I was a high school kid in the early ‘80s when the term “digital” gained traction in the public headspace. I specifically remember the very moment I learned what the term meant relative to the analog nature of, well…everything in life up to that point.
As naïve as I may have been, I wondered then what life would be like when everything was reduced to simple ones and zeros. Wouldn’t it all be so finely-calculated to the point of being hyper-sanitary…and boring?
As it turned out, my simple teenage mind was prescient in many ways. In the rush toward digital everything, plenty of what made life interesting—and arguably better—has been lost, probably forever.
Realistically speaking, plenty of what I’m about to throw on the table happened long before “my day”. As such, my intent isn’t to sound curmudgeonly. It’s just that with technology moving at such breakneck speed toward The Singularity, I haven’t seen much written about what we’ve sacrificed along the way as collateral damage.
That’s likely because much of what might be written would be arguable. As incredible as it is to see massive LCD displays in Times Square or Shinjuku where neon lights once were, it wasn’t ever like you had a flashing neon display in your living room. That was an experience specifically reserved for being away from home. I mean hell, wasn’t Vegas better when neon lit up the desert and the Rat Pack ruled The Oasis? Did digital overwhelm (and illicit business cards littering the street) really make it better?
Similarly, plenty of people long for the automotive individuality of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Sure, in lockstep with the dawning of the Digital Age, every car built since about 1984 looks like it was designed in a wind tunnel, and it’s challenging these days to differentiate between brands on the highway. But would you really rather have a ’62 Oldsmobile as your daily driver than a Tesla?
However, what life has become in today’s world certainly transcends mere ones and zeroes. The net value of so-called “progress” in those other areas is equally arguable.
Back in the day doctors made house calls, and health care costs didn’t necessarily break you. But people also died of diseases that there are now simple cures for.
Did Political Correctness really make us more accepting and tolerant of each other, or has it come to the point where nobody can avoid being irrevocably shamed by their alleged hypocrisy?
And how about Hollywood? The stars were more talented back in the “golden age” because the potential outlets for such talent were fewer. Storylines were fresher, and sequels less common. Does having 2000 channels in HD, Netflix and IMAX really outweigh having to endure The Kardashians and Kathy Griffin?
In today’s gender-bending society, lots of women are wondering where the real men are. But on the other hand, there’s no denying those same women have more opportunity than ever before.
That may lead to a justifiable rant about how we as men have lost so many basic “manly” skills, such as performing an oil change. And no, I definitely don’t want to become a useless couch ornament. But threats to our masculinity aside, is life actually WORSE because of certain modern conveniences? Even though I know how, I’ll never have to change my own oil again in the service industry era. Personally, I spend my time learning what I need to know nowadays, not what my grandfather needed to know. If bicycle repair, backing up a trailer and handling a firearm responsibly are coincidentally “manly”, great. But you’re not going to catch me rubbing two sticks together to make a campfire out of “principle”.
But never mind any of that. All controversial ideas aside, here’s what unquestionably used to rock, but doesn’t so much anymore. (And dammit, I’ll admit I even found a fair counterpoint for most of these).
1) Rock (literally)
Anyone nowadays who scoffs at the idea of Jimi Hendrix having been the greatest rock guitarist of all time is ignoring a simple truth. At the time he hit the scene, nobody had ever heard anything like that before.
Over the course of the next few decades rock bands not only rocked harder, they were fantastically innovative and tremendously talented. Most who hit it big had a unique sound apart from all others. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, Skynyrd, The Doors, Rush, Yes, AC/DC…even Steely Dan, Van Halen, The Police and Styx, for Pete’s sake. There was no mistaking what band was playing on your radio.
Generally speaking, you could easily argue there’s been nothing truly innovative, let alone transcendent, in Rock and Roll since Guns N’ Roses. I’m no Rolling Stone columnist, but if you think, for example, that Grunge was original I have some old Ramones cassettes for you to discover.
Is there anyone who would put Maroon 5, Nickelback and Creed up against any of the true legends with a straight face? And even those bands are at least ten years old. One could even argue on a general basis that there hasn’t been anything new in music at all since, say, Trip Hop.
