Our treasured videocassettes

 

What do librarians do when they retire? They index their living rooms. Media in various formats are now all indexed in files based on which box they are in. At some point I realized I would have to view the old videocassettes to see what is on them. My old descriptions on the boxes had things like 90s tv or Nixon. I decided to view each one individually, looking for treasures and help put details on the listings.

Unfortunately I had not played the video player in a few years. What with Netflix and Hulu and all I rarely play DVDs, not to mention old videocassettes. The machine would not turn on. I dusted it, moved it to another plug and no luck. Finally I bought another videocassette player on EBay. When I got it a few days later it seemd to be in good shape. 1992, Sony, good reviews. Unfortunately it would not take my video RCA plug. I went to You Tube and found a video on my model and looked for answers. One guy recommended I buy a BNC to RCA plug converter. I went to Amazon and bought that and a two RCA plug to one RCA plug converter since the machine only had one audio output jack. 

I got the converter jacks and lo and behold, they worked, and I could watch my old videos. Oops. Many of the videos are in poor shape. Many will have a black picture for minutes at a time before suddenly turning to a passable image. The audio seems to have held up better. A word to the wise. If you have 1990s era videos of families or First Communions on video make sure to look at them and then convert them to DVD or digital as soon as you can. 

It is fun to look at old homemade videos. We wonder why our younger selves decided to push record and stop when they did. Some of the choices are interesting, if not all. So far I have seen the opening of the library handicapped elevator covered on local cable in 1992. I saw the Rodney King incident and followed the event, riot and speech by George Bush I. Football games, kids singing Christmas songs. Bill Clinton visiting a kindergarten. Interviews with Nixon, Jerry Brown, John and Yoko. The history of MacSorleys is on one video. Michael Palen in Peru. Of course my family at Thanksgiving is fun. I never realized I had such a loud family. 

I don't have the ugliness gene

 

I remember when I was a sophomore in college and I was chatting with a young lady at the dorm. "My father dropped me off from home this morning and he told me that these dorms are so ugly that it literally makes him sick." 

Until that second I thought Livingston College dorms were swell looking. I thought for a moment and said, "Oh yes modern government student housing has no sense of the ascetic.  It's all cheaply and shoddily made."  Of course I was trying to impress the lady with my perspicacity. 

In a job I had I was setting up computer terminals with the power supply by the side. I was scolded because what I was creating was an eyesore. It was then I realized that I did not have an ugliness gene. Apparently, I have always been perfectly happy with a functional but ugly apartment, car, or workplace. I love paint stains on concrete and ugly flowered wallpaper.  I love crappy bathrooms in ethnic restaurants. Someone might see the interior of my car and think, "How can he keep that crap in the backseat. Ugh." 

Last week I went to a condominium meeting and this woman was complaining about a truck with a picture of a cow that is parked on the premises. "That's an eyesore!" she exclaimed. I had always thought the truck with the picture of the cow made the place look homey.  It all comes down to the fact that I don't have an ugliness gene. 

David Crosby dies at 81

David Crosby died yesterday He was 81. 81 I said?

David Crosby drank, took heroin, took cocaine, smoked, was overweight, and smoked a barn's worth of pot in his life. He drove a motorcycle and slept with hundreds of women.  And he died at 81.

What's with all the things we are taught? Light on the booze, avoid drugs, and watch those calories. Balderdash. David Crosby did all the things we are not supposed to do and died at 81. Time for a trip to Vegas. I wonder how much I will have to pay for a pack of Camels. 

The Ironic in modern day streaming

 

The greatest generation truly believed in America. They struggled through the Depression, fought World War 2, married and bought homes in the suburbs in a supreme belief in the American way. Their children grew long hair, smoked pot, listened to rock music but ultimately believed in the hippie counterculture dream as exemplified by people like Wavy Gravy. At least until the mid 70s.

Generation X exemplified a rejection of the hippie counterculture and instead apes the lives of the greatest generation, but they do so ironically. Young people wear ties, but they do so ironically. They buy houses in the suburbs, but they live there ironically. Modern streaming cinema shows a life lived ironically.

I recently finished White Noise In this film/tv show Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, veterans of the mumblecore era of film making, live in the suburbs and are married. However, they live their lives ironically. They love ironically. They live through disasters, but they do so ironically. 

I think of all the shows I've been watching. Vanishing Act, Casual, the Worst Person in the World, Conversations with Friends. They can all be viewed ironically. People don't love, they love ironically, people don't raise children, they do so ironically. People don't care about their jobs, they work ironically.  People buy 1950 style sofas that fit in their living rooms ironically.

 I used to wear an ugly pair of plaid short pants. It was okay, though, because I was wearing them ironically. I need to wash the dishes that are collecting in my sink. Unfortunately, I won't be able to just wash them ironically. 

Things we keep hidden in our wallets

 I was just reading how William assaulted poor innocent Harry over Meghan in the forthcoming book, the Spare. Apparently, a Spanish translation has been released early and was extrapolated. At last some underpaid journalist was rewarded for their high school Spanish. 

Truth to be told, most younger brothers harbor secrets about their older brothers that they key deep in their wallets until the time is come when the information is useful. A younger brother observes his older brother smoking a cigarette or downing a can of beer in the lot across the street. He keeps it to itself until his mother yells at him for a different infraction. "But Samuel routinely drinks beer and smokes in the lot across the street and you never say a word. It just isn't fair!" Your infraction is forgotten and your older brother gets scolded. 

A co worker takes away your admin privileges on the computers. You don't say a word. Then a staffer complains that records are being inputted incorrectly.  You point out that you have noticed that your co worker is allowing a volunteer to input data. She made mistakes. Your co worker is scolded. The next week you are given back administrative privileges on the computers. 

We all hold little secrets in our wallets until they may be useful. Caution, however, is advised. Nobody likes a tattle tale. 

The king and his sons

Once in a kingdom across the sea there was a good and just king who had two sons. Harry the Red and William the Blonde. William had a beautiful wife who obeyed the dictums of the king, was a good mother to her children, and was beloved by all in the kingdom. His younger son, Harry the Red, married an evil woman from a rebelious colony in Los Angeles. The king looked upon his daughters in law. There was the good wife from the East and the wicked wife from the West.

Being kicked out of the kingdom the wicked wife said nasty things about the Royal Family on Netflix and Harry the Red revealed some royal secrets in his book. They spent the rest of their lives in comparative luxury in California and eventually got a morning talk show but the show had poor ratings. 

William the Blonde and his lovely wife did their duties as proscribed and served their country well.  

Editor's note: To be continued. 

My predictions for 2023

 Here were my predictions on conditions at the end of 2022 as made on New Year's Eve, 12 months ago:

Dow Jones         37650

S and P               5178

NASDAQ           17258

Unemployed        3.8%

Microsoft            365

Oil                       80

CPI                      3.9%    

The actual end of year as of today.

Dow Jones            33148         

S and P                  3839

NASDAQ            10466.5

Unemployed         3.7%

Microsoft              239.82

Texas Crude Oil    80.51

CPI                         6.1%

Like most of the world, I was caught with my pants down with regards to    predictions on inflation and the major declines in the market.

My prediction for December 31, 2023:

Dow Jones           36000

S and P                4500

NASDAQ           10800

Unemployed         5%

Microsoft             300

Texas Crude Oil    90

CPI                       5%

Historically, bad years in the market are usually followed by decent years. We will have a mild recession, but things will get better in the fall. Prices for hardware will go down but food prices will not diminish, only stop rising. The Eagles will be in the Super Bowl in January of 2023 but lose. They will not do as well in the fall.