Things you never (or rarely) find in hotels anymore

Source: colonialrot.com

During our current two-week West Coast trip, I have noticed a number of things that are no longer (or rarely) found in hotel/motel rooms any longer. Certainly, other items have been added to make one’s stay more pleasant such as hair dryers, internet, and coffee makers.

Please feel free to send your additions to my list – I am sure I am forgetting some things.

• A telephone book
• A picture postcard of the hotel/motel
• Full-size writing paper with the logo/name of the hotel/motel
• Ashtray – no smoking, no ashtray. Good for health!
• Matchbooks – ditto
• A Bible – to me, this is a good thing as I think it is rather presumptuous in a diverse society to provide only the Holy book of one religion.
• A hotel/motel directory listing the locations – as the internet rules, so these have gone by the wayside.

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Cool artistic Cali theaters

Here are photos of two historic theaters in located in the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Sacramento in the lovely communities of Grass Valley and Nevada City.

Amazing art deco Del Oro Theater in Grass Valley

Another view of the Del Oro

Nevada Theater in Nevada City, CA

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More disappearing acts to depart soon

Here are eleven more items that I believe will all but disappear within the next decade – some a little more controversial than the previous list:

• The Euro – good idea, but not everyone came to the party with the same idea in mind.
• Gasoline only cars – there will still be a plethora of gasoline only cars left over, but within a decade all new cars will be flex-fuel, hybrid electric, diesel, or electric.
• Paper business cards – instead we will have some type of RFID business cards that can be read by cell phones.
• Paper maps – as a map collector this one makes me sad, but I sure am holding on to the ones I have.
• Printed lodging directories
• Mail boxes – to save money, the post office will require everyone to maintain a post office box instead.
• Super-sized cola drinks – what New York City starts will be followed as obesity costs rise.
• Training wheels – as studies start to show they may hinder learning to ride more than they help, off they will go.
• Three-car or more garages – long overdue as starter castles start reflecting reality. Perhaps a separate bicycle door instead?
• Facebook – keep changing things arbitrarily without telling people ahead of time and it will soon go the way of myspace and digg. Hope you didn’t buy the stock.
• The BCS – this cannot come soon enough. Bring on playoffs.

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Obsolete watch – things about to disappear

Here’s my initial list of things that will largely disappear in the next decade. Sure, you can still find buggy whips in certain places, but they don’t permeate the market like they did 100 years ago.

• Wristwatches – who needs them when everyone carries a cell phone?
• Alarm clocks – ditto
• Video rental stores – Can you say, “bye-bye Blockbuster?”
• Film – remember Fotomat’s? Forget largely any kind of film for photography and the equipment that goes with it.
• CDs – the music and data storage disks, not the investment option. Not sure if I am thrilled about his one. Seems like every time I get all my crap transferred onto a new storage medium it goes out of date. Everything’s going digital or to the cloud, wherever the heck that is?
• Chain bookstores – personally, I am sad about this one. Love wandering through a good bookstore. Used and niche bookstores will remain, but the chains are being replaced by electronic options.
• College bookstores – same reason, but I won’t miss the price ripoffs, especially on returns.
• Daily newspapers - neighborhood-oriented and specialty ones may remain, as well as national publications like the New York Times, but most small to mid-sized cities will have none.
• SUVs – the sooner the better for these gas hogs.
• Schedule planners and non-photographic calendars – who needs them in our electronic world?
• Dial-up internet – sorry AOL hanger’s on, time to join the 21st century.
• Phone books – despite how many they pile up at your doorstep.
• Land lines for homes. Haven’t had one for a year myself. Still may be necessary for work.
• Keys – with electronic door locks, keys may all but disappear for many uses. This prediction will not be true for Florida where they have many lovely keys dotting its coastline. : )
• Key chains – ditto.

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A few more predictions

The U.S. single family housing market will remain stagnant, not only because of the 2008 crisis, but as the baby boom generation ages there will be less demand for single family homes for the next 20 years.

Exurbs and distant suburbs will wither due to increased fuel costs and desire for shorter commutes.

Demand for scooters will soar in the USA for at least five more years.

Educational attainment will fall drastically in the USA by 2020 largely due to cuts in public school funding.

At least one of the big three hamburger chains will fail by 2020.

Independently owned department stores will gradually return to the retail landscape as consumers grow weary of “retail sameness.”

Despite attempts to derail funding, both AMTRAK and high speed rail will flourish.

