Thanks for this. Amid all the whirling news, here's a Very enjoyable read, without one reference to politics. Just what I need in the morning! The items you pictured are just wonderful. My mind thought of the possibilities of each thing in relation to the time it was created, if I used it, what was that like--and it was a nice journey. I still have one of those grocery list things, it was my mother's. I treasure all the things I've kept from the past, be they objects from the very distant past or five or ten years past. They're important to me. They bring a sort of misty feeling, a warm feeling of familiarity somehow.
I am packing to leave my apt, being priced out and on the street in my car soon. Scrambling to get everything into storage, I'm wearing myself out and worried about the future. Your post took only a few minutes of my time yet will be with me all day as I continue to sort and pack my treasures. You've reminded me that the present can't Be without the past, and the future depends on it. My future. Our future.
depends... i def would hate to go back to the 1950s as a black dude in america... most of the past seems pretty bleak to me in this country and i imagine there are others in other times and places that feel the same
so it makes me think there's also a dimension of privilege to nostalgia
Is there a term for things like book wheels, scrolling paper maps in cars, pneumatic tubes for message delivery?
All inventions where a problem is solved in an elaborate or awkward or labor-intensive way where that problem will later be solved in a more practical way with technology that didn’t exist at the time. In other words, “ahead of its time.”
I sometimes think of such things as “predictive technology” or “predictive inventions”.
One small quibble about something you probably didn't even think about - and that's the point. Marianne Faithfull was a person with many roles in her life, including a celebrated and popular singer; dating Mick Jagger was only one of them, and one that didn't last nearly as long as most of her other roles. So please don't reduce her, or any woman, to her brief role as an appendage to a man.
That wasn’t the point of the caption. I love Marianne Faithfull’s music, especially her final album. The caption referred to how, even though she was with Mick, she was understandably focused on Delon. Perhaps you weren’t familiar with the famous meme: “That moment when you’re Mick Jagger but the other guy is Alain Delon.”
The past was cool because it was analog. I still treasure anything in my life that isn’t run by some digital doohickey. I will never ever buy a blue tooth toothbrush!
Thanks for this. Amid all the whirling news, here's a Very enjoyable read, without one reference to politics. Just what I need in the morning! The items you pictured are just wonderful. My mind thought of the possibilities of each thing in relation to the time it was created, if I used it, what was that like--and it was a nice journey. I still have one of those grocery list things, it was my mother's. I treasure all the things I've kept from the past, be they objects from the very distant past or five or ten years past. They're important to me. They bring a sort of misty feeling, a warm feeling of familiarity somehow.
I am packing to leave my apt, being priced out and on the street in my car soon. Scrambling to get everything into storage, I'm wearing myself out and worried about the future. Your post took only a few minutes of my time yet will be with me all day as I continue to sort and pack my treasures. You've reminded me that the present can't Be without the past, and the future depends on it. My future. Our future.
Again, Thank you!
Thank you for this touching message. I'm truly moved that the post brought you a moment of peace. May things begin to turn in your favor very soon 🙏🏻
The rotating bookshelf is hilarious! And I love the metal grocery list! I might have to have one made for me! These are so cool!
Need to add some Catsup to the shopping list!
Wow, wow! They are all so beautiful.
Thanks for this, fascinating!
Thank you . It's so interesting.
Beauty in every expression is a precious gift.
Enjoyed this article very much.
It’s got me thinking! Love it.
Thank you so much Carol!
I agree that we often feel better about times past: it’s because the threats and uncertainties of the past are extinct.
But I retain the material culture of the past: I know the provenance of every object in our house. That’s an enriching comfort.
I couldn’t agree more.
Thanks for the article. It is fascinating how much we cherish the past perhaps because it mirrors the best of what life could have been.
My pleasure.
As the third-worldization of The West continues we'll just get more faster and cheaper, but not better.
depends... i def would hate to go back to the 1950s as a black dude in america... most of the past seems pretty bleak to me in this country and i imagine there are others in other times and places that feel the same
so it makes me think there's also a dimension of privilege to nostalgia
Because the people, like you and I, who lived it in made it amazing. Well, most people who lived in it made it amazing.
Is there a term for things like book wheels, scrolling paper maps in cars, pneumatic tubes for message delivery?
All inventions where a problem is solved in an elaborate or awkward or labor-intensive way where that problem will later be solved in a more practical way with technology that didn’t exist at the time. In other words, “ahead of its time.”
I sometimes think of such things as “predictive technology” or “predictive inventions”.
Thank you for this! I NEED a bookwheel!!
One small quibble about something you probably didn't even think about - and that's the point. Marianne Faithfull was a person with many roles in her life, including a celebrated and popular singer; dating Mick Jagger was only one of them, and one that didn't last nearly as long as most of her other roles. So please don't reduce her, or any woman, to her brief role as an appendage to a man.
That wasn’t the point of the caption. I love Marianne Faithfull’s music, especially her final album. The caption referred to how, even though she was with Mick, she was understandably focused on Delon. Perhaps you weren’t familiar with the famous meme: “That moment when you’re Mick Jagger but the other guy is Alain Delon.”
PS: I need a bookwheel too!
I love that shopping list! I was born in 1958, so I don't remember it , but what a quaint combination of notepad and ipad ;)
I want to know what "delicates" were!
lol, I didn't even notice that...and it's spelled "delicatess" with 2 s's. I do remember panty hose and even underwear in supermarkets.
deli. delicatessen.
We live in the Now. It is always messy and confusing. The Past is curated.
The past was cool because it was analog. I still treasure anything in my life that isn’t run by some digital doohickey. I will never ever buy a blue tooth toothbrush!