14 Pop Culture-y Things That Turn 10 This Year

source: breatheheavy.com

... just to make you feel old (or just very confused), let's make a list of 14 pop culture-related things that will turn 10 years old in 2014. And ... go!

1. Facebook
And are we any better for it?

2. "Mean Girls"
Which also means that it's been 10 years since Lindsay Lohan was considered an ingenue, a good actress, attractive, and reliable by most. Tell me the truth -- do you still quote this movie?

3. "The College Dropout"

Kanye West releases his debut album and becomes a megastar instantly. Things haven't changed too much.

4. Britney Spears gets married ... twice

Within a span of 12, nay, 10 months, Britney Spears gets married in Vegas, has her marriage annulled, then inexplicably gets married to Kevin Federline.

5. Ashlee Simpson gets caught lip synching on "Saturday Night Live"

... and then does a weird jig. I can't believe that was 10 years ago. I remember watching that live, crammed into an uncomfortable corner of an eerie corner kitchen of my basement dorm hall. I didn't think she deserved all the hate then, and I still don't now.

6. "The Notebook"

And yet, I can't seem to imagine Ryan Gosling or Rachel McAdams a day older than they looked in "The Notebook." And I don't think they do look a day older now. If you're a bird, I'm a bird, right?

7. Paris Hilton's popularity

Ugh, I do not miss the era of celebrity gossip when all that mattered was what stupid thing Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, and Mischa Barton had done that week. But do you remember the phrase "That's hot"? And how Paris successfully trademarked it? The rockbottom of pop culture.

8. Massachusetts and same-sex marriage

The state of Massachusetts, then under the watchful eye of future presidential candidate Mitt Romney, became the very first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriages.

9. "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County"

The reality show that spawned a new style of "reality" shows made its debut on September 28, 2004 and became arguably bigger than the show from which it drew inspiration: "The O.C."

10. "Nipplegate"

Justin Timberlake "accidentally" exposed 80% of Janet Jackson's star-covered breast at the Super Bowl. The pair consequently begin backpedaling with the lamest PR excuses I've ever heard in my life. I didn't think it was that controversial ten years ago, but now I just think it's plain stupid. Why would you end a song by ripping off a pocket of a woman's shirt to expose a sparkly star-covered boob? Like, what's the point? If it was purely shock they were after, I guess they succeeded. Also: ten years on, and people are still treating Justin Timberlake like he's some sort of demi-legend. Still don't get it.

11. "Napoleon Dynamite"

Now this is something that feels more like it happened 20 years ago, maybe even 30. And that probably makes "Napoleon Dynamite" a classic. Or incredibly dated when it was released.

12. "Friends" ends

Good riddance.

13. The Curse of the Bambino is lifted

The Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to win their first World Series in 86 years. Yeah, I'm New Yorker born and raised, but I still know all about the Bambino. I happened to be living in Boston at the time, and it was madness. Pure madness.

14. The Olsen Twins turned 18

There was a countdown and everything. Sick. Especially since they still look underage, ten years later.

Top Five: "The Hills" moments

"The Hills," sadly, started out as a continuation of the wildly popular "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." but overstayed its welcome and went down in history books as a huge joke, a joke that its producers were happy to share the punchline to. In the past few weeks, I did two "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." posts, a top five moments entry for each of the first two seasons of the show (season one, season two). For "The Hills," though, I'm going to do just one because as the seasons wore on, each episode seemed to revolve around the same recycled drama, just with prettier clothes and more plastic noses.

Unfortunately, none of the full episodes of "The Hills" currently work on MTV.com, but I managed to find a pretty good compilation via PopSugar's YouTube page.

5. Elodie vs. Heidi
(Season 3, Episode 7)
Oh, the satisfaction I felt when Elodie showed Heidi what's up after Heidi went behind Elodie's back to get a promotion. On Elodie's last day, Heidi asked her to take over her late night nightclub shift so she could spend time with Spencer ... and Elodie agreed to it, all the while not telling Heidi she'd already quit. I almost forgot Elodie existed, but she made for some great, great television that night.

4. Jason vs. Paris
(Season 1, Episode 10; 0:16 in the video above)
When the final episode of the first season of "The Hills" aired, I was well into my college years, a world backpacker, and a seasoned intern. And I knew that you should never, ever pass up an opportunity to go to Europe ... especially not for a boyfriend. Especially not if your boyfriend is Jason Wahler. Need I say more?

3. Audrina vs. Lo
(Season 4, Episode 1)
Let me just start by saying that I never liked Lo. I especially did not like Lo when she was "Laguna Beach's resident Paris Hilton," and though she seemed to become less shallow during and after her college years, she was no more engaging as a character. That said, I thought the season-long riff between Lo and Audrina was mildly entertaining, with the "drama" playing out in the very best representation of a passive aggressive confrontation between two girls ever captured on film, maybe. "I know, but ..." "I hear you, but ..." You hear nothing, Lo. You hear nothing.

