In case you live in a cave, the NY Giants won the Superbowl last Sunday. I was not in town to see the pandomonium that night, but instead watched the game from Florida with my almost ninety-year old grandparents. And sure to put me to shame, my grandpa Arkie knew more about the Giants team than I did!

This morning, the Giants returned to NYC amid fanfare celebration for a ticker tape parade up Broadway. While I’m more of a baseball fan than footballer, I jumped at the chance to be a part of history.

Apparently the history of the Ticker Tape parade originated here in New York City back in 1886 as a spontaneous celebration during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. There have been over a hundred of these parades since, probably the most famous being V-day at the conclusion of World World II, and various World Championships won by local sports teams.

I thought you might appreciate a couple snapshots I grabbed from the corner of Broadway and Coartland Streets. The news reported that over 1 million people choose to brave the crowds and hang out on the corner with me. And yes, that’s Eli Manning in the photo below - Mr MVP chumming it up with the crowd, and his ‘onor Mayor Bloomberg.

Just when you thought you were too old to hang out with the Smurfs…and accept the fact that maybe they don’t exist, you find out that they are alive and well, and living by the hundreds in Croatia! Gargamel too! :-)

This Croatian Village was sure they had beat the record of 241 Smurfs assembled at once. But as the story goes, the Guiness Book of World Records gave the village the wrong info, and the official number they needed to trump was actually 451. Sadly though nearly 400 grown men, women, and kids showed off their “inner-smurf”, a group of students in the UK still hold the prize. Amazing to see how pop culture remains timeless and travels around the world. For more on this news-breaking story, check out the Daily Mail.

Have you seen this image before? Do you know who this is? None other than Che Guevara — a doctor by training and a hero of the Cuban revolution. That single one image: of Che in his black beret and tangled beard, with a red background has been reproduced a million and one times over. This image can be found throughout Latin America, painted on the sides of buildings and emblazoned on T-shirts and trinkets. You’ve probably also seen his image in the West, from Andy Warhol’s famous technicolor print to college campus icon and other modern interpretations.

No doubt, Che was a complex man - and his biography is littered with his penchant for brutality and violence. After the Cuban revolution, he traveled across Latin America and Africa in the 1960s supporting liberation movements for countries still struggling under colonial rule. He was by no means a saint, yet he has become a culture hero, embraced by consumer chic.

For one, he died an early death in 1967, and was soon immortalized into a mythic figure. But more importantly he came to symbolize the counter-culture rebel - willing to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of his ideals.

Now forty years later, a recent article by the BBC interviews the artist Jim Fitzpatrick who produced the original emblematic Che image, now one the most recognized icons of the 21st century. It’s a fascinating glimpse inside the creation of this widely adored and reviled culture symbol. For more on the history of this image, also check out this Wikipedia entry.

How well do you know your ABC’s of Popular Culture?

Take the test and see if you can name all 26 brands whose logos are referenced in the following breathtaking image.

Created by NYC artist Heidi Cody, this revised “American Alphabet” was forwarded to me by my colleague Tamzyn at Peer Insight.

I must confess, I was only able to name 21 out of 26. Let me know if you are able to name all 26!

Amazing to consider how deeply imprinted brand logos have become into our collective vernacular.  

I’ll make a daring proposition that many people feel uncomfortable with. Yet as an anthropologist in orientation, I can’t help but notice that popular culture is the great unifying force across our nation. Regardless of race, class, or religion, what we share in common as a collective culture are the TV shows that we watch, the celebrities that we revear, and the brands that we consume. Popular culture is our common vocabulary. Suspend your judgement for just a minute or two…

You probably know what a Starbucks coffee tastes like (whether you like it or not), or what flying on Southwest Airlines feels like in comparison to a trip on American. You know Britney Spears, and that she’s gone a little cuckoo lately. You read Harry Potter’s latest book, or bought it for someone you love.

Anyone could assemble a voluminous list of brands, media experiences, and pop culture icons that are almost universally recognized across the U.S., if not across much of the world. Put aside the commerical implications of this and any concerns that come to mind. Popular culture is our common language. Learn to use it to your advantage.