Want proof I’m on to something here? Even today’s kids show plenty of reverence for the greatness of the past. Once upon a time, music was the yardstick by which the Generation Gap was measured. Now, you see as many Nirvana and Metallica shirts at your local high school as you did 25 years ago. Everything passed off as “new music” is old news.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: iTunes and the cloud definitely beat hard copies. It’s also true that the older music is still out there. New music hasn’t replaced it, but rather added to the global library.
2) The pageantry of air travel
Forty years ago people actually used to get dressed up to fly. It was a major life event. Stewardesses were attractive, and airplanes had bigger, comfier seats (and lounges!) Cocktails were free, airports were smaller and yes…”security” was practically a joke. Even up until right after 9/11 you could greet or send off your party at the gate.
Those days are gone. Air travel is now a commonplace rat race run between the masses trying to get home from business meetings and people in sweatpants going to see their aunt Polly in Phoenix. We all know what it’s like to get through TSA checkpoints, and we’re left to contend with narrower, more cramped spaces onboard for our efforts.
Hell, in the mere dozen years or so since Emily and I have been traveling internationally on a regular basis, there has been a tangible shift in how casually people treat even 14-hour flights to the other freaking side of the world. The gate to Tokyo is right next to a flight to Cincinnati, and both planes are loaded like cattle cars just the same.
And don’t get me started about how nearly every new airplane looks exactly the same. I’ve gotten to the point where I stop and admire each MD-11 freighter I see on short final. Five years from now I won’t be able to, and that will be one more unique silhouette taken from the sky.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: More frequent flights to more destinations, better and safer airplanes, far cheaper airfare, e-ticketing, no more smoking sections (or dirty armrest ashtrays)
3) Endangered species in the wild
I often fantasize about what it must have been like to visit places like east Africa or western North America a hundred years ago. Imagine how many wild animals there must have been.
Nowadays, if you want to see a real, live bison in its natural habitat, you’ll likely have to go to a protected sanctuary like a state or national park. Similarly, no matter how much you fork over for an honest-to-goodness African safari, you’ll be hard pressed to see even one rhino. Want to see elephants and lions on The Serengeti? You’d better hurry.
Siberian tigers? Pandas in the Sichuan Province? Forget it.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: Conservationists are making a real effort, but it’s hard to find a bright side for this one.
4) Home cooking / real food
What in the world did we do before microwaves became a thing? The answer is simple: we ate real food. And we usually prepared it ourselves. Hell, go far enough back and we probably grew it ourselves. Nobody had to ask if what was on the table was fresh or organic. There was no other option.
Am I the only person in the world who sees the irony in a grocery chain branding itself “Whole Foods”, presumably as a unique selling point? So much of what we find in grocery stores these days might pass off as comestible, but it can’t fairly be described as “food”. Google what high fructose corn syrup actually is, or read the history of Aspartame. You may end up in a fetal position at the foot of your bed sucking your thumb.
Never mind that all the fake, marketing-driven stuff we eat is wreaking havoc on our health. The associated dramatic decrease in people’s general cooking skills has robbed us of our ability to enjoy creative variety at home, let alone eat healthier for less money.
Nobody has time for that anymore. So here we are…living in a world where nuking a plastic container for four minutes is so much trouble that most people usually go to restaurants instead, anyway. More on that next.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: More varieties of produce, bigger and better supermarkets (of which we happen to have the best http://www.heb.com here in San Antonio, TX).
5) Better restaurants
Kind of like flying, it used to be that going out to eat was actually an event. There were fewer restaurants, most were family-owned, and they generally took great pride in their craft. Before the days of fast food, virtually all restaurants cooked your meal to order. It was worth the wait.
Never mind that restaurants of yesteryear cooked with fresher, more natural food. They had bowls of free mints next to the register. Next to that was a bowl of matchbooks, also free. The cocktails came with branded swizzle sticks.
Waitresses called you “hon” and weren’t compelled by management to lecture you on how to order your steak. You never had to ask for a glass of water.
Nowadays, I’m hard pressed to find a Chinese restaurant that still issues your carry-out order in oyster pails. It’s all about Styrofoam and plastic.
