The inexplicable things we do

I see that the X Games have started tonight, this means that a year ago the most fucked up thing I ever saw on TV was aired- Gen Xer Jake Brown falling 50 feet to the bottom of the long ramp. I swear to Satan I thought I witnessed his death.

After watching the initial fall, skip ahead to 3:00 to watch the slow mo. Dude's shoes blew off his body.




I guess Mountain Dew and Red Bull wouldn't offer these athletes contracts if they lived cautiously.

Random Rant

For a generation that likes to pride ourselves on being independent, non-materialistic, sarcastic pricks we sure did make Beverly Hills 90210 a popular show.

Honor Our Heros

THE MINUTEMEN!! (no, not the dudes on the US/Mexico border)

Save immediately, if not sooner

From USA Today:

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has calculated that 48% of Gen Xers are at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement, says Andrew Eschtruth, the center's communication's director. Compared with the boomers, Eschtruth adds, the Gen Xers "always have the highest at-risk scores. The changing retirement landscape is gradually becoming more challenging."

...and here's Motley Fools response/advice.

Wek's Note: Don't believe the buffoons that say "they'll be plenty of $ left in Social Security when you retire". Those that say this are baby boomers that will be long decomposed (Yippee!) for us to take out our wrath on them when they're proven wrong. I know I'm negative as fuck, but I've learned never to trust any advice in my 36 years of being a charming, handsome stud.

When X turns into Y

Humorous rant from the Daily Telegraph (we're such a bunch of pompous assholes):

A great way to console your tired Gen-X self about the pain of mortgage stress and pitiful work-life balance is to ruminate loud and long on how its only a matter of time before Gen-Y faces a catastrophic reality check, for which they will be grossly under prepared.

As a BBQ discussion topic it has almost killed off the Sydney property market as Gen-Xers reminisce about how we started at the bottom on $18,000-a-year in jobs we had to climb over the bloodied carcasses of 50 other graduates to secure.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Smackdown

I'm proud that many Xers stand up against homophobic assholes.

(See my post on OYE)

For what it's worth

GenX dominates Forbes' "The Celebrity 100" list. Of course Oprah (boomer) is still numero uno.

......after reading the list I've determined there are approximately 28 I'd like to punch out.

Know You're Fellow Xer Heros

Still celebrating my computer's 2nd life, I bring you the band DEATH.

When I play this for those that are unfamiliar most people focus on the vocals by saying something stupid like "I can't stand his screaming". Usually I roll my eyes in music snob fashion and feel sorry for those deprived of hearing how incredibly melodic DEATH was. Never have I heard a guitarist with the awesomeness of Chuck Schuldiner- he could tie in 10 different riffs and make it work.



Chuck died of cancer a few years back and I don't believe he ever had a grasp of how influential and appreciated he was in the Metal Scene. He just saw himself as a fan that Metal icons gravitated towards for whatever reason. Best of all, Chuck was an awesome dude that'd speak to anyone that wished to say "hello".



Chuck, a native Floridian, left a huge void in his home state. There hasn't been a budding music scene down here since his passing (the turn table crap from Miami doesn't count). Somehow, somewhere I hope a 13 year old with a guitar is listening to a DEATH album and will take this twisted genre of Metal to the next blazing level.

(I know I posted on Chuck before, but so what? His awesomeness deserves a blog of its own.)

Agreed

From Digital Journal:

I’m sick of Hollywood pandering to my generation. As a 28-year-old guy, I’ve already been bombarded with Gen-X nostalgia reeking of lazy creativity. It’s easy to remake the Transformers cartoon into a blockbuster film when imagination gets crushed by producers who just want box-office billions instead of smart film-making. Our culture needs more movies like Juno and less Iron Man; and while I enjoyed both films equally, it’s important for artistic talents to lend their pens to original scripts instead of recycling toys and cartoons from the 1990s.

One of my biggest fears is walking into a bar in 2030 and finding a bald headed, overweight and grey Nirvana cover band. Please let our generation die in peace.

IT'S AAAAALIVE!!!

Got the 'puter' a new power supply and fan.

Here's some Carlin ripping the boomers to confetti.....

