Has America been hipsterized? >>Laurin REALLY likes American trucks

[RandomAnthony]

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/16/1423874...

What do you think?

Also, they mention Omaha hipsters in particular. Larry, is that you?

[ms.petra]

just PW, WI.

[Dr. Detroit]

We're just one brief Connect 4 move from Armageddon, aren't we?

[~Geektastic~]

People that cultivate this almost costume-like hipster look drive me nuts. But on the other hand, I find some aspects interesting. It's like the politically and ecologically minded hippies got crossed with the hyper-cynical gen-Xers and made this bizarre breed of people. I appreciate the mindset when it creates social and political awareness, but not so much when the irony reaches nails-on-a-chalkboard levels of irritation and it all boils down to some weird affectations and stupid memes. I'm a huge fan of witty banter and sarcasm, but I don't intent to make it my sole means of communication (hipster-speak, if you will). Hipsterism a defining aspect of my generation, for good or ill. I probably fall under the category a little myself, if only because I have a high tolerance for all things quirky, which seems to be a big thing in the hipster crowd.

Bad hipster icon:

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Adorable hipster poster-girl:

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[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I could only read 4% of the article because I refuse to read about hipsters, but I did enjoy the anthropological tone of this photo caption:

Hipsters like these urban dwellers in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago have now spread to the farthest reaches of small-town America.

[janine]

I'm probably part hipster, or parts of me are hipster-ish, but I don't think anyone would call me a hipster.

[Félix]

I would never call you a hipster.

[Sally, la reina]

No, America has not been hipster-ized. America is fat and lazy and drives big noisy trucks when they do not need to. Some of these annoying people's kids wear pants that are simultaneously too small and manage not to fit on their bottoms, and wear their hair in weird, face covering styles and post about their emotional pain on Tumblr.
No.

[Susan]

Wtf. They post their pain on Tumblr, now?

[Kevin]

Sally is rippin' ony 4WD truck again. I GOT A TUNE UP and I'm up to 11mpg. I'm trying and I'm NOT compensating for anything ;)

[Dr. Detroit]

Kevin wrote: "Sally is rippin' ony 4WD truck again. I GOT A TUNE UP and I'm up to 11mpg. I'm trying and I'm NOT compensating for anything ;)"

It's your God-given right as an American to buy whatever gas-guzzling, behemoth mass of Detroit steel you want.

Er, you did buy American didn't you? If not, all bets are off.

[Aliyah]

Hipsterism has dominated the world, not just the US. The trend is like a disease, and they are everywhere like a bunch of fleas.

[Kevin]

clark - dodge. faulty transmission made right here in good ol kokomo, IN. and i ride an HD motorcycle made in milwaukee

Yes, Pete, it is. Actually, it's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land.")

[Phil]

I thought it was American for "nasty cheap beer."

[Susan]

I only own steel steeds from Detroit. Anything else would bring the wrath of a few generations of family upon me. And they would not let me park in their driveways.

[Laurin]

Kevin wrote: "Sally is rippin' ony 4WD truck again. I GOT A TUNE UP and I'm up to 11mpg. I'm trying and I'm NOT compensating for anything ;)"

I get a whopping 15 mpg city in my truck :)

[Phil]

I get 52 mpg in my Prius, and it carries a lot more than you would think.

[Susan]

Shut it! 52! Crap crackers that is good.

[Laurin]

I can haul 35 bags of mulch in the bed of my truck. Or 30 sheets of drywall and 10 sheets of plywood with room to spare.

21 mpg highway.

[Susan]

I don't know the full capacity of my trunk but our last haul to the garden center resulted in 15 bags of dirt, lumber for three raised beds, 20 or so plants and a jogger stroller.

[Kevin]

yes, laurin! try that in a prius

[Laurin]

Kevin wrote: "yes, laurin! try that in a prius"

I even loaded and unloaded the mulch myself! I am woman, hear me roar! lol.

[Sally, la reina]

Oh for heaven's sake.

