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Misadventures Of Nini

~ Jenn in Real (Mid) Life: Cupcakes, Dachshunds & Auntdom, Oh My!

Misadventures Of Nini

Tag Archives: NPR

Pop Culture Senior Citizen?

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by jlkirscher in Jenn stuff

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80's, John Hughes, NPR, podcasts, Pop Culture, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Too Old?

I must apologize to my readers. I have been a bad blogger. I know that you have been hanging on the edge of your seat awaiting my blogging return. I am that important to your world. You have missed me. Okay, maybe that is a little dramatic but you could humor me a little. A lot has happened in the last couple months, and I won’t bore you with all the details, but here is a brief synopsis:
Had an Upper Respiratory Infection, got a promotion, went to trainings, watched a lot of The Walking Dead, read 10 or so book, slept (not enough), played hockey, nieces had volleyball, went to a couple movies, went to a couple plays, husband had softball, caught up on the current season of Arrow, played with dogs. You get the picture.
So enough about that, here is the real blog post…..

One of my favorite podcasts is The Pop Culture Happy Hour. It is a weekly podcast that is brought to you by the good people at NPR. On a recent episode, the discussion was about anniversary re-releases of various pop culture items. For example: recently it was the 30th anniversary of the release of The Breakfast Club. What I took away from the podcast was that these anniversaries cause us to take a look at things that were influential to us when we were younger.

Listening to the discussion about this topic kind of took me down the rabbit hole thinking about pop culture topics. One of the points made (and this is not the first time that I have heard this brought up this year) is that we are currently 30 years in the future of when the “modern” times of Back to the Future was set. If that makes no sense and you have not heard this discussion, let me clarify. In the first Back to the Future- Marty goes back 30 years to the time when his parents met (1955). At that time this seemed a million years in the past. In Back to the Future 2- Marty goes 30 years into his real future or 2015. (Anyone confused?)

So I started thinking about that concept. Does 1985 seem like it was so incredibly long ago to my nieces now, as 1955 seemed to me then? And why doesn’t 1985 seem so incredibly long ago to me now? I know that this is all a bit timey-whimey. Does the current generation of teenagers have 80’s themed parties or homecoming days and think that it is so old school? Has crimped hair, neon, side pony tails & plastic bangle bracelets become the new poodle skirt?

One of the points made on the podcast was that the pop culture events that occur during our early teen years seem to have the most lasting influence on us years later. I find that somewhat true for movies. Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller are still among my favorites to this day. But looking at this list, maybe it was just John Hughes that had an influence on me… I can’t say the same for music. Sure I still enjoy listening to the 80’s channel on occasion, but I can’t say that I am stuck on that music.

The other point that I grasped on to as I was going further down the rabbit hole, was at what point do you become too old to be in the know of what is hot? I have always liked to think of myself as being “in the know” on pop culture. But in recent years, I am losing that more and more. I am busier with work and other life stuff, so some of that is natural. The increase in the amount of media is another factor. We had 60 channels when I was in high school. I currently have well over 200. The internet barely existed, let alone in the palm of my hand on my phone. There was no iPods or satellite radio. In Northern CA, we were always a month behind truly new music. We were limited to what the local top 40 radio played. Unless we had a cool cousin that lived in Southern CA and shared their latest find. What I would have given to have an alternative radio station growing up… So basically, I simply cannot ingest all of the pop culture that is out there anymore.

I read Entertainment Weekly and People. I listen to satellite radio’s college radio station. I flip through Buzzfeed fairly regularly. But I simply can’t keep up. And I have to accept that I am just old. Knowing that True Detective is cool. I am in on this. But naming all the members of One Direction does have the same importance to me that knowing who Joey, Donnie, Jordan, Jonathan & Danny are, once did. At one point, I would have been devastated not to be the one who didn’t watch Orphan Black. But I am okay with it.

I am still pretty cool. I have read books by Rainbow Rowell. I know that Daryl Dixon will kick your ass. I can tell the difference between an Ariana Grande song and one by Iggy Azalea. (To clarify-that doesn’t mean that I necessarily like their music, I can just differentiate them). But I also still buy CD’s on occasion. The Lost Boys soundtrack is still amazing to me. I will still watch Friends reruns on regular TV, not Netflix. I still quote lines from Heathers or Sixteen Candles. And I am perfectly okay with this.

