My Digs: Hipsters

Hi guys

I hope that spring has been treating you well.

Today I would like to talk about hipsters but before I go any further and offend anyone, let me explain one thing.

hipster glasses

LABELS

To me there is nothing wrong with labels as long as they are playful and harmless. I myself have been called a 'class clown', 'a hipster', and a 'teacher' and although at first I found those labels mildly offensive, eventually I was able to laugh them off. You probably wonder who a 'teacher' is. HAHA. I'm not telling you. Figure it out on your own ;). Those who know me are probably nodding in approval though :P.

a label – etykietka

playful – żartobliwy

harmless – nieszkodliwy, niewinny

a class clown – błazen klasowy

mildly offensive – trochę obraźliwe

eventually – ostatecznie

to laugh something off – śmiać się z czegoś

to figure something out – domyślić się czegoś

to nod – kiwać głową

in approval – z aprobatą, zgadzając się

HIPSTERS

Here's a conversation I had the other day. It's about a pub/ bar in Poznań, Poland.

Friend: So how do you like this place?

Me: Yeah, I guess it's cool. I like the décor. If only there weren't so many hipsters here.

Friend: Hipsters?

Me: Yep, hipsters. Take a good look around you.

a few seconds pass

Friend: I guess you're right. Why didn't I see it before?

Me: I'm asking myself that too. <laughter>.

A pub (British English) and a bar (American English) are the same thing.

décor – wystrój

I'm asking myself that too. – Sama się zastanawiam.

labels

I'm not going to reveal the name of the place in case I want to go there again. But if anyone is curious, its name starts with the letter M and it's the longer one. Sounds cryptic? It's supposed to ;)

to reveal – ujawniać

curious – ciekawi

cryptic – zagadkowy, tajemniczy

It's supposed to. – tut. Właśnie takie ma być.

Ok, but who are hipsters? They're those art major people who wear thick-rimmed glasses and mix second-hand patterned shirts (striped, checked, floral) with ZARA and H&M trousers (or the other way round). They like to think of themselves as unique and edgy. That's why in pretty much every conversation they name-drop philosophers, musicians and authors that you have never heard of and have no interest in. They go to cinemas with chairs that hurt your bum and gravitate towards bohemian pubs. They also insist on using iPhones and wearing cool trainers. Really edgy.

But that's just about hipsters in Poland. American hipsters have gone well past that.

art major people – studenci ASP ;)

thick-rimmed (glasses) – (okulary) w grubych oprawkach

patterned – wzorzyste

striped – w paski

checked – w kratkę

floral – w kwiaty

edgy – z (zadziornym) charakterem

to name-drop – rzucać znanymi nazwiskami

a bum – pupa

to gravitate towards – lgnąć do

to insist on doing something – upierać się przy czymś, robić coś zawsze

They have gone well past that. – Zaszli o wiele dalej.

HIPSTERS IN AMERICA

TOO MAINSTREAM

Hipsters enjoy the unknown and the obscure. They stop liking a band or an author as soon as they become popular.

(The text in blue are quotes from Shit Hipsters Say videos on YouTube).

I liked it before it was popular.

You probably never heard of it.

Hey, I might start using a discman again.

No, I don't have a Facebook.

Their first album was better.

the unknown – wszystko co nieznane

the obscure – rzeczy mało znane, niejasne, ukryte

PRETENTIOUS

Hipsters have a smug sense of superiority. They are so self-absorbed that every one of them has a blog in which they share their enlightened views with the uncool public and other hipsters, whom they secretly despise. They don't dance at concerts and enjoy foreign films with subtitles.

It totally sounds better on vinyl.

Do you wanna start a band?

Vinyl sounds so clear.

Usually when I have to bring a girl back to my place, like to gauge where she's at, I put on Nickelback and if she likes it, I kick her out.

Have you read my blog?

pretentious – pretensjonalny

smug – zadowolony z siebie

a sense of superiority – poczucie wyższości

self-absorbed – pochłonięci sobą

enlightened – oświecone

to despise – gardzić

foreign films with subtitles – zagraniczne filmy z napisami

a vinyl – płyta winylowa

put on (music) – włączyć

to gauge – ocenić, zmierzyć

where she's at – jaka jest, jakiej muzyki słucha

to kick somebody out – wyrzucić kogoś (z domu)

FAIR TRADE/ ORGANIC/ INDEPENDENT

Hipsters support independent artists and choose fair-trade organic produce over regular people food. They tend to be skinny and “are usually less than 5% body fat”. They also eat children's cereal.

Do you guys have a vegan menu?

Do you know if this is organic?

independent – niezależny

fair-trade – sprawiedliwy handel, fair-trade

organic – ekologiczna

produce – nieprzetworzona żywność

regular people food – jedzenie dla normalnych ludzi

cereal – płatki

vegan – wegańskie

CAMERA

“Every hipster needs a camera. They'll take pictures, put them in black and white and they're automatically photographers. You will find them “crawling around in the woods taking photographs of dead leafs.”

I will totally instagram this.

to crawl – czołgać się

to instagram something – zrobić czemuś zdjęcie i wstawić je na stronę Instagram.com

WANNABE ARTISTS

'They also write – most will attempt poetry, or a novel, which will be set in a far-off fantasy world with characters named "Takeshi" and "Riku".'

Would you mind proofreading my novel?

wannabe artist – pozujący na artystę

to attempt – próbować (swoich sił w)

a novel – powieść

set – tut. toczyć się (o akcji)

far-off – odległy

to proofread – dokonywać korekty