whats the closest thing to Traveling back in Time? to get a feel of times past?

[LizzieMaine]

Exactly. "Star Wars" winning an Oscar for 1977 would be like "Captain America: Civil War" winning an Oscar for 2016. Or "The Phantom Empire" winning an Oscar for 1935.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Ooh, I love The Phantom Empire! I used to watch it on afternoon kiddie TV in the early sixties, along with the other thirties SF serials that inspired Star Wars. You know: Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Undersea Kingdom, etc.

But Captain America: Civil War... While the current Marvel films do play like feature-length versions of the old serials, the best of them - and CA:CW is pretty good - have more going on than just daring exploits in a SF setting.

 

[rocketeer]

Looking at old photo's of places I remember when I was younger. Sometimes I even visit those places of a time lost in time, I may even take a comparison photograph.
For me it was the 1960s and 1970s more than ever as that is when I grew up. Plain open fields where now are covered in housing, factories new in the 60s, now demolished and replaced with others. Most of all trees planted as saplings now growing into maturity. I can't imagine what these places were like in the so called 'Golden era' as I never lived those years.
The 1970s, "best years of my life"

 

[2jakes]

Looking at old photo's of places I remember when I was younger. Sometimes I even visit those places of a time lost in time, I may even take a comparison photograph.
For me it was the 1960s and 1970s more than ever as that is when I grew up. Plain open fields where now are covered in housing, factories new in the 60s, now demolished and replaced with others. Most of all trees planted as saplings now growing into maturity. I can't imagine what these places were like in the so called 'Golden era' as I never lived those years.
The 1970s, "best years of my life"

It is the same for me as described
above with the only difference
being that it was the 1950s and
were the "best years of my life".

I lost my youth during the '60s
with the war.


And I watched "Phantom Empire"
(1935) mostly because of
Betsy King Ross.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I lost my youth during the '60s
with the war.


You'd have just lost it somewhere else anyway.

 

[GHT]

watching old movies is another way I like to "get in the zone". Did anybody hear about those "time warp" people who painstakingly recreated 1930s and 1940s homes (and wear all vintage clothing) in the UK? Why isn't that done in America?? I wanna do that!

My wife and I know a burlesque performer with the stage name, Kitten Von Mew, who, with her husband, lives the vintage lifestyle.

 

[tonyb]

There is a cafe that my wife and I go to sometimes where the clock looks like it stopped in 1953. It is not done up that way, it is that way.

The Spar Cafe in Olympia, Wash. dates from 1920-something. It was acquired a few years ago by an out-of-town company that Disneyfied the authenticity clean out of the place. McMenamin's is the name of the desecrators. I'll never give 'em another dime.

There's an authentic stainless-steel faced diner about half a mile from where I sit at present, in Aurora, Colo. The management took the real deal and phonyfied the hell out of it. They got lifesize Elvis and Marilyn standees. Spaces at the counter are marked with plaques for Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., etc. Makes you wonder if they would think it appropriate to add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to a glass of Coke.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Spar Cafe in Olympia, Wash. dates from 1920-something. It was acquired a few years ago by an out-of-town company that Disneyfied the authenticity clean out of the place. McMenamin's is the name of the desecrators. I'll never give 'em another dime.

There's an authentic stainless-steel faced diner about half a mile from where I sit at present, in Aurora, Colo. The management took the real deal and phonyfied the hell out of it. They got lifesize Elvis and Marilyn standees. Spaces at the counter are marked with plaques for Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., etc. Makes you wonder if they would think it appropriate to add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to a glass of Coke.

Oooweee. "The Fifties" strike again.

I'd respect them more if they had plaques on the counter for Elfrida von Nardroff, Herbert Stempel, and Charles Van Doren.

 

[PeterGunnLives]

Actually, the McMenamins brewpubs have some pretty off-the-wall, new-agey, freaky hippyish decor that I would in no way describe as "Disneyfication." It's more like a Grateful Dead appreciation society or something, and very reflective of the eclectic Portland culture. If I was a kid I would probably be terrified to go into one of their places.

IMO, they have done a great job of bringing older establishments back to life throughout Oregon and southern Washington, even if the visuals may not be to my taste and things aren't perfectly period-authentic to the time when they were originally built. But it's better than having the buildings just sit and rot away to nothing. They have very good beers and liquors, and I like the hearty food, too (which is different at every location). I have stayed at a couple of their lodges, which have great amenities such as on-site bars and restaurants, live music shows, spas and movie showings. What I appreciate most is that the rooms have no TVs!

 

[drcube01]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the French Quarter yet. New Orleans, if it isn't clear.

You can walk down gaslit cobblestone streets with no cars in sight. Every building is over 100 years old and in many cases much older. The occasional horse drawn carriage if you can ignore the bright orange "slow vehicle" sign in the back. Stay away from Bourbon Street and you'll avoid the cheap nick knack shops with modern music and air conditioning. Old style jazz will not be hard to find.

