Oh please - somehow, even this quest for being "sincere" feels ironic.

According to the LA Times, If it's hip and trendy, they're not interested (May require free registration):

The hypnosis of hipsterism is entrenched among many of L.A.'s urban sophisticates, especially those who work in the trend-driven industries of media, music and fashion. But for many twenty-, thirty- and fortysomethings, the appeal of being cool and edgy is rapidly deteriorating. "The last identity you would want to claim now is a hipster," says John Leland, author of "Hip: The History." "It's the worst of insults." ...

Fontana, 42, says that leaving L.A. has brought her peace of mind, boosted her creativity and helped her live more authentically. She recently threw a party at her cabin, where the appeal of getting back to nature — and away from Hollywood — was not lost on the hipster guests. The writers, artists and filmmakers in attendance checked their networking compulsion at the door and engaged in genuine conversation, Fontana says. "They felt like they'd gotten away from what they have to be and could be what they are." ...

Adrienne Crew stops short of using a term such as "new sincerity" but says she's noticed a growing interest among young urbanites to simplify their lives. Crew, a 40-year-old attorney and "brainiac" writing a novel on African American geeks, is the founder of labrainterrain.com, a blog and calendar listing of intellectual events around L.A. ...

"I'm seeing these youngsters who are really looking for expressions of unmediated experience, fun that's not created by consumer culture," she says. A growing trend she sees as a reaction to hipsterism is "granny chic," or social groups centered around archaic hobbies. Stitch and Bitch and The Church of Craft are two Los Angeles-based examples of groups that gather to work on quilting, needlework, paper craft and lace making — in unabashed earnestness.

So unhip is the new hip? The connection to the new "Granny chic" seems misguided - haven't 20- and 30somethings been doing this crafting thing for a while now? Why is it all of a sudden a backlash against everything hip? Anyway, this new "trend" doesn't seem to have taken hold here in Sactown yet, but then again we always have been a few years behind the times in everything we do. (Via Lindsayism).

By the way, re: penguin movies. I think I really just want to be a penguin. Even if it does mean journeying 70 miles in the harshest conditions everytime I want a snack...