Some thoughts on how quickly times have changed!

I'm currently reading a book which I read for the first time in the early 90s, "Freeze Frame" by Marjorie Dorner. It's a novel telling the story of Beth, an American college professor who is on sabbatical in Cambrigde/England, and who is taking a photo of a duck family in the Botanic garden. In the background of the photo - a fact she's not aware of - a killer who is just approaching his next victim. When the killer realized the danger of being identified on that photo, Beth found herself being hunted by a dangerous lunatic.

Anyway, that's the story, playing in Great Britain of the late 80s, or early 90s, and even though I remember these days so well as if they were yesterday, I'm completely fascinated how much times have changed ever since I read that book for the first time - how our daily life has changed within less than two decades.

The entire story of this book wouldn't even work these days, I guess. The main part of the story is the killer hunting Beth for her camera and her films, fearing that she may bring her photos to a shop to have them developed. A normal thing back in the 80s or 90s, but these days with almost everyone using digital cams, things would be completely different. Geez, it takes Beth several weeks to take the 36 photos on that particular film, while I sometimes manage to take several hundreds a day with my digicam! LOL

Other things in the story seem peculiar as well, like the fact that the protagonist is getting her information (on England, or its gardens) from books, or libraries. I remember the times so well when we had to do that, but I haven't done that for years. These days, it takes you one mouse click, and you have googled everything you want to know. :)

It's sort of strange reading a novel that's taking place in a time you remember so well, and that still feels so familiar, but all the things of your daily routine, like computers, the internet, cell phones, digicams and so many other things are completely missing because they did not exist (or at least were not available for everyone) two decades ago. Either I'm getting old, or times have really changed rapidly within the last twenty years. And even though it seems to me like these old times are not so far away, I couldn't imagine a life without all these new technologies, as they came such a important part of my daily routine, something we already take for granted. It's strange when you start thinking about it, don't you think so?

Kirsten

This goes along w/Reggie's thread regarding what we'd do w/out the internet. Some of my fondest memories are of going to the library w/my girlfriends and coming home excited and anxious to read the books that we borrowed. Now, as you said, the information that we need is just a click away. That's a good thing but it also is partially responsible for the separation of us all from each other. A "poke" on Facebook just doesn't do it for me. I'm all for progress and don't want to sound old-fashioned but w/each advance in technology I feel that we're taking a step farther away from each other and that is not a good thing.

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Originally Posted by Medusa

This goes along w/Reggie's thread regarding what we'd do w/out the internet. Some of my fondest memories are of going to the library w/my girlfriends and coming home excited and anxious to read the books that we borrowed. Now, as you said, the information that we need is just a click away. That's a good thing but it also is partially responsible for the separation of us all from each other. A "poke" on Facebook just doesn't do it for me. I'm all for progress and don't want to sound old-fashioned but w/each advance in technology I feel that we're taking a step farther away from each other and that is not a good thing.

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I agree with you (just replied to you in Reggie's post). Facebook can be fun, but it is shallow and does not replace a decent conversation (like the ones we have here on PT, or the ones you have with friends in real life).

As for information being just a click away: I love google and I'm googling for tons of things every day, but I remember the times when we bought magazines. In the 80s, I used to be a huge fan of Depeche Mode, and I used to have scrapbooks of the band. It was fun to buy the teen and pop magazines every Thursday, and when they had an article, or a poster of the band, it used to be so exciting and it made my day! These days, you'd be overwhelmed by all the information from the internet, but it's not so special anymore.

Kirsten

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Originally Posted by Kirsten

it's not so special anymore.

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This says it all for me. :(

Yes, I think it's the lack of these special moments that makes so many lives so empty these days...

Kirsten

I recently read a book like that too. In my book, the heroine needed info and waited days for it to come via fax... on that curly paper! :p The info she needed could easily be gotten within 5 mintues today.

In one chapter, she was locked in an odd place; I kept thinking "where's your cell phone?!" but they weren't as common when the book was written.

Computers have greatly effected our lives since they have been out.. Geez, 20 years ago I was always busy doing something.. Now I sit here all day! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Laura's Babies

Geez, 20 years ago I was always busy doing something.. Now I sit here all day!

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Hmm, that's true. At least I'm still reading a lot - paper books, not e-books, btw. :) But sometimes I wonder in which direction my creativity would have gone without computers...

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Originally Posted by catnapper

In my book, the heroine needed info and waited days for it to come via fax... on that curly paper!

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OMG, faxes... it doesn't seem too long ago that they were praised to make correspondence so much easier - and now they are completely old-fashioned.
Or think about vcr's. In the mid 80s, you were out of fashion when you did not have one, but recently I've been looked at as if I was a dinosaur when I mentioned I'm still using mine. I also have a dvd player, but occasionally, I would use my vcr for recording stuff from tv, or for watching my old tapes.

