Tomorrow, Jim, Michelle, Stifler, and friends are heading back to high school. The American Pie crew — who we were first introduced to back in 1999 — will be getting the class together again for American Reunion. In order to prepare ourselves for the flashback, we’ve put together a brief pop culture primer that reviews some of the biggest trends and happenings that year. Prince partied like it was 1999 in 1982, but we’re bringing it back in 2012. So, let’s get way too ponderous about The Matrix, dust off that copy of Harry Potter, and panic about Y2K all over again. Head past the break for a look at 1999, and leave your favorite memories in the comments below.
As you may be aware, today is April Fool’s day — and while we won’t be playing any childish pranks here at Flavorpill, we do enjoy a good practical joke or two, especially when said joke is fictional and thus lacking in real-world consequences. Kurt Vonnegut said, “All of fiction is a practical joke—making people care, laugh, cry or be nauseated or whatever by something which absolutely is not going on at all. It’s like saying, ‘Hey, your pants are on fire.’” That may be so, but there are just as many pranksters in the pages of books as there are holding the pens — some innocent, and some not so innocent. Note: practical jokes can range in severity and style, so just so we’re all on the same page, the definition we’re working with is ”a mischievous trick played on a person, especially one that causes the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort.” Click through to read our list of ten of the best pranks and practical jokes in literature, and pitch in with any we’ve missed — or just watch Maya Angelou punk Stephen King and Jonathan Franzen.
Let’s face it: official merchandise is expensive, and a good chunk of the time it’s pretty crappy-looking anyway. As long as you’re committed to buying cheap toys of your favorite superheroes and video game characters, why not invest in some low-quality bootlegs? Translation errors, bad paint jobs, weird accessories, shoddy workmanship — these will all keep you entertained for ages, at bargain prices! The specimens below are only a few of the odd gems out there. Oh, and if you’re easily creeped out by weird children’s toys, be prepared; some of the products at the end of the list are total nightmare fuel!
Sure we’re still feeling the effects of the economic crisis, but let’s pretend that you have millions of dollars just sort of lying around. What would you do with it all? Well, you could run for president, of course, but we know we’d rather throw around a whole bunch of money making all of the nerdiest dreams we had as children come true. Seriously, if you’re the offspring of a software entrepreneur or something, there are some crazy gifts out there for you to put on your Christmas list! Here are some of the priciest geek toys on the market. They may be marketed to kids, but many will clearly appeal more to grown-up fans — and they run from least to most expensive, so prepare yourself now for the end of the list. Seriously, you might want to sit down.
1. Can you believe that Twitter — which now boasts over 500 million users — turns six years old today? Meanwhile, we can’t really remember a time when fail whales and hashtags didn’t exist. #sadtruths [via Mashable]
2. It’s official: Russell Crowe will star in Darren Aronofsky’s epic re-telling of the Noah’s Ark story, with filming set to begin in July. [via Deadline]
3. Jenna-Louise Coleman, who is also starring in an upcoming Titanic miniseries, will replace Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as the Doctor’s companion on Doctor Who. Is it weird that we already miss Amy and Rory? [via HuffPost TV]
4. Jamie Waylett, the actor who played Draco Malfoy’s henchman in the Harry Potter movies, has been sentenced to two years in prison for violent disorder, and twelve months for handling stolen goods. That’s 50 points deducted from Slytherin! [via Gawker]
5. Earl Sweatshirt made his live debut with Odd Future last night in New York, performing “Orange Juice”, “Assmilk”, and “Kill” at Hammerstein Ballroom. Tyler the Creator’s on-stage reaction: “We waited so long for that shit. You have no idea how awesome this is.” [via P4K]
Do you ever daydream of what would happen if your favorite pop-culture characters from entirely separate universes could meet? We have, predicting which television characters might be best friends in real life and doing some speculative matchmaking for gay and straight TV teens. So naturally we’re thrilled by Chris Gerringer’s I Know That Feel, Bro series, which pairs geek icons that share a common trait — Batman and Harry Potter, for instance, are “orphaned heroes,” while The Incredible Hulk and Kermit the Frog both know it isn’t easy being green. Click through for some of our favorite duos and visit Gerringer’s DeviantArt page to see a whole lot more.
Once upon a time, we were Google image searching “Pokémon” (why yes, it’s 1998 and we’re a bunch of nerdy 12-year-olds) and a wild Pokébra appeared. That’s right, a bra that makes breasts look like Poké Balls. The discovery piqued our curiosity and a little bit of research yielded the realization that there are a lot of unusual pop-culture bras out there, folks, and it’s our civic duty to round some up and present them to you in one handy collection. If the Pokébra isn’t quite your style, we’ve got everything from Where the Wild Things Are to Vincent van Gogh-themed undergarments. Catch ‘em all after the jump.
Relatively few films can claim the lucrative after-life that is destined for the Harry Potter saga. The fact that the eight-movie cycle concluded last summer will, of course, not deter Warner Bros. from profiting off the franchise for years, perhaps even generations to come. There’s already an entire amusement park – Star Wars didn’t even get that – devoted to that cause, not too mention the scores of licensed products and cross-over promotions that will ensure the brand’s perpetuity. But the theme park aside, which is admittedly kind of cool, we’re guardedly excited about the movie studio’s latest ploy to get Potter-philes to reach back into their savings: a tour of the giant scale model of Hogwarts castle.
Just about every major movie that comes out these days — and not just the family fare — ends up producing some kind of commemorative doll. Same with any platinum-selling pop star. But have you ever noticed how little these Barbie-like creations tend to resemble their subjects? Well, so has Noel Cruz, an artist who repaints the dolls so that they uncannily recreate the faces of celebrities and their characters. See a perfectly preserved mid-’80s Madonna, Angelina Jolie at her steamiest, and even Harry Potter, after the jump. Then, make sure you visit Cruz’s website to check out more of his work.
