The One Hang-Up I Have About Writing About Pop Culture

Although I do enjoy writing about myself and my book, there are times in this blog that I'd like to write about other stuff. There are goings on in the world of pop culture that I might like to comment on, in a humorous way, of course. But there is one hang-up I have about writing about pop culture: I really don't feel comfortable criticizing or making fun of anyone personally. In my book, I wrote about certain things that annoyed me in the entertainment, sports, and political worlds, but I tried not to single anybody out. I did mention that it annoys me when the popular music radio station plays the same Adelle song over and over again to the point of complete agony, but I actually don't mind her music. It just drives me batty when I have no control over the radio so I have to suffer through hearing the same ten songs ten times a day. I also wrote about how annoying it is when directors cast their untalented spouses or relatives who end up wrecking their movie, but I don't get into specifics. I guess I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Of course, I know that it's not likely that these famous people will read my book (though, they should), and if they did, they probably wouldn't care anyway. Still, to play it safe I don't mention anyone by name so that if I ever meet a famous person, and they wonder if I was insulting them in my book, I can say to them: "No, no, when I said I was annoyed by directors that cast their untalented relatives in their films, I didn't mean you."

I guess I could just write about things in pop culture that I like. But can I write a thousand word blog focusing on something I enjoy without gushing so much that it ends up coming across like an obsessive fan letter? Also, and this is something I kind of wrote about in my last blog post, is it arrogant to assume anyone will care what I like or don't like in regards to pop culture? Well, should anyone really care what anyone else thinks about anything? Probably not, but if I can be somewhat entertaining with my pop culture posts, it'll be all worth it. Plus, one of the advantages of writing a blog is that all of the subject matter is current and not outdated. That's another reason why I tried not to mention specific things too much in my book. I guess with an ebook, I could always go back and update the topical references, but I still like the idea of a book as a snapshot in time, and constantly going back and changing things would change the "feel" of the book.

So, the idea I have is to write some "quick hits" about whatever comes to my mind about pop culture. I realize that Larry King used to write a newspaper column that did something similar. Well, I don't think he has a patent on this idea. I figure if I do criticize anyone or anything, I'll do so in a benign, light hearted manner that won't hurt anyone's feelings and more importantly, won't make me feel guilty. I can also rave about stuff without it becoming too gushing and long winded. So, sometime in the near future, I'll probably give this idea a shot. There's something for all of you to look forward to.