A Cool Breeze is Coming

Written by Anika Henrikson

Is it better to be cool or hot? Both are words used anymore to describe good things.

Cool used to be the go-to descriptor for anything you wanted to condone; anything you wanted other people to know you supported. You'd say a band is cool. A movie is cool. And people put stock in that word. You'd go to a concert because a friend of yours gave their seal of approval (“the band is so cool”) or you'd pay $10 after a coworker told you the new Tarantino movie is cool. That's the power of the word.

Sometime in the early 2000s, the word “hot” began taking over. I blame Paris Hilton (for so many things). If something was cool, kids said it was hot. Certain fashions became “hot”; tiny purse-dogs smaller than my cat were “hot”; and wearing velvet sweatpants emblazoned with rhinestones on the butt to the grocery store somehow became “hot.”

I digress.

My point is that "cool" is still my choice descriptor for something I like (unless it's a guy, in which case I use “humina-humina”). In my world, indie rock music and Kevin Smith movies are cool; baking cookies is cool; and I find Autumn very cool. Of course, Autumn is generally described as cool because of the temperature, but I mean to say that it's an awesome season.

Also, because I am an Anglophile in every sense of the word, I find everything to do with England cool. The show The Inbetweeners is cool. Same with Boddingtons Pub Ale, Shepherd's Pie, and The Cure. Even cricket is cool. I think. I understand very little about the game so I'm not entirely sure. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what a “silly mid-off” is and why it belongs on cricket field?

(Image credit: whoplayscricket.wordpress.com)

I think I figured it out. No, wait. What?

Most of the phrases in the English vernacular have to do with things being cool. Someone is as “cool as a cucumber”; you'd tell someone you like to “stay cool”; if something is important, we “play it cool”; I could go on and on. I would have used “too cool for school,” as an example, but I loved school and I think everyone needs to further their educations. Therefore, I believe that the only truly cool people are life-long students (i.e. Ph.D. candidates like my cousin Devori).

Still, cool is a very important word in my life. When I was tasked with researching the entries for our second annual Cool Issue, I was beyond excited. First of all, I was going to get to interview 30-plus people about the coolest things in Bakersfield. Given that I am a “transplant,” I'm still trying to discover the most bodacious people, places, and events in town and this would certainly help me in my quest.

I talked to a man who will be the envy of every Hot Wheels® collector in Bakersfield; I interviewed a band keeping '80s hair metal alive by way of passion and spandex; I discovered so many Bakersfieldians who made something of themselves in order to help others. They are all cool!

And you can read all about them in our October issue.

You know what's also cool about October? Halloween!

I love a good scary movie so much that during the month of October, I usually watch at least one horror movie a night. As Halloween gets closer and closer, I'm going to blog about the spooky movies I'm watching and what they mean to me. In the meantime, I'd love it if some of you suggested the scariest movies you've seen in the comments section...that way I can be sure to include some of your recommendations in my next blog. And dig deep—I want obscure and haunting. If I see one suggestion for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, I'll call the whole thing off.