Even when you were on a road trip, making a stop to eat something meant REALLY stopping and savoring a meal. Want a real treat? Go visit Holbrook, AZ, where you’ll find the best-preserved remaining stretch of old Route 66. Go back in time and eat at a place like El Rancho Mexican Restaurant.
Speaking of old-school road trips, I’m sure none of us really want to revert to the days before there was an Interstate highway system. But that doesn’t mean we don’t miss the next item on the list.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: If you want your meal fast you can have it, and there’s certainly a time and place for that. There’s also no denying that today’s variety when dining out is fantastically wonderful. It’s amazing to think that back in 1983 Chi-Chi’s was the first real Mexican Restaurant in Baltimore, and most of us living there were both mystified and repulsed by the idea of eating “raw fish”.
6) Service stations
Unless you live in New Jersey, you pump your own gas. But just forty years ago (or two, if you’re in Oregon), you never had to get out of your car and risk smelling like fumes. An attendant would come to the window and ask, “Regular or Hi-Test?”
Once he (rarely a “she”) got the pump working, he would typically check your oil and wash your windshield, all at no extra charge.
You paid the man, and off you went…unless, of course, you needed a road map. Those were usually free. And hey, if you happened to need a quick repair, it was a one-stop shop. After all, what we know of today as “gas stations” used to be called “service stations”.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: Speed matters when you’re trying to get somewhere fast, and it’s all down to a science nowadays. There’s also no doubt that GPS navigation blows away reading even a free map. And then there’s Buc-ee’s, which is better than Stuckey’s.
7) Blissful ignorance of everyone else’s business
On one hand, it’s amazing to be able to connect so easily and so often with a multitude of people you’d likely talk to rarely, if ever, otherwise. But although I’m already on record about how social media has ruined social interaction as we once knew it, there’s something else I miss from the past.
Have you ever considered how flat-out nice it was to know so little about so few other people? These days, not only do you hear about a depressingly mind-numbing array of practically everyone’s problems, you’re consistently confronted with an onslaught of surrealistically cool stuff they’re doing which YOU are not. And on top of that, you feel like you actually have to take time to respond to every such stimulus.
It’s no coincidence that the rise of the FOMO (fear of missing out) phenomenon coincided with the rise of social media. Just a decade ago, all of us used to be content to stay ahead of the Joneses. Nowadays, we get depressed because we know at least two dozen other people who are currently adventuring in Mongolia. Hell, I actually HAVE adventured in Mongolia before, and I’m STILL jealous.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: No doubt, it’s nice to reconnect with long lost friends and classmates. It’s also valuable at times to interact with someone on social media without having to risk a lengthy phone conversation where you’d be subject to hearing about ALL of their business.
8) Great NFL football
Hear me out on this one. My Dad use to have season tickets for the Baltimore Colts. In the ‘70s and early ‘80s I went to my fair share of games. Back then the game was raw and more visceral. If certain players were known for being thugs and beating people up, that was likely to add to their legend. Memorial Stadium, like others, was overflowing with sweaty, cursing men bonding over missed field goals and bad calls with flasks of Jim Beam stashed in their back pockets.
Nowadays, technology has advanced both fitness and equipment to the point where players have achieved lethal speed-to-power ratios, all the while clad in full-carbon gear that weighs probably a third of what it once did. Rules had to be instituted in hopes of keeping these guys from literally killing each other on the field. Those rules make the game feel much more restricted, and therefore less entertaining to watch.
Most recently, politics finally seeped in and drew attention away from the sport itself. Worse, 3D television didn’t really catch on.
Then there are the owners who bring too much attention to themselves, and primadonna players with Twitter accounts. Somehow, it feels like players from the past had more depth to their personas. Butkus, Singletary, Bradshaw, Namath, “The Fridge”, Artie Donovan…the list goes on and on.
As Cyndi Lauper once noticed (back when MTV, too, was way better), money changes everything. The NFL is the most lucrative sports league on the planet, and wealth is king. That takes much of the charm out of the picture, replacing it with glitz and hype.
With the Super Bowl halftime show having become a “pay to play” gig, freaking Maroon 5 was featured this year, whereas none other than Michael Jackson once mesmerized an entire global audience back in 1990 simply by staring into space for a full ninety seconds. This year, all of us guys went on the back porch for a cigar, leaving the wives and girlfriends to watch that shiznit.
