A brief analysis of what really is cool

What is cool? This is a common question, and while there are many answers, there is no real concrete definition of cool. Webster says cool is slang for very good, but that is kind of misleading. An entree that tastes very good would not be called cool.

Cool, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So basically, football is going to be called cool by a bunch of athletes, but your average chess club may not agree. At the same time, those athletes might show disdain for Star Trek, which the chess club probably bases much of their social life around.

Some things and people always have and always will be inexplicably cool. Take the Fonz, for instance, he was cool, but no one knew why. It had to be more than the leather jacket, right? Beck is the modern day definition of the Fonz, cool without explanation. The guy wears Atari video game shirts with red pants and everyone adores him... it must be rough.

Bruce Campbell is another cool guy (read my column on the A&E page next week , it will explain further.) There are also those that will never be cool, like Regis Philbin. No matter how many times that guy asks, ÒIs that your final answer?Ó no one will like him.

I have worked long and hard to decide what is and isnÕt cool, and while different people will always have slightly different views, I think I have a system figured out to decide what is cool. Oops, IÕm out of space.

-Cory Blackwood