Remember Those Paper Things We Used to Read?

"While Kindle books are fantastic, they lack the intimacy of a printed book."

Books have long been an integral part of our lives.  Spreading the written word is so important that scribes would spend countless hours handwriting a copy of a book to pass on.  The printing press allowed those words to spread even more quickly, and today a book can be in the hands of millions in just a few hours if marketed properly.

The books of today are quite a bit different than those beautiful, handwritten and hand-bound works of art our forefathers created.  Today, books are “published” digitally at a rate that surpasses their printed counterparts.  From e-books in PDF format to the hundreds of thousands of books on Amazon’s Kindle reader, the days of the printed book appear to be coming to an end.

At Amazon.com, digital books began outselling print books in April of this year, a mere four years after the groundbreaking Kindle was released.  When you consider similar trends in music and videos, it makes sense that digital would become the medium of choice. 

While Kindle books are fantastic, they lack the intimacy of a printed book.  I love my Kindle just as much as the next person, but the eventual fate of printed books seems to me a tragedy of greatest proportions.  Though many of the great classics are available in digital format now, there is also a huge influx of lesser quality books.  In fact, an entire market revolves around spinning already existing content and creating cheap Kindle books to sell.

Digital books have brought the joy of reading to more people than ever before, but at the same time, they have begun to devalue the written word, much in the way dime smut novels did in the past.

Do you think digital books will cause print books to be completely eliminated?
 

In My Day We Used to Share One Computer

Accessing the web was like waiting for paint to dry.

When I was growing up, I remember my grandparents used to say things such as “in my day we used to walk to school in ten feet of snow” or “in my day we made our own clothes”. I have decided that my catch phrase for any grandchildren that I may have one day is going to be: in my day we used to all have to share one computer.

Recently, I have noticed that modern kids are so obsessed with technology that the simple thought of having to share one little computer with the rest of their household is almost as horrid to them as having to go without food or clean water.

I feel like I am living in an alternate universe sometimes when I see small children demanding instant access to computers all of the time. There are so many homes out there where every kid has his or her own laptop now.

When I was growing up and we were finally fortunate enough to have one computer at home, the screen was black and green and it had a floppy disc drive. Once “advancements” were made, we were lucky enough to be able to see color on the screen. And accessing the web? Forget about it, it was like waiting for paint to dry.

There was one, yes, one computer in the house. Each person had to take a turn. Dial-up was a terrible thing as we all know and sometimes if you were unlucky, by the time you signed on to CompuServe or one of the original versions of AOL, your computer time was up and you had to let someone else in the family use the machine.

So yes, I grew up in a one computer home and I survived. Having only one computer taught me lessons about patience and sharing. If you are reading this and you are older than me maybe you want to yell back at the screen and say “in my day we didn’t even have computers”. But if you are reading this and you are a young person today, know that next time your laptop breaks and your mom or dad won’t take you to get it fixed at that instant, life will go on. 

In my day we used to share one computer and I lived to tell about it.

Yes, You can Survive on a Weekly Bath

"What gave rise to this obsession with hygiene?"

In today’s super hygiene world, we often forget how men and women just like us lived in the pioneer days.  Sometimes, as I go through my daily life, running the dishwasher, washing a load of laundry or using the vacuum, I imagine what someone even one hundred years ago would say if they saw the way we live today.

To people from a different time, our methods must seem like the epitome of waste.  We run water for several minutes to rinse off dishes, pour out a glass of water if it sits overnight, and luxuriate in daily hot showers.  I’ll bet if we had to pack our water by the bucket from a nearby well, our habits would change very quickly.

What gave rise to this obsession with hygiene?  Women of a few generations ago were happy to take a weekly bath.  Body odor was not considered so repugnant, but a natural part of who we are.  Today, we spend millions of dollars to buy chemicals in order to disguise the fact that we are human.  We have scented shampoos, conditioner, lotion, perfume and soaps, all in an attempt to make sure we don’t smell like who we really are.

