Saturday, November 19, 2011

We Celebrate Brownback's "Reconciliation Week" / Required Reading: "The Hipsterfication of America"

Readers, we hope you are aware that Governor Brownback issued a proclamation on Thursday that the coming week should be known as "Reconciliation Week":

“Reconciliation involves owning the past and looking forward to the future. As Mahatma Gandhi said: ‘Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.' I urge all Kansans to contact and attempt to reconcile with anyone with whom they are estranged by harsh feelings or anger."

So call up your scenester friends and apologize for spilling PBR on them during the 11/11/11 festivities and call up Chip and forgive him for his many embarrassing and inopportune boners. But will you forgive the Governor himself for his many crimes against Kansas and art? Personally we won't go that far.

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A hip friend sent us this NPR piece yesterday called "The Hipsterfication of America." Do you agree with this assertion?


"You might think that as hipsterism ripples out, in concentric (and eccentric) circles farther and farther from its big-city epicenters, the ultra-coolitude would lose its authenticity, Furia says, "but the opposite may be true. Cities are known for setting trends; hipsterism is about anti-trends. It sounds funny, but hipsters in Omaha may actually be cooler than hipsters in New York City — everyone knows about New York City."


We don't trust any piece about the idea of "hip" unless it quotes John Leland, who wrote Hip: The History. Luckily, this piece contains a choice quote from Leland:

"I like to believe there's something smarter lurking within our romance with hip ... an idea of enlightenment and awareness."


Isn't it pretty to think so?*

[Free PBR for the first person to name the literary reference of our last sentence.]

4 comments:

the rev said...

My best guess: John Leland's, Hip: The History

the rev redux said...

Oh, sorry...wrong quote...

The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway

I think?

Papa Hemingway said...

Right. Free PBR next time we're at a bullfight.

Chip said...

the rev kind of reminds me of the Gervais character in The Office! So, my best guess will be whatever Richard has mentioned. No, wait! Since I'm on the internets, I think I'll google the phrase to find out! Well, it's worth a PBR...