Keeping Up With The Hiltons

Way back when...

Our grandfathers had just defeated the nazis and saved the world.

They were happy come home to a place where you could buy food

if you had to feed your family, and with a little hard work, you could

cut out a nice slice of life, in a peacefull and pretty part of the world.

Then they had kids...

Those kids grew up aspiring to the american dream. This was the dream

their parents fought for just a few years before. The dream was to have

enough 'stuff' (see George Carlin) to live comfortably and give your kids

the perks you didn't have. Perks like not having to collect used bottles

just to get some change in your pocket. Sure it sounds noble, but they

slowly lost touch with the things that matterd. It was all changing.

Keeping up with the Jonese....

Was what they used to say to justify the slow decent into madness.

When people were 'keeping up' there was still a distinct playing field.

The end goal of this 'Jones Quest' was to move from middle-class to

upper-middle-class, which really just ment that you had the nicest

house on the block and the newest car in the parking lot at work.

No one really wanted too much more than they needed, because

they had seen hard times and knew what could change in 'the drop of a dime'.

Who even cares about dimes these days?

Keeping up with the Hiltons....

Again, back in the day, the really rich people were nice enough to

keep it out of our faces. They didn't want to drive around town in a

Rolls looking like the guy on the monopoly board, drunk on champagne.

They were happy to stick to their weathly enclaves. You could find these

rich folk living the highlife on the coast, soaking up the sun, or on some

exclusive greek isle soaking up the sun. Generally they wanted to be left

alone, to savour the finer things in life in peace.

Then came the cult of celebrity...

People from the generation under the generation that fought the wars,

saw that you could get rich with talent, that didn't actually mean work.

Rockstars, actors and athletes could sing, dance and touchdown their

way into the largest houses on the block. Then the block got a whole

lost smaller and they ended up putting it our faces.

Somewhere we got lost....

We decided that instead of aspiring to be like a talented person who had

achieved great riches and fame in their lifetime, we'd just skip that first step.

Now we have celebrities who are famous for being famous, and millions

of people that aspire to do that for themselves. Well you know what....

You are not a Hilton, and it's not going to happen, so go for plan 'B'

I read the paper yesterday...

They're selling ipod nano covers made by D&G for $500. Imagine that!

You could have 2 ipod nanos for that price. Not only are people somehow

convinced that they should have, or that they deserve a D&G cover for

their little e-trinket, but there's also a cheaper model ($350) for the kids.

yep... burberry nano covers for the 'teen market'. Sorry... but when I was

a teen I had a skateboard to ride and a guitar to play, both of which went

for less than one fashionable audio* player cover. Imagine that!

We're a peerless culture....

The Joneses? Who cares about them anymore. Now were trying to keep up

with the Hiltons and the Gateses. Why bother out classing our neighbours

when we can try to keep up with people who have all the money, no jobs,

and a team to keep them feeling well and looking right. Well I've decided

that I just cant win that uphill slide, so here's my minifesto:

Laughing at the Lure of Luxury

I wont show off things I bought, I'll show off things I've earned.

I'll pick function over style in all my purchases

In the future, the only jewelery I wear will be gifts. I'm not buying bling.

I'll pick the quality of the product over the name on the label.

I'll never buy anything for over $4000 unles I can live in it,

it goes faster than 100mph, or it floats on the ocean.

I wont be swayed by consumer trends.

"Life is too short to drink cheap wine"

Fuck that.... life's too short NOT to drink cheap wine.

I need a new cell phone because my current one has a broken button

that makes me roll the wrong way though my number list. I could get some

phone that shows videos, takes pics, and has an mp3 player built-in.

Well you know what..... I have a camera, and an mp3 player... so fuck it.

I'd still be rocking a cheap walkman with 3 buttons (play, stop cue) if

mp3 players didn't exist. Would Paris Hilton? I doubt it.

true true.

i like this thread.

Yes.

I did not read that.

I skimmed to the part about the joneses and when i realized it wasnt about indiana, i decided to write this comment in disappointment.

haha... I watched Indy Jones 3 with the girl and she fell asleep.

is that's grounds for divorce?

here's a pic of grandpa fighting the nazis:

Depends.

If she woke up in time to watch the final tests of faith Indy undertook before getting the grail.

she was out for the leap of faith from the lions head.

What's an ipod nano? And a D&G cover?

I don't own a cellphone either. For shame....

^ I'm buying you a beer dazzle!

I wanted to type a reply, but then i realised i had too much to type on the matter, so i'll keep it to some key points

-When people buy things like D&G covers, they're not buying a cover they're buying the emotions that come with the cover eg- I CAN buy a cover thats worth more than the gadget as well as the status that comes along with it. This can basically be applied to anything even washing powder comes with its own set of emotions from the smell of fresh laundry your're used to as a kid, to the mother and baby in the commercials sharing that intimate bond.

