Case in point. To me, judging someone’s coolness by his/her level of social comfort or connectedness seems shallow and juvenile. (Sorry, m. – but I know several really interesting introverts.) But that’s cause I’m one of those dorks who laughs at things like “It’s just a flesh wound” when properly timed.
Any Big Lebowski quotes work for me. “Nobody fucks with the Jesus” is a fave. And there are a whole bunch more. Also, Up in Smoke quotes and jokes are favorites of mine.
And the grand coolness prize goes to anyone who can quote from AbFab.
Top three:
any Dune references (especially references to any after the first)
any Simpsons references (especially Kang and Kodos)
any Ben Stiller references whatsoever
Also-rans:
general geekery, including Star Wars
lyrics to old gothy music such as Christian Death or Skinny Puppy
word.
Book or movie? IMO, the only way the movie has better references is from the before-they-were-stars power.
I thought I didn’t have one of these and then I realized that I do. If someone says, “I need to ask you a question,” occasionally I’ll answer “42!” If they answer “huh?” I mentally scratch them off the “has read HGTTG” list.
This way I found out one of the people in our office, who’s always reading trashy romance novels (not that there’s anything wrong with those, mind you) was surprise! a Douglas Adams fan.
BTW, I realize both of those sentences are terrible.
I laughed.
Soupy twist
Quote: Originally Posted by Ghanima
any Dune references (especially references to any after the first)
Well, being a desperate and lonely Dune fan, I’ll settle for any old reference whatsoever. Book, movie, miniseries, whatever. But what really lets me know I’m in the presence of a fellow Super Cool Dune Fan is that they’ll reference stuff from any of the books after the first one, especially if its from the last 3.
I work at a steakhouse. It’s a meat-and-potatoes kind of place, nothing fancy, nothing oddball. Whenever we get a new server, I take them aside during one of their training shifts. I take a random ticket from the window, and I show them how to prep the food. Then I tell them, “Oh, and if you see a ticket that has pizza on it, you know there’s a problem, because we don’t have pizza.”
Anyone who responds to that immediately with anything other than 
is probably going to be cool.
“Is it better to regret something you have done, or regret something you haven’t done?”
Oh, and by the way son, if you see your mother today…be sure to tell her…SATAN!!!
Ok my association here is the Butthole Surfers. (“And if you see your mother son, tell her…SATAN satan satan”) Now, does that make me cool or uncool? 
(And I was thinking of responding to Middlecase but I think Sample aready made the point. Honestly. Middlecase, even if the title offends you does the actual content of the OP and for that matter the rest of the thread, count for anything??)
How many points do I get for answering :dubious: “three”?
He also quit amphetamines
Hmmm…judging by the immediate response, maybe I was right. But then I get to say, it’s not “Is it better to regret something you have done, or regret something you haven’t done?”
but rather
“It’s a funny thing about regret son…it better to regret something you have done than something you haven’t done…and son? if you see your mother…”
Because I’m JUST THAT COOL!
Unless they are a Snobby Super Dune Fan, in which case they may ignore every book but the original. I grew up in Frank Herbert’s home town (Florence, OR), and we had an entire shrine to the Herbster in our Library. Feel free to hate me, Ghanima 
Mine was: “In a year or two, I’ll make assistant manager” (congregation replies: “and that’s when the big bucks start rolling in!” {Coming to America})
Another juvenile coolness tests from that film:
“That’s beauty-ful!” (congregation responds: “What is that, velvet?”)
Just be aware that one person’s “coolness test” could be another person’s “dorkiness test.”
If I hear a loud crash (think a waiter dropping a tray of plates) or see someone slip and fall down, I simply say “That’s a shame” and not do anything. (Provided there’s no obvious/unfunny injuries of course…)
The people who are “cool” to me, do the same, and either make an apathetic comment, or just keep talking. I think I watched too much Seinfeld.
Or they ask where someone is, and I respond “I killed them”. If their response is “oh…” and giving me an odd look… Not cool. Good response: “Crap! Where’d you bury them? I need his brain.”
“Someone threw away a perfectly good white boy.”
Would be my response.
Oh, no, I can’t afford to be a snob. I’ll take whatever Dune scraps are flung to me. I freely admit to enjoying the movie, the miniseries, the new books, the encyclopedia. In short, I am a Dune Free Love Hippie, and am despised by rabid dunatics. So we’re cool…or…wait…are you a Snobby Super Dune Fan? Do YOU hate ME!!! :eek: