Category: Pop Culture

Comedy, Misc., Music/Movies, politics, Pop Culture, Sports, television, YouTube

Friday Five: Special 2020 Wrap-Up Edition!

by The Fancy BoysLeave a Comment on Friday Five: Special 2020 Wrap-Up Edition!
Friday Five: Special 2020 Wrap-Up Edition!

2020 was, to put it mildly, a weird year.

COVID affected every aspect of our lives, including the art we consumed and, perhaps more importantly, how we consume it. We couldn’t go to the movie theater. Many artists we releasing their “quarantine albums”. Most shows and movies had to stop production for some period of time. Sports went away and then came back under weird conditions.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great year for the arts. It was just… different.

Because of this, we scrapped our plans to write the “Best Of” articles that usually appear in magazines and websites. We’re bringing back the Friday Five. We asked our writers and guest contributors to list their five favorite pieces of consumed media from the last year.

Here is what The Fancy Boys loved about 2020.

Continue reading “Friday Five: Special 2020 Wrap-Up Edition!” →
Advice, Pop Culture, television, Uncategorized

What Parents, School Boards, and Teachers Can Learn from The Great British Bake Off

by The Fancy BoysLeave a Comment on What Parents, School Boards, and Teachers Can Learn from The Great British Bake Off
What Parents, School Boards, and Teachers Can Learn from The Great British Bake Off

Like an aimless teenager wandering the halls, I am often late, not to important things– like class– but to pop culture. For instance, I just started watching Brooklyn 99 and started a TikTok  this past spring. 

So, as you might expect, The Great British Baking Bake Off was one such pop culture phenomenon that alluded me, until now. I’ll be honest: I have no other way to tell you what Series I have seen without referencing Big Streaming Service’s “Collections”. I have completed the most updated episodes of the recent “Collection” and “Collections” 1 and 2, which I can only assume is not Season, I mean Series, 1 and 2 because the contestants seem to already understand the show’s format and its hosts and judges.

As a teacher, I found myself watching this show and being simultaneously entertained and recognizing that the show has value in what we can learn from it about teaching and learning.

So, if you are a teacher, a parent, or a school board member or know someone who is or was a teacher, parent, or school board member, on your marks, get set, READ!

Continue reading “What Parents, School Boards, and Teachers Can Learn from The Great British Bake Off” →
Pop Culture

Farewell to The Office on Netflix: the Union that Changed The Way We Watch TV

by Michael GraceLeave a Comment on Farewell to The Office on Netflix: the Union that Changed The Way We Watch TV
Farewell to The Office on Netflix: the Union that Changed The Way We Watch TV

When Netflix began, it was a novel concept. You request DVDs, you watch them, you mail them back, and then the next movie in your queue gets mailed to you. Kelly Kapoor actually explains this in an episode of The Office in which the employees of Dunder Mifflin gamble on various prop bets in the office. Netflix gets name-dropped a few times on the show, all during its primarily mail-only era. Once the service moved to streaming, it was super weird. For a time, there was softcore porn and DIY home repair videos. It was a brave, new, strange world. The only way I could watch at that time was through an app on my Nintendo Wii. The pickup of The Office, among many other 2000s sitcoms was, surprisingly, the best thing that the service could have done for itself. In doing so, it changed the trajectory of careers, made the show a second-hand success, and jumpstarted the endless, mindless binge. On January 1st, The Office leaves Netflix for NBC’s own streaming service, ending one of the most important unions in TV history.

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Advice, Comedy, Misc., Pop Culture

Thanksgiving Isn’t Really That Great: Reasons To Stay Home This Year

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on Thanksgiving Isn’t Really That Great: Reasons To Stay Home This Year

Next week, millions of Americans will make the choice to not have large family gatherings for Thanksgiving. Granted, millions will also decide to go ahead and pretend like nothing is different, which is why we will be in a lockdown until Joe Biden’s second term as president.

Continue reading “Thanksgiving Isn’t Really That Great: Reasons To Stay Home This Year” →
Music/Movies, Pop Culture, Uncategorized

The Greatest YouTube Clip Of All Time

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on The Greatest YouTube Clip Of All Time
The Greatest YouTube Clip Of All Time

Look, let’s just lay all of our cards out on the table: the world kinda fucking sucks right now.

In two weeks, the United States will have an election where, whoever wins, half of the country will think that the worst thing in the world is happening. We’re under restrictions as COVID has taken over a million lives worldwide. At any given point, any part of the world could be on fire. There are riots and protests and, also, Hulu didn’t renew High Fidelity for a second season and I was kind of getting into that show.

And we haven’t even talked about the internet.

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Comedy, Misc., Pop Culture, Uncategorized

The Next 50 Stars: My Plan To Get America To 100 States

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on The Next 50 Stars: My Plan To Get America To 100 States
The Next 50 Stars: My Plan To Get America To 100 States

One of the most ridiculous stories to come from President Trump’s first term was when he tried to purchase Greenland, presumably to make it another state (or, at the very least, another U.S. territory). It was met with general scoffing and mockery from both political sides (save for the Donald’s most ardent bootlickers) and seen by many as a petulant child getting upset that he couldn’t buy anything he wanted. I remember finding the idea ridiculous back in 2019. But now, I’m not so sure.

Now, I kind of think it’s fucking dope.

But why stop there?

Continue reading “The Next 50 Stars: My Plan To Get America To 100 States” →