Trends For The Week Of October 23, 2009

Body Piercings

This body modification trend was inspired by a student in another one of my classes. One day I noticed that he had a metal spike sticking out of the back of his neck. I was surpsried to see that only one side of the piercing was visible, meaning the stud holding the exposed part was tucked underneath the skin. This piercing is actually called a micro-dermal implant. The undercurrent pushing this trend along is likely the entire micro-trend of people going to farther and farther extremes dealing with piercings on their bodies. The stud can be placed virtually anywhere on the human body. Many different studs ranging from a spike to a leash/collar hook can be implanted on the body. This trend will likely keep on keepin' on into the future; and I'm sure people will find ways to take this trend to even further extremes.

Tongue Bifurcation

Otherwise known as tongue splitting, tongue bifurcation is the act of splitting ones tongue into two halves. The process is long and painful, but after one slices their tongue down the vertical half section each part can move individually, much like a lizard's tongue. The undercurrent pushing this trend is, again, people taking body modification to new levels. Finding out more ways one can alter their body is encouraging others to do the same. The trend is likely to only be pursued by those very serious with body modification since the "lizard tongue"procedure is irreversible.


Vampire Teeth Implants

This trend is likely due to the recent release of the Twilight movies and books. "Vampire Kids" or spiritual beings per say, have been popping up more sporadically, mostly with a younger group of people. Often seen wearing black and on a rarer, more extreme occasion, vampire teeth. People who have the vampire teeth are certainly not limited to the "vampire kids," however. Rather, others get real vampire teeth implants put in their mouths by dentists or surgeons. As stated earlier, the undercurrent pushing this trend is likely the Twilight movies and books. However, people have been getting vampire teeth implants for years, so it is obvious people were interested in getting the vampire teeth prior to Twilight. The implants were installed by those who either thought the teeth were a neat addition to their body, or if they simply wanted to be more like Dracula.

Flesh Branding

More and more people and starting to go to further extremes to design works of art using their bodies. Unlike tattoos, when one brands themselves they are scarred for life. No surgery or cream can take away this wound. The branding process is a long and painful road in which the participant must press a red hot iron on their skin until it melts away and leaves a permanent scar. The brand marks can be customized to the person's liking by simply bending the iron into the desired shape. Most often with homemade projects one uses a regular coat hanger heated up on a grill to create the burn. The undercurrent pushing this trend is unbeknownst to me, but if I had to guess it is again people wanting to take their physical appearances to a new level of extreme. I will assume that the art of branding the human body will continue as long as humans exist to be dumb enough to do so.

Trends For The Week Of October 16, 2009

Bouldering

How ironic of Boulder residents to be into an activity called Bouldering. Bouldering is a free-climbing sport in which participants cling to rock faces in attempts of scaling their bodies to the pinnacle of the rock. People who boulder often wear large, foam, protective backpacks in case they fall off the rock while they are climbing. The backpacks are called "crash pads" or "crash packs." The undercurrent pushing this trend along is the rock climbing community. Bouldering allows people to rock climb solo without the use of ropes or someone else belaying the climber, which also makes the sport much cheaper to participate in. Also, "The Spot's" growing popularity is spreading the word about bouldering rapidly. "The Spot" is an indoor facility in which people can practice and bring new comers along to help them train and get used to bouldering before attacking the real thing. For $5 one gets unlimited use of the gym for the day (another $5 to rent climbing shoes). Once they get past "The Spot," Chatauqua Park seems to be the popular place to experience real, natural bouldering. This trend seems to be catching on with CU students and Boulderites alike.

Frisbee Golf

Throwing around a frisbee disc is an activitiy most people participate in in order to be outside while relaxing and jogging around at the same time. If one wants to make the activitiy a little more competitive they can play a game of ultimate frisbee. However, if someone wants to participate in an activity between relaxing and competitive they can engage in a round of frisbee golf. Players use differnetly weighted discs in attempts to "tee-off" and sink their disc in a target basket, aka the hole. The frisbee scoring rules are the same as regular golf in that players add up however many strokes (throws) it takes for them to reach the hole. The person with the lowest score at the end of the round in the winner. The undercurrent pushing this trend is probably the rapidly growing number of holes popping up around Boulder. I'm from Massachusetts and had never even heard of the sport until I came to Boulder. Now I'm seeing personalized holes in people's yards and around apartment complexes. People are even playing through campus and using landmarks as hole markers to score on. Numerous courses are present in Boulder that people can use free of charge, just bring your own disc and some friends to play with.

