Photo via architectsnewspaper
I was walking through Brooklyn on Halloween nite when I stumbled past these 3 authentic children, all dressed as relevant architectural landmarks. I had to do a google image search since I ‘recognized that the buildings were relevant’ but didn’t know their names. Turns out that they are the Guggenheim, the New Museum, and the Whitney. All of the children seem happy, knowing that they are ‘way smarter’/generally ‘better’ than most regular kidz and their boring-ass costumes. Sorta feel sad looking at the lil grim reaper bro in the background.
I am not sure if these costumes are authentic, or if they are kinda like when a ‘parent completes a school project for their kid.’ The kids seem ‘pumped’, but not sure if all kids love architecture. Wonder if the parents are ‘projecting their own interests/profession’ on their kids…but it seems likely that these kids are just more culturally aware than I will ever be.
It seems like it took me 17-26 years to cultivate my cultural-connectedness to all things alt/kewl/relevant. It seems unfair that these kids have parents who can train them to be relevant at a young age. I wonder how I coulda turned out with ‘proper guidance’ instead of just existing in suburbia, and eventually ‘raging against’ suburban consumer identities. Feeling insecure, like these kids have more insightful opinions on the world than me, and I am just sorta pretending to be ‘me.’
I feel like I missed out on a lot in life. My parents used to drive me to public school in their ‘gas guzzler’, but some kids have it totally different. Some kids grow up using public transportation in a meaningful way. When I lived in suburbia, I always ‘made fun of the poors’ utilizing public transportation.
Wish my parents cared more about making me a bloggable internet photo, instead of ‘dressing me up in some lame costume that they purchased at Wal Mart’/utillizing their limited artistic skills to draw a skeleton on my face. Feeling ashamed and then feeling guilty for feeling ashamed.
I feel like I possibly ‘fucking h8′/’resent the fuck out of’ my parents for not creating a meaningful-enough childhood for me (on a global scale). I understand that there are pure moments which I will hold near and dear to my heart…but I can’t help but feel incredibly sad right now, looking at these kids living a life that I deserved. Seeing these parents giving their kids the life that I think my parents deserved to give me. I wish I could some how make them understand.
Do u ever wish that ur parents were ‘more than they are’ for ur own sake? Do u wish they were famous/snark bloggers/local celebrities? Sometimes I feel relieved that my parents aren’t ‘too snarky’/'too cultured’ because it brings me back down to earth when I come home from college, but then I wonder how my life coulda been different if an adult-version of me raised me.
Coulda…shoulda…woulda…
Guess that’s life.
I’m gonna do a lot of things different when I raise a kid.
Tell me abt ur childhood.
What did u get from it?
What do u want from life now?
Do alt parents yield mainstream kids?
Do relevant parents raise ’snooty’ kids?
Should u give ur kids a mainstream childhood so they can choose to seek alternative authenticity on their own?
How do u raise a child so that he or she can discover their interests on their own?
At what age can ppl truly ‘get’ architecture? (age 34?)
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43 Comments
first
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I am west-indian and italian
i was the envy of every white child whose parents made more than 70k a year. grade 10-grad school
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//////////Reply by hmm,
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
@yessum, why did they envy you? for your eclectic mix of nationalities?
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//////////Reply by yessum
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
@hmm,,
ethnicities, not nationalities (im from one country, first gen NorAm)
can’t say for certain. but i know for a fact that my mom was a better cook than theirs [via fusion cuisine c. 1978]
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//////////Reply by flambagels
//////////Posted November 6th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
@yessum,
Me 2 (via race combo & envy)
We should breed & have alt. kids.
//////////Reply by yessum
//////////Posted November 8th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
@yessum,
sure. a/s/l?
24/m/urban community in transition [via richard florida]
//////////Reply by no fish today
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
@yessum, affirmative action
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//////////Reply by yessum
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
@no fish today,
no sir. purely merit
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too true
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I was raised in a tropical country.
