Friday, August 24, 2007

Out and About...

No flying cars here. Via Gerard and The Raw Feed (linkies are convoluted at times)… Paleo-Future links us to (and discusses) a 1979 book’s “vision of the future.” And, in the example discussed, the book gets many more things right than wrong. Pretty interesting.

We, all of us, have a LOT of the stuff that the article predicted we would have…chief among them are our PCs, e-mail, electronic magazines (blogs) and the ubiquitous, big ol’ flat screen TeeVees.

One wonders what the author(s) of said article are doing today…

You just gotta go here…if you’re male. Turn your sound DOWN if you’re at work, but keep it at a level where you can hear what’s being said. Or not, if you want to attract undue attention to your “I’m not working” web-surfing. And you will get attention.

If that’s not enough, Gentle Reader…check out “Geek Tattoos.” Pretty funny.

(h/t: The Raw Feed. Again.)

Why is it I have to read about this in a British paper? Regardless of the source, this is well and truly over-frickin’-due:

Race, fashion and freedom of expression have collided in Atlanta this week over the vexed issue of baggy trousers.

A black councilman wants to ban the "low-rider" style — a figment of hip-hop culture — because it often exposes a man's underwear or a woman's thong, but has come up against a blast of opposition from civil rights groups and ordinary, fashion-free Americans.

Councilman C T Martin described the popular phenomenon of drooping jeans as an “epidemic” that is becoming a “major concern” across the United States. His proposal for a ban follows similar measures in a series of small towns in Louisiana.

Announcing his proposed amendment to the city's indecency laws, Mr Martin said of the fallen waistline, most prevalent among young black men and women: “Little children see it and want to adopt it, thinking it's the 'in thing'. I don't want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go. I want them to think about their future.”

And while you’re at it, make wearing your baseball cap backwards a misdemeanor. OTOH, I suppose this “fashion” affectation makes identifying the clue-impaired among us much easier. But it’s still a misdemeanor, in my book, just barely below felony status. Actually, repeat offenders should be charged with a felony.

/Old Fart rant.

Ahhh…one of the two real signs of Fall…the first installment of the NYT’s College Football Preview. I’m of the opinion, not exactly appreciated in certain parts of EIP’s readership, that football should ONLY be watched on Saturdays. And Friday nights too, assuming you live in Tejas, where high school football is something of a religion.

Oh, and that other real sign of Fall? Hockey training camp. It’s coming, albeit VERY slowly…

5 comments:

  1. Saggin' britches! Don't get me started. That has to be the ugliest fashion men have come up with to date. And men don't change fashion very quickly - that has been going on since about 1990 when I was teaching in NM. When I see some guy's underwear and his britches so low that he can hardly walk, I just want to laugh and point - they look like clowns. As for women showing their thongs - nasty.

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  2. Who would have ever thought that plumber's crack would become chic (or is that 'cheek'?). I'm also torn on outlawing the backwards cap thing - sometimes we can use all the
    at-a-distance clues we can get so as to avoid eye contact at close range.

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  3. Lou said: That has to be the ugliest fashion men have come up with to date.

    Ah. You've just opened up what I consider to be one of life's greatest "little" mysteries... exactly who decrees what's "fashionable" and what isn't? And "the fashion industry" and it's major supporters...the fashion magazines (GQ for men--are there others?--, Elle, Glamour, Vogue...for women) ain't the answer. To the best of my knowledge GQ, Playboy, or Penthouse never ran an article saying something to the effect of "Today's HOT Look...Wear Your Pants Below the Crack of Your Ass!!"

    I like to think I'm immune from all that, but in reality: I'm NOT. I "did" the torn, patched, embroidered, and frayed Levis thing back in the '60s - '70s... but that's the only "fad" I can remember following/participating in with anything that resembled enthusiasm. Doubtless there could be more, but I don't think so.

    Lin: Agreed, as noted, on that backwards baseball cap thing. It just puts my teeth on edge, though. I REALLY have to bite my tongue when I see that...

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  4. "Fashion" doesn't come from the runways, it comes from MTV and hiphop/rap stars. Back when I was in high school (WAY back in late 80's early 90's. LOL!), we had baggy, but not saggin'. I didn't succomb to much fashion, I liked my wranglers, Rockies, and boots (but of course I had the latest of these, since I worked in that industry, the largest western wear store in Albuquerque). And it's still what I wear today (I bought new boots and jeans just this week for going to the fair today). And back then, I balked at the idea of school uniforms.

    Today, being a mom that doesn't like the saggin' trend, nor many others, I'm for school uniforms. It would make things oh so much easier. But at least our school has a dress code that bans saggin' britches. We also have a bus driver that if what he sees doesn't pass his muster, that child will go straight to the office from the bus.

    Buck, can you tell school is about to start at ENMU? Are the rodeo girls back in the RV park?

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  5. Jenny asks: Buck, can you tell school is about to start at ENMU? Are the rodeo girls back in the RV park?

    Not really, things are pretty much BAU here in Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park. ;-)

    As for the cowgirls...one stayed for the summer this year (summer job, I think), and one moved out completely last year...maybe she graduated. The one who moved out sold her fifth wheel to someone else...she left, but the trailer has a new tenant.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.