Comments on: James M on being hip http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/ Making the Connections Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:52:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Lenny Bruce http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-157238 Lenny Bruce Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:48:43 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-157238 Great post. I really enjoyed it. I will have to bookmark your site for later. Great post. I really enjoyed it. I will have to bookmark your site for later.

]]> By: Linda c http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-80487 Linda c Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:57:03 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-80487 My beautiful daughter got sucked into the roll of "working for the party". She was headed into a career of politics and devoting all of her time to "the man" which was the Democratic party. I guess being "hip" in a way. That was until Katrina hit - our relatives were affected - we were affected personally as a family - and our help was denied at gunpoint. Then 5 of her best friends were sent to Iraq at the same time - on the same day. Now she and I are very "community oriented". We have realized that our help is needed here at home and maybe her political aspirations will grow into a wonderful platform for her to grow upon. She now works for and volunteers her time to much more "community commited" projects. Yes, skol - this is one place that will open the mind and the thought processes. I come here when I have time to contemplate on how I can grow into the person I really want and need to be. Then if I can help make a difference for just one other person in "our" community hopefully they will "pass it on". My beautiful daughter got sucked into the roll of “working for the party”. She was headed into a career of politics and devoting all of her time to “the man” which was the Democratic party. I guess being “hip” in a way. That was until Katrina hit – our relatives were affected – we were affected personally as a family – and our help was denied at gunpoint. Then 5 of her best friends were sent to Iraq at the same time – on the same day.

Now she and I are very “community oriented”. We have realized that our help is needed here at home and maybe her political aspirations will grow into a wonderful platform for her to grow upon. She now works for and volunteers her time to much more “community commited” projects.

Yes, skol – this is one place that will open the mind and the thought processes. I come here when I have time to contemplate on how I can grow into the person I really want and need to be. Then if I can help make a difference for just one other person in “our” community hopefully they will “pass it on”.