Even Super Bowl commercials suck nowadays. Years ago, the Bud Bowl was a “game within a game” that people actually looked forward to, even if feeling dumb for doing so. EDS was herding cats and Apple was launching major products. But much like Hollywood, Madison Avenue has clearly run out of original ideas. Weird celebrity juxtapostions and animals speaking CGI don’t cut it anymore.
Hell, maybe I just miss John Madden and Chris Berman.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: HD and amazing camera technology make for better television. Modern stadiums are absolutely astounding, even if less “visceral”.
9) The wonder of sexual attraction and dating
Fear not, I’m not about to advocate returning to the bad old days of Mad Men-era skirt chasing and blatant sexual harassment. And you need not remind me about that blog post I penned about some ways technology has enhanced modern dating. But it’s amazing how much has deteriorated even in the mere six years since I wrote that, which I attribute largely to the superficiality and overwhelm of dating apps.
It’s unfortunate how cheap sex has become. It’s not that I’m calling for a return to puritanical guilt and shame. Rather, I’m acknowledging how thrilling and ultimately fulfilling it was to partake of the dance of sexual attraction with someone before diving right in. Nowadays, short attention spans and the sense of buffered security created by Internet flirtation have accelerated the “speed to sex”. Kind of like restaurants, it’s all become “fast food”.
The idea of going on real, actual dates is almost laughable to Generation Z, and has been for at least half a decade now. Believe it or not, I was recently involved in a conversation with my peers about whether or not the term “dating coach” was now out of touch, if not downright tone-deaf. I found myself debating in favor of moving on from the term.
Above and beyond that, the other day I was told by someone on Twitter that if I was a man who was unwilling to date a trans woman, I should unfollow him. Never mind that I’m married. What if I just don’t want a girlfriend with a penis? Can’t sexual preference still be a thing?
Let’s get real. Wasn’t it great when women were unabashedly feminine and men were bravely masculine? Were we more aware of how sexual attraction worked back then, or was it simply that there weren’t so many confusing options?
And then there’s this. Realistically speaking, can it be argued that knowing what every kind of woman looks like naked in full HD—for free—is necessarily a good thing? I mean, being a spoiled brat sexually is one thing, but now people don’t even require another human being in the flesh in order to be such.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: I would argue that “slut shaming” is gradually becoming a thing of the past. It’s wonderful that consent has taken center stage, as it should. And obviously, nowadays you can even hire a dating coach (or whatever we’re called).
10) Candy
When I was a kid, there was a sign at the Pantry Pride supermarket in Reisterstown, MD that read, “Candy is wholesome food. Eat more of it.”
Obviously, truth in advertising has ostensibly come a long way over the years. But candy itself has absolutely not.
In the “dime store” era, a kid could go to Woolworth’s or Murphy’s and be confronted with an entire aisle of cheap, plentiful and diverse candy choices. It was an absolute wonderland. So much so, that the long-lost luxury of cheap babysitting once available to shopping moms is tangentially worthy of nostalgia in and of itself.
Hell, if mom gave me a mere quarter, I was effectively incarcerated in a prison of childhood confectionery dilemma for at least half an hour. Would I spend the loot on two honest-to-goodness candy bars like a Clark and a Zero, or would I go the more likely route of scoring an entire bag of “penny candy”?
Penny candy! Every trip to the drug store was like Halloween, only without the time-wasting hassle of dressing up or going door-to-door. It was straight to the goodies. Mary Janes. Atomic Fireballs. B-B-Bats in four different flavors. Every choice was completely different from the next.
Nowadays, it’s as if Nestle and Hershey have a death grip on the candy counter, if there’s even one at all. When was the last time you saw Now And Laters, Neccos, Goetze’s Caramel Creams or a candy necklace? Lemonheads. Boston Baked Beans. Turkish Taffy. Red Hots. Pixie Stix.
Come to think about it, when was the last time you even saw rolls of Life Savers? There used to be a rack of at least a dozen different kinds. And if that wasn’t good enough, you could get Reed’s…in Root Beer flavor.
