To a Brave New World

   

There's no question about it: We're driving fast from a dream of the past to a Brave New World.  

We Baby Boomers have entered a Brave New World, a world with which most of us are more than a bit ill at ease.  Movies, TV, and certainly technology have advanced far beyond the land of black and white television, John F. Kennedy, and Doris Day & Rock Hudson, even though Rock was blazing trails back in the day of which we were then not the slightest bit aware.

So how am I faring in this brave new world, which has such people in it?

A  couple of thoughts on a couple of subjects:

Modern Celebrities

When we were young celebrities had clearly discernable names.  Names Like Frank Sinatra. Or, as I bend the knee, John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

Nowadays celebrities' names can be puzzling. The first time I heard the name "Kendrick Lamar," I thought it was an insurance company. I wondered if at Kendrick Lamar, they make you pay for more than what you need.

Then somebody mentioned  "The Weeknd," and I said "I hope you had a good time, the Hamptons?" And when I heard someone exclaim "Shaboozey!" I said "Gesundheit."  However, now that I've listened to some of Shaboozey's music  I've found I like it almost as much as I like saying:  

Shaboozey!

It took me longer than it should have to be able to distinguish Ryan Reynolds from Ryan Gosling.  That shouldn't have been so hard but it was in part fueled by my Baby Boomer proclivity towards temporarily blanking on the names of people and celebrities I actually know well.  Right now I can't even remember the names of the two celebrities I just mentioned. 

Then I come to the matter of "Walton Goggins," star of "The White Lotus" and other popular TV shows. Can you imagine a celebrity going by the name "Walton Goggins" back in the day?  Such an individual would have given his name a face lift to something like "Kirk Stirling" long before kicking off his acting career.

Actually I kind of like the name "Kirk Stirling." Is it too late for me to change my name to that?  Actually I kinda like Walton Goggins too.

My Advice on Names:  Watch the SNL Opening Monologue and at least one performance by the musical guest and pay careful attention to the names of the progenitors.  Then you can safely ignore the rest of the show, funny or as most likely, not. 

Modern Expressions

Yep, modern expressions sure have transcended the "far out" and "right on" from days of yore.  Here's my compendium, woefully incomplete, of those expressions I can say without looking sheepish and those I cannot:

"I'm down with that." One might think this was a negative as in "I'm voting thumbs down on that," but in actuality it means "I'm voting thumbs up." It may seem a little counterintuitive, but I  am fully down with saying "down with that." 

"Oh Snap." I think "oh snap" is the Gen Z version of "oh wow,"  but "oh wow" is still perfectly good, so it was a snap for me to decide not to say "oh snap!"

"Merch" - a shortened form of "merchandise" now so firmly entrenched in the language I can readily toss it out as I purchase Phillies cap, jersey, and other merch. But has all this merch ever helped the Phils win?  No, not "merch."   

"Rizz" - meaning "charisma" is too cute for words and too cute for me and most other Boomers.  You either got or you haven't got "rizz" but if you're fortunate enough to got it, I'd flaunt it, fellow Boomers, charismatically speaking.  

"It's lit" - the first time I heard this I thought "I didn't realize it was Hannukah."  But if it isn't Hannukah, then I thought "for God's sake, call the fire department!"  But it actually means that something is really, really good, but frankly if it isn't Hannukah and nothing's on fire, it's not an expression I feel really, really good about using. 

"Dope" - it meant pot to us, but now it's used to describe something that's very cool.  But if you think smoking dope is still very cool then you're probably not cool enough to use the expression "dope" to mean very cool. So I'd stick with the original usage, whether or not you want to light up or leave me alone.

"Shredding it" - I thought this had to do with making salad, but it actually means being really good at something. I'll have to give it some thought before deciding if I can be shredding it at saying "shredding it."

"Fetch" - Apparently originating from the movie "Mean Girls" it means "awesome." But with all due respects to Tina Fey, if you go fetch a pail of water and come back saying "fetch" for "awesome," I'm going to go fetch one myself and not come back. Awesome!        

My Advice on Expressions:  Feel free to say whatever you're comfortable with. But I'd do my best to avoid saying "Boujee."

Modern Commercials

Nah, I'm done for now.

So, keep driving fast from your dreams of the past, fellow Boomers.  

See you in the Brave New World.

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