Friday, November 13, 2009

A Classic Life?

I was on my way to work, scanning the radio for something to make the daily pilgrimage more tolerable, and settled on “Back in Black” by AC/DC. The song ended with the deejay recapping the title and informing me that I was listening to the Loren and Wally show on the station that plays the classics of the sixties, seventies, and eighties.

I was dumbfounded that this song had reached classic status. It seemed like not that long ago, I was listening to this song in the football locker room. The harsh reality set in: that was twenty five years ago( a quarter of a century.)

Equally disturbing, was the fact that Loren and Wally were playing AC/DC. I remembered these two guys as the purveyors of Christopher Cross, Air Supply, and James Taylor; the music that no self-respecting fan of Aerosmith would ever think of listening to. They played Barry Manilow, not Bon Scott.

I started to think about how drastically things have changed since I was a kid. The youths of today have worries, issues, and pressures on them that were unheard of thirty years ago. Sure, we had things to worry about. It was agonizing having to wait an entire week to see if “The Fonz” made it over the chicken stand. There was no internet around to leak the results to us.

Going to McDonalds a.k.a “that Scottish restaurant” as I’m told my wife’s Great Grandmother used to call it, was a special treat and not considered part of the five essential food groups.

Kids today are inundated with graphic public service announcements regarding the hazards of all sorts of things. This is commendable but if you went on a field trip to the Museum of Science in the seventies, I bet you never forgot the image of the “Cancer Lung” that greeted you as you walked in.

The intricate nuances of the human body are now forced on kids while they are still in elementary school. Posters of Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Tiegs pretty much covered this subject for the youth of my era.

The after school activities for most of today’s younger generation consist of staring at the computer or playing the latest video games. Back in my day, the house was the last place you wanted to be. There was too much fun to be had outside. Rain was about the only thing that kept you inside. Snow was considered an extra bonus.

Times change, society adapts, and we move on. Sesame Street passed the torch to Barney, who handed it off to Hip Hop Harry. In the end, I do take solace in the fact that most of the music of my bygone era has stood the test of time and is still relevant. I don’t think the same will hold true for Soulja Boy, Britney and all of the others though.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Great God Pan

"The Great God Pan" is a novella written by Arthur Machen. I decided to read it based on a list of novels Stephen King listed in the back section of his book "On Writing". I highly recommend it, as it is a perfect example that horror can be just as scary without all the blood and guts. A couple of other nice finds from Mr. Kings list: "The Ax" by Donald Westlake and "Speed Queen"by Stuart O'Nan

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

What A Find Today:

I absolutely love scary things; not blood and guts for the sake of it, just good old fashion scary / thrilling shows. Night Gallery, Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt & Darkside, and Chiller to name a few. You can imagine my delight when at my works book fair, I see the complete DVD compilation of Kolchak: the night stalker, on sale for only $4.00!!! This was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and I can't wait to get home and devour it!