The 1970 Devide

It's easy to make unsupported claims, so here goes: An observation I've made in regards to Gen X musical tastes is the 2nd halfers (those born from 1970 on) tend to be Rap fans more so than the 1st halfers.

Source: This thorough study was conducted by Wek in the 4 different states he's lived in during his lifetime through his bizzaro interest in knowing his peers' musical preferences.

And since I was born in '72......



When I first heard this song as a youngin', I knew even then that this was about some heavy shit.

Yaz? Are you nuts?

More evidence why the old media will soon be as irrelevant as the Cotton Gin.

The baby boomers may have the Rolling Stones, the Who and other various touring acts that keep nostalgia alive, but for Generation X, few bands capture both the sound and mood of the early 1980s better than the English duo Yaz. Made up of Alison Moyet on vocals and Vince Clarke on keyboards, the pair reunited for a 25th anniversary tour that hit the Chicago Theatre on Monday night.

In mean, this is utterly absurd. Maybe Yaz captured the moment for a particular month in 1984, but to hand them the title as the definitive band of the early 80's is as stupid as saying "nobody could beat the Kansas City Royals that first week of June".

"Gen Z" already under the microscope

From Down Unda:

"Gen Y are wanters, demanders, idealists," says Salt. "Gen Z will be realists and more balanced than Y. They might come along in the 2020s and clean up the mess left by gen Y, who couldn't handle the downturn. They could be the doers, the fixers."

Damn, some are already predicting that Gen Y will need Gen Z as their housemaids. I think Z will still have to deal with the boomers mess before they focus on Y. At least us Xers will still be around to show them where the broom and mop is kept.

Note: can we please all agree on giving Gen Y and Z a different name other than the proceeding letters to Gen X?

Happy Birthday dear Sub Pop

The legendary record label is 20 years old today. I guess that makes Sub Pop a Gen Yer.

A Now Ancient Poll

Only 15 percent of employed 13ers (Gen Xers) consider themselves "workaholics" versus 27 percent for all Americans over age 30.

Source: Gallup Poll (1991) via the book 13th Gen.

Small note

My computer is somewhat fucked and part of the blame is with Lt. Nixon. I was blasting the glorious metal he left for us on his site and my sound cut out and now my CPU fan is working overtime.

No big deal though. I put the system together myself with $300 and free goodies from some of the vendors I work with (Thanks Intel, Microsoft and Kingston). It had a good 5 years of life and I'll press on til it smokes up like Cheech and Chong.

Music to set the day's tone with

Lt Nixon offered up Slayer and I'll raise him Sepultura.

"REFUSE!~ RESIST!"

Almost forgot

If it wasn't for a goddamn Visa commercial it's unlikely I'd have remembered this great Xer. Some Dads are pretty cool.

Utopia Found

Can I gain a dual citizenship if I move to Tasmania?

Mr McKim was named the minor party's new leader yesterday, as Peg Putt quit the post, citing the need to "reinvigorate" the Greens ahead of another election. The rise of the 43-year-old former advertising man means Tasmania's three parliamentary leaders are all of Generation X.

Awnaw, hell naw

If they haven't made it, build it yourself

From Kentucky.com:

"I was in my early 30s when MySpace and the other sites became popular,“ said Lamme, 35, the Famzam.com founder. ”But I only want to communicate with people I know. I have absolutely no interest in going out and meeting strangers."

Give it away, give it away, give it away now

From Gen X Finance:

If you’re like most people, you probably have some stuff collecting dust in your garage or basement. Sure, it doesn’t hurt to have some stuff you don’t use sitting around as long as it isn’t crowding you out of your home, but if you aren’t using it, why hang on to it? There are a lot of people who will tell you the best thing to do is to throw this stuff up on eBay or have a yard sale to recover some money. Sure, it is your stuff, and it can probably be sold for a few bucks, but is it really worth your time?

People will really take anything. Somewhere some degenerate would take a set of used anal beads if there was a "free" sign next to it.

Another Couplandism

CONSPICUOUS MINIMALISM: The nonownership of material goods flaunted as a token of moral and intellectual superiority.

Jagr Bombs!

Just because I sometimes sympathize for Gen Y it doesn't mean I'm above making fun of them....

This kicks ass in so many ways