I’d be willing to bet if you’re under 35 you don’t even realize there used to be candy cigarettes. There were paper-wrapped bubble gum ones, too. When you “puffed” them, a white cloud of powdered sugar blew out of the open end!
On the bright side, vastly better choices in the beer aisle nowadays more than make up for candy aisle losses, at least for us adults.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: Red velvet, sake and green tea Kit Kats (and all sorts of other stuff from Japan). Kinder Surprise eggs, if you can get them.
11) Playing outside
How is it we can kvetch about childhood obesity so much, while simultaneously sanctioning kids’ mass addiction to staying inside dinking around on electronics?
I mean, consider that there is a real controversy over so-called “free range children”. Outrage over kids playing outside all day has become a matter of social debate.
Let me just spell it out. This has gotten ridiculous. As you may already know, I’m a BMX dad. We all ride bikes. Preferably outside. But just try and find other neighborhood kids who want to join us. Hell, try finding neighborhood kids out there…period. Even if you do, many won’t even know how to ride a bike.
When I was about twelve, a pack of about two dozen of us stayed out until after dark every day, all summer long. We built ramps and jumped stuff. We rode probably thirty or forty miles a day. It was a blast. And all of us were in good shape.
If we weren’t BMXing, we were shooting off Estes rockets or swimming in someone’s pool. ANYTHING to get out of the house…away from Mom, away from our baby sister.
Presently, there is exactly one halfway decent skatepark in San Antonio. On a warm Sunday afternoon, you’ll find about a dozen people there. Most of them will be adults.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: I can’t think of anything, frankly. Even our BMX bikes were cooler back then. And you won’t convince me that anything electronic beats anything a kid could be doing outside.
12) Common decency
Have you ever watched old movies or TV shows from the ‘60s? If so, you’ve probably found them equally entertaining, if not even better than the newer stuff. Sure, some of that is related to my brief rant about Hollywood above. But it also has to do with the simple fact that people were classier and more gentile back then. Some may argue otherwise, but has rampant cursing, wanton violence and generally shocking behavior really made today’s entertainment any better?
Whatever else besides the media may have contributed to today’s state of affairs, there’s no denying that we’ve gone soft on common decency toward our fellow human beings. Collectively, we are more self-absorbed and less conscientious than ever. The breakdown of the family unit has led to fewer children being taught basic manners and social graces.
The anonymity of the Internet has dragged the baseline standard for social behavior down even further, and at record speed. As I have argued elsewhere, Siri has made us surlier. Now that we can tell a simulated human what to do with total social immunity, how are we not training ourselves to treat our fellow real, actual humans in such a cold, impersonal and even violent manner?
As a sign of the times, I recently saw a video on YouTube of a road rage incident. The main instigator, a woman, was hurling a fusillade of the most vile, profane invective imaginable at the other driver. Several commenters freely concluded the woman in the video must be a “f-cking bible-thumping born-again Christian”.
WHAT’S BETTER NOWADAYS: There’s no doubt that we’ve made great strides in combating racism, sexism and homophobia. We’re going to continue to do better, as we should. But let’s just hope we don’t tear each other apart in the process over political differences.
So what do you have to say about all this? What have I overlooked? Where am I completely off base?
No matter what your opinion, I can’t wait to hear it as this is a conversation well worth having.
Be Good,
Scot McKay
P.S. How about making a change that’s actually good? What if women absolutely adored you from now on? This is for you.
P.P.S. Want more? This very discussion is going on in even greater depth at The Mountain Top Summit group on Facebook. Join here and I’ll personally welcome you into our thriving community of high-character “big four” men.
A big one, but a subtle one – independence, or maybe even freedom. Read “Tom Sawyer” for a baseline. I grew up in the 1960’s, and I was shocked at what those people could do without fear of fines or imprisonment! It was a strange environment where, unless you caused actual damage, you could pretty much do what you wanted. You could do it anyway, but one way or another you would pay for any harm you caused, and if the harm was to yourself, nobody would have much pity for you. Sounds kind of harsh, doesn’t it?
While you were pretty much on your own, you could depend on friends and neighbors in a way that seems outrageous now. What used to be a favor to ask a neighbor is now a matter for professionals, a cop, a lawyer, or God help us, a congressman. We no longer trust ourselves to do things well.
