the quintessential hipster

i finally got to puting van halen into my itunes library. i miss listening to eddie's rapidly fast licks and diamond daves crazy antics (and i guess hargars raspy voice... as you can see im not a fan of hagar...). i'm going out on a limb in saying that van halen is one of my favorite classic "heavy metal" bands. scratch that, it IS my favorite.

thinking about it a bit, there was an unfortunate following of fans who werent really into the music but put up a front. this, i believe was the hipster before the hipster- or maybe hypebeast before the hypebeast. its interesting- there had to be people like that in generations before us.

(interruption: ti has been sentenced to one year and one day of prison. good for him. sucks that he has to go to prison, but good for him the judges praised his community service work.)

well, what qualifies as a hipster? according to the hipster handbook by Robert Lanham:  1. You graduated from a liberal arts school whose football team hasn't won a game since the Reagan administration. 2. You frequently use the term "post-modern" (or its commonly used variation "PoMo") as an adjective, noun, and verb.3. You carry a shoulder-strap messenger bag and have at one time or another worn a pair of horn-rimmed or Elvis Costello-style glasses.4. You have one Republican friend who you always describe as being your "one Republican friend."5. Your hair looks best unwashed and you position your head on your pillow at night in a way that will really maximize your cowlicks.6. You own records put out by Matador, DFA, Definitive Jux, Dischord, Warp, Thrill Jockey, Smells Like Records, and Drag City.

now take a look at these diagrams:




now these are just some regulations- and im sure some clues are geographic and there are different types of hipsters out there. ive seen it first hand: in the bay area hypebeast and hipster fuse together in a flurry of ways. rare sneakers, vans, tight jeans, ironic scarves...blah blah blah. in chico, ive seen kids with fixed gears, jonas brothers type style, jackie o sunglasses. hell, im subject to this. chico state doesnt have a football team, and had a crazy arts program. i do own rayban wayfarers (but the legit 80's wayfarer IIs which are noticeably bigger). i do have a fixed gear bicycle. i have a sh*tload of sneakers. am i a hipster?

well technically, im going to say that i am. because real hipsters will say proudly: "no, i am not a hipster." its just like hypebeastisms. if you dont say youre a hypebeast, you most definately might be. and quite frankly, i dont care. im set apart by my actions- i ride my bike with passion and utility, i listen to metal (whatever metal it may be), my rare sneakers are beat, i do not own shutter shades, and i think colored denim is stupid, i have skinny jeans because theyre comfy to me and they dont get caught up in my chain, i keep my wayfares on lock because it was passed down to me (i would never wear them in public), my bike is built like a rat rod: uncomfortable, raw, and cool looking, but FAST AS BALLS.

im over it. im hungry as balls.

family man

i woke up this morning only to realize that i have my brakes on my bike- beforehand i searched high and low for my gloves thinking i would have to endure the relentless cold that exeunts from my bare metal bullhorns. i went outside only to find out that my goddamn brake setup was on. FAIL.

---

so im going to try to blog my notes, because i seem to dislike taking acutal notes. im going to make it like a bloglike state.

im in my political science class and we're going to talk about the family and how it causes sociological problems. so the family is based on kinship, a relationship based on blood ties, marriage ties, and "adoption". however, it has definately changed as time progressed.

there's the extended family involves 3 or more generations living together or in extremely close proximity. thinking about it, it's entirely possible to have extended families, due to the current economy. sh*t, money is tight. interesting enough, there's some difficulty in this situation: the sandwich generation- when the elders and youngin's  present a conflict with the middle generation.

then there is the nuclear family. nuclear sounds f*cking harsh but honestly it kinda is. parents as well as their children separate and move around. this could be due to jobs, and differing opinions (sick of where youre living), etc etc. this was a shift due to the economy because of job chasing and unfortunately due too the recession,  it has caused a gap from generations.

the modified extended family is the ideal mixture of the nuclear and extended family. this means that the nuclear family does make efforts to see the other parts of the family.

as far as the functunalists are concerned , the family institution socializes and educates the children in the family. it also gives status and idnetity. if it's doing what its doing, it should be regulating sexual and reproductive behavior. this means the behavior of the younger generation should be covered by the family institution.

then there is the conflict theorists which say its all in interest of corporations. they look at the situations of the nuclear family. "they have their own sh*t, we have out own sh*t. and we aint gotta share" would probably be the catch phrase for them. it's sad but true.

