Who I rate as "cool"

My idea of a cool person in someone who is original & creative who challenges the way I think. The people who I would say are iconically cool tend to be people who have had something political to say because they want things to change. Although I like new technology, this doesnt effect my definition of cool. In fact, for me, cool would be to listen to vinyls on a grammaphone not an ipod.

Here are some pictures of people that I rate as cool:

Cool- what the dictionary says:

Cool; (According to http://dictionary.reference.com/)

1. Not excited; calm; composed; under control: to remain cool in the face of disaster.
2. Not hasty; deliberate: a cool and calculated action.
3. Lacking in interest or enthusiasm: a cool reply to an invitation.
4. Lacking in warmth or cordiality: a cool reception.
5. Calmly audacious or impudent: a cool lie.
6. Aloof or unresponsive; indifferent: He was cool to her passionate advances.
7. Unaffected by emotions; disinterested; dispassionate: She made a cool appraisal of all the issues in the dispute.
8. Informal. (of a number or sum) without exaggeration or qualification: a cool million dollars.
9. Slang.
a.
great; fine; excellent: a real cool comic.
b.
characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever: cool maneuvers on the parallel bars.
c.
socially adept: It's not cool to arrive at a party too early. –adverb
10. Informal. coolly. –noun
11. Something that is cool; a cool part, place, time, etc.: in the cool of the evening.
12. Calmness; composure; poise: an executive noted for maintaining her cool under pressure. –verb (used without object)

Our Living Language :

The usage of cool as a general positive epithet or interjection has been part and parcel of English slang since World War II, and has even been borrowed into other languages, such as French and German. Originally this sense is a development from a Black English usage meaning "excellent, superlative," first recorded in written English in the early 1930s. Jazz musicians who used the term are responsible for its popularization during the 1940s.

As a slang word expressing generally positive sentiment, it has stayed current (and cool) far longer than most such words. One of the main characteristics of slang is the continual renewal of its vocabulary and storehouse of expressions: in order for slang to stay slangy, it has to have a feeling of novelty. Slang expressions meaning the same thing as cool, like bully, capital, hot, groovy, hep, crazy, nervous, far-out, rad, and tubular have for the most part not had the staying power or continued universal appeal of cool. In general there is no intrinsic reason why one word stays alive and others get consigned to the scrapheap of linguistic history; slang terms are like fashion designs, constantly changing and never "in" for long. The jury is still out on how long newer expressions of approval such as def and phat will survive.

The Coolness of Women from the 40's to today...

"Cool" female icons- the beautiful people? It is fact to say that the image of a cool woman has changed througout generations.
In the fourties & fifties there was Marilyn Monroe- a voluptuous peroxide blonde actress. Her birth name was actually Norma Jeane Mortenson, but I guess that just wasnt cool enough for Hollywood. She was "cool" for her looks, and seen as extra cool because of the affair she had with the American president, and her controversial death. Now would this be seen as cool today? It appears that Monica Lewinsky & Anna Nicole-Smith were far from being iconic...
For me, it was the 60's when women started being "cool" for more than just being sexy. In the sixties the festival revolution took place as well as the summer of love and sex, drugs, rock n roll. Being a hippie was "cool" and is still seen today as "cool". With this movement came Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell & other talented female artists.
Women began to emerge as strong enigmatic & intelligent people, and although Margaret Thatcher completely screwed up our country- which was not cool, her presence as Britain's first female priminister was cool.
Today's celebrity icons seem to have alterted the meaning of "cool" for me. Younger teenagers are brainwashed into thinking that Victoria Beckham, Kerry Katona & Jordan are cool. And that implies that cool is associated with too much money & too many boob jobs....

That's not cool.

The notion of "being cool"

Being cool seems to be paramount within the social conforms of today's society. Whether you are cool, are uncool, desire to be either one or quite frankly dont care at all- you cannot deny the existence of "cool."

It is there around you everyday, even without people realising it. Why do people buy brand names, follow fashion, get pierced or tattood, post photos of drunken nights or exotic holidays on facebook? The answer is the need to be seen in society as "cool" (or whatever other word you want to call it.) Cool overlaps with technology too- the digital era has bought a whole host of tantalizing products including ipods, camera phones, HD TV, laptops etc... Those that own them are also seen as "cool"- the ones that are slightly ahead of the game, and completely immersed in their own private world of consumeristic pleasure & their own image.

As well as this kind of "cool"- there are also the anti-cools, another form of cool. These are the people who are uninterested in the technological advances of today- but are still happily stuck in a past era (commonly the 1960's or 70's) even if they werent actually there the first time. This kind of cool embraces public issue awareness and political/social activists (always left-wing.) They like drugs, rock & roll, peace and are always hate America. A favourite of mine who fits into this category is Bill Hicks. Now- in my eyes he was (and still is) VERY cool, but in the eyes of others he is just a pain in the arse, perhaps trying too hard to be cool.

Its cool to like Che...his face belongs in every students wardrobe these days. But how many of those people actually know what he stands for and what he did?