HW 29 - Merchants of Cool

Money is the force behind a great many actions. It is what makes people do stupid things like sit in a cubicle 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. It is what pushes us to want more and do more, because if the money is right we will do just about anything. But this isn't new information. Nothing i am going to write here is new information, just something for you to consider. Self awareness is they type of thing that does make us think about it, not necessarily change right away. If someone calls you out on something you did wrong, like hey, i don't like how you always make fun of my mom or something, will they stop right away? Probably not, but they will start to think about it before they do it the next times. Its like planting the seed of doubt in someones mind. Its not always necessary to culture it yourself, you just need to plant it and their own mind takes care of the rest.

I really enjoyed the class with Matt Fried because he had these great insights into how we are afraid of sadness. I liked that because i wanted to do some research into what kind of role emotion plays in cool and how different emotions could lead to different views on some one's level of "coolness." Anyway, this one point got me because i think that advertising companies have really attacked that. Money cant buy you love, but it can buy you happiness and nowadays that is really all that matters. People want to be happy and even in an unstable economy, money is still just paper that was made to be spent. There are people, like Matt Fried, are paid to tell you are unhappy, but just hearing it makes them happy, gives them the knowledge and permission to be unhappy. There are pills and drugs to make people happy. With all of these new products, happiness really can just be bought in a little pill bottle.

In Merchants of Cool, we are exposed to how the advertising industry is trying to use us and take advantage of our money, because at our age, we want to be cool and we don't need to make money because we are given it by our parents, and whatever money we are given we spend on what we think is cool. Or to make us cool, and cool is happiness. Parents give it to us to make us happy and what we spend it on makes us even happier. We don't always have it, but we always need it.

What i am trying to say but i kind of lost track of along the way, is that they want to make money off of you, while you make money off of them, it is an everlasting circle of fun that comes with a side dish of pain and suffering, all to live the dream, you aren't hearing any complaints from me though

HW 28 - Informal Research

• "Cool." Dictionary.reference.com. 2009. Random House Dictionary, Web. 8 Dec 2009. .

This was the official dictionary definition of cool and i thought that was a good place to start because i mean that is what people refer back too. We rely on it so it needs to be correct, but putting a debatable word in like cool is like putting life in the dictionary. Anyway i thought it was a good jumping off point.

The reason i chose this was because it was a good point to argue from, like it has the definition "unaffected by emotions; disinterested; dispassionate." I thought this was interesting and that was the main reason behind it being here. Other then that i really didn't have much else to put in.

• "Hulu Homepage." Hulu.com. Web. 8 Dec 2009. .

Hulu.com is a website where people can go and watch full length television shows for free. Most of them are comedy and others are serious. I viewed it as cool because it has shows that i love and when they aren't on television anymore i can still go there and watch them.

The reason that this is cool is because it is free and open to the public. It is stress free and i can go there and numb my mind out to endless episodes of SNL or The Office. It is a great place to go when i am too lazy to turn the t.v. or i missed my favorite show because for some strange reason i forgot to put my schedule for the day around that hour or half hour of programming. I think that is cool

• "Urban Dictionary Homepage." Urbandictionary.com. Web. 8 Dec 2009. .

Oh Urbandictionary.com, it is the rude and crude version of wikipedia.com. It has information, non of it useful. Its funny and crude and that is what makes it cool. People go there to look up their names and see the funny things people wrote about it. Anyone can post a definition. That's what makes it fun.

To me forums are funny because its watching people argue on the Internet. Arguing on the Internet is utterly pointless because no one has a face, anyone can be anonymous and have the power to say and do as they please. So watching people express their feelings about something but bring down someone else in the process is entertaining from an outsiders point of view, not because someone is being hurt, it is because they are arguing and going back and forth at each other when it doesn't really matter. Being a spectator is cool especially when things start to get intense.

Other "Cool" Sources:

• Facebook
• Mylifeisaverage.com
• Funnyjunk.com
• Netflix.com
• Imeem.com

The reason those are there is because those are what i like. I like to be entertained and i like to laugh and when i don't want to laugh i want to listen to music and these are all websites that allow me to do those things. For that i am grateful and because of that they are "cool" in my mind. But then again that is just my opinion so does it really matter to the masses? My guess would be no, but then again, just because someone says i should care, does that mean i should listen? What role does our HUMANITY play in this epic battle?

