tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post4455081309884411069..comments2023-08-14T11:44:27.299-04:00Comments on Jeremiah's<br> Vanishing New York: ThriftJeremiah Mosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-12468858259186440832013-11-04T16:26:43.557-05:002013-11-04T16:26:43.557-05:00"rsl 2:32" (thats me & im adding to ..."rsl 2:32" (thats me & im adding to my comment WALMART). here it is several yrs later. the consummerism has grown into a monster amoung the working classes of central america. they now have busses taking mexicans (from the villages) to walmart for the day. the majority have maybe a 3rd to 6th grade education, you get the picture. they save their $$ to buy junk from china. they sit outside on plastic chairs (in parking lot) eating fried dough w/32 once sodas, surrounded w/grey plastic bags filled w/stuff. (clothes, baby toys, what ever). i have wondered to my self: why not buy fabric like your grandma did, & make your own clothes? whats up w/the baseball cap & fake CK tee shirt? do you know what CK is? (im not a old liberal who thinks i know whats best for everyone. no i dont think they should "weave" baskets for my entertainment). i wonder, why eat deep fried dough (or fried chicken) when you have fresh bread & chicken@home? (now they have grown from 200lbs to 300lbs). my point is that this comsumption is not only for the rich or middle class, in NYC. but it is a world wide mentality crossing all social lines. people obey, whether they are newly rich, or newly lower middle class. they buy "labels" but dont know value. when these folks get back to the village, they can brag to the neighbors. rsl/laura rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-52751508126198373382013-11-04T10:41:34.582-05:002013-11-04T10:41:34.582-05:00I just wanted to point out that there is an off bu...I just wanted to point out that there is an off button on the taxi TV touch screens, and volume controls. You're not being forced to watch it against your will.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-67907724456812780252012-12-20T00:47:18.061-05:002012-12-20T00:47:18.061-05:00Do you believe more people have adopted this attit...Do you believe more people have adopted this attitude since the Depression of 2007-present?<br /><br />- EVillagerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-13662168290139545072011-09-15T19:31:27.530-04:002011-09-15T19:31:27.530-04:00Just discovered this post today. Agree with almost...Just discovered this post today. Agree with almost everything in it. Well said. Being against gratuitous consumption does not mean being an ascetic. It's also about valuing time over possessions. Being in debt for one's possessions makes one a slave to income. Learning to live with less is liberating.<br /><br />- East VillagerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-13484441764104182062010-12-29T15:32:23.804-05:002010-12-29T15:32:23.804-05:00here it is 3 years later. &its getting sicker ...here it is 3 years later. &its getting sicker & sicker. people will buy anything they are told too. true story: they built a walmart near me. it was empty. so they raised prices 30%. read that in the newspaper. i had never been inside a WM before. so i visited & looked around. i looked @products i am familiar with. sure enough they were quite pricey. the chocolates were as expensive as the gourmet stores. also to make matters worse, you had to ask someone to open the plastic cans which held the cosmetics. like they dont even unpack when its delieved from the factories. the same face creme was $6.00 dollars less @ the small private owned pharmacy. but yet the place was packed w/the nations poor & lower classes. the envirement was repulsive inhuman, w/loud speakers in front. the place smelt of toxic plastic. the parking lot was like one square block. i dont drive so it was a walk thru gasoline. SO, this is marketing to the working people! i got it. make it ugly, inconvenient, insulting, & its mobbed. how can people be thrifty if they just obey? make it "look" cheap & it IS cheap?? walmart is a lifestyle. people go there on sundays as a family outing. all you see is obese people roaming around. buying shit is a sport world wide. OK thats the other side of vulgar spending!!rslnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-1606245999808670162010-12-16T10:55:53.849-05:002010-12-16T10:55:53.849-05:00I bounced back here to re-read this. Can we give t...I bounced back here to re-read this. Can we give this a bump? Jeremiah, I'm glad you're out there making these posts. G'luck to you, sir.NYCIChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05603622243405200316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-34815351718700758092010-08-01T21:46:30.602-04:002010-08-01T21:46:30.602-04:00“It’s called the American Dream because you have t...