Two years ago today, the Boston Marathon bombing happened and I found this shocking because it seems not so long ago. In section we talked about the Vietnam war and all the tension it caused in America because it was the first televised war in which Americans saw dead soldiers in body bags firsthand. Just two years ago, the Boston Marathon bombing was all over the news when it happened, and we saw the chaos that was filmed. Thinking about this stuns me, if the Vietnam war was never the first televised war, what would be? 

Hippie by definition is: “a person of unconventional appearance, typically having long hair and wearing beads, associated with a subculture involving a rejection of conventional values and the taking of hallucinogenic drugs.” (Google.com)

Living in California, it seems a bit weird to consider something I see all of the time historic. But hey, it had to start somewhere right? Unlike in the past a “hippie”  now and days is someone who is a liberal, and holistic. They probably don’t work for the “man” or they use more natural products and care more about being natural. They practiced “free love”, and that is something we still see (i.e. Pacific Beach on Taco Tuesdays). Hippies do a lot of things that we do today. Used hallucinogenic drugs, you can go to Coachella this weekend and see hundreds of people using drugs like this to get into the moment with the music. They had very liberal political views, this is something that has NEVER left California, and luckily a lot of states are following. All-in-all, hippies were awesome and they left a HUGE impact on the California culture that we still see today.

Given that recent lectures have been about hippies, it seemed right to do a hack for them. Drugs, colorful clothing, and free spirits is basically what entails when speaking of a hippie. even though it was nearly 50 years ago that being a hippie was all the rage, it is still a popular concept in our culture today, i.e. Coachella. Enough said.

Today in lecture we discussed the emergence of hippies and what their culture consisted of. The Beat Generation gave way to the hippies who experimented with their sexuality, drugs, and fashion. The hippies wardrobe consisted of tie dye, beads, fringe, and were all about peace and love. In present day society, we have the contemporary culture of hipsters. Hipsters consist of having a retry and vintage sense of style. They associate with indie and alternative music and are typically described as young Bohemians. Although both the hippies and hipsters experienced a change in style, it was the hippies who rejected certain elements of society and promoted their own beliefs.

Today is tax day, which means cashing in on that tax return, but don’t spend it on food. Boston Market, Hard Rock Cafe, Sonic, Kona Ice, Brueggers, and probably many other local places are offering tax day freebies and discounts, but only today! Head out to any of these places listed above for food at less than market price.

As well as food, retailers are offering tax day discounts to help you spend that tax return as well. Ann Taylor, Finish Line, Foot Locker, and a few others are offering anywhere from 15-30% off purchases with promo codes for online shopping.

This is a picture of a psychedelic poster of The Beatles Yellow Submarine hanging up in my garage. In class we watched the video of The Beatles performing “I want to hold your hand” and how this upbeat style of music would go on to define the 1960’s. Other groups such as Cream and The Beach Boys were in the same spectrum as The Beatles, and can be contrasted with the grunge era of the late 80’s and early 90’s. The attitudes felt during the 60’s were that of peace, as the new generation were trying to urge the United States to back out of Vietnam.

Today in lecture we talked about how many hippies gathered in peace at the golden gate park in San Francisco. Though there were no big named bands playing everyone just got together and shared love and ideals with one another. Today there is an event where thousands of youthful souls gather together at the same location to celebrate music and youth. Outside Lands is a three day musical festival in which big named bands all come to golden gate park to play for huge crowds. It seems as if history has repeated itself as the youth gather together to appreciate music and ideals. All dressed in hippy outfits and with open minds

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In lecture today Professor Putman talked about hippies and how they challenged mainstream culture. He discussed their dress (tie dye, beards, jeans) and their behavior (let it all hangout). As we know it the hippie age has come and gone, however once again it is making a comeback. At many music festivals now a days men and women alike dress like the hippies used to. Wearing colorful, flowy, bright fabrics, many are seen in revealing clothing “letting it all hangout”. 

There is much discontent over whether the we as a nation have involved ourselves unnecessarily in religious conflicts that are not any of our business in the first place. The Vietnam conflict is a great example of such involvement. Today as I walked across campus, I became very distracted by an altercation between a Fundamentalist Christian set on professing his beliefs and the word of the Bible and a young man who, although a follower of Islam, knew the passages from the Bible from front to back. It seemed to me a wonderful reflection of such religious conflicts on a much smaller scale.