pop culture, pittsburgh, and potpouri

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Rest In Peace Pittsburgh Policemen...


Don't get me wrong Cops are Pigs. I have never been in a position where one has helped me. Most of my run ins with the police have been getting a ticket or them being pricks, but the fact of the matter is that being a cop is a difficult job that is important to society and these people are often tortured leading stressful life's to help people who hate them (like me).

The horrible tragedy of three Pittsburgh Police men being gunned down by a right wing coward in Stanton Hieghts is one of the saddest and most heartbreaking stories that has ever been told in Pittsburgh. Since this blog is a Pittsburgh blog (I know...keep it to yourself) I wouldn't be doing my fake job without mentioning them. I am sure they are all in a better place with police dogs, especially Ulf,  non-stop car chases, shooting ranges, Starbucks, and donuts. I don't ask much, but I do ask anyone who reads this to take a second to stop and think about these three men and their families in this difficult time.

The city county building will be closed tomorrow at noon to allow for the mourning of these officers.

Must Be Dreamworks...Ha Ha!!!

I love shit like this. You know some of the Disney animators are so over it. Everyone at their job tries to cut corners. If you have something to write or have work to do, most people just try to find someone who already did it and copy it. Everyone does it and anyone who says they don't is lying. The game in life is to not get caught. Hell Bloggers are able to make a living doing it. I do it everyday. Where do you think I came up with this post? Musicians do it, lawyers do it, and Disney does, but they got caught.


Ropeless Jump Rope!!! Brilliant!

Stupidest thing I have ever seen? Maybe not, but it has to be in the top ten. From the Snuggy school of ridiculousness I give you the Jumpsnap. The worlds first and only ropeless jump rope. Basically this thing is a piece of plastic with a "on board computer" to make a clicking sound so that you can hop in place. I could use my dod training clicker and accomplish the same thing. This is the ingenuity that that Glen Beck is always crying about right?

Monday, April 6, 2009

The Internet: The Gift That Just Keeps on Giving...

Now that we can analyze the Internet and throw around words like viral and meme, you would think that it would "spoil" that "its ours" thing. You know that feeling when a band you like and have followed suddenly hits it big and random people are asking you about it and their songs are played on clear channel stations. Well that will never happen to the Internet and its trillions of awesome things. No matter how much people package Internet culture and bottle it up, it will never be capable of selling out. Why you ask? For the simple reason that things like this are always out there and they are constantly being found.

WTF...WTF...



WHO KNEW BILLY CORGAN WAS INTO THAI LADY BOYS...

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Oh Omegele How You Fester in the Absurd...


It you haven't heard of Omegle yet, you will. It is a new site where you can talk to strangers without a user name, password, or any sign in to the site. Yes, it is kind of like the early American online chat rooms, but you only talk to one person the "stranger". For the most part you just get really bizarre conversations. Alot of them are completely juvenile crass obscenities led by the infiltration of btards from the 4chan random board, but if you stick through it you can have some really funny or interesting chats with people from around the world. The concept sounds boring, and believe me it does become boring after getting your fifth disconnection after someone tells you they are masturbating or that you are a nigger fag, but stick to it and you will eventually find someone looking for what you are.

At any one time there are about 4,000 people on. I would like someone to figure out the likely hood of getting the same person over an hour period. So go ahead and test your patience for 15 year old obnoxious btards or Finnish people who like Black Gothic Metal. Let me leave you with this. The best conversation I had with a total stranger was on Omegle and it started like this:

You: Hi
Stranger: Would you do a Bong Hit of My Farts?
You: No
Stranger: Not even if I told you that just ate Chinese food?
You: Take out or delivery?
....

What is the 2000's?



I have been knee deep in the BWE's 90's movie madness bracket over the last week pathetically arguing over whether Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead is more 90's than Office Space. The whole exercise got me thinking about cultural identification of a decade through its pop medium. Most people have not even become aware of the identifiers that make the 90's the 90's and we are almost through the 2000's. Pretty soon we will begin saying that is so 2000. I can already see the wading pools of cultural fads swirling around in their pre-Cambrian stew to create cohesive markers of 2000-2010. 

Part of the problem with trying to identify a decade is that culture doesn't progress in ten period cycles. What we identify as the 90's is really 85-95 and 95-2000. Many would argue that Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter is dead is 80's and Office Space is really 00's. The bad fashion  and aesthetic of the 80's hung around into the 90's with slap bracelets and neon windbreakers. This leads me to asking two questions. 1) What is one piece of pop culture that neatly sum ups the 1990's? Please let me know what you think. Once you answer that question next ask yourself this: It is 2009, what is something that defines the 2000's? 

Usually Tv's shows work pretty well. Beverly Hill 90210 is an easy answer for question #1 and The O.C. is a pretty good answer for question #2, but push yourself further and give me your best in the comments!