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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: pop culture

pop culture stories: 28 news summaries

1 - 20 of 28 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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OPINION

 'Fag Hag' 
 No Longer 
 Hip Label 

Gay men slowly becoming less of an 'accessory' for women

Aug 18, 09 4:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thanks to Will & Grace, the young gay men of a decade ago were turned “into something unexpected: a must-have item,” writes Thomas Rogers for Salon. Though he was “jockish, pop-culturally illiterate, and dressed in mom jeans,” Rogers “remained a strangely alluring target for... More »

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pop culture • homosexuality • Will and Grace • homosexual • trend • gays • gay

 In LA, You're 
 Never Too Old to Rap 

Seniors learn to love the music in unusual class

Aug 3, 09 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - A new crop of rappers is emerging in Los Angeles, and they have one thing in common: They’re senior citizens. Hip-hop artist Keith Cross started his unorthodox rap class in 2004 to show seniors “there is positive rap out there; we just have to look for it,”... More »

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entertainment • pop culture • rapper • rap music • senior citizens • seniors • Jay-ZTV

Rihanna Arms
Herself With
Gun Tattoo

Singer got it on ribcage, not arms, because of Cover Girl deal: artist

Mar 26, 09 12:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rihanna, often seen with a gun pendant around her neck, has decided to add a gun to the assemblage of tattoos on her body. This one graces her ribcage, safely out of view for her modeling spots. “I really wanted to put it on her arms,” her artist... More »

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pop culture • tattoos • gossip • Cover Girl • Rihanna • guns

 Zippo 
 Closes In 
 on 500M 
 Lighters 

American icon set to sell its 500 millionth lighter by year's end

Jan 29, 09 6:37 PM CST
(Newser) - At some point this year, the Zippo factory in Bradford, Pa., will churn out its 500 millionth lighter, NPR reports. The windproof gadget has become a cultural staple since 1932, from the wartime foxholes of Germany and Vietnam to the glitter of the Silver Screen, but NPR notes that the... More »

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film • smoking • pop culture • World War II • Vietnam War • icons • Zippo

OPINION

 How Cereal Shaped America 

Charting the evolution and influence of the grain-based breakfast

Dec 14, 08 10:01 AM CST
(Newser) - We might be eating hockey pucks for breakfast if a 19th-century kitchen accident hadn’t turned John Kellogg’s “barely edible” biscuits into today’s far-tastier flakes, Ian Lender writes in Mental Floss. “The cereal flake is the perfect consumer product,” he says, looking at how cereal... More »

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advertising • Kellogg • cereal • pop culture • culture • breakfast

 Paula Will Face Dancing Judges 

American Idol jurist adds new primetime gig

Nov 26, 08 2:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Prepare to savor the sweet redemption of a judge—albeit a nice one—being judged: Paula Abdul is “very excited” to be a contestant on next season's Dancing with the Stars, Radar reports. The singer-turned-American Idol judge made no secret of the fact that she was “shopping around”... More »

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American Idol • Dancing with the Stars • pop culture • singer • contestants • Paula Abdul • judges

(Newser) - Can "No-Drama" Obama cast a spell over Hollywood? After years of bleak television dramas, a Dark Knight superhero, and a James Bond who rarely smiles, some in Hollywood say Obama will inspire an era of optimism. ''The idea of change and hope has permeated the country," says Marvel... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • music • film • pop culture

Turning Tricks, or 'Trick or Treat'?

Parents unable to counter sexy costume trend: expert

Oct 27, 08 6:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - No, your eyesight isn't hexed: Young girls really are dressing like French maids and prostitutes every Halloween. And their skirts will only get higher, because pop culture has drowned out any last echo of parental advice, author Diane E. Levin tells the Los Angeles Times. The co-author of So ... More »

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pop culture • Halloween • sexy costumes • costume

 On Film, a Black 
 President Is 
 Nothing New 

From 24 to The Fifth Element

Oct 27, 08 5:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - America may be on the verge of electing its first black president, but pop culture is way ahead of reality. James Earl Jones portrayed the first in The Man (1972), and several have followed. As an entertainment-obsessed nation, asks Slate, might these fictional forebears affect our perception of the real... More »

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Barack Obama • pop culture • president • America • racism • Dennis Haysbert • Election 2008 • African-Americans

Comic Becomes Bible of Asia's Wine Culture

Wannabe oenophiles takes cues from The Drops of the Gods

Oct 23, 08 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - What do Freddie Mercury and a Jean-François Millet painting have in common? Both have been used to describe wine in The Drops of the Gods, a Japanese comic series that’s quickly becoming the go-to wine literature in Asia, reports the New York Times. Customers tend to ask for... More »

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Asia • wine • pop culture • comics • wine industry • trend

INTERVIEW

New Yorker Pop Critic Admits 'Indie' Gaffes

Says his peers are loath to concede
critical mistakes

Sep 1, 08 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - You may have missed it, but the New Yorker pays attention to pop music. Flip past articles on dead American poets and you might find insightful, sometimes scathing, music critiques by Sasha Frere-Jones. The musician and critic sat down with Gelf Magazine to discuss the problems with defining indie rock—... More »

