red

Not Pictured: Sword.

So a long time ago I used to write a trend-blog called “WTF World” I ultimately had to abandon after nearly 6 months of writing (I wrote 28 WTF World blogs, and PG is now at 23 blogs, so I’ve almost caught up to my previous blog, that’s exciting). Every week I would look at trends and just bitch and complain about them. The problem was more often than not it just ended up being celebrity news which was not that interesting to me and really didn’t fit in with the rest of the site. Sometimes though, I miss it.

This is one of those times.

Today, in a very special Perspicacious Geek, WTF World is back because there are just so many things happening in pop culture that I want to talk about. In fact, I was thinking about a few trends over the weekend that I wanted to write about and 2 of those things got bumped because I wanted to talk about what happened in the last few days even more. In the name of full transparency the things that got bumped from this column were Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble and Benedict Cumberbatch referring to black actors as “colored actors”. I will probably end up talking about these things on this week’s 9to5 Entertainment System. So look forward to that. So what are we talking about instead.

The Red Ranger Killed Someone With a Sword

In the immortal words of Channel 101’s Cautionary Tales of Swords, “Swords will fuck you up.” Apparently, Ricardo Medina Jr. was not happy being just another Red Ranger, he wanted to be the most notorious Red Ranger there ever was. I know you might be asking yourself “are there other notorious Red Rangers?” Well, if you consider your career going from being a Power Ranger to doing gay porn as notoriety then yes, there are other notorious Red Rangers. Austin St. John went from being the original Red Ranger to doing porn some time ago, so the bar was set pretty high if you wanted to top that.

Well, Ricardo Medina Jr. certainly topped it. He was arrested for murder. Murder with a sword. I know that someone actually died here and this might be super insensitive, but I find the whole thing so fucked up that it makes me laugh. That nervous kind of laughter that bubbles up at a funeral. It’s not just that Medina Jr. was charged for murder. It’s that a Power Ranger was charged for murder with a fucking sword. Of course he used a sword. He’s a Power Ranger. In my terrible imagination he swooshed his hands around doing fake karate and held the sword up over his head before doing it. I’m the worst. I know that. Please direct all complaints to Scott.

Rightshark Looking Mad, Leftshark looking predictably derp.

Rightshark Looking Mad, Leftshark looking predictably derp.

Why Is #leftshark the #bestshark?

I will admit that I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I know it’s a thing, I even know some of the key players involved (some guy named Gronk, a member of the Brady Bunch and a guy who really doesn’t like the media. See I get this football shit.) I always intend on watching the halftime show but also almost never do since that might mean actually watching the Super Bowl.

My typical post- Super Bowl Monday involves watching the half time show and letting reddit tell me which commercials were so awesome that I should watch those. I think I’m in a good place with my relationship to the Super Bowl.

Anyways, yesterday morning came along and the entire world (ie: the Western world, I’m pretty sure a bunch of the world is still starving and being murdered in wars) was buzzing about #leftshark. See, Katy Perry did a crazy-go-nuts halftime show that involved dancing beach balls and a pair of delightful dancing sharks. Apparently, the one on the left was the best. I won’t lie, I’ve got a soft spot for pop-divas that I can’t fully explain. My top 3 are Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry in that order. So I was excited to see what this shark business was all about.

So Katy’s up on stage, being watched by over 100 million people and these sharks show up. The sharks are admittedly goofy looking so I’m 100% on board. Then, the shark on the left basically seems to not give a shit about dancing to any sort of choreography. It’s sort of the best and I highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t. Imagine being a professional dancer and getting picked to dance at the Super Bowl. You’re like “oh shit yeah”. Ok, but you gotta be in a costume. “No problem baby, bring it on.” It’s a ridiculous shark costume. “Fuck this I’m dancing however the fuck I want.” So we all got to enjoy the leftshark fucking around while rightshark apparently took his job seriously. That’s why he’s the bestshark.

Of course, the choreographer says “this was all part of the act” and that #leftshark was just doing his part and having fun. I mean, that’s easy to say now that social media blew up about #leftshark not giving a fuck but whatever. If the halftime show brought us a delightful shark instead of Janet Jackson’s boob I’m giving top marks to the halftime show.

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Ghostbusters 4 will be the last Ghostbusters. Ghost guy is running out of fingers.

The Ghostbusters Are Now Women

Ok, I am very often among the first people to jump on the “let’s not make another remake” bandwagon. I won’t lie, I’m apprehensive about this new Ghostbusters film. Why? Because it’s a remake of a film I love and no other reason.

If they were (and they are) going to make a remake of Ghostbusters, here would be my main requirement: the leads are funny people. The original cast was a hilarious ensemble at the time so the new cast should be too (since let’s face it, dressing old people up in the roles that made them famous doesn’t have a perfect track record, just ask Harrison Ford after Crystal Skull).

So when I found out that Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon were going to be the new Ghostbusters I was like “damn, those are some funny people.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kristen Wiig in anything bad and Kate McKinnon is basically one of the most consistently funny parts of SNL these days.

Of course, the (hopefully vocal minority of) internet lashed out because they were women. Even Donald Trump yelled about it. Proving yet again that he doesn’t just play an asshole on TV, he really is an asshole.

Fuck you man, they’re funny people. The remake might still suck, since remakes often do. But I can assure you that it won’t be the fault of the casting.

That’s it, I’m out.

Keith does all sorts of things here on 9to5.cc, he works with the other founders on 9to5 (illustrated), co-hosts our two podcasts: The 9to5 Entertainment System and Go Plug Yourself and blogs here as The Perspicacious Geek.

Wild Force Red Ranger image from eBay, you know, in case you want to buy the action figure of a guy being charged for murder.
#leftshark image from Billboard.
Ghostbusters image from cinemablend.