Parkour

Parkour, commonly referred to as "free running" or "urban running" is an activity that has been catching on in recent years and especially around CU's campus. Participants use the natural environment and other man made structures as obstacles to overcome. Parkours runners jump off of ledges and heights the average person would normally never even dream of, and with style, too. Also, they scale buildings and landscape stuctures with ease without the use of ropes or guides. As you could assume, these runners are incredibly fit and lack the emotion of fear, since they are flipping their bodies all over the place when they are free-running. The undercurrent pushing this trend may be CU's parkour club spreading the word, or people seeing others practicing parkour and getting turned onto the sport. Viral YouTube videos depicting some of the world's greatest parkour runners have also been sweeping the web with incredible footable for people to see. I'm sure these must play a part in promoting the activity. Wherever it came from it looks like its here to stay since the activity is entertaining to participate in and also to watch, and its also a great form of exercise.

Jam Circles

In the past two weeks I've seen many of these improvised jam circles being set up by students on campus. On Norlin Quad the other night I witnessed a group of about ten students playing all sorts of various instruments and singing along with one another. At least one group of freshman lounging on Farrand Field can be spotted having a nice jam sesh almost every afternoon after classes are out. The undercurrent pushing this activity along is simply people wanting to practice and play with others who enjoy their same liking. Its a fun way to meet people and express ones individuality. The circles are always welcoming anyone who wishes to participate and strongly encourages joining. The jam circles popping up around campus are guaranteed to stay for as long as humans enjoy the sound of music, which will likely be through eternity. If you see a group playing, don't hesitate to take a seat and listen in on them; they love to play for a crowd.

Trends In Language For The Week Of October 9, 2009

"The Tits"

A saying that I have been hearing much more frequently around campus here at CU is in reference to the female anatomy, but not literally. Students (mostly male) are using the saying "the tits" to refer to something that occurs that they believe to be cool, good, funny, etc. Some examples of this phrase being used in sentences are, "Oh man, that burrito was the tits," or, "This kid is the tits!" or, "That movie was the tits!" The undercurrent pushing this trend along is simply word of mouth. When one person hears another use the saying in a manner that they think is funny, they add it to their arsenal of catchy sayings to bring up in conversation. This routine occurs over and over again, thus making the phrase grow exponentially. Also, recently on Comedy Central's hit show South Park the saying was used multiple times in the same episode by one of the most comical characters, Eric Cartman. The show most likely was mocking people who use the saying, but in the end it will probably just exploit the phrase more.

"For Sure"/"Fo Sho"

The phrase "for sure" has made its way into most students' lingo here at CU. The saying is generally substituted for the words "yes" or "yeah" when one is responding to another person. A couple of examples of the phrase being used in conversation are, "Gimme a call later, man," "For sure, dude," and, "Toss me a beer," "For sure." Both males and females use the saying regularly with one another, and it is easy for anyone to grasp how and when to use the phrase. A variation of "for sure" that has twisted itself from the original phrase is "fo sho." "Fo sho" is used in the exact same manner as its predecessor in every way. The undercurrent pushing these two sayings is unbeknownst to me, but if I had to guess I would give credit to the surf, skate, and snow scene. Steaz-masters shredding the slopes and ramps are the ones I most often hear using the phrase, however, it is certainly not limited to any certain group or demographic.

"I Haven't Seen You In A Minute"

The phrase "I haven't seen you in a minute" is catching on all over campus. The saying is obviously not to be taken literally. As one could guess when someone says the phrase to a friend or another person it means that they haven't seen that person in a long time. I've heard this phrase used mostly by the female students from CU, but also by the guys. I have been told that the undercurrent for this phrase comes from the east coast, specifically New Jersey and Philadelphia. "I haven't seen you in a minute" traveled with CU students who reside in the areas and have brought the phrase with them to Colorado. Hopefully this trend will fall out of our language sooner rather than later.

"Big" Beanies
Until just a couple of years ago beanie hats were always a snug fitting winter accessory for one to wear. A new style of beanies can be seen around campus on top of students' heads everywhere, especially with the onset of cold weather. The hats still fit snugly around the person's forehead and occipital, but there is a few inches of excess material that hangs down off the top of the cranium. These hats are worn by both the male and female crowds at CU and the trend is catching on rapidly. The hats come in different sizes, lengths, designs, and of course, colors. The undercurrent for these hats is the snowboard and ski scene here in Colorado. Any time one hits the slopes they can see these hats blowing in the wind all over the terrain park and the rest of the mountain. Students take this style from the mountains and rep the hats here at CU. I don't see this trend fading out any time fast, seeing as that today when it snowed I saw more of these hats in two hours than I did all last year.