Category: The Publications

The publications category is the greatest of all the Retro Revival’s categories. Distributed monthly, these articles are thoroughly edited and re-edited pieces sure to fascinate all the vintage-curious and loyalists out there.

Posted in Revival Style Guide, The Publications

The MidCentury Housewife: Memorable Motherhood (A Mother’s Day Special)

Posted on by HarpieLyn

Another extraordinary component we would like to explore about the midcentury wives is their experiences as (often young) mothers. Despite the considerable lack of real health research that supported the notions that butter is awful for arteries, tetra-chlorides in clothing detergents are a terrible ingredient, and that spanking children in public is actually humiliating as opposed to effective; these women did all they could to produce a breed of childhood that remains the nostalgic reverie of tens of thousands of baby boomers today.

What was it that made this golden age of childhood so memorable? The answer to that question, no matter what year, decade, or century it is, will always be: Mom.

There are several components of timeless maternal methods that started in the middle of the 20th century. Strongly-encouraged outside play, independence, a gentle touch, and a firm teaching of what is earned versus what is given all mesh to create the image of the midcentury mom. These may seem like the very basics, but without the adornments of materialism and modern luxuries, but these are what make moms so memorable.

Take for instance one classic situation; the children are instructed to go outside to play after their homework is finished- there would only be the rule to be home in time for dinner or before the streetlights went on (whichever came first). Unless the rain is falling, mom made sure they would at least spend time out of the house to prepare dinner. Once dinner was made, mom in her apron and the children with their hardy appetites would convene, talk over a warm meal and discuss the day. Should one of the little ones refuse to finish dinner, that’s all that would be offered through the next day’s breakfast. A balanced diet was ensured. But at the end of the day, though her rules were unbreakable, her kids could always count on mom to attend to each of them, tucking the children into bed, one by one.

Always available to offer advice, hem pants too long or skirts too short, stitch up a favorite teddy bear, or cook warm soup during winter’s unforgivable season of sore throats: moms had to have it all to offer. It wasn’t a competition per se, but becoming a masterful mama meant that she could be counted on again for future generations and for friends and neighbors. Eager to share understanding and warmth, midcentury motherhood was no exception to the housewife’s ultimate desire to achieve excellence in her role, no matter how many roles she played.

Moms make the best memories. Period. This Mother’s Day, we salute all our reader-moms and readers’ moms for their timeless and truly unconditional sharing of love.

Posted in Revival Style Guide, The Publications

The Midcentury Housewife: Pursuit of Perfection

Posted on by HarpieLyn

While we simmered through the last post regarding the Midcentury housewife, this month, we decided to discuss the housewife as an icon of distinction and eloquence through her pursuit of perfection. How does mother dear make the perfect gelatin casserole every time for her guests to enoy? How does she keep the pleats of her skirt so sharp? The truth is, a housewife of the middle of the 20th century had to juggle at least a dozen roles to keep her household a powerful, pristine representation of excellence. Most of these multiple roles are identical to those of today’s mothers, except that 70 years ago, many modern amenities like microwaves and dryers were only just becoming affordable commodities. Clothes lines, handmade dinners, and manually-steamed clothing were all the responsibility of the household matriarch.

When someone creates anything handmade, there is a strong sense of unmatched pride that comes with its production. So, in order to truly impress, the housewives took explicit care of their individual capital, making each napkin folded crisply and ensuring the stitches of their children’s dress clothes were tight and neat. If guests were to arrive, the children would be on their best behavior, the table would be set, and a formal homemade meal would be executed. Back in mid- 20th Century America, despite the somewhat rampant materialism associated with this mentality, the worth of a household was often assumed by the visual appearance and aesthetic of the family and their output. (At least, this was the perception of mainstream pop culture)

The housewife was responsible for creating this aesthetic for whatever guest or company the home may have hosted. For instance, if a husband invited his company’s executives to a dinner, it became the artistic expression of the wife to prepare a spotless home, culinary masterful meal in traditional fashion (appetizers, salads, formal entree, desserts, and cordials), and prepare the family to impress: all in anticipation of wooing over hubby’s employer. In taking into consideration that cleanliness, formality, and tastes in food are all subjective; the eloquence of the night was an illustration of the wife’s perception of perfection.

