January 6th, 2010: I just realized that I think I did this misunderstanding the question. I thought we had to write about what we are doing in life as a whole that is important, but I read Jacara's post and some other people's posts and there's are different from mine..
Part A: Interviewing people. A while ago, I was telling my friend Alice about this assignment. I'll try and get some actual quotes soon, but some of the things that she told me is that she feels important because she is an actress. She is happy with the things that she does.
I cannot get in touch with my mom at the moment, but I think she feels important because she is the founder of a non-profit organization, Just Tell. She helps kids who are sexually abused in how to recover, or if it is still happening to them, she tries to help them to get help. In her words.. "I think my mission in life is to help kids. I relate well with kids and they trust me so I feel my nonprofit was my way to come up with a way that kids can get behind to help other kids :) Oh.. and being an awesome friend and mommy! ;) And to be a light in people's darkness... a positive force for good... and spread smiles! lol"
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Part B: My strategies of feeling important?
When we were asked in class to write about what we did to feel important in life, I looked around and saw that no one around me had a pen to their paper. We were all fidgeting, staring into space, or asleep. Even the kids who may have felt important outside of class felt unimportant inside class. That's what this "Cool unit" can do to you. I feel important, but when I was in class that day, thinking about my importance, I felt unimportant as well. I could not think of something to write down that seemed important at the time.
But outside of the class now, I am thinking about what makes me important? I am an artist, and I do many things that I am passionate about. I am a a poet, twice published already. I have taught myself how to sew when I was little, so I can fix things. I'm a painter (evidence in Andy's class among many other places). I can paint presents for family members and friends, as well as for school projects. I'm a sister, and a daughter, a niece, a grand daughter. I'm a friend, a best friend. I'm a good reader, a decent student, I'm part of a non-profit (Just Tell, which my mom is the founder of). I can knit (yeah, laugh, so what?) I'm making people scarfs for presents. Even these are reasons for being important, even though I guess in the end, these things may not actually matter.
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Monday, December 21, 2009
Homework #30, The source of emptiness
All of these websites discuss feeling meaningless, and how people feel like whatever they do, they are still unimportant. The first quotes say that we look for meaning in materialistic things, and that the materialistic things are to blame in the first place for us feeling unimportant. It's the reason people shop to try and fill the never-ending hole in themselves.Though this may be a little inappropiate and the connection may not seem too clear, it reminds me of something Fat Bastard said in Austin Powers. He said in one movie: "I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. Now if you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to get in touch with and forgive: meself" (To read all about the lovely Fat Bastard in Austin Powers, go here. Basically, my connection is that people shop because they are unhappy, and that they are unhappy because they eat, and like the quote says, it's a terrible cycle.
Another name for the feeling meaningless is the theory of nihilism, that no matter what a person does, they still don't mean anything. That the world does not stop for one small individual, and that whatever we dod, the world doesn't care. A man once said to me, "The world could just do like this *he shook around a bit* and we'd be gone." In life, people are always striving to be noticed, and important. They -including myself- want to find a way to be come immortal, and to live forever. If we know we cannot die, it might help people feel important. To feel untouchable, invincible.
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Dan Bruiger, "Emptiness of Modernity", http://www.leftfieldpress.com/essays/emptiness-of-modernity.htm This is a small essay talking about the emptiness in modern times, and in materialistic things. Some quotes from the essay are:
"The emptiness infects the very objects that are supposed in the materialistic society to be the source of all satisfaction. We seek in luxuries and conveniences compensation for the loss of nature and vitality, and for the essential poverty of the Ideal manifest in urban landscapes."
"What characterizes the emerging global culture is just this loss of local initiative: consumer society has emasculated itself by trading self-reliance for convenience and imagined security."
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Pradip Mukherji,"Life - LIFE IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS" http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/philosophy/life/meaningless-life.asp A quote from this website is "Moving up the five levels of consciousness in the waking state we realize that nothing ever happened. This world is just a projection of the Universal Mind. But in the emptiness and meaninglessness of life we experience fulfillment and wholeness"
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James Park, "Our Existential Predicament: Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety & Death" (just like Andy's charts)http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XP69.html This is a whole book -I only glanced at it- , which discusses in detail the reason for feeling meaningless. It says that we cannot measure the meaning in our life, and that "short-term purposes and relative goals no longer satisfy us. " It also says how we want to feel important, and that we feel like the little things that we do build up and don't matter. This website poses a lot of questions and things to think about, and not a lot of answers.
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Also by James Park, "Looking for the Meaning of Life", http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-MEAN.html "My early sense of meaninglessness was directly related to death: If we all must die, can life have any ultimate meaning? " and "But when we say that life is meaningless,
we question the assumed standards of meaning themselves. We know that we can spend our lives working toward relative goals. But is that meaningful?"
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Another name for the feeling meaningless is the theory of nihilism, that no matter what a person does, they still don't mean anything. That the world does not stop for one small individual, and that whatever we dod, the world doesn't care. A man once said to me, "The world could just do like this *he shook around a bit* and we'd be gone." In life, people are always striving to be noticed, and important. They -including myself- want to find a way to be come immortal, and to live forever. If we know we cannot die, it might help people feel important. To feel untouchable, invincible.
__________________________________________
Dan Bruiger, "Emptiness of Modernity", http://www.leftfieldpress.com/essays/emptiness-of-modernity.htm This is a small essay talking about the emptiness in modern times, and in materialistic things. Some quotes from the essay are:
"The emptiness infects the very objects that are supposed in the materialistic society to be the source of all satisfaction. We seek in luxuries and conveniences compensation for the loss of nature and vitality, and for the essential poverty of the Ideal manifest in urban landscapes."
"What characterizes the emerging global culture is just this loss of local initiative: consumer society has emasculated itself by trading self-reliance for convenience and imagined security."
__________________________________________
Pradip Mukherji,"Life - LIFE IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS" http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/philosophy/life/meaningless-life.asp A quote from this website is "Moving up the five levels of consciousness in the waking state we realize that nothing ever happened. This world is just a projection of the Universal Mind. But in the emptiness and meaninglessness of life we experience fulfillment and wholeness"
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James Park, "Our Existential Predicament: Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety & Death" (just like Andy's charts)http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XP69.html This is a whole book -I only glanced at it- , which discusses in detail the reason for feeling meaningless. It says that we cannot measure the meaning in our life, and that "short-term purposes and relative goals no longer satisfy us. " It also says how we want to feel important, and that we feel like the little things that we do build up and don't matter. This website poses a lot of questions and things to think about, and not a lot of answers.