]]> By: skol http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-80410 skol Wed, 11 Jul 2007 02:19:19 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-80410 Oh, no, it's been bumped! I don't mean to cut in on Required's astute (;)) observation, but I feel I need to bring the comments before that (regarding me, o cruel hubris) to for an ounce of closure to my angst-ridden brain (o woe is me). (run-on-sentence-ramble follows:) It's true, I want a panacea, but only for myself. I want the dams destroyed, I want us to "devolve" into a simpler life for all. I even want windows gone so birds won't die mistaking them for air. The complexities of such a change are unfathomable, like a mile high wall of wires, concrete and girder preventing us from true progress. But I know reality doesn't work this way, in the grand scheme of things, but it sure looks that way day to day. I have a ways to go. I have participated in very little: I do not attend peace marches, I do not attend local meetings, and that hypocrisy is almost to palpable to bear. I'm relatively cozy, despite the debt and the fear hovering over our heads. This is one of the few places where I feel safe. I'm like the hanged man tied by his feet, viewing the world from a different perspective, but still stuck to stay the same, with all the ennui and stagnation (a good pun, imo). (ramble mode 5/5 to 4/5): I'm looking for commonality. That's here, to a great extent, but on a regional level it's very hard to find on the most mundane of social experience. I'm very much in my head, safe and sound and comfortable. Who else is? Who else sees this great divide between lack of personal action and the shit stuck in their head? I'd wager a great many, and I hold true what I'd said before that <i>these</i> people are either low on the list of priorities (whatever that means), or extremely hard to ferret out. That's my only goal currently, and I've made <i>some</i> headway profiling this segment on myspace (a very depressing site). On that front, I'm not looking for a panacea, just some commonality to be shared around. This society is very alienating. Maybe it's just me. This site has opened up all these avenues and thoughts (bar none) most are oblivious to*. Creating a community of like minds is all I'm looking for, and what many others are seeking. It's not a small step, but an important one: connecting the disparate groups into a community for the future. I'll quit while I'm maybe-ahead. Some peace and quiet with those one can love and cherish outside the norms of the artificial norms we've been created to believe is all I want, and what everyone needs. (not a ramble): I ain't no scholar, mind. I'll hit submit before...I....proofread..to..carbon....argh! * FS seems to be reflecting a lot of the trends current, I'd say. Maybe I never noticed them before before I came here, though. Progress is being made, no? I wonder how much of this (what I've said) is even necessary. With luck, it'll fall into place on its own, but I don't want to count on that. Oh, no, it’s been bumped! I don’t mean to cut in on Required’s astute (;)) observation, but I feel I need to bring the comments before that (regarding me, o cruel hubris) to for an ounce of closure to my angst-ridden brain (o woe is me).
(run-on-sentence-ramble follows:)
It’s true, I want a panacea, but only for myself. I want the dams destroyed, I want us to “devolve” into a simpler life for all. I even want windows gone so birds won’t die mistaking them for air. The complexities of such a change are unfathomable, like a mile high wall of wires, concrete and girder preventing us from true progress. But I know reality doesn’t work this way, in the grand scheme of things, but it sure looks that way day to day. I have a ways to go. I have participated in very little: I do not attend peace marches, I do not attend local meetings, and that hypocrisy is almost to palpable to bear. I’m relatively cozy, despite the debt and the fear hovering over our heads.
This is one of the few places where I feel safe. I’m like the hanged man tied by his feet, viewing the world from a different perspective, but still stuck to stay the same, with all the ennui and stagnation (a good pun, imo).
(ramble mode 5/5 to 4/5):
I’m looking for commonality. That’s here, to a great extent, but on a regional level it’s very hard to find on the most mundane of social experience. I’m very much in my head, safe and sound and comfortable. Who else is? Who else sees this great divide between lack of personal action and the shit stuck in their head? I’d wager a great many, and I hold true what I’d said before that these people are either low on the list of priorities (whatever that means), or extremely hard to ferret out. That’s my only goal currently, and I’ve made some headway profiling this segment on myspace (a very depressing site). On that front, I’m not looking for a panacea, just some commonality to be shared around. This society is very alienating. Maybe it’s just me. This site has opened up all these avenues and thoughts (bar none) most are oblivious to*. Creating a community of like minds is all I’m looking for, and what many others are seeking. It’s not a small step, but an important one: connecting the disparate groups into a community for the future.
I’ll quit while I’m maybe-ahead. Some peace and quiet with those one can love and cherish outside the norms of the artificial norms we’ve been created to believe is all I want, and what everyone needs.
(not a ramble):
I ain’t no scholar, mind. I’ll hit submit before…I….proofread..to..carbon….argh!

* FS seems to be reflecting a lot of the trends current, I’d say. Maybe I never noticed them before before I came here, though. Progress is being made, no? I wonder how much of this (what I’ve said) is even necessary. With luck, it’ll fall into place on its own, but I don’t want to count on that.

]]> By: Required http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-80271 Required Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:03:53 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-80271 <b>Annoying Ironic White liberal Hipster:</b> We should all be less sensitive about “racial humor”. Everyone should be able to make fun of everyone! After all, that’s equality. <b>Astute Person:</b> If it’s equality you seek, will everyone own the television stations and magazines from which this “fun” will be made? <b>Annoying Ironic White liberal Hipster:</b> No silly, that would be communism. Annoying Ironic White liberal Hipster: We should all be less sensitive about “racial humor”. Everyone should be able to make fun of everyone! After all, that’s equality.

Astute Person: If it’s equality you seek, will everyone own the television stations and magazines from which this “fun” will be made?

Annoying Ironic White liberal Hipster: No silly, that would be communism.

