Pop Culture Mondays/11.9.20
The “A Sky Full of Stars” Edition
In the words of pop culture legend Leslie Jordan….”Well, SHIT!!!!!” I mean…do we all get a year’s worth of free therapy after the week we just had? I already made it clear to the powers that be that calories most DEFINITELY DID NOT COUNT this past week. If I did not have a dog, the ONLY steps I would have taken would have been from my couch to my fridge which I stood in front of countless times a day and stared into as if new magical things would have reappeared. I ate all the extra halloween candy and by extra I mean there was no reason to have Halloween candy to begin with but I did and it is now in my belly. I even negotiated with my heart surgeon 5 weeks post surgery to let me drink a little bit (I suggested ONE bottle of tequila vs two but he was not on my wavelength). ANYWAY, there was a lot of emotion packed into a week. Excitement, terror, disappointment, shock, sadness, anticipation, disbelief, excitement, relief, disbelief, inspiration, did I say disbelief…and everything in between.
Look, I am going to keep this TRUMP-free(ISH)…HOW? I have no fucking idea…I am sitting here in full winter gear in LA because no one explained to me that A. it gets cold here and B. 55 degrees in LA is different than 55 degrees in NY (it just is, don’t science me) injecting coffee into my veins as I try to figure out how the HELL I am going to avoid the abusive gaslighting SOON TO BE EX- boyfriend and I will just say, there will be some moments I just skip over and figure you can find elsewhere…and covering moments that rose up this week in the zeitgeist that don’t directly involve him is OK (sorry all you crazy people singing in tongues, this is not going to include you.)
And whether you are a fan of Coldplay or roll your eyes…I don’t care. This is the “Sky Full of Stars” Edition NOT just because that is a song that evokes emotion regardless…but because it was the song that was played after President- Elect Biden spoke because…IT WAS HIS SON BEAU’S FAVORITE SONG and Chris Martin performed it at his funeral. Beau…who in a parallel universe is President of the US if his heroic and admirable life wasn’t cut short by a horrible cancer (DONATE HERE) and so for that we all are going to LOVE THIS SONG. And that’s that on the matter.
And also, believe it or NOT there were some other moments that broke through outside of the election and TikTok continues to inspire and distract me. So, with that…I give you Taylor Lorenz of the New York Times who said it better than I ever could and BABIES, I FEEL SEEN:
MAP DADDIES:
Whether ill fitting but iconic khakis were your thing or big, meaty hands and suits that barely contained the biceps, America seemed united for a moment in time over their love for our vote counters, Steve “KornKHAKI” Kornacki of MSNBC and John “OMG HE WAS MARRIED TO DANA BASH??” King of CNN. And while socials deemed them “Chartthrobs” I prefer the term “MAP DADDY” because this is my newsletter!!
THOUGH I think this hilarious take summed up the MAP DADDIES MOMENTS perfectly:
I mean, I hope both those boys are at the Amangiri, sitting together in the spa in their big fluffy robes with cucumbers on their eyes and paraffin wax on their hands. BECAUSE these guys DESERVE it. If you were like me, you would flip between the two channels just to get a dose of both of them and if they were not on the air then it was less interesting to watch. LOOK, I love me some Rachel Maddow..I do, but it took my a while to realize she had disappeared from the broadcast (due to a COVID scare) but the SECOND Kornacki was not to be found I went thru all these thoughts:
Is he ok?
Is he sleeping?
Are they feeding him?
Has he collapsed?
Is he changing into another weird color khaki pant and brand new shirt that still has the creases in it?
IS SOMEONE TAKING CARE OF HIM??
And our dear sweet John King who everyone at once realized was once married to CNN star Dana Bash (DAN-a, not DAY-na) as we all collectively WIKIPEDIA-ED HIM like our lives depended on it and even though he has been in our lives forever, it’s like he was BORN at this moment in time. And more than anything else I heard from my people and saw on the TikTok:
HE CONVERTED TO JUDAISM FOR LOVE
And with that, every Jewish Girl I know was like HE IS OURS and that was that. FINI!!!
I will just let my fave posts from social tell the story.
My fave, from Steve Kornacki’s husband:
OK SOOO most of these are all called FANCAMS. At least the TikToks ones are and fancams for those who do not know is a video that closes in on one person….so if a band was on stage and you were filming it but decided to only close in on say THE DRUMMER because you have fallen in love with teh drummer, obviously. SO, in this case…we may love almost ALL of the MSNBC and CNN people, we are zooming in on the TRUEST and MOST PURE loves and that is KORNACKI AND KING.
MOMALA:
Guys, I have no idea how I am going to cover all of this shit that went down this week in one post so I just figured let’s just show you all the memes and posts and videos! SO MANY!!! BUT LET’S SAY THIS → A woman of color, a woman from a South Asian mother and a Jamaican father, a woman who is married to a Jewish man…I mean there are a LOT of firsts here and I am here for it…a WOMAN IS VICE PRESIDENT and LADIES…PUT YOUR SHOES ON AS THERE IS A LOT OF BROKEN GLASS AROUND. AND while I could go on and on and ON about the FOUR SEASONS TOTAL LANDSCAPING, I am not. But for those of you (like myself) confused about the real story of the Four Seasons debacle here is the CLIFF’S NOTES VERSION:
- It was NEVER meant to be at the Four Seasons Hotel
- The mistake was the FIRST tweet that was sent out by the current US President
- The Campaign wanted the lawyers to have a press conference in a working class location in front of a minority owned business
- The campaign thought the location was MORE central than it was
- AND APPARENTLY no one checked the location until they were setting up so the optics of it being outside of town and across from a sex toy shop were not known until it was too late.
