Darthphere Presents: Is it Hip to be Square?

Darthphere

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Oh hi there, I see you caught me stroking my ego again. I do this a lot. In case you didn't know, I'm Darthphere and I'm still awesome. How awesome? Well, so awesome I put my name in every thread I make. Ha-ha! I can already hear your cries of jealousy. Anyway....

Something has been bothering me lately. No, it's not my fragrant body odor, but something else. Recently I've been bothered by the notion of being cool. Specifically, the requirements of being "cool". This all started when we we're discussing the iPhone. This contraption seems to be a big hit amongst the world population and everyone seems to own one. Me? I prefer Android phones and still carry around my ancient T-Mobile G1. Now, I don't see anything wrong with the iPhone but this notion of "Hey, you're totally not cool for owning one." This way of thinking can be attributed to many other things over the years. The must have gadget that sets you back socially if you don't own it.

It bothers me because I seem to recall a time when someone was "cool" when they had something no one else had. Remember that ******* who was the first to have an iPod? That guy bragged about it for weeks, until everyone else had one and someone else got the new version "Holy **** they made a color screen?!" Or when you were a kid and watched as Zack Morris pulled out that giant cellphone in the middle of class. Every kid wanted one, but no one could afford that giant cellphone. So I guess the question is, when did this all change?

It seems like to me, there are two trains of thought about being cool:

  • You're cool because you have the latest and the greatest
  • You're cool because you're the only one that has the latest and the greatest, usually expensive

Now this brings me to hipsters. They're complete opposites. "I don't have an iPod because vinyl is so much better quality wise." or "My oversized headphones look awesome with my walkman." They seem to relish in what we would consider "antique" electronics. You know who they are. They all come to some cramped apartment, balls being crushed by skinny jeans and someone brings out the Super Nintendo while playing a record from some band no one has ever heard of. However, there seems to be sect within the hipster cult that need to have the latest **** but want to hold on to their Atari and black rimmed glasses.

Personally? I think people spend too much time trying to figure out whats cool. At the end of the day no one wants to be seen as an outsider (unless you live in a shack in the woods) but who the **** cares what phone you have? Who cares what clothes you wear. Care about the person inside, care about yourself and realize how awesome you are. **** the haters and love the person you are.

So what do you guys think about the concept of "cool"? I leave you with this, for all the cool cats on this board.

[YT]LB5YkmjalDg[/YT]
 
"Coolness" is very much subjective. I think that's pretty obvious. The word has completely different meanings in different situations and social groups.

When refering to individuals, the definition for cool my friends and I use is usually "a good person who's fun to spend time with." I think that definition works the best, personally.

As for me and technology. Well, personally, I prefer oversized headphones because I find them more comfortable, the little iPod ones hurt my ears, and I have a record player and collect vynyl becaue I like how it sounds, but I also like having an iPod becase it's portable. I mostly think in terms of what's most fun/convenient.

Also, fez's are indeed cool.
 
As for me and technology. Well, personally, I prefer oversized headphones because I find them more comfortable, the little iPod ones hurt my ears, and I have a record player and collect vynyl becaue I like how it sounds, but I also like having an iPod becase it's portable. I mostly think in terms of what's most fun/convenient.

I have the Sony MDR-NC7 headphones, which aren't even the priciest ones you can buy, but I'll never go back to earbuds again. Oversize are way more comfortable and the sound quality is way, way better.

Though, I wouldn't mind picking these up http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/speakers/headsets/d935/
 
Now this brings me to hipsters. They're complete opposites. "I don't have an iPod because vinyl is so much better quality wise." or "My oversized headphones look awesome with my walkman." They seem to relish in what we would consider "antique" electronics.

Music on vinyl *does* sound better than digital, CD or tape though, I give anybody acting hip with their record player and records a complete pass if they have great records, they can be as full of themselves as they want in my book.
Man, i do not have mnay vinyl records, but i have some great ones, i wish i still had an old record player.

You know who they are. They all come to some cramped apartment, balls being crushed by skinny jeans and someone brings out the Super Nintendo while playing a record from some band no one has ever heard of.

:cmad: That is my band you are talking about! That one guy has heard of us, we are officially in the history of airwaves that have produced music.

But as to your other points, to me, it is the person that is cool, a cool person will have cool taste in accutriments. But that is all down to personal taste.
What amkes a person cool , ultimately, is how they behave with other people, it does not matter oif they are wearing a bin lid on their heads (for raindrop acoustics) and a scarecrow's hand me down purple and yellow zig zag y-fronts only, if they are cool enough to other people, those clothes will become the new top fashion statements for coolness.

I can't recall the exact words, not cool enough i guess, but i always loved that exchange in the Simposons where Marge, Homer, Lisa and Bart are all debating what cool means, that was v cool.
 
I stopped caring whether anyone else thinks I'm 'cool' or not a long time ago...
 
I will often times drive down main street with "Whitesnake" blaring out of the stereo....I thought I was being cool....my kids let me down carefully :(
 
It's hip to be a square, I learned that long ago.

[YT]TdcHzquaMh8[/YT]
 
I'm cooler than most of you. :huh:

Homer: So, I realized that being with my family is more important than being cool.
Bart: Dad, what you just said was powerfully uncool.
Homer: You know what the song says: "It's hip to be square".
Lisa: That song is so lame.
Homer: So lame that it's... cool?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Am I cool, kids?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Good. I'm glad. And that's what makes me cool, not caring. Right?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Well, how the hell do you be cool? I feel like we've tried everything here.
Homer: Wait, Marge. Maybe if you're truly cool, you don't need to be told you're cool.
Bart: Well, sure you do.
Lisa: How else would you know?
 
This covers every hipster cliche in the book, very educational:

[YT]lVmmYMwFj1I[/YT]

This is how I imagine you, Darth. A deep v, ray ban clubmasters, faded white keds.:yay:
 
You know we all bought deep v necks that night.
 
We need to do that again, I'm running low.
 
You know what's cool? Coming home and warming up my hands in my pants after a cold winter's day. That's cool.
 
What happens next?

Darthphere calls me up and says, "Wow, you've been lost? Where have you been? You don't hang out or call anymore, what's up?" and I say, "Dude, you can call me you don't have to wait for me to call you" and then we share an uncomfortable silence.
 
Darthphere calls me up and says, "Wow, you've been lost? Where have you been? You don't hang out or call anymore, what's up?" and I say, "Dude, you can call me you don't have to wait for me to call you" and then we share an uncomfortable silence.

:up:


You have been lost though.:csad:
 
I think cool is a masculine concept.

Ask a guy who he thinks is cool and he'll name another guy.

Ask a girl who she thinks is cool and she'll name a guy as well.

Interesting.
 
You know what's cool? Coming home and warming up my hands in my pants after a cold winter's day. That's cool.
You mean like this guy?

bal2m.jpg
 
I think the entire first post is completely over thought and over analyzed. Anything can be, and probably was at one time, cool. Cool, as far as I'm concerned, is a state of mind. Some people growing up remember having a "cool" lunch lady or "cool" janitor at their elementary school despite the fact that these positions are rarely considered "cool". Cool is also a matter of perception. Often times single people will find a behavior cool that married adults with children would regard as pathetic. Ultimately your environment, your social circle, and the opportunities available to you will determine what is "cool" amongst your peers. I'd say if optimizing your "coolness" is something you're interested in a good start would be to stop thinking about what is cool and what isn't and just chase the things you want to do.
 

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