THE PRESIDENT OF POP
The president of pop
Advertiser Wire Services
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Former U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's influence on pop culture began many months before it was clear that he'd be sworn in today as the 44th president of the United States of America. His message of hope and change inspired hip-hop and reggae musicians, graffiti artists and fashion designers, comedians and geeks who adopted the theme and put some party back into politics.
MUSIC
They could not resurrect Jerry Garcia, but the remaining Grateful Dead members reunited to throw support behind Barack Obama, like so many other stars and musicians, including many who appeared in Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am's star-studded "Yes We Can" video, which turned Obama's New Hampshire primary campaign speech into a song and video featuring almost 40 celebrities inspired by the speech.
While Will.I.Am's Obama series seemed more focused on image, Michael Franti and Spearhead's Barack Obama song set the same theme to a bouncier beat.
Leading up to the event, celebrities have been all over the nation's capital, performing or participating in inaugural events. Over the weekend, "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" had some of the biggest names: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce and Garth Brooks, among others.
The stars performing at inaugural concerts and balls run the gamut from the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus last night to Aretha Franklin and Joan Baez today. Hawai'i's own Jack Johnson and John Cruz will be playing the Hawaii Home States Ball tonight.
MEMENTOS
The "Barack Obama 44th President" Collector's Vault, left, from Whitman Publishing packs a lot of memorabilia into its scrapbook-style book, with pullouts like a campaign button and stickers, Obama's Hawai'i birth certificate and Punahou School yearbook photo.
But what you can find in the book is just a smattering of the Obama-related merchandise available.
There are T-shirts and baseball caps, bobbleheads and collectors cards, but Obama's "confessions" have landed the president's image on less expected media.
The self-professed Spider-Man fan ended up on the cover of a special edition of the webslinger's comic book last week; in it, Spidey saves the inauguration.
After mentioning that Scrabble tournaments were a long-standing tradition in the Obama family, Fundex Games released Scrabble: The Presidential Edition. It's the classic crossword puzzle game with a twist: Rather than using your letter tiles to rack up a high score, you're collecting votes to become president of the United States.
And there's enough memorabilia out there for home shopping network QVC to travel to D.C. to sell political-themed items on TV.
Online retailers are also doing brisk sales:
NO CELEB LEFT BEHIND
Musicians aren't the only ones taking the stage to honor the president. The "We Are One" extravaganza was to feature readings from Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Queen Latifah. Oprah Winfrey will be in Washington, D.C., to celebrate today.
REFRESHMENTS
A special occasion calls for special libations, and the inauguration is occasion enough for brewers and mixologists to experiment.
Beer drinkers might want to seek out InaugurAle, Barack Bock or Inauguration Ale (so-named after New York's Brewery Ommengang was told it couldn't call its celebratory brew Obamagang).
For cocktails, the Hawaii State Society Inaugural Ball at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel has "My American Dream" created by Chicago master mixologist Bridget Albert, using Pama pomegranate liqueur, black cherry rum, Pom Wonderful pomegranate cherry juice and fresh sour mix, according to Bloomberg News.
But those looking for a taste of aloha in a glass, or bottle, if you prefer, some bars are stocking local brands: Washington's Premium Distributors received a special order for 120 cases of Primo Beer, while Kona Brewery's Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and Pipeline Porter (with Kona coffee) also will be available.
LEARN MORE
When www.BarelyPolitical.com's "I've Got a Crush on Obama" video went viral, it was clear this would be a different sort of campaign — and election-related antics on the Internet heated up right along with the Democratic primary.
But while political satire continued to thrill Internet users through the election (thank you Tina Fey), serious political ads also drew big hits, and candidates squared off in YouTube debates.
Although MTV has been trying to Rock the Vote for years, passively watching commercials has given way to social networking sites and bloggers, galvanizing young voters like never before. Over on www.Facebook.com, users posted campaign videos to their profiles, tossed their favorite (or least favorite) candidates at their friends with the SuperPoke! application and proclaimed themselves fans of their favorite politicos.
And it's not over yet. Recognizing how much social networking has become part of the political scene, www.CNN.com is running four live streams from the inauguration and allowing Facebook users to connect with friends without having to leave the cable news site.
Speaking of Facebook, users can salute the new president on Inauguration Day by changing their profile pics to an Obama photomosaic created by Robert Silvers Runaway Technology from a portrait by David Burnett (left). (Can you find The Honolulu Advertiser among the images used in the collage of newspapers announcing Obama's victory?)
The mosaic — a sort of sneak peek of the upcoming book "Obama: The Historic Front Pages" — can be found at www.tinyurl.com/ObamaPhotoFacebook.
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