Rules? You learned those on your own, or by seeing someone else’s example. Penalties? Most of the rules worth bothering with came with their penalties built in. Build your barn this way, or it will fall down in a strong wind. Drink too much whiskey, you get a hangover and a reputation. Act foolish on a ladder, you fall down. Behave badly, and people will start to avoid you. Hard, inflexible rules, but ultimately you could do anything you wanted if you were willing to accept the risk. You were free to fail, but that meant you were free to succeed. Win or lose, you owned yourself, and that’s a prideful thing.
Somewhere along the line, we decided that fear of failure was greater than hope of success. You can’t risk building your barn wrong, you have to hire a professional who will charge extra for compliance with a shockingly detailed building code. Fell off a ladder? Obviously the ladder-maker’s fault! Drank too much? You poor dear, not your fault, let us heal you. Bad, even criminal behavior? Society was never kind enough to you, were they? And anything you might seriously want to accomplish is buried in statutes and regulations, requiring or forbidding every step of the way. And we keep piling on more!
We go on about freedom, and independence, and self esteem, and all that happy horse manure, but we remove choice and responsibility at every turn. We are approaching the point where that which is not forbidden is required, even if we have some distance to cover yet. And even in the things that are absolutely, positively our own choice and responsibility, we are assured constantly that it is not our fault if it doesn’t go well, someone or something else is to blame.
If failure is never my fault, how can success be my accomplishment? If I am required by law or regulation to do everything a certain way, how can I try a new idea? Even the way we feel is controlled by other people with their trigger words and microaggressions. Where is the pride in that? For that matter, if you accept the propaganda, how can you control, or even affect, any part of your own life?
The down side is general hopelessness, surliness, outbreaks of violence, and a rising suicide rate.
The up side? Well, there’s the inability to distinguish between health insurance and health care, I suppose. And we get to avoid responsibility. Yay?
One can’t help but believe that the boundaries of political correctness will finally present themselves. It’s already true that PC folks are already starting to eat their own, as talked about extensively in the latest episode (#138) of The Mountain Top Podcast.
We’ve lost a lot. The rise of porn has destroyed everything that makes sex good. Anticipation, the slow burn, wondering where this is going to go. Turning sex into an end product. There used to be a deep satisfaction in business, a joy in producing the best product you can for a reasonable price. Where’s that gone? Who teaches kids about integrity and honor? How can we find happiness without it being rooted in belief in our fundamental goodness? Happiness is how you feel about yourself. It comes from living your life with integrity, doing good, being good. Richness comes from what you give, not what you get. Somehow, we need to reconnect with the most important lessons of history, not just keep hurling forward, turning the world into a blur. Great post! A lot to think about.
There’s a lot there to unpack. But yes, it’s amazing how history repeats itself. With more knowledge available to everyone than ever before, it’s mind-numbing how the general population seems to be as ignorant of truth as ever before. Emotions are easily led.
I would add, Marriage, the rates of which are the lowest in over 90 years.
No-fault divorce is the primary culprit. Divorce rates have skyrocketed since the first such law was enacted in 1970. We’ve gone from ”till death do us part” to “until I change my mind”, and given the costs involved, it is no wonder. An institution that has served us well for centuries is going the way of the rotary-dial phone, and the relational stability that it was built on is going the same route
Great point.
Great points! Right on about rock. Seeing the movie about Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody) really brought that home. Though Hendrix did take a lot of his style from Pete Townshend of The Who,but definitely put his own stamp on it, so nobody really did play quite like him. Speaking of The Who and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, how many drummers or bassists play with anything like the fire Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, John Entwistle, and Noel Redding did? Or the Attractions with Elvis Costello? Or the Talking Heads rhythm section? They’re still out there, but one has to dig deeper. A vast majority seems so dumbed-down and watered down.
But things go in cycles. I see a lot of young people who are getting out, doing things, and making things. Even feminists are re-thinking the unintended consequences, such as the (rather ironic) devaluation of femininity in women, and the state of men, in general.
I would love to see an all-new genre of music take hold, but it hasn’t happened in quite a while. The Talking Heads were underrated.
