Sunday, November 14, 2010

An Old and New Concern

That other journal entry I mentioned in the previous post? Still can't get to the photos. So in the meantime...

I see antiques and collectibles from the past, things made with remarkable craftsmanship and quality, items built to last long, maybe even longer than their owners, and I wonder about the stuff being built today. Mass-produced stuff made of materials that are built to last maybe until the next version of the same thing comes out a few years later. We focus on the cheaper stuff; cheap materials, cheap labor, cheap packaging, cheap cheap CHEAP.

The reason why I wonder is because I'm concerned about a future scenario, one where my kids or grandkids see things that were built in my lifetime before they were born and think to themselves not "what a beautiful antique" but "what a piece of broken-down garbage". Such a future sounds quite bleak, at least from a cultural standpoint.

Perhaps I'm wrong. I hope I am. Maybe I'm just not seeing where all of the uniquely-forged items are, or maybe I don't know of the companies that want handmade quality that'll make you a one-time customer because you never need to replace it.

But you know, perhaps that obscurity is what will make the future antiques that much more appreciated.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Holy Crap!

Whoops, kinda forgot about this.

Uh... my bad?

I've got a journal entry in mind, but it requires visual aids and I can't get to the photos right now. As soon as I can, though, I'll post something nice and beefy.