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Also by James Park, "Looking for the Meaning of Life", http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-MEAN.html "My early sense of meaninglessness was directly related to death: If we all must die, can life have any ultimate meaning? " and "But when we say that life is meaningless,
we question the assumed standards of meaning themselves. We know that we can spend our lives working toward relative goals. But is that meaningful?"
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Homework #29, Making Money Off Of People Trying To Be Cool
I have noticed a way of marketing involved with Twilight recently. Twilight, and everything based around Twilight is a huge money making thing. When I was at summer camp a couple years ago my dad bought me the second Twilight book (New Moon), because he didn't know they were in a series. I didn't intend to read it, and I didn't think I would like the Twilight series.. One day I bought the first book, Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer). As soon as I started reading the book I got sucked into the whole series. I really don't count myself as the obsessive fan girl type, I try to keep it more under wraps. But I've always liked the idea of being able to live forever, and every girl wants their Edward, or for the Jacob fans.. They want their Jacobs. Which leads to my realization on marketing. Already, I have the two books.. Then the whole series of Twilight books.. For christmas my best friend bought me two Twilight posters, I wasn't going to buy them because I didn't want to seem obsessed, but she just had to buy them for me! They're down now, but after I watched Twilight again I want to put them up. Then for my birthday my mom just had to buy me a pink Waiting For My Edward shirt. I've only worn it a couple times, but I guess I'm waiting for my Edward, or the realistic one that will never come. Oh well. Then I saw the Twilight movie, and after that I bought Twilight on DVD. I didn't watch it or even open it for a really really long time. I just had to have it to have it. So me, as a teenage girl.. I have all of the Twilight books, a shirt, the DVD, the soundtrack for my ipod, and posters. I'll probably even get the second DVD (New Moon), and the soundtrack once I see the movie. I don't think of myself as lame, or like all the other girls. When Edward Cullen walks into the picture for the first time.. and all the teenagers behind me scream! I didn't.
In the movie Twilight there are a couple of other marketing techniques as well. My brother and I just watched Twilight, and we realized that all of the kids in the movie are eating Twizzlers throughout the whole movie. They're throwing them around, and laughing, and eating Twizzlers. After the movie, my mom was going to the store and I asked her if she could buy me the same kind of Twizzlers that they were eating in the movie. They never showed the wrapper or anything, but you can recognize a Twizzler if you see one. Seeing the kids eating Twizzlers put it in my head, and made me think that I wanted Twizzlers. My mom ended up buying two small packs of them. There's also another part in the movie where Edward says blah blah blah.. "You can Google it. I was telling my mom about this, as well as the whole Twizzlers thing and she said "I bet they payed them to do that." Everyone involved with Twilight made money off of the teenage fans, and the teachers who read it (I've seen a couple female teachers reading Twilight), and the people on the train reading the Twilight series. Hersheys also makes money off of having Twizzlers in the movie, and Google probably made money off of Edward saying "Google it."
There are so many different kinds of merchandize based around the whole Twilight movie. I liked a line from the first book, so I went online to try and find it. They make pillows, and t-shirts, and christmas ornaments, and bags, and gym bags, and gym shorts, and jewelry.. they make tons and tons of things with Twilight quotes written on them. They also have things to go with the movies, like books with pictures from the movies, and they change the covers of the Twilight series to go with the movies. There are also shirts that say "Team Edward", and "Team Jacob", or "Leech Lover", there's even a shirt for dogs that says "I am not a mini Jacob!" with a wolf on it. There's a shirt that says "I've got obsessive Edward disorder and I don't want a cure", which I told my mom about and she said "Now there's marketing/ merchandising at work!" My point on the Twilight rant is that no matter what we do, people are making money off of it. There are subliminal messages in theater to make us go out and buy candy, or fan items.. or whatever. If you aren't Team Edward, then you get the Team Jacob shirt! Or a shirt that I think is amusing "My Werewolf Can Kick Your Vampires A$$!" . Even me talking about Twilight might be merchandizing in some way!
I don't really think it's possible for us to ban every single form of advertisement! There will always be some kind of add swarming around us, if not in the subways, or in the movie theater, or in the mall... It will be somewhere, Everyone is trying to make their money somehow, and some people just happen to make money gipping off teenagers. I guess I do think it is unfair that the teenager boys in the "Merchants of Cool" episode seem to think they really are cool, when we know they aren't.. And they thought they were getting their own say, and that they were on tv, etc. But really they were still losers, and some of them didn't seem very nice. Everyone seemed to be ripping off everyone else. The people who studied kids were praying on the kids, which made the adults seem creepy. As well as the people that were perching around the little thirteen year olds, looking for "young blood". Those girls wanted to be like Britney Spears, and they wanted to be known, and look pretty.. I do think it's sad that all those young girls were putting on makeup, and modeling, and trying to act like adults. I'm not saying I wasn't a Britney Spears fan in third grade! But I wasn't stepping into the midriff role.
There's a lot of pressure on those young girls that are trying to be "cool"! And you know what happens to a lot of those girls? They become anorexic, or bulimic, they become cutters, suicidal, depressed, on pills.. Or eventually they become used and cast out, like Britney Spears was. I liked Britney Spears when I was younger. Like myself, a lot of kids grow out of her when they're older. I noticed how she shaved her head, got pulled over for DUI and how she was acting up, the whole problem with her kids etc. It's really difficult not to notice all of the celeb's lives going to a wreck when it's all over the news and magazines. Yes, they did use Britney Spears, and cast her out when they didn't need her anymore. When she was out, they made more money off of showing that she was out. They also did the same thing with all of the other stars, like Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie.. whatever. Yes, I think it's wrong. But it's also Hollywood! Hollywood can be a vicious place that I do not want to ever experience.
