Fads and Trends

Well, one of our assignments in my Pop Culture course is to locate 5 Fads and Trends which are a part of our personal lives and which deal with popular culture. I don't really spend much time in front of the TV, sitting at the computer or hanging out with groups of people to know what popular fads and trends are these days but I am going to give it my best shot at trying to find some which pertain to my life.

Trend Number One: I would say that so called Reality Television is a major Trend with Americans these days. I believe that Reality TV is a Trend because it has seemed to stay around for well over a decade now and has seemed to stay a top watched and voted television category. Sure the types of reality shows have changed over time as people's interested have changed and grown but the concept itself has made and continues to make a mark on many Americans' lives.

 Fad Number One: Like I said at the start of this post, I don't watch much TV but out of the couple shows that I do tend to catch myself watching and being attached to, several of them fit into the so called Reality Show category. A couple of my most favorite shows would have to be Dual Survival which airs on the Discovery Channel and Special Ops Mission which aired on the Military Channel.  I consider these Fads because like all other Reality Shows, these two will also wash by the way side eventually to make room on the TV screens and in the hearts of Americans.

Trend Number Two: For my second trend, I am going to pick and discuss social networking websites. Like Reality TV shows, Social Networking websites too have been around for a good decade or longer and appear to continue to grow by both the number or personal users and website URLs by the day. It is probably safe to say that Social Networking sites will continue to be a big hit in the foreseeable future. The following link from www.searchenginewatch.com provides great information on social networking stats from all around the world and information on what types of social networking programs and sites are most popular in different parts of the world.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2064680/Social-Media-Around-the-World-Current-Trends-and-Future-Growth

 

Fad Number Two: FACEBOOK!!!!! While Facebook seems to be a long lasting trend, looking back at a majority of other Social Networking websites it too will probably eventually loose its popularity to some extent. Whether Facebook meets the fate of some other Social Networking websites in the past and completely dies off or just becomes slightly less popular likes some others, only time will tell. 

Trend Number Three: Country Music. Country Music has been a major category in music for a couple of decades now and continues to grow by fans, awards and music artists. Country music has been on several charts in recent years as being in the top 3 genres of music to be listened to on commercial radio. Fox Business did a Radio/TV story in November of 2011 about the growing popularity of Country music in the U.S.  A video of the broadcast is attached to the following web link.
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1269749298001/country-music-taking-america-by-storm/

Fad Number Three: Popular Music Artists. Like many other things and people who are popular at any given time, music artists also tend to fade out in popularity over time. If you look back 15 years ago at the year 1997, according to the Billboard Music Awards,Country Music singer LeAnn Rimes was "Artist of the year." In 2011, Hip Hop artist Eminem was voted as "Artist of the year" for the Billboard Music Awards.

Trend Number Four: Popular Personal Fashion. Personal fashion has been a popular and competitive trend for many decades. Dating back to the mobster days of John Dillinger and the famed Zoot Suit and Top Hat to the appropriately name "Shock and Awe" wild and crazy clothing style of the 21st century which celebs such as Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj have made popular to the youth population, fashion has remained a large part of society and popular culture over time.

Fad Number Four: Types of Popular Clothing Styles: During 1930s and into the early 1940s prior to the U.S. involvement in World War II, the American music Jazz Age in Harlem, New York made the Zoot Suit a very popular clothing item which quickly spread across the country to the personal interests of American men. In the 1990s and early 2000s baggy "gangster" pants were the top hit to teenage males across the country and in the late 2000s Slim-fit pants aka "Skinny Jeans" took over in the fashion scene with the current teenage population. I am attaching a link produced by smithsonian.org which includes a great article on the popularity of the Zoot Suit and important events which occurred in history in which the Zoot Suit had a large part in.
http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/whole_cloth/u7sf/u7materials/cosgrove.html

 

Trend Number Five: Slang Language Terms. The use of Slang expressions in language has probably been used in one fashion or another since the creation of human languages thousands of years ago. From the ancient Egyptians use of of simple yet detailed drawings in their hieroglyphics to the large use of slang words in American language today such as the terms Laugh Out Loud (LOL) and Best Friends Forever (BFF), slang in language has played a big part in all of our lives at one time or another.

Fad Number Five: Types of Popular Slang in Language: Although individual slang has remained a popular form of spoken language over time, the types of Slang words and terms used have changed and evolved with current trends. From the 1930s and using terms such as "Bean Shooter" "Gat" and "Convincer" commonly used by mobsters and gangsters to describe a gun, to the now widely used "Izzle" phase made popular by Rap artist Snoop Dogg, types of Slang in American language has changed over time and will continue to evolve to what is current and popular in the future.

