Le Sabot Post-Moderne

You have missed very little of great interest, in terms of popular culture. It has been a dismal season for Hollywood films. Everything that opens has huge hype, and a great first weekend, and then fades from memory. The heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune, (Paris Hilton is her name, unfortunately) is here there and everywhere with her zany antics.

Politically, at least among those in the center and on the right, there is a sort of "we're not going to take it anymore" attitude toward what is perceived as the more extreme depradations of the left. The same feeling permeates the left, and there is a strong sense of bitterness after the election in November. On the other hand, many people are simply glad it is over. And life goes on.
I cannot help you with slang, but the thing about Hummers is, unfortunately, correct. They are now the status symbol of suburbia, and it is perfectly normal to see them everywhere.

The phenomenon of "reality" television has probably begun it's downward spiral. The very hottest tv show now is a campy primetime drama called "Desperate Housewives".

Ummm, I cannot think of much else to tell you right now. I am new to your blog, but will be checking in regularly, since it looks absolutely fascinating.

Happy New Year!

I too am new to your blog. It's wonderful, I enjoy it very much and hope to continue checking in daily.

I can't tell you music wise what songs are in - pop is a genre I stay away from religiously.

In movies, last year was the year of Big hypes with no results. The movies that did make it big show an interesting tendency towards conservative values - superhero movies and family based movies. The current fad in movies is to celebrate families, or if you can't do that, celebrate dads. Films like "Spanglish", "Finding Neverland", and the upcoming "The Weather Man" all have pro-dad messages.

In pop culture overall, patriotism for America is fading, and it's being replaced with a value rift. The election gave us clarity - Red State/ Blue State, but it's been happening all over. I'm rambling but I think the biggest fad right now is more than ever it's cool to be a minority. The ghetto and gay subcultures reign in malls - it's not a bad thing to dress like a gay person anymore.

All of this is not said out of spite or condemnation, it's just the way I see it. Course I'm not exactly up on what's in, so I could be wrong.

Did you hear that that Bush guy beat that Kerry guy? ;-)

Actually, the hot new Hummer is a pickup. You can't swing a dead cat in Midland without hitting one. Since you once lived in Midland, you might appreciate knowing that the retail property along the Loop is being developed once again, with big department store chains like Kohl's and Academy Sports opening standalone stores. And Golden Corral closed down due to mis-management, so we've got that going for us now.

On TV, there's an episode of "Law and Order" showing somewhere 24-7. I have no idea just how many spin-offs are now in primetime and syndication, but it's a bunch. And "CSI" is not far behind.

The weather out here in California has gotten so bad, I actually saw a Hummer with mud on it...

Hummers were better when they were something suburban housewives gave their husbands instead of the other way 'round.

Fantasy (American) football has now been officially recognized by the IRS as a religion. Not really, but close.

That's about it.

The Boston Red Sox (baseball) won the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

Britney Spears married a white trash punk furthering her take-the-girl-out-of-the-trailer-park-but-you-can't take-the-trailer-park-out-of-the-girl image.

I am amazed about the awful movies that hollywood can produce (See Ocean's 12 and Alexander).

In music news, mash-ups have gotten fairly big. Especially Linkin Park and Jay Z.