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music • New Yorker magazine • pop culture • critic • Sasha Frere-Jones • indie rock • interview

GLOSSIES

 Dude: Why Lebowski Is Still Big

Cult classic 'symbolic of a whole way of life'

Aug 26, 08 6:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - A decade after its disappointing box-office release, The Big Lebowski endures as a cult classic, inspiring academic papers, annual festivals, and hot new comics like Seth Rogen. To find out why, Rolling Stone tracked down the cast and a few hardcore fans who say Lebowski is more a movement... More »

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Rolling Stone • pop culture • Jeff Bridges • Philip Seymour Hoffman • The Coen Brothers • The Big Lebowski

 Batman or Spidey?
 McCain, Obama Weigh In

Candidates reveal pop-culture picks

Aug 8, 08 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Closet ABBA fan: Obama or McCain? The two presidential hopefuls recently bared all to Entertainment Weekly, revealing their pop-culture preferences:
  • Favorite superhero: Obama: Spiderman, McCain: Batman
  • iPod playlist: Obama: Frank Sinatra, Sheryl Crow, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan; McCain: Roy Orbison, Linda Rhonstadt, Usher, and yes, ABBA
More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • Indiana Jones • Spider-Man • Jerry Seinfeld • pop culture • Bambi • Batman • presidential candidates • Election 2008 • ABBA

GLOSSIES

What's With all the Skulls?

Ancient death symbol becomes a favorite modern fashion accessory

Jul 5, 08 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Heavy metal and Halloween, make room for haute couture. “What used to be a symbol for borderline-sociopathic tough guys with weird design fetishes—Hells Angels, pirates, Nazis—has become a trope de luxe,” writes Stephen Marche in Esquire. The skull, a symbol of death with deep religious significance,... More »

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fashion • Indiana Jones • Damien Hirst • pop culture • pop art • skull • Esquire

GLOSSIES

Germans Can't See Forest of
US Culture for the Trees

Media machine distorts view, author finds

Jun 30, 08 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - German college students aren't impressed with American culture—they're not even sure it exists, author Chuck Klosterman finds at the outset of a teaching stint in Leipzig. "The proliferation of media has made it virtually impossible to tell the difference between a) what information is unilaterally interesting," Klosterman... More »

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Germany • Germans • pop culture • columnists • Esquire • opinion • Chuck Klosterman • University of Leipzig

OPINION

I Was Never In It to Win It: 'Accidental' Idol

Cook says he 'was never in it to win it'

Jun 15, 08 11:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - David Cook almost didn't audition for American Idol—he was there to offer moral support to his younger brother. But goading from his family kicked off a whirlwind journey that took him from fledgling Midwest rocker to Billboard star. Cook tells Rolling Stone about his modest beginnings—and... More »

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music • reality TV • American Idol • Rolling Stone • pop culture • pop music • celebrity • TV shows • interview • David Cook

OPINION

Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques

Cultural attitude toward virtual world reflects antiquated view

May 31, 08 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The dizzying growth of the video game industry continues to alarm cultural Luddites, writes Tom Chatfield for the Prospect, but the critics are trapped in video gaming’s past. They haven't adjusted to the development of social, team-based gaming worlds, treating games “as an odd mix of the slightly... More »

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technology • pop culture • culture • gaming • World of Warcraft • Grand Theft Auto IV • video games

 Hello, China: Meet
 Japan's New Envoy 

Japan tabs pop icon to bring in visitors from China

May 19, 08 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hello Kitty has been tapped as Japan’s cultural envoy to China, the AP reports. Japan’s ministry of tourism chose the über-popular icon to represent the country in its drive to attract 10 million annual visitors to the islands. Last year, tourists from China and Hong Kong made... More »

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China • Japan • tourism • Hong Kong • pop culture • envoy • Hello Kitty

 Miley Scandal
 a Matter of Brand Name 

Simple break with Disney image caused uproar

May 3, 08 7:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - The brouhaha over Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair photo shoot is a “simple misunderstanding” stemming from a clash of brand names, writes Mark Feeney in the Boston Globe. Cyrus’ Hannah Montana is an established Disney brand--and when Hannah met Vanity Fair, a sudden change in that image was the result.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Vanity Fair • pop culture • Disney • photograph • Hannah Montana • Miley Cyrus • Billy Ray Cyrus • Annie Leibovitz

Mariah Carey Passes Elvis
in Chart Toppers

With her 18th No. 1, she moves into 2nd place behind Beatles

Apr 2, 08 7:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mariah Carey unseated Elvis for the No. 2 spot in chart-topping songs this week. Her single "Touch My Body" became her 18th No. 1 and pushed Elvis into third place, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Beatles' all-time record of 20 remains, but Carey could eclipse the Fab Four... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • music industry • music downloads • pop culture • pop music • singers • Elvis Presley • Beatles • music sales • Billboard charts • Mariah Carey

1 - 20 of 28 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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