Things I'm Obsessed With: Gratuitous Pop Culture References

There are few things I find as satisfying as watching a TV show or a movie reference something obscure and being in on the joke. Unsurprisingly, it's even more satisfying to to have a TV show or movie reference 50 things in rapid succession and still get it all. Being adept at this is one of the only two things you get out of having degrees in Film Studies, the other is being constantly asked if you want to make movies. It's important to note that this obsession doesn't extend to Family Guy, which makes more references than any other show ever and still blows. 

Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

A viral video classic from Lemon Demon, Ultimate Showdown features at least 60 famous people, real and imagined, from the 80s and 90s in an apocalyptic brawl. 

More examples after the jump! 

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (Illustrated)

I actually thought about making one of these until I found out it already existed. Thanks internet! 

Weezer - Pork and Beans

I'm a huge Weezer fan and the kind of geek who writes about viral videos several times a day so when this video came out, I was sure it was made just for me. If you'd like to see the references in this one deconstructed, there's a helpful video HERE.

South Park - The Evil of Imaginationland

This three part episode is an orgy of pop culture references, but I have to say the imaginary villains are my favorite. From Jason to the Cavity Creeps to the Satan Worshiping Woodland Critters. 

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Things I'm Obsessed With: Dan Hopper

Ok, so Dan isn’t so much a “Thing” I’m obsessed with, he’s more like a person/blogger I’m obsessed with, but I’m sticking with our blog’s theme…

Dan Hopper writes for bestweekever.tv, the companion blog for the television show of the same name. With the exception of one or two posts in his entire career, I’ve enjoyed them all and I always LOL at some point while reading. I usually send David a link to whichever post I’m currently reading, and he usually says, “oh, I was wondering when you’d send me that.”

So yeah, Dan H. and I are kindred spirits, and if I still lived in NYC I think I’d probably stalk him. I’d do it subtly though, and be all like OMG you’re Dan Hopper, and he’d be all flattered for being recognized, then we’d get married and live happily ever after. Some links to my favorite Dan Posts so you can read him in all of his glory are after the jump:



Playing Cards
Substitute the Word “Gamecock” with “Pirate” and “Tiger” with “Met” and you’ll understand why I like this one
Rapper Names
Jehovah’s witnesses
Tekken Pixar ending
Moving offices
America, Not so racist
Pasta N’ More
American Pie 90s
Dark Knight Fight

And that’s as far back as I can go for one day, but since I know this will get about as many readers as David’s Glory of Love post I don’t think it’ll even matter.

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Things I'm Obsessed With: Leet Speak

Leet speak, where leet or 1337 (see how it looks like letters?) means elite, is an internet dialect of sorts used primarily for text chats in online gaming and on message boards. It often involves replacing letters with numbers or other characters which resemble them, the use of deliberate misspelling and punctuation for comedic effect, and frequently features overly dramatic emphasis. 

The most important word is pwn (own), which supposedly evolved from the proximity of the p to the o on the qwerty keyboard, making it an easy typo. To pwn is to dominate or claim victory over someone.

Examples: "You just got pwned!" "Dude I powned your ass!!11!!1!" or simply "PWNT!!!11eleventy!!!!

More about leet and some video examples after the jump.

A few other key words...

n00b: newbie, one who is inexperienced and therefore inferior

w00t!: an exclamation of joy

Suxorz: to suck

Haxx0r: a hacker

lolz: the noun form of lol, sometimes spelled lulz

popular suffixes -ed, -age (i.e. "pwnage!")

The best thing about leet is that there are no defined rules and you can really mix it up however you want so long as it legible, but a good rule of thumb is to make it look like you're on crack as much as possible.

Now that you're slightly less of a n00b, enjoy these leet clips:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer with 1337 subtitles.

Jeopardy finalist wagers leet.


Local newscasters tell you how leet speak will melt your brain and kill your children. Everything in this report is wonderfully inaccurate. 

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Things I'm Obsessed With: Peter Cetera's Glory of Love

It's difficult for me to express in words the depth of my obsession with this song and video, an obsession which began two years ago when it came on VH1 randomly and Laura and I recorded it on TiVo and preceded to watch it over and over again. It's not a stretch to say that "Glory of Love" is our jam. 

The production values on this video are amazing, mixing clips from Karate Kid, Part II with footage of Cetera performing what has to be some of the whitest "choreography" ever put to film.  Seriously. Check out those jazz hands. I'm also mesmerized by his teeth, not sure what's going on there.

What began as an ironic obsession turned into genuine love for this song. So check it out, you won't be disappointed. 

Lyrics, trivia, and a Glory of Love cover after the jump. 

Glory of Love Fun Facts: 
It peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 2, 1986, remaining in that spot for two weeks. It also spent five weeks atop the US adult contemporary chart.

Laura and I performed this at karaoke two weeks ago and while I claimed it was smoke making my eyes water, I might've really teared up from the undeniable power of the Cetera. 

It earned nominations in 1987 for an Academy Award for Best Song and a Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Song. 

In 1987, every kid in America wanted one of those drum things that you beat by rubbing your hands together.

It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1987 for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Male Artist.

It was originally written for the movie Rocky IV and the producers passed on it?!? You know that one keeps them awake at night. 

Soul Shattering Lyrics:
Tonight its very clear
As were both lying here
There's so many things I want to say
I will always love you
I would never leave you alone

Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying
I dont wanna lose you
I could never make it alone

I am a man who will fight for your honor
Ill be the hero youre dreaming of
Well live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

You'll keep me standing tall
You'll help me through it all
Im always strong when youre beside me
I have always needed you
I could never make it alone

I am a man who will fight for your honor
I'll be the hero youve been dreaming of
We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

Just like a knight in shining armor
From a long time ago
Just in time I will save the day
Take you to my castle far awaaaay

I am a man who will fight for your honor
I'll be the hero youre dreaming of
We're gonna live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

We did it all for love
We did it all for love
We did it all for love
We did it all for love
New Found Glory - Glory of Love
Clearly artists will be covering this song for generations to come.

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Things I'm Obsessed With: Liz Lemon

It's difficult to express all my love for my TV alter ego, Elizabeth Conworthy (not her middle name) Lemon, and to write about anything having to do with 30 Rock without writing everything about 30 Rock. But if I were a female 30-something television producer, I would definitely want to be her or Jane Epsenson, but probably Liz. The producer of the fictional TGS with Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock has added so much to my every day vocabulary:

"Blerg." - Yes, Lemon, blerg!

"Dag!" - As in, "Dag, who does that?!?"

"Shut it down!"

"It is ill."

All the reasons I love Liz and video tributes, after the jump.

She has an unaccredited degree in Theater Tech.
She goes up on her roof all the time!

She doesn’t want to get drunk because there’s too many phones in here.
She eats El Sabor de Soledad cheese puffs from the Spanish deli in her neighborhood.

She has a laundry and newspaper pile.

If she was a Sex and the City character, she would be the lady at home who watches it.
She thinks gay dudes should be able to adopt kids and we should all drive hybrid cars but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love America
She's going to tell all her friends she's voting for Barack Obama, but really she's voting for John McCain. (Mostly that one's amazing because it's from an episode from January 2007.)

The 30 Rock season premiere is October 30 and it can't come soon enough. So here's some of Liz in her own words.

Liz on Business


Liz on Frankfurt


Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate


Liz on Lots of Things - A 90 second Quote Compilation



Jack on Liz



Liz on Food - A Fan Made Music Video
This is set to that song from the Josie and the Pussycats Movie which only makes it more awesome. Did anyone else forget that movie had Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming, and Parker Posey in it? Also, what happened to Rachel Leigh Cook?

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