Perhaps it wasn’t limited to special occasions, but rather perfection was sought after whenever this iconic cohort of women wanted to feel as spectacular as they share. Perhaps it was an attempt for microcosmic, local collectivism- where the effort was to contribute to a greater America, one household at a time. Perhaps the desire to reach perfection was self-motivated. No matter what the desire, the goal of feeling accomplished was met and exceeded. This work ethic is timeless, brave, and its results overcome decades of submission. This is the first of many reasons that we have much to model after when it comes to the midcentury housewife.

Posted in Revival Style Guide, The Publications

A New Series: The Midcentury Housewife as an Icon of Empowerment

Posted on by HarpieLyn

When most people think about the 1950s housewife, the first idea is of a well-dressed, poised woman whose smile beams as bright as the sun against her spotless kitchen floor. For a good percentage of the same people, the second image of the housewife in Midcentury America is sad, oppressed, and suppressed of her sense of self. In many ways, both are accurate and both are inaccurate. The media has remained consistent in its methods of displaying only what’s pretty and idealistic in pop culture and has only recently opened up more fully to the idea of exploiting oppression in exchange for the feminist movement. So this segment will focus on concepts and attributes of the social darling, the icon, and the controversy: the Midcentury Housewife.

Despite rampant sexism, systemic oppression, stringent gender roles, and excruciating social expectations, the housewives of the 1950s were very powerful. I’d never minimize the fact that the conditions surrounding their perceived perfection were emotionally deplorable; but this is the value of revivalism: we can take what positive tidbits we find and use them to inspire a retro future. However, when we use the term ‘midcentury housewife’ we should probably give the date range of around 1929-1970s because of the gradual evolution of the role as it experienced different eras of history to mold itself around. The 1950s is perhaps the most visually iconic, however.

So let’s talk about it! There are several major empowerment components of the housewife. In fact, the capabilities of a housewife were capitalized on for mainstream propaganda, pop culture art, and advertisement back in the day. People did, despite the often sexist behaviors and remarks, identify with the potential of these women. This miniseries will analyze a midcentury madre for her pursuit of perfection, memorable mothering techniques, influence on good housekeeping, as a self-made, home-taught, vocational genius, and for her sophistication in style.  Amid all the duties of making a picturesque home and contributing to the greater image of their communities, these women managed multifaceted lives that deserve to be observed as models of powerful work ethic, remarkable grace, and timeless (tireless) tightrope walkers in balancing their lives’ most cherished facets.

Be sure to check back with us in 5 days to get started into the Pursuit of Perfection! Stay curious, darlings~

Posted in The Publications

Manny’s mod shope; Better bass tone for under $30!

Posted on by mannydylan

The fender bass is a classic instrument, since its debut in the early 50’s it has been used in nearly every style of bass playing, and every genre of music. Vintage fender basses now cost upwards of $5000 , on the low end of the spectrum, sometimes less, but classic era basses cost the remortgaging of a home.

I myself would love to have capacities to afford such luxuries, but in the absence of such funds I found a great way to upgrade my Mexican made p bass, the Wilkinson 4 saddle bass bridge!

My p bass is an early Mexican made one from 1992, the neck is a more j bass profile, and it has shaller tuners which are solid, and these had a thin layer of finish on the neck which feels very nice. The bridge has always been ok and reliable on it, but it seemed to be a chrome, or nickel plated brass. The Wilkinson bridge has larger unplated brass saddles and upon installation and first playing it feels and sounds livelier and louder. These are marketed as a classic style bridge and it is very accurate.

