Hipster begone

Are we witnessing the dying days of the hipster? It seems that the back has well and truly lashed on those particular dudes. Much as I love perusing Unhappy Hipsters however, I would be very sad to see this particular strain of trendies go the way of the Plesiosaur.

(I'm with Dinosaur Boy - when are they going to bring a 'saur back? Jurassic Park was released in 1993 for gods sake. That's 17 years you've had, scientists.)

Ahem.

Why would I miss this bunch of vacuous, image-obsessed, cooler-than-thou twats, you ask? Well, for a start, without hipsters life would be a lot more beige. Who but a hipster would catch my eye by striding past wearing lace leggings with leather shorts and yellow suspenders? Who else would have the chutzpah to wear glassless national health specs, with a tipped back trilby and a deadly serious bitchface? What brightens up an inner city footpath more than a brace of beautiful, sleek, and completely impractical fixie bikes?

Without hipsters, how would we know what the latest trends are, if only so that we have occassion to reaffirm our own inherent uncoolness?

I think it's dangerous to stray into the territory of naming that which is cool - as soon as you (meaning I) mention it, you can guarantee it's officially over and the hip kids will sneer in your general direction for your sad inability to keep up. I'm reminded of a scene in the Mighty Boosh (movie, please!) where the bible of cool - Cheekbone magazine - is so current that it's delivered by ninjas every three hours.

Far easier to name that which is not cool*:

Being jolly. Being simple (emotionally, not intellectually). Being a dag. Laughing (unironically). Laughing so much you cry. Laughing so much you snort. Watching action/rom-com blockbusters. Being alone. Not caring about fashion. Buying clothes because they are cheap. LOLcats. Being enthusiastic. Excercise. Scoffing food. Ordering lemonade at a bar. Not drinking. Ordering tap water at a restaurant. Smiling at strangers. Talking to older people. Older people in general (by which I mean over 25's). Not owning a mobile phone. Not owning a laptop. Trash mags. The X-Factor. Modern day children's television shows. Reading Stephen King. Reading John Grisham. $2 shops. Cheerful decor. MP3 players that are not ipods. Ringtones. Living in the suburbs. Shopping malls. Being awake before 10am (unless you're still going from the night before). Decaffeinated coffee. Tea with milk and sugar. Being in the normal weight range. Calling drugs by their actual names.

I could go on - this is familiar territory for me - but I think I'd better leave it there for now.

I'll leave you with this ode to regionally specific hipsterdom by a new Melbourne-based discovery of mine:



*Some, but not all, of these may or may not apply to me. I'm not here to judge, just to opinionate. The last sentence may or may not be true, subject to objectivity.

Melbourne Living

Hello from rainy Melbourne! Man, it's good to be back. Apart from a little wobble on the plane, when I had to lock myself in the loos and have a little cry, I have been loving every minute of being back in the homelands. In fact, I find myself wondering why I didn't come back sooner - bugger the passport, I was so ready to come home two years ago, when the exchange rate meant I would be 100% better off than I am now. Never mind. I'm here now, and I am thrilled to be ensconced in my family once more, and free to think about what to do next.

Free! What a wonderful and scary thing to be so unencumbered. I am consciously not looking for full time work, as I want to try some different things rather than getting stuck straight into the work/rent/gym/sleep treadmill. WWOOFing is one thing I'm taking steps towards trying for a bit. I love the idea of getting properly dirty on a daily basis, switching my overactive brain off and doing a physical job for a while. Writing, obviously... but possibly in some sort of semi-professional capacity. Study? Maybe. Teaching? Maybe.

But in the meantime, for the next 3 weeks or so, I'm lucky enough to be house sitting for friends of mine who live in a lovely property at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges, overlooking miles of hills and gumtrees, with kookaburras, rosellas and cockatoos making daily visits. I'll have nothing to do but take care of their two small mutts, sip mugs of hot tea and receive various visitors who want to escape the city for a day or two.

I can't wait.

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nb. this post was prompted by a friend of our family, who admonished me for not updating my blog for a while! Apologies auntie Chek, hope you guys are all coping with the deluge.