-Trust fund babies, celebrities and rich people alike who get their fortunes handed to them treat money as a commoditiy as opposed to a resource like the rest of the working class. eg- assuming i got paid $15 an hour and wanted to make a $30 purchase, i'm in actual fact handing over 2 hours of blood, sweat and tears as opposed to just a number. As a resuly Im positive the working class enjoy their purchases a lot more

-Our new generations of kids have been conditioned by marketers to want instant gratification and not work for anything eg- why spend years developing a lettering style and going in and out of court on graffiti charges when you can just buy mark eckos getting up, and experience a cheap alternative in one night.....Why play actual basketball when you can just play nba live, why persue anything in music when you rock the mic in karaoke.

-Keeping your standards managable makes your life a lot easier, the more you have the more you want....its taken me a good 20 years to realise that material possesions although can slighltly enrich my life, actually hinder my happiness, which is why its so important to try and appreciate and enjoy the little/simple things.

OK, guys, seriously, what the hell is a D&G cover?

I want to at least know why I'm making fun of these people....

Originally posted by RumPuncher@Nov 21 2005, 08:15 PM

she was out for the leap of faith from the lions head.

Quoted post

drop her.

she is not worthy.

only a penitent ho will pass...

werd up ramski...

Originally posted by RumPuncher@Nov 21 2005, 10:43 PM

Sorry... but when I was a teen I had a skateboard to ride and a guitar to play, both of which went for less than one fashionable audio* player cover. Imagine that!

No shit. And even then I ran groceries for my neighbors, worked at a grocery store and shit so I could pay for a 35 dollar powell blank deck every couple months.

I didnt have a cell phone until I decided to buy one second year of college. That was in 2001. Probably the same time when I got access to a computer.

And what the fuck is a cell phone cover going to do for you? Skating and working taught me to spend my money wisely, push myself regardless of pain and to think freely.

Im not all high and mighty..but a that much for a cell phone cover?

Fuck that, fuck those that buy it.

This is going to be half-assed, but here's my take:

What we're seeing now is the end product of thousands of years of philosophical and industrial evolution; our lives have been made so easy that people no longer need, or want, to focus on rudimentary concepts such as 'being a decent person', the definition of 'quality', or why we behave the way we behave. Those bases have been covered, the ideas reformed and the information dispurst. As a result, societies have been built on those paradigms in a way that people can exist within their guidelines without acutally knowing them first-hand.

In other words: Thanks to the progress of those who've come before, we're able to drive a car without having to understand its mechanics; ancient philosophers and mathematicians began to figure out the basic principles of life thousands of years ago, and with each and every discovery life was made easier for the following generation leading up to the now, where we exist in the 'simple', automated world that generations before us probably dreamed of.

I think that all of this has made us lazy. We've lost focus. By all definitions, the world at large is bordering on insanity. Everyone's seeking fullfillment (enlightenment?) but no one's telling us how to obtain it. Some are even pathological in their excessive material happiness and you can tell they're dead when you look in their eyes. Some have obtained sufficient material success but aren't made happy by it so they assume they're 'depressed' because they don't know that there's more out there than a nice home and a used Cadillac in the driveway. The world is operating on conflicted messages and it's damn near schizophrenic.

That said...

Thinking about the evils of excess is a privledge afforded to those with enough. Most of the time you just end up sounding like a long-winded dumbfuck when you try to talk about stuff like this (which I'm guilty of). I've strapped on my blinders and I don't really let this shit get to me. When I start thinking about it too much I try to remember that I've got friends and family that are at home thinking about how they're going to feed their kids or find a ride to work and it puts things back into perspective.

BR.MLB

MADWORLD

Originally posted by Dr. Dazzle@Nov 22 2005, 12:14 AM

OK, guys, seriously, what the hell is a D&G cover?

 

I want to at least know why I'm making fun of these people....

Quoted post

Dolce & Gabana (sp?)... designer fashion crap.

I'd like to see Indiana Jones punch Paris Hilton... or maybe just have Shortround kneel behind her, and Indy could push her.

'his names junior...we named the dog indiana'

'....daaaaad.'

KALI MON!!

amen on drinking cheap wine.

great thread!!!

wow...i need a job.

thats some truth up there in post one.

TRUTH

Definitley heart in here

Originally posted by Herbivore+Nov 22 2005, 07:44 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Herbivore - Nov 22 2005, 07:44 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Dr. Dazzle@Nov 22 2005, 12:14 AM

OK, guys, seriously, what the hell is a D&G cover?

 

I want to at least know why I'm making fun of these people....

Quoted post

Dolce & Gabana (sp?)... designer fashion crap.

[/b]

Naw dude, dicks and guitars

i concur. and i will not go long winded as was stated tends to happen. but you are not alone.

also this is a bit off track but i feel this same mentality applies to fashion and its relation to music/social scenes. people more concerned with "a look" than the sound or the feel. i wear a shirt and pants. you wear the right pants with the right hair and the right everything.

whoa, i got long winded there, and had to delete some shit. this is the longest thing ive typed on here in a year.

Originally posted by RumPuncher@Nov 21 2005, 10:43 PM

(see George Carlin)

Quoted post

definitely. "its the american dream because you have to be asleep to believe it"

shit-out-of-luck and jolly-well-fucked

it is a bit ridiculous isnt it...

sometimes i catch my self hating the stereotypes i see doing this thing but then i realise im fighting a losing battle..

is this the beginning of the end?

nothing a good total war and subsequent economic depression can't get rid of...