Posted in Operation ORCHID, The Publications, The Trials of Doris

Op. Orchid: Bringing Down The House

Posted on by mannydylan

Upon walking through the towering gates, the newly opened site formerly containing Doris Duke’s home, the winding path let to the remnants of Ms. Duke’s home, some stone steps and what could be summarized as an otherwise mostly vacant field. Walking up the path revealed some stone fixtures; the leftover parcels of the structure of the Duke Mansion in Hillsborough NJ. Even with snow decorating them they reflected a grace, age, and majesty that these stone fixtures had led to before the adamant efforts of the Duke Farms Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to demolish the beloved home of their founder. These organizations were claiming a decade of research into alternative uses for the home was made, bringing no documentation or proof of these efforts, only providing a powerpoint made by someone hired by the foundation, to trials determining the house’s fate.

Walking up the stairs I couldn’t help but tell my wonderful companion that maybe we should try to knock where the doors would have been, just in case. You could likely guess that there was no invisible Duke Mansion there, but there is an entire field with some circular fountain beds with freshly painted birds in the middle of the fountains, while looking new not in any way matching the patina of the rest of the property.  In the case of the Garden of Nations remainder, there’s too much patina, wood rot, and gaps in the outer integrity of the structure. Oh the irony.

I could be quoted saying “You know what would be really nice here? A HOUSE!”. Walking around the grounds previously occupied by the home of Doris Duke, there was a somber feeling in my chest as if the nearly vacant space was reflective of the hole I felt in my chest. It feels as if I’m visiting the grave of someone whom I had been trying to save, but couldn’t be saved because of the slow train coming that had no intention of stopping with this person in the way of the tracks they have laid. On a gentle slope going away from the plain at the center of the location, there is a bit of a grotto, a pleasant small body of water that I could imagine was a peaceful and serene spot for Ms. Duke when her home was on the grounds of her estate.

Most upsetting for me is the gall of all parties involved in the previous and concurrent attempts at assassination of the Duke family history and the legacy of Doris Duke. A plaque on the site of Doris Duke’s home reads (in reference to this site) “Doris Duke’s seasonal residence”, an improvement to DFF’s use of the phrase “Former main residence” (when referring to the two story hole in the ground as the main residence). Upon this plaque are images of other homes that Duke would visit when she wasn’t in her home and main residence in Hillsborough NJ (the one that’s not a large hole in the ground). Below these images are the words to the effect of; Doris Duke left specific instructions for her other properties, Shangra La, and Rough Point. This is the boldest of the falsehoods shared by DFF in their failure to honor their founder’s mission and purpose for founding the DFF and DDCF. According to Christie’s Auction, “it was Duke Farms she truly considered ‘home’ “.

It is important to note that during proceedings in attempts to preserve the Duke mansion the DFF had the copy of the will of Doris Duke submitted into evidence struck from the record. In the will, that they fail to correctly reference on the plaque commemorating the demolished home of their founder, it states that she expects her organizations to maintain and preserve all of her properties, stating the term “preservation” and other words to that effect several times while there is a single demolition clause much later in the will which is not quite specific either, clearly Duke had hoped her foundations would honor her legacy.

 

 

Posted in Manny's Music Column, The Publications

Swingin’ it with Dandy Wellington

Posted on by HarpieLyn

This guy is the real deal when it comes to the authentic Jazz experience. Dandy Wellington takes New York’s jazz scene by storm- arguably, he exponentially grows it. The Retro Revival had a fantastic opportunity to get to know Dandy as an artist and up-and-coming revivalist recently through his majestique Facebook page: Dandy on Facebook.

What I think really does it for us at RRBlog is Dandy’s commitment to his role as a jazz band leader and an authentic image of the 30s and 40s, which was the height of jazz music and its culture. Adorned with formal hats, well-pressed suits and remarkable swingin’ moves in his performances, Dandy’s ability to convey the Jazz Age is second to none. Perhaps in the likeness and image of icons like Cab Calloway, Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker, and of course, Duke Ellington, Dandy’s style is one that captivates the class in all his audience members.

According to his most undated biography page, Dandy hails from Harlem, one of history’s epicenters of culture, particularly noted for African American music, jazz, and the Harlem Renaissance. What makes Dandy so successful against the grain of an increasingly-streamlined lifetyle is “the classic aesthetic and modern perspective that is Dandy, has, and will continue to be a fixture of NYC and beyond” (http://www.dandywellington.com/about.html).