Kirsten

I still have a VCR in my room on the boat. Can't tell you when the last time was that I watched a video on it LOL! I have my laptop and watch DVD's on that...

Yes,times have really changed. If I'm watching an older movie on tv it seems so funny to me when the people have to use a pay phone instead of just using a cell phone. We still have a fax machine at work that we use all the time. I also still have a VCR because I have many movies for it and I sometimes still record tv shows from it. I do have a DVD player too. It's actually a VCR/DVD player all in one. I still don't have a cell phone or even an ipod yet. I don't see the need for them just yet.;)

I'm a big fan of old (generally 60's-80's)Sci-Fi, like Star Trek: The Original Series, and all that old crap they used to play on TV. I love the characters, plot lines, and scripts for most of the episodes but HOLY CRAP some of the acting, effects, scenery is so corny for now-a-days. It's so funny to watch, yeah I know it's good for that time period but I laugh at most of it. I still love the plots and stuff, they're well-written and I enjoy the episodes but some of the stuff is so funny.

In one episode there's an alien called the Horta - OH come on it looks like a giant meatball monster. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Alysser

I'm a big fan of old (generally 60's-80's)Sci-Fi, like Star Trek: The Original Series, and all that old crap they used to play on TV. I love the characters, plot lines, and scripts for most of the episodes but HOLY CRAP some of the acting, effects, scenery is so corny for now-a-days. It's so funny to watch, yeah I know it's good for that time period but I laugh at most of it. I still love the plots and stuff, they're well-written and I enjoy the episodes but some of the stuff is so funny.

In one episode there's an alien called the Horta - OH come on it looks like a giant meatball monster. :rolleyes:

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That's funny! I felt the same way about my mother's generation and her movies. She told me that the old Dracula movies w/Bela Lugosi scared her to death. You've got to be kidding me! For its time, though, it was scary stuff. Like you, I like the old movies and TV shows, too, which is why I'm watching "Upstairs Downstairs", an old Masterpiece Theatre show from PBS which began in 1971 and ran for 6 years. It's about life in England at the turn of the 20th century through WW1 and beyond. It really gives us a good look into that time period regarding customs, politics, family life, etc. Someone your age would more than likely find it to be boring, especially w/the archaic language w/words such as "scoundrel" and "scalawag" and songs such as "A Bicycle Built For Two". It was a simpler time then, the pace was much slower and the people were so much more polite to each other. I've always felt drawn to that time period and often wish that I had lived then instead of now.

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Originally Posted by Medusa

That's funny! I felt the same way about my mother's generation and her movies. She told me that the old Dracula movies w/Bela Lugosi scared her to death. You've got to be kidding me! For its time, though, it was scary stuff. Like you, I like the old movies and TV shows, too, which is why I'm watching "Upstairs Downstairs", an old Masterpiece Theatre show from PBS which began in 1971 and ran for 6 years. It's about life in England at the turn of the 20th century through WW1 and beyond. It really gives us a good look into that time period regarding customs, politics, family life, etc. Someone your age would more than likely find it to be boring, especially w/the archaic language w/words such as "scoundrel" and "scalawag" and songs such as "A Bicycle Built For Two". It was a simpler time then, the pace was much slower and the people were so much more polite to each other. I've always felt drawn to that time period and often wish that I had lived then instead of now.

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I agree with you, I so wish I could live through the 60's. LOL, I know what you mean about the old "horror" films. Like the old Dracula's, I actually watched one on the monster channel not too long ago. The film was so grainy and it was in black and white. It was really funny to watch, but I didn't watch all of it. The werewolf movies are pretty awesome though. I like seeing how they made the actor transform into the werewolf, it wasn't too bad actually. I'm not really interested in regular old series like "Upstairs Downstairs" but, who knows? I am sure it is good for some people who like those kind of shows, I am into Sci-Fi/Action type junk. Star Trek is actually not TOO bad compared to some of the Sci-Fi I've seen, some of them are so low budget, it makes it 10 times worse. I remember a period between episodes, it might have been the last (3rd) season where they needed to re-use minor actors and SCENERY xD It was so obvious. It was funny how Spock's dad also played the Klingon Ship Captain in another episode and it kinda threw me off.

It really does give you a good look at life back then, and it's fascinating to me. I enjoy learning about things like that. Especially graphics, music, and all that stuff. I enjoyed the new 2009 movie, but it just wasn't the same, I need the corniness of 60's Sci-Fi to enjoy it. If they hadn't used good actors (Nimoy specificially) Star Trek would have been off the air much sooner then it had.

