#pop-culture

#pop-culture

You've likely noticed an uptick in all things mushroom lately, with mushrooms imparting their fungi energy across fashion, health, food, and pop culture.The mycological motif has always been popular within design, most notably and recently as an extension of the the "cottagecore" aesthetic.

Here's a conversation starter for your next dinner party: Ask your guests how many types of sugar they can name.If people tap out at white sugar, brown sugar, castor sugar, and maybe jaggery, it is understandable.The first three types dominate grocery store shelves and eclipse other kinds, particularly those from Southeast Asia, namely rock sugar and palm sugar.

On this Bloomsday, it's time to marinate in Mariners hate, as the Sox slump into Seattle licking their wounds like Bloom on the beach.There is nothing Joycean about this season, no epic of the single day, even though each game seems to spread out into a stream-of-consciousness flow of frustration, lingering and unspooling unto loss after loss after loss.

I first tasted tantanmen, Japan's take on Sichuan dandan noodles, during a dreamy, food-fuelled visit to Tokyo.As an avid lover of spicy foods, a friend had told me to seek out Gomaryu, a restaurant famous for its catchphrase, tantanmen from hell, with spice levels that catered for both the meek and the wildly insane.

Looking back on the trends that defined each decade comes with its own unique view of a ten-year span.The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently released the top baby names of the decade.The three most popular baby boy names of the decade were Noah, Liam, and Jacob; the most popular baby girl names were Emma, Olivia, and Sophia.

The books are piling up again.The physical ones on the bedside table; the library queue; the e-bookshelves on which reside the novels impulse-purchased from bed, begun and then forgotten in one insomniac night.My eyes, always, bigger than my attention span.I'm contemplating the year's midway point, my book-a-week commitment, the number of pages between here and 26.

For nearly 100 years, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has showcased the biggest words from the youngest lexicologists.The inaugural champion, 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, correctly spelled gladiolus to claim a prize of $500 at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.The words have only gotten harder, the pressure greater and the national spotlight larger.

Theater
By Christopher J. Beale Imagine you're an American, tasked with flying to China to drum up new business.You don't speak Mandarin, and you only have a few business contacts.You'll need to trust those contacts, and their various translators with your professional future.Sounds daunting, right?

Liz Nistico leads the solo project Revenge Wife.After a successful solo career and eight years with HOLYCHILD, Nistico continues to push boundaries with Revenge Wife.With her highly personal music releases, such as Wishing You Away, Carmelo, and Bathroom Bitch under the banner of HOLYCHILD; it is clear she advances feminism in pop culture.

WANNABE: Reckonings With the Pop Culture That Shapes Me, by Aisha Harris Being a Black critic in a time of exceptional art made by Black people has immense rewards and myriad risks.Wannabe, the debut essay collection from Aisha Harris, a co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, is at its best when engaging with those risks and the thorny questions of her profession.

Like many people, Samantha Irby went a little feral during the pandemic lockdown.This created a dilemma.She had signed a contract to write a book that would follow her 2020 best seller Wow, No Thank You, but since her specialty is humor and bits about what's happening in her life, what could she write about if she wasn't leaving the couch?

Those robots in disguise, the Transformers, have returned to movie theaters.And, if you're a child of the eighties or nineties, the latest live-action epic, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, will remind you of your childhood in one specific way.Not only does Optimus Prime look boxy and trucky the way he should, but the movie also features the live-action debut of the planet-destroying Transformer, Unicron.

On May 10th, 1994, an era-defining band dropped an album that is still their greatest record of all time.But the quasi-diminishing returns of Weezer aren't anything to scoff at.Despite the much-discussed before and after of early Weezer and well, everything else, they will always remain one of the greatest bands of all time, and their debut - simply titled Weezer - but known as "the Blue Album," isn't just one of the most definite records of the '90s; it's arguably still the best alt-rock record ever.

Mr. President, the world is dying to know.Is it boxers or briefs?What is it?A memory of better, cooler days for many Gen Xers and Millennials.Started by the channel known for providing the masses with music videos in a pre-YouTube time, MTV News began in the '80s with a single show fronted by iconic host Kurt Loder.

In the latest episode of IP Goes Pop!, co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue are joined by special guests from the U.S. Copyright Office, Brittany Lamb, Attorney-Advisor in the Office of the General Counsel, and John Riley, Assistant General Counsel, as they dive into the evolving landscape of providing additional access for certain copyright claims, focusing on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB).

Over its 34 seasons, Fox's The Simpsons has failed spectacularly in representing trans people.That's the conclusion of trans YouTuber Lily Simpson (no relation to the cartoon family) in a new video essay about the show's depiction of trans characters and trans issues.In the 43-minute examination, Simpson, who writes and vlogs about pop culture and trans issues, attempts to answer the question "Where is the trans stuff in The Simpsons?" by breaking down trans representation into three categories: trans episodes, trans characters, and trans gags or jokes.

Award-winning, plant-based hospitality group Overthrow Hospitality recently opened &Beer, and if you're into beer and shrooms (no, not the psychedelic kind), it's safe to say your interest should be piqued.&Beer is a 14-seat counter restaurant that will serve as the hospitality group's "concept incubator," hosting a rotation of limited-time pop-ups throughout the year.

Cumulus Media announced the Bleav network has going the Cumulus Podcast Network.Bleav podcasts cover the NFL, NBA, NCAAB, SEC, and NHL as well as soccer, betting, and pop culture for more than 50 million followers.Bleav will be the first network that will feature a show with a current or former player from every American professional and major college sports team, providing fans the insight and access only a player can provide.

929 is a nostalgic ode to the first-gen owner's roots.A new cocktail and vinyl bar just opened in Long Island City, and the vibes are on point, particularly for nostalgic Millennials.929, a cocktail bar channeling Chinese diasporic nostalgia aims to evoke childhood memories from first-generation guests, as well as introduce all imbibers to the flavors, sights and sounds of growing up Chinese American.

Here's today's AdExchanger.comnews round-up... Want it by email?Sign up Prompt And Search-umstance here.Google is ramping up its AI capabilities for its flagship search product, The Drum reports.During its Google I/O developer conference on Wednesday, the company announced it's launching Search Labs, an experimental program aimed at expanding AI search functionality.

A few months ago, I was invited to give a lecture to students in a publishing and editing program.My proposed talk was about digital media: the churn and instability of it and how an editor can steer through those currents.I planned to be realistic but forward looking about the challenges facing contemporary journalism-I wasn't going to stand up there and tell the students they should quit before they even started trying.

Every week, Don Walker buys a lottery ticket.It's a matter of ritual.The piano-playing hurricane force behind one of the most successful Australian bands of all time, Cold Chisel the man who gave us Khe Sanh and Flame Trees and too many more to mention says he's buying his continuing right to dream.