If you are a fan of Jazz, its modern comtemporaries, or the good old classics like Duke Ellington, Dandy is a sure-to-please performer with the right attitude toward his craft. His events are available via: http://band.dandywellington.com/dandy-live

Posted in The Publications

Courtship; a study in the history of romance

Posted on by mannydylan

wpid-the_serenade_by_nicolas_lancret.jpg

I went to university from the years of 2009 till 2014, and throughout that entire experience “romantic relationships” seemed to form very sporadically among my acquaintances. The phenomenon known as “hooking up” always struck me as foreign, at least from my own understanding. A visceral desire to be intimate with someone without having gotten to know that person strikes me as a very strange approach to interpersonal relationships. From what I was able to observe, hook ups can happen at a party where conversations are near impossible to hold because of blaring music or absurd amounts of inebriation, which leads me to believe that its driven by something visceral. Weather by pure physical attraction, influence of alcohol, or some combination of the two I could otherwise not understand this occurrence (though I do not judge). These hookups may lead to an emotionally bonded relationship, and can even flourish into a strong long-term relationship, but this style of initiating a relationship has never appealed to me personally.

Another situation I have seen arise is the friendship (for a short period) into hookup relationship, also known as the path of no return. Not to say that this sort of start to a physically intimate relationship cannot be successful in certain cases, but there are complications that could easily arise that challenge the friendship aspect especially in situations where either party engages in further hooking up and or lack communicative skills. This is something we see happen in the romantic comedy de jour, and has some similarities to the kind of relationship that is an ideal for many of my closest friends and myself personally, friendship into courtship.

My first ever relationship began when I had realized hat I felt a particular void in my emotional state for the previous few days, what had brought this about? A female friend of mine had been away for a few days, and I genuinely (as genuinely as is possible for a teenager) missed them. This drove me to communicate with her how I felt about her absence, and that was the start of a courtship, that began with getting to know them in a non-sexualized, personality and interest focused relationship. In my limited understanding of relationships I found this kind of relationship, and thusly courtship (in the sense of spending months, or years getting to know someone before the suggestion of romance) was particularly powerful, and most importantly meaningful. This seems to me an under appreciated, and timeless style of relationship.

Ultimately relationships and how they come to be is up to the actors of the relationship, modern relationships can be very successful, but I believe that there are lessons to be learned from traditional values in nurturing and growing a long lasting and loving relationship.

*Historically courtships began as buissnes arrangements, which is an important element of any relationship because especially in the modern age both members of a couple normally have to maintain a full time job to support an average household, and an imbalance in that aspect of a relationship can cause turbulince for any couple (unless one of the members of a pairing are wealthy  and prefer their mate not work, in which case a power imbalance may occur).
Chivalry is another element of courtship that I feel is under appriciated, *”From buying a woman dinner to opening a door for her, many of today’s courting rituals are rooted in medieval chivalry”, as a stark contrast to modern relationships, “Chastity and honor were highly regarded virtues”. This is not to say modern sexuality and romantic ideas don’t have their own logic, but this is a highly underrated aspect of relationships, the phase of courtship that is about knowing tour partner as an individual and not in a sexualized way(life expectancies are much longer than the Medieval era). Entering the victorian era romance became essential to marriage as an institution; “She would notify the lucky gentleman by giving him her own card requesting that he escort her home. Almost all courting took place in the girl’s home, always under the eye of watchful parents. If the courting progressed, the couple might advance to the front porch.”

