Depressed by the modern world

[furious]

Great thread and I wholeheartedly agree with you all. I have been stuck in the 1930s and 1940s for as long as I can remember. I am 36 now and was the only kid listening to swing music in junior high in the late 80s instead of U2. Go figure. I get blue about the present as well though. With the 24-hour news cycle this is a very easy thing to do. However, when I am feeling that way I put on some Gramercy Five or Brubeck or whatever tickles my fancy and sink into a chair with an old briar and relax. Sometimes I pour a couple fingers of whiskey to go along with. Repeat as necessary.

 

[plain old dave]

Well, I have a slightly different take, but still on topic. Mine is cars. I am a HUGE stick in the mud for cars.

I drive a 98 Crown Vic. V8 power, column shift, rear wheel drive, manual bench seats. Tan.

The average modern car is usually some sort of SUV with bucket seats and power everything. Usually white, black, red or one of five billion shades of gray/silver.

I will try and NOT mount my soapbox on chrome. Modern cars need more. Would a chrome spear on the side of a new Challenger be that ugly?

I grew up in the waning days of the Great American Automobile, the 1980s. LTDs, Chevy Caprices, Olds Delta 88s, Dodge Diplomats and Plymouth Gran Furies. "Cadillac" meant "land barge driven by older person" not "epic ugly sports car wannabe". Lincoln meant about the same.

I have my Crown Vic and will never sell it. My wife has one, too.

Here ends the rant.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I have been stuck in the 1930s and 1940s for as long as I can remember. I am 36 now and was the only kid listening to swing music in junior high in the late 80s instead of U2. Go figure.

I can relate to that. For some reason people never quite understood what I meant when I said I was a U2 fan.
Who the heck is Bono???

Did I mention that I also dig The Stones?

 

[LizzieMaine]

U2? What does Francis Gary Powers have to do with music?

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

U2? What does Francis Gary Powers have to do with music?

Once I was looking for some music and I typed in "1927" and instead got a rock band named 1927! It also drives me nuts when I'm looking for a particular Golden Era song title and instead get lots of modern contemporary crap with the same name. :eusa_doh:

 

[LizzieMaine]

Fans of Hal Roach comedian Charley Chase feel your pain.

 

[furious]

U2? What does Francis Gary Powers have to do with music?

LOL!!! That would have been WAY over their 1980s pubescent heads for sure.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

The Crown Vic is the best built vehicle of the past 10 years. Love Ford's Panther Platform. Have a Grand Marquis, a Caddy Fleetwood, a Chevy Caprice, Ford LTD Country Squire, and an '89 Ram. All traditional body-on-frame, rear drive, bench seated, column shift yachts of cars. That's the way it's supposed to be.

Well, I have a slightly different take, but still on topic. Mine is cars. I am a HUGE stick in the mud for cars.

I drive a 98 Crown Vic. V8 power, column shift, rear wheel drive, manual bench seats. Tan.

The average modern car is usually some sort of SUV with bucket seats and power everything. Usually white, black, red or one of five billion shades of gray/silver.

I will try and NOT mount my soapbox on chrome. Modern cars need more. Would a chrome spear on the side of a new Challenger be that ugly?

I grew up in the waning days of the Great American Automobile, the 1980s. LTDs, Chevy Caprices, Olds Delta 88s, Dodge Diplomats and Plymouth Gran Furies. "Cadillac" meant "land barge driven by older person" not "epic ugly sports car wannabe". Lincoln meant about the same.

I have my Crown Vic and will never sell it. My wife has one, too.

Here ends the rant.

 

[furious]

Ahhh, yes, the classic American large sedan. Now a dinosaur on the roads. I miss those old cars. My first car was a 1967 Plymouth Fury III, which was the largest one they made. Also owned a 1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue in the late 90s. Both great cars and a lot of fun and dependable with good preventative maintenance. Of course, now I have a family, I opted for the low maintenance 2007 Honda Accord. Good car, but no fun. Oh well.

 

[CharleneC]

U2? What does Francis Gary Powers have to do with music?

More than one might imagine.

http://www.last.fm/music/Primrods/_/Francis+Gary+Powers+Offers+You+The+Thrill+Of+A+Lifetime

 

[BigBoiBrady]

Does the modern era truly suck all that badly compared to others, or are we all just escapists and non-conformists? Based on how many of the people posting in this thread never lived for a second in the golden era, I could say the latter hypothesis is most appropriate. Surly there are issues in the modern world that were much less of a concern back in those days (like the growing decline in family life and values, for example), but the Golden Era definitely had its own share of major problems that I'm sure nobody on this forum would want to experience if they had the opportunity to travel back in time to those days.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A lot of us here believe that much of the "progress" that's been achieved in recent times is largely illusory, like a fresh coat of paint on a rotten house -- that just enough progress has been achieved to give people a chance to point to superficial achievements and say "Look! We've solved that problem! Aren't we great!" and then ignore the evidence before them that the root of the problem has simply been shoved under the rug and not really solved at all.