In media, sex does rear its ugly head a lot. One of the snotty women from the "Merchants of Cool" episode said "Media is just a mirror after all" (this was about sex in the media). I really do disagree with her. I can say for myself, and as a teenager that I don't spend my every day and night thinking about sex. A lot of teenagers are perverted, and there are things reminding teenagers of sex a lot.. but still. Media is not just a mirror. Sex does sell, and where it's legal (or not) there are prostitutes and male prostitutes. Lots of stores sell things that have to do with sex, or remind people of sex.. Like sexy underwear at Victoria Secret, or condoms in Duane Reade.. But these days there is almost always a sex scene in the media. All of the advertisements for men's underwear, or clothing, or scenes in movies, are a lot sexier these days. Just looking at google images for pictures of advertisments can show how sex sells. Just take a look at this add for Calvin Klien , or an add for Abercrombie & Fitch, or Hollister (Titled "Couple Passion Love), and there are so many other commercials that use sex to sell. Whenever you watch tv there are really sexual adds trying to sell clothing, and a lot of super sexual adds these days are for perfume. Again, I'm ranting. Yes, they try and make sex sell stuff. No, if you buy that new perfume it will not make you look sexy if you aren't already. Sorry. You might just smell good, but the stars in the ads don't always wear what they sell, in fact, they probably don't. Sucks right?
While I was looking at adds for some name brands I came across some one named Karl Goin. He talked about how he has a pocket knife that his grandfather bought him, which has Abercrombie & Fitch carved into it. I might do some research when I have time, but the knife that Karl has is from before A&F evolved in to what it is today.
I also came across another person's blog talking about how people use sexy visuals for perfume adds, which I was already researching but I found a blog post by T. Baranski & J. Batt as well. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's interesting.
In the movie Twilight there are a couple of other marketing techniques as well. My brother and I just watched Twilight, and we realized that all of the kids in the movie are eating Twizzlers throughout the whole movie. They're throwing them around, and laughing, and eating Twizzlers. After the movie, my mom was going to the store and I asked her if she could buy me the same kind of Twizzlers that they were eating in the movie. They never showed the wrapper or anything, but you can recognize a Twizzler if you see one. Seeing the kids eating Twizzlers put it in my head, and made me think that I wanted Twizzlers. My mom ended up buying two small packs of them. There's also another part in the movie where Edward says blah blah blah.. "You can Google it. I was telling my mom about this, as well as the whole Twizzlers thing and she said "I bet they payed them to do that." Everyone involved with Twilight made money off of the teenage fans, and the teachers who read it (I've seen a couple female teachers reading Twilight), and the people on the train reading the Twilight series. Hersheys also makes money off of having Twizzlers in the movie, and Google probably made money off of Edward saying "Google it."
There are so many different kinds of merchandize based around the whole Twilight movie. I liked a line from the first book, so I went online to try and find it. They make pillows, and t-shirts, and christmas ornaments, and bags, and gym bags, and gym shorts, and jewelry.. they make tons and tons of things with Twilight quotes written on them. They also have things to go with the movies, like books with pictures from the movies, and they change the covers of the Twilight series to go with the movies. There are also shirts that say "Team Edward", and "Team Jacob", or "Leech Lover", there's even a shirt for dogs that says "I am not a mini Jacob!" with a wolf on it. There's a shirt that says "I've got obsessive Edward disorder and I don't want a cure", which I told my mom about and she said "Now there's marketing/ merchandising at work!" My point on the Twilight rant is that no matter what we do, people are making money off of it. There are subliminal messages in theater to make us go out and buy candy, or fan items.. or whatever. If you aren't Team Edward, then you get the Team Jacob shirt! Or a shirt that I think is amusing "My Werewolf Can Kick Your Vampires A$$!" . Even me talking about Twilight might be merchandizing in some way!
I don't really think it's possible for us to ban every single form of advertisement! There will always be some kind of add swarming around us, if not in the subways, or in the movie theater, or in the mall... It will be somewhere, Everyone is trying to make their money somehow, and some people just happen to make money gipping off teenagers. I guess I do think it is unfair that the teenager boys in the "Merchants of Cool" episode seem to think they really are cool, when we know they aren't.. And they thought they were getting their own say, and that they were on tv, etc. But really they were still losers, and some of them didn't seem very nice. Everyone seemed to be ripping off everyone else. The people who studied kids were praying on the kids, which made the adults seem creepy. As well as the people that were perching around the little thirteen year olds, looking for "young blood". Those girls wanted to be like Britney Spears, and they wanted to be known, and look pretty.. I do think it's sad that all those young girls were putting on makeup, and modeling, and trying to act like adults. I'm not saying I wasn't a Britney Spears fan in third grade! But I wasn't stepping into the midriff role.
There's a lot of pressure on those young girls that are trying to be "cool"! And you know what happens to a lot of those girls? They become anorexic, or bulimic, they become cutters, suicidal, depressed, on pills.. Or eventually they become used and cast out, like Britney Spears was. I liked Britney Spears when I was younger. Like myself, a lot of kids grow out of her when they're older. I noticed how she shaved her head, got pulled over for DUI and how she was acting up, the whole problem with her kids etc. It's really difficult not to notice all of the celeb's lives going to a wreck when it's all over the news and magazines. Yes, they did use Britney Spears, and cast her out when they didn't need her anymore. When she was out, they made more money off of showing that she was out. They also did the same thing with all of the other stars, like Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie.. whatever. Yes, I think it's wrong. But it's also Hollywood! Hollywood can be a vicious place that I do not want to ever experience.
In media, sex does rear its ugly head a lot. One of the snotty women from the "Merchants of Cool" episode said "Media is just a mirror after all" (this was about sex in the media). I really do disagree with her. I can say for myself, and as a teenager that I don't spend my every day and night thinking about sex. A lot of teenagers are perverted, and there are things reminding teenagers of sex a lot.. but still. Media is not just a mirror. Sex does sell, and where it's legal (or not) there are prostitutes and male prostitutes. Lots of stores sell things that have to do with sex, or remind people of sex.. Like sexy underwear at Victoria Secret, or condoms in Duane Reade.. But these days there is almost always a sex scene in the media. All of the advertisements for men's underwear, or clothing, or scenes in movies, are a lot sexier these days. Just looking at google images for pictures of advertisments can show how sex sells. Just take a look at this add for Calvin Klien , or an add for Abercrombie & Fitch, or Hollister (Titled "Couple Passion Love), and there are so many other commercials that use sex to sell. Whenever you watch tv there are really sexual adds trying to sell clothing, and a lot of super sexual adds these days are for perfume. Again, I'm ranting. Yes, they try and make sex sell stuff. No, if you buy that new perfume it will not make you look sexy if you aren't already. Sorry. You might just smell good, but the stars in the ads don't always wear what they sell, in fact, they probably don't. Sucks right?
