A Moment in Time

You know how when you see a movie about the 1970's the movie soundtrack is full of music reminiscent of the era: Lou Reed, early Elton John, Helen Reddy, Simon & Garfunkel. The music helps create a sense of the cultural moment in time.

In some distant day when I recount the story of his birth to him, I want to be able to give the Meatball as many details as possible. I like hearing stories with lots of (pop) cultural detail: What songs were popular? What was the big movie? What were the political debates? It feels like giving additional context to a story. So, I am going to take this time and this post to describe the intersections of my life and popular culture in this moment so that Meatball will have some context.

Here are the pop songs that ubiquitously run through my head (and the radio, and the grocery store, and the gym, etc.):

Just The Way You Are or Grenade-- Bruno Mars
Firework and Teenage Dream-- Katy Perry
Alejandro, Telephone, Bad Romance, Poker Face-- Lady Gaga
Only Girl in the World-- Rhianna
Raise Your Glass-- Pink
Forget You-- Celo Green
DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love--

I would talk about movies, but I've only seen three in the past 12 months: Sex In The City 2; Eat, Pray, Love; and The King's Speech. Clearly, I am not qualified to talk about what's going on in the movies.

I will note that there is a baby explosion in Hollywood right now. Here's a list of celebrities who are pregnant or who very recently gave birth:

Kelly Preston (wife of John Travolta)
Jewel
Alicia Silverstone
Kate Hudson
Penelope Cruz (with yummy Javier Bardem)
Orlando Bloom and his partner, Miranda Kerr, just had a baby boy, Flynn
Alicia Keys
Alannis Morrissette
Natalie Portman
Jane Krasinski
Nicole Kidman (has a secret baby, which I don't know anything about)
Christina Applegate
Victoria Beckham
Pink
Selma Blair
Marianne Cotillard
Owen Wilson and his Baby Mama, Jade Duell, just had a baby boy
Ivanka Trump
Mariah Carey
Jennifer Connelly

The most popular thing I am doing right now is gestating! How exciting. Owen Wilson and I have so much in common.

In local politics, there is much hand-wringing about whether or not Rahm Emanuel will get to run for Mayor of Chicago, given that he hasn't been technically in residence in the past year because of his Washington, D.C. duties for President Obama. The latest I heard (from Jeff) is that the Supreme Court of Illinois agreed to hear the case so there has been a stay issued, the practical effect of which is to prevent ballots from being printed without Emanuel's name on them.

Even closer to home, should we name our baby Rahm? Emanuel? Court?

At tonight's State of the Union address, there may be some bipartisan seating arrangements to show solidarity and signal that some of the acrimony and partisan politics can and should be toned down for the good of the country. This is a response to the violence in Arizona.

The Oscar nominations were just announced this morning. Looks like I better see Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kids Are Alright, True Grit, The Social Network, and 127 Hours ASAP. There were movies on there I have literally never heard of, but again, that's not really saying anything. I can't have a goal to read 30 books, be a lawyer and mother and wife and get to the movies on top of it. Ain't gonna happen any time soon.

These are heady times indeed.