And, a lot of us did grow up in a world with a healthy manufacturing economy, a dignified working class, real downtowns, rotary telephones, black-and-white television, and no designated-hitter rule, and we honestly miss it.

 

[Touchofevil]

A lot of us here believe that much of the "progress" that's been achieved in recent times is largely illusory, like a fresh coat of paint on a rotten house -- that just enough progress has been achieved to give people a chance to point to superficial achievements and say "Look! We've solved that problem! Aren't we great!" and then ignore the evidence before them that the root of the problem has simply been shoved under the rug and not really solved at all.

And, a lot of us did grow up in a world with a healthy manufacturing economy, a dignified working class, real downtowns, rotary telephones, black-and-white television, and no designated-hitter rule, and we honestly miss it.

Yes! I know that the period of time in which I spent my childhood was a safer and nicer world then that of today. Some neat things have come along over the years yet I would gladly trade them for the kinder world of my youth.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Taking the phone off the hook when you didn't want to be bothered, and knowing nobody would hold it against you.

Single-screen theatres that didn't show movies about steroidal morons in rubber suits.

The satisfaction of reading the newspaper front to back every morning, and then using it to wrap up the fish guts.

The satisfying smell of a kerosene stove on a winter night.

Not worrying about throwing your back again shoveling the driveway, because some kid was bound to come along and offer to shovel you out for a couple of bucks.

"Bath Salts" were something your elderly aunt gave you every year for Christmas.

If you dropped your car key down the sewer, you could get a new one at the hardware store for 75 cents.

Not knowing, and not having any interest in knowing, what your neighbors did in the bedroom, and never having to hear them talk about it.

If you never knew a world like this, you can be excused for not understanding why we miss it.

 

[plain old dave]

Home Carrier Box addresses out in the country.
Calling the Sheriff instead of 911.
Dialing 0 on the phone for the Operator.
Talking to the switchboard operator at the JC Penney's downtown.
Living in Knoxville when the World's Fair was still in the future.
Looking at new Plymouths with my Papaw on Sunday night after church, or if he was feeling sporty Dodges.
Regular gas. Not as opposed to "mid-grade" or "premium". As opposed to "unleaded".
Price tags on things at the Grocery Store.

 

[rue]

Does the modern era truly suck all that badly compared to others, or are we all just escapists and non-conformists? Based on how many of the people posting in this thread never lived for a second in the golden era, I could say the latter hypothesis is most appropriate. Surly there are issues in the modern world that were much less of a concern back in those days (like the growing decline in family life and values, for example), but the Golden Era definitely had its own share of major problems that I'm sure nobody on this forum would want to experience if they had the opportunity to travel back in time to those days.

Oh goody.... another naysayer

 

[rue]

A lot of us here believe that much of the "progress" that's been achieved in recent times is largely illusory, like a fresh coat of paint on a rotten house -- that just enough progress has been achieved to give people a chance to point to superficial achievements and say "Look! We've solved that problem! Aren't we great!" and then ignore the evidence before them that the root of the problem has simply been shoved under the rug and not really solved at all.

And, a lot of us did grow up in a world with a healthy manufacturing economy, a dignified working class, real downtowns, rotary telephones, black-and-white television, and no designated-hitter rule, and we honestly miss it.

Well said as always Lizzie

 

[Shangas]

The one BIG issue that I have with the world today, is that nobody knows what REAL QUALITY is anymore.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and "they don't make 'em like they used to" are two phrases which have become more and more pertinent to the 21st century society. These days, nothing is made to last. And those damn shopping-channels try to sell us junk that wouldn't work after you dropped it...on carpet.

There was a time when things were built to last. These days that just doesn't happen anymore. You don't get it repaired. Or serviced. Or restored. You throw it out and buy a new one.

It's this throwaway society that really irritates me about the world today. Perhaps it's the way my dad taught me, but I believe firmly in buying something ONCE and using it until it falls apart. Then putting it back together and using it again. Not buying something that'll have to replace in two years. Five years. Eighteen months. Next week.

It wastes money, and I don't really have money to waste. So I can't afford to be part of this throwaway society which we're suddenly so proud of.

Combined with this...nobody knows what quality is anymore. They think because it's made of superlight plastic it's quality.

