Mar. 7th, 2008 04:58 pm
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toastykittenI need to blow off some steam, so here is a little fun culture study of the various Californian tribes I know and love so much. (Disclaimer: This does not describe YOU necessarily, nor is this a complete picturebv. I only write what I know.)
Hipsters like to wear unusual clothes and like to be the first ones to discover the newest indie/alternative bands. They listen to them until they become popular, and then move on to the next "underground" thing. They can be identified by their Pabst Blue Ribbon beers, dyed hair, piercings in unusual places and their affinity for roller derby. It's the new thing to do. Hipsters come in all sizes and shapes, but they all wear skinny jeans and t-shirts they think are ironic that are too tight on them. They are often spotted in areas like Silverlake and are never without a coffee fix.
Anti-hipster hipsters hate on hipsters because while they wear the same uniform, they feel that these impostors are not being "real" and don't derive any meaning from the music they listen to, the books they keep in their tote bags, or their "ironic" vintage shirts.
Limousine liberals are those rich people who educate their children about the world by hiring Latina nannies to teach them Spanish. They compete with other parents for the most safety-enhanced stroller, and enroll their kids into preschool waiting lists in the second trimester, just to be safe. They may feel guilt about having money, but they like having the discretionary income and spend it accordingly. They also read a lot of labels and do research so that the sushi they eat won't accidentally drop Junior's IQ by 20 points.
Suburbanites are not as rich as limousine liberals, but are really focused on getting their kids into a good school so they can get them into an Ivy League university on scholarship. They buy tiny houses for insane amounts of money because the "school district is excellent". These people are obsessed with keeping up with the Jones, and will spend lavish amounts of money on their kids' birthday parties or allow their kids to bring iPods and cell phones for Show and Tell. They micro-manage every aspect of their kids' lives, so that there is no room for the kids to fuck up.
Then there are nerds. There are different levels of Nerd-dom, the highest being the ability to quote from any Star Trek episode on command. Required reading includes Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and probably ten thousand other ones I can't think of off the top of my head. Required viewing includes all Star Trek incarnations (Enterprise being a piece of crap makes it an exception), Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, and Monty Python. The ability to quote at length is an admirable skill. Nerds will spend hours arguing over arcane details. Because nerds have clear, marketable skills and are the only ones who know what's wrong with your computer, they are rarely unemployed and make a good income. They often have lots of spare time, living space and money to indulge all their hobbies.
Nerds are often male and single. Significant others of nerds may often find themselves very alone and bored at nerd events, unless they find another non-nerd significant other to bond with or are kind of nerdy themselves or can force the conversation to non-nerd topics like cars and periods and grocery-shopping.
Google nerds are kind of their own breed. Google often grabs these nerds right out of college and gives them enough goodies and perks that they don't really notice that they're kind of underpaid compared to most other people doing similar work. At Google, you can eat good gourmet meals for free, and at the Mountain View campus, you can do your laundry there. Why would you want to leave?
Female nerds are a rarity and have a tendency to go in two directions: embrace the nerdery in themselves and devote themselves to becoming the best hacker ever with little regard for such feminine trappings as makeup and clothes, or feel insecure about their smarts and emphasize the fact that they're pretty and feminine, and wear makeup, too. They have to still work twice as hard to deal with male nerd sexism and get recognized for their work. They may make a good income, but it's probably not as much as their male counterpart who does equal work. Female nerds tend to date male nerds.
Hipsters like to wear unusual clothes and like to be the first ones to discover the newest indie/alternative bands. They listen to them until they become popular, and then move on to the next "underground" thing. They can be identified by their Pabst Blue Ribbon beers, dyed hair, piercings in unusual places and their affinity for roller derby. It's the new thing to do. Hipsters come in all sizes and shapes, but they all wear skinny jeans and t-shirts they think are ironic that are too tight on them. They are often spotted in areas like Silverlake and are never without a coffee fix.
Anti-hipster hipsters hate on hipsters because while they wear the same uniform, they feel that these impostors are not being "real" and don't derive any meaning from the music they listen to, the books they keep in their tote bags, or their "ironic" vintage shirts.
Limousine liberals are those rich people who educate their children about the world by hiring Latina nannies to teach them Spanish. They compete with other parents for the most safety-enhanced stroller, and enroll their kids into preschool waiting lists in the second trimester, just to be safe. They may feel guilt about having money, but they like having the discretionary income and spend it accordingly. They also read a lot of labels and do research so that the sushi they eat won't accidentally drop Junior's IQ by 20 points.
Suburbanites are not as rich as limousine liberals, but are really focused on getting their kids into a good school so they can get them into an Ivy League university on scholarship. They buy tiny houses for insane amounts of money because the "school district is excellent". These people are obsessed with keeping up with the Jones, and will spend lavish amounts of money on their kids' birthday parties or allow their kids to bring iPods and cell phones for Show and Tell. They micro-manage every aspect of their kids' lives, so that there is no room for the kids to fuck up.
Then there are nerds. There are different levels of Nerd-dom, the highest being the ability to quote from any Star Trek episode on command. Required reading includes Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and probably ten thousand other ones I can't think of off the top of my head. Required viewing includes all Star Trek incarnations (Enterprise being a piece of crap makes it an exception), Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, and Monty Python. The ability to quote at length is an admirable skill. Nerds will spend hours arguing over arcane details. Because nerds have clear, marketable skills and are the only ones who know what's wrong with your computer, they are rarely unemployed and make a good income. They often have lots of spare time, living space and money to indulge all their hobbies.
Nerds are often male and single. Significant others of nerds may often find themselves very alone and bored at nerd events, unless they find another non-nerd significant other to bond with or are kind of nerdy themselves or can force the conversation to non-nerd topics like cars and periods and grocery-shopping.
Google nerds are kind of their own breed. Google often grabs these nerds right out of college and gives them enough goodies and perks that they don't really notice that they're kind of underpaid compared to most other people doing similar work. At Google, you can eat good gourmet meals for free, and at the Mountain View campus, you can do your laundry there. Why would you want to leave?
Female nerds are a rarity and have a tendency to go in two directions: embrace the nerdery in themselves and devote themselves to becoming the best hacker ever with little regard for such feminine trappings as makeup and clothes, or feel insecure about their smarts and emphasize the fact that they're pretty and feminine, and wear makeup, too. They have to still work twice as hard to deal with male nerd sexism and get recognized for their work. They may make a good income, but it's probably not as much as their male counterpart who does equal work. Female nerds tend to date male nerds.