It was cool, but I got a lot of sun burns…
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I’m gonna dress my kid as the castle from the little mermaid cover, utilizing his real peen as the ‘golden peen’ tower.
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//////////Reply by jjj
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
@Nick, :-).
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“I wish I had more friends who were on the same sleep cycle as me. There’s a considerable loneliness that comes from being awake when few others are. One feels both that one owns the world, and that despite this triumph, has no one to share it with.”
damn
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//////////Reply by wisp
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
@Chris, seriously.
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//////////Reply by chong
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@Chris, word
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Carles, the portrait of an unloved child.
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ppl seem desperate to find a place to apply shame and guilt to some area of their lives. If ur parents raised u as a hip kid, u’d still feel guilty/shame cuz other kids worked harder to make hipness out of unhipness and it would make u feel fake…
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I remember Halloween when I was 9 years old. I went as an orange traffic cone. This one old man answered the door and asked if I was a witch.
Bonus points: I am male.
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‘Coulda…shoulda…woulda…’
-My new neck tattoo
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//////////Reply by aw, fukk
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
@Bromo sapiens, my new dick tattoo
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//////////Reply by Al X
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
@aw, fukk, my new taint tattoo
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TOO CLOSE TO HOME, CRLS.
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the better question is, “What do you(i) want from your(my) childhood?(?)”
and yeah 34 is the correct age to like Frank Gehry, four years after the age where a man can grow a genuine beard.
at what age will those ‘building wearing’ twots (tots+tween) first be sexually assaulted by their peers?
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//////////Reply by broseph stalin
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 12:53 am
@cobones, totes have a real beard right now and i’m fiftween. kinda feel the same as NYCbro…
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‘miss’ childhood. ‘hate’ architecture. ‘love’ sour patch kidz.
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All of these children will be going to ‘Yale’
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H8 being ‘beaten by SnarkYouth.’ Just wanna cry + ‘die a little’ in my apartment. That girl will first ‘make love’ with a blonde boy during her ‘freshman year’ at ‘Yale.’ None of these individuals will make any meaningful contributions in life. They will just go to Stuy + ‘Yale.’
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//////////Reply by hey anony anony
//////////Posted November 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am
@Bipster, srsly think this girl will go 2 st. ann’s (via parents’ loft in DUMBO)
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with a crew of six, my parents didn’t have much money to give, but my mom laughed a lot and dad worked a lot and they pretty much left us on our own – they went to school but only up to third grade and didn’t necessarily get into holidays like these (meaning they didn’t put money or time into these things so we had to make do with our imagination and craftiness) – my mom did her thing, she loves making homemade jello-cakes from scratch and in weird flavors like coffee/caramel or papaya/lime in layers with designs on them – my dad is an unsung poet, but only for his wife and his faith…
for birthdays, we would play odd games that nobody else played at birthday parties, like fish for quarters with your mouth out of a dish of all-purpose flour…
we grew up in the back o’ the yards area across the street from the projects because housing was cheap, but i didn’t know what the back o’ the yards was until after I had kids of my own (thirties) never even read the Jungle (Chicago public school system) and haven’t graduated from college
BUT
i’m a pretty smart person, at least i am treated that way – i know enough to know that i don’t know enough – i like to read and draw and cook – i’m crafty and i like to write silly songs and poetry and have been told that they’re alright
i’m happy with my childhood because nobody else has had my childhood
even when i wore pants bought from the second hand store and my brother was embarrassed for me, i was happy and am happy to have the life i have now
you should be too…nobody else has had your life
as for halloween
i made my kids their costumes – granted my 7 year old wanted to be Ben Kenobi (an old curtain did the trick for the cloak and the scraps from this made the knee high boots and belt; his karate jacket and jogging pants finished off the details) and my 3 year old had no choice in the matter (i have deigned that 3 years is too young to appreciate Halloween regardless of her yowling that she wanted to be a princess) so i dressed her as Max from where the wild things are and she had a blast anyway (pretty proud of how i added the feet to the handmade suit)
i’m not worried so much about how they’ll feel about me – i’m sure they’re going to hate me for various reasons…but i’m having fun with them and because of them and i just hope that they catch on to how much i enjoy having them in my life because my children are amazing and smart…at least i treat them that way
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//////////Reply by Anonymous
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
@CarolinaDivina, tl;dr
stay off the addy
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//////////Reply by laurn
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
@Anonymous, LOL
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//////////Reply by Anonymous
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 10:33 am
@laurn,
let’s rootrootroot 4 the home team
shout like your dad at the tv screen
you’ve got yourself a new follower ///creepy///
//////////Reply by laurn
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
@annony
as long as yew don’t sneak into my apt. and wait in muh shower dats kewl <3333
//////////Reply by Alex
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 1:21 am
@CarolinaDivina, Too long, did not read. Sparknotes?