While I was looking at adds for some name brands I came across some one named Karl Goin. He talked about how he has a pocket knife that his grandfather bought him, which has Abercrombie & Fitch carved into it. I might do some research when I have time, but the knife that Karl has is from before A&F evolved in to what it is today.
I also came across another person's blog talking about how people use sexy visuals for perfume adds, which I was already researching but I found a blog post by T. Baranski & J. Batt as well. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's interesting.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Homework #28, Informal Research- Internet, Magazines, and Tv Shows
Even before the research, a quote from an anonymous, cool guy who's a friend of mine: "Lol nah I'm too cool to be ashamed of myself."
There's also a shirt that says "I'm right 97% of the time, and who cares about the other 4% of the time?" Get it?
Another quote I think is cool because it's really down to earth: "But I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery." The First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes. Link to lyrics here
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Dec. 8th, 2009: This morning, I happened to turn on the radio and I was listening to z100. I used to listen to this radio all the time, until the "popular" music started being played too much. Yet in the mornings, the radio hosts only talk on the station. So this morning they were discussing how come hot people don't read, and I felt like it was very realevent to our "cool" unit. Some quotes that I wrote down from people calling into the radio station are:
"Because when hot people read, I don't think they're hot anymore" (She said something like that..)
"Hot people remain hot until they read".
"Hot people are more into visual stuff, and reading is kind of plain. If they were reading a magazine it would be me interesting."
"You can be hot and read. You just might not be picture hot."
"They go home, change their clothes, take out their contacts and put on their glasses. They slip into their nerd skins."(I wish I could make sure I had these quotes more exact, but they're pretty close and I couldn't find the conversation online.)
Sometimes they discuss really stupid things on the radio in the morning. I usually turn the radio off after a couple minutes because they don't play music and they talk about things that I don't care about. Yet when I was getting ready for school this morning I found myself paying attention to the radio, and taking some notes on what people were saying. I found this morning's conversation to be very interesting though. Most of the people calling in said that it was weird and uncommon for 'hot people' to read. I really loved the person that said that hot people "slip into their nerd skins." I think this is really funny, because I can relate to it. I go home, put on pajamas, and take out my contact lenses. Then I read, hang out with my family, text my friends, and eventually do homework. I don't care if people don't think of me as "cool", or if they do think of me as "cool". Society's definition of cool can be pretty twisted most of the time anyway. Society seems to think that the popular people are really cool: the person who gets high all the time, has sex with too many people to count, shoplifts.. Is really mean to people. While in reality they can be very shallow, are unaware of themselves, can be sort of unintelligent.. All of these are negative things. Do people really want to look up to people who are ruining their lives?
Also, another young female called in and said that she was hot and that she read. They asked her if she could send in a picture of herself. They asked how hot she was on a scale of 1-10, -ten being the hottest- and she gave herself a nine. A woman on z100 said "If you think of yourself as hot, then why didn't you give yourself a ten?" I thought that they were tearing apart people for no reason. Cool people can read! In my mind at least. I'd prefer a real, smart, fun person than a "perfect" person with a fucked up life. I thought that the woman calling in was cool, because she was standing up for herself. I was going to call in and send in a picture of myself as well, but I was about to be late to school.
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“How do you turn from geek to cool?”
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=from+geek+to+cool&page=1&qsrc=0&dm=all&ab=6&title=WikiAnswers+-+How+do+you+turn+from+geek+to+cool&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.answers.com%2FQ%2FHow_do_you_turn_from_geek_to_cool&sg=JfrGZArsupxOZN3E09xYnWowlJZ2OTSTq1ixD3aQy90%3D&tsp=1260212380794
This is a very short post that can be edited by anyone if they have a username and password to the site. Yet it sounds like one author wrote it. While I was doing searches on being “cool”, I looked for an answer to this question: “How do you turn from geek to cool?” The author discuses how she is popular, dresses up, goes on dates, as well as liking anime and going to anime conventions. The idea of being both a geek and being popular don’t always fit in the typical “cool” role. In the post it says: “Just because I'm a geek doesn't mean I'm not cool. It's the same with you, sweetheart. Don't give up yourself.” This tip may be familiar, along the lines of “be yourself” or as she says “don’t give up on yourself”.
Instead of a how-to on transforming from a geek to a cool person, this post shows a life of being a popular geek. This is worth reading for anyone who feels like being a geek is a bad thing. This is especially appropriate for all the people in the cool unit who have felt bashed about lately for being different.
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Sandy Fertman Ryan, “The perfect girl.” http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_1_11/ai_n6151475/ Girls’ Life, August-Sept, 2004.
This article, written by Sandy Ryan discuses a perfect girl (Kathryn) with a not so perfect life. Kathryn’s parents both have fairly important jobs, her dad is a successful international lawyer, and her mom is a systems analyst. Ever since she was very young, she was brought up to be the best. She was considered to be “the perfect girl”, with good grades, striving to be number one. She grew up thinking, “to be beautiful, you have to be thin”. This article tells a story of Kathryn’s life, and how bulimia almost took it away from her.
This is not an example of how to be cool, or popular, but it shows the problems one may face if put under too much pressure. She was considered the perfect girl, yet she was under so much stress that she started being bulimic, and almost killed herself. This story is very tragic, yet I thought it was important to post it as an example of someone falling apart under trying to be societies’ definition of cool. There is a quote that sort of fits with being “cool”: control. Kathryn said she “purged to feel like [she] had control over something in [her] life, since everything else seemed to be totally out of control.” She had felt like she had little control in her own life, so she started making herself throw up to try and make herself thin.