HW 27 - Informal Research - Interviews and Surveys

Alright, so I asked my family, friends, and random strangers what they think it means to be cool, and surprisingly they all didn’t say what you said they would. Albeit most of them did, but there was 2 examples who didn’t. The first person that I interviewed on the street gave me the best interview of all of them. When I walked up to him and started the interview and said something about the “cool” unit he laughed, he said, “I don’t think I am the right person to be asking.” I said, “why not, I just want to know what you think “cool” is.” He responded with, “to me a cool person is someone who is courteous, outgoing and friendly, it doesn’t matter what they wear or what race they are, its about the personality to me.” When I asked about someone who was popular or badass, he laughed and said, “hey as long as they are courteous and friendly I don’t really care.” I didn’t really realize the power of those words as first but now when I think about it I really start to think about it, I really realize the power behind his words. They could be deaf, blind, rich, poor, short, tall, pretty, ugly, to him it wouldn’t matter as long as they were courteous, I like that, I mean everyone has their cracking point but at least he didn’t give me some bulls*&$ answer about individualism or being rich like most of the other strangers did. They all wanted some one funny, this guy was just looking for a good friend or something like that. He seemed like a pretty cool guy too. The other person who I interviewed was my mother, usually, we don’t have big thanksgiving dinners with the family, because, well we don’t really have a big family, so we spend it in the New York Rescue Mission. Besides, she is the coolest person I know. What she said was that being cool was being self-assured. Not in like a jackass way, but in a way where you are ok in your own skin. Whether this was on your list or not, it came from my mother and to me, that means more then anything. What I am trying to get at, is that your right, if you want to be able to catagorize everyone then yes there is definitely a category for everyone. But not everyone is going to willingly be put there, sometimes people don’t act like you think they would, that’s why, by the bible’s standards, no man is god, it is a being that can be everyone and everything because one man can’t see through everyone’s eyes.

HW 26 - Photos & Questions

For all of my interviews i asked the same question. I asked Why are you wearing what you are wearing? They all had different outfits and it said something different about each of their personalities. I know the pictures aren't very good quality so i will do my best to describe the outfit.

Ayinde Stevens

He is wearing a Button down, collared shirt, a green sweater, khakis, and white athletic Shoes. Then the leather jacket, big framed glasses and a hat. Topped off with a messenger bag. When asked why he was wearing it he gave 3 answers.

• Its a school uniform
• It is the suckiest thing on earth
• It is all i know how to wear.

The reason i chose to photograph him is because he always dresses like this, not that this is a bad thing, but it is rare to see some one who dresses formally and doesn't change after school because they don't want people to judge them. He gets my respect because just from hanging out with him, he is who he is. He has his own unique personality that is unlike anything i have seen before. People dress to impress. Ayinde dresses how he wants, albeit heavily influenced from school, it is still under his control and that is what he chooses. I really liked his final answer because it admits reality. Whether or not he looks at it like you do, he still looks at like it is life. He accepts that. That is why i think he is cool

Eliana Slurzberg

She is wearing a Green puffyish shirt, High Rise Jeans, Uggs, an Afghan scarf and a Beanie Hat. She also has some cool dangly earrings that you can't really see. When asked why she was wearing that she gave 3 responses.

• I don't know
• Extension of my personality
• Why Not?

She is much different from Ayinde. She isn't wearing "preppy" clothing. Yet she isn't wearing designer clothing (to my knowledge). She is wearing clothing that she likes the look of. Aside from matching she likes it. I wear some jeans more then others because i like them more. Maybe they are more comfortable or maybe because they look nicer to me. But she is wearing that because as she said "Why Not?" Those clothes represent who she is to her. Not to her friends or her family. They had an influence on her but she took it and made it her own because even if you could put every one in different groups, they would still all be different in the end because everyone is different.

Willow Levine

She is wearing a grey t-shirt, red and black checkered jeans, Vans with blue and red laces. She is holding a hoodie with pink shoe laces on the sides. She is wearing a guitar pic locket and is holding a jacket, a bag and roller skates. She also has a whole ton of ear piercings and gauges. When asked why she was wearing/had all that, she said:

• Cuz i Like it
• It Expresses Who i am
• This is how my friends dress

To me those were some pretty respectable answers because they were honest. That is why people dress how they dress. Friends and to show who they are. They have their own ideas that they can take and exchange with friends. It is a style that not everyone can appreciate yet she does it anyway. Maybe because friends are what count to her. I can't think for her but i would have to guess that she dresses like that because her friends had that kind of influence on her and then she took it where it needed to go. The way i dress expresses who i want to be, i like it, and some of my friends dress like that. I don't wear the colorful clothing but i have the Nikes. I got that from them. But I still dress how i want to dress and whether or not other people have an influence on me i can still make it my own just as these three people, who i can also call my friends, did.

HW 25 - Story Comments and Analysis

Conor,

i really liked you story because it isn't blatantly cool. It is almost a real life example. You really exemplify what teenagers act like. You demonstrate how teenagers really don't care what others think of them. They do what they think is cool and don't change for other people. Anyway, i feel somewhat connected to this story because i feel like this something we would do. But yeah, i really did like your story.

Sam

Omar,

i like how you were able to concentrate this story into a short walk down a hallway and really emphasize how teenagers get along. Its not just that the main character was cool but they all were because they were able to put their problems behind them and focus on what they were there for. It has dialogue which makes it a lot easier to picture and i could really feel like i am there.