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//////////Reply by phil
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
@CarolinaDivina,
maybe you should start a blog, because nobody is going to read a comment that long.
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//////////Reply by CarolinaDivina
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
@everyone,
LOL
OK OK everyone! So I got carried away… :-D
now i’m embarrassed – how do you delete this string anyway – someone help!
:-D
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I’ve hung with J-Stew and he is seriously the bro-est of bros. Also, what if ‘being a good parent’ is the altest thing you can do?
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//////////Reply by wisp
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
@zxcvb, think u maayyy be on to something sir.
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my parents are managers. they could give a shit about artistic skill and they are completely oblivious to the alt culture of today. i love them. i wish you would post more stuff about going to the dentist or getting a physical.
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Feel like im kinda lucky with my parents, they have let me see a lot of the world and junk in it so i feel a lot more relevant than lots of other kids i know.
It would suck to have alt parents though. can u really be authentically alt if ur parents are alt? dont think so. u have to find alt by urself carles, guess it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there just that u do get there in the end.
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I’m not going to respond heartily or with great jest to this post.
hits too close to home.
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dude don’t h8. in some ways i can’t wait another lyke 12 years 2b 30 and adopt some lil kids and make them lil alts dude i’m going 2 have soo0 much fun giving them all the creativity and individualness that my boring forbes reading success havin parents didnt give me
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//////////Reply by wisp
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
@Olivia, the first bj i ever got was from a girl named olivia.
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//////////Reply by sis
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
@wisp, olivia palermo?
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//////////Reply by wisp
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
@sis, copeland
Dear Carles,
I pressed the Alt button on my keyboard, but I don’t feel any more or less alt. Can you help me?
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//////////Reply by cass
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
@puppyface, if you were trully alt you wouldnt have an alt button
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//////////Reply by aw, fukk
//////////Posted November 4th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
@cass, technology, macs, pcs, keyboards
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//////////Reply by lolz
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
@cass, just an “alt option”
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Think if I every become a father, I will raise my progeny on Bedford Ave and have my keut alt girlfriend (via marriage being a form of male domineering) buy an AmAppy Bag-O-Scraps and make our little alts unique costumes that people “get”.
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damn, if my parents did that to me i would kill them… it’s the same to put your son in violin lessons cuz you were a frustrated musician
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I dressed my child up as a ‘laptop’ & when people asked what he was i told him to say ‘I’m a P.C.’ Thought it was a good way of ‘toeing the alt line.’
My son was able to ’satirize a relevant media trend’ but was still able to be mnstrm/fit in [via being a PC]. Thought being a MacBook was a ‘lil too alt’ 4 him. Wanted him to grow into that trend by himself/make his own alt decisions.
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My
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My parents and I smoke weed together.
I think I’m blessed
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Oh wait, let me call the WAHHHMbulance.
Grow a pair, loser.
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Kids don’t know what they life.
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My Friend has relevant parents.