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Robert. “The Trouble Makers Guide To School” http://www.freewebs.com/thepractical_joker/
This is a guide to being a trouble-maker in school. The first thing he wrote under the title is “don’t worry, if you get in trouble, blame it on me.” Soon after that he says: “here is where you can find cool pranks, from ME, Robert the Great!” A couple sentences into the post and he’s already showing signs of being really confident with himself. He gives fourteen tips on how to cheat on tests, some of which include writing the answers on your arms, pretending to yawn and look at someone’s paper, as well as writing the answers on a piece of paper and keeping it in your shoe.
One of his tips is: “try to make friends to all the smart people you know, but don’t hang out with them a lot.” (Tip #7) Of course, because if you’re seen with the smart people then it takes away from being cool, yada yada. Another of his tips is: “ask your friends the question, so if your not next to a smart kid, sit next to your friend. (Actually I’d rather you sit next to your friend)!!” (tip 13) This whole blog is a tip on how to cheat on tests, as well as cool tricks to prank people in school. If you’re a trickster who’s run out of cool tricks, you should check out this guide.
How to be Cool in High School, http://www.ask.com/bar?q=how+to+be+cool+in+high+school&page=1&qsrc=178&dm=all&ab=0&title=How+to+be+Cool+in+High+School+%7C+Quazen&u=http%3A%2F%2Fquazen.com%2Fkids-and-teens%2Fschool-time%2Fhow-to-be-cool-in-high-school%2F&sg=gh0lmFIi9CW1jrU0zkhJ1JO5zFYzvPjTDf92zOSJdJM%3D&tsp=1260212226313 March 25, 2008.
This person says how the “Goddess at my High School is not the prettiest girl,” and that even though she wasn’t the prettiest girl in high school, and the prettiest girl wasn’t noticed. The reason the “Goddess” was noticed is “Simple. Projection”. This person also says how the popular boy did not look like the typical hunk, but that he was still popular because of his ‘presentation’. It also says things like “Being cool means you run things, things don’t run you.” And: “So that’s your mission, if you decide to accept it. Great posture, easy gait, no rushing or dawdling; thinking; It’s All About Me.”
This website doesn’t look short, but it is very simple to read. The main trends are to be confident, even if you don’t look cool, project, and present yourself well. It tells you how to observe the cool kids in school, and how to be the cool kid. It can be very helpful if you can actually take it seriously.
_______________________________
And last but not least:
Kris, “Smooth Operator/ Ten Steps to being Cool” http://www.smthop.com/article.aspx?newsnum=147 June 30th, 2003.
This ten step guide is a little out of date on how to be cool, but it shows what this guy tried to say was cool. Before I looked at the date, I thought this kid was joking the whole time, then I realized that it was six, nearly seven years old. He says -in a summery- to talk cool, dress cool, watch the right tv shows, pose cool, listen to the right music, have cool friends, be in a band, and to do something cool. It also has oh so helpful pictures along with the ten steps.
This guide is worth reading to see how the kid jokes at being cool. He doesn’t seem to mind making a fool out of himself on the web. He’s confident, and trying to be ‘helpful.’
There's also a shirt that says "I'm right 97% of the time, and who cares about the other 4% of the time?" Get it?
Another quote I think is cool because it's really down to earth: "But I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery." The First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes. Link to lyrics here
______________________________
Dec. 8th, 2009: This morning, I happened to turn on the radio and I was listening to z100. I used to listen to this radio all the time, until the "popular" music started being played too much. Yet in the mornings, the radio hosts only talk on the station. So this morning they were discussing how come hot people don't read, and I felt like it was very realevent to our "cool" unit. Some quotes that I wrote down from people calling into the radio station are:
"Because when hot people read, I don't think they're hot anymore" (She said something like that..)
"Hot people remain hot until they read".
"Hot people are more into visual stuff, and reading is kind of plain. If they were reading a magazine it would be me interesting."
"You can be hot and read. You just might not be picture hot."
"They go home, change their clothes, take out their contacts and put on their glasses. They slip into their nerd skins."(I wish I could make sure I had these quotes more exact, but they're pretty close and I couldn't find the conversation online.)
Sometimes they discuss really stupid things on the radio in the morning. I usually turn the radio off after a couple minutes because they don't play music and they talk about things that I don't care about. Yet when I was getting ready for school this morning I found myself paying attention to the radio, and taking some notes on what people were saying. I found this morning's conversation to be very interesting though. Most of the people calling in said that it was weird and uncommon for 'hot people' to read. I really loved the person that said that hot people "slip into their nerd skins." I think this is really funny, because I can relate to it. I go home, put on pajamas, and take out my contact lenses. Then I read, hang out with my family, text my friends, and eventually do homework. I don't care if people don't think of me as "cool", or if they do think of me as "cool". Society's definition of cool can be pretty twisted most of the time anyway. Society seems to think that the popular people are really cool: the person who gets high all the time, has sex with too many people to count, shoplifts.. Is really mean to people. While in reality they can be very shallow, are unaware of themselves, can be sort of unintelligent.. All of these are negative things. Do people really want to look up to people who are ruining their lives?
Also, another young female called in and said that she was hot and that she read. They asked her if she could send in a picture of herself. They asked how hot she was on a scale of 1-10, -ten being the hottest- and she gave herself a nine. A woman on z100 said "If you think of yourself as hot, then why didn't you give yourself a ten?" I thought that they were tearing apart people for no reason. Cool people can read! In my mind at least. I'd prefer a real, smart, fun person than a "perfect" person with a fucked up life. I thought that the woman calling in was cool, because she was standing up for herself. I was going to call in and send in a picture of myself as well, but I was about to be late to school.
________________________________
“How do you turn from geek to cool?”
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=from+geek+to+cool&page=1&qsrc=0&dm=all&ab=6&title=WikiAnswers+-+How+do+you+turn+from+geek+to+cool&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.answers.com%2FQ%2FHow_do_you_turn_from_geek_to_cool&sg=JfrGZArsupxOZN3E09xYnWowlJZ2OTSTq1ixD3aQy90%3D&tsp=1260212380794
This is a very short post that can be edited by anyone if they have a username and password to the site. Yet it sounds like one author wrote it. While I was doing searches on being “cool”, I looked for an answer to this question: “How do you turn from geek to cool?” The author discuses how she is popular, dresses up, goes on dates, as well as liking anime and going to anime conventions. The idea of being both a geek and being popular don’t always fit in the typical “cool” role. In the post it says: “Just because I'm a geek doesn't mean I'm not cool. It's the same with you, sweetheart. Don't give up yourself.” This tip may be familiar, along the lines of “be yourself” or as she says “don’t give up on yourself”.
