tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post8173401068270183308..comments2024-02-11T15:29:31.409-05:00Comments on Richard's Pretension: The X-SmilesRichard Bellushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-48505912935206598812016-01-11T15:34:49.311-05:002016-01-11T15:34:49.311-05:00That is a rough story about the house, and regrett...That is a rough story about the house, and regrettably not an uncommon one. I took a hit that year too in a weirdly inverse way. I actually acquired a small property I didn’t want during the real estate meltdown (a complicated story involving a private mortgage) and immediately afterward watched its value dissipate. Despite the supposed recovery of the real estate market since then, based on recent sale prices of similar properties it is still only half the value it was in 2006.<br /><br />It’s different when it’s a family home of course. A part of our identity resides in the sticks and mortar.<br />Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-48384623162745788972016-01-11T11:29:20.347-05:002016-01-11T11:29:20.347-05:00Yeah I think you can use generational categories a...Yeah I think you can use generational categories and they tend to be effective. As a Xer (tail end of the generation, but still an Xer), I find that the label holds a lot of accuracy. I see the slacker part as more of a cynical badge of honor that we carry, but don't really live by. This is because we feel like we have to do better than our parents did. Being cynical, we are pretty convinced that their errors made things the mess they are, and hell we can't change it, but we can at least do thing differently. I don't know. Most of the Xers I know have a strong work ethic and an independent "well I'll just do it myself" kind of attitude about work. But yeah it always ends with "its not going to make much of a difference anyway".<br /><br />My parents ended up selling our childhood home during the peak of the financial crisis. It was a surreal thing to me. I was helping them pack things up and figure out what things could be sold at the garage sale. It had this really depressing feel to it, not just because they were moving from the old place, but the way they lost the old place. Anyway, I know a few fellow Gen Xers who went through the same thing, I can see that being a touchpoint for a film.Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-75192650588375494022016-01-04T19:45:53.532-05:002016-01-04T19:45:53.532-05:00There is always a full spectrum of personalities, ...There is always a full spectrum of personalities, behaviors, and views in any group – the bell curve mentioned above – but growing up with the same historical experiences, popular music, sports events, slang, movies, social events, cars, technology, etc. really does give a distinct tinge to an age group. (Sticking with the light metaphor, it’s sort of like blue or red shifting the whole spectrum over time.) A Marxist and an Objectivist both born in 1955 almost surely in ways other than politics have more in common with each other than either has with someone born in 1995 who shares his or her political philosophy.<br /><br />Of course the dividing lines between generations are in the eye of the beholder, but there usually are some grounds. In their books “Generations” and “The Fourth Turning” historians William Straus and Neil Howe argue that the boundaries are culturally akin to physical watersheds; watersheds may not always be obvious when you are atop one (the slopes can be too gentle to notice) but water flows into different streams or rivers on each side. Whether justified or not, it’s a nice image. <br />Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-70441261260284976292016-01-04T12:41:38.142-05:002016-01-04T12:41:38.142-05:00I try not to over think any of the generational ga...I try not to over think any of the generational gaps as they sort of mesh together to me. It's hard to separate their distinctions as they blend over and together. But it seems the Millennials think swearing and profanity is just a part of the human vernacular, so just let it go. Saying the F bomb around their peer groups is permitted, though they may not use it at the family Thanksgiving dinner. That too might have evolved out of the Gen X (Kevin Smith, Seth Rogan, Apatow) generation too, but it sure has changed the landscape in ways at least showing up more in movies, not always for the better. But that's a personal preference. <br /><br />I don't know that I've ever seen what characteristic are equated to each generation, though it might be interesting. Again that's a broad statement. I have Gen X nieces & nephews and they don't seem that way at all, being level headed, having good work ethics, etc. <br /><br />I thought Sisters might be fun.El Voxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985563041511492981noreply@blogger.com