After my observations, and some research I have come to a consensus of sorts, courtship has changed over time, and I feel as if  each period teaches us a lesson about love, and how to raise a family, what elements can be, and ought to be utilized to lay the foundation to a long lasting relationship, and to hopefully leave behind a legacy of love and harmony for the next generation. There is an over emphasis in the modern approach to courtship on the physical aspects of love and not enough exploration into emotional aspects of relationships. While both are important elements to any relationships it has always been my personal feeling that the emotional and intellectual connection in a relationship always precedes the physical elements, not taking importance away from the physical elements of a relationship, but should be sought and nurtured first and foremost.

http://genealogy.about.com/cs/timelines/a/romance_history.htm

Posted in The Publications

About Last Night…

Posted on by mannydylan

Anyone who has liked our Facebook or follows us on Twitter knows we at the Retro Revival were tuned in last night to the…interesting choices made in regards to the live version of “A Christmas Story”. This was an interesting study in how to not integrate musical numbers into a screenplay or live renditions. The tone of the story was strange while expecting some snarky or dark themes tied into it.

Anyone who has liked our Facebook or follows us on Twitter knows we at the retro revival were tuned in last night to the…interesting choices made in regards to the live version of “A Christmas Story”. This was an interesting study in how to not integrate musical numbers into a screenplay or live renditions. The tone of the story was strange while expecting some snarky or dark themes tied into the Christmas themes in the live show.

My biggest issues are with the overall presentation because there were at least 4 unnecessary musical numbers, most notably the musical numbers introducing the infamous Santa scene, and the “C+/You’ll shoot your eye out” number which drove the point like a jackhammer driving a stake into an already obvious plot point, and the number following Ralphie beating his bully up, transitioning out of the scene in such a clumsy manner that it was, in my opinion, harmful to the flow of the show. This seems to be an issue of the transition between media formats, the original movie that is the definitive version of this intellectual property was made into a musical, and that musical was brought to the screen last night, I was not myself aware of this formatting that occurred. the transition from movie to musical seems to have been the source of the musical numbers that broke realism and at times the 4th wall. I had an issue with the number done on Xmas eve where the children convene in the street and do a dance number with large candy cane props, it felt as if it had wasted a great expository moment for Ralphie and his brother to have via dialogue.

This live show was treated like a Broadway production and was far too clean in the outside scenes, not much of a patina on the buildings and this was a very idealized and whitewashed version of a post-war and post-depression America. I also had issues with the future Ralphie interacting with the past environment, it’s something that makes the experience inherently disassociating as a viewer.

Among the main cast, I found Mia Rudolph to be the MVP of the live show, the children performances were perfectly fine, and the father character had a very extreme shift in character, while this change was catalyzed by the breaking of the leg lamp, it was still incredibly abrupt and felt unearned.

Harpie’s notes; The adaptation was, in my opinion, a betrayal of the spirit of the original film, possibly resulting at least to some extent from the film to musical adaptation before the re-adaptation to the live TV format. Despite the fact that it’s delivery was a heaping pile of garbage and awkward lack of fluidity, the underlying themes of political incorrectness and the value of sharing that sense of deviance with the public resonated in a powerful and somewhat careless fashion. It touches base on the lack of appreciation given toward the housewife stereotype and the female agenda, the sense of relatability we have toward blunt and honest political incorrectness, and the schoolyard social structure. What damaged the ability for these messages to be received was how the rendition was produced. Sets and costume were on point but unfortunately, the lack of fluid 40s authenticity and logistical choppiness took away from the plot and original intention.

Posted in The Publications

Why ‘A Christmas Story’ Live is Exactly What We Need

Posted on by HarpieLyn

“Gee whiz, mom! Do I really have to put it on?” “On the double, Ralphie!” Whether you celebrate Christmas or another holiday this season, there’s a good chance that you’ve watched the tale of a young Cleveland, Ohio lad, Ralphie, whose dream to own a Red Rider BB gun was the staple of “A Christmas Story’. He embarks on a mundane adventure made classic with its relatable entertainment, from the Bumpus Hounds to the infamous Leg Lamp- which of course, was a major award for Ralphie’s dad to win. Tonight on December 17th, the holiday traditional movie takes a new form of (you guessed it) revivalism in a live remake.

