You know you are getting old when:

[tonyb]

As to the “ethanol-scented mumblings of some guy at the far end of the bar … “

I’d never deny that different people have different mental capacities, but still, most concepts aren’t beyond the comprehension of most people. It’s not that many matters aren’t complex and that deep understanding doesn’t require lengthy and rigorous study, but the essence of most matters can be distilled into terms comprehensible to that fellow on the next barstool, provided he hasn’t been riding that stool all day. And provided he values knowledge.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Dehner Garden Center Market, the holy TEMPLE of retirees, invalids (like me) and middle-aged women...

You wanna see our 80+ running green hobby, go there!!

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^^
“Mall walking” had its heyday around here a couple decades back. Oldsters donned their walking shoes and joined up with likeminded contemporaries to get in a bit of light exercise along those level, climate-controlled corridors.

But, as recently discussed in another thread, more malls are closing than thriving, and too many of the remaining ones have been beset by rowdy youngsters given to violence. (A teenaged male was shot dead last weekend at the mall nearest my house.)

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

…

you take a picture of the instructions on a can of spray paint with your iPhone so that you can enlarge the image enough to read it.

Super great tip. Thanks
Now i don’t have to find my glasses to look for the magnifying glass i forgot where i put it.
B

 

[Zombie_61]

^^^^^^
“Mall walking” had its heyday around here a couple decades back. Oldsters donned their walking shoes and joined up with likeminded contemporaries to get in a bit of light exercise along those level, climate-controlled corridors.

But, as recently discussed in another thread, more malls are closing than thriving, and too many of the remaining ones have been beset by rowdy youngsters given to violence. (A teenaged male was shot dead last weekend at the mall nearest my house.)

A mall in my hometown--essentially two parallel rows of retail stores with a big department store at each end--was a favorite among the local, older "Mall Walking" devotees, but a common complaint was that it was an "open air" facility that provided no protection from whatever the weather was on a given day. So the owners spent what I imagine was a good deal of money having a roof put on top and generally enclosing the lot of it, but the end result made the poorly lit new enclosure dark, dreary, and a place people didn't want to visit. After it lost money for several years it was all demolished (except for the two bookending department stores), redesigned, and rebuilt in a configuration that requires it's potential customers either drive from one store to the next, or walk, once again outdoors, from store to store. Ahh, the "evolution" of shopping.

 

[Turnip]

I myself even prefer pre-historical old town shopping, in individual, owner-led stores, especially everything around food, booze and housewares.

Not too few silver back crews hang around in several cafes around the core of my hometown. Every day the same noses and each cafe‘s developed it’s own gerontopsychiatric microcosm.

Those still able to drive often meet at the local IKEA restaurant for an extensive brunch..

 

[tonyb]

I myself even prefer pre-historical old town shopping, in individual, owner-led stores, especially everything around food, booze and housewares.

Not too few silver back crews hang around in several cafes around the core of my hometown. Every day the same noses and each cafe‘s developed it’s own gerontopsychiatric microcosm.

Those still able to drive often meet at the local IKEA restaurant for an extensive brunch..

Most Americans live in communities that grew up around the personal automobile, for better or for worse.

It’s not that we don’t have smaller towns and in-city districts where small independently owned stores and eateries and such predominate, but I’d wager that the amount of revenue changing hands in such places is a small fraction of what is spent in large supermarkets and chain stores. And then there’s the tremendous growth of online retailing, the knockdown effects of which are indeed knocking things down.

 

[tonyb]

A mall in my hometown--essentially two parallel rows of retail stores with a big department store at each end--was a favorite among the local, older "Mall Walking" devotees, but a common complaint was that it was an "open air" facility that provided no protection from whatever the weather was on a given day. So the owners spent what I imagine was a good deal of money having a roof put on top and generally enclosing the lot of it, but the end result made the poorly lit new enclosure dark, dreary, and a place people didn't want to visit. After it lost money for several years it was all demolished (except for the two bookending department stores), redesigned, and rebuilt in a configuration that requires it's potential customers either drive from one store to the next, or walk, once again outdoors, from store to store. Ahh, the "evolution" of shopping.