It has long been established that the chemicals in some of those products can cause hormone disruption, skin reactions, and sometimes even cancer.  Imagine how much healthier, richer, and quite probably happier we would be if we lived the way we used to live and accepted the fact that our natural bodies are wonderful.

The Golden Age of Nickelodeon is Back

Viewers can go on the web and vote for Friday night’s TV show lineup.

Cable station TeenNick, which typically caters to the programming needs of 13 to 19 year olds, recently decided to give viewers ranging from around ages 25 to 32 their wish: the channel has started airing shows from “The Golden Age of Nickelodeon” week nights at midnight. “The Golden Age of Nickelodeon” encompasses shows which aired on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1999 when adults now in their late 20s and early 30s were active Nick viewers.

Many people in this age demographic have been able to enjoy sitcom episodes from their childhood and teen years such as Family Matters, Full House and The Nanny in rerun form on a variety of network and cable TV stations for quite some time. 90s Nickelodeon shows on the other hand have been missing in action until recently.

TeenNick is currently playing episodes of All That, Kenan & Kel, Hey Dude and Doug beginning each night at midnight. While 20 and 30 something individuals have shown gratitude for the shows coming back on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, there is some irony to the time slot. Much of the core audience has to DVR their childhood programs as they cannot not stay up late to watch them on a regular basis as this generation now has full-time jobs or children of their own to look after and need a good night sleep.

Friday nights allow 90s Nick lovers to have the most fun. Viewers can go on the web and vote for Friday night’s TV show lineup. This gives people a chance to experience more 90s Nick favorites including Salute Your Shorts, Family Double Dare, The Secret World of Alex Mack and Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Some popular 90s Nick shows are still missing from the lineup.  Both The Adventures of Pete & Pete and Roundhouse have yet to grace the 2011 television schedule. Hopefully, these shows and others will be popping up in the near future.

Since 90s Nick programming is enjoyable and clean, the 20 and 30-something crowd can watch the shows on their own or introduce the programs to their own children, nieces and nephews.

What is your favorite 90s Nick show?

Easy Money Through Happy Accidents

Money.  We love it, we use it to buy neat stuff, we send our kids to college with it, we spend it unwisely and we horde it in banks.  No matter how much of it we have, we always seem to want more.

There was a time when the acquisition of money was as simple as getting a job and working long hours for low pay.  Particularly clever or lucky individuals might even accumulate large sums of it through business or other shady means.  Nowadays, however, there seems to be a trend of trying to get your money by finding the nearest plausible victim and suing the crap out of them.

Much like a scam artist, the lawsuit-minded individual always keeps their eye open for a good opportunity - a rug not positioned on the floor properly makes a great place to trip; a fender-bender accident can cause massive (internal) bodily harm; a cup of coffee brewed too hot makes a nice addition to one’s lap.

Admittedly, not everyone who files a lawsuit is in the wrong.  I see no problem with people trying to find justice monetarily as long as the damage done was monetary in nature.  But it seems like in the modern era a big pile of money can cure all ills.

Thousands of years ago, if a man harmed your wife or children he would be punished, but you would also receive payment for damage to your “goods”.  This system appears to have worked fairly well, since we are now beginning

to implement it again.  If your son gets molested by a rock-star then the best way to get justice is to make sure you line your wallet.

The evolution of the lawsuit has placed it in a position as a viable option to both ensure a brighter future (through happy accidents) and to “punish” people for their wrongs while making a nice profit on the side.  Money has always held power over people and most likely always will, but what ever happened to the days when people believed that justice and responsibility were important when it came to the law?

Giving up Freedom in the Guise of Security

"The only benefit I can see is for the government. "

Have you flown since 9/11?  If you are like me, you avoid it at all costs.  Not because of the risk of terrorist attacks, or because of the ridiculous prices that keep increasing, but because of the fact that we are no longer treated as human beings with basic rights.  When you choose to fly on a plane, you are choosing to lose your basic civil rights.  To me, the tradeoff is simply not worth it.