I would argue a counter-point regarding NFL football, in that recent (since about the 1990s) Super Bowls have in general been MUCH better games that the earlier ones. Through the 80s they were just about all one-sided, if not out-and-out blowouts, with little of the drama of recent comebacks and see-saw battles that went down to the wire.
Yes, there was a run of really bad Super Bowls there, wasn’t there? But the game at large isn’t what it used to be.
This will be fun!
As for Metallica shirts. The last time I counted I had over 150. But I have become disillusioned with them as a band (not the music) and haven’t got any new shirts in a few years. I certainly wore them in school decades ago though. As for Guns ‘N Roses never being again? Well there’s a joke: how do you piss off a group of Metallica fans? Talk about Axl Rose. Well joke but it’s also real. Whining about his throat hurting whilst drinking and smoking and it not being the band’s time yet after the pyrotechnics accident (by the pyrotechnician called ‘Shakey’ and a miscommunication). And leaving the stage on his own shows too for who knows what else. Ridiculous. But that’s just an aside.
I strongly disagree that digital copies are better for music. Don’t get me wrong; I have a huge collection (mostly live) but I have sealed vinyls that are rare, misprints, mislabels, CDs, cassettes, VHS, DVDs. Not to mention vinyls that aren’t rare. I’ve spent thousands over the years on that above band but they saved my life in many ways over many years too. Digital in addition is excellent though yes.
For flying: I’m not a traveller. Until they invent teleportation (that is: for humans – yes they have teleported tiny particles before) or the ability to open portals (in the so-called real life) I won’t be. So I can’t really talk about aeroplanes or travel.
Re wild animals: Well a few years ago I had a brief debate with a long time good friend of mine about whether the world has improved on anything like this. She was saying she thought that there were some improvements. I said the opposite and the very next day I saw an article on the BBC reporting that in the past 40 years (from that year) >50% of all wildlife was destroyed. Didn’t surprise me at all. When humans are the cause of animals going ‘extinct’ it’s more like they’ve exterminated them. But… As for rhinos etc.? Your point is valid but my auntie and uncle have been to Africa a number of times and I have some of the photos. One that comes to mind has a hillside full of a herd of elephants. They also have encountered quite a few rhinos. But yes. It’s awful and I won’t say more than that because it’s such an issue for me. Except that conservation is not doing nearly enough. Don’t get me started on ‘trophy’ hunters…
Cooking? Definitely. Food from your own garden? Absolutely! But as for plastic…. Well there are safety risks there too. Even so I would say a big part of why there is more microwaving now is due to schedules. But there’s this: much of it is arguably that people believe themselves too busy otherwise. But are they? Only in their mind. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t very busy but still it’s a matter of priorities isn’t it? As we all know too when a couple gets together they certainly have a lot of time for each other.
I think it’s good that restaurants don’t give you water without asking. It’s wasteful otherwise. Not everyone wants it and depending on the time of day some people (like me) don’t want a lot of water. Somehow this reminds me (and I haven’t a clue why) the old sit in your car cinemas.
Pumping your own petrol is a problem? But tell that to those who love the fumes! (I do not I’m just piss taking here) I don’t have an option really because I cannot drive due to sleep deprivation that has no known solution despite years of doctor visits on it. Never felt safe anyway.
Social media: Yes, yes it’s amusing how the more connected people are online the more disconnected from reality they are isn’t it? And then there’s the text crossing that was in some part of Belgium at least for a while. Or the women who have walked off a pier into the ocean because they were checking Facebook (tourist on holiday in Australia) or woman who walked into a body of water texting her boyfriend or… But then: telling everyone where you’ll be on holiday and when and other such thing is a great way to help burgling isn’t it?
As for football I think of soccer. But I don’t like sports anyway so no comment.
On dating/sex/etc. Casual sex for me isn’t something I can do. Even without safety issues it’s an emotional thing for me. I would like to believe that ostracising women for being promiscuous is falling but I have a hard time believing that. Definitely consent is important and always has (I won’t even get into how much sexual assault has affected me by people I’ve known and held and hold dear). I have no problem going on dates and even if some don’t like to then so be it. As for terminology? Does it matter if it’s still more or less doing the same thing? I don’t think so but that’s me. Definitely agree on the idea that you’re somehow intolerant if you wouldn’t date a transexual or someone who is of some trait you don’t fancy. Absolute tosh that is.