A student of the evolution of the shopping mall might look to Northgate in Seattle, which proclaimed itself the first post-War mall of its type, opening in 1950. (I take such claims with a grain of salt. I ain’t saying they’re wrong, but I’m guessing others might make similar assertions, perhaps by tweaking the definition to serve their argument.) It was then much like the one you describe — parallel structures housing various stores, the walkway between later covered (it’s been known to rain out that way) and later yet completely enclosed. It went through numerous expansions and remodels over the decades.

It’s been mostly demolished and “reimagined.” There’s still retail there, but much less of it and no major department stores. A light rail station has gone in, and along with it what’s called “transit oriented development,” meaning housing and office structures and a parking garage to serve those commuters using the light rail (or so it is hoped) and the business offices and practice facilities for Seattle’s new NHL team. I understand the rink becomes available to the general public. So lace up them skates.

Might it again be a model? I dunno. The mall near me is a stone’s throw from a light rail line and an eight-lane limited access highway. There’s acres of parking lots and several hundred thousand square feet of underutilized retail space. Something could certainly be built there.

 

[Zombie_61]

I myself even prefer pre-historical old town shopping, in individual, owner-led stores, especially everything around food, booze and housewares...

My wife and I were fortunate enough to partake in three ocean cruises during our time together; two on Royal Caribbean, and one on Princess Cruiselines. While making the arrangements for all three, we were advised to seek out stores and restaurants during our excursions off of the ship that indicated (usually a hand-written sign in the front window) the shops that were "locally owned and operated". Shopping/dining there meant our money remained in the local economy; any shops not indicated as such were owned by the cruise lines, who took the profits back to wherever their main business offices were. We happily obliged, and found the local Alaskans to be extremely nice people.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I myself even prefer pre-historical old town shopping, in individual, owner-led stores, especially everything around food, booze and housewares.

Not too few silver back crews hang around in several cafes around the core of my hometown. Every day the same noses and each cafe‘s developed it’s own gerontopsychiatric microcosm.

Those still able to drive often meet at the local IKEA restaurant for an extensive brunch..

The Burger King that used to be near my house was the gathering place for a group of Asian seniors made up of several couples (I believe they were Korean) who used to meet there for lunch practically every day. The BK has since closed and was torn down.

What makes feel old is realising that my parents would have been 94 and 95 if they were still alive today.

 

[Turnip]

…shops that were "locally owned and operated". Shopping/dining there meant our money remained in the local economy; any shops not indicated as such were owned by the cruise lines, who took the profits back to wherever their main business offices were. We happily obliged, and found the local Alaskans to be extremely nice people.

That is exactly it. I prefer to support the local economy, rather than global shareholder value and interest rates, as far as I can.
Not just for economic reasoning but also for very egoistic reasons as I‘d like to add my small contribution to keeping a variety of choices in bakeries, butchers, local dairies, farmers shops…alive instead of buying streamlined, industrially processed foods with ingredients charts, longer than the laundry list of a cancer medication. Similar with Made In Germany tools, machinery and other household products.

 

[Edward]

The other problem, to me, is that the Internet makes all information equal. For too many people, some jackass posting a hot take on Reddit is on an absolute par with a vetted and nuanced analysis published on a "legacy media" site. To put it in pre-Internet terms, it's like saying the ethanol-scented mumblings of some guy at the far end of the bar should be given weight equal to the statements of a credentialed authority. But I won't go so far as to say this is a "digital native" problem -- if anything my own generation is far more guilty of this than younger people. I think kids understand that 99 percent of everybody on the internet is full of crap, but too many of my own contemporaries do not.

I I had a fiver for every twit I've met who smugly announces how clever they consider themselves to be for believing nothing in the "mainstream media" before plainly indicating they'll believe any old rubbish they stumble over on Youtube, I'd be richer than Bezos.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to partake in three ocean cruises during our time together; two on Royal Caribbean, and one on Princess Cruiselines. While making the arrangements for all three, we were advised to seek out stores and restaurants during our excursions off of the ship that indicated (usually a hand-written sign in the front window) the shops that were "locally owned and operated". Shopping/dining there meant our money remained in the local economy; any shops not indicated as such were owned by the cruise lines, who took the profits back to wherever their main business offices were. We happily obliged, and found the local Alaskans to be extremely nice people.