2. Lauren vs. Audrina
(Season 4, Episode 5; 0:57 in the video above)
The penultimate moment of "The Hills." Cheeks streaked with mascara-stained tears, Lauren -- with her croaky day-after-Les-Deux voice -- confronts Audrina about the tension that's built up between the three roommates. The other most memorable dramatic moment has got to be the "I want to forgive you, and I want to forget you" speech Lauren gives to Heidi.

1. Whitney Port vs. Overly Dramatic Reality Television
On "The Hills," Whitney Port played a minor, supporting role to the show's main girl, Lauren. Because we got to see so little of Whitney on "The Hills," she was always entertaining, always wise, always a little mysterious. Unfortunately, those illusions vanished into thin air when Whitney signed on to do two seasons of "The City," but while she was on "The Hills," I have to say, she was the greatest entertainment of all -- a voice of reason and humor. Let these GIFs demonstrate my point.

"A date!?"
source: gabeswebsite.com

source: heresgifsforyou.tumblr.com

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source: giphy.com

Yes.

Top Five: "Laguna Beach" Season Two moments

source: MTV.com

I'm back with the second installment of "Laguna Beach" moments. In my first post, I ruminated on my favorite moments of the first season of "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C.," which, in retrospect, seemed an altogether more wholesome and earnest endeavor. All this went down the drain in the show's second season, when MTV realized it had found its sweet spot in what teenagers really wanted to see -- and that was drama, drama, drama.

Bad Girl Kristin Cavallari took over as protagonist and main narrator in the reality show's second season, and in my opinion, that was probably among the smartest moves MTV made between 2004 and now. Aside from riding on the not-so-well-intentioned coattails of "Teen Mom"'s success. Team Kristin or not, I honestly don't think "The Hills" and all its successors would have come to be if Kristin hadn't taken over Lauren Conrad's role in the second season.

That said, my top five favorite moments of the second season of "Laguna Beach" won't be as heartfelt or sappy as my top five from the first season. They'll be more ridiculous, over-the-top, and maybe even ironic. The second season brought along the likes of the paradoxically dull Bad Boy Jason Wahler, tough girl Alex Murrel, doll-faced Taylor Cole, the insufferable Casey Reinhardt, and more screen time for Talan Torriero and Kristin's BFFs, Alex Hooser and the ever-lovable Jessica Smith.

Without further ado, here are my top five favorite moments ...

5. Episode 10 - 10:00
Casey decides she wants to talk with Alex M. about the alleged rumors she's spread about Alex's "hygiene problem." Things escalate when Casey calls Alex "an evil person" and Alex shuts down all talks.

Bonus moment from the same episode, at 1:02, when Kristin advises Alex H. that the way to get all the guys is to be a bitch.

4. Episode 7 - 7:30
Jason takes Alex M. out on their first on-screen date, and Alex whispers sweet nothings like "I like your face" to him over a romantic surf 'n turf dinner. Plus, it's fun to see both the awkwardness and sweetness of the early stages of a relationship. Even if that relationship only lasts two episodes.

3. Episode 14 - 12:45
Okay, so I had to stuff a little mush into this list, because otherwise, I'd be admitting that "Laguna Beach" is completely void of substance. Is it just me or does the LBHS valedictorian have a Jersey accent? Anyway, I actually teared up when I watched the little Laguna Beach High School seniors graduate. The Chantal Kreviazuk song didn't help.

2. Episode 4 - 9:15
JP, recurring background character, makes his second appearance on "Laguna Beach" here. He is undoubtedly the hottest member of the Laguna Beach community we've been introduced to -- I don't care how good-looking you think Jason or Stephen are. JP has got that skater boy laidback-ness to him, and in a minute's time scales the distance between Men from Mars and Women from Venus. It's always fun to hear a man's (or boy, in this case) perspective on why women do what they do.

Bonus moment from earlier in this episode, at 7:40: we see Kristin and Talan at dinner, alone together. It's clear that Kristin has some feelings for him, though it's unclear just how deep those feelings are. It's just nice to see Kristin kind of disarmed, and "giddy" in her detached, Kristin Cavallari way.

1. Episode 11 - 6:30
There are two reasons I love this clip so, so much. One, Jessica is happy for once in her freaking life. Two, Kristin is finally drunk enough to have let go of her inhibitions, and it's really refreshing. Not that I'm condoning underage drinking or anything, but it's rare that we see Kristin without some sort of front. I love the bonding being achieved here by Jessica and Kristin. Too bad it lasts for only about, oh, half a scene. Followed by unmatchable humor, courtesy of Alex H. Fiiiiiiestaaaaaaa!

source: MTV.com

Top Five: "Laguna Beach" Season One moments

I heard that MTV's been replaying its reality show franchise (if you wanna call it that) "Laguna Beach" recently, and it's being referred to as "Retro MTV" or the like. To me, it wasn't that long ago. Maybe because I'm about the same age as the "Laguna Beach/The Hills" cast members, and developmentally, I was already fully grown when the show began to air on MTV in the fall of 2004. Or maybe because "Laguna Beach" became "The Hills," became "The City" and "Audrina," and the whole "Laguna Beach" wheel only stopped turning about 2 years ago.

