The Definition of Pop Culture, blackout \ˈblak-ˌau̇t\ n : a period during a massive power failure when the lack of electricity for illumination results in utter darkness except from emergency sources, as candles

blackout \ˈblak-ˌau̇t\ n : a period during a massive power failure when the lack of electricity for illumination results in utter darkness except from emergency sources, as candles

Dudes, it is HOT in NYC. So hot, the electric company told us all to keep our air conditioners at 78 degrees. I’ll do you one better, ConEd. I don’t have an air conditioner. My windows have been closed all day, I’ve got one fan on me, and it’s cooler in here than it is outside. I’m doing my part. And yet… I’ve been in New York for over three and a half years, and I’ve not experienced a blackout. Is it weird that I kind of want to?

If you’re anywhere near my age, and you lived anywhere besides New York, Friends was your go-to for what living in New York was like. And for the most part, it’s a lie. You never live that close to all your friends. Not only is the size of Monica and Rachel’s apartment laughable, but the size difference between that and Chandler and Joey’s place is ridiculous. Also, there are way more minorities. But all those falsehoods don’t mean Friends didn’t have anything New York-y. For example, playing football in the park, ugly naked people, creepy supers, etc. And, in the first season, there was a blackout. Okay, New York, it was 102 today. Friends says New York has blackouts. I’ll be hanging out in bank vestibules tomorrow in the hopes of getting stuck in one with a supermodel.

The closest I came to actually being in a blackout, was watching the last one on reality TV. In 2003, MTV aired the first and final season of Rich Girls, a show about Tommy Hilfiger’s daughter Ally and her friend Jaime. It’s as awesome as it sounds. Watching the blackout in this context is hilarious. Yes, Ally is in a taxi rightfully upset because they don’t know what’s going on, and why nothing is working. But we don’t watch MTV reality shows for realism. We watch because Jaime thinks the TV is going to explode, and the guy in the taxi with Ally compares the situation to being in Baghdad. Amazing. Skip to 3:55 in the video for the laughs. Or watch the whole thing because the show’s amazing.

Okay, I need to stop because the heat from my computer battery is making my fingers sweat. But first, read this funny survival guide from the Village Voice. It seems more reliable than Friends.