Only time will tell what Fads and Trends come along during the remainder of our lifetime and for generations ahead, but I am willingly to bet that there will be some are are very interesting and amusing to see and hear.

                                                                       

A Day In The Wilderness

  I spent all this morning and most of the afternoon backpacking in the Thumb Butte Basin area. I started at the main day use area parking lot at the base of Thumb Butte along Thumb Butte Road. After leaving the parking lot, I entered into the Prescott National Forest via Forest Trail number 33. I followed the West section of Trail 33 to its junction with Trail 314. After the 1/2 mile hike on Trail 314, I turned South on to Trail 326 and continued to follow it to Trail 323.
 
  Trail 323 began with a fairly level hiking surface but quickly entered into a moderate sized stand of Ponderosa Pines, where the trail began to quickly drop in elevation down to its intersection with Trail 321. I turned South onto Trail 321 and followed it for about 300 feet before leaving the trail and scrambling down a hill to Butte Creek. Butte Creek had water in it and had a slow but steady flow of water. I sat for a short time along the banks of Butte Creek near a small waterfall. The sound of the water flowing over the rocks in the middle of the stream was peaceful sounding. It is sounds and moments like this that make me enjoy the solitude of the wilderness the most.

  After spending some nice alone time along the stream and re-gathering my thoughts and motivation to continue on, I followed Trail 321 back to Trail 323. I retracked my route back along Trail 323 through the stands of Manzanita bushes and Pinyon-Juniper forests to Trail 326. Instead of turning back North on Trail 326, I decided to turn South and follow ways. After about another 3/4 mile track on Trail 326, I came to the junction with Trail 392. I then chose to follow Trail 392  North for 1.5 miles back to Thumb Butte Road.

  Trail 392 was a very scenic and amazing trail to hike. Trail 392, traveled through stands of Chaparral, Pinyon-Juniper and Ponderosa Pine for approximately the first 1/4 mile from its junction with Trail 326. Trail 392 entered into another moderate size stand of Ponderosa Pines which had appeared to have been touched by a wildfire fairly recently in the past. Most of the old-growth Ponderosas were charred black from the ground up approximately 6 feet. There also were many dead Ponderosa Pines laying on the forest ground which had also been burned during the wildfire.

  After making a few small switchbacks around a dry stream bed in the middle of the charred Ponderosa Pine stand, Trail 392 quickly climbed up a small ridgeline to the top of a cliff which overlook a large valley to the North of the trail. At the crest of the hill, the valley below which was filled with large old-growth Ponderosas lied approximately 75 feet below. It was at this point that Trail 392 began to become extremely scenic and fun to hike along. The trail quickly began to make several switchbacks down the hillside to the heavily forest valley floor below.

  Once reaching the bottom of the steep switchbacks, Trail 392 ran through the center of the large old-growth Ponderosa Pine forest to meet up with the beautiful Miller Creek. The approximately 1 mile to 1 1/4 mile remainder of Trail 392 followed along the banks of Miller Creek. Miller Creek appeared to have had more water and a faster flow to it than what Butte Creek had earlier during my adventure through the Wilderness of Thumb Butte Basin. Aside from a few short stops along Miller Creek to obtain photographs, I continued at a decent pace North on the Trail to its intersection with Trail 367.

  Once reaching Trail 367, I turned East to head back to my vehicle which was just short of another 1 1/2 miles from my current location. Trail 367, continued along the banks of Miller Creek for the remainder of it's route. Trail 367 varied greatly in elevation going from stream side up to the tops of hills which stood 35 to 40 feet above Miller Creek. The entire hike was peaceful and beautiful but I would have to say that the sections of Trails 392 and 367 were by far the most astonishing and refreshing. The trails followed along the banks of free flowing Miller Creek for a total of about 2 miles and crossed the stream 7 different times over those 2 beautiful miles.

  The wind began to pick up while I was hiking along Trail 367 and the large Ponderosas began to make eerie creeking sounds overhead as they swayed with the wind gust almost as if walking through what one would imagine a haunted enchanted forest around the time of Halloween would be like. A large portion of Trail 367 was covered with tens to hundreds of thousands of dead downed leaves from the surrounding Oak trees. I couldn't help but to imagine what the path along this trail must look like during the Spring when the leaves are a bright green and during Autumn when they have changed to deep reds and golds.