GCB

BLOGGER

Youngest kid of six with an inferiority and black sheep complex, but determined that God saves not just his soul to heaven but the remainder of his manic-depressive life, so others won't say he became a Christian and remained a jerk.

MAIN THEMES

On identity
i won't be transparent before i'm opaque. and you'll get to know me starting from the small things: who my favourite bands are. what kind of movies i like. who are my heroes.

On Christianity
I’m convinced that when confronted with sincere, real love, the Jesus factor will become obvious. But let’s not plant the cross before we carry it. I’m not trying to con you.

On dreams
Some dreams are meant to be achieved. I know that. But maybe other dreams are meant to drive us, privately. Never known to anyone but ourselves.

OTHER THEMES

On melancholy
It is a sadness that, when choosing between crying and sighing, will choose sighing. I'd almost say that melancholy is being sad about sadness itself.

On memory and nostalgia
It saddens me when life moves forward and people decide that certain things are worth forgetting.

On language
I've learnt that the word irregardless is filed as a non-standard word in the English language. That's a lexicographer's way of saying it's not a real word.

On politics
Crowds are fickle things. So when we stand in the thousands and cry against the present government, do we know who we're actually crying for?

On society
People always want the best for themselves. But I want to sometimes take second or third or fourth best, just so that the loser down the road doesn't always have to come in last. It must feel like shit to always come in last.

On growing old
Leasehold property make me feel sad. It doesn't matter how old the family photos are that you put on your wall. It's your family but it's not really your wall.

On philosophy
I ask you, if God loves everyone, and if God is also incapable of loving evil, how can there be such a thing as an evil man?

On a daily basis
One line quips, like this.

CHAT

VISITORS

FEEDS

Get RSS Buttons

ARCHIVE

March 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 July 2005 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 February 2010 June 2010

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

DEFINING COOL

Languages change and it's been a long time since the most common usage of the word cool on the street has meant the state of moderately low temperature. but what does it really mean to be cool? is cool just being attractive? stylish? in keeping with fashion? happening? (now there's another word that needs a redefinition - happening!). i thought about this yesterday and arrived at a conclusion of sorts.

i think cool means credible.

when a 14-year-old says that a pair of sneakers is cool, he is essentially saying that the shoes have some sort of cred. when a 27-year-old parishioner says that a particular preacher is not cool, he is fundamentally calling into question that preacher's credentials.

cool cannot just be stylish or attractive. that's 'stylish' and 'attractive'. cool is cool. it's got less to do with how arresting something looks and more to do with what that arrest actually means when associated with the individual. cool is not just about beauty, it's about the meaning of beauty.

a person may have a great personality, all sorts of abilities and even look the part, and in fact he is probably a very cool person. but the necessary link lies in the dots that connect his attributes to my values. herein lies the credibility. a person can be described to me as cool. but they aren't cool until they're credible.

i don't know why, but i feel like taking this definition of cool out of the gen xes and gen ys and bringing it to the older adults. i want to do that so that older adults know that when a young person says that they like something because "it's cool", they're talking about a lot more than the superficial appearance of attraction. and when i say that someone is cool, it's really because something about them speaks to me.

i'm really happy about this thing that i've discovered. that's why i'm inviting your comment.

Labels: identity, language

Genusfrog [ 10:24 am ]

2 Comments:

This comment has been removed by the author.

By Athalia, at 2:01 pm
Cool post.

Har har har.

Anyway, good point. Though some times "cool" is used the same way as "nice" - liberally and so generically that it doesn't say anything at all.

By Athalia, at 2:15 pm