Sam

Evan,

When i read this story on Friday i really liked it. I thought you really had the right idea when you were describing how he really is struggling internally on whether or not he wants to be cool and what the cost of cool really is. Was the B worth it to not look like such a smart kid. Is there really something wrong with smart. I think you did an excellent job of answering these questions and i really enjoyed seeing what you think "cool" really is

Sam

Arden, I really like how you focus on one main character and his ideas, i can see how your reflection of cool is put into both of them. The new mysterious kid and the big jerk. They both have their appealing sides and they also both have that unappealing side. Dakota is quiet and nice and either not known or liked. But hawk is probably big, good looking and just a bad boy. Every girl likes the jerk. That makes him cool. But i think you really did do a good job of looking at two different sides. Sam

Esther, i really liked your story because it kind of gives a sense of normality into what this cool or uncool thing is, you can see he lives to suit his own needs and because of that he was more of his own person, i don't know how he is in school but in home i think that the idea you were getting out was that he was just a normal person living a normal life, he was cool because he was normal. Anyway i really enjoyed it. Sam

Something that all the stories had involved was that they all were about some one who was different but similar. They all were being themselves and the conflict was always a struggle with their friends or themselves about being cool. With Arden's and Omar's stories you see how similar they are in that it is two clearly different people struggling for power. In Conor and Evan's stories it is about people struggling to fit in.

What i really found interesting is how all these stories had different roots but they all ended the same. and that is what the final result is. In Conor's story it ends in disappointment for the main character because he was shut down. In Esther's story it ends in her getting to school late because she procrastinated. In Arden's story it begins in a description and it ends up in a fight because of the discrepiscancy between the two. The point i am trying to make here is that these stories all start the same but end differently. Everyone has a different idea of cool and because of that everyone is going to write a different story

Short Story (HW 24)

She walked into his school for the first time, It had that smell, the smell of bad school lunch and lead based paint. Anyone who has ever gone to a public school knows that smell but yet you never get used to it. The first thing she did was walk up to his friends and greet the same way that she always did, with the slight head nod and then a big hug. They stood there for a second looking around at each other and noticing what 2 months apart could do to them. For the first time it always looked like a lot. They were tan, taller and skinnier. Something that always seemed to fade away over the course of the year. They were in the middle of poking fun at each other when he came over. There was something about him too but this was not the usual changes. His hair was darker not lighter and he had this new glow about him. None of them said it, but they all knew it. How could someone look so different in just 2 months? They didn't dare say anything they just carried on as they always did. They sat and went over their summers one by one. To some people their group was cool and to others their group was a little nerdy. But they didn't care. They were all good friends. But it happened almost immediately. Other girls started noticing him too. They had never really taken a serious interest in him and now all of a sudden he was the center of attention. He was almost instantly popular. Within days he was the toast of the school. Everyone wanted to be him, or at least be like him. His friends were kind of lost in her sudden onset of power but he seemed unaffected by it. It was almost as if nothing had happened. He still hung out with his group. He still put up with them when she could have easily have pushed them away and moved on. It kind of confused her though, she didn't know what everyone saw in him. He was still his same old friend but now to everyone else he was the coolest person.She didn't know what to do but he was still her friend and because of that she was still happy.What made him so cool was that he didn't change because of what people thought of him. He was still the same person who he always was. It like the fame never got to him. Maybe it was because nothing got to him. He was always distanced. But who were we to judge, we were just like her. Thats what made our group so close. We didn't like change, so we kind of distanced ourselves from change. We just were ourselves. Maybe we didn't get what being cool meant, but then again, we just didn't really care.

HW #23 What is Cool?

Cool isn't a just how a person is, it is a feeling. It is a vibe that a person gives off. It can be their looks, their gender, how they dress, how they talk, their personality, or as i said before, it could just be the vibe they give you. Cool makes or breaks a person. Everyone wants to be the cool kid but sometimes its just doesn't work like that. Trying to be cool doesn't work because the harder you try the less cool you look and it doesn't matter to most people how cool you fell, it is how cool other people think you are. This is a dog eat dog world and can be pretty vicious, but i guess that is what makes it so interesting.

While discussing in class what are the main and smaller ideas of being popular, i decided that standing out but in an accepted way is what is the main idea. Everyone wants to be different and the person who does is the person who everyone wants to be like. That is what makes them cool. They are new and different but the main idea that everyone is missing is that there is no such thing as originality. They don't just wake up and think that "oh i am going to do this today" for no reason. They always base the way they act of something else. Originality is cool to me, but does it really exist? Can someone be completely original or do they have to base their ideas off someone else and then go from there? Does it really matter?

Finally i just want to ask, does it really matter to be cool? I mean learn, laugh, live right? I think that if i can get by with my friends and not be Mr. popular then i can live with that. In the end i want to be the person who i want to be and not have to change or keep up my appearance to stay that way. If i have people around me who accept me for who i am then i don't give a damn what anyone else really thinks. I think that being "cool" is for the people who don't know who they are and want other people to tell them. I do care what other people think of me. But i don't live my life by their opinion. I want to make myself and my real friends happy. Whenever i think, i want to be popular, i just think, would i like to have 10 untrustworthy and not dependable friends or 3 trustworthy and dependable friends that i can call anytime i have a problem or just want to talk to someone. As of right now that is what i think. I really want to see where this unit goes though. I feel like you have a lot up your sleeve. So yeah i don't really know how to leave this off on a meaningful note so i just want to ask. Do you care about being "cool?"