Internet Kills Experience of Retail For Today's Youth

Tower Records...photo credit on bottom

 

As technology advances, businesses fade away and the electronics that occupy teenagers changes constantly. When you reach adulthood and raise your own children, they grow up with electronic gadgets that make the devices of your generation look like they belong in "The Flintstones".

Now this may sound like only a problem for the older generations, but I disagree. One might say that the older generations get gypped because they didn't get to grow up with the technologies that the millennials are growing up with now. Many of these advancements make life easier, which older generations didn't get to utilize while they grew up. Especially when it came to entertainment media.

 The way I see it though, it's the youth of today that have been robbed. In a world of instant gratification, the current generation of kids have been robbed of experiences that we, the people of older generation, look back on fondly.

Today's youth can download a song, movie, or book instantly on various devices thanks to the internet, but for those of us who grew up in past decades, sometimes the search made obtaining the prize much more gratifying.

With the invention of software programs like iTunes, record stores began to fall, one by one. The experience of sifting through bins of records and cassettes (yes, not CD's) and finding the gem that you didn't even know existed, made the whole experience feel like it was worth it. Youth of older years would spend hours at record stores, share their music tastes with fellow kids, and often grow up with much more appreciation and ownership of the music artists they enjoyed.

Today, kids have been robbed of this experience. They can sit behind a computer or even a cellphone, pick a specific song they want, and never share the experience of sharing music with anyone beyond their social network. Even the corporate record stores such as Tower Records are gone. Beyond the random indie music store and the limited music selections that Target, Best Buy, and Walmart stores offer, there are no more brick and mortar locations to buy music in person.

The movie industry isn't fairing much better either. A victim of the same circumstances, many rental locations disappeared after a surge in the '90's. Similar to searching for a record in a music store, the experience of searching for a VHS tape on a weekend night has vanished. Searching shelf by shelf, glancing at past movies you never heard of, but had cool box covers, you give a random movie a shot because the description sounded like something you and your friends might enjoy. Now this experience is gone as well.

With technology like Blu-ray in existence, physical movie media is holding on just a little longer than the music industry is. Red Box locations have replaced Blockbuster Video stores, but soon may find themselves being purged when more people grasp onto services like Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes.

Best yet, is the reactions you get when today's youth gets their hands on old forms of media that existed before they were even born. Show a kid a LaserDisc and they'll look at you funny. Show a kid an 8-track and they'll have no idea what they're even holding. Vinyl records have a niche market out there thanks to club DJ's, but otherwise, many of the old forms of entertainment media has been lost on the youth.

Never again will a kid have to remember to rewind a video tape before returning it to the video rental store. Never again will a kid have to flip over a music cassette to hear the music on side two. And I doubt that ever again, will a kid holding a large boombox on his shoulders or over his head, a la John Cusack style, ever be something that the "cool" kids do again.

Tower Records photo uploaded by Caldorwards4 at Wikipedia.com

Millhouse 2014 MLB Awards

Yep, it's that time of year again where I announced who the winners of the Millhouse awards are for the 2014 MLB season. With the season wrapping up, this is about as good time as any. By the way, my sleeper pick for the American League, the Kansas City Royals are still going strong in the playoffs. Unfortunately, my National League pick of the Nationals lost and my national league sleeper, the Pirates fell in the one game Wild Card round to the Giants.

And now for the awards...

AL MVP: 1. Mike Trout (ANAHEIM Angels), 2. Nelson Cruz (Bal), 3. Jose Abreu (Chi), 4. Jose Altuve (Hou), 5. Miguel Cabrera (Det)...I gave the edge to Trout because of his stolen bases, but just barely. Cruz had such a large impact on the Orioles making the playoffs, it was hard to ignore.

AL Rookie of The Year: 1. Jose Abreu (Chi), 2. Masahiro Tanaka (NYY), 3. Yordano Ventura (KC), 4. Matt Shoemaker (ANAHEIM Angels), 5. Danny Santana (Min)....This was one of the best years for rookies I can recall. In any other season, anyone of these top five guys could have won it. I could have easily went farther to include players like Houston's Colin McHugh and George Springer or Tampa Bay's Jake Ordorizzi.

AL Cy Young: 1. Felix Hernandez (Sea), 2. Chris Sale (Chi), 3. Corey Kluber (Cle), 4. Greg Holland (KC), 5. Matt Scherzer (Det)...Hernandez and Sale were neck and neck to me, but I gave Hernandez the edge because he stayed healthy all season.

AL Silver Sluggers: C-Yan Gomes (Cle), 1B-Jose Abreu (Chi), 2B-Jose Altuve (Hou), 3B-Josh Donaldson (Oak), SS-Alexei Ramirez (Chi), OF-Mike Trout (ANAHEIM Angels), OF-Jose Bautista (Tor), OF-Mickey Brantley (Cle), DH-Nelson Cruz (Bal)

Breakout Player of The Year: Corey Kluber (Cle)

Manager Of The Year: Ned Yost (KC)
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NL MVP: 1. Giancarlo Stanton (Mia), 2. Andrew McCutcheon (Pit), 3. Buster Posey (SF), 4. Todd Frazier (Cin), 5. Ian Desmond (Was)...Giancarlo Stanton squeaked by McCutcheon in my eyes. Stanton's supporting cast wasn't as good and he had to do more to put up the numbers he did.