]]> By: Randy Morris http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-70517 Randy Morris Tue, 08 May 2007 22:01:53 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-70517 Hey skol... I think we DO have a fuller picture, we just don't have a crystal ball; and that's where acceptance often seems to break down if you offer an alternative to the info being spoon-fed over the airwaves---if you can't predict the stock market accurately over the next three months then your particular world view can't possibly be valid. Never mind that the establishment itself must directly manipulate the markets to give them any semblance of rationality or long-term viability. Having a "fuller picture" is certainly no panacea. What it has done for me is help me realize (finally---oh cruel hubris) that my ability to impact large scale politics is nil and that I can make my best effort right here in my own struggling community. And you all here have been a BIG part of coming around to that. Keep writing, skol. I'll keep reading your thoughts. Randy Hey skol…

I think we DO have a fuller picture, we just don’t have a crystal ball; and that’s where acceptance often seems to break down if you offer an alternative to the info being spoon-fed over the airwaves—if you can’t predict the stock market accurately over the next three months then your particular world view can’t possibly be valid. Never mind that the establishment itself must directly manipulate the markets to give them any semblance of rationality or long-term viability.

Having a “fuller picture” is certainly no panacea. What it has done for me is help me realize (finally—oh cruel hubris) that my ability to impact large scale politics is nil and that I can make my best effort right here in my own struggling community. And you all here have been a BIG part of coming around to that.

Keep writing, skol. I’ll keep reading your thoughts.

Randy

]]> By: skol http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-70399 skol Tue, 08 May 2007 08:05:42 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-70399 To be clear, I don't mean ideological direction... I literally meant hyperlinks to places like IA; nor do I mean a virtual army of good-willed young westerners who can't connect their own dots within the context of their life, and not using some big abstraction that works as some mega-conclusion that they may pretend fits themselves and others perfectly. What I would like to see is more good-thinkers, or people who would make some effort otherwise to lead themselves, however <i>they</i> please, instead of being led by the nose anyhow. Media and ad agencies have said these people covered, and they distract them from the reality of the situation: peak oil, global warming, housing bubble, what-have-you, all colliding on their lives. But "we" (or maybe I'm alone here) really don't have any fuller picture, although I could be wrong. It's kind of a vague (stupid?) thought. To be clear, I don’t mean ideological direction… I literally meant hyperlinks to places like IA; nor do I mean a virtual army of good-willed young westerners who can’t connect their own dots within the context of their life, and not using some big abstraction that works as some mega-conclusion that they may pretend fits themselves and others perfectly. What I would like to see is more good-thinkers, or people who would make some effort otherwise to lead themselves, however they please, instead of being led by the nose anyhow. Media and ad agencies have said these people covered, and they distract them from the reality of the situation: peak oil, global warming, housing bubble, what-have-you, all colliding on their lives. But “we” (or maybe I’m alone here) really don’t have any fuller picture, although I could be wrong.
It’s kind of a vague (stupid?) thought.

]]> By: eoinmonkey http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-69730 eoinmonkey Thu, 03 May 2007 23:08:53 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-69730 "Eoinmonkey had said you can still give a damn and be part of the larger problem. Can you give a damn and still be in a position of oblivious and lazy thinking?" I think thats more or less the same thing, isnt it? Im not too optomistic, personally, that goodwill can win through, even with every young western person on the web. Lazy thinking begets lazy conclusions, which in turn leads to bad results. I am often more annoyed by people on the political left and their shoddy reasoning and blind adherence to received wisdom than I am by the worst scumbag college republicans- the lefties are supposed to know better, right? Ultimately, it doesnt matter what the basis of your thought is, if you allow yourself to be led by the nose by fashion (even an unfashionable fashionable political viewpoint, like so many radicals) then you will end up a blind follower and definitely part of the problem. I guess perhaps the problem is human stupidity, and no political, religious or ethnic group has a monopoly on that. “Eoinmonkey had said you can still give a damn and be part of the larger problem. Can you give a damn and still be in a position of oblivious and lazy thinking?”