So this is not only my chronological middle age, but my pop culture middle age. I am in PC Limbo. I will never understand every meme created. But I certainly know enough to recognize that the Jem & the Holograms cartoon from back in the day is way cooler than the live action movie coming out. At least in my memories it is.

And I know that Abe Froman will always be the Sausage King of Chicago.

TA-DA!

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Podcast Heaven

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by jlkirscher in Jenn stuff

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Andy Zaltzman, Ask me Another, Call Your Girlfriends, Edumication, geeky, Hollywood Babble On, How to do Everything., iTunes, John Oliver, Kevin Smith, learning, Nerdist, nerdy, NPR, podcasts, Pop Culture Happy Hour, RuPaul, Sarah Koenig, Say What podcast, Serial, SMODcast, The Alton Browncast, The Bugle

A little over a year ago, I discovered the fantastic world of podcasts. As usual, I am late to the party. But, better late than never, as they say. With the runaway success of the Serial podcast, however, I am feeling like I am a little ahead of the game for a change.

On a suggestion from my husband’s BFF, I checked out the podcast app on iTunes. I can’t recall now what my first podcast was but I quickly fell in love with this fabulous media format. It was like talk radio on my own terms and time. Glorious!

I have learned new things. So many new things! I have become a new fan of celebrities, singers, authors and comics. I discovered GISHWHES, and if you have been reading any amount of time, you will know how important that is to me. I have laughed out loud at my desk at work. I am always entertained. The nice thing about podcasts, for me, is the learning.

I was one of those kids that liked school. I love learning new things. The sad thing with life, is that once you finish formal schooling and fall into a career, your learning decreases. Unless, you pursue knowledge, if does not always happen. Not to imply that people don’t continue to learn throughout their lives but rather that their vastness of topics becomes smaller. So this is one way for me to add to my trivial knowledge of the world.

One of my favorite podcasts is The Nerdist podcast. It is a bit geeky and a bit funny but I have learned new things about new people from it. Hey, trivial knowledge is still knowledge. You never know, I could have a shot as a Jeopardy champion some day…

I have listened to a couple different podcast from Kevin Smith’s SMODcast network. Hollywood Babble On and Edumacation are my favorites. They are a bit irreverent but still funny. Edumacation is irreverent but great for learning new things.

I like Call Your Girlfriends. Occasionally I listen to What’s the Tee? with RuPaul. We all need our drag queen fix from time to time. The Bugle with John Oliver & Andy Zaltzman. If you like John Oliver’s show on HBO, this is a great podcast but is focuses on European news from a satirical stand point. I love the Say What podcast. And have enjoyed The Alton Browncast but there has not been a new episode in some time. (Insert sad face here)

One of the best producers of podcasts is NPR. Now, I must admit that I have never really been an NPR listener. (Not that classy of a girl, I guess). A friend recommended a podcast to me called How To Do Everything. They are short lessons in how different things work or answering listeners questions. I like that they are usually less than a 1/2 hour. From How to do Everything, I started listening to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. I love the slightly upscale look at various pop culture topics. I love that some of the hosts are in my age range. And recently I started listening to Ask Me Another. Which is a game show but presented in a bit of a nerdy way. Seriously, who can resist that?

And well there was Serial. Oh, Serial! I loved this podcast, It was addicting. I somehow managed to save a couple of the last episodes for a couple of weeks after the last episode aired due to my denial that it was over. If you aren’t up on the hype about Serial, do catch up! (www.serialpodcast.org) Sarah Koenig, you are brilliant! I can’t wait for Season 2.

I will admit that I can’t always keep up with the volume of new episodes. Obviously, from my sporadic blog posts on occasion, my free time, is at times, a luxury. But I know that I can always learn something new from of these delicious little radio programs.

It never hurts to check out new media. And there is definitely something for everyone. Just look, you will see. Happy Listening!

TA-DA!

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