Interesting detail - one dictionary has that 'Bushwa[h]' at the time (1910s-1920s) was slang for 'nonsense' (and likely a bowdlerized form 'bullshit')
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/bushwah
So it works on one level as that era's '555' trope but also as a more specific joke at the main character's expense.
"I remember when I was a cadet, I was up here on a cadaver search. The instructor gets on the radio to say 'We're looking for *one* body in particular. If you go grabbing everyone you see, we'll be here all day,' he said"
One of the singular features of Guns N' Roses was having all the style and culture and trapings of the Hair Band era, but transcending that genre thru talent & artistic choices.
I want to say even at the time Black Crowes was regarded as something as a 'throwback', particularly with one of their big hits being the Too Hard to Handle cover.
Though looking it up, that was from the previous album. Though again, Too Hard to Handle was indeed their breakthru hit single.
but speaking of citations, I'm surprised there aren't any in the text itself, with i.e. MLA format*. That seemed to be all the rage (and a royal pain the neck) in the early 90s from my own experience.
Some of these (probably because it's the same era* remind me of the Great Brain book series.
Like, they were notable events when the narrator, the youngest brother, watch his older brothers change over to long pants (and at the same time, become interested in girls)
*in that both were set in the same era- circa 1890s, with these written in the 10's and 20s', and the Great Brain series written in the 60s & 70s.
"In our discourse we have abandoned the idea of epistemological humility. I enter every conversation of any importance with the assumption that I might be wrong. It’s why I listen to the person I’m discussing things with. I want to know reasons why I might be wrong."
There's been a thirty-plus year right wing infotaninment industry that starts every conversation with the notion that they are the only truth, you don't have to listen to anyone else - and in fact everyone else is some variety of terrorist and/or traitor. And have become the epitome of gaslighting regarding things like the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But yeah, sure, 'we' abandoned epistemological humility.
Is it that ham is considered plain and ordinary for these folks? "annual ham sandwich" is thus sarcastic - instead of being able to feast and party it up, an 'annual filet mignon, lobster, and champagne', he's going to have a boring ordinary week because of his wife's company?
There's some unsourced and/or circular referenced stuff on the net that says a 'ham sandwich' is slang for evidence the cops plant on people they arrest. (it's also unclear what era this slang is from). This is unrelated to 'grand jury will indict a ham sandwich' which apparently was first said by a New York judge in the 1980s and then popularized by Tom Wolfe.
(there's also quite a few urban dictionary-type sites that relate ham sandwiches to women in a vulgar way which I don't think at all was the aim here)
One theory that I'm pulling from thin air - remember that one comic where the main character was excited about eating 6 pounds of roast beef at the annual club dinner? Perhaps this is the counterpoint to that, where Ralph, instead of partying and feasting literally or metaphorically with the boys from work, will have to settle literally or metaphorically for just a ham sandwich because his wife is along.
sorry, it wasn't the comic itself, but the comment by MIchael Cain below where the 6 pounds of meat came from
https://ordinary-times.com/2021/02/13/the-big-beefsteak-dinner/
Prompted by your comment of 'sheet music'. to compare it to the comic, I tried to look up the actual notation of the "I kissed your hand Madame" (because I can't sight read for squat) and either copyright law or digitation preferences or both make it more difficult to do so than it is to find and listen to actual performances of the song.
Looks not too far off from this look, which sources say are horse race spectators in 1926 Britain.
https://photos.com/featured/three-plus-fours-topical-press-agency.html
(probably the biggest enabler of suburbanization in the 20th century was not the automobile*, but the willingness to put 'city water' in relatively low density housing tracts.)
*in that streetcars were creating suburbs a generation earlier.
I don’t know if it is or will be considered a ‘classic’ but I started reading Snow Crash earlier this summer, and man, there’s a whole lot in that that’s hopelessly stuck in that early 90’s time it was written that’s quite jarring really.
(It also doesn’t help when Stephenson reveals the age of Y.T. maybe a third of the way thru)
[oh noez, small amount of gender critical theory ahead] The internet has changed me, because I can definitely see nowadays why two women, who have spent all summer in a hot kitchen, welcome autumn a lot more than a kid who has spent all summer at the fishing/swimming hole with his loyal dog.
Took me a while to read this, because I didn't want to go into it hot. I largely agree with everything said in the original post.
I will point out* that this site's 'Afghanistan' tag has (with this post) 8 posts this calendar year...and then jumps right to 2014 for the next earliest post. https://ordinary-times.com/tag/afghanistan/
*(yeah it's sorta a tu quoque, or at least it's sort of a Morissettian irony)
eta - I will say all the other 7 posts from this calendar year, are all worth re-reading, written as they were without any hindsight bias for the actual endgame.
A couple of years ago, we went to see some family in Bryan/College Station, and flew into Dallas Fort Worth (instead of Houston) because the schedule worked better. Contemplated stopping by this place on the drive either to or from Aggieland - Waco is not that much of a detour - but Noped the heck out of that idea when I saw Google Streetview of the establishment (i.e. the crowds)
‘Very 80’s music video’ is what makes this notable (and may have what brought it to people’s attention again).
The song was released and video made in 1990, so it’s right at the inflection point of the end of 80’s trends in both music and video making, and right at the beginning of how both would transform when pop rock of the era gave way to grunge or boy/girl bands or R&B artists.
One of the sad but notable things that about Clare Briggs, that occurs to me frequently in this series, is that he passed away in January 1930. So all these scenes of the 1920s are frozen in time, almost like Pompeii.
And even in January 1930, things were not quite that bad economy-wise, and people generally still didn't grasp how bad they would get.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Taking The Joy Out of Phone Calls”
Interesting detail - one dictionary has that 'Bushwa[h]' at the time (1910s-1920s) was slang for 'nonsense' (and likely a bowdlerized form 'bullshit')
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/bushwah
So it works on one level as that era's '555' trope but also as a more specific joke at the main character's expense.
On “Remains of Brian Laundrie Found and Identified”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFT_i0gjt58
"I remember when I was a cadet, I was up here on a cadaver search. The instructor gets on the radio to say 'We're looking for *one* body in particular. If you go grabbing everyone you see, we'll be here all day,' he said"
On “Albums That Changed Everything versus Albums That You Can Still Listen To”
One of the singular features of Guns N' Roses was having all the style and culture and trapings of the Hair Band era, but transcending that genre thru talent & artistic choices.
"
I want to say even at the time Black Crowes was regarded as something as a 'throwback', particularly with one of their big hits being the Too Hard to Handle cover.
Though looking it up, that was from the previous album. Though again, Too Hard to Handle was indeed their breakthru hit single.
On “Remains of Brian Laundrie Found and Identified”
'the full truth' seems to me that he killed her, then he killed himself. Not really more mysterious than that.
On “Washington, DC Metro Has To Pull Half Of Fleet For Safety Issues”
I guess the 'good news' is that ridership is still down to about 20% of pre-pandemic levels, and 'rush hour' is where the difference is most stark.
https://www.wmata.com/initiatives/ridership-portal/Rail-Data-Portal.cfm
plus, this week looks to be perfect fall weather (60's and sunny) for alternatives like biking or walking a bit further.
On “Obsolete Philosophy Kickoff: Marx vs Nietzsche”
but speaking of citations, I'm surprised there aren't any in the text itself, with i.e. MLA format*. That seemed to be all the rage (and a royal pain the neck) in the early 90s from my own experience.
*of that era, heck, it probably has changed.
"
The citation format for the last book in your bibliography slayed me.
On “Fall Of The House of Gruden”
Gruden is the rare case where the email should have been a meeting.
On “Long Pants”
Some of these (probably because it's the same era* remind me of the Great Brain book series.
Like, they were notable events when the narrator, the youngest brother, watch his older brothers change over to long pants (and at the same time, become interested in girls)
*in that both were set in the same era- circa 1890s, with these written in the 10's and 20s', and the Great Brain series written in the 60s & 70s.
On “The Lady Bug”
I remember seeing it too, in trivia and baseball lore books
Apparently it was a famous at the time poem, though it seems not quite Casey at the Bat famous.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball%27s_Sad_Lexicon
eta - the poem would be written a year after this cartoon was published if I'm reading things right.
On “Maybe Today I’ll Debate George Carlin”
"In our discourse we have abandoned the idea of epistemological humility. I enter every conversation of any importance with the assumption that I might be wrong. It’s why I listen to the person I’m discussing things with. I want to know reasons why I might be wrong."
There's been a thirty-plus year right wing infotaninment industry that starts every conversation with the notion that they are the only truth, you don't have to listen to anyone else - and in fact everyone else is some variety of terrorist and/or traitor. And have become the epitome of gaslighting regarding things like the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But yeah, sure, 'we' abandoned epistemological humility.
On “The Annual Ham Sandwich”
Not sure where my other comment went to, but here's some of the Ham vs Beef wars in the Briggs archives
https://ordinary-times.com/2021/02/21/protest-registered-at-the-menu/
https://ordinary-times.com/2021/02/13/the-big-beefsteak-dinner/
Is it that ham is considered plain and ordinary for these folks? "annual ham sandwich" is thus sarcastic - instead of being able to feast and party it up, an 'annual filet mignon, lobster, and champagne', he's going to have a boring ordinary week because of his wife's company?
"
There's some unsourced and/or circular referenced stuff on the net that says a 'ham sandwich' is slang for evidence the cops plant on people they arrest. (it's also unclear what era this slang is from). This is unrelated to 'grand jury will indict a ham sandwich' which apparently was first said by a New York judge in the 1980s and then popularized by Tom Wolfe.
(there's also quite a few urban dictionary-type sites that relate ham sandwiches to women in a vulgar way which I don't think at all was the aim here)
One theory that I'm pulling from thin air - remember that one comic where the main character was excited about eating 6 pounds of roast beef at the annual club dinner? Perhaps this is the counterpoint to that, where Ralph, instead of partying and feasting literally or metaphorically with the boys from work, will have to settle literally or metaphorically for just a ham sandwich because his wife is along.
sorry, it wasn't the comic itself, but the comment by MIchael Cain below where the 6 pounds of meat came from
https://ordinary-times.com/2021/02/13/the-big-beefsteak-dinner/
On “Starting The Day With a Shower”
Prompted by your comment of 'sheet music'. to compare it to the comic, I tried to look up the actual notation of the "I kissed your hand Madame" (because I can't sight read for squat) and either copyright law or digitation preferences or both make it more difficult to do so than it is to find and listen to actual performances of the song.
On “Dressing Down”
Looks not too far off from this look, which sources say are horse race spectators in 1926 Britain.
https://photos.com/featured/three-plus-fours-topical-press-agency.html
On “A Late Drink of Water”
most "cityfolk" (or middle class and up cityfolk) had indoor running water since the 1840s-50s.
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1325.html
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/history-of-new-york-citys-drinking-water.page
(probably the biggest enabler of suburbanization in the 20th century was not the automobile*, but the willingness to put 'city water' in relatively low density housing tracts.)
*in that streetcars were creating suburbs a generation earlier.
On “Ordinary World: Labor Day”
I do like this theory.
I don’t know if it is or will be considered a ‘classic’ but I started reading Snow Crash earlier this summer, and man, there’s a whole lot in that that’s hopelessly stuck in that early 90’s time it was written that’s quite jarring really.
(It also doesn’t help when Stephenson reveals the age of Y.T. maybe a third of the way thru)
On “Now Vacation is Over”
[oh noez, small amount of gender critical theory ahead] The internet has changed me, because I can definitely see nowadays why two women, who have spent all summer in a hot kitchen, welcome autumn a lot more than a kid who has spent all summer at the fishing/swimming hole with his loyal dog.
On “An American Exercise In Washing Our Hands of Afghanistan”
Cohen...has been out of the game for a while. And the game changed almost literally the minute he left.
"
Actually to correct the record, everything from this year is worth reading, but only the first three posts are pre-GiROA final collapse.
"
Took me a while to read this, because I didn't want to go into it hot. I largely agree with everything said in the original post.
I will point out* that this site's 'Afghanistan' tag has (with this post) 8 posts this calendar year...and then jumps right to 2014 for the next earliest post. https://ordinary-times.com/tag/afghanistan/
*(yeah it's sorta a tu quoque, or at least it's sort of a Morissettian irony)
eta - I will say all the other 7 posts from this calendar year, are all worth re-reading, written as they were without any hindsight bias for the actual endgame.
On “The Books of Magnolia Market at the Silos: Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Monument to Decadence”
A couple of years ago, we went to see some family in Bryan/College Station, and flew into Dallas Fort Worth (instead of Houston) because the schedule worked better. Contemplated stopping by this place on the drive either to or from Aggieland - Waco is not that much of a detour - but Noped the heck out of that idea when I saw Google Streetview of the establishment (i.e. the crowds)
On “Go West – King of Wishful Thinking (and Redux)”
‘Very 80’s music video’ is what makes this notable (and may have what brought it to people’s attention again).
The song was released and video made in 1990, so it’s right at the inflection point of the end of 80’s trends in both music and video making, and right at the beginning of how both would transform when pop rock of the era gave way to grunge or boy/girl bands or R&B artists.
On “Selling Seven”
One of the sad but notable things that about Clare Briggs, that occurs to me frequently in this series, is that he passed away in January 1930. So all these scenes of the 1920s are frozen in time, almost like Pompeii.
And even in January 1930, things were not quite that bad economy-wise, and people generally still didn't grasp how bad they would get.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.