My idea of sweets is fruit so no comment on candy.
You’re telling me that there is contention of kids playing outdoors all day? Well that is absolutely ridiculous yes. But then so is telling others that they have to be outside for some amount of time. I did play outdoors but not as much as others esp later on with more problems. Obesity? Only when on a medication (and the reason I went off it is because of it – and fortunately I was on it because I got very sick not much time after that and I lost a lot of weight in a short time, was severely dehydrated and also rather malnourished requiring hospital).
As a victim of bullying throughout my childhood (and I mean really really severe case and the schools encouraging it) as well as having others in my life who had in some ways worse I can’t say I ever believed in common decency as a thing. Specifically I never believed it common. I wish it was otherwise but humans have a rather cruel side on a whole. Yet there is a silver lining here: when something wonderful happens it can be humbling and especially beautiful and magical.
…And it’s way past my bedtime so I’ll just finish this now.
Besides all of the collective commentaries regarding Sports, only because I never liked them, and still won’t no matter what, yes, to each it’s own in that regard, but with all the other 11, a whole host of extremely decent and well- thought out points that I will revisit in the future periodically, as a Thank You contributor on my end, especially since in the 80’s to before the LATE 90’s, I never once experienced in any sort of the ‘norm again’, before the actual LATE 70’s, and born in that time of the decade, anything other than how being a black male/African- American, was actually considered being human too, but yeah, the Sins of the Fathers never fail to find you, or find you out, I know, I know. Always nice to know that there are still Americans as I read primarily in here ( no females yet) that never needed this nation to be/become ‘Great Again’, and now Secularist/Bitcoin/LGBTQ/ Occult Covenant/ Anime/Disney/Hollywood/NEWER Cartoon Network once more, Nickelodeon, Biden, Feminazis of all ethnic origins, white ones always being the first/worst for us ‘all’ ( you don’t have to explain, I’m fully aware, but don’t care to compare, and always avoided, like even today all the way), the Luciferian Red Light District Dating/Hookup/Sex sites out there ( any difference at all out of the 3, even these days, not just for porno, perverts/heartbreak/drama- traumas/debt/compromise of character and confidence, amorality/ABNORMALITY, and all just because…’services’ in the field of financial means to connect people in what used to be such a thing known as ‘ relationships’ ???)
And, with all the Counterfeit Christianity in addition that I ran into without relent, which in turn, didn’t cause me to turn, and also, turned me in the aimed path to keep me in the Right Line with the Father for REAL, not SHOW and TELL ONLY, I thank Him for prompting me to come across this webpage, along with the type of described ( Sarah Palin is still a ghoul, and you’re entitled to your facts about not) Alaskan single high- quality young adult girls that are eye candy not just on the outside naturally, according to the other article I also read, everywhere in particular areas up there, right before I saw this one. Always the ones you’ll never find online at all, unless it’s an old 25+ outdated picture, and an algorithm, and a webcam, call, pay- for- it- all, if the real appearance isn’t enough to make you stop in your tracks about the rest of it all, online, if you wanna know, girl…maybe a girl too, you know, finding out stuff and all, not just the webmaster faking all, well, enough, and what remains about it ‘all’- and now to leave it well alone, so that I can spare you, out of wanting to be humane as possible, and meant completely what I said, as I said every bit of it, and yes I really did. I did. Yes, exactly to a science on purpose, decided to say/do it, yes I chose to, and now you read/see it for yourself. Yes, said/did.
Just thought as I live this solitary life with my $2. 55 cents in this conversation, I would input even further more for whoever reads all of this to consider, like it…or care if I will. It’s either way.
That’s how it is to me at least. Moving on from here now, until maybe some other time to come back sooner or later. Later.
As far as air travel goes, I think it was more of an occasion when people were going somewhere that was special and, with those they were going to see, often after years, meeting them at the airport, people wanted to be ready for first viewing. An old boyfriend of mine who worked for a large company was an objective evauator