Not Hip Enough

Wanting to understand the current wave of affection (or rather affliction) for the new Hipster culture, I decided to do some reading and also talk to some friends who're self-pronounced hipsters (or otherwise in denial).

What I noticed is that "hipsters" reject the pressures of modern consumerism, sometimes resorting to inconvencience (unconsciously or otherwise) to make a statement on their sophistication.

Furthermore, they are disillusioned by the advertising culture (why so many work for Google and Ad Networks up in the City, I don't know :), can explain the difference between Mitt Romney and Pete Wilson, have an understanding of fine art, are good at mental arithmetic, are good at improv, can tell the difference between a '94 and '96 wine, can move large planets out of orbit and can whoop my a** at sports. Except for, of course, my favorite sport: sleeping.

I've also been introduced to the Hipster toolkit:

- Karman Ghia
- 1984 IBM PC Keyboard
- Hemp shirts and
- Gaulois cigarettes in shirt pocket
- Vans sneakers
- A degree from Oberlin College
- Distinctive glasses that don't really have any optical power
- Loyalty card at an organic sushi restaurant (where they don't use Carbon Monoxide to keep the Toro bright red)
- MUNI pass
and finally:
- Esoteric iTunes playlist


I am no biking expert, but I wouldn't want to bike in San Carlos on a fixed-gear bike. Though a fixed gear bike is cool in its simplicity and design, it's just not made for hills.

I almost jumped out of my skin when one of my best friend accused me of having hipster aspirations:

- Old car
- iPhone 2G
- Bike rather than drive
- Vegetarian
- Grungy clothes

I can safely protest that my current image is all out of necessity, and let's face it, I'll never be cool enough!

(Written on Caltrain Northbound in a Mac OS X terminal using "vi". There. I'm no hipster)