Pop Culture Mondays/12.20.21
The HERE WE GO AGAIN Edition
In the words of the great Leslie Jordan….WELL, SHIIIIIIIIIIT.
Happy Monday, my darling pop culture junkies. No doubt there are many of you reading this who now have COVID and I hope you are all doing ok. Whether you got it from someone who went to SantaCon (fire them immediately…not for giving you COVID but for just actually going to SantaCon) or from media parties held in windowless indoor clubs (great move guys) or wherever, here we all are. BACK AT IT AGAIN. It sucks and it all feels inevitable we will get it and while I hope it’s mild for everyone, there are cases that are not mild and for those who are immunocompromised, you can actually get a 4th shot at your pharmacy so please go do that (it lifts your antibodies which immunocompromised people don't get a lot of). If you are reading this and you are NOT vaccinated then please stop…just stop. Step away from the computer. At least from this newsletter because this is not written for you.
OK, now that we cleared that up…let’s get to it. I will admit that this was not a week I really wanted to write only because it is all so blahhhh. The governments are all a mess (Boris Johnson having Christmas parties last year after locking his country down is really really EXTRA along with his ridiculous communications team in THIS VIDEO leaked and they all should be fired):
But there are trends and memes and funny videos to write about so let’s get to it. We just are going to cover a few things…
XOXO…
AND AGAIN….
I mean…I don’t even know what to say other than FOR FUCKS SAKE here we go. I mean, on one hand, I suppose this was inevitable until everyone gets vaccinated? Though you obviously can still get it and will get it if vaccinated the impact should be, for MOST, a lot better than if you are NOT vaccinated…but if everyone got vaccinated it would not be where we are today. I mean did you see Sarah Palin’s recent announcement?
I mean OK Sarah Palin….so be it then. But yeah so this is where we are.
AND the trend this past week on all the socials was to tell us how bad it was in NYC and how everyone had it in NYC. from TikTokkers to media Twitter. And let’s go to Media Twitter for JUST a second…as it turns out that the “MEDIA VARIANT” is one of the super spreader moments due to some media holiday parties. YEP…you cannot make this shit up.
Here is a New York Magazine writer tweet:
As media parties were one of the things being blamed…they couldn't help themselves despite it all by showing off their parties. For example:
This amuses me as you see several others out of masks so why even say that and also wearing a mask at a party seems impossible but everyone is trying to have it both ways. Incidentally, CNN has NOW closed its offices…likely due to these parties.
But there was also Buzzfeed which had its holiday party that became a superspreader event and along with other media holiday parties, it has now become known as the MEDIA VARIANT. For more on this little trend go check out this from Shawn McCreesh (get better babe!):
OK, so let’s get to NYC specifically and how the socials have handled it. Much blame is being thrown at SantaCon. I am guessing most know what SantaCon is, even if vaguely. BUT for those who do not, it is really the worst day in NYC and maybe the only saving grace to last year in that it was canceled. But not this year, it raged on and on. It is basically a day where students (underage and college kids) and those first-year Goldman associates get to dress up as Santas (sexy Santas are quite the thing) and go on a city-wide bar crawl. I mean it is MAINLY reserved for the East Village and Midtown and Times Square.
There is a new trend this week on TikTok which we will call “Gorgeous Gorgeous Girls” and here is a great example of this trend being used to talk all things COVID now:
This trend is being used in hundreds of different ways but for our purposes to show you what this gorgeous gorgeous girls trend is, let’s show more COVID and vax related ones:
OK moving on to NYC specific…because our society is a mess (seriously, this is 2021 in NYC and it is impossible to get tested) let’s take a look, shall we?
And I think this sums it all up:
And while the UK is not perfect obviously they have Boris…but the fact is that you get 7 tests a week for free from your pharmacy so you can self-test every day. Imagine that? Yeah if you are in the US then no….you cannot imagine that.
A ROUND-UP YAY!
