It was neither practical nor romantic to get some hot action in a movie theatre. It was pure necessity, since most people couldn’t afford their own places.
Today you can hook up with your girlfriend in front of your expensive multimedia-beamer-dolby-surround-entertainment-system - and be completely bored by all the bad movies you own without any erotic action.
Maybe romance in public is more exciting, because it’s limited and public?
I am always amused when some of my American friends come to Europe and get lost by our chaotic cities and streets. If you look at schematics above of American and European cities you immediately see how straight and orderly most cities in the new world are. Very different to the of thousand of years old and “organically” grown Euro cities …
Yes, we are creatures ruled by time, rhythms and habits.
It start with our basic heart rate - the true rhythm of our lives.
The day & night pattern of our planet dictates our lifestyles, the need for sleep our awake times.
Our social life and whole society is built around rhythms, patterns, repeats and habits: work time, play time, quality time. We all have times and places for everything.
But there is the long time pattern of life itself: birth, life and death. We all sing and dance to that rhythm, either on a small human scale or cosmic one. Even suns and planets get born, have a life and burn out in the end. Even black holes end in another big bang.
Welcome to this Universe ruled by time, rhythms and patterns.
The true question is: do you design your own patterns of life or do you follow those patterns carved out for your by society, nature and other people’s expectations?
Time to rule your patterns, design your own patterns and enjoy time as long as it still ticks for you!
Banks don’t want your business, they only want your money. Credit Cards, the Internet and ATMs are a blessing for Bankers. They can reduce staff to a minimum, let you do all the work and charge terrific fees for every transaction or failure that happens.
In many countries consumers are in debts to Banks and Credit Card companies, because of their drastics rules and fee structures. It’s a mixture of robbery and the licence to print money for them.
Plus they can track your consumerism perfectly. They know what you like, when you like it and what stuff you own. Your character and behavior is extrapolated from tracking your shopping habits and places you go.
Banks get bailed out by the state, when they go bust - you don’t.
One of the foundations of our modern lifestyle are fridges (even the ones without Internet access). Preserving food has always been a hard task - before fridges they used dark, cold cellars and for a brief period of time ice blocks delivered to your home.
A fridge is such a practical thing: just open the door and stuff your goodies inside. Done!
The fridge and cold warehouse allowed easier transport and mass storange of persihable goods and layed also a foundation for mass delivery and consumption of fresh veggies, fish and meat from far away places. Frozen food can last an eternity compared to normal storange.
But fridges are also responsible for fast food and so called convinience food: quick and dirty dishes without the pleasure to shop for daily needs, selecting stuff from your personal dealer and preparing it yourself (a typical mom job) …
Check also: the webfridge project
Anything born in the last 25 to 30 years is called Millennials - because they are the bulk of the workforce of the new Millennium.
Raised by overcaring soccer moms and freeform hippie parents, still living at home with 30 and a very pampered bunch.
This generation is the special needs generation, that needs constant attention, constant gratification and loads of ‘creative space’ for their mostly empty brains. Most of all they need constant stimulation to stay on the job. Even when they work their own jobs their parents call employers and challenge reviews and their salary - like they called their teachers and professors in school or university before. This is overprotective individualism gone wrong.
My Mom said it’s oke to show off my skills …
I am actually very happy that now the first studies and articles about the awkwardness of this generation are coming out - because it confirms my experience in many companies working with these ‘youngsters’.
I guess every generation says that the next one is softer, stupider and more pampered. This is mostly true, since most kids in western countries had the LUCK to grow up in ever better living conditions, education, spoiled consumerism and a highly expanding ‘fun culture’. It’s better to work your Nintendo instead of working the coal mines.
Classical Hero figure transformed into a multimedia cash cow.
Kids and young adults have become highly targeted consumer groups since the 1950’s. Youth culture didn’t exist before that. A total media sphere for kids and young adults didn’t exist before the 1970’s. And total consumerism didn’t arrive before the 1980’s. The sheer amount of media archetypes, lifestyle choices, trends, weird and cool stuff only aimed at youngster is incredible and aggressively enforced by companies.
Plus we are now experiencing the total ‘digitization of social behavior’ since the arrival of cheap cell phones, broadband and social networks on the intranets.
Yes, kids have spent less and less time doing sports or experiencing nature in the last 25 years. They have spent more time shopping and in front of a screen.
On the Internet everyone can see your IQ. Thanks for sharing!
The attitudes and goals have changed. Hardly anyone wants to be an Astronaut, Pilot or other Hero figure these days. Too much effort, too little coolness.
Most teen idols are either ‘human products’ invented by companies or the media like lifestyle choices like ‘Gangster Rapper’ or ‘Super Model’. Shows like Big Brother and the whole mechanism of media whoring by being a slut (I am looking at you Paris and Perez Hilton) shows kids only that you don’t need ANY ’skillz’ to be a gazillionaire.
There has never been a Generation that grew up in in such a safe environment and with so much constant distraction. Life is no longer just about the ‘basics’ to them - they want more, more and more - and they are used getting it without much effort apart from bitching.
The Queen of the Millennials.
It is GOOD that less and less kids grow up experiencing hunger, war and poverty - like still way too many kids do in Africa, Asia, Russia, South America and the Middle East. The global society overall is getting richer. Teenager in Tehran have as often facial surgery as in LA. Millennials all over the world grew up with MTV, Madonna, McDonalds and Mobiles. Theirs styles and attitudes are very similar.
The are now enjoying the fruits of the war and post war generations, the new creative and sexual worlds of the hippie revolution - and the blatant consumerism of the Reagan years.
Apart from being nice, being loved, being entertained, able to shop and fuck something this generation hardly has an agenda. It is hardly a political generation - apart from passively ’saving the earth’ - probably by shopping Al Gore T-Shirts and blogging about it.
I am oke, you are oke. Together we watch DVDs about saving the Earth or pirate it from the Intranets!
Unlike the Hippies or Yuppies they don’t know the hunger for change or power. As long as it’s cool and entertaining anything goes. If angry give them a promotion, a hug or a Amazon.com coupon and they are happy again.
Without the absence of real dangers and challenges any human being softens up and relaxes - and after over 60 years of peace and prosperity in western nations there are hardly any direct challenges left. How can you feel like REALLY doing something, when you can stuff your face with organic burgers, surf the web on your iPhone and travel to India for Yoga?
It’s all so nice and pink. Life is almost like being with mom.
More: Wikipedia on Generation Y and read this Managers Guide to Millenials
Ok, it began with fast food and pizza restaurants. Grabbing a bite in our hectic days makes sense, having the same boring food all over the world doesn’t.
Then came the Coffee Shops to give us the extra needed caffeine kick and sugar rush - plus some free wireless access. Well, still makes sense - although I hate the standard Ikea-Starbucks nesting instinct that’s developing globally.
But who needs a cell phone store - one for each provider - on every highstreet? It’s not that we need a daily supply of ‘phonettes’, batteries or ‘call minutes’?! We maybe upgrade our phone once a year or change our contracts maybe every two?
These shops are there mostly for presence, marketing and showing off their brand. I rather have some good old sandwich shops or some other specialized merchant that sells anything BUT a cell phone, a burger or a Latte.
Our inner cities have lost their unique mix of local shops and retailers. Almost all over the planet the big shopping centers offer the same crap from the same crappy companies. So much about free markets, choice for the consumer and competition.