Now he’s streamer (plaid shorts / f-flops, faux hawk)
Everything their family does is a cliche in the name of
being an overeducated liberal.
It almost seems stupid.
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Blipster, you’re in Cambridge, MA?
R U a ‘Crimson?’
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ahhh that lil alt is on the T! except the D line goes through brookline, not very authentic, E is where it’s at.
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Did AnCo start the trend of “parenting” as a hot new alt trend in 2k9? Think about it, it’s been like 11 months since “my gurls” smash hit into the indie sphere, kicking off the meaningfulcore renaissance. Enough time for reproduction. Now all the alts have alt babies. Just want to raise them right with four walls and adobe slabs.
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I would let my kids decide what to wear, to pursue and guide them in being open to other ideas and “worlds”. Hoping they would ultimately follow their own path, be it alt or whatever… I don’t care, they aren’t me.
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Most of us all had mainstream parents. Which is why we tried so hard to be alt in our suburban environment. If we were raised by alt parents we’d be shopping at American Eagle and Nautica. Or be poor as fuck struggling through community college.
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//////////Reply by Al X
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
@Me!, i didn’t have alt parents and i’m still poor as fuck struggling through community college….
damn it. i must have missed something.
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I have a question — is it more ‘alt’ to be liberal or libertarian? I assume most of you faggots are liberals/socialists, but I feel like being an anti-big gov’t libertarian who values social AND economic freedoms should be more alt? Keep you hands off my body and out of my wallet, no?
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//////////Reply by karlheinz
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 11:29 am
@IvyLeagueFratstar, bow-tied reactionary
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//////////Reply by IvyLeagueFratstar
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
@karlheinz et all, why are economic liberties less important than social liberties?
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//////////Reply by generk witty cmmnt
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
@IvyLeagueFratstar,
dear fggt,
no party is ‘alt’.
//////////Reply by IvyLeagueFratstar
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
@generk witty commnt, ‘liberal’ is not a party, it is a set of political beliefs.
//////////Reply by generk witty cmmnt
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
@IvyLeagueFratstar,
any set of overarching political beliefs is not ‘alt’.
//////////Reply by IvyLeagueFratstar
//////////Posted November 5th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
@generk witty commnt, I thought most alt-ster fags usually espoused liberal/socialist beliefs? Isn’t this ‘cmmn knwldg’?
hey, these kids are not aware that their parents allow them to experience something alt and non-mainstream… they are forced or ‘urged’ to wear these kinds of costumes, or to travel, to read a certain book, to dress in a certain, upper-class way. now, you may view it as a perfect case of being brought up in an alt environment. but when these kids grow up, they will not view their childhood as alt because it was not consciously chosen by themselves. they will see alt as something negative, enforced on them by their parents.. . see? no need to be jealous.
and it made me very sad that you resent your parents because they didnt bring you up in such a way.. they are your parents, dude. ._.
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Carles,
Envying others will only lead to suffering, try to appreciate what you DO have.
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a lil late into the game, but my dad is an architect, hates me doing architecture, its tough to find a happy architect here. mum’s in advertising, am i supposed to be alt? growing up happy & suddenly realizing that everything i grew up to is being sensationalized and classified has made it tough. everything that was once sacred, special, auth is just becoming a brand. feel that its hard to move on to something more, when everyone around is still clamoring.
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i think people that were raised alt in relevant cities who grow up to be alts are dbags. like they usually think they are way cooler than other alts that had to find their own path, but are not actually very interesting people.
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that birthday game with the quarters and the all purpose flour almost sent me off my fucking chair. thats the ‘fucking tits’ right there.
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my mom used to sew me my outfits, i used to think it was lame as fuck because I wanted to be a scary monster or something
but it was really fun for her, and I was the baby of the family and she loved me a lot
i didn’t realize this until I read this post, thanks carles
oh and the worst costume she made for me was a zoro outfit it was so dorky
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Being “alt” is not alt, get your own life. Don’t be a label.
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