teen pregnancy, behavior problems, blah blah blah, all caused by the family institution. hmmmm... younger generations learning from example, i dont think so. if it's doing what it's doing it should all be regulated (or should be not regulated due to lack of parent proximity
) lack of supervision? thats more like it. the parents do have a lot to do with the family institution. seriously, the younger generation is becoming more and more alienated from the parents and it is causing an unfortunate shift. the current family institution involves divorce, widows, and basically the removal of adequate parenting.

now this comes into conflict with the functionalist perspective- the current family institution messes up everything. however it does come to show that it really DOES educate the younger generation. it sucks. this is why the next generation is coming up as a demented set of youth. it also messes with the fact that it sets off an offset family identity. more conflict is caused by the generational majority shift. as the younger generation grows older, the older generations is offset and the rules of engagement change. for example, younger generations making kids before marriage- obviously something an older generations wouldnt understand.

this is a lot of sh*t to comprehend.

---

f*****ck.....  it sounds like a book.

family man

i woke up this morning only to realize that i have my brakes on my bike- beforehand i searched high and low for my gloves thinking i would have to endure the relentless cold that exeunts from my bare metal bullhorns. i went outside only to find out that my goddamn brake setup was on. FAIL.

---

so im going to try to blog my notes, because i seem to dislike taking acutal notes. im going to make it like a bloglike state.

im in my political science class and we're going to talk about the family and how it causes sociological problems. so the family is based on kinship, a relationship based on blood ties, marriage ties, and "adoption". however, it has definately changed as time progressed.

there's the extended family involves 3 or more generations living together or in extremely close proximity. thinking about it, it's entirely possible to have extended families, due to the current economy. sh*t, money is tight. interesting enough, there's some difficulty in this situation: the sandwich generation- when the elders and youngin's  present a conflict with the middle generation.

then there is the nuclear family. nuclear sounds f*cking harsh but honestly it kinda is. parents as well as their children separate and move around. this could be due to jobs, and differing opinions (sick of where youre living), etc etc. this was a shift due to the economy because of job chasing and unfortunately due too the recession,  it has caused a gap from generations.

the modified extended family is the ideal mixture of the nuclear and extended family. this means that the nuclear family does make efforts to see the other parts of the family.

as far as the functunalists are concerned , the family institution socializes and educates the children in the family. it also gives status and idnetity. if it's doing what its doing, it should be regulating sexual and reproductive behavior. this means the behavior of the younger generation should be covered by the family institution.

then there is the conflict theorists which say its all in interest of corporations. they look at the situations of the nuclear family. "they have their own sh*t, we have out own sh*t. and we aint gotta share" would probably be the catch phrase for them. it's sad but true.

teen pregnancy, behavior problems, blah blah blah, all caused by the family institution. hmmmm... younger generations learning from example, i dont think so. if it's doing what it's doing it should all be regulated (or should be not regulated due to lack of parent proximity
) lack of supervision? thats more like it. the parents do have a lot to do with the family institution. seriously, the younger generation is becoming more and more alienated from the parents and it is causing an unfortunate shift. the current family institution involves divorce, widows, and basically the removal of adequate parenting.

now this comes into conflict with the functionalist perspective- the current family institution messes up everything. however it does come to show that it really DOES educate the younger generation. it sucks. this is why the next generation is coming up as a demented set of youth. it also messes with the fact that it sets off an offset family identity. more conflict is caused by the generational majority shift. as the younger generation grows older, the older generations is offset and the rules of engagement change. for example, younger generations making kids before marriage- obviously something an older generations wouldnt understand.

this is a lot of sh*t to comprehend.

---

f*****ck.....  it sounds like a book.

"BIKE FARTHY"

so last night was the san jose bike party, which i attended with homies. we started out with kris (se draft lite), justin (terrences shitty road bike), terrence (the pink monster) and brandon (mr. fits with his red and black bike), but little did we know- we were about to get picked off one by one.

we started out at 7 pm. we took tully out to downtown and got to bascom. justin kept us behind a bit with some cramps, but other than that it was smooth. distaster began when kris' rear started to give way. we soldiered on until we made it to dick's center. there was the biggest gathering of bikes ive seen in a while; well over chico's crititcal mass- it mustve been 1.5 times bigger. at the meet we met up with 2 dudes that graduated at ev in 07.

i soon realized that sjbikeparty isnt the most organizied thing in the world. people in wierd foil costumes, couches, neon lights, beer and weed were among the scenery. anyways, we started off, and as soon as we started the group split due to a lightrail crossing fiasco. soonafter kris opted out due to a flat rear (sucks because he just bought that thing). thus begins the nightmare.

we ended up riding all the way to oakridge via almaden to blossom hill. all along the way, police were waiting. some were assholes, one dude got tacked by a cop and arrested for some reason. another cop uttered from a p.a. system "get out of the road idiots." other cops blocked the road for us.