You can visit the oldest bar in the US, Lafitte's, which doesn't look like they've done many improvements in the 250 years since it opened. Stay in the quarter and it's hard not to be transported back in time. You can't even see the rest of the city from the inside. It's like being in Interview With a Vampire.

 

[tonyb]

Actually, the McMenamins brewpubs have some pretty off-the-wall, new-agey, freaky hippyish decor that I would in no way describe as "Disneyfication." It's more like a Grateful Dead appreciation society or something, and very reflective of the eclectic Portland culture. If I was a kid I would probably be terrified to go into one of their places.

IMO, they have done a great job of bringing older establishments back to life throughout Oregon and southern Washington, even if the visuals may not be to my taste and things aren't perfectly period-authentic to the time when they were originally built. But it's better than having the buildings just sit and rot away to nothing. They have very good beers and liquors, and I like the hearty food, too (which is different at every location). I have stayed at a couple of their lodges, which have great amenities such as on-site bars and restaurants, live music shows, spas and movie showings. What I appreciate most is that the rooms have no TVs!

Knowing the Spar pre- and post-its
McMenaminification made apparent that the company doesn't see people such as me as its clientele. They're right about that.

Maybe Disney isn't the most fitting comparison. But it surely is ersatz. The Spar was in no danger of "rot(ting) away to nothing" before it was acquired by McMenamin's. It was a going concern, for sure. To McMenamin's credit, they made efforts to retain the existing staff. They had more respect for the people than for the physical space.

I accept that such spaces must generate revenue. I knew the Pike Place Market in Seattle quite well before it was "saved," going back almost half a century now. I lived nearby and did much if my regular shopping there. Respectable people avoided the place back then, which I found preferable to the tourist destination it has become. The tourists and the shoppers in the boutiques occupying spaces that once housed much more down-market shops spend considerably more scratch than I ever did.

 

[namvet6971]

I lost my youth during the '60s
with the war.


You'd have just lost it somewhere else anyway.

If you like I lost your youth during the 60's, because of time spent in Nam. Welcome Home, Brother-in-Arms


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[St.Ignatz]

Bought some punks on line during the mosquito swarms this summer. Whenever I light a few whoever is around a smile ensues. Keeps the skeeters away too.

Tom D.

 

[belfastboy]

Actually, the McMenamins brewpubs have some pretty off-the-wall, new-agey, freaky hippyish decor that I would in no way describe as "Disneyfication." It's more like a Grateful Dead appreciation society or something, and very reflective of the eclectic Portland culture. If I was a kid I would probably be terrified to go into one of their places.

IMO, they have done a great job of bringing older establishments back to life throughout Oregon and southern Washington, even if the visuals may not be to my taste and things aren't perfectly period-authentic to the time when they were originally built. But it's better than having the buildings just sit and rot away to nothing. They have very good beers and liquors, and I like the hearty food, too (which is different at every location). I have stayed at a couple of their lodges, which have great amenities such as on-site bars and restaurants, live music shows, spas and movie showings. What I appreciate most is that the rooms have no TVs!

AND you are pretty much guaranteed a good burger and very good beer selection.

 

[belfastboy]

Until she passed away a few years back I just had to visit my Mother in the family home of 60+ years. It was my time capsule.....same appliances, arbourite/chrome kitchen table & chairs, same living room furniture and pretty much every thing from my childhood stored on the shelving in the unfinished basement. Even the Rec Room that I lived in one semester of university still had the posters on the wall that I pinned there.

The only substantive change was she put down blue shag carpet in the mid 1960's covering up the hardwood floors.

 

[Old Mariner]

Past life regression. It's a revivification of a previous life. It's not the same for everyone, but there are people who get a very detailed experience, including the visuals.

Experienced this via numerous dreams and flashbacks while awake. One thing I have noticed is that it's actually been helpful with my research. Have experience - do research - and wind up with "validation"/"confirmation".

 

[green papaya]

a few years ago while visiting ALCATRAZ FEDERAL PENITENTIARY , San Francisco, CA

I wanted to get a "feel" of what it was like having a meal in the Alcatraz dining hall the same place famous prisoners like: Scarface Al Capone, Machine gun Kelly, Frank Morris , the Anglin brothers , eating was not allowed but I ate my meal anyways and tried to imagine what it was like when 200 prisoners at a time were eating here.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Not all railroad/ railway museums are created equal-- but I enjoy visiting all of them, and climbing aboard an old interurban, rapid transit car, or streetcar, closing my eyes, and listening to the (often close to a century) old traction motors open up as the car accelerates. To me, the sounds of the motors, the compressors, the air brakes, and the low toot of a brass air whistle are a symphony that harken to simpler times.

 

[Edward]

It was in the early sixties that the miniskirt really caught on. It brought indignation from some quarters of society. Not without justification. Imagine if she was your daughter, splashed all over the tabloids.
View attachment 58342

In could and with a few differences in hairstyle, this could be a shot from any one of a number of Daily Mail pieces today - "Aren't the youth / Northeners / common people / poor people disgraceful?". About the only coverage they seem to do of any big horse meeting outside of the Royal Ascot (heaven forfend the offend Brenda) is dominated by pieces with shots like this decrying the working class women who go to these events and "don't know how to dress or behave."