I think thats more or less the same thing, isnt it? Im not too optomistic, personally, that goodwill can win through, even with every young western person on the web. Lazy thinking begets lazy conclusions, which in turn leads to bad results. I am often more annoyed by people on the political left and their shoddy reasoning and blind adherence to received wisdom than I am by the worst scumbag college republicans- the lefties are supposed to know better, right? Ultimately, it doesnt matter what the basis of your thought is, if you allow yourself to be led by the nose by fashion (even an unfashionable fashionable political viewpoint, like so many radicals) then you will end up a blind follower and definitely part of the problem. I guess perhaps the problem is human stupidity, and no political, religious or ethnic group has a monopoly on that.

]]> By: skol http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-69543 skol Wed, 02 May 2007 23:52:39 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-69543 The thing about Family Guy is that it can be genuinely funny, and these hip kids can be genuinely good. I think this is a difficult thing to disabuse ourselves of in this generation. And it's such a massive gray area that I find it difficult to know how separated we all are/can be from it. Eoinmonkey had said you can still give a damn and be part of the larger problem. Can you give a damn and still be in a position of oblivious and lazy thinking? I guess so, but it's a step forward. Give them the right means, and you'll have so many more of the right people on your side who never thought of a side to be on. But there aren't many points of gravity. Nothing CURRENTLY suffices, imo. The structures are in place, but everyone is so spread out (on the web; at home, they're rather close :)). I wonder how much just a little direction will take them? And where to? The thing about Family Guy is that it can be genuinely funny, and these hip kids can be genuinely good. I think this is a difficult thing to disabuse ourselves of in this generation. And it’s such a massive gray area that I find it difficult to know how separated we all are/can be from it.
Eoinmonkey had said you can still give a damn and be part of the larger problem. Can you give a damn and still be in a position of oblivious and lazy thinking? I guess so, but it’s a step forward. Give them the right means, and you’ll have so many more of the right people on your side who never thought of a side to be on. But there aren’t many points of gravity. Nothing CURRENTLY suffices, imo. The structures are in place, but everyone is so spread out (on the web; at home, they’re rather close :) ). I wonder how much just a little direction will take them? And where to?

]]> By: Required http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-69002 Required Sun, 29 Apr 2007 04:41:56 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-69002 I just have to talk about VICE magazine. I would probably place that as the print equivalent of Family Guy. It's the most vapid hollow elitist crap. But people eat it up. The magazines most popular section is the "do's and don'ts" where people send in pictures of people (whom they may or may not know) to be rated. Kinda like a fashion SS, encouraging people to dob in dissidents. Whole books have been devoted to compilations of this crap. I just have to talk about VICE magazine. I would probably place that as the print equivalent of Family Guy. It’s the most vapid hollow elitist crap. But people eat it up. The magazines most popular section is the “do’s and don’ts” where people send in pictures of people (whom they may or may not know) to be rated. Kinda like a fashion SS, encouraging people to dob in dissidents. Whole books have been devoted to compilations of this crap.

]]> By: john steppling http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/04/06/james-minton-on-being-hip/#comment-68655 john steppling Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:12:30 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=486#comment-68655 i need to add....Jimi took the money.....played music that to some degree he didnt believe in (listen to the garage tapes of him playing with Pharoah sanders to see what I mean) but Miles never compromised. Hence, miles refused to sell out. hence, miles was *hip*. and i should add, again, that today we have a very generalized marketed version of this...so I dont disagree totally with a lot of these comments. I think the death of sincerity is a big blow to art in all senses. Might be that Jackson Pollack was about the last totally sincere artist. i need to add….Jimi took the money…..played music that to some degree he didnt believe in (listen to the garage tapes of him playing with Pharoah sanders to see what I mean) but Miles never compromised. Hence, miles refused to sell out.

hence, miles was *hip*.

and i should add, again, that today we have a very generalized marketed version of this…so I dont disagree totally with a lot of these comments. I think the death of sincerity is a big blow to art in all senses. Might be that Jackson Pollack was about the last totally sincere artist.

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