Just because I want to crawl into bed and watch movies this week (I knock on wood am Covid free but I still want to wear sweatpants and stay in bed and watch movies all week regardless), we are keeping this one tight. There are movies to be watched. There will be viewings of:
Love Actually, Die Hard, Independence Day, The Holiday…look what can I say, clichés are clichés for a reason….
Let’s see some stuff other than Omicron that went viral this week!
- PUMPKIN LOAF TIKTOK. Say what? Ok, so again for TikTok newbies…TikTok allows you to use sounds from anyone’s video. I can do a TikTok where I am calling my dog. “COME HERE POTATO!!” for example. And someone can use that sound and make a viral video and that becomes a viral sound. I was going to show you all the funny ones but TikTok took DOWN the OG sound which already had BILLIONS of views. Here is the creator who made the original sound in another related TikTok BUT the reason the sound took off was that she asked for the pumpkin loaf originally and they said they didn't have it and yet she was still so nice and polite and said, “OK PERFECT” which is the point of the sound going viral. The sound is now gone but here Ashley is in another one:
AND because the sound is gone now…I have found a compilation on YouTube which is a VERY BOOMER way to watch TikToks but here we go…and PS I find these very soothing:
- AND speaking of viral sounds, we have one from an old clip from AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL judge Tyra Banks that shows people showing embarrassing pics of themselves. Here is the original sound:
Here are a few showing the trend:
- I am only including this one in case you have a TikTokker at home and you have heard this sound repeatedly and it’s doing your head in. Because it’s doing MY head in too. At first, I thought I was seeing the same TikTok being served on my FYP but it turns out its a creator using the same sound and doing the same thing just in a different outfit and with different friends, over and over again with MILLLLLLLLIONS of views:
- AND every once in a while we have an obit go viral. YEP, an obit. But, as of NOW, this one takes the cake. Renay sounds like ONE hell of a woman:
I really really urge you to read it as everyone else around you has I promise. And for a little more on Renay:
- OK, guys. Did not see this coming…Nic Cage trending but not for crazy drunken antics in Vegas but for an actual movie where he plays….NIC CAGE. I am obsessed:
- And TikTok lost their minds on this mom who they believed was actually feeding her baby a moldy bagel. PEOPLE LOST IT. But it is actually a blueberry bagel which personally I think is more offensive than a moldy one BUT I guess it is less dangerous:
- And THIS is not new but it has been all over my FYP (FOR YOU PAGE for newbies to TikTok) for a while now but in a different way than other TikTok viral food trends so it was a slow roll for me but I have now made the BAKED BY MELISSA salad so I can assure you, it is THAT good:
- AND another thing that went viral like a lifetime ago, but a good reminder for last-minute gifts is the BAREFOOT DREAMS brand…I have a few of their blankets and they are ridiculous and everyone SHOULD have them. Again, this is an oldie trend but a goodie:
- AND lastly…content. CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT!! While these might be trending, might not be…I love them and love giving content recommendations so HAVE FUN:
STATION 11: Another one from HBO Max and this is dark but it is pretty beautiful and I am hooked.
It stars Mackenzie Davis who to me is a dazzling actress. You have seen her before and she starred in my all-time favorite and tragic “Black Mirror” epi, San Junipero:
Then we have YELLOWJACKETS on Showtime which I am also hooked on:
And one of the greatest books has been turned into a show on Amazon Prime. And that is THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD:
And I know I know a ton of you are into Yellowstone…I get it…I cannot get into it but I get it. But I can get into Sam Elliott and he stars alongside Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in the PREQUEL, “1883” and I am here for it. BUT it is on Paramount+ which means there are ads unless you upgrade to premium and I honestly tried BUT PARAMOUNT PLUS will not let me. It seems like a bad business model…but I digress…here you go:
THAT IS IT my darlings.
I hope you are ALL caught up but of course, lmk if you have any questions!! Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/brooke and COME AT ME!
Stay safe you guys. Get tested. Tell your friends and family if you have tested positive EVEN if this means you have to cancel plans…it is better than keeping it to yourself even if you feel FINE.
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