Our Popular Culture

When I took my children to see the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, they all came out wanting to get pirate flags. I can’t blame them. The action and adventure in that movie was contagious. It made everyone want to be a pirate. I have always viewed the Jolly Roger as a wonderful symbol. It symbolizes recklessness in the face of danger, a devil-may-care attitude, and an adventurous spirit willing to risk everything for profit and glory. The interesting thing is that, if you look at historical pirate flags, they vary a great deal. The design of pirate party flags, the ones you see everywhere, is actually pretty typical, but each captain would put his own spin on it. Some of them had pictures of the captain drinking with Death, others had hour glasses to show the mortality of all people. Some of them had cutlasses, others crossbones, and others one of each. All of them were designed with the same goal in mind: to show enemies that the pirate meant business.

My older brothers were big Star Trek fans. They were collecting sci fi collectibles before it was really all that acceptable to do. Most of the kids I knew had a few Star Trek collectibles when they were young, but my brothers took it to another level. They had their own star trek phazors, figurines, and costumes. One of them had a model of the Starship Enterprise, and the other had a Klingon Bird of Prey. They would always stage mock battles with these ships, incorporating whole story lines from the original series.

Going to your first Star Wars convention can be a little strange. After all, it is not every day that you are in a whole room full of adults who are all dressed up in costumes from a particular series. Nonetheless, no matter how strange it seems, it is also a lot of fun. I have had more fun at the Star Wars conventions I have gone to than practically anywhere else. The costumes, the exhibits, the stars, and of course the Star Wars collectibles all make for an exciting time that is almost literally out of this world.

Classy, sophisticated smokers find cigarette cases a required fashion accessory! There cannot be a smoker on the planet whose physician hasn’t chided them on every visit regarding this practice. Nonetheless, we continue. Many smokers still remember the 1940s movies, when virtually every glamorous woman and manly man did smoke. Any smoker worth his or her salt also had a cigarette case, which served as a recherche fashion accessory in which the cigarettes reposed when not in use.