Plus ca change...

As I've explained to many young women in my circle, minimizing VPL is why you wear a slip. And then I explain what a slip is.

Surely with a skirt that short, the tail of the blouse makes a slip redundant?

watching old movies is another way I like to "get in the zone". Did anybody hear about those "time warp" people who painstakingly recreated 1930s and 1940s homes (and wear all vintage clothing) in the UK? Why isn't that done in America?? I wanna do that!

Some folks do full historical immersion, others do more nostalgia. I've seen any number of TV clips over the years with "the couple who live in the fifties!" when that actually means a couple who live in a Victorian terrace in a grey, post-industrial town in the North of England have turned their house into something approximating the set of the diner from Happy Days.... There are those who it and do it well; I'm also myself especially appreciative of those who do it well but aren't weirdly obsessive - e.g. they'll have a fridge-freezer, but they hide it in some way, or they're quite happy to have central heating. I'm not a fan of the idea of using a mangle or eschewing central heating or an indoor bathroom because that's what many people still lived with in the forties and fifties in England...

The history/nostalgia thing is especially interesting in the UK. The postwar period in particular was a very difficult one across the UK really, until well into the eighties. WW2 rationing was only gradually phased out over the following decade, finally ending in 1954. The fifties were a dark, grey period in Britain. The sixties brought more promise on the surface (as nostalgia has it), but the UK was still financially struggling - the "sick man of Europe". Seventies and eighties brought deindustrialisation, economic hard times and strikes. Meanwhile, where I grew up in Northern Ireland.... It's not really a surprise that a lot of people got swept up in various nostalgia crazes and prefer that to 'real' history. Most of the most hardcore lifestylers I've ever met were people into the fifties scene - or, at least, the rockabilly thing. A very Americanised take on it. Which I have no problem with - (at least for many, if far from all) that was a much brighter era for the US in many ways, and with popular culture via Hollywood being what it is, it is easy to see why many folks identify with that. Way I see it personally, "escaping" into the past this way is essentially a fantasy no matte which era and place you choose, so might as well make it a fun one. I'm well down with that - just so long, of course, that people have a bit of comprehension on what they're doing, and don't use the internet as a tool to broadcast to the rest of us how superior they are for being vintager than thou...

I do think what is commonly forgotten on the vintage scene among all its subgroups here in the UK is how tough life really was for the majority, and that - if taken back to the 20s/30s - many of us would not have had the opportunities we do now in terms of education and such; rather than living the high life we all aspire to, half of us would be in factories, most of the rest servants... Of course nobody wants to be deprived, and we are very lucky to live in an era when we can cherry-pick the best of the past, without having to suffer the worst. I well recall a few years ago a friend posted on Facebook musing about feeling born on the wrong era, and asking when people would like ideally to live. First response was "Well, I'm a] black and b] a woman, so I'd prefer to live now." Which was a fair point!

FWIW, I'm just musing a bit here - this is neither aimed at anyone nor intended as a criticism of anyone here or anyone in particular. Just a thought that while there's nothing wrong with nostalgia, we also shouldn't let it make us less than aware of history.

But Captain America: Civil War... While the current Marvel films do play like feature-length versions of the old serials, the best of them - and CA:CW is pretty good - have more going on than just daring exploits in a SF setting.

I get what you're saying. I did enjoy the Avengers stuff, though I' glad they didn't keep trying to top it with more and more.... there was something very refreshing about going back to the basic formula with the recent Spiderman pictures. (Which I love, not least for simultaneously creating a real, believable modern world context and yet also at the same time capturing the sense of having been lifted straight from the comic book. Raimi, in his early ones at least I felt got the latter, while the Andrew Garfield films didn't convince me - too self-consciously 'for the Twilight generation', and they made Peter far too normal and 'regular kid'. While I like Toby Maguire, the current kid is just perfect on every level - Spiderman as a fifteen year old boy, just as he started.)

Not all railroad/ railway museums are created equal-- but I enjoy visiting all of them, and climbing aboard an old interurban, rapid transit car, or streetcar, closing my eyes, and listening to the (often close to a century) old traction motors open up as the car accelerates. To me, the sounds of the motors, the compressors, the air brakes, and the low toot of a brass air whistle are a symphony that harken to simpler times.

Can't beat a run in a steam train. I grew up in the village in which the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is based; that was a lot of fun.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The worst thing I can imagine about actually living in the Era is that it would mean, inevitably, running smack into The Fifties. People like me fared very badly in The Fifties -- you'd have probably found my name in "Red Channels", right there between Paul McGrath and Burgess Meredith, because I'd signed a petition to open the Second Front in 1943 or collected donations for Spanish Civil War orphans. Yeah, to hell with "The Fifties."