You're not a Bohemian, Bruce, you're a snob.

A Bohemian is created by his culture and taste and achivements. You
don't choose to be a Bohemian; bohemianism chooses you. Bohemianism is
not a tool for posing as fashionably cool.

I think you've been lucky so far not to meet a girl of genuine
intellect and taste. When you do, her contempt for your pretentious
shallowness will sear your soul.

Andre Jute
Artist. Intellectual. Bicyclist. Sophisticate. Dressed daily in
joggers.

Visit Andre Jute at http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/
Those who don't care about their image can stick to Jute on Amps
http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/JUTE%20ON%20AMPS.htm
"an unbelievably comprehensive web site" -- Hi-Fi News & Record Review

Bruce C. Miller wrote:
Part time lurker, almost never a poster here... I wondered where to ask
this, and I figure ROA and RAT is a good a place as any.

Over the course of my life, I've been slowly eliminating unnecessary,
plebian possessions, consumables, behaviors, and other aspects of my
life that are otherwise unsophisticated, mundane, low-brow, and
commonplace. As I've done so, I've grown more and more disdain for the
proles and their monster truck rallies, pro wrestling, and walmart
furniture.

I feel there are certainly things I'm leaving out on my journey from
middle class commoner to urbane, misanthropic sophisticate, though I am
definitely on the right track. Help me complete the transformation by
pointing out anything I've missed. So far, I have addressed the
following categories:

- Music: Went from mass-marketed pop to various avant-garde and obscure
genres (almost exclusively on vinyl of course)

- TV: Went from an average 20-30 hr/wk viewer to no TV at all (I still
watch movies on the computer, however).

- Movies: Went from Hollywood mechanical narratives to art house
experimental and foreign films.

- Stereo: Went from mass-fi shelf system to extremely expensive
audiophile system.

- Clothing: Went from typical 90s fad wear to a more mature, classic
look, usually from European designers.

- Books: Went from reading mystery and scifi to more obscure classic
literature and obscure contemporary prose and poetry.

- Food: Went from eating junk food to various ethnic cuisines, often
Mediterranean (I plan to get better cooking skills soon).

- Beverages: Switched from coffee to tea and from dark beers to premium
reds.

- Furnitu Threw out anything made out of fiber or particle board or
veneered. Slowly replacing with handmade real wood and metal furniture.

- Health: Quit binge drinking and smoking. Started a 3-day/wk exercise
plan.

That's about all I can think of right now. There are little things too,
like replacing my touchtone phone with a vintage all-metal rotary.

I'm not an anachrophile or a luddite. I only eliminate those things
which cause more stress than they relieve. There many modern things I
don't intend to change (like my computers) and many commonplace items
which still have a place (like paper towels).