The last time I flew was when my mother died in 2003.  I flew home from two states away to be with my family, and because I knew I would be staying awhile, I bought a one-way ticket.  Well, in the world of aviation, flying one-way automatically classifies you as a terrorist threat.  I will never forget the special treatment I got on that day, just hours after learning my mother was gone.

In the years since, the regulations have only tightened, to the point of extremism.  Now, toddlers are stripped and invalids are forced to remove their incontinence products, all in the name of keeping us safe.  Does anyone actually believe this will stop a determined terrorist from attacking us?  I don't, not even for a second.  So why do we allow these rules to ever encroach on our rights?  Can someone tell me exactly what we have gained by implementing these suffocating rules?

The only benefit I can see is for the government.  All that extra control has got to be great for their egos, and keeping a tighter grip on us wayward citizens is sure to solve some of their own problems.  What I don't get is why we are still passively lining up to strip, walk through radiation-filled X-ray machines, and quietly standing by while children are all but molested in order to keep us "safe". 

What we need is fewer rules and regulations, and a return to a world where everyone is innocent.  I'm tired of feeling suspicious of my neighbors.
 

90s Fashion Trends Remembered, Part 1

Were you ever sent to the principal's office for wearing a slap bracelet?

If you were a child, a tween, a teen or a college student during the 90s, you surely remember some of the hottest trends of the decade. At the time you probably thought you looked great in your trendy outfit while walking the mall or waiting in line to see Pearl Jam or the Spice Girls. Looking back at your old photos, would you ever wear these trends again? Or are you happy to leave them in the past?

Let's remember and celebrate some of the best trends of the 90s.

Flannel

If it was the 90s, there had to be flannel around. Everyone from legendary rocker Kurt Cobain to the hunks on TV shows such as Party of Five and My So-Called Life wore flannel shirts (unbuttoned of course) with a t-shirt underneath and jeans on a regular basis. Even girls got in on the flannel shirt trend by wrapping flannel shirts around their waists or wearing the shirts open with a baby tee underneath.

Slap Bracelets

They were made of steel on the inside, they had fun fabric on the outside---they were slap bracelets. You could slap them onto your own wrist to wear them and to the horror of adults everywhere you could also slap your friends with them.  Slap bracelets were banned from many schools because of slap related injuries.

Reebok Pumps

If you are a teen in 2011 rocking out to the song “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, you may not even know what a pumped up kick is, but if you were young in the 90s you can't possibly forget. Reebok Pumps were considered one of the coolest (and most expensive) pairs of sneakers of the entire decade. The sneakers had a basketball on the top that you could literally push on to pump up your shoes and your wardrobe.

Chain Wallets

Chain wallets were awesome because they attached your wallet to your pants so you wouldn’t lose it and also gave you another excuse to add chains to your outfit. JNCOs and chain wallets went together like Oreo cookies and milk.

The Dukes of Hazzard

I think for many people, The Dukes of Hazzard series is iconic of the lighthearted mentality of the eighties.  Fun loving Bo and Luke took us on some wild adventures in the backwoods of Georgia.  Former moonshiners and all around renegades, the Duke cousins constantly went head to head with Boss Hogg, the corrupt town leader who was always up to no good.  The rambunctious cast of eccentric characters meant there was always something strange going on. 

Shows like this were really popular in the 70s and 80s.  Smokey and the Bandit is another example of this lighthearted style that was so popular then.  In fact, both of these have been rewritten recently for modern viewers, but I don’t think we’re into movies like that as much anymore.  Culture is becoming more uptight as we find ourselves with more responsibilities and less time to accomplish them.

No longer do we have the carefree, come-what-may attitudes of the 80s, and that’s a sad thing.  We are teaching our kids to live in the future, burdened with responsibilities and too many rules.  What happened to that free and easy life?

