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Jennifer ByrneAbout Jennifer Byrne Jennifer Byrne does not actively seek out pop culture, but instead absorbs it involuntarily, as if through a semipermeable membrane (actually, she gets it from her computer and TV). In Pop Osmosis she explores her own deeply conflicted reactions to will explore my own deeply conflicted reactions to many high and low pop culture phenomena to which she is exposed, from the genuinely intriguing to the stuff that might involve accessory dogs. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The National Ledger, and in various clever emails. Columns
After the Rapture: Passing the Saving on to YouThe Rapture may whisk the Saved up to Heaven ... leaving all of their corporeal assets untended. For the business-minded, earth-bound heathen, there’s money to be had in the leavings. [3 November 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) Creepy Crawly Ad Bots‘Contextual ads’ generated by Web crawlers based on private email content might provide fresh, up-to-the-second advertising copy, but these so-called geniuses are no Don Draper. [28 September 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) He’s Just Not That Into AnyoneAsexuals, also known as “aces”, have begun to assert their place as a valid and healthy sexual orientation; even SpongeBob is in on the (lack of) action. [1 September 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) De-synchronized SwimmingIn an era of US history marked by unprecedented strides in racial equality, suburban swimming pools seem to maintain time-warpish levels of racism. [4 August 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) Catalogs: Disposable but IndispensablePractically its own highly succinct form of literature, I’ll take a good catalog over a bad magazine any day. [13 July 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) I’m in UR Culture, Rewriting UR Bible…The outrageous and mysterious popularity of LOLCats has provided an updated take on the personification of cats, as well as a bizarre new translation of the Bible. [1 June 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) The Ghost and the MachineThings don’t just go bump in the night anymore – they emit high-frequency audio evidence, are recorded and saved in .WAV format, and bore us (rather than scare us) to death. [23 April 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) Facebook Children of a Lesser CauseValid fundraising on Facebook could help legitimize the site (if it’s not too late) -- but who thinks heavy metal, beer, and Paris Hilton qualify as legitimate causes? [12 March 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) Love Rated XOXOCould the lighthearted, seemingly innocuous genre of the romantic comedy actually be as psychologically damaging as onscreen violence and sex? [13 February 2009] (more Pop Osmosis) Look What the Cat Lady Dragged inThe so-called “crazy cat lady” seems to be one of few sexist stereotypes that remains alive, well, and somehow immune to politically-correct backlash. [11 December 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) My Name is URLWelcome to the latest strain of cultural insanity: people changing their given names to slogans, political ads, and website URLs. [12 November 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) Not “Lovin’ It”TV commercials are becoming more overt in reflecting the "culture wars", particularly the fierce backlash against intellectualism. [15 October 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) Adultery, AdulteratedIs the latest rage over "emotional infidelity” a genuine concern for those in a committed relationship, or is it just the latest trumped-up, talk show filling, anxiety-provoking non-issue? [10 September 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) Smell MeRegarding the ‘fume’ in perfume, and society's acceptance of forcing one's effluvium up the nasal orifices of others. [7 August 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) Fun for the Entire FamilyThe kid-friendliness movement has claimed its final frontier – a kid-friendly sex shop – but is such an establishment even remotely sex-friendly? [15 July 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) I Me Mine!If, as Sir Tim Berners-Lee suggests, the Web is still a drooling, id-driven baby that wallows in its own (proverbial) feces, it makes sense that we continue to be mired in its arrested development. [2 June 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) No Reply NeededHave 'REPLY ALL' emails become the latest outlet for the modern obsession with self-expression and fame? [24 April 2008] (more Pop Osmosis) |
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