- The Four Seasons HOTEL in Philadelphia, which INCIDENTALLY is a really nice hotel and has an amaze spa and indoor pool I highly recommend checking out, had to clarify the mistake on the Twitter:
- And because this is AMERICA…Four Seasons Total Landscaping is now selling MERCH (probably to pay for the lawsuit the Four Seasons Hotel chain will be filing …)
OK, so now let us please move on to MOMOLA who has captured our hearts. FULL disclosure, I was not totally on board the Kamala train AT first…BUT let me tell you, when she PUT PENCE in his place with the “I’m speaking…” moment…that was it…I was forever and always devoted.
And this sums up my feelings perfectly:
There were a lot of incredible moments to come out of this historic moment…but I think this viral illustration of Kamala in front of a shadow of Ruby Bridges by artist Bria Goeller is the MOST special. This is taking from Norman Rockwell’s famous portrait of Ruby Bridges as she becomes the first black child to desegregate a Louisiana school in the ’60s called “The Problem We All Live With”:
Could you IMAGINE what Rockwell would have painted today? Well I think what Goeller did was a pretty good guess. There were other viral moments that had a huge impact. Here are a few:
“We’ve gone from picking cotton to picking Presidents” — this was a powerful moment in Detroit:
And Van Jones threads the needle from his viral moment when Trump was elected to when Biden was announced the winner:
And for those of you who do not remember what this came from, this is from 2016:
OK GRANTED it was revealed later that he said “BUZZ off” but still, a hero was born:
And then we have celebrations. Someone said it on socials…
Try to live your life so that when you get fired people don’t take to the streets to celebrate around the world…
Look there was no social distancing. That went out the window I am SURE IF the other team had won and all had taken to the streets there is NO question in my mind that THIS would have been a call for the outrage to begin but the key difference here is…..VIRTUALLY everyone I saw and know and from reports from people in different cities out celebrating is that EVERYONE was wearing masks. EVERYONE. And that is NOT what would happen on the other side of things. OK, so with that….
Why the French “LOVE” us:
AND MAYBE, MAYBE MY MOST FAVE TROLL EVER is this one, to the MAGA hat:
I am still crying, though I could have done without the Hall & Oates TBH:
AND SIDE NOTE: I kept a lot of TRUMP out but this video was too good not to share and for the 5 of you who missed it from THE FINAL AVENGERS MOVIE:
AND I CLOSE THIS POST, with an Irish moment because ultimately PCM is an IRELAND STAN NEWSLETTER obviously:
I WILL TAKE “ALEX TREBEK WAS A LEGEND” FOR $1000:
We had our moment of joy for 2020. In the form of ONE full 24 hour time period. And then we were thrown right back into the sadness as we lost another legend, another victim to cancer. And while Alex Trebek lived 80 BIG and important years which is a good run, it felt like he could have easily had 80 more had it not been for the awfulness of pancreatic cancer. Though how he kept going hosting a show I have never known not to be on, a little over a week before he died is a true testament to his strength and determination. I was never a dedicated Jeopardy follower only because it brought me great anxiety but it was one of those things that has just ALWAYS BEEN. Alex Trebek was not just a game show host, he had a real sense of purpose and self awareness and empathy. Leading Jeopardy to being weaved into the very pop culture fibers multiple generations can connect on. That’s not because of the show…that is ONE THOUSAND percent due to him.
And from one of his last shows, contestant Burt Thakur brings us all to tears:
Here are some of our fave TREBEK moments:
WHEN HE RAPPED, OBVIOUSLY:
When he was moved to tears by his contestants sharing their love of him:
And this made its rounds thru the socials:
It’s been a year.
AND THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS….
Guys…I am already hours behind on posting this so forgive me but this was a BIG week. I have so many fave things…but I am keeping it tight because I AM TIRED.
- Viral cheese guy. Look this happened more than a week ago initially when guy put cheese in a chocolate fountain and things went awry but I was here and always will be for the hustle and this IS the dream really:
- AND BIG SHOCKER:
- And finally, everyone watch “Queen’s Gambit” on Netflix and not jjust because Beth Harper is the most perfect female character in the history of female characters but because SAM FROM “LOVE ACTUALLY” IS IN IT AND HE DRESSES LIKE INDIANA JONES AND HE HAS SEX. That is all. Actually no, that is NOT all. I WANT TO LEARN CHESS so please someone help teach a dyslexic girl chess…please!
OK my darling ones. Stay safe. Stay humble. As Dave Chappelle says, remember their are people hurting on the other side….no, ok never mind. Just be kind.
If you aren’t already a subscriber (PLEASE PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!!!) and SHARE with all your friends…and IF want this in your inbox please send an email to:
subscribe@popculturemondays.com
Or CLICK SUBSCRIBE below!
