trendy and fashionable
… 
naah, not so much.
One can look at everything from more than one side – if one chooses to. Rarely ever does it look as nice from all angles, not to mention if one looks behind the surface. Not all is gold that shines, and not all has value that has a price tag…
Same with what's been in fashion at any given time up through human history, so one should
think people might have learned the lessons, developed some common sense, and “improved their
eyesight” by now.
I'm afraid the answer has to be: “not really”.
The roles of predators and prey are the same as in beginning of time, only the modus operandi and measures
of success have changed slightly.
The indoctrination and constant stream of propaganda flowing at us from marketing
forces from the day we were born, seem to have worked wonders on today's generations. Lots of
people are pretty much addicted to being “trendy, fashionable and cool”, which translates
to “shop”, “shop” and then “shop some more”.
They lust for everything new and potentially trendy, and will only look at what is marketed as
“cool” and that is shared as such in their own circles.
Any disadvantages and weaknesses with a product or deal, tend to be ignored until it is too late to complain. And, by then there's something new and trendy on the market anyway, so who cares what was wrong with the previous fashion.
All too often all weaknesses and flaws with a product or service are intentionally hidden.
Often the most important info is made so inaccessible that even those of us who are genuinely interested
in finding out as much as possible before making deals, simply cannot get to it. Sure makes it easy to
make good choices…
… weak info, no thanks, no deal.
super cool! … yeah, right.
We have (hopefully) all learned that the more superlatives that are being used by sales people and in
ads, the less it is about the product itself. Lots of talk about a product's popularity, trendiness,
coolness, etc., doesn't tell much about same product's quality and real value.
It is all about creating distractions…
Not much is supposed to hold value or last very long these days, and six months is a very long time
in marketeers' minds as they try to maximize sales and profit.
Markets must be prepared for next generation of products while the “old” products are
still at the planning stages, or else there's a risk that the whole marketing-scheme will fall apart.
Round and round it goes, with new fashionable, trendy and cool product-versions entering the market
at an increasingly faster phase. All the “old” and no longer very cool product-versions do
of course head for the recycling bins and scrap heaps at the same phase.
Who cares what new products are good or not good for, as long as they sell as planned for a while and
then disappear from the markets and people's minds to make room for newer products.
environmentally friendly … uh, oh.
Well, that is just one factor that doesn't quite fit in when marketeers talk business with their bosses. It is however one of the easiest factors to lie about and/or keep hidden from the general public until it is too late, and then let others pay for everything that went wrong.
The other factors, like exploitation of workers, financial corruption, tax evations, etc., are “purely political matters” that also are quite easy to get around when enough pressure and money are circulated in the right manner. It is after all imperative to keep the global economy in good shape, and big businesses are the keys to everything in our societies today – or so we are made to believe.
Politicians are depending on businesses that create jobs so people shut up and keep on producing stuff that for the most part doesn't last and that nobody needs, but which everyone must work hard to make money for so they can buy as much as possible of it in order to stay as cool and trendy as everybody else, while they all fall deeper and deeper in depth day by day … piuh.
Of course, none of the above matters for the underpaid worker who is out to make a good deal on the latest and most trendy and cool stuff so he can impress all those who don't really care since they are too busy trying to make enough money to follow the same trends … double piuh.
Yes, it sounds like a joke, except that that's how it all works on the market places today. It is a very costly joke indeed – for all but the ones on top who skim the cream at all stages as the market carousel goes round and round at an increasingly higher speed.
The ones at the very bottom (about half the world population) are left out of the marketplace
entirely except that they can be, and are, exploited as a cheap/free workforce so more of the
fashionable, trendy and cool stuff can be produced for those who are just a little bit higher up on
the economy-ladder to buy.
All to make the carousel – or “milk-separator” – go even faster, so a little
more cream can be skimmed off while there's any left.
fool on the hill.
I get that feeling at times, as I look at how the world is run as a huge “it is all about the profit” business scheme. Not a nice sight if you ask me, but who cares unless they get hit where it really hurts.
Watching the world spin – with all the cool people busy chasing all kinds of trendy
and fashionable stuff and all that goes with it, is a quite interesting and fun little hobby.
With that hobby on the side I can quietly continue my external, and internal, search for
more of the really good and useful things in life.
I got more than enough stuff for my way of living, and a few items are even trendy and cool – mainly because the market carousel has come full circle and old has become new again. Most people can't tell the difference anyway, unless the're told.
Anyway, I did not get to the pretty relaxed position I am in today by bothering with fashions
and trends day in and day out, but rather by utilising both old and new resources at hand for all they
were worth and recycle all leftovers locally. Such an approach may not be in fashion amongst the
majority of cool people today, but it is a growing trend amongst common-sense people all around the
world.
I cannot really say whether I was born into this way of living, or if I at
some point jumped ship and left the rat race. A bit of both I guess, with steadily growing common
sense and more conscious and pragmatic thinking about what serves me best.
Whatever the chain of reasons and events in the past, I feel no need to be particularly
“fashionable, trendy and/or cool” right now. Subsequently, I won't be open
for business today, and in all likelihood not tomorrow nor the next few (hundred) days either. Seriously.
Have a nice … whatever you fancy.
sincerely 
Hageland 06.jul.2016
last rev: 10.jul.2016