When did this become a thing?

I first started noticing it on hipsters. Yoga-pants wearing males sporting sandals who seemed to be saying I’m expending so much energy that I just cannot have my hair on my neckline preventing my sweat from escaping. Look at me, olfactory mess that I am, I’m a living, breathing human specimen you can only envy.

But you wouldn’t want to touch.

That’s the thing about man buns. The women make fun of them. I’ve never ever heard a guy talk about someone’s bun but women constantly confide and snicker, laughing at the wearer.

And now it’s expanded. If you’ve got enough hair it’s a reasonable choice. You can no longer tell the personality by the bun. I was at the hospital yesterday and a blue collar denizen escorting his mother was sporting one.

Now when I was in college, and even nerds started growing their hair long, I cut mine off. But no one wants to stand alone anymore, everybody wants to join in.

And why should the man bun be any more acceptable than the ponytail? Maybe if you’re a movie star, or a rock star, you can get away with long locks, indicating you’re an outsider, marching to the beat of your own drummer, even though you’re usually just a slave to the financial grind. But for decades we saw aged men with thinning hair pulling what was left back into a wimpy ponytail that would have any horse in the barn running away.

But that look has evaporated. Now you tie it all on top of your head like a Teletubby. As if it were a hook we could swing you by. Radiating to all the message that you’re a follower, not an individual, trying to gain some cred when actually you’re losing some. Kinda like all those bald guys who shave their heads so they think we won’t know…

Much ado about nothing.

Replacing your mobile phone today is like replacing your computer, something you used to do every couple of years and now do every six or seven. You see the functionality is good enough. Now it’s solely about fashion.

I believe we need cultural signifiers. But they’re disappearing in front of our very eyes. Buy that status iron today, because tomorrow we’ll all be getting our cars on demand, owning nothing. And if you’ve got a phone with LTE, which has been around for half a decade at this point, your device is good enough, you don’t need a new one. And now that they’re making you pay the full price, now that T-Mobile has revolutionized the mobile sphere, people are scared, they don’t want to pay the better part of a grand for a new handset. Of course they were paying that sum before, it was just buried in the contract, illustrating how subterfuge works, kinda like in concert tickets, but do you really need a new phone for a grand?

Most people don’t think so.

Look around, very few people are using the latest hardware. And they don’t care. I love my iPhone 7 Plus, but if Verizon didn’t give me $650 for my iPhone 6, scared I might jump to another provider, I wouldn’t have purchased it.

So what we have is media telling us a story is important when it’s not. Either you’re part of the Android or Apple ecosystem and chances are you’re not gonna change, it’s like trying to turn a Trumper into a left wing acolyte. Now it’s about services.

Make no mistake, like Verizon, Apple and Google are doing their best to lock you into their ecosystems, doing a good job along the way. But it’s got little to do with the handset. You don’t need a new device to use Google apps or Apple Music.

And speaking of Apple Music, now that they’ve marketed to everybody they’ve got the e-mail address/credit card for, have they hit a wall?

But that just illustrates that the focus is now software.

You don’t want to own anything, you just want it available when you need it. Everything else is a souvenir. Souvenirs can be treasured, but they’re a sideshow in the acquisition economy.

People like cool new stuff. But most don’t need it.

The days of cool hardware are done. The focus is on what the hardware, which is good enough, can do. Software reigns. And not only productivity apps software, but music, art, anything that can be accessed/streamed.

The ball is back in the creators’ court. The retailers are taking a backseat.

What are you going to do with this opportunity?

The youth in America are getting ready to revolt.

How do I know?

Because it happened in Russia.

Seen as apathetic, dormant for five years, the younger generation erupted over the weekend, inspired by a charismatic leader after a YouTube post on corruption in the nation garnered millions of views. Turns out you can only push people so far, eliminate their future whilst you grab today for yourself, before they erupt.

Trump and his cronies have eradicated internet privacy, fouled the air and have indicated a willingness to roll back all the progress, the leveling of the playing field, that occurred previously. These givebacks to the rich, to industry, are seen as too detached, far from the boots on the ground. Furthermore, they believe they’ve got the white working class behind them, however delusional those people might be.

But it’s the college students who revolt.

There’s been incredible pushback to the swarm at Middlebury, who wouldn’t let Charles Murray speak. The administration was caught flat-footed, the editorial pages have been wagging their fingers, but the kids are not listening. And this is the only power they’ve got, they don’t have any cash. Hell, did you read that “New Yorker” story about Robert Mercer, making 150 million a year and then influencing the political process? Citizens United has consequences. Income inequality has consequences. The price of college has consequences.

How do I know?

I lived through the Vietnam War. Wherein most Americans believed we lived in the greatest country in the world, and when we lifted a finger we would emerge victorious. But as the conflict dragged on, charismatic leaders swayed the youth who started protesting, ultimately halting the war, it was just too unpopular.

And don’t try and rewrite history, don’t try to eliminate the uproar and upset of that decade. Things were going along swimmingly and then everybody wanted their rights, wanted to call foul on the establishment of old white men making the rules in back rooms. Black power? Today we’ve got gay power and trans power and you add them all up and you hit a critical mass of young people who are pissed. They got their social mores from MTV and the internet and all we’re lacking is someone to crack the whip and inspire them.

In the sixties it was musicians. And then the Black Panthers and the Chicago 8. We’ve ben waiting for someone in the arts to lead, but the popular arts are so inured to money they won’t. Taylor Swift is afraid of alienating her audience. She’s been silent. They’ve all been silent. Sacrificing their credibility at the altar of mazuma.

But that does not mean someone else will not arise. Not someone built by a media preaching to an adult audience. Not someone promoted by a committee of gatekeepers. Not someone utilizing social media to build their brand. No, this leader will begin with a message. A younger Michael Moore with a “Roger and Me.” Someone who speaks to the rapid turn away from enlightenment.

