THE EVOLUTION OF COOL (PART 1)
Some times I just feel old. I really shouldn’t, but I do. I reflect on a lot of things, not anything that’s gonna change the world or anything, but I reflect nevertheless. Today, I came to the conclusion that I am no longer cool.
Back in the day I was cool (damn…sounding older by the minute), now it seems like I’m that grumpy old man (like every neighborhood has), who stands in the doorway in his drawers at night, hollering out into the street to “TURN THAT FUCKING MUSIC DOWN!”
Yeah, I know we played our music loud. Hell, I annoyed the hell out my neighbors…playing “Iron Man” incredibly loud and sloppy on my old Sears Harmony guitar when I was kid. I don’t know which was worse, my repeated attempts to master the old Black Sabbath standard or the pitiful wail of every dog in the neighborhood. However, I had a purpose in mind…I WAS AN ARTIST DAMN IT!
That brings me to the meaningless point of this essay… “The Evolution of Cool.”
I’m approaching this essay by examining what was cool in my dad’s day, my day, and what’s cool to the 18-20 something crowd today, but aggravates the piss out of me .
AUTOMOTIVE…
DAD‘S DAY: 40 Fords, 55-59 Chevy’s, 60s Mopar. (Note: my dad usually drove what was popular at the time, but I remember him having a # of cars that might not have fit into the cool category at that time…IE: He had 3 Metropolitans, a Packard, and a Ranchero).
Most cool cars were 2dr Hardtops and guzzled gas, gas, gas.
MY DAY: 60s Mustangs, 60s -70s Mopar, Corvettes, Volkswagen Beetles, Chevy Vans (Full size, no such thing as a Mini-Van), Four Wheel Drive Pickups (These were actually taken off the road back in my day and they didn’t cost an arm and a leg).
Again, most cool cars were 2dr Hardtops.
KIDS TODAY: 80s-90s Used Police Cars, SUV’s (that rarely see any off road conditions), Japanese Imports (with ground effects).
Nowadays, most of the cars that kids consider cool, are 4drs (even the new cars).
MY ANALYSES: I think kids today like 4dr vehicles for convenience. Not the convenience of being able to chauffer around the family, but the convenience of being able to bail out of a car after a high-speed chase involving the Police. It’s so inconvenient to have to push up the backrest of the passenger in front of you, when you’re in a hurry to exit the vehicle with the law hot on your heels, and exiting through the window with those baggy clothes on is just out of the question.
Which brings us to the next question…Why the interest in old Police cars? In my humble opinion it’s simple. They want to know what it’s like to ride in the front of one. That, and the fact that most of those old Police cars have adequate trunk space for a decent size boom box.
SUV’s? You don’t expect them to store ALL their weapons in their baggy pants do ya?
Lastly, the Japanese imports with the ground effects? I guess that’s just the effects of Hollywood on upper middle class youth. It was glamorized in “The Fast and the Furious,” so it’s cool now.
I’m bound to repeat this sentiment as I continue to through together random essays on “Pop Culture” at irregular intervals, but here it is anyway… “I fear that the only satisfaction I receive as an old man, will be living long enough to see the kids of today’s generation piss off their parents, just like they pissed off us, and we pissed off our parents.”
Yup, I guess it’s just a vicious cycle. I can almost hear my mom’s voice calling from back in the days of my youth… “Just wait till YOU have kids!”
SOMEBODY HELP ME, FOR ONCE SOME DEMOCRATS ARE MAKING SENSE!
First of all, let me say… “I am not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican, I am in fact a Nonpartisan Voter.”
Prior to the last Presidential campaign I was a registered Democrat who rarely voted that way in the National elections. Oh, I would sometimes vote Democrat in the regional and local elections (more often the local elections). My dad was a Democrat, my mom was a Democrat, so I just kind of fell right in there when I was old enough to vote and registered with the Democratic party.
The thing was though, when my mom and dad registered with the Democratic party, it was somewhat closer to how the Republican party is today. It certainly wasn’t as extremist or liberal as the Democratic party today.
I was also a Union man for 19yrs. I think most people have a pretty good idea about the ties between organized labor and the Democratic party.
In my humble opinion the Democratic party was in decline by the time I got to be old enough to vote (Carter/Reagan), and has gotten steadily worse.
George Bush was a better alternative than John Kerry (no doubt in my mind about that), but what the hell has he shown us lately? If we are gonna fight a “War on Terror,” why are the boarders wide ass open? Why are we allowing outsiders and rebel rousers to decide OUR POLICY on immigration? What will it take for the man in the White House to recognize what’s going on? Another Civil War? Another 911?
I received the forwarded email (below) from well known local Democrat, Andy Johnson. Andy has a colorful local radio show here in North Florida. He is a liberal Democrat, but I’ll be damned if the email he forwarded to me doesn’t have some valid points and ask some valid questions.
Do I agree with all of it? Not exactly, I question point (8)…in my opinion only LEGAL immigrants are entitled to a living wage. Illegal aliens aren’t entitled to shit.
Am I gonna revert back to being a Democrat? Highly unlikely! However, something’s got to change. We need a viable alternative to this two party system that we have now, we need a party that genuinely cares about the future of this country. Remember the Alamo? Anybody?
BUSH IMMIGRATION PROPOSALS ARE A FRAUD
(1) I simply cannot believe that George Bush is sending our National Guard to the Mexican Border without any protection. Does he not realize that the "illegal" drug runners from Mexico are armed? What will protect these guardsman from any sniper shots that may be fired at them? How can any of these guardsmen detain any drug runner or any "illegal" border trespasser until the border patrol arrives if he is unarmed? I say this, that if any of our guardsmen in this border area is wounded or killed for not being armed to protect themselves, then George Bush should be impeached immediately.
