OMG! Black Shatter Nail Polish!

Damn you, Katy Perry. I try so hard not to like you and then you create a nail polish line with OPI that includes a color called "Black Shatter" that LITERALLY SHATTERS ON YOUR NAIL AND ALMOST LOOKS LIKE TIE-DYE.

I mean that is GENIUS. And made for ME. I can't wait to get "Teenage Dream" and put Black Shatter over it. OMG OR MAYBE I WILL PAINT EVERY NAIL A DIFFERENT COLOR AND THEN PUT BLACK SHATTER ON THEM ALL! The possibilities are endless, you guys!

My favorite part of the video is when the host lady talks about "working in a conservative office environment." HAHAHAHAHA MAN. What's that like?

I created the word "gypster." That word is in a new MTV pilot. I am feeling all sorts of cool.

Monday mornings suck. Or so I thought as I stepped up to the elliptical machine at my gym a good half hour later than normal this fine Monday morning. I was especially sluggish today - not at all surprising considering the excessively active weekend I had - I mean, I've got paintball welts covering parts of my body and muscles I never knew I had are in severe pain thanks to a hip-hop yoga class (also known as YogaHop. No seriously).

So there I am, just chugging along, listening to some LCD Soundsystem and reading my requisite Gym Pilot of the Day - in this case, the new MTV pilot I Just Want My Pants Back by David J. Rosen.

The pilot was great - well-written, smart, clever, laugh out loud - but much more important is the discovery I made on page 21:

Do you see that line there? That one in the center sorta... take a closer look. Actually, let me just type it up for you:

INT. LENCH'S PARTY - THAT NIGHT

Lench's loft is filled with drunk hipsters and gypsters.

THERE! THERE! THAT WORD! GYPSTERS! I INVENTED THAT WORD. ME. ANN PALMER STAMELL aka ANNIE aka STAMOS - I CREATED THE WORD "GYPSTER" AND NOW A REALLY SMART WRITER HAS USED IT FOR SCENE DIRECTION IN A TV PILOT FOR MTV!!!

Don't believe me? Take a look at this "New Slang" article in trendcentral, that I contributed to. Pay special close attention to the third slang item.

See that? GYPSTER.  That folks, was my legacy at Trend Central (- that and the word "epicosity"which a friend of mine actually created and I then submitted for a different "New Slang" piece. Oh and that time I wrote that "aprons were a hot new trend.") Still don't believe me? Well I can put you in touch with at least 10 former colleagues who will attest to the veracity of this statement.

But seriously - it's true. I COINED THAT WORD! It's like hipsters who dress really boho or something. You know, like the hipsters who are kinda more hippie than hip and maybe almost look like gypsies but with money and are less likely to throw a fake baby at you so they can steal your bag (it happened to someone I know, okay?) - those are GYPSTERS!

I READ A SCRIPT AND A WORD I CREATED WAS IN THAT SCRIPT.

Dude. I bet this is what Shakespeare felt like. Or something.

Silly Bandz: All the Rage with the Kids These Days

Surely by now you know what Silly Bandz are. I imagine you've seen them adorning the wrists of hipsters and tweens alike. No, it's not a sudden explosion of colored rubber bands converted into jewelry, it's... oh wait. Yes, that's exactly what it is.

Silly Bandz are colored rubber bands that are pluralized with a "z" for no apparent reason.

Okay fine, more importantly, Silly Bandz are rubber bands in various shapes such as dinosaurs, or tools, or letters of the alphabet (or my personal favorite - sea creatures). You wear these rubber bands on your wrist with little regard for color or matching categories, genres or subset of genres. In fact, just today I think I have on a green shark, but also a white dog bone and what appears to be the letter K.

On your wrist they sit very crinkly and strangely and the common passerby might mistake them for a set of old, weakened hair elastics. When you take them off your wrist, however, they return right back to their true form. That's it. That is all Silly Bandz do. At the most they cost $4.95 for select styles at your local toy store (see tie-dye, glitter, or glow-in-the-dark), but it's fairly easy to find a flimsy pack at the drug store down the street for around $1.99. Right now silly bandz are everywhere.

They are silly, you see. Very, very silly.

Like most fads (because yes, I would call this a fad, even if perhaps it's part of a larger trend that has people longing for whimsical inexpensive tokens that carry a nostalgic emotional component for older consumers, and a chance at "cool" cultural currency for younger ones), these Silly Bandz seem to have been nowhere and are suddenly everywhere.

I love them. I don't care that I am completely buying into this bizarre fad, but I really adore my Silly Bandz. They add a little color to an outfit, sure. But really - they are so weird and stupid, and yes, silly, that I can't help but enjoy them. I even slept with mine on last night (note: I did take them off for the shower as I have yet to determine how waterproof they are, although, as they are simply colored rubber bands, I imagine they can handle a little water).

The thing I want to know, is this: what happens next? Is this fad simply going to fade in a few months, just as suddenly as it first appeared? Or can we expect to see Silly Bandz infiltrate the general public subconscious in surprising ways? For example, I see a logical tie-in to the marketing of TV shows, films, and new music, especially those that appeal to tweens and hipsters alike. Yes, I do believe there is an overlapping market there - for different reasons sure, but anti-mainstream hipsters and Bieber-fevered tweens have a lot more in common than the average person might think. Most importantly - these two subsets are top influencers of pop culture trends. Pay attention to the fashion choices you see around you and the next time you see someone sporting Silly Bandz, I can almost promise it's a hipster or a tween.

Pilot Season

I wrote a big trend piece on TV pilots that went live on the Huffington Post this morning.

I'm still making my way through a few scripts each night, so maybe the article was premature, but I couldn't help it. When you're struck with an idea, you must write, right? Right!

That being said, I realize the business of "trend forecasting" is a tricky one. I mean, really, what authority do I have to attempt to analyze anything and predict what will stick and what won't? Yes, I did work at a trend forecasting company for a brief stint, and yes, I specifically covered TV trends, but still. Still! It ain't perfect.

Anyway, read the article, share your thoughts, etc etc etc. I plan to cover the pilots as they go through the next big step after casting - actually being shot and viewed.