#popular-culture

#popular-culture

A source told the Times that the idea had come from deputy director Dan Bongino, a cop-turned-right-wing-podcast-yapper, whose justification for the decision was as follows: "Bongino said, You can have the best female agent take down the biggest case in our history, but if on the Ring door-camera video she's out of shape or overweight, that's going to be the story. He was worried about whether or not they'd look good on a doorbell camera. He said it's the way these times are."

Generally, you get two versions of England in art: it's either bucolic vistas, rolling hills, babbling brooks and gambolling sheep or it's downtrodden, browbeaten, grim poverty and misery. But Beryl Cook saw something else in all the drizzle and grey of this damp old country: she saw joy. The thing is, joy doesn't carry the same critical, conceptual heft in art circles as more serious subjects

They've never all appeared together at once, except on lists of video game legends. And, surely, in the dreams of some gamers. They would certainly make a peculiar group: a mustachioed plumber, a fearless archeologist, a lightning-fast hedgehog, a warrior and a princess, a monkey in a tie, a marsupial in jeans and a strange yellow rodent. Outlandish, to those unfamiliar with them. But for those who know of their existence, these creatures are global icons.

The entire ground floor of this site, a former fabric workshop converted into art studios and storage spaces, was commandeered for the occasion. Nineteen rooms were set in a processional course, an enfilade linked by a series of dark, intestinal passageways. Each one was an elaborately stage-managed installation, replete with backdrops, props, and costumed actors who engaged their audience in exchanges by turns conspiratorial and belli

By the time he reached the Alamo in February 1836, he was an internationally recognized American hero, and his death at the Battle of the Alamo, at the hands of Antonio López de Santa Anna, was reported worldwide, transforming him finally into the celebrity martyr of the Alamo. Crockett remained a popular figure throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, as early films featured him as a heroic figure of the West.

With Clint: The Man and the Movies, Portland author Shawn Levy provides the definitive biography of the iconic yet somehow ineffable Clint Eastwood, the 1950s TV cowboy who became a squinting big-screen megastar and a two-time Oscar-winning director and whose latest, last year's Juror #2, was released in his 95th year. The book has received rave reviews from A.O. Scott in The New York Times and Richard Brody in The New Yorker,

A new type of fandom has emerged in the modern era. Today, people join massive fan clubs with members from all over the world. Thanks to digital technology, news spreads fast and memes go viral. Photos, videos, and cultural products instantly reach audiences through the internet, social media, and streaming platforms. As a result, New Zealand has become an iconic destination, attracting visitors from every corner of the globe.

"This is the voice of World Control," a metallic, nonhuman baritone blared from a spherical speaker atop a bank of computers. "I bring you peace. It may be the peace of plenty and content, or the peace of unburied death." The men and women in the room-the greatest minds in the American scientific establishment-froze in horror. The computer, a defense system that had become self-aware after gaining control of the world's nuclear weapons, continued:

The Kennedy Center Honors were always a populist affair, not to be confused with the somewhat more upscale National Medal of the Arts (which Presidents are also traditionally associated with). But under Trump, who shunned them entirely in his prior term, the announced next recipients are an almost comically MOR roundup: Phantom of the Opera Michael Crawford, "I Will Survive" singer Gloria Gaynor, cartoon metal act KISS, cartoon movie machismo exemplar Sylvester Stallone, and veteran country star George Strait, who couldn't be any straiter.

The true extent of this alien craze escaped my attention and on almost every single page, there was something to which I mumbled, "Wow, I didn't know that." Among the many well-deserved accolades about David's book is, " The Martians is ... a fizzing terrific read." (Mary Roach, author of Packing for Mars) In fact, it is far more than that.

Carlson-Wee notes that all the memecoins taken together are beginning to put a stamp on popular culture, showing their potential influence in today's society.

Oasis’s performance at Croke Park this weekend marks the 30th anniversary of their famous chart rivalry with Blur, highlighting the cultural impact of Britpop in the 1990s.

Azriel, a name associated with the angel of death, saw over 800 baby boys named in 2024, showing the influence of romantasy on baby naming.

Asking questions about fjords presents challenges, like deciding how to measure them or defining what qualifies as a fjord, leading to no fjord-related questions this week.