Trendiocity: Texts, Bird Bands, and the Return of the 80's

First off, I got my phone bill a few days ago. 1331 texts last month. This old man is behaving like a giddy 16 year-old, texting more than talking, be it through MySpace, Facebook, IM, or the celly. But, holy shit, 1331. That's friggin' ridiculous. And I'm on pace to destroy that this month.

Who's got me beat?

Secondly, the 80's have been quietly making a comeback of late. I first noticed when I started seeing those ridiculous, tighter-than-hell, low-riding jeans. These kids are just so full of punk angst, even if they are using their parents credit card at the Gap. To each his or her own, I guess.

Either way, my hunch was further confirmed by some drunk college girl in colored boots, a short skirt, a cut gray sweater top and a tiara. And solidified when I received the new Urban Outfitters catalog. I was almost surprised that hair metal didn't start playing when I opened the cover. Here's some shots from the website.

So, there you go. Don't throw away your Ratt t-shirts or Twisted Sister tapes just yet. Same goes for Blondie and the Pointer Sisters, your leather jackets, bigass Raybans, mesh shirts and those leftover ecstasy pills. They may still be useful, after all.

And lastly, here's some graceful censorship from on of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Watch the Flight of the Conchords and enjoy Mother Uckers.

Apple Enters the Widget Game

Please direct your eyes to the right side bar, just below my recent posts and above the twitter widget. You'll find my recent purchases from the greatness of itunes. With Google gadgets, Facebook Apps, and now Apple putting on their widget caps, these little buggers will be just about everywhere in fairly short order. I need a widget to tell me about new widgets.

Anyway, well done apple. Get 'em here.

http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/flash/myitunes/myitunes.swf?feed=WebObjects%2FMZStoreServices.woa%2Fws%2FRSS%2Fmyrecentpurchases%2Fartworkheight%3D53%2Fhtml%3Dfalse%2Fsf%3D143441%2Fuserid%3D119574169%2Fxml%3Fv0%3D7720&feedType=recent&cssPath=http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/flash/myitunes/styles/lightblue.css&local=143441

The Backlash of Being Cool

So many people are out to become the next "in" thing.  To be the next cultural hit, always taking home run swings, when all they need is a single.

I started thinking about this when I had the thought, "Damnit, when will Apple just shut the fuck up?"  Apple jumped on a cultural shift and hit a massive home run with the IPod, and reinvigorated it's brand like John Travolta.  Everything's kicking in high gear, with far and wide praise, computers flying off the shelves, destruction of all other mp3 players, annoyingly smug ad campaigns, and on and on. 

But the thing about cool brands, they always have a relatively short shelf-life.  The cooler you get, the bigger the faction of people that hate you for your coolness.  There is a direct relationship between amount of cool, and amount of haters. 

It's just like any new wanna-be Studio 54 club in town.  When they first open up, there's long lines, VIP, and plenty of press.  But, eventually you won't be so new, and someone just as cool, but now newer will open and render you obsolete.  All the while, the laid back neighborhood bar can keep kicking for 20 years because they offer what cool can't, consistency.

I guess the point is, sometimes it's better to be consistent than it is to be cool.  You'll have a lot better shot of sticking around when this trend passes, and a new trend starts.