In the 1920s, Royal would advertise its typewriters by strapping them to a parachute and throwing them out of an airplane into a field. Parker would advertise its pens by throwing them out of ten storey buildings and driving cars on top of them.

This was to prove QUALITY and STRENGTH and DURABILITY OF PRODUCT.

These days people think they have quality because their laptop is so thin, it fits inside an envelope.

THAT IS NOT QUALITY. If it survives being driven over by a family-sedan, then I'll buy it.

I forget where I read this (possibly somewhere on this board), a quote that went:

"Here's a foolish statement: 'If it's old, it's good', and here's another: 'If it's new, it must be better'".

Just because it's old doesn't mean it's worse, just because it's new doesn't mean it's better.

What depresses me is that people think they're getting value for money when they're actually getting ripped off.

$15 for a week-pack of razor-blades. Wow! And that's on SALE. If they're not, it's like 20, 30 dollars. For that kind of money I can buy lunch for two people and I'll keep my $5 straight-razor, thank you very much. And you KNOW that once those $15 razor-blades are done, you have to buy another one. And another. And another.

People have no idea what quality is. Just because it does more things doesn't mean it's better. My grandmother's Singer is nearly 70 years old. But I know that it'll do whatever I want to, when it comes to making things, or repairing clothes. It may weigh a ton and be a pain in the ass to move around, but at lest it will NEVER break down. Some of the electronic sewing machines today will be useless once they're cracked, or warped in the heat, because of their plastic cases. To crack gran's Singer, you'd need to find a jackhammer first.

Just this morning, my printer packed up on me. And I had a really important form to print out. It just wouldn't co-operate with me. In the end, I printed out a blank copy of the form (don't ask me how, that printer has a mind of its own). I didn't want to risk filling the form in on my computer and then the printer screwing up the print-job.

I printed out a blank-form, cranked it into my Underwood and filled out the form by type. Not to be cutesy or nostalgic, but because it WORKS. I don't have to worry about paper-jams, or ink running out, or electrical errors or anything.
You know you have serious issues when a printer that's 15 years old breaks down before a typewriter that's seventy years older.

People don't know what quality is. Manufacturers don't know what quality is. They're getting ripped off and deluded about the things that they buy. That is my main gripe about modern society.

A friend once told me, manufacturing is a triangle. It's made up of three points:

"Fast", "Quality", "Cheap".

Pick two.

And that's all it's ever going to be. You can't have quality if it's fast and cheap, and if you want quality, it's gonna be neither fast, nor cheap. The thing is, nobody KNOWS what quality is anymore, so manufacturers can bullshit their way through life screwing people over. We're living in a world of cheap "Made in China" junk that breaks the moment you take it out of the box.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

And that's all it's ever going to be. You can't have quality if it's fast and cheap, and if you want quality, it's gonna be neither fast, nor cheap. The thing is, nobody KNOWS what quality is anymore, so manufacturers can bullshit their way through life screwing people over. We're living in a world of cheap "Made in China" junk that breaks the moment you take it out of the box.

Oh, but the packaging will last forever. I don't know what they use nowadays but even thin plastic wrap is hard to open without scissors or a knife.

 

[Shangas]

The ridiculous nature of things that we have these days just irritates me so much. And the way people talk about them like their lives depend on them.

I don't NEED a mobile phone. If I had my choice, I wouldn't have one. But my parents insist I carry one around. Fine. I know friends of mine who are chained to the damn things. And what's even worse, they insist on you texting them. My cousin used to tell me this story about the people of a certain country (the name of which escapes me, it's somewhere in Asia), where texting is SUCH a part of culture, they don't even have to look at their phones to do it. They keep them in their pockets, and text, sight-unseen, and send the messages off into Interspace to be received by their followers.

I hate the fact that these days, everyone has to know everything about everyone else and that everyone else has to know who you are what you are where you are why you are doing what it is that you're doing how you're doing it in the place and position which you are doing it. When did we all become so damn FASCINATED with stuff that deserves no fascination at all?

Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and all the rest of it. I don't understand this vital desire to broadcast your life to the world on pain of death.

My feelings on clothes and fashion probably mirror everyone else's here, so I shan't dwell on that, other than to say that standards are not slipping. They're in a parachute freefall...without the parachute. And the first thing to go are the trousers.

Those are basically my main gripes. Consumerism and quality (or lack thereof), and this life of nosy-parkers that everyone seems to love.

People think it's great to be rich and be a celebrity and be famous.

GET REAL.

I'm glad I'm not. If I was, I'd never get a second alone. Even if you avoid all the paps and the reporters and the tabloid men, they'd still expect you to update every five minutes, your website, your blog, your twitter, myspace and Facebook accounts, your tumblr account, your Flickr account and bugger knows what else!