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
Tuesday, December 8 2009
Farmville: Fetch Me My Manure Boots
The surging popularity of the virtual farming game 'FarmVille' seems to imply dissatisfaction with almost every aspect of modern life -- except maybe virtual reality.
Tuesday, November 3 2009
After the Rapture: Passing the Saving on to You
The 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.
Monday, September 28 2009
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.
Tuesday, September 1 2009
He's Just Not That Into Anyone
Asexuals, 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.
Tuesday, August 4 2009
De-synchronized Swimming
In an era of US history marked by unprecedented strides in racial equality, suburban swimming pools seem to maintain time-warpish levels of racism.