Laden with celebrities, the live ACS aires tonight on Fox. Why exactly is this timing so perfect? Between the current political climate asking for greatness again paired with the latent or deliberate desire that the American public has for nostalgic traditions (sans the violence and prejudice obviously), we at the Retro Revival believe that these incidences of mainstreaming retro culture are the media’s attempt to stand and deliver. Realistically, only the privileged in America got to experience that stereotype of (estimated) 1910-1970ish lifestyle due to de-facto and de-jure effects. Today, while we rightfully recognize all persons as being equal and deserving, we also crave that slower-paced, more meaningful lifestyle that is often attributed to ‘the good old days’. Particularly appealing to the emotions is the holiday season, making the intersection of vintage and nostalgia more powerful than ever.

So, ACS is situated in a modest 1940s home, complete with accurate furnishings and set, costumes and relative language. It an attempt to bring all Americans (and really, all people) closer to that warm and fuzzy feeling, ACS Live offers the chance for that nostalgic inspiration to seep into every home this Christmas season. It encourages all the best facets of ‘back in the day’- like ankle length coats for mom, durable snow gear, walking home from school, haggling a price for Christmas trees, waiting for the mail, comfortable living without excess, and (a personal favorite) teaching school-age children good penmanship. Perhaps what makes this movie an excellent revival is an-absence of any prejudice within the film, likely due to its release date being in 1983 as opposed to being produced any earlier in the 20th century.

Still not convinced? Tune into Fox tonight at 7 PM EST and let’s see how this remake satisfies the sweet tooth in us all for the swell of retro living. And to all those who celebrate, we will be signing off until New Year’s Eve. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Manny’s notes:

Another benefit to this format for a television program is that it puts Hollywood/film & television actors into a stage performance style performance where there is no reshooting, only rehearsal and performance. This kind of programing if done more often offers stage actors an in with television shows and also challenges seasoned television actors to keep their live performance skills sharp.

Posted in The Publications

Net Neutrality and Retro Living

Posted on by mannydylan

Now that the FCC has approved the splitting up and selling off of individual internet services such as (but not limited to); streaming, social media, gaming and many things we all use every day, all that separates it from reaching the public is a vote in the Supreme Court. This partitioning and selling off of services is part of the downward spiral that occurs when greed is allowed to control policy decisions as a result of legalized bribery, courtesy of the Citizens United ruling that allows companies and corporations to be seen as people. We are witnessing what is a desperate attempt by some ISP’s to squeeze every last possible cent from their customers while providing less service for more money. With each service sold there is potential for fees for providing the service that you are already paying for. Ultimately, this results in a capital gain for the upper 20% of shareholders in the service package providers, while stripping clean the wallets of those potential consumers.

So here’s the real question: How is this at all relative to the retro lifestyle? As a result of the death of the internet, it may be harder to keep and utilize these services, therefore; we as a nation will have to learn to adapt to the true pre-internet way of life. One of the most valuable services to us on the internet is Google, a search engine that makes information around the world available to us without very much effort. I suspect that if you do not want to pay for the new unregulated internet services you may want to subscribe to the encyclopedia Britannica so that you can open up a volume of this knowledge-rich book to find out things that have been included and added to the volumes over the years (if only an instant access information site was available). If you can’t afford to pay for unregulated internet check out the encyclopedia Britannica store to stay up to date with last year’s current events!The Encyclopedia Britannica

Most exciting for me is that if streaming becomes a pay for access services (such as YouTube (where I publish my videos on this site and my own gear reviews and music antics), and Spotify (and all other streaming platforms)), the overall packages will become extra expensive for residential use. If you are paying for Spotify Pro then you will be spending even more, if only these services didn’t cost more than they already do. This could lead to the resurgence of the record store while the public resorts to buying albums, as well as the expansion of the market for CD, vinyl, DVD, and blue-ray. Yes, Netflix and Amazon Prime video will still be available (but both losing customers if net neutrality is lost and streaming becomes a separate service). Feel free to join my protest by voting with your wallets and canceling online services while the FCC helps ISP’s attempt to drain us of our last penny. Youtube will be losing many creators as part of this as well, and they may lose my patronage because I won’t be able to watch their videos. This will hopefully lead to the resurgence of the movie theatre and the video rental store, I genuinely miss the fun of going into a blockbuster or family video and renting a B movie and laughing with friends about how bad it is: truly retro in the best way. This new market for physical products does, however, mean that the price of physical media may go up as demand goes up. While not a pastime of mine, the “Netflix, and chill” method of spending time with a special someone will have to become dates out at a movie theatre, and some people may have to learn the subtleties of communication and courtesy of spending time with someone else and not being able to go to a nearly limitless movie theatre on their home tv systems or computers. Record Stores in the USA