“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” George CarlinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-60602653817594546452009-03-23T13:41:00.000-04:002009-03-23T13:41:00.000-04:00AMEN!By the way, Love your blog. Found it while I...AMEN!<BR/><BR/>By the way, Love your blog. Found it while I was checking out curbed.Boxcar Goodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516409054043172276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-36748065359240109802008-07-29T15:06:00.000-04:002008-07-29T15:06:00.000-04:00It appears my generation wasn't raised to entertai...It appears my generation wasn't raised to entertain itself, and thus we can only get our kicks through the temporary elation of spending. We're overpaid, selfish, and unmotivated, nursing our paychecks like pacifiers and plagued by impersonal, fleeting relationships because of our inability to love anyone nearly as much as ourselves. Determined to be original and creative despite our persisting blandness, an irreverence of the past and general preference for the psychologically pleasing shine of newness and change are at the root of our present decline. We bury trauma and guilt in the foundations of the next generation's inheritance...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-32859383467614522432008-07-28T17:23:00.000-04:002008-07-28T17:23:00.000-04:00Ahhh. Northampton, Mass. Home of deregulated ment...Ahhh. Northampton, Mass. Home of deregulated mental institutions. Gotta love it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-67870745186649037232008-07-27T10:25:00.000-04:002008-07-27T10:25:00.000-04:00Long time lurker, first time commenter. Terrific p...Long time lurker, first time commenter. Terrific post - very eye-opening. I'm sharing the link with friends.gaminettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532135025294857790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-45986088625549201182008-07-26T10:55:00.000-04:002008-07-26T10:55:00.000-04:00Manhattan has become the thyroid of all that sucks...Manhattan has become the thyroid of all that sucks about the state of our nation. <BR/><BR/>I dont even bother going down to NYC anymore. Really...am i missing something in Northampton and Connecticut that is in NYC? Increasingly...no, and its not worth the hassle anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-10850124532097007482008-07-25T14:04:00.000-04:002008-07-25T14:04:00.000-04:00They only consume things -- how is that a sin? Yo...They only consume things -- how is that a sin? You and the other hand consume yourself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-66264211768750707982008-07-25T08:16:00.000-04:002008-07-25T08:16:00.000-04:00thanks everyone. i hope the tide really is turning...thanks everyone. i hope the tide really is turning. remember the ant and the grasshopper? ...winter is coming on fast. <BR/><BR/>and don't forget to click the link on that crazy discover ad. it's a must-see.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-29419868902751954182008-07-25T00:49:00.000-04:002008-07-25T00:49:00.000-04:00In regards to hntrnyc's comment, traditional socia...In regards to hntrnyc's comment, traditional social conservatism and traditional populist liberalism have much in common, particularly on the suject of a bloated, unproductive elite. Unfortunately, today both "conservatism" and "liberalism" are utterly subordinate to the interests of that elite, even in spite of their traditional philosophies. Official conservatism is currently semi-fascist and corrupt, official liberalism is a joke, and neither offers any logical solution to our economically and socially unbalanced society. <BR/>The situation is actually very similar to the 1920's (even down to an infantile and Babitt-like "roaring youth": ie yunnies), and we all know what happened to their speculation pyramid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-27537137426789338922008-07-24T20:11:00.000-04:002008-07-24T20:11:00.000-04:00amen brother jeremiah, one of your most eloquent a...amen brother jeremiah, one of your most eloquent and poignant posts to date. i usually cringe when david brooks speaks, but this is truly what "conservatism" was/should be about.<BR/>the younger generation, raised on reality television, often only dream of making it to american idol or a slot on the real world. higher education moves further out of reach for many with every year. i did my entire undergrad education for less than 10k at a commuter campus ( 5 years) 20 years ago.