Your opinion does not matter. Whether you’re shooting opioids or flying private. Paying attention to D.C.’s every move or somnambulant. This is not about the country at large, this is about a small segment that is actually quite large. Students.

We think they’re pampered. Living on Mommy and Daddy’s money in ultra-luxury on the campus. Ensuring their gold-plated future.

But no one knows how hard it is to get ahead as a student. You pays your money, you take your classes, and when you graduate you’re lucky if you’re not living with mommy and daddy in the basement working a minimum wage service job. You’re not worried about immigrants stealing your gig, many of your best friends are immigrants and mixed-race. You know that some of the greatest breakthroughs in tech were made by foreign engineers living in America. The freedom you want is the ability to think. Whereas the right wing believes freedom is eliminating the government which is supposed to protect that right.

This is not a polemic.

This is a warning.

The government, the parents, they believe they’re in control of their progeny. That they wouldn’t do anything untoward or unexpected.

But they will.

In retrospect the seeds of conflagration will be evident.

But when most people hear about it it will look like spontaneous combustion. Like it came out of thin air, overnight.

You may be down in the trenches. Talking about the electoral college, the popular vote, legislation… But Agent Orange is poisoning not only our air, but the future of this planet, and the people who have the most at risk are the youngest, now living on campus, thinking for themselves, looking around at who is gonna save them other than themselves.

Nobody.

Which is why they’re gonna blow.

“In Protests, Kremlin Fears a Young Generation Stirring”

“The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind The Trump Presidency, How Robert Mercer exploited Americas populist insurgency”

1. We all want to be listened to.

Everybody’s got a story, everybody wants to tell it, but too few people have the patience to extract it from them. If you listen to someone’s story, they’ll be your best friend forever. You’ll bond. Everybody’s got something to say, something you find of interest, everybody got here on a different path with moments of intersection. But beware of the taker, the person who only talks and never listens. They’re to be avoided at all cost. I’m not sure why these people act the way they do, why they refuse to be reciprocal, why they’re incapable of being interested in you. It’s to their detriment.

2. Tell your story.

Look for the openings. If no one is listening, find a different audience. The myth is we’re all alike. When you sit at home and you feel that you can’t relate to a certain group, believe it. Sure, work on your skills of integration, but even more search out your peers. We’re led to believe there’s a hierarchy, of rich, popular and good-looking, and if you’re not one of them, you’re a loser. Also, there’s all this fake nerddom going around, winners who tell you they’re losers, ignore them. That’s another problem with America, for all the people telling you how great they are there are even more who are self-deprecating, making you wince when they say they’re just lucky. We’re looking for honest connection, if you’re honest, you’ll draw people to you.

3. Life’s too short to do something you hate.

But since money is king, a plethora of people are doing jobs they dislike while others are thrilled just to have a job. That’s the challenge of life, fulfillment. Unfortunately that comes after food, money, shelter and love. But no one is gonna be remembered and no one is judging you in the end and the longer you live you realize it’s all about forging your own path. If you need others for validation life is gonna be lonely. Do what satiates you.

4. Life boils down to dreamers who act and dreamers who are afraid.

The dreamers who take a chance believe it’s easy but complain when they fail. Or, they blow up their life or their world and walk away like there are no consequences. When someone tells you they got divorced yesterday and are over it today, run. Emotional scars run deep. Even if many are afraid to look at them and accept them. Then there are those who are afraid to take a risk. Either they never end up taking one or their back is up against the wall and they do. Desperation makes people do crazy stuff, like lie, cheat and steal. But it also inspires you to jump off the cliff. Dylan’s lyric is correct, when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.

5. Not everybody can win and there is no scorecard.

This is hard to fathom after years of schooling, after being inundated with the ravings of the social media entertainment complex. America is about making you feel inadequate, so you’ll buy stuff. You’re no more inadequate than the rich and famous, and the sooner you realize this the quicker you’ll be on the road to happiness. What you think you want is often not what you need. What you need is someone who listens to you who’ll support you, who’ll call you on your b.s. but won’t run away from you.

6. He who speaks loudest first is oftentimes wrong.

Some people are incapable of speaking up. Some people are afraid of blowback. And then there are those who always grab the mic and blather on. There might be a first mover advantage, but it’s often squandered. Evaluate people on more than their image, on more than their public behavior. We’ve got an incredibly insecure President, who can’t endure hate in a world where it’s never been more prevalent. Don’t be him. Not everybody’s gonna like you. Let it slide off your back, not inhibit you. If you worry about what others say you’ll never get started.

7. Know when to quit.

Perseverance is key, but it does not always yield rewards. Stay the course until the odds are low and then pivot. Forget all the stories of people who believed but were broke and then triumphed. The key is to always be looking for the pivot. But to honor your commitments. This is complicated, because too many people can’t complete anything, and completion comes first. But for those who can finish, sometimes you shouldn’t.

8. Just because everybody else is jumping off the bridge, that does not mean you should.

Remember the dot com era? You couldn’t find anybody who said it was gonna come to an end, but it did.  Which is why Warren Buffett is so successful. He looks at the fundamentals. You can’t be a doctor without going to medical school and if there’s no obvious revenue stream chances are the business will fail.

9. Sex and cunning and flirting will move you up the corporate food chain.

But it won’t make you a success. Stop worrying about those utilizing their assets to get ahead, stabbing you in the back, sucking up to the boss. They’re gonna Peter Principle themselves out of a gig or hit a ceiling. People know when you’re dedicated and do good work. And if you’re dedicated and doing good work and not reaping the rewards, you’ve got to change your situation. The corporation does not care about you, never ever, unfortunately you’re in this all by yourself.