Another advantage of not having access to Youtube or streaming could be the resurgence of live music scenes when people no longer have easy affordable access to live streams and mp3’s or any of the nearly infinite convenient services that bring the music to them! The transfer of information will suffer most; with corporate-owned newspapers that control their messages and do not report honestly regarding their sponsors if there are genuine matters of concern regarding the will become our main source of news and information, while responsible reporting would be hoped for, it is not guaranteed. We would also be living in a world where we find out tomorrow about an event happening as opposed to immediately. TV services are going to still exist, but this doesn’t mean that the corporate owned networks that may even own the ISP’s that are trying to parcel off the different aspects of the internet that we use will be honest in their reporting if a sponsor or donor doesn’t want specific and potentially vital news getting out about a public health or safety issue brought on by the constant deregulation of business practices and the deregulation of environmental protections.

Most interestingly we may see the protection and utilization of libraries again if the internet is minced into tiny chunks as the FCC ruling would allow, which offers some more public interest in their libraries. We should enjoy them regardless of the greed-fueled systemic cannibalism we are in the midst of witnessing.

In addition to the dangers of bias being integrated into the National and global news, the chances for shopping pattern shifts are high. Without the Amazon and Ebay luxuries that power our abilities to purchase a variety of goods sight-unseen, many major retailers like ModCloth, Groupon, Airbnb, Uber, and ASOS will lose out entirely on a profound percentage of their overall consumers. What might save our collective asses is that the barons of these fallout companies will find themselves rather outraged at the greater system responsible for their n-dollar losses. We digress… This does sound like the greatest resurgence of Harpie’s favorite piece of furniture: the gossip bench! Used for telephones, phone books, and notepads for taking messages, this mid-20th-century staple is an icon of 40s modern living. With enough catalogs to contemporary that of Sears Roebuck back in the day, Americans may find themselves dialing in from landlines to get all their fulfillment in dry goods. What a shame it would be to have to speak to someone and learn effective communication skills through a telephone order. We may even learn delayed gratification if the lines are busy.

Now, we at the RR blog are rather adverse to the use of Chromebooks by school-age children to basically take the place of all their scrap paper and assignments, but this is exactly why on overdependence on technology when unmitigated is bad as well. While it would cost parents a tuition or a severe localized tax increase, the Chromebook technology has taken a toll on children’s learning in the united states. The use of writing and repetition helps to affirm in the minds of students the concepts they study. Without net neutrality, these parents will additionally have to pay for their at-home services to allow students to complete coursework at home when dependent upon Chromebooks. The implications for Online college and postgraduate scholars are frightening as well. Would school require certain internet packages? Would it be possible to depend purely upon libraries and Starbucks for Wi-Fi for school work? With what money will they pay for their Blackboard or eCollege residential packages?

Let’s be clear. The Retro Revival Blog and its authors strongly advocate against over-dependence on the internet and technology as a whole. We think that in a healthy balanced way, the internet and its comforts can be beneficial. America especially can use a serious wake-up call with how severe its addiction to the internet is. Consider this scare your wake-up call. You do not necessarily need to purchase with one-day shipping on a routine basis or constantly ‘Like’ your neighbor’s erratic posts about her twelve obese cats, but these are comforts that have improved life to some extent and hindered social skills and understanding as well.

In case the FCC ruling flings us back into the 1970’s we will be making a newsletter so that the Retro Revival lives on regardless of the FCC destroying the internet as we know it. 

If you want to fight for Net neutrality please go to http://www.goFCCyourself.com and go to the express link in order to tell them that you stand for net neutrality.