Comic Strips

I do lament some old things while at the same time being happy things have changed.

I do miss not being expected to have my phone with me all the time - but I'm also happy that I can contact my teenage daughter wherever she is.

I do miss the era of physical media, especially video stores - but I also like being able to download any media I like (arr!) and have a lot of it streaming too, and fitting all of it into a tiny amount of space.

I do miss my old tiny 1980s manual Toyota Corrola - but I also like only spending a fraction of my paycheck on gas because I drive a Prius now. And I certainly don't miss leaded gasoline.

I do miss the internet of the 1990s when it was more like the Wild West - but I also like things like adblockers and anti-tracking extensions and not having to clean your cookies regularly.

I'm sure I could think of others, but these are off the top of my head.

Schrodinger's nostalgia - life was worse and better depending on the current goals of the speaker.

I had to read it three times, because I didn't find it funny at all in any sense and I was trying to find a funny twist, but I didn't succeed. It's too real for me

I have a fuckin' dolt of an uncle who was trying to tell me that points ignition is better than electronically controlled ignition. Like??? Yeah dude I love adjusting my spark timing by hand it's so much fun 🙄

I lived in Southern California in the early nineties on very little money. The only real "hardship" was that I needed a co-signer to rent an apartment until I was about twenty five.

Other than that, it's not like I was living in luxury, and I certainly could not have bought a house, but it was comfortably doable on slightly more than minimum wage. (And several of my classmates did buy houses in southern California on starting salaries while still in their twenties)

I make roughly seven times more money now, and feel like I wouldn't be able to afford a two bedroom apartment anywhere in California.

It wasn't harder then. At least not for me.

But we did have a way better music environment. Like a lot better. I can say this because I spent the 2010s taking my daughter to hundreds of shows at every size and style of venue imaginable. It was a lot of fun. It was our thing. But it didn't compare to the vibe back in my time. Everything got gentrified. Even the "dive" venues felt suburban.

Entertainment in general has gotten a whole lot greedier while providing a whole lot less.

—Every. Single. YouTube comment section. For videos of vintage media

Don't forget that the best music ever was the one that came out when I was in my late adolescence, everything since then went downhill fast.

Men At Work, Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon... now that was REAL music!

"I was into Star Wars. You were into that Empire Strikes Back shit."

Tv's ending up not being supported anymore after 2 years, leading to needing to buy a new one or rent a device to still get tv from your isp is absolute shit.

I haven't been able to buy decent work pants and or shoes for the past 5 years, i remember my first work boots lasting me 11 years and costing €40. My most recent ones were similar in material make up and cost €170, but they looked worn after 2 weeks. I used to buy work pants for €60 and they would last literal years upon years. My last pairs of pants (3 combined) were €80 a piece on discount and were worn beyond repair within a year...all 3 pairs.

To think i pay more than double the rent, income is up only €60 a month compared to then.

There is a lot that has gone backwards.

Having to look 3 times to cross the street on a green because the world is filled by people in cars not paying attention anymore and i get into near collisions 4/5 times a week is also absolutely insane. It feels like i'm the only person that understands traffic lights xD

Tbh i find it hard to think of positives about everything that has changed...

My energy bill is going up significantly because our government has decided we now (as a result of ev's) are using too much electricity. I don't own a car, any car for that matter as i can't afford one...but now i'm punished for my neighbours big fat fancy ev.

Our energy usage (2 people) is far below the 1 person average and we are now being punished for it?

Health insurance (legally required over here) is also going up significantly, we can't even find a doctor as they are all at their limit and don't take on new patients.

This really needs to stop.

So eh..good things...good things..hmm, can someone help me out a little?

Porn is definitely easier today, kids can just go on Twitch

But at the same time when kids want go have fun they go on Twitch but we had Pogs

The two of these things aren't mutually exclusive to be honest. It's possible to

I very much miss places and experiences which don't exist any more, or have changed as society has changed.

An example is the way music is consumed. When purchasing physical media it took much more effort, thus you were more invested. You would typically visit a music shop, purchase the album, take it home and listen to it. There would usually be an album liner where you could read the lyrics, see photos of the band (which you'd only otherwise be able to see in magazines) and you felt like you had a direct connection with them.

The purchase of the physical asset connected you in some way to the artist and made for a type of relationship with the music which is much harder to emulate with streaming services, where the music is free and available immediately.

As a result, the way I like to discover music is at odds to the way Spotify wants to provide me music. It wants to provide me more of the same, I want to discover things I haven't heard before.

That being said, Spotify has given me access to music I didn't know existed by artists I love but had never heard of till I found them on someone's random playlist. And it's perpetually there when I'm driving, exercising and working. It plays for it doesn't require rhe effort or thought of dubbing tapes or recording from the radio.

(ಠ _ ) ಠ

As usual, it's actually somewhere in-between the two.

Dude came full circle.

Edit: I now realise it's actually a half circle, but hey.

"I miss the old (insert thing that still exists here)"

Name a perfect time for everybody