[Laurin]

All kidding aside, my next vehicle will not be a truck. College student income does not support filling up a truck's gas tank. I love driving a truck, but my wallet does not.

[Phil]

I think it's grand that stores will deliver drywall and mulch, when ordered in quantity. And the staff will unload it, too.

My Prius will hold everything a polygamist family picks up on a single trip to Costco.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Now I'm picturing your whole family in calico dresses.

[Laurin]

No Prius for me. We are a GM-only family.

[Phil]

Why so limiting? It's a big world out there.

[Susan]

It might be a Michigander thing. We bleed GM.

[Kevin]

when you grow up in the midwest things are very big 3 in terms of automobiles. i think that when honda, suburu and toyota began building car building plants in KY, OH and IN that began to fade some but in some families it is still strictly big 3. up until maybe 10 years ago we had No Foreign Car signs on many parking lots in some places of our town.

[Dr. Detroit]

Phil wrote: "I get 52 mpg in my Prius, and it carries a lot more than you would think."

I'll bet you also own a bedazzled iPhone, right?

[Phil]

Yuk it up, funny man.


I wouldn't touch an iPhone with your ear.

[Pat]

I owned a chevy once. Never again.

[evie]

All this car talk !

[Sally, la reina]

I don't think the only choices in the world are a diesel truck and a Prius.

[Laurin]

Susan wrote: "It might be a Michigander thing. We bleed GM."

My mom, one of my uncles, my grandmother, both of my grandfathers and one of my great-grandfathers all worked for GM. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for GM, and my parents wouldn't be either. I have fierce loyalty to GM.

[Sally, la reina]

My great grandfather was a one-legged lighthouse keeper in MI. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for lighthouses.

[Laurin]

I won't even consider Ford or Chrysler. GM is the only car company that I will purchase from.

[Sally, la reina]

So...Chevy or Dodge?

[Laurin]

Sally wrote: "So...Chevy or Dodge?"

Chevy. Silverado 1500 - extended cab, regular bed.

[Sally, la reina]

Do you have any pink stickers in the back window?

[Susan]

Laurin wrote: "Susan wrote: "It might be a Michigander thing. We bleed GM."

My mom, one of my uncles, my grandmother, both of my grandfathers and one of my great-grandfathers all worked for GM. I wouldn't be he..."

I know what you mean. GM has employed several generations of both mine and my husband's family.

Though, I would not be here if my mom would have kept dating that guy with the mob relations and not decided to go on a date with my dad despite the fact that she did not like him when they first met.

[Laurin]

Sally wrote: "Do you have any pink stickers in the back window?"

Nope. I do have a "Made in Detroit" sticker on the back window. I also have a Disney license plate frame. I'm also going to put a Mickey Mouse sticker on the back window.

I love that the thread title changed in my honor. :)

[Sally, la reina]

Hm. My mom thought my dad was kind of a jerk when they first met. He was a ski-patrol man at Mt Hoodoo and she and her friend saw what they thought was a backcountry skiier roll down a peak across the way. When they reported the "incident" my dad joked that they find lots of bodies in the crevasse in the spring when the snow melts. She thought he was such an arse, making fun of her.

Little did she know that he wrote down her number from the report she filed and called her a week later. All the girls in her sorority sung and danced when he called.

[Laurin]

That's a cute story. My parents met playing beach volleyball.

[Sally, la reina]

I thought they met assembling American trucks?

[Susan]

Ha! I like that story. I think him making a joke instead of trying to be a smooth operator is by far better.

My parents first met on a double date, each accompanied by who they were then dating. My dad thought my mom was a little stuck up and my mom thought my dad was too full of himself.

Next year will be their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

[Laurin]

Sally wrote: "I thought they met assembling American trucks?"

No, my dad never worked at the shop. He has owned plenty of GM trucks. Silverados, CKs, Avalanches.

[Félix]

Avalanches! There we are again! Sally wouldn't be here if it weren't for avalanches.

[Laurin]

Félix wrote: "Avalanches! There we are again! Sally wouldn't be here if it weren't for avalanches."

The Avalanche was a great truck, I don't care what anyone says.