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A few predictions

Making predictions on future events and trends can be risky, as more often than not you are likely to be wrong. But, there are a few items I think are worth noting. So here goes:

• Brazil, not India will be the next superpower after China and the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Sadly, I think parts of Europe may be headed for possible open warfare – not over political ideologies, but between the haves and the have-nots. If the USA is not careful, it may be going down that same path.
• The Basque and Catalonia regions of Spain will successfully separate into independent nations as a result of the economic upheaval.
• Canadian banks will become among the world’s largest and most influential as they avoided the pitfalls of the housing bubble.
• The Republican Party will split in two within five years.
• Poland will become an economic powerhouse as the link between Germany and Russia.
• America’s first woman President will be elected in 2016.

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Two “screen gems”

Here are two wonderful movie marquees seen this holiday weekend that have been lovingly cared for over the years.

The Capri Drive-in located on US 12 west of Coldwater, Michigan.

Capri Drive-in

The Pickwick Theater on West Main Street in downtown Syracuse, Indiana – my personal favorite small town movie theater anywhere.

Pickwick Theater in Syracuse, Indiana

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“In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby” by Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed

NOTE: This post was first published on my other blog – Panethos.wordpress.com. The topic is so important, I felt it should also be posted here. 

Source: uugcb.org

I first met Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed several weeks ago when he spoke at my church and gave the sermon on Sunday morning. Upon hearing about his life story which led him to becoming an Unitarian Universalist minister, I decided to purchase and read one of his books - In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby. The book is both a memoir and a valuable and poignant history lesson about what it was like growing up as an Afro-American during the Civil Rights movement.

Throughout the book there are thoughtfully vivid and endearing reflections about his family and childhood, important facts, and above all, crucial discussions about race relations in the United States and elsewhere. Having personally grown up in a fairly privileged, white family just a few years after Dr. Morrison-Reed, I could relate in part to his general perceptions about those tumultuous times, but not to the direct, day-to-day impacts he and his family faced. As a result, I found his perspective enlightening. At the same time, I found my poor understanding of the differences between our experiences to be troubling, which caused me to reconsider my “semi-Pollyanna” memories of youth.

Right from the get go, the book noted an important historical fact that I had either forgotten, overlooked, or was never taught – all three of which are pitifully shameful excuses – the United States Capitol building had been built with slave labor (page 4). I have no idea why that historical detail escaped my attention all these years when it makes perfect sense, given the time frame of the building’s construction. If I didn’t even know that factoid, then how in the world could I ever considered myself to be an enlightened and open-minded person regarding the topic of race?

To this day, I can recall being on spring break with my family at Longboat Key, Florida when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. I can remember my parents discussing whether they should try to bypass Atlanta and Nashville on our way home back to Indianapolis – neither city had a completed beltway at the time. In the end, we took the traditional route through the two cities.

I can also clearly remember the debate, both in the media and around the dinner table about school busing and desegregation in my hometown of Indianapolis. I was opposed to the idea of transferring to a private school after eighth grade, but not because I was taking a righteous, ethical, or moral stand in favor of integrated schools, but because the majority of my friends were staying in the public school system. Wow…does that memory ever sound selfish, ignorant, and hypocritical in hindsight.

The reason I am potentially boring everyone about certain segments of my youth is that is what is so great about Dr. Morrison-Reed’s book — it causes one to look back and reflect. Not just on one’s own life, but at our society as a whole. When two people as well-educated and esteemed as Mark Morrison-Reed’s parents can still face the ugly  blots of racism, one must rethink our precepts about the United States. Even today, Afro-Americans, Muslim-Americans, women, and immigrants continue to face similar treatment by so-called freedom-loving Americans who think our country is some sort of massive, private, white males-only, flag-waving membership club.

One only need to turn to the recent tragedy in Sanford, Florida to see exactly what the Mark Morrison-Reed is talking about in his book when he cites the differences in growing up as an Afro-American in our nation. Here is an example that eerily sound like it could have come from today’s headlines:

“Many white folks find this impossible to believe, but being a black man in America is risky business — you never know when something bad is going to happen for no other reason than that you’re black and you’re there.

