The Hipster

All of us mid twentysomethings as we are known struggle with identity- that's just the time of life we are in. We are finding mates, vocations, and cementing beliefs as we grow up and pay the bills.



My Canadian friends at Adbuster's this month have done a fine job detailing some of us twentysomethings who are a little more confused than others. The poloroid taking, Parliament, Buddy Holly glasses, v-neck wearing hipster (read exaggerated stereotype affirmation) The article entitled "Hipster, the Dead End of Western Civilization" says:

"We are a lost generation, desperately clinging on to anything that feels real, but too afraid to become it ourselves. We are a defeated generation, resigned to the hypocrisy of those before us, who once sang songs of rebellion and now sell them back to us. We are the last generation, a culmination of all previous things, destroyed nu the vapidity that surrounds us. The hipster represents the dead end of western civilization - a culture so detached and disconnected that it has stopped giving birth to anything new."

I don't agree that this is a dead generation, there are alot of great things happening, but the pretext of this article is right on. An affluent people with a desire to disdain money by using lots of it to look like you spent nothing on it! Phew!

It reminds me that the only counterculture that has feet to stand on are those who follow the Christ.

This made me chuckle: "Its rare, if not impossible to find an individual who will pro claim themself a proud hupster. Its an off fance of self-identity- adamently denying your existence while wearing clearly defined symbols that defines it."

"Learning"

Many students lack disrection and discernment. They are vital skills for all of life, but will never be more so than when you are being talked to specifically for the purpose of learning. I have noticed that many many people in my classes just blindly accept what they are being taught.

He taps on the board three times
dont discern, just learn
these men love you, the want to help you
but you must convert to their minds.
In the end where has all your money gone?
you have put it in your head and set it on fire.
Like the sun it burns bright and then descends into nothing.
All you need is to make the grade, have a good time
until you really start living
But you've already taught yourself
so you never really will.
you give your life away for years
but never really learn
You are a poor little sheep, being led by the wolf.

Booty and Cultural Relations

In response to the amazing weather that us Kansans have been seeing, Barret and I went to a common area in the middle of the K-State campus. I love watching people, and winter does not allow for too much of this as I do not go to many popular social gatherings. Today I could not help but notice that many of the cars driving by were protruding very loud bumps and grinds. The fascinating thing was that all of the kids in these cars were white, and most of the cars were very nice. So I posed a question to Barret: When is the last time that you saw a black person driving around with the windows rolled down listening to say Green Day, Mozart, or the Shins? I honestly cannot remember a time. Now i know that there are those people out there, but it is obviously not the norm. How then do suburban white kids relate to music that is so obviously fake and distant from theirs? (or at least used to be I guess actually that it is probably not so far away from how many of these kids live) I was checking the news on MSN and ran across a very sad and telling title of a rap song called "smack that" by Akon. Here is the chorus:

I feel you creepin', I can see you from my shadow.
Wanna jump up in my Lamborghini Gallardo.
Maybe go to my place and just kick it, like Taebo.
And possibly bend you over.
Look back and watch me
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore
smack that, oooh.
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore,
smack that, oooh 

Aside from just bad poetry, these lyrics are just absurd! Kick it like Taebo? Are you kidding? How can anyone take themselves seriously who listen and write this kind of stuff? As my friend Brian pointed out, it isn't the people that are making this stuff that should surprise us, it's that they are finding such a ready audience. Where have all of our brains gone?

one thing that i noticed yesterday during the superbowl that is rather obvious is the extreme amount of advertising that beer companies purchase. i have always been a little bothered by this, but everyone else seems to love their commercials so i just kind of play along. however the thing snapped when i was driving back to manhattan last night. i saw an advertisement for budweiser (via billboard), followed closely by a ford mustang billboard.



does something seem wrong with that picture? we wonder why so many people drink and drive, why do we help the idiots think its okay? the thing that makes me the most angry about all of this is that tobacco companies are not allowed to advertise. since when did someone getting in his car and lighting a cigarette cost anyone their lives? why is society so inconsistent with thing?

Interesting Idea

Here is an interesting video that I ran across on the page of Relevant today.
It is actually a pretty cool thing they have got going on.

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/flat4.asp?id=6909



Campaign for Real Beauty Mission

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a global effort that is intended to serve as a starting point for societal change and act as a catalyst for widening the definition and discussion of beauty.

The campaign supports the Dove mission: to make women feel more beautiful every day by challenging today’s stereotypical view of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves.