The New Bossa Nova

Apparently, there is a "new" bossa nova. Which makes it a new new thing.

I'm tired of new new things. I don't want any more new new things. New new things make me tired and annoy me, and make me even more nostalgic for dumb bad old things like space food sticks, cars that overheat even on short trips on cool days [see photo], and bad hairstyles.

We have cell phones, PDAs, multifunctional devices and high-speed connectivity now. We have functionality. We have telephony.

I miss just having a telephone. I don't like telephony.

Even cable TV annoys me. It's just so bad! Do we really need "House" and "Psych" and 97 "Law & Order" franchises? TV shows shouldn't have franchises! Didn't we learn anything from the All In The Family-The Jeffersons-Maude-Archie Bunker's Place-Gloria debacle of the 70s and early 80s?

I think I've become a worse person having a cell phone. The thought of being accessible most if not all of the time makes me irritable, cranky and fatigued. Don't call us, we'll call you - that's a phrase I miss.

Until my grandmother passed away about 4 years ago, my Dad would call his mom [or parents, when grandpa was alive] once a week - each Sunday night. And when I went off to grad school, he would call me once a week. I preferred [as I still do] writing to people rather than talking to them. Now, people call all the time, call call call. Talk talk talk.

I think there are many things that are lost by this new pace of life. Reading. Decompressing. Coming up with one's own ideas. Taking a walk.

I hate to sound like Jonathan Richman, Henry Thoreau or any other hippies out there. It's just maddening.

I never wanted to be this productive, I can tell you that with great certainty.