Instead of a how-to on transforming from a geek to a cool person, this post shows a life of being a popular geek. This is worth reading for anyone who feels like being a geek is a bad thing. This is especially appropriate for all the people in the cool unit who have felt bashed about lately for being different.
________________________________
Sandy Fertman Ryan, “The perfect girl.” http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_1_11/ai_n6151475/ Girls’ Life, August-Sept, 2004.
This article, written by Sandy Ryan discuses a perfect girl (Kathryn) with a not so perfect life. Kathryn’s parents both have fairly important jobs, her dad is a successful international lawyer, and her mom is a systems analyst. Ever since she was very young, she was brought up to be the best. She was considered to be “the perfect girl”, with good grades, striving to be number one. She grew up thinking, “to be beautiful, you have to be thin”. This article tells a story of Kathryn’s life, and how bulimia almost took it away from her.
This is not an example of how to be cool, or popular, but it shows the problems one may face if put under too much pressure. She was considered the perfect girl, yet she was under so much stress that she started being bulimic, and almost killed herself. This story is very tragic, yet I thought it was important to post it as an example of someone falling apart under trying to be societies’ definition of cool. There is a quote that sort of fits with being “cool”: control. Kathryn said she “purged to feel like [she] had control over something in [her] life, since everything else seemed to be totally out of control.” She had felt like she had little control in her own life, so she started making herself throw up to try and make herself thin.
_______________________________
Robert. “The Trouble Makers Guide To School” http://www.freewebs.com/thepractical_joker/
This is a guide to being a trouble-maker in school. The first thing he wrote under the title is “don’t worry, if you get in trouble, blame it on me.” Soon after that he says: “here is where you can find cool pranks, from ME, Robert the Great!” A couple sentences into the post and he’s already showing signs of being really confident with himself. He gives fourteen tips on how to cheat on tests, some of which include writing the answers on your arms, pretending to yawn and look at someone’s paper, as well as writing the answers on a piece of paper and keeping it in your shoe.
One of his tips is: “try to make friends to all the smart people you know, but don’t hang out with them a lot.” (Tip #7) Of course, because if you’re seen with the smart people then it takes away from being cool, yada yada. Another of his tips is: “ask your friends the question, so if your not next to a smart kid, sit next to your friend. (Actually I’d rather you sit next to your friend)!!” (tip 13) This whole blog is a tip on how to cheat on tests, as well as cool tricks to prank people in school. If you’re a trickster who’s run out of cool tricks, you should check out this guide.
How to be Cool in High School, http://www.ask.com/bar?q=how+to+be+cool+in+high+school&page=1&qsrc=178&dm=all&ab=0&title=How+to+be+Cool+in+High+School+%7C+Quazen&u=http%3A%2F%2Fquazen.com%2Fkids-and-teens%2Fschool-time%2Fhow-to-be-cool-in-high-school%2F&sg=gh0lmFIi9CW1jrU0zkhJ1JO5zFYzvPjTDf92zOSJdJM%3D&tsp=1260212226313 March 25, 2008.
This person says how the “Goddess at my High School is not the prettiest girl,” and that even though she wasn’t the prettiest girl in high school, and the prettiest girl wasn’t noticed. The reason the “Goddess” was noticed is “Simple. Projection”. This person also says how the popular boy did not look like the typical hunk, but that he was still popular because of his ‘presentation’. It also says things like “Being cool means you run things, things don’t run you.” And: “So that’s your mission, if you decide to accept it. Great posture, easy gait, no rushing or dawdling; thinking; It’s All About Me.”
This website doesn’t look short, but it is very simple to read. The main trends are to be confident, even if you don’t look cool, project, and present yourself well. It tells you how to observe the cool kids in school, and how to be the cool kid. It can be very helpful if you can actually take it seriously.
_______________________________
And last but not least:
Kris, “Smooth Operator/ Ten Steps to being Cool” http://www.smthop.com/article.aspx?newsnum=147 June 30th, 2003.
This ten step guide is a little out of date on how to be cool, but it shows what this guy tried to say was cool. Before I looked at the date, I thought this kid was joking the whole time, then I realized that it was six, nearly seven years old. He says -in a summery- to talk cool, dress cool, watch the right tv shows, pose cool, listen to the right music, have cool friends, be in a band, and to do something cool. It also has oh so helpful pictures along with the ten steps.
This guide is worth reading to see how the kid jokes at being cool. He doesn’t seem to mind making a fool out of himself on the web. He’s confident, and trying to be ‘helpful.’
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Homework #27, Interviewing Friends And Family
Most of these pictures are off of their facebooks
Interviewing friends:
Interviewing one of my best friends, Alice:
Alice Without The Mustache:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater.. "I think its cool to do the things you like doing with other people who like them and to not feel judged for it".
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool? "By my definition sure. I will tell people my favorite music genre is musical theatre because it is, and I shouldn't be ashamed of the things I love."
Do your friends think you are cool? "Oh. I really couldn't say. I guess they hang out with me because they like something about me.."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Yes, they are cool. Because they are people who are confident in their life choices."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why? "The pres because he's okay with gays."
Okay. Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or ploy, or a celeb, or on tv? "Marla singer from Fight Club and Miss Rain from Precious."
Why?"Marla because she can take care of herself and stand up to men. And Miss Rain because she helps people through the thing she loves and is proud of her sexuality."
________________________________________
Interviewing my friend Harry, over the phone:
Harry:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, music..
"Music is cool, art is cool. Activism is cool."
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Uh..probally.. What’s-his-name.. I guess I’ll go with René Magritte. The really famous painter (The this is not a pipe guy.) Because he has a really interesting perspective on reality. He’s a good painter.
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
*Harry didn’t want to be pretentious and bragging, or seem too into himself. He's a really real guy.* "I’m cool because I’m honest. And because I read, and reading’s cool. I don’t know. I’m cool because I like to express myself in many different ways."
Like through art, and music, and poetry. "Yeah exactally."