(2) Bush did not provide a moratorium to "temporary" close our Mexico boarder to all immigrant workers or border crossovers, until the present proposed immigration laws in Congress have been "fully" implemented and also operational.
(3) No annual immigration "cap" was placed on the number of immigrants that would be allowed into this Nation in the future after this new proposed immigration program is enacted into law by our Republican U.S. Congress.
(4) No provision was made to protect our public school systems and the tax payers that fund them. Bush could have accomplished this by requesting the immigrant "parents" of the school children to show proof that they are legal "parent" immigrants at the time they enroll their children into any of our public schools each year, or "that an application has been made" by the parent to file for "legal" immigration status under this new Senate proposed immigration law; before any student is permitted to attend any U.S. public school within the United States. This would be one way to entice the present "illegal" immigrants now in this Nation to register for proper "legal" citizenship. This proposal would also save our taxpayers money that could be utilized for construction of additional classrooms as a result of our over populated communities and school enrolments.
(5) Bush proposed that the present "illegal" immigrants must provide a background check PRIOR to receiving their citizenship AFTER their TEN year stay in this Nation. Give me a damn break, this Nation should require a background check right now in regard to their criminal records that they may have committed while they where in their country of Mexico. If any immigrant has a previous Mexico criminal record, this person should be deported immediately. This would save our law enforcement agencies millions of dollars now or in the future in relation to law enforcement expenses, prosecution, and incarceration expenses in regard to potential criminals.
(6) Any U.S. Citizen, business employer, or temporary business employment firm must provide "family" health care insurance for any immigrant employee regardless of their status. Should any employer hire any immigrant for employment in this Nation, this employer must provide health insurance for all employees within this business firm and shall maintain this insurance at the "employers" expense for a period of one year. After one year, the expense will be divided between the employee and the employer. This proposal would save our taxpayers millions of dollars in health care costs for those who have no "family" health insurance.
(7) Bush did not propose that the present Minimum wage in this Nation should be increased to all workers of this Nation to provide a decent wage for everyone including all immigrants regardless of their status. He also did not impose any stiff penalties on any employer who failed to pay the National or State minimum wages in regard to all immigrant workers regardless of their immigration status.
(8) Bush did not impose any prison sentence for any employer who may have broken our laws regarding the employment or checking the legal status of any immigrant employee. From my perspective, any U.S. employer or U.S. citizen who hired an "illegal" immigrant in the year of 2005 to the enactment date of any pending immigration bill, must therefore pay a fine of $2,000 for each" illegal immigrant that he had hired within this identical interim period. After the enactment of any new Congressional immigration law for the future, it should therefore be mandated that if any U.S. employer should hire any "illegal" immigrant or fails to check the legal status of this identical immigrant; any employee or the employer of this U.S. business shall be in violation of the law for not verifying the information or legal status of any hired immigrant, and shall be subject to a fine of no less than $2,000 for each immigrant that was illegally hired or employed, and shall also receive a "mandated" prison term of no less than two years in prison with no provisions for restitution, appeal, or probation upon any conviction relating to this law provision.
GOODBYE JIMMY SMITH
It was bound to happen and I can’t say that it was totally unexpected, but it was somewhat surprising last night to see that WR Jimmy Smith has decided to call it quits.
“A five-time Pro Bowl selection, he played in a team record 178 games and started 150 games since joining the Jaguars as a free agent in 1995. He ranks seventh on the all-time receiving list with 862 catches, and has 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns. He is the only player to start all nine Jaguars playoff games.” (
LINK)
Jimmy was the last remaining Jaguar from the original lineup in 95. His departure brings an end to an era, but opens up the door for new talent.
Questions arose during the press conference concerning his past problems with drugs. Namely, “Could this have anything to do with his departure?” Jimmy maintains that it doesn’t, he merely says that he’s
“tired.”Whether drugs played a role in Smith’s decision to leave the Jag’s or not, he will definitely be missed by the fans and by his teammates.
(
Jimmy’s Stats)
SHS!
I was visiting Yahoo today, checking my mail and adding some photos to the album on my 360.
In the process of answering my mail I joined a chat group. I was back-reading and came across a person promoting his site. I like to check out what others are putting out there, I like to read others opinions.
I’m glad I checked it out, because it contains something that I have tried to instill in some of my non-smoking friends. What might that be? Much of what you’ve heard about “second hand smoke” is just alarmist rhetoric. More and more of us are being denied our individual freedoms, through legislation that is being shoved down our throats by (possibly) well meaning, though misguided lawmakers.
Hell, I know smoking is bad for me! Only a fool would deny that it leads to cancer, but it’s me that is more apt to suffer from the effects of the disease, not my non-smoking neighbor.
I respect the rights of those who do not smoke, by not lighting up in their personal space (their homes, cars, etc.). But I have rights as well! I am already punished by the government with the outrageous “sin tax” that they have imposed on cigarette smokers. I am looked at like I shit in the punch bowl if I even think about lighting up on a public street. I can’t enjoy a smoke after a meal, or in Jacksonville’s new Veteran’s Memorial Arena, or any bar in town that serves food. Shit! If I want to enjoy a smoke in a restaurant or bar, I guess I’ll have to go to Vegas. Of course it’s been awhile since I was there, but I don’t recall them having a lot of smoking legislation. Almost makes me want to move, or least bitch slap the next smoke Nazi I come across.
Read
this…enlighten yourself.
