Tuesday, January 06, 2009

2008 Hotel California Cultural Lexicon

There’s a couple new segments in this year’s Hotel California Top Ten. One is called Hotel California Cultural Lexicon, which is a nod to the language that has permanently affixed to our Hotel Californianess. And the second is Hotel California Killer Kid, a celebration of a Hotel California child’s accomplishments or feats in the past year. Mostly it’s centered around a ‘like parent like child’ type criteria. Therefore today you’ll see the CL, KK and Honorable Mention before we get started into the actual Top Ten. These may become sticky and become a permanent feature or they may be a one-time thing. I don’t know. That’s how it works.

Cultural Lexicon: The biggest word to permeate our language and define the Hotel California has got to be ‘Si!’. Si! Look in the mirror when saying it, I guarantee your head shakes in agreement, eyebrows raise moving the forehead along with it and the corners of your mouth drop ever so slightly . Si! It rings in your ears with a tone of assurance and confidence. Si! It’s not just a word, it’s an idea. In fact, it’s a friggin meme. Just as the smile icon :) is a meme, and ‘Gilroy was here’ is a meme. Si is our Hotel California meme. Si! The word originated in the Hotel California house from the beginning of our legendary stay. Richard Kruger, founding member coined the phrase. But it’s not just a product of the house, it’s a cultural property of our very beings. Si! Are Dueno and the Clearfield boys using the word because they lived in the house? Not a chance. Si is about us and defines us. The word is so powerful in its meaning that I could pass by Shane Simpson and he’d just say ‘Si!’ And I knew what he was thinking. To this day, I can call Cam and he’ll say ‘Si!’ and I’ll know exactly what’s up. Si! It’ll live on in our cultural lexicon as THE preeminent word.

1 comment:

Litos said...

Si! love it as much today, as back in the day... but today, my patients love it and say it, too. Gracias to the word, Si!

Nice call, Jamie.