1980's Satan Worshipping

Reagan did strange things to people in the 80's.  Satanism suddenly seemed like a valid lifestyle choice, for example.

1984 workout

Follow the Party Line, comrades.

Joyce

Joyce.




Funny album covers is a particularly target rich subject, so I shan't overdwell on the matter, but I love this one specifically for the perfect distallation of a late 70's/early 80's fashion. The perm. Especially the perm. The big glasses, big earrings, terrible clothes and colors, and just utter lack of taste. It's marvelous. What the hell were people thinking?

Meanwhile, in Eternia

A He-Man of 1983, for real. He lived at Chess King, and wow did he get all the ladies, as you can see in this literal depiction of Prince Chess King.

His power went beyond his muscles and dragons - if you wore his clothing brand, you gained some fraction of his He-Manly aura, which surely would do your sad self wonders at the mall on Saturday night.

The Making of You (No Escape)

The urge to share, to record, to transmit your meaning to others is a powerful part of being human - we're social animals to the extreme, and technology has allowed us to be social in ways never seen before.

Look at this high tech stuff! All replaced of course in the glorious 21st century by

The smart phone, which is truly a wonder. And a horror, for so many reasons - the Selfie high among them.

So don't worry about privacy anymore - not only will the streets and skies and oceans be filled with cameras, but we'll be recording ourselves and others all the time, uploading it onto a cyberspace that will always be fully monitored by governments and corporations.

You have nothing to fear, of course, if you have nothing to hide. Unlike this poor cat.

Save us, Vladimir!

Consider this level of insanity: The denizens of Free Republic - noted Rightwing discussion board - have gone so far around the bend that they now actively long for the tender rule of Vladimir Putin as opposed to That One.

Behold: How Screwed up is it?

Indeed. Very screwed up when you realize these Freepers are the former Cold Warriors of the 80's and earlier. The haters of Commies. The Freedom Fighters of America! St. Ronald Reagan's Raiders!

You younger folk might not remember the Cold War, but boy howdy do I, and these same guys back then. WOLVERINES! And now, NOW! They talk about moving to Russia to escape the tyranny of That One.

Insane. A choice quote, one of many:

I agree with you. I hate that SOB more than you know. Though maybe you like Putin more because he’s everything our Faux president is not.Though I never would have expected a dictator to be running things in the United States so soon.

24 posted on 10/03/2013 4:45:22 AM PDT by puppypusher (The World is going to the dogs.)

[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

They just want to be ruled by the white..er, Right dictator.

Fetish as Totem

So many people have died because of this man. And yet he is still worshiped!

Because of the Fetish - on many levels. That's all the Authoritarians run on: Fetish worship. Meaning is irrelevant. Details are irrelevant. Facts are irrelevant. All that matters is the tribal message - and that is, for now, Guns are Good. So worship guns, and death.

Die for your country - what an honor!

Ever Smaller

Check out 80's guy with his rad collection of electronics. Believe me cuz I was there, and all that stuff was rad, back in the day. Yo! But all of that and far more (the Internet) can now be found on a pretty little thin slab of black glass.

Like everyone here has, except that dude. The world in our palms, like some Star Trekkian perversion.

F that S says Queen Nadia, beatbox of the desert. Gonna kick it old school. Cut this rug!

DL's down wit it.

iClothes

So, I guess this was a thing?

Ah, the 1980's. In retrospect, not that far removed from the late 60's/early 70's, thus, the weird fashions. Hippie sensibility fused with Mall culture.

Who the hell would wear computer clothes in the 80's? No one, I assume, except these models and a few fat proto-nerds. I'd rock a "Wang" T-Shirt, though, I suppose.

Be pretty Hipster to wear some of these Apple clothes today, walking into an Apple store, rocking the Genius Bar.

NEEERRRRDDDSSS!!!

And so, lo! As prophesied in the thoughtful teen comedy "Revenge of the Nerds", the nerds have had their revenge.

Money was all it took. A few million and whammo! Even the geekiest nerd is swimming in babes. And as stated many times before, it's always about the babes. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, has fluctuated from 21.2 BILLION dollars to today's 4.5 BILLION. Tough losses, but still enough money to buy all your bases and then some. Meh on the babe part though - hope he's got a good pre-nup.

Anywho, money. It's the lingua franca of power in today's age of police states (meaning, the police will arrest you if you kill someone - probably!). Many, many years ago, there was no police, and the means of power were physical - kill or be killed. Kill to eat, or die. Fists, rocks, fire hardened wooden spears, the list goes on. But for the majority of our existence, power was a direct, literal thing. You had it, or you didn't, and if you didn't you could die at any time. Now though, we live in far more abstract reality. Sure, war is the expression of physical power, but it's scaled way up, a different beast entirely. Money is by far the more persuasive and omnipresent tool for the expression of power. Keeps your hands soft.

Which leads to, of course, the Rise of the Nerds. Money brings power, power brings the babes, babes lead to success over generations. And so we go from this

Sincere, and probably scorned. To

Ironic, and the toast of the Internet. Get him a million bucks and he'll have a 6 foot Finnish model girlfriend.

You'll note the key here is getting a million or more dollars. Otherwise, nerd, you're on your own, and that rarely works out.

However, if for some strange and weird reason you're NOT in it for the money, then, we could all do worse than follow these wise words

Give not a fuck except for the truth and the well being of not just all humanity, but all life, yay, all of existence. Did ya know Mr. Sagan was a regular user of marijuana? It's true. Also, he commanded the awesome powers of the turtleneck like no other, before or after. Proof in a museum

Kinda looks like Starfleet uniforms circa TNG, yes? Sagan was a visionary.

Have a great Summer!

Choom Gang, represent.

Also, is that a beer bottle in the center of the bottom photo? Also too - I love "Yearbook" font.

Also, as well: This is the worst day of the year. DST ends. Sunset for me today was at 4:30 PM. Ug. And there's still daylight to lose till we rebound. Summer, how I miss you.

Opinions on Skin

Yeah! You tell people what your ignorant beliefs are! That'll show 'em.

Never stop fighting The Man, man.

I still stand back in some shock at how widespread tattoos have come in just a few decades. Twenty years ago they were rare, the province of old vets and motorcycle gangs. And now, everywhere, for, apparently, any stupid reason that crosses peoples minds. Fuck spell check, man!

But hey, tattoos are as old as we are most likely. Check out the iceman's tats (Circa 3500 BCE):

Tattoos probably go back 100,000 years or even more. Though without today's panache, to be sure.

Living in America HAHA

Let's tell a story! This guy:

Loved America, clearly. Alas, he fought and died at the hands of this guy:

Grace Jones had nothing to do with this tale - but maybe some other day... Anyways, with Apollo Creed dead, there was only one way for this to go:

Which of course led to:

Yay, America! I don't think it's a co-incidence that soon after Rocky 4 hit the big screen the USSR - realizing their vaunted boxing machine men were no match for American Grit - collapsed and FREEDOM rained across the World. 

Rocky liked to fight, as that's who he was. What he did. What made him up. That was the whole point! Like:

Don't remember that, do you? And also:

Clubber Lang. Or his other acting name, Mr. T.. Who looks like this now adays:

I seriously doubt that's a solid gold frying pan. But you never know.... Anyways, the end of my story:

WrestleMania I. It was 1984, and everything was possible - like, the greatest wrestling event of all time. And it was! I don't want to use any hyperbole, but it might have been the greatest event in human history. Check out the wiki - it's like some weird soap opera where instead of romance and a'cheatin', it's men fake fighting. 

Yay, America. Ain't FREEDOM grand?

Acid Wash

Cