high school and college to recall some of the hallmarks that for me, defined the culture and shaped the man that I’ve become. Be afraid.
Styles
Let’s examine how I embodied these 80’s trends, starting clockwise from top left.
Skinny ties and suspenders. No I was not in a rock or punk band. I was, however, in an ensemble Christian singing group while at Texas A&M. Dang I was bangin’.
Shirts with zippers. These were fun until I started to grow chest hair.
HUGE glasses. My dad still wears these. So thankful the styles are smaller these days, although the sales ladies at the eyeglass store tell me big is coming back. Sometimes it’s just best not to follow the trends. This was not a good look for me in the 80’s, and I’m confident I’ll look like a dork in 2011 also.
Ocean Pacific corduroy shorts. OP was cool. Mid-thigh length was also cool. See how they effectively emphasize my blindingly white stick legs? The Sperry Topsiders play a supporting role in this style collection as well, even though boating was never on my activity list.