im not going to lie, some cyclists were f*cking stupid. there were kids on bmx bikes acting a fool. there was this guy on a cruiser with monkey bars who f*cked up his chain while jumping and showing off. there were a shit load of noob fixed gear riders who were hotheaded. there were drunks who ended up on the floor on the last leg to san jose state. i swear if i hear "BIKE PARTY!" again im going to shoot a b*tch. hell, the finale was dumbass people going down the event center's staircase with their bikes.  there were alot of people not obeying the law and being stupid about it like drinking and cycling or smoking weed and cycling was legal. this was not bicycle advocacy, it was bicycle anarchy.

i had fun though. night riding with a shit load of people and my friends was fun. pedaling like hell was fun. being tired as hell was fun. we ended up at san jose state at about midnight. by then, brandon's bald head was steaming.

we treked home, it was hella late and we were stupid tired. well, actually i wasnt that tired, but my homies were tired. we made it to the bridge over 101 on tully, justin tapped out and told us to go without him. and then there were three. brandon had been silent once we got onto tully- his tiredness was showing. when we got onto white and stevens (not far from home) his leg gave out and cramped up. he tapped out and called his girlfriend to pick him up. the cops came over to us and saw brandon on the floor. but they were cool and left us alone as long as we moved brandons bike out of the road. so terrence and i pedaled on. it was 1 am.

as we soldiered on through the suburbs, the two guys from ev 07 pulled up behind us in their car. what a fail- and we thought we would make it home before they did. shiiiiieet.

the last hill sucked ass.

all in all, it was great.

i will never do it again

FAIL FAIL FAIL

via Hypebeast

KAWSxLance ArmstrongxTrek Madone

FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL

UGHHHHH

ooo baby baby

it's  1245 am and i cant sleep.

through the glow of the computer screen and noise of nitro circus, smokey robinson cuts the darkness with heartfelt lyrics.

"I did you wrong
My heart went out to play
And in the game I lost you
What a price to pay
I'm crying
Ooh baby baby
Ooh baby baby

Mistakes, I've know I've made a few
But I'm only human
You've made mistakes too
I'm crying
Ooh baby baby
Ooh baby baby

I'm just about at
The end of my rope
But I can't stop trying
I can't give up hope
'Cause I'll be here
Someday I'll hold you near
Whisper I still love you
Until that day is here
Ooh I'm crying
Ooh baby baby
Ooh baby baby
Ooh baby baby
Ooh baby baby
Oo-oo-oo-ooh"

smokey smokey smokey, if you only knew what has been going on in my life. im questioning alot in my life.  im not sure about the decisions i have made as well as the direction of my life and relationships with friends and loved ones. ties have been loosened and lines have been drawn. i havent changed, and it seems like where i'm at is affecting my life- my stance and outlook is becoming shrouded in the mist of uncertain future.

ive decided to confront my past. i want to see if i could reconnect with my old friends as well as fix the exsisting ties.

and one tie in particular is in my sights.

smokey smokey smokey, im at the end of my rope. now am i the fire buning a fuse for a rope? or am i a caribeiner connecing ties? it's up to me to figure that out.

you cut the glow of the laptop and noise of the television like a knife, smokey.

to affinity and beyond (18 years old)

this is why i dont do tricks on my bike or dont throw it off ramps. though i do like the intro song. it samplesthe song from willy wonka. i love that movie. the old one. but i still believe the scariest thing ive seen in my life is agustus gloop getting sucked up that tube. ive had dreams where i was in agustus' place. scary stuff.

today's my girlfriend's birthday. happy birthday to her <3 she would say "happy birthday to you too" i dont understand her sometimes but i love it. its cute. i need to take her out to lunch sometime.

rode my bike today for the first time in a while. was great. a little nippy though. im just glad it's not raining and i dont have to keep my bike inside. unfortunately my ride was to see how much would it cost to have an extra soma everwear around and turns out there's none @ my shop (chico B&B, i say my because i go there more than any other shop). well that blows. so im going to just run it till it blows. no need to be using money for that anyway (well yet).

there, i saw mike's pursuit affinity. it's so bitchin. apparently by bike is gaining attention- i didnt know se lagers were that cool. for the longest time mike and icecream were looking at my bike and the affinity. man my bike isnt that great.... that affinity is a CUSTOM PURSUIT FRAME with RED VELOCITIES, and PHIL HUBS. hell it has TWO SETS OF OURY GRIPS and SUGINO MESSENGERS. i cant top that.

anyway, the ride was okay. not strenuous, but okay. im going to sum this up right now. gonna get some grub or something