Several years earlier, it had happened to my brother, Philip. After he had moved to Denver he’d been riding his bicycle home from work when he found himself pinned spread-eagle against a squad car, and all he could do was pray that the cops didn’t do anything even more idiotic. His crime was riding through Lakeview, a white neighborhood, just after a drugstore had been robbed, and he happened to be the first black man the police encountered. Philip was carrying his security clearance for the United States Geological Survey, but they just wanted to know how he got his hands on it. They kept him sitting on the curb until their supervisor arrived; the, opening his backpack, they found a geology textbook and a research paper. They eventually released him, but offered not a word of apology, and it took the threat of legal action by the director of the Geological Survey to force them to expunge Philip’s arrest record.” (page 178)

In Between is a superb and thought-provoking book that I highly recommend reading. I also believe it would be a particularly useful textbook in high school and collegiate history classes which focus on the 20th century, Civil Rights, or Afro-American history. Dr. Morrison-Reed’s book will make you smile, laugh, shake your head, and cry. Above all, it will cause you to reflect — and that in itself is an important step towards healing a nation so fractured  by race relations for far, far too long.

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Self-service without a smile

I am going to date myself on this one folks. Anybody else remember when holiday greeting card salespeople came to your home to display and sell the cards? I do. I can remember the salesperson scheduling an appointment and meeting with my parents in September of each year. They would carry an oversized business display case full of various card designs and styles. Once my parents chose the card they liked best, a printing order would be prepared and a month or so later, the greeting cards would arrive with our name embossed on them all ready for mailing to family and friends. My Mom would usually add a brief handwritten note.

It was one of those personal service traditions which has faded over time. Sort of like having your household milk delivered twice a week to the little metal box on your back step or doctors making occasional house calls. Another personal service that has largely faded with time, except in New Jersey and I believe one other state where it is required, is your car being filled with fuel by an attendant at the gas station.

Today, we fill our own cars with gas (unless we live where it’s prohibited), design our own greeting cards on our computer or online, process and bag our own groceries, and fulfill many other functions without the help of others. Good luck finding a doctor who makes house calls. While this may be more profitable for the business owner, it sure leaves a lot to be desired in terms of social interaction.

Like so many other aspects of 21^st century life, direct social interaction has given away to self-service kiosks, ATMs, self check-out lanes, texts, blogs, email, twitters, and Skypes. While I think Skyping is a great way to see and chat with distant relatives, the other technologies tend to leave us rather cocooned from one other and the greater society in general. It seems rather ironic for the communications revolution to have left us all with poorer interpersonal communication skills.

To go through our daily lives without (or with limited) human interaction seems like we are actually regressing as a species versus advancing. Is a society more advanced when its members hide from reality? I strongly doubt it. All that appears to do is create a recipe for problems to develop through misunderstanding and misinformation. Heaven knows there is more than enough of that going around.

Furthermore, life would be rather bland without interpersonal communication. A joke is funnier when told in person. A laugh is heartier. A smile is warmer. To me, it’s those little things that make each day special.

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Will Canada leave it to the beaver?

I stumbled across a story on the internet yesterday that one member of Canada’s parliament  has proposed changing the national emblem from the beaver to the polar bear. Funny, I always thought the maple leaf was Canada’s national emblem. Learn something new everyday…

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Both the beaver and the polar bear make good sense as the national emblem for Canada. One could argue the huge population beaver were instrumental in the exploration and settlement of Canada, while the today, polar bears are treasured around the world (except among seals) and are rightfully seen as under dire threat by climate change.

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One could also make arguments in favor of belted kingfishers, common loons, blue jays, gray jays, salmon, Monarch butterflies, muskrats, and probably a few other animals. In the end, I guess it depends on what the country is trying to represent – its heritage, its present, or its future? Or possibly its strength, its resolve, or its dynamic nature?

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This is not an easy decision when you come down to it. Opinions are likely to be all over the map.

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Personally, I think Michigan is stupid to have the American Robin as its state bird. Robins can be found just about anywhere and they are boring as heck. I would prefer the Kirtland’s Warblerwhich can only be found nesting in Michigan – hence it should be Michigan’s bird. But, every time someone proposes to change the state bird, you could have though Robins had a paid political lobby with offices

Kirtland's Warbler

in downtown Lansing across the street from the capitol.

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My guess is there will be wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth for a bit, but in the end, our good friends in Canada will make a careful and thoughtful decision. Perhaps they should consider the zebra mussel?   No other animal has more impact on the USA or Canada in the past 25 years, that’s for darn sure, eh?

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My suggestion would be to have a national heritage emblem – the beaver; and a national emblem of hope for the future – the polar bear. Sure…I chickened out from choosing one over the other as both are very deserving. Plus, I am still in a state of utter shock about the maple leaf – guess the maple leaf lobby needs to hire a public relations professional in Ottawa. : )

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Would be interested in hearing opinions on this topic, especially from Canada.

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