Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Fads.. Bad or just Evil?
I am old. I realized that when I was more interested in the local adult contemporary commercial radio station than the local privately owned rock station. I just dont have enough angst in my life to listen to some / alot of todays music. Im happily married, have a great job, own a house and cars and have an assload of stuff. I also have an IQ over 120, so I know Im not the target audience for alot of what the media shoves down my throat on a daily basis.
So while wandering thru the hellish sinkhole that is called "the mall", my friend wanted to go into Spencer's Gifts. I know I am twice the age of their average customer, but I felt generally disinterested in most of what they had to offer. As we wandered about the 20'x20' store, my friend found a few "funny" xmas gifts for people on his list and I noticed a disturbing trend. 60% of the merchandise there was not just seasonal, but trendy. And, after the 15 minutes are up, could be unsellable. For example, they had an entire stand devoted to Poker. Not just any poker mind you, but that game they play on TV. Texas Hold 'em. Now, I understand that it is a bit easier to understand and since they are shoving it down our throats, we all know how to play. Fair enuf, people want to buy gifts for their friends who are interested in it. Okay. Good party / drinking game. Thats cool. As I turned around, I saw the opposing wall. It was covered with Orange County Chopper merchandise. Everything you can imagine. Including a lil stand up for the forthcoming American Chopper Game. Then it hit me. The sheer genius and amazingly good luck the Discovery Channel has had with the Tuttles. They found 3 of the most disfunctional humans on the planet who make some really amazingly cool motorcycles and film them. Not only do they get good ratings, but they are making a fairly vast fortune in branding / merchandise. Good for them. I hates them.
Then I saw it. The Fad within the Fad. The OCC Texas Hold'em Poker Set. This was reminiscent of the Alien Autopsy game. When I saw that I said to my friend "How do they sleep at nite?" He replied "On a bed filled with Money. Duh." He was right.
As I saw the sheer levels of absolute shit that Americans buy on a daily basis, I got sad. We are becoming what our parents warned us about. A nation of consumers, consuming more and more shit with less and less intrinsic value every year. And I have decided that I will be blaming Naugahide for the collapse of modern civilization when it occurs.
¶ 11:51 AM
So while wandering thru the hellish sinkhole that is called "the mall", my friend wanted to go into Spencer's Gifts. I know I am twice the age of their average customer, but I felt generally disinterested in most of what they had to offer. As we wandered about the 20'x20' store, my friend found a few "funny" xmas gifts for people on his list and I noticed a disturbing trend. 60% of the merchandise there was not just seasonal, but trendy. And, after the 15 minutes are up, could be unsellable. For example, they had an entire stand devoted to Poker. Not just any poker mind you, but that game they play on TV. Texas Hold 'em. Now, I understand that it is a bit easier to understand and since they are shoving it down our throats, we all know how to play. Fair enuf, people want to buy gifts for their friends who are interested in it. Okay. Good party / drinking game. Thats cool. As I turned around, I saw the opposing wall. It was covered with Orange County Chopper merchandise. Everything you can imagine. Including a lil stand up for the forthcoming American Chopper Game. Then it hit me. The sheer genius and amazingly good luck the Discovery Channel has had with the Tuttles. They found 3 of the most disfunctional humans on the planet who make some really amazingly cool motorcycles and film them. Not only do they get good ratings, but they are making a fairly vast fortune in branding / merchandise. Good for them. I hates them.
Then I saw it. The Fad within the Fad. The OCC Texas Hold'em Poker Set. This was reminiscent of the Alien Autopsy game. When I saw that I said to my friend "How do they sleep at nite?" He replied "On a bed filled with Money. Duh." He was right.
As I saw the sheer levels of absolute shit that Americans buy on a daily basis, I got sad. We are becoming what our parents warned us about. A nation of consumers, consuming more and more shit with less and less intrinsic value every year. And I have decided that I will be blaming Naugahide for the collapse of modern civilization when it occurs.
¶ 11:51 AM
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Actually have to agree with you here. Most consumers have so much "stuff" they don't need. Let's just take cars for example. After spending the better part of the day away from family (work), family member (from here on to be refered to as Individual Family Units) are herded in from where ever they were dropped off that morning. Once we get the IFU's strapped into the vehicle, with a beverage we then turn on the DVD player so they can (most likely for the 175th time) watch some innane DVD that is popular. I mean SERIOUSLY - it's not like your putting them on a 17 hour flight to Iceland, your most likely going less than an hour away. When did OUR parents ever serve beverages and show and "in-flight movie"?? Wouldn't it be NICE to find out something about how their day was? Being slightly older than you I remember the whole NO EATING/No DRINKING in the family car. When did cars become disposable?
Look around you; what do you posess that you absolutely HAD to have that you have never used? What happened to minimalists? What exactly is an assload? Forget it I don't want to know.
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Look around you; what do you posess that you absolutely HAD to have that you have never used? What happened to minimalists? What exactly is an assload? Forget it I don't want to know.
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