July 10, 2008
How Not To Act Old is the new Stuff White People Like
Stuff White People Like is so three months ago. It appears that How Not To Act Old, the brainchild of author and blogger Pamela Redmond Satran, is the quirky satirical blog of the moment. I think it’s pretty funny and dead-on for the most part. Here are my personal favorites.
#1: Don’t Say “Awesome, Dude,” or “Yo, You Copped Fire, Son”: This absolutely should be number one. I think it’s the cardinal sin of anyone who is trying too hard to seem young. We’ve all done it. (Well, except the young ones, but their day is coming.)
#6 Beware the Accidental Hookup: I cringe every time my dad asks me whether I want to hook up with him. He means that we should meet for lunch, but it sounds like he’s hitting on me. Eew.
Here are my other top choices from the list:
- #4: Don’t Admit You’re Befuddled By Twitter, TiVo, Texting — Most of Technology: This just isn’t my disease, but it’s true for many of the no-longer young set.
- #14: Don’t Fear The Waxer
- #19: Don’t Describe The Doctor, The Cop, Or The Teacher As “Looking 12″
- #25: Don’t “Make Love”
- #26: Shave The Mustache
- #33: No Digestion Discussions, Ever
- #43: Don’t Fear Rap
- #46: Stop Hoping Lauren Conrad Will Just Go Away: “If you’re wondering who Lauren Conrad is, you’re worse off than I thought.” Lauren can stay, and so can Audrina as long as she behaves herself. If I never saw Heidi, Spencer and Brody again, I’d be fine. (Have I mentioned that my wife is six years younger than me?)
- #53: Don’t Fear The Teenager
- #60: Garage Your Hog: “Having just returned from a 700-mile road trip, I can tell you with certainty that every motorcyclist on the American highway is at least 56 years old. All the biker babes have Nice ‘N’ Easy covering their gray and pot bellies straining against their leather pants.” Gross, but it feels true.
I will confess that some of the items on the list sounded a familiar refrain for me. Here are the offenses I’m especially guilty of committing:
- #7: Don’t Count Out Exact Change: I’m a tightwad. I admit it.
- #9: Don’t Plan: I’ll be able to hear my wife laughing from wherever I happen to be at the moment that she reads this one.
- #36: Enough With The Seinfeld, Already: No soup for you! I’ll probably never let go of this not-so-young habit.
- #39: Don’t Wake Up Before Dawn
- #42: Torch Your Books: “If you don’t want to act old, you’ve got to stop reading.” Sorry, it’s not going to happen.
Leave me a comment if you see yourself anywhere on the list.









