These Days, Being Daft Is In

Two quite daft Daft Punk helmet wearers.

I can't decide if I am out of the loop or if I am just in another loop, but something I knew nothing about until this morning is a Daft Punk helmet, and it's already important enough to have a front-page article written about it in the Wall Street Journal, which is more than I can say about myself.

Apparently such helmets are worn onstage by the French singing duo named Daft Punk, another thing I have never heard of until today. Knock-offs of the unusual helmets, which cover the wearer's face, have become a must-have status symbol among fans. They don't come cheap, ranging from $200 to $2,000, or more. Some people make their own, while others hunt them down on eBay or buy them from fan sites. These helmets serve no purpose whatsoever, and are simply further evidence of the downward spiral of mankind into the Pit of Desperation.

Twenty years ago, as the mother of a sophisticated little boy living in a major metropolitan area, I was deeply embedded in the loop. To stay there, I spent lots of time hunting down the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle thing, or the newest Goosebumps book, or that Razor scooter, or whatever fad came along. I'm glad my son is now past all that, and instead is busy learning how to live a healthy farmer's life off the land, off the grid, and definitely out of the loop.