Just for laughs, this is the Horta:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ut/Horta_2.jpg

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Originally Posted by Alysser

I agree with you, I so wish I could live through the 60's.

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I find it even funnier that you consider the 60's as a time period in which you would've liked to have lived because that's my generation. LOL

I love movies with rotary phones! It really is amazing how communication has changed so dramatically over the last 20 years. Now everyone has a cell phone or PDA, it seems. New laws have even been written to remind people not to do stupid stuff like text while driving!

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Originally Posted by smokey the elder

I love movies with rotary phones! It really is amazing how communication has changed so dramatically over the last 20 years. Now everyone has a cell phone or PDA, it seems. New laws have even been written to remind people not to do stupid stuff like text while driving!

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You'd love my sister's home then. She still has a rotary phone and the furniture that she bought when she got married in 1954. It looks like it just came off the showroom floor. When I visit, I tell my friends that I'll be in the time warp.

I agree, these old b/w movies with their subtle horrors were eerie!! More than the gory stuff of latter decades.

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I find it even funnier that you consider the 60's as a time period in which you would've liked to have lived because that's my generation. LOL

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I was born in the 60s (1965), but don't remember much of it. Sadly enough, my parents were not too fond of the flower power area. :rolleyes:

Some things I do remember is the food my mother used to prepare for birthday parties, or New Years those days. Strange stuff, like hedgehogs formed out of raw ham and salt sticks, or toadstools make of a boiled egg, and one half of a tomato. So funny how even our eating habits change with the passing of time! LOL

Kirsten

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Originally Posted by Alysser

Just for laughs, this is the Horta:

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Heh. I remember watching that episode when it first aired. I was 10. And I remember thinking even back then that the "monster" was really, really, exceptionally cheezy.

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Originally Posted by Prairie Purrs

Heh. I remember watching that episode when it first aired. I was 10. And I remember thinking even back then that the "monster" was really, really, exceptionally cheezy.

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LOL, maybe that was one of the low budget episodes then? I actually enjoyed the episode though, the idea is great although the science behind some of the plots are completely unreal to. I think it's titled "the devil in the dark". I don't remember the season it was in though. What I also found funny is when they do a close-up of Spock or a Klingon and you can see where the ear make-up is starts. I know, I have no life or maybe I'm just observant LOL I don't know.

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Originally Posted by Medusa

I'm watching "Upstairs Downstairs", an old Masterpiece Theatre show from PBS which began in 1971 and ran for 6 years.

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I'll be gosh darned! We're watching that too! I was too young to appreciate the nuance of that show when it first came out but since I love British TV I figured I'd watch it now. My husband and I just finished the first season. I love it!!

But then again, we also love "True Blood" on HBO. . .guess there is room for the old and the new.

If you like USDS, then you'll love "I, Claudius" and "All Creatures Great and Small", if you haven't watched them already.

Side note on how things have changed, the first thing I thought of was how I wouldn't use an ATM machine when the banks started installing them, thinking it was unsafe. Now I would DIE without my debit card!

Cathy

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Originally Posted by Alysser

LOL, maybe that was one of the low budget episodes then? I actually enjoyed the episode though, the idea is great although the science behind some of the plots are completely unreal to. I think it's titled "the devil in the dark". I don't remember the season it was in though. What I also found funny is when they do a close-up of Spock or a Klingon and you can see where the ear make-up is starts. I know, I have no life or maybe I'm just observant LOL I don't know.

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I think it was a first-season episode. Most of the special effects seemed pretty cool at the time because we didn't have anything better to compare them with (and if you want to see some of the worst production values ever, check out "Dark Shadows," which ran during those years). But the Horta, well, it was just a big rock with an attitude. Seriously unimpressive.

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Originally Posted by Prairie Purrs

I think it was a first-season episode. Most of the special effects seemed pretty cool at the time because we didn't have anything better to compare them with (and if you want to see some of the worst production values ever, check out "Dark Shadows," which ran during those years). But the Horta, well, it was just a big rock with an attitude. Seriously unimpressive.

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OMG! Dark Shadows! Really cheesey but I watched it every flippin' day. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Medusa

OMG! Dark Shadows! Really cheesey but I watched it every flippin' day. :rolleyes:

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As did I. I had a big 'ol crush on David Selby, who played Quentin Collins (a werewolf, I believe). :D

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Originally Posted by Prairie Purrs

As did I. I had a big 'ol crush on David Selby, who played Quentin Collins (a werewolf, I believe). :D

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Yes, you're right. He played in a few movies afterwards but disappeared from the scene. He was really handsome.