I always try to go somewhere local when I'm away - otherwise, landing up in some chain I could use at home, well.... why travel then? I remember in the 90s identifying with Coupland's conception in - was it Generation X, or Shampoo Planet? Probably both - that everywhere was rapidly becoming alike because everywhere had the same brand stores.... That said, I do sometimes like to see a local reinterpretation of somewhere familiar. Last time I was in Beijing, I had lunch in a KFC - an entirely fake KFC, that is, which copied everything from the original, bar that it had a greater desert menu, many more rice dishes, and absolutely no fries.

 

[tonyb]

I I had a fiver for every twit I've met who smugly announces how clever they consider themselves to be for believing nothing in the "mainstream media" before plainly indicating they'll believe any old rubbish they stumble over on Youtube, I'd be richer than Bezos.

..,

The “mainstream media” has become the favorite punching bag of the extremes, left and right. After all, a true believer might there be exposed to news and information that challenges his or her most cherished doctrines.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Bearing in mind the "no politics" rule, I could otherwise easily quote a dozen or more "stories" presented by what most people would think of as "mainstream media" outlets which, by the way the framed the story or by the particular terms they chose to use, or even the stories they chose to cover, display the biases of the writers/editors. No actual lying needed. There are subtler uses of rhetorical techniques used to persuade.

Let's not dismiss complaints of "mainstream media" bias so easily.

 

[tonyb]

Of course there’s no such thing as pure journalistic objectivity.

But there is such a thing as false equivalency. Certain news outlets strive to present factual information and run corrections when it turns out that they have circulated inaccuracies.

And others don’t.

 

[Turnip]

The Burger King that used to be near my house was the gathering place for a group of Asian seniors…

And how poor, without any offense / offensive meaning, has already that been please?

My old lady is 87 now and I’m not sure whether she set only once a foot into a McD, BK… or not in her whole life so far. I tend to guess: not.

Growing older I get more and more sensitive to weather. Currently, after two weeks of constant rain and grey skies I just couldn’t sleep as much as I’d like to.
Or cancer’s back, will get certainty about that soon.

 

[tonyb]

The other problem, to me, is that the Internet makes all information equal. For too many people, some jackass posting a hot take on Reddit is on an absolute par with a vetted and nuanced analysis published on a "legacy media" site. To put it in pre-Internet terms, it's like saying the ethanol-scented mumblings of some guy at the far end of the bar should be given weight equal to the statements of a credentialed authority. But I won't go so far as to say this is a "digital native" problem -- if anything my own generation is far more guilty of this than younger people. I think kids understand that 99 percent of everybody on the internet is full of crap, but too many of my own contemporaries do not.

A seasonal observation …

In other words, thanks to the Internet, every day is April Fools’ Day.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Haha, FOURTEEN years are gone, since I first watched the master!!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Of course there’s no such thing as pure journalistic objectivity.

But there is such a thing as false equivalency. Certain news outlets strive to present factual information and run corrections when it turns out that they have circulated inaccuracies.

And others don’t.

That's the difference. If a newspaper screws up, there's accountability. If an actual journalist is caught using dubious sources or falsifying data, there are consequences. When @Rando J. McBlowhard makes up crap off the top of his head for his You Tube channel, or presumes to understand data he is completely unqualified to interpret, there are -- no consequences. And if he's called out, he merely bellows that he's being "cancelled for daring to go against the majority view." That's not journalism. That's not responsiblity.

As to biases in mainstream journalism, there are those who act like this is something new. Read some 1930s-40s Hearst newspapers if you want to see slanted news presented to suit a point of view. All journalism has a point of view, even the "neutral wire service model." The difference is that responsible media follows an accepted code of professional standards in gathering and presenting news. Irresponsible media, whether amateur or professional, does not.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

As to biases in mainstream journalism, there are those who act like this is something new. Read some 1930s-40s Hearst newspapers if you want to see slanted news presented to suit a point of view. All journalism has a point of view, even the "neutral wire service model."

I couldn't agree more. The galling thing is how their (MSM) defenders cry foul when this fact ("slanted news presented to suit a point of view") is pointed out. I think most can agree that "infotainment" products like cable news panel shows shouldn't be taken seriously, but the chryons creeping across cable news "news" segments are cringeworthy.