NL Rookie of The Year: 1. Jacob deGrom (NYM), 2. Billy Hamilton (Cin), 3. Chase Anderson (Ari), 4. Travis D'Arnaud (NYM), 5. Ender Inciarte (Ari)...The NL's race was lackluster compared to the NL. Rookies at best in the NL were role players compared to the AL's top rookies. Billy Hamilton could have won it, but put up subpar numbers during the second half.

NL Cy Young: 1. Clayton Kershaw (LA), 2. Johnny Cueto (Cin), 3. Adam Wainwright (Stl), 4. Craig Kimbrel (Atl), 5. Jordan Zimmerman...Kershaw was the clear winner this year, despite his injury at the beginning of the season.

NL Silver Sluggers: C-Buster Poser (SF), 1B-Adrian Gonzalez (LA), 2B-Neil Walker (Pit), 3B-Todd Frazier (Cin), SS-Ian Desmond (Was), OF-Giancarlo Stanton (Mia), OF-Andrew McCutcheon (Pit), OF-Justin Upton (Atl), UTL-Josh Harrison (Pit), P-Madison Bumgarner (SF)

Breakout Player of The Year: Lucas Duda (NYM)

Manager of The Year: Clint Hurdle (Pit)

The 10 Best Cars In Movies Or TV

Everyone who is a fan of movies or television, has at some point or another, wished they an automobile that their favorite fictional characters drove around. Many kids had Hot Wheels, or model toys, or some other toy of their favorite cars. No matter how ridiculous the car might be if it existed in real life, you still wanted it. I give you my list of the top ten best cars in movies or TV, starting first with my number one choice...

1. The Batmobile: There are too many variations of Batman's favorite mode of transportation to identify a specific version as being THE top one. The old Adam West series was iconic and cool, but not the best equipped. The Nolan-verse Batmobile was perfect from a functionality standpoint, but not as stylish as the past versions. Tim Burton stuck a real jet engine in his version. But no matter, what, more people than not, would want the Batmobile if given an option.

2. The DeLorean: The Back To The Future trilogy made the 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 an iconic car, despite being considered an iffy car at best as far as how well it ran, Doc Brown was able to make this car the ultimate time travel device. It could take you anywhere in time you wanted (until it was destroyed in the 1800's) and was sporty enough to look cool in present day as well. Doc fixed it up to even run on garbage, making it an early version of a fuel efficient car.

3. Ecto 1: From Ghostbusters, this 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Hearse was essential to capturing mischievous ghosts. With the screeching alarm and the classic "no ghosts" logo on the side, this was one of the coolest cars in the 1980's. The Kenner toy version was one of the hottest sellers in it's time. The white wall tires, red trim, and the gadgetry on top made this car standout in it's environment.

4. The Flintstones Car: Obviously animated, it would have been the dream car for any man living in the days of the dinosaurs. With it's large rock wheels, it could have doubled for an early steamroller...before steam was even used. The top, made of what is presumably some sort of animal skin and the red wood trim, made it the hottest car in the road in the prehistoric age. If it wasn't a television show, you know you would argue with your friends about how Fred could afford a car that nice with his income. At least it saved him money in gas.

5. The Munsters Koach: The Munsters family traveled in style. This car was designed by George Barris who was also the designer of the Adam West Batmobile. The body of the Munsters Koach is eighteen feet long and pieced together from three Model T cars. Even though the TV series was in black and white, the interior was blood red and the engine was brass. The small details made it an awesome car to drive, even for a monster family.

6. KITT: The Knight Industries Two Thousand, a customized 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, was perhaps a SIRI capable device before Apple developed it. With the voice of Mr. Feeney and the memory capacity of 1,000 megabits, this was the perfect car for Michael Knight. Unmatched computer A.I., the ability to withstand fire, turbo boost, the ability to see and smell, oil jets and smoke screens, flame thrower, tear gas launcher, a telephone Comlink (before cellphones), and much more. If you were a crime fighter for FLAG, you too would need a car with this amount of functionality.

7. Wayne's Pacer: From Wayne's World, Wayne drove a 1976 Pacer, baby blue in color, with flames on the side. Did this car talk? No. Did this car help fight crime? No. Was this car eco-friendly? Probably not. But this was the best car in the 1990's to lip sync to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. The perfect car to pick up Tia Carrere in.

8. The Mystery Machine: If you were looking for old guys dressed up as ghosts and goblins, this was the essential form of transportation. The 1963 Ford Econoline Customer Van was how The Scooby Gang got around. Inside, the van had shag carpets and enough room to transport a talking Great Dane. As to what made the dog talk, that's a whole different story. Every time the door opened, smoke would flood out, but it went well with the psychedelic paint job.

9. Phoebe's Taxi Cab: After inheriting her car from her deceased grandmother, Phoebe Buffet from Friends often gave her friends a ride in her 1977 Checker Taxi Cab. Perhaps one of the nicest taxis in television, that car took the cast everywhere. It made trips from New York to Las Vegas and took the crew to vacation beach houses.

10. Black Beauty: From the Green Hornet television series in the 1960's, this 1966 Imperial Crown was loaded with weapons and surveillance equipment for Green Hornet and Kato to fight crime in, while pretending to be villains themselves. It was sleek looking with it's glossy black paint and even without it's weapons, would be a smooth car to drive in.

(photo credit to Jennifer Graylock/Ford Motor Company on Wikipedia)