Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of Friday Follies, and under examination this week;1) Change Is Inevitable #55413: Yes folks, there are many mainstays and icons of American life that are passing by the wayside nowadays, and here's but a short list:
a) The Phone Booth / The Pay Phone: As cell phones have become more affordable and plentiful, the pay phone/phone booth is officially obsolete, to the point that telecom giant AT&T is getting out of the payphone business altogether in just a few weeks. While cell phones are certainly more convenient (and you don't have to fumble for change or worry about the person behind you waiting to use the booth), their disappearance just BEGS one question, WHERE WILL SUPERMAN CHANGE INTO HIS OUTFIT?
b) Crank Windows In Cars: Not sure what to think here, OK, yeah they're convenient, but what if the motor or mechanism breaks, YOU'RE SCREWED!
c) Carbon Paper: The seriously old-school way to make multiple copies of typed/written documents without a Xerox. Nasty, crinkly and just plain obnoxiously messy, don't think even the most nostalgic person will miss these things. Gone the way of ditto/spirit duplicating . And you know, I wonder how many people used to get high off the fumes from those ditto machines.
d) Lickable Stamps: No tears shed here, self-adhesive rules! Never liked the taste of glue.
e) Film: Digital photography does indeed have MANY advantages, among which are unrivaled editing ability, clarity, convenience, lower operating overall costs and versatility. Even better, no nasty chemicals involved with digital photography. But still, it just isn't quite the same as, for some diehards anyway as fumbling in a darkroom with an enlarger and the pungent aroma of developer, fixer etc.f) Original Ideas From Hollywood: Ever since CGI effects, remake-fever, hack writers, gratuitous violence, misogyny and profanity, and brainless stars that CANNOT act (like Keanu Reeves and Lucy Liu for instance), Hollywood has yet to turn up anything really worthwhile anymore. As far as the writers strike goes, takes as long as you want guys, not many are whining right now for your return.
g) Musicianship In Mainstream Rock Music: I remember there used to be a time when more mainstream rock music had a certain level of musicianship that was expected from its participants, but sadly it seems that nowadays, the worse you play/sing and the more marketable you LOOK, the more likely you are to hit it big (and of course, don't even think about trying to get signed if you're over 20). There will always be exceptions, granted but it just ain't like the 60's and 70's when musicianship and creativity was the NORM, not the exception. There'll really never be another Beatles, Steely Dan, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Who, Black Sabbath, Yes etc.
h) The Holiday Inn As We Knew It: In the ever evolving world of hoteliers, needs do change, for good or ill. And in this case, the old open style Holiday Inn motels we grew up with are going by the wayside (with the possible exception of those that overlook coastlines) . One of the concerns has been security. Another has been declining business at the old style motels due to wildly varying quality and other issues. Holiday Inn is still a viable company alright, but it seems that the enclosed style motel is the preference nowadays. More details HERE
2) Don't Confuse Me With Facts: AAAAWWWWWWW Poor George Dubbaya, what's a Smiling Idiot In Chief to do when he wants to bomb Iran sooooooo badly, yet reality and intelligence reports tell him that Iran gave up on its nuclear weapons program at least 3+ years ago. Is Iran our friend now? HELL NO!! Should we keep an eye on them, YES! But ya know George, we've got FAR MORE important things to be doing right now than getting into MORE pointless, stupid acts of aggression against countries that had NOTHING to do with 9/11 just to vindicate your amazingly insecure ego. If you're a real man at all (which this Owl does NOT believe you are), why didn't you declare war on Saudi Arabia and go after Bin Laden and not stop until he was DEAD! ?? Wait, don't tell me, he'll invade and/or bomb states that don't vote predominantly Republican. Invade Greenland or Baffin Island maybe?
3) De-Commercializing The Holidays: As "The Holidays" descend on us (I STILL like Christmas, thank you very much you ACLU types, and I WILL say Merry Christmas over your protests), it seems to bring out the best AND worst in people. This time of year brings together families, friends and the like, giving, feasting, children having the time of their lives etc, On the flip side, it seems to do things like drive up incidences of suicide, depression, substance abuse, excessive debt and consumption. For some, it's a time of blissful remembrances and things to look forward to, for others a time of dread, disappointments, expectations gone awry and the like. One thing I DO love about this time of year is the giving part. Sure, we can bemoan the commercialism all we want, but if you really want to combat that whole thing, start by giving of yourself, be it volunteering to help the less fortunate, being there for a friend or loved one, doing ANYTHING to better the human condition in some way. And HERE is a small list of ideas.
HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!
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