I’m not sure what made the Dukes of Hazzard such a popular TV show.  Perhaps it was the souped-up muscle car, the high speed chases, the way the Dukes had fun in everything they did, or maybe it was just Daisy Duke in those short shorts that were so popular they now define a style.  Whatever the case may be, the days of the Dukes are behind us, and we instead choose to immerse ourselves in reality TV and the oddities of other people’s lives.

The Changing Standards of Beauty in Fashion

I am about to express an opinion that may get my man-card revoked, but I have to say that the way women’s fashion has changed in recent years is quite disappointing.  Call me a traditionalist, but I’ve always thought that subtly works better when it comes to accentuating beauty.  Nowadays it seems like the emphasis in fashion focuses on high-rise thongs and low-rise jeans, booty shorts and tops so tight that it’s a wonder that women can breathe at all.

One of the chief elements of creating good fashion is in having some actual clothing

to work with.  This “minimalist” approach seems to suggest that flesh is, in-and-of-itself, a part of the clothing.  There’s little room for artistic expression in the clothing and less room for a woman to take advantage of layers, accessories and other highlights in creating a “social costume”.

Admittedly, there’s definitely a line somewhere between 1800s fashion that covered head-to-toe and clothing that looks like it belongs more in the bedroom than on the streets, but that, in my opinion, is where true elegance

resides.  Every time I see college girls (or even high-school or grade-school girls) walking down the street in 30 degree weather wearing a mini-skirt and a tube-top, I cringe.  I want to approach them and let them know that there is a way to dress nicely without endangering yourself to frostbite.

So, yes, I may be old-fashioned or traditional, but I believe that a woman’s beauty is expressed in the way she presents herself and not in how much of herself she presents.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

The master in television form.

I watched all of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies with my grandma when I was a little kid. Perhaps they made me paranoid, question the motives of all humanity and really, really hate birds.

But overall, I think that Hitchcock’s directorial intentions are misrepresented in popular culture because of the horror-film nature of Psycho. To be clear, Hitchcock was not primarily a horror director, but instead was certainly a master of suspense.

He was also a really quirky guy. He included himself in cameo roles in all of his films (he leaves a pet shop with two little dogs in The Birds; he walks down the street with a trumpet case in Vertigo). He also introduces every episode of an excellent way to get a sense of Hitchcockian suspense, his weekly television series from 1955 onward, Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Although Hitchcock himself only directed a few of the episodes, his introduction and name is on every episode. If they are predictable to you, it’s only because of the generations of film and television writers who have borrowed from the master. Most of the time, his episodes seem modern, fresh, and, perhaps more often than I would like to admit, unpredictable.

I watched the episode “Portrait of Jocelyn” last week. In it, a man wants to buy his wife a painting for their one-year wedding anniversary. Both he and she are horrified when the art dealer reveals a portrait of the man’s first wife, who has disappeared, in place of the portrait the man had originally purchased. The man’s wife, Jocelyn, allegedly went to Europe, and her brother, hasn’t heard from her in many years, except for a letter he received from her one year after her disappearance. However, he manages to track down the artist who created the painting. The artist lives in a remote village where the man and Jocelyn visited during their marriage. There, the man finds a sculpted head of Jocelyn, and his wife finds her things hanging in the closet.

Think you know what’s going on? You don’t.

The man goes to visit the artist at his house near the water. The artist says that his wife, Jocelyn, is only upstairs. The man insists that he call her down, but the artist finally admits that she isn’t upstairs. Instead, the artist says, Jocelyn admitted to him that she was leaving him for another man. The artist goes to show the man Jocelyn’s grave when (*spoiler alert*) the man admits that he had killed Jocelyn long ago for the same reason. At that point, the artist/detective and Jocelyn’s brother emerge to reveal that they had planted the painting of Jocelyn, knowing that his guilty conscience would eventually get the best of him.

Are you watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents?

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