Rattus cattus's definitions

persian

Mostly Muslim immigrants (although some of them are Christians, Jews, and Bahais) from Iran and their kids living in wealthy parts of Southern California such as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Brentwood and Sherman Oaks, they generally have materialistic values and an ugly sounding language but they don't really bother anyone for the most part, they're one of the wealthiest immigrant groups in the USA along with the Cubans. The California Persians have a very similar attitude and political orientation to the Florida Cubans. Due to Iran having such a nasty government and being so hated in the USA they regard themselves as Persians not Iranians

"I'm a Persian, not an Iranian"

by Rattus cattus July 4, 2006

bluegrass

An old fashioned style of country music dating from the late 1930s pioneered by Bill Monroe (who invented the name) and Roy Acuff. While some people believe it to be the traditional music of the Appalachian mountains, it's basically what country music was like before influences from jazz, blues, and pop came in. Most popular in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia. In bluegrass the guitar fiddle and banjo are the most important instruments and there is no drumming nor percussion. It has had a small but devoted following outside of the South for years, and despite being associated with toothless inbred hicks to some is a genre very highly respected by musicians - not just country musicians but rock and even jazz musicians. Often used in films and TV set in the South, in the last few years it has undergone a massive revival in popularity worldwide because of the film "O Brother Where Art Thou".

Bluegrass isn't just played by Southerners any more - although it's still rare to find an African-American bluegrass musician.

by Rattus cattus November 18, 2006

jasper

Jewish Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Used by some Jews in Northern California to describe people of Jewish heritage who have completely assimilated into white gentile culture to the point that they are indistinguishable from WASPs, or people who seem like WASPs but are Jewish or half-Jewish. The term probably had its roots in the early 20th century when Eastern European Jewish immigrants to the U.S. resented the more assimilated, wealthier, more established American Jews of German and Austrian origin, thus making it the opposite of kike. The term is rarely used outside of the Bay Area and its use seems to be dying out given the almost total assimilation of American Jewry, particularly in the West.

He seems so goyish, but he's really a jasper.

by Rattus cattus October 19, 2006

the grove

The Grove is a fake-European upscale shopping mall in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles' west side, near West Hollywood (and not too far from Beverly Hills). It was built to look like a central historic district of an old Mediterranean city like Nice, but it is only five years old. It is a perfect example of "fake history" - building something new that looks like it's old while actual older parts of L.A. are left to decay. It was built next door to the Farmer's Market, a collection of shops that was one of the last landmarks of old Hollywood left. While the Farmer's Market still keeps some of its old vibe with a mixture of tourists and aging locals, the stores in the Grove are the same overpriced "designer chains" that one can find in any mall in America, and the whole place is so fake looking it's sick. The Grove has incredibly worsened traffic on the west side of L.A. particularly all the shortcuts that one could once take to get from the west side to Hollywood are all fucked up now because of the massive traffic of people going to The Grove. I for one wish that it was never built.

"It's been hard to come over to your place ever since The Grove was built, because now there's permit parking on the streets and traffic is really fucked up"

by Rattus cattus October 20, 2006

hollywood

The LA neighborhood: the home of the homeless, currently in the process of gentrification

also used to describe the US film industry, which at one time was based in the Los Angeles neighborhood of the same name. nowadays the term is inaccurate because there haven't been too many films actually made in hollywood in years, in fact there are more films made in Vancouver than in all of L.A.

You're more likely to see street people hitting you up for meth money in Hollywood than any movie stars.

by Rattus cattus September 14, 2006

jihad

an irrational, mindless quest for revenge, derived from the Islamic term for struggle.

"Ever since he got ripped off he's been on a jihad"

by Rattus cattus June 30, 2006

hipster

In the 1940s and 1950s it meant beatniks, bohemians, people into jazz and poetry, pushing the extremes when it came to sex and substance abuse, etc. etc.

Today it means what poseur meant in the 70s/80s - an insult for pseudo intellectual young people who claim to be into obscure pop culture of the past and are into co-opting cool stuff, and adopt white trash chic like trucker hats or Pabst Blue Ribbon, While being a 21st century hipster is preferable to being a gangsta, wigger, or yuppie, it's still nothing to be proud of today.
There is a book called "The Hipster Handbook" that made up fake "hipster" slang thinking that someone would fall for it

The only thing in common between the hipsters of the mid 20th century and those of today is that both are associated with New York City

Jack Kerouac was an example of a 1950s hipster.

Julian Casablancas is an example of a 21st century hipster

by Rattus cattus July 5, 2006