Here's something new.
Everybody has celebrity crushes, right? That certain someone who is in the limelight for whatever reason that, when you see them, you're just completely enamored. They could be hosting a TV special in which they actually do watch paint dry and you wouldn't care, you've got a crush on this person.
It's perfectly normal.
When you become part of a significant real-life relationship, though, these crushes take on a whole new air. You don't lose them, not one little bit. You simply have someone that you care about that is based in reality and your celebrity crush might take a little bit of a backseat. Or, if you have a pretty secure significant other, your crush might become part of an inside joke between the two of you as this person joins your Laminated List, which Urban Dictionary defines as "A list of the top 5 people, usually celebrities, with whom you could have sex with without repercussions, if the opportunity arose, regardless of whether you were in a relationship or not."
They can sometimes be fun for a joke or two.
But have you ever experienced what I'm now dubbing a Create-a-Crush?
Basically, this is a phenomenon when your significant other thinks you have a crush on a celebrity that you never really considered before. And, despite your protestations, they forge on with this belief to the point where you actually do start to have a crush on this person because you're constantly thinking about him/her.
Still confused? Here's an example from my life.
A few months ago, I bought Taylor Swift's new album Fearless out of a sense of morbid curiosity and because Amazon offered it on a one-day only special for $1.99. I'd heard decent reviews of the album and, even though I had never really considered it as an option to that point, I picked it up thinking that $2 is not that great a loss even if it sucks.
Well, it didn't suck. Not at all. In fact, I really kinda like the album. Really upbeat, well-written country music that borderlines the pop genre. And it was something that I thought Katie would enjoy as well, so I told her I bought it and offered to throw it on her iPod for her or play it in the car, etc. Then Taylor and her new album started hitting the media circuit showing up on interview show after interview show that we happened to be watching. Katie began accusing me of having a crush on her.
Okay, admittedly she's a cute girl. No question about it. But a crush? That would rank her up there with Elisabeth Shue and Belinda Carlisle and Kate Winslet. Nah, not happening.
Then SNL happened. We don't regularly watch Saturday Night Live because, to be honest, it sucks. Once in a while, though, as a friend of mine likes to say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut. That nut was Neil Patrick Harris who we were pretty convinced would do a great job hosting the show and we were pumped about watching it. But Katie wasn't convinced that was the only reason I wanted to watch this episode. Why? Taylor Swift was the musical guest.
There were a few more media appearances after that and then yesterday I find the latest issue of Rolling Stone in the mailbox. Who's on the cover? Taylor Swift. So, as a joke, and because I know exactly how she'll react, I ask Katie if she's seen the latest issue. Nope. And I flash her the cover. "Oh! It's your girl!" Dead on target.
But the odd thing is, I think I am developing a little bit of a crush on Taylor Swift.
And I have nobody to blame but my wife.
Am I the only one this has happened to?
Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I can't even count the number of places where I've seen this list popping up. Basically, you just list out 20 albums that changed your life for whatever reason. Should be simple, but it's not. Not at all. But I'm gonna give it a shot anyway. I think they're pretty close to the order in which I discovered them from the earliest on down. As you'll see, there isn't much life changing in recent years for me.
Michael Jackson - Thriller
- Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
- Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
- Run D.M.C. - Raising Hell
- Europe - The Final Countdown
- Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
- The Beatles - Abbey Road
- Led Zeppelin - IV (Runes)
- Elvis Costello - Spike
- Depeche Mode - Violator
- Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
- Van Halen - OU812
- Poison - Open Up and Say... Ahhhh!
- Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
- Faith No More - The Real Thing
- Alice in Chains - Facelift
- Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
- Urge Overkill - Saturation
- The Soundtrack to the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction
- Radiohead - The Bends
And you?
