| Culture evolves, foul words made fair
The same could be said for a list of other words and phrases that have gained more of a foothold in pop culture. The word "retarded," for example, has been largely shunned by polite society, including those who work with the mentally challenged, the preferred term. Different definitions In the past decade, however, entertainers and teenagers have begun using the word with more regularity in a variety of ways, including to mean being out of control (in good and bad ways), being severely intoxicated or inebriated, being silly or as a way of describing a melodic piece of music. In 2003, the pop group Black Eyed Peas released the song "Let's Get Retarded," a catchy party anthem that gained buzz. To gain more mainstream acceptance, however, the song's lyrics had to be changed to "Let's Get It Started," a minor recasting that led the image-conscious National Basketball Association to use the tune in its advertising.
Who can you trust? Wiki-truth a tricky subject
One of the last remaining virtues of newsprint is that once I attribute that quote to Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" (the greatest bad movie of all time), no one can alter that statement after black ink meets white paper. If this were a Wikipedia entry, any jerk could type a rebuttal that would have you believe Jack Nicklaus said that during a few good Masters' rounds. Welcome to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that evidently is devoted to being the world's most detailed and exhaustive rumor mill. Go to Wikipedia.com if you want to read their defense on how standards of fairness and accuracy are maintained. But the truth is that any journalist who uses "I double-checked it on Wikipedia" as a defense will soon be selling scented candles at the strip mall. Still, Wikipedia is an entertaining and not entirely unreliable source for pop culture minutiae.
Satire busts a hump
PEOPLE endlessly complain that Hollywood is full of dopey, superficial films bereft of anything new to say. And they're right. Anyone looking for art that is edgy or relevant — and inspires comment — is turning to Internet video, which has become the true engine driving our pop culture.
Nothing demonstrates this better than the tsunami-like viral success of Alanis Morissette's "My Humps," which surfaced three weeks ago on YouTube and quickly became the most popular video on the channel, attracting 5.5 million views, easily outdistancing such rivals as "Otters Holding Hands" and "Farting in Public."
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Met courts younger, hipper audience
On a recent Friday evening, in a windowless office tucked off of the Metropolitan Opera's gilded main hall, Peter Gelb sits scrutinizing a loose-leaf sheet scribbled with attendance figures. Outside, dusk is settling on Lincoln Center and the wide plaza begins buzzing with smartly dressed sexagenarians -- the stately opera house's loyal patrons. But at the moment, Gelb, who arrived as the Met's new general manager last summer with a mandate to dust off the graying institution, has his mind on another audience, and a very different type of theater. He rattles off numbers from the loose-leaf sheet that tallies advance ticket sales for the next day's live, high-definition broadcast of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," which will beam via satellite from the Met's stage to 275 screens around the U.S.
Your Views: More on the US gun control debate
There has been considerable invective visited upon New Zealanders by American folk on this forum. Less than 10 per cent of Americans have passports.The majority of New Zealanders have travelled. We have a different perspective on world affairs because we are a small nation - and therefore tend look constantly beyond our own borders. What is out there is not pretty. Nor is a lot of what happens here. Insecurity and a questioning disposition tend to result in a more balanced world view. I am pleased that most of the world don't appear to know much about us including our location. Tragedy is part and parcel of everyone's life. It is not exclusive to Americans. This event was a tragedy - but has been blown totally out of perspective. For example more than 30,000 people in third world countries die from rabies every year vs one every two years in the USA.
Bread and Circuses: Pop Culture Face-Off
This edition of Bread and Circuses is a face-off. Our resident Cynic-in-Chief Lee Brown goes up against newcomer and Mercury contributor Jason Levine, the defender of all things Hollywood. Paris Hilton Lee: First on our Hit'n'run schedule: Ms. Paris Hilton. Hers is an entire career based on other people's money and one instance of public fellatio. She is the manifestation of our obsession with celebrity culture. Like a tumor actually protruding from the chest cavity, she is proof positive that we, as a society, are very sick and probably won't make it. Jason: Paris Hilton's role in society is for those who want to relive their youth. She's like that girl in high school, who never turned in any homework, but dated every member of the football team.
Harrison: Homebrew Development Vital to Future Growth of Industry
SCE Worldwide Studios President Phil Harrison has commented on the importance of homebrew development. He expects Sony to fully embrace the homebrew scene on the PS3 while still protecting intellectual property rights and preventing unauthorized hacking. More within...
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