Working the Reality Shift

I’m thinking about changing the name of the blog to Self Loathing Pop Culture Fanatic Who Happens to Be Moving. It seems like everything that I view, read, or listen to is tying itself back to my impending change of address and I’d like to apologize for that upfront and let you know that next month things will change…probably to Self Loathing Pop Culture Fanatic Trying to Get His New Life In Order.

With that said, the move and my lack of employment got me to thinking this weekend as I partook in viewing the World Series of Pop Culture on VH1. As I watched the World Series I found myself kicking…myself. Instead of grabbing an apartment in Minneapolis I should have spent the last few months auditioning for reality/game shows. You see, this move I’m making is the “free and clear” kind. I’m moving mostly for friends and family and while I will probably end up continuing in my current “career” path, I have no immediate responsibilities that tie me down in either my current city or my soon to be home. In other words if ever there was a time for me to try and grab my 2.5 minutes of reality TV fame this was it. Even though it’s a day late and a dollar short, I made a list of what shows I love and if I could make it on there.

Real World- Too old. In fact, one of the saddest things about turning 26 was that I had officially become too old to audition for the Real World.

Big Brother- Not pretty enough. Maybe if I work out hard enough I can be one of the buff 40 year olds that lasts a couple of weeks in my twilight years.

Survivor- While I love the show, I hate the outdoors and the whole thing reeks of effort.

Project Runway- Can’t sew.

My Super Sweet Sixteen- Not 16, not rich enough, and not a girl.

Being Bobby Brown- I’m not him.

Amazing Race- Here’s one I think I could do but the partner part would be an issue. The best storyline for the show would be if I brought my world traveling mom along but I’m guessing we’d be out after one week of me making her cry on national TV.

Now this World Series of Pop Culture thing is a little bit more up to my level. More game show than reality, this show has teams of 3 battling in nice compact 30 minute matches. (A quick note to the creators of the World Series itself; keep your host off camera. It reminds me of the National Spelling Bee in that you love to hear the pronouncing guy speak but once you see him the magic is broken) The questions range from “duh” to “doh”, but overall I pretty much held my own. Again though I need partners to compete on here, and you need to come up with a corny pop culture team name like “I <3 Jake Ryan” or “Almost Perfect Strangers”, so it’s not a perfect match. Still, I’m intrigued and more importantly, convinced that I wouldn’t make too much of an ass of myself if I actually made it to the show. So, with that in mind, I’m going to officially announce my entry into next year’s World Series of Pop Culture (assuming they have one). Think you got what it takes to join my team? Try these on for size and let me know how you did by leaving a comment on this post. No cheating by looking at Wikipedia.

Question 1: Where does the movie Jaws take place?
Question 2: Melrose Place was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210. Which Melrose regular tied the two shows together?
Question 3: Name the “rap artist” that gave us Rico Suave.
Question 4: Name Britney Spears’ first husband.
Question 5: Name the fast food restaurant Buffy Summers worked at.

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