Is it really possible for one year to be cooler than all others?
Yes it is.
I define cool as: 1) deep, 2) having lasting influence, and 3) setting the standard that all others follow.
On the science front, 1959 was the first year primates went into space. It was also the year of the announcement of the first microchip.
But that's just scratching the surface.
If you've ever tapped your foot to music, odds are 1959 was involved.
For example:
The 1959 Les Paul 'Burst'
If the only thing that happened musically in 1959 was the creation of the coolest of all rock guitars, the Les Paul 1959 sunburst, that would be pretty significant.
But wait there's more...
One day in 1959, jazz giant Miles Davis met some of the best jazz musicians of all time in a studio in New York City. Instead of handing them fixed scores, he gave them "sketches" of the sound he was after.
No preparation. No rehearsal. Just the magic that takes place when people who know what they're doing get together under the leadership of a master.
The resulting album: "Kind of Blue" which is, to this day, the best selling jazz album of all time.
Here's what it sounded like:
Miles Davis plays "So What?"
1959 - the coolest year ever?
Absolutely.
Nothing else comes even close.
Space travel, the first microchips, the Les Paul 'Burst' guitar, Miles Davis "Kind of Blue", and the origins of the System Seminar (hey, since that's when I was born, that started in 1959 too) - there never was a cooler year.
Disagree?
OK then, come up with a cooler one.
Send your entries - and your proof - by midnight September 19 to:
TheCoolestYearEver@TheSystemSeminar.com
The Rules
You've got to create a web page and in 200 or less words and no more than two "found" videos proves that your year is cooler than 1959.
Send me the link to the e-mail address below.
TheCoolestYearEver@TheSystemSeminar.com
To be considered, all entries must be received no later than midnight eastern time, September 19, 2009
The winner - if there is a successful challenger - will be announced on the coolest day of the year (though that one is a little harder to prove): September 20.
Note to my engineering friends (and other literalists), in this instance, cool does not refer to temperature!
The prize?
A free ticket to the coolest Internet marketing event in the last sixteen years (Value: $1,995): The UK System Intensive 2009.
