The Place : a small, racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood of long-term families and gay fixer uppers now seeing an influx of me-uppies [all about me and my property value, conservative suburbanites scratching an urban itch] The Time : the 21 st century The People : a representative assortment of people, products of their times “Is this a weed?” I asked my neighbor living to the right of me. She shuddered, then disdainfully pronounced, “Of course it is; it’s going to take over your garden!” “I don’t care,” I responded, “it grows well in this soil, fits with the xeriscaping, and, I like the ...
Read Full Story
Review: By Christopher W. Chase "Christopher W. Chase" Vance Packard's "The Status Seekers" is a well known compendium and analysis of the nature and development of social classification during the 1950's-a period marked by explosive growth of the U.S. economy, especially among young white families. The thesis of the book, as explained by Packard, is that rather than the creation of a largely classless society in which "all" were gaining the benefits of democratic capitalism, the creation of an "affluent" society simply highlighted and created new stratifications, both horizontal, and vertical, of social class based on race, religion, behavioral and consumptive practices. Packard sought ...
Read Full Story
Cup Stacking Will Defend America (Notice the Bob Dylan Book and the Official Cup Stacking Mat) As the days and weeks evolve, I often think to myself, since when, did Pop America become a society of sissies. Since when, did it become posh, to be the pocket protector sporting nerd of the world? People, this is a wake up call. Actually, that is far too polite. This is the garbage truck coming at three AM and knocking over your trash can so you can snap out of your lethargy. Now is not the time for "summer soldiers or sunshine patriots." As available as news ...
Read Full Story
(Photo Credit: Randy Montoya) Photo not really related other than it is a big awesome machine designed to experiment with nuclear fusion (apparently successfully too) but it is kind of how I imagine the "nerve centre" for the machine in the following story. Perhaps that title caught your attention and it's not just a gimmick to get attention but part of the theme of today's reading. I'm talking about "The Machine Stops" written by E.M. Forster in 1909. The fact that you saw that title and decided to read on anyway shows that you have free will of your own and aren't subordinated easily ...
Read Full Story
Review: By Renee Thorpe Bitingly witty and embarassingly well focused look at the main classes within American society. Yes, there is an American aristocracy, but they aren't driving around in Ferraris or living in Beverly Hills. There is even a sort of aristocracy amongst the working class people whom Fussell generally refers to as proles. Fussell's sharp eye has found and catalogued an amazing array of signs that indicate class in America. Try to spot these signs at your next social gathering, or even subject your own living room to the survey at the end of the book (frighteningly accurate way to determine one's ...
Read Full Story