Is there anything unique, or cool about yourself that only you do?
"Um.. I don’t know. I don’t think there are a lot of people named Harry Russell. Does that count? Umm I don’t know. Things that are unique here might not be that unique there. Hmm are there anything cool or unique about me? I don’t know.. No!"
Do your friends think you are cool? "I mean I hope so, they’re my friends."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Um.. some of them."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“Uh. Definitely the president. Just because the pope is like weird. The president right now hasn’t done too many bad things, and the pope has done a lot of bad things. But the president is a lot newer so I guess we have to see.”
__________________________________________________
Interviewing James, An Honorary Family Member:
James:
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“The president, because he’s more of a democratically elected person, and he’s more elected by the people, which would make him cooler I think.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
“I would say talents are cooler than materialistic things. There’s more to it, and it’s more of a personal like accomplishment, more than something you buy.”
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
“I think Angela Lansbury is cool. Because she’s had an amazing career and she’s a very down to earth person I’ve met her. So talent and success did not make her crazy.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
“Umm, sure, I think I’m cool. I think that what makes someone cool is they can’t care if other people think they are cool. They have to be self sufficiently cool.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
“Umm… I dunno. “
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
“Yes.”
Do you think your friends are cool?
“Umm.. Yes. I think they’re cool because they are passionate about what they want to do and they just do their thing.”
____________________________________________________
Interviewing my Brother Kyle, and my Mom, Vivian. They were being really sarcastic, and talking all at once.
Kyle, my Brother:
My Mom, Vivian (this picture is on her facebook, and I couldn't find another picture at the moment. She's doing the warrior yoga pose.):
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
Kyle: “I’m sorry who? Who are they? Paris or Brittney who?”
Vivian: “The president. The pope pushes a belief system that I don’t agree with. And I’m talking about pushes. I don’t think it’s right to tell people what’s right or wrong. I think everyone should get to figure it out by themselves. The president on the other hand, was elected by the majority because they agree with his beliefs.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
Kyle: “Weave, fake eyelashes, hair dye, Mac make-up, sequins, and spikes.”
Mom: Natural things -just to counter Kyle- like seashells, crystals, and gems. Rock n Roll, and naturally curly hair.
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Kyle: “Umm, I know three really great people: me, myself, and I. Adam Lambert, Jeffery Starr, and Paris Hilton. Oh wait and Lindsey’s kinda cool.”
Mom: “Adam Lambert, I think the funniest thing is Kyle and I are coming from different places and we both think Adam Lambert is cool. Mahatma Gandhi, James Dean’s a good one. Umm.. Benazir Bhutto she might be the first elected female leader of an Asian country, I think you could say that carefully.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
Kyle: “Yes I think I’m very awesome.
Mom: Self -esteem isn’t one of Kyle’s problems. He has a lot of them but self- esteem isn’t one of them.
Kyle: “My personality, my clothes, my hair (well some of my fake hair.)”
Mom: “Do I think I’m cool? Yep. Why do I think I’m cool? Because people trust me, and talk to me about stuff that’s bothering them. And I help people. Also like 42 kids call me mom. And.. I‘m still Rock n Roll.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
Mom: “Some of them. Why do I think my friends are cool? I have all different kinds of friends that understand different sides of me. So some of them are nerdy like my nerdy side, and some of them are cool like my cool side.”
Kyle: “Yes because they befriended me.”
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
Mom: “Yeah, my friends respect the way I live my life: the non-profit I run, the house I keep, and the way I raise my kids. That’s it.”
Kyle: “Yes I do. Because they are the friends that I chose personally.”
Interviewing friends:
Interviewing one of my best friends, Alice:
Alice Without The Mustache:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater.. "I think its cool to do the things you like doing with other people who like them and to not feel judged for it".
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool? "By my definition sure. I will tell people my favorite music genre is musical theatre because it is, and I shouldn't be ashamed of the things I love."
Do your friends think you are cool? "Oh. I really couldn't say. I guess they hang out with me because they like something about me.."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Yes, they are cool. Because they are people who are confident in their life choices."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why? "The pres because he's okay with gays."
Okay. Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or ploy, or a celeb, or on tv? "Marla singer from Fight Club and Miss Rain from Precious."
Why?"Marla because she can take care of herself and stand up to men. And Miss Rain because she helps people through the thing she loves and is proud of her sexuality."
________________________________________
Interviewing my friend Harry, over the phone:
Harry:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, music..
"Music is cool, art is cool. Activism is cool."
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Uh..probally.. What’s-his-name.. I guess I’ll go with René Magritte. The really famous painter (The this is not a pipe guy.) Because he has a really interesting perspective on reality. He’s a good painter.
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
*Harry didn’t want to be pretentious and bragging, or seem too into himself. He's a really real guy.* "I’m cool because I’m honest. And because I read, and reading’s cool. I don’t know. I’m cool because I like to express myself in many different ways."
Like through art, and music, and poetry. "Yeah exactally."
Is there anything unique, or cool about yourself that only you do?
"Um.. I don’t know. I don’t think there are a lot of people named Harry Russell. Does that count? Umm I don’t know. Things that are unique here might not be that unique there. Hmm are there anything cool or unique about me? I don’t know.. No!"
Do your friends think you are cool? "I mean I hope so, they’re my friends."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Um.. some of them."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“Uh. Definitely the president. Just because the pope is like weird. The president right now hasn’t done too many bad things, and the pope has done a lot of bad things. But the president is a lot newer so I guess we have to see.”
__________________________________________________
Interviewing James, An Honorary Family Member:
James:
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“The president, because he’s more of a democratically elected person, and he’s more elected by the people, which would make him cooler I think.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
“I would say talents are cooler than materialistic things. There’s more to it, and it’s more of a personal like accomplishment, more than something you buy.”
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
“I think Angela Lansbury is cool. Because she’s had an amazing career and she’s a very down to earth person I’ve met her. So talent and success did not make her crazy.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
“Umm, sure, I think I’m cool. I think that what makes someone cool is they can’t care if other people think they are cool. They have to be self sufficiently cool.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
“Umm… I dunno. “
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
“Yes.”
Do you think your friends are cool?
“Umm.. Yes. I think they’re cool because they are passionate about what they want to do and they just do their thing.”
