EPISODE 908 WOWND AND WOWND
Also, I have met the Oppenheimer Stans and they are a real bunch of ****
POP CULTURE SPIRIT WOW
Hi and welcome to Pop Culture Spirit Wow, the Substack that dares to argue that being kinda okay at a lot of things really is better than being good at any one. I’m your host/emotional support animal, and this week I’m playing with a sort of episode-long Wownd Up format. Hope you like it!
THE NEW OPTIMISM RORSCHACH TEST IS NEIGH
This week in the San Fernando Valley, this 20-year-old horse was nearly swallowed by a sinkhole in her owner’s backyard, because don’t let the sunshine fool you, it wouldn’t be Southern California if there wasn’t the occasional reminder of doom.
The horse’s name? Lucky.
You tell me whether that’s irony or statement of truth, and I’ll tell you how you’re going to feel about Election 2024.
HELP ME RHONDA IS THE NEW AFRICAN PRINCE
Speaking of delightful ironies, a week after Elon Musk proclaimed the unmatched popularity of The-Site-Formerly-Known-As-Twitter during Super Bowl Sunday, Mashable reported that a whopping 75% of that activity was 100% fake (aka bots). At Garbage Day, Ryan Broderick posited that this is a strong indicator of just how unreliable social media is for advertisers, and wonders if we’re not looking at a total collapse of the online advertising market, which honestly feels like it’s been a long time coming. Seriously, does anyone click on Facebook ads?
Elsewhere, 24 hours after my nephew told me that I need to set up a password with my family because voice-faking technology has become so good horrible people are now calling parents as their children saying they’ve been horribly injured, someone called my parents and did just that.
Mom and Dad, the password is Grogu.
PEACOCKS IN SPACE
After decades searching for his beloved Ithaca, Odysseus has finally made it as close as the Moon. Okay, so what if it is just a robotic lander, it’s also the first vehicle to land on the moon since 1972. Kenneth Chang of the New York Times described Odysseus as “a bit bigger than a telephone booth,” which is basically the Doctor Who fan version of the secret handshake. I see you, Ken.
And speaking of unusual cosmological descriptions, an asteroid which flew by Earth last week was described by the Jerusalem Post as being “the size of adult Indian 6 peacocks.” It went on to write—I kid you not—“No, this is not a reference to NBC's Peacock streaming service, which would be a very inappropriate comparison since this asteroid is going to fly harmlessly past the Earth while Peacock is home to a number of hits, that is to say hit shows and movies, though it also has plenty of misses.” WTF are you, Jerusalem Post?
The article then goes on to distinguish between the size of an Indian peacock vs. a peahen, and also points out that the asteroid is moving much faster than a peacock, noting “yes, peacocks can fly.”
HOW I DID NOT LEARN TO LOVE THE BOMB
L.A. Magazine has a great interview this week with Jacqueline Durran, whose costume designs for Barbie have been a fashion phenomenon in Los Angeles, but not New York, because please. Durran has great advice for anyone who wants to do fashion a la Barbie: “Chanel always says, ‘Take the last thing off,’ but Barbie would put one more thing on.”
Meanwhile, a pop culture site fed an idea for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel into an AI, and the pitch the AI came up with is disturbingly thoughtful. Elsewhere, the creator of Apple TV show Slow Horses predicts an AI-generated TV show is less than five years away. Did I mention that I thought the name Lucky was ironic?
Also, I have seen Oppenheimer, and since posting my general feeling of Hey look, another movie about the pain of white guys, I have become acquainted with the Oppenheimer stans, and I am here to tell you they are a real bunch of Kens.
SECRETS AND LIES, PART NINETY EIGHT THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY SEVEN
In Rome Gloria Branciani, one of the nearly 20 nuns and former nuns who brought accusations against then-Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik, is demanding that the full story of what Rupnik did to them be revealed. Until recently Rupnik was the head of a Vatican art studio responsible for many of its most significant Catholic designs. But it turns out he was first sent by the Jesuits to Rome 30 years ago because he had been sexually and spiritual abusing the women in a community of women’s religious he co-founded, and clearly he needed a “fresh start.”
Two years ago he was quietly excommunicated by the Jesuits for having heard the confession of one of the women he had had sex with, then quietly reinstated after he “repented,” then thrown out of the Jesuits after this became public knowledge.
Branciani revealed that Rupnik pushed the sisters he had sex with to get other sisters to join them, saying three-ways were “in the image of the Trinity.”
Seriously.
Meanwhile Archbishop Sergio Pigano, head of the Vatican Archive, is about to release a book called Secretum which supposedly reveals lots of secrets of the Vatican Archive. While it seems unlikely to reveal anything at the level of a Dan Brown novel, I must admit I’d love to find out how much Benedict used to pay for his shoes. Because if I’m learning anything on the outside it’s that Prada ain’t cheap, baby.
OVERHEARD FROM THE THIRD BALCONY
And you say I emasculate you.—Older woman to her husband after watching the new vagina dentata musical Teeth (which is a must see).
Who is this Nicholas Christopher and how can I marry him?—The women sitting to my right and the men sitting to my left at City Center during Jelly’s Last Jam.
What the heck is Vanderpump Rules?—Me, at Chicago, in a theater full of people who are obsessed with what I have since been told is a reality TV show.
New York City laundromats have so much drama! —Tourists leaving Brooklyn Laundry (another great show).
Didn’t we see her in Once Upon a Mattress like, yesterday? —Pretty much everyone watching Sutton Foster play Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd days after finishing as Princess Winifred in Mattress, including the New York Times, which did a fantastic story on how she prepared for both at the same time.
MOMENT OF WOW
I heard an old song this week that immediately got me thinking of this moment from The Office. One of my favorites.
I’ll be back later in the week with another little spiritual experience for subscribers, and maybe another little treat as well…
Have a good week!
I can’t vouch for the reputation of the Oppenheimer Stan’s, but I have to admit the Stoga Stan’s are pretty darn nice.
10/10