I remember being skeptical about the show, because MTV had dubbed it "The Real O.C.," and I thought MTV was just trying to ride on the real "O.C."'s coattails. I was also skeptical because I had also recently graduated high school and wasn't sure I wanted to watch oh-so-dramatic high schoolers duking it out. Especially rich, pretty blonde ones.

Well, as with every show that MTV likes to play marathon-style on weekends, I eventually became victim to "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." ... but I never fell victim to Lauren! Most won't agree, but I don't think she and Stephen were ever that compatible -- they didn't really seem to be on the same level, intellectually. I can proudly state that I was always, always Team Kristin. Even when the going got bad on the last season of "The Hills."

Here is a list of my top five favorite "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." moments from season one:

(Episode 11 - 8:45) Kristin and Stephen have a romantic talk on the beach, when they discuss the status of their relationship.

(Episode 11 - 18:31) Lauren heads off to San Francisco, and who's there to meet her but the love of her life. I didn't believe a second of this, but it was a nice season ending, and much more subtle than what was to come.

(Episode 2 - 10:45) Kristin and Jessica cook for Stephen and Dieter ... and it's not good.

(Episode 2 - 14:00) Kristin and Stephen have a civilized argument at their favorite eatery, Pomodoro.

(Episode 11 - 16:05) While Lauren is packing to head off to college in San Francisco, Lo can't bear to leave ... and asks if she can have Lauren's "Goachi" bag to remember her by.

So ... what were your favorite moments of season one? Do you prefer season one or season two? Looking back, season one was quite drama-free in comparison to season two and "The Hills."

The Hills: An alternate ending

The original cast of "The Hills," with their original faces and bodies (for the most part) in 2006.
source: MTV.com

Last week, MTV released an alternate ending to reality series "The Hills," which ended its run in 2010. For all the talk and mocking of "The Hills," it seems kind of lost on the general population that it started out as a somewhat humble little "reality" show in fall 2004 that, in itself, was a response to the popularity of the television show "The O.C."

I loyally watched pretty much every episode of "The Hills" because I'd loved "Laguna Beach" so much, and not because I always enjoyed it. When Kristin Cavallari joined the cast, I cheered because I'd always been "Team Kristin," never "Team Lauren." Sure, she was more dramatic and perhaps arrogant, but she also stood up for herself and didn't take crap from anyone.

Anyway, the "Hills" ending that aired in 2010 showed Kristin seemingly on her way to the airport, headed for Europe. An acoustic version of the show's theme song, "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield, plays somberly in the background. Kristin looks out the window of her cab towards her proverbial future as Lauren had once done in her flashy convertible, driving up the 101 from Laguna Beach, California to Los Angeles. And as Kristin had herself done in 2005, when she drove up the same route a year after Lauren, to begin college in Los Angeles.

We are then shown each of the cast members looking contemplative, juxtaposed against old footage of themselves. As the scene returns to Brody Jenner, the Hollywood sign behind him begins to move and is removed from the frame, and the camera pans out to reveal a soundstage, lights, production crew.

The alternate ending has an appendix to the original ending: that of Brody returning to his apartment to find Lauren Conrad nonchalantly waiting for him on his couch. We are meant to believe that they are together, and that Brody is still hiding something from Lauren when he refers to Kristin as "a friend." After a short, stilted exchange and dramatic glances into nothingness (a "Laguna Beach/Hills" trademark), Brody smiles at Lauren and she breaks into a wicked grin.

Lauren wins. She's always been a step ahead of Kristin, paving the path for her as far as MTV reality shows are concerned. But this time, she finally gets the guy, too. It's not Stephen Colletti, but Brody Jenner's not a bad alternative.

I don't know, guys. What do you think of the alternate ending? Which do you like better? Do you think Lauren should've taken the "high road" and stayed out of the finale altogether, or do you think it was cheeky of her to return for the last scene and, effectively, "win" the Lauren vs. Kristin battle?

What I will say, though, is that I really loved the flashbacks to the earlier seasons, and particularly to the first two seasons of "Laguna Beach." We've all come a long way, and for some of the cast members, it was apparent through all the facial and bodily augmentations. There was a time when they were young, brash and somewhat innocent, and there was a time when there was probably some truth to the words that came out of their mouths.

"The Hills" as it ended, with two original cast members, in 2010.
source: MTV.com