<BR/>i have often said that the proliferation of poker coverage on TV shows that americans only feel their success will come as a longshot. we are in an unsustainable economic state at present, a painful change is inevitable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-2807109104748157552008-07-24T17:54:00.000-04:002008-07-24T17:54:00.000-04:00Do you ever remember people saying: we were poor b...Do you ever remember people saying: we were poor but we didn't know it? Then came TV. No matter how much you bought, you were still a freakin' pauper. J, this is one of your best posts. We are dancing on a sinking ship.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-69234095358148828972008-07-24T17:48:00.000-04:002008-07-24T17:48:00.000-04:00The high costs of housing and food combined with m...The high costs of housing and food combined with mind numbing expenditures for bar tabs, flat screen TV's, cell phones, etc., it's only a matter of time before the perfect $torm hits NYC. Living out of the city now, I see SUV's you can't give away, McMansions that will soon be rooming houses, malls that are on life support.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-18437292014011854492008-07-24T16:11:00.000-04:002008-07-24T16:11:00.000-04:00the taxi TVs are not shutting off anymore. it's be...the taxi TVs are not shutting off anymore. it's become some citywide problem.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-42852606947332441322008-07-24T15:46:00.000-04:002008-07-24T15:46:00.000-04:00Those taxi TVs are there for mind control purposes...Those taxi TVs are there for mind control purposes. You know: "everything's fine, oh look at what Whoopie said on the View today, how about that? are you staying fashionable? maybe you should by a new car, only 'mean people' complain and criticize--you're not mean, are you? have you bought the latest SATC dvd yet?", etc, etc. You get the idea. <BR/>If you remember from the 1988 movie "They Live", if you were to put on the special sunglasses you could see that all the little screen was saying over and over was "SLEEP", "OBEY", "PROCREATE", and "CONSUME" in a continuous pattern.<BR/><BR/>Also, what show or movie is that little blond girl's picture from? I'm getting pissed off just looking at her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-6214141968987740642008-07-24T14:52:00.000-04:002008-07-24T14:52:00.000-04:00The advertisement on top of the cab says it all. T...The advertisement on top of the cab says it all. Though what is becoming even more obnoxious I think are the televisions inside the cabs that come on as soon as you get in and bombard you with advertisements, idiotic reviews of crappy movies, and celebrity gossip updates. One of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies -- My Dinner with Andre -- is when Wallace Shawn gets in a cab at the end of this illuminating dinner with his friends and begins looking out the window of all the places he remembered from childhood. How ruined that moment would have been -- in one of today's nyc cabs -- if instead he was distracted by an obnoxious snippets of the Today show on a touchscreen television that won't turn off.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-55422255448821702432008-07-24T12:47:00.000-04:002008-07-24T12:47:00.000-04:00Personal finance and anti-gentrification/pro-prese...Personal finance and anti-gentrification/pro-preservation are probably the two subjects that pop up most in my RSS. I've often felt there was a connection between the two in ideology and lifestyle, and it was a thrill to see the subjects married in this post. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-69352158793811985312008-07-24T12:46:00.000-04:002008-07-24T12:46:00.000-04:00and the cheese boxes were perfect for recycling in...and the cheese boxes were perfect for recycling into storage for bubblegum and baseball cards, too.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-73785638263926042442008-07-24T12:44:00.000-04:002008-07-24T12:44:00.000-04:00i don't enjoy sjp's woe, but that article does hav...i don't enjoy sjp's woe, but that article does have some good quotes about the possible end to SATC-NYC.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-5066079288711051742008-07-24T12:42:00.000-04:002008-07-24T12:42:00.000-04:00I have to say I sort of a get a sick pleasure at p...I have to say I sort of a get a sick pleasure at people finally waking up from their spending stupor. I am getting sick of all the "how to curb spending" articles in the papers and the internets, it's all just COMMON SENSE! but hey we had goverment cheese in my house too..big yellow blocks of it that lasted a loooong time.Lisannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03249500003559750141noreply@blogger.com