When looking back a movies they ofton seem very corny by today's standards. You can find cheese running pretty much through the movie industry. You don't have to go back to the 60's to find them either. You just have to view it 10-15 years later. One movie that has scared every generation since 1939 is "The Wizard of Oz"

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Originally Posted by Prairie Purrs

As did I. I had a big 'ol crush on David Selby, who played Quentin Collins (a werewolf, I believe). :D

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He's still around and working and looking pretty good too imo. :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...JJ-TM-102a.jpg

The Dark Shadows series has a big cult following now including a fan club and a yearly festival. http://www.darkshadowsfestival.com/Quite a few clips from the show on youtube too.

As a Brit I have never seen it (only the clips) but the reason I know a lot about it is that it is being made into a film by Tim Burton starring guess who. :D Been on the cards for a couple of years and now it is official.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t/Smiles/3.gif
Tim Burton says Dark Shadows with shoot next year

Johnny as a vampire ... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...miles/thud.gif

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Originally Posted by ChrisH

He's still around and working and looking pretty good too imo. :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...JJ-TM-102a.jpg

The Dark Shadows series has a big cult following now including a fan club and a yearly festival. http://www.darkshadowsfestival.com/Quite a few clips from the show on youtube too.

As a Brit I have never seen it (only the clips) but the reason I know a lot about it is that it is being made into a film by Tim Burton starring guess who. :D Been on the cards for a couple of years and now it is official.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t/Smiles/3.gif
Tim Burton says Dark Shadows with shoot next year

Johnny as a vampire ... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...miles/thud.gif

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Y'know, I thought I had read that somewhere. JD is one of my favorite actors and I can only imagine how good he'd be at playing a vampire. The ones today are so wimpy and whiney. Remember Brad Pitt? Ugh! I'd like to see a vampire who really LIKES being a vampire, one who WANTS to entice his victims, not one who regrets it. (Ok, I'm sick. Whatever.) And this pic of David Selby is smashing! He's still very handsome. Thank you, Chris.

OK, so maybe I've still got a big ol' crush on David Selby! :D

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Originally Posted by Laura's Babies

I still have a VCR in my room on the boat. Can't tell you when the last time was that I watched a video on it LOL! I have my laptop and watch DVD's on that...

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Funny,I still "SAY" VCR instead of DVD.Just yesterday I asked mike if he finally hooked up the VCR in the bedroom,when it was a DVD i meant to say...lol

And Kirsten,that book sounds awesome.I think i'll try to get that one.thanks for telling us about it.I love those kind of books.The kind that keeps you up all night reading,scared about the killer and scared to shut the light off after...lol
I really love them...my husband doesn't understand why i scare myself with these kind of books.i don't either:D:confused:

ChrisH...Excellent picture,thanks : )

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Funny,I still "SAY" VCR instead of DVD.Just yesterday I asked mike if he finally hooked up the VCR in the bedroom,when it was a DVD i meant to say...lol

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Noticed that many people still say that!

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And Kirsten,that book sounds awesome.I think i'll try to get that one.thanks for telling us about it.I love those kind of books.The kind that keeps you up all night reading,scared about the killer and scared to shut the light off after...lol

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I love stories like that, too. It's eerie stuff. As far as I know, "Freeze Frame" is no longer available, but you may still get a used copy on ebay, or amazon.

Kirsten

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Originally Posted by Kirsten

I love stories like that, too. It's eerie stuff. As far as I know, "Freeze Frame" is no longer available, but you may still get a used copy on ebay, or amazon.

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or at the LIBRARY - remember those? Hee hee!:D

I actually just recently rediscovered the library here where I live and am having a grand time just pulling random books off the shelf and reading them. If they stink it doesn't matter - I didn't pay for them!

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Originally Posted by Catherinedana

or at the LIBRARY - remember those? Hee hee!:D

I actually just recently rediscovered the library here where I live and am having a grand time just pulling random books off the shelf and reading them. If they stink it doesn't matter - I didn't pay for them!

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LOl, yes, I remember there's such a thing as a library! :D We even have one here, but I haven't entered it for decades! During the 80's and 90's, I used to buy my books in bookstores because those days, paperbacks were not expensive, but meanwhile, I order them second hand from amazon to save money. :o

BTW, there's going to be a tv report tonight about the musical culture of the 80's (synthy pop, wave, etc.). Comes too late for me to watch it, but I think I'm going to record it with my old vcr! ;) I love the 80s, sort of feels like my decade, so to speak...

Kirsten

Not only is the book available through amazon.com, there are lots of "used" copies, many in "good" or even "very good" condition, available for $0.01, i.e., ONE RED CENT! (plus $3.99 shipping): http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...condition=used

I don't know what the availability and prices might be in other countries.