Friday, April 25, 2008

An Old Versus Modern (Postmodern?) Friday Five


Friday, April 25, 2008

Singing Owl writes:
Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.

As for the questions!

1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live
without?

The microwave- hands down winner!!

2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day?
Why?

The Blue tooth ear clip. They look weird and people are talking and you don't realize it is not to you. People don't think twice about answering even in church. Like it is the Holy Spirit on Line 2. I could go on but I think I will stop the rant now.

3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If
so, do you use it (them)?

We still have a cassette player and a turntable. And yes. My mother in law still has an 8 track player.
My parents have a Victrola.

4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something
else?

I think it is a mix. We have made quantum leaps in medicine and technology, and yet we now also have more ways to not be available to others. Caller ID, email, voicemail, IM, text and GPS directions are all ways of cutting us off from the connections of personal communication and contact.

5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain? Bonus
points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process.

The ability to write a really great letter and the ability to sit on the porch in a rocker with a cool drink and a friend, instead of ratcheting up the AC and powering up the on demand TV. Both of these we can still do. But they require a friend who is willing to play along.

5 comments:

Gannet Girl said...

LOL on Blue Tooth and the Holy Spirit!

Diane M. Roth said...

I had never heard of the Blue tooth ear clip but it sounds like a tool of the devil to me.

and I really miss long letters. I used to write them, myself.

Dorcas (aka SingingOwl) said...

What Gannet Girl said! Yikes...and yes...a pox on Blue Tooth. Cell phones are bad enough, IMO and then it just went to a stupid level!

John, an unlikely pastor said...

I am all in favor of the porch vs. the AC. Even worse is the AC on a camper being cranked up at night in a camp ground.
uggh

Anonymous said...

I've been so busy lately that een last week's Friday five is news. Good answers here Carolyn. And for the record, the blue tooth ear clip has saved me plenty of times while eating in the car. It's hard to hold on to a sandwich drive and talk on the phone all at the same time. perhaps I should re-visit my driving habits