It’s time, once again, to delve into the mixed grab bag of what people have been tapping into google in order to end up here over the last fortnight.
Just in case you hadn’t realised: people scour the internet for some odd things. Have some Coasters to ease you into the randomness:
And now to the search terms! Read the rest of this entry »
This Search Term Sunday comes to you from the addled mind underneath my brand spanking new haircut. I now look eerily like Nick Drake, and let’s face it, who wouldn’t want that?
Since the last track on his second album, Bryter Layter, is an instrumental piece simply titled ‘Sunday’ it’s clearly appropriate listening on the last day of the week.
I don’t understand what’s going on with this video, or why it’s claiming to have lyrics, so I suggest you just shut your eyes and listen instead.
Lay back, lounge around, and let me insist that things will get better and brighter later. Spring’s a-coming, and there’ll be sunshine and petals and frolicking bunnies all around soon. And if you need a reason to smile before that’s actually upon us, then have a gander at some search terms! Read the rest of this entry »
It occurs to me that despite the fact that Cowboy Jensen has earned his rightful place as our mascot (and his friend Cowboy Jared sort of hangs around as a back up) we haven’t written nearly enough about cowboys.
But that’s all about to change!
In honour of their self-sufficiency, riding skillz and fabulous headgear here are ten of my favourite songs about cowboys and girls:
James Taylor – ‘Sweet Baby James’
I’m not much of James Taylor fan, I tend to find his lyrics insipid and his voice whiny. But ‘Sweet Baby James’, the title track from his second album, is different. It’s a mellow lullaby about a cowboy settling down for the night. And don’t worry, he wasn’t narcissistically calling himself sweet, it was written for his nephew who shares his name. Read the rest of this entry »
The outside world looks rubbish these days. The skies are grey, everything’s blowing around in the wind, and there’s not even any snow to make up for it. Pah.
This is definitely the time of year for insisting on staying in. You can avoid the long night/short day problem if you ignore it hard enough, and mulled wine can’t get you into quite as much trouble if you never leave the house.
So get comfy and snuggly inside! Draw the curtains against the evils of the external! Make yourself all nice and warm by lighting a fire or applying several glasses of wine!
And, of course, entertain yourself with this latest batch of search terms. Hopefully giggling at them will ensure that you don’t feel the winter gloom at all:
I understand why someone might be scared to take a peek at the search terms that lead people to Pop Culture Playpen. Quite frankly they can get freaky.
But there’s no need to worry, even though it’s an ostensibly spooky time of year right now. I promise to guide you through this Search Term Sunday safely. There might be shocks and scares along the way, but you’ll come out safely (if somewhat curious about some really weird stuff) on the other side.
how tall is christina hendricks
Seriously, her height is the measurement you’re interested in?
…but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.
With those Rolling Stones lyrics in mind (and really, who wouldn’t want to take Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ words seriously?) I’ve decided to use the Search Term Sunday this week to dispense some helpful advice.
Depraved googlers might not have realised that they were participating in a Dear Abby-esque scenario, but the searches people perform in order to end up here are as weird, if not more so, than ever. And I’m not just talking about the appalling spelling.
My first suggestion would be that you eat an apple a day, and try not to end up looking like these guys. Read the rest of this entry »
♪ if you live with me, I’ll die for you, and that’s a compromise ♪
Eh, I’ve just about had enough of serious questions, and the resultant discussions, this week. So let’s bring on the levity instead!
Round here that means that it’s time for another Search Term Sunday- looking at, and mocking, the things people have googled that brought them here this week.
promiscuous harlot
Leeds Animation Workshop is a not-for-profit cooperative company who produce and distribute short animated films on a variety of social and educational issues.
I’ve reviewed Through the Glass Ceiling and their other fairy tale-esque films on the subject on of equal opportunities in the past.
Now, in the wake of Miss Penn’s lovely IDAHO post, I’d like to look at their two LGBT films- Out to the Family and Out at Work.
On the surface these two seem very similar. Not only do they both deal with the process of coming out, but they’re structured in the same way- as a series of short self-contained stories. Each individual is introduced, and their coming out story is explored. The emotional impact that each story contains is impressive, given that both films are only fifteen minutes long, and fit in six stories each.
The difference in setting for the two allows them to explore rather different issues, however. Out to the Family is part of the Parenting and Relationships set, it concentrates on adolescence (as a time of change and conflict) and the emotional impact of both exploring sexual identity, and coming out to family members (especially parents). It ties in well with their other parenting films, Bridging the Gap and Joined-up Families, by highlighting the ways that the generation gap and different family structures can play into the experience of coming out to the family. Read the rest of this entry »
Sundays always seem to come too soon, and with them the sad knowledge that the weekend has to end. Nonetheless they can still be a day of fun, and of pouring over the search terms that lead people here of course.
jared leto dawson’s creek foto
This I cannot provide, because he was never in Dawson’s Creek.
eliza dushku lesbian
There was rather a lot of lesbian subtext in season three of Buffy…
The hellishness of hiatus is finally ending, and there’s new episodes frolicking around in front of my eyes, like newborn lambs.
One of the shows I was most eagerly anticipating being back on my screen was How I Met Your Mother; not necessarily because it’s the greatest thing ever these days, but because if I don’t get a steady supply of succinct comedy (20-something minutes being the ideal size) I wilt like an unwatered flower.
How I Met Your Mother is ostensibly a love story in reverse, except it isn’t really. The premise is that the main character, Ted (Josh Radnor) is explaining to his kids, in the year 2030, the story of how he met their mama. But really he spends his time talking about his friends, and the stupid stuff they did in New York. (Which is essentially what the show’s creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, get to do every episode.)
The mystery of the mother- and who would play her- seemed integral to the show, initially at least. In fact both Miss Penn and I made lists of potential candidates way back in 2009 which are here and here respectively. However as the show’s gone on, the mother mystery seems to have become less important. Read the rest of this entry »
Through the Glass Ceiling was one of my favourite- if not my very favourite- childhood films.
I was extremely excited when I discovered that the Leeds Animation Workshop had released it on DVD, as my multiple VHS copies had taken some serious beatings from re-watchings.
Becoming reacquainted with the story and characters all over again convinced me that I hadn’t been attaching fond childhood memories to my feelings about the film, it really is that fantastic.
This was proven even further when I set about luring as many people as I could up to my bedroom, simply to force them to watch it.
It’s a totally rewarding hobby- everyone laughs in all the right places and gets gleeful that anything this awesome exists at all. Read the rest of this entry »
A little while ago I wrote about platonic friendships between straight men and women on TV, and how few and far between they are.
There is of course space for a different exploration of cross-sex friendship when the possibility of sexual tension is removed (at least mostly) because at least one of the characters is gay.
Friendships between women and gay men abound on TV shows these days, although those between lesbians and men seem less common.
Sometimes these can be pretty stereotypical, where the gay guy is simply one of the girls (and loves shopping and shoes and shaking their booty), but I think there is a variety of representations to be found.
So eight of my favourite small screen portrayals of friendship between women and gay men, followed by eight TV lesbians with their attendant lesbros:
 | Karma on Dragon Age |
 | Links Lundi | Ruby B… on Have You Got the Moves Like… |
 | twistedbarista on Summersongs |
| Worf naked | Farestr… on Searchin’ every which… | |
| Searchin’ ever… on The Hangover |