____________________________________________________
Interviewing my Brother Kyle, and my Mom, Vivian. They were being really sarcastic, and talking all at once.
Kyle, my Brother:
My Mom, Vivian (this picture is on her facebook, and I couldn't find another picture at the moment. She's doing the warrior yoga pose.):
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
Kyle: “I’m sorry who? Who are they? Paris or Brittney who?”
Vivian: “The president. The pope pushes a belief system that I don’t agree with. And I’m talking about pushes. I don’t think it’s right to tell people what’s right or wrong. I think everyone should get to figure it out by themselves. The president on the other hand, was elected by the majority because they agree with his beliefs.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
Kyle: “Weave, fake eyelashes, hair dye, Mac make-up, sequins, and spikes.”
Mom: Natural things -just to counter Kyle- like seashells, crystals, and gems. Rock n Roll, and naturally curly hair.
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Kyle: “Umm, I know three really great people: me, myself, and I. Adam Lambert, Jeffery Starr, and Paris Hilton. Oh wait and Lindsey’s kinda cool.”
Mom: “Adam Lambert, I think the funniest thing is Kyle and I are coming from different places and we both think Adam Lambert is cool. Mahatma Gandhi, James Dean’s a good one. Umm.. Benazir Bhutto she might be the first elected female leader of an Asian country, I think you could say that carefully.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
Kyle: “Yes I think I’m very awesome.
Mom: Self -esteem isn’t one of Kyle’s problems. He has a lot of them but self- esteem isn’t one of them.
Kyle: “My personality, my clothes, my hair (well some of my fake hair.)”
Mom: “Do I think I’m cool? Yep. Why do I think I’m cool? Because people trust me, and talk to me about stuff that’s bothering them. And I help people. Also like 42 kids call me mom. And.. I‘m still Rock n Roll.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
Mom: “Some of them. Why do I think my friends are cool? I have all different kinds of friends that understand different sides of me. So some of them are nerdy like my nerdy side, and some of them are cool like my cool side.”
Kyle: “Yes because they befriended me.”
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
Mom: “Yeah, my friends respect the way I live my life: the non-profit I run, the house I keep, and the way I raise my kids. That’s it.”
Kyle: “Yes I do. Because they are the friends that I chose personally.”
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Homework #26, Interviewing Strangers, Once Again
Taking it to the street:
Stranger 1: Casey *creeper*
What do you think is cool? "I think spirituality is cool."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president? "Obama. He's not pretentious, he's real, he's honest, and he doesn't make empty promises."
What do you think is cool about yourself? "I'm 58 years old, and I can still play ball. I am a Surrogate Father. I lived with seven sisters, and my mom, and I was the only boy. Also, I have lived through two occasions where I was supposed to be dead. I got stabbed in September, 1973, when I was seventeen. And I survived a gun shot. I was saved because of the luck of a priest."
Stranger 2: A women working at AA (American Apparel): Arista. *I tried to take a picture of her but some mean lady told me we were not allowed to take pictures in the store.*
What do you think of as cool? Like clothes, cell phones, style, materialistic things? "Clothes are pretty cool I guess."
What do you think is cool about yourself, if you think of yourself as cool? "I'm all over the place, and crazy. I like myself. I'm weird cool."
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about popularity, and coolness? "I have a whole bunch of magazines I'm always looking at to see what's in."
Who, -on television or celebrators- do you think of as cool? "I watch a lot of Nickelodeon things. I think Sam from I-Carly is cool. She has her own style, she's girly but she's not really girly. She's different."
Do you spend more time now trying to be cool, or did you spend more time trying to be cool in high school? "In high school I didn't really care what was cool. I guess I spend more time trying to be cool now."
Stranger 3: Nia *She was handing out cards for a restaurant, and we made a deal: we'd take a bunch of the cards if she'd let us interview her.*
Who do you think is cool? "I think anyone who is original, with their own sense of style is cool. "
Who is cooler, the pope or the president? "The pope is cooler." Really? Why? "The pope is cooler because he just chills and gets money. He could be at a strip club right now, and no one would know it."
Do people consider you to be cool? Do your friends consider you cool? "I think my friends think I'm cool."
Do you think your friends are cool? "No, not really. Not a lot of them."
What about your friends do you think is cool? "We have our own inside jokes, and we understand each other."
Stranger 1: Casey *creeper*
What do you think is cool? "I think spirituality is cool."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president? "Obama. He's not pretentious, he's real, he's honest, and he doesn't make empty promises."
What do you think is cool about yourself? "I'm 58 years old, and I can still play ball. I am a Surrogate Father. I lived with seven sisters, and my mom, and I was the only boy. Also, I have lived through two occasions where I was supposed to be dead. I got stabbed in September, 1973, when I was seventeen. And I survived a gun shot. I was saved because of the luck of a priest."
Stranger 2: A women working at AA (American Apparel): Arista. *I tried to take a picture of her but some mean lady told me we were not allowed to take pictures in the store.*
What do you think of as cool? Like clothes, cell phones, style, materialistic things? "Clothes are pretty cool I guess."
What do you think is cool about yourself, if you think of yourself as cool? "I'm all over the place, and crazy. I like myself. I'm weird cool."
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about popularity, and coolness? "I have a whole bunch of magazines I'm always looking at to see what's in."
Who, -on television or celebrators- do you think of as cool? "I watch a lot of Nickelodeon things. I think Sam from I-Carly is cool. She has her own style, she's girly but she's not really girly. She's different."
Do you spend more time now trying to be cool, or did you spend more time trying to be cool in high school? "In high school I didn't really care what was cool. I guess I spend more time trying to be cool now."
Stranger 3: Nia *She was handing out cards for a restaurant, and we made a deal: we'd take a bunch of the cards if she'd let us interview her.*
Who do you think is cool? "I think anyone who is original, with their own sense of style is cool. "
Who is cooler, the pope or the president? "The pope is cooler." Really? Why? "The pope is cooler because he just chills and gets money. He could be at a strip club right now, and no one would know it."
Do people consider you to be cool? Do your friends consider you cool? "I think my friends think I'm cool."
Do you think your friends are cool? "No, not really. Not a lot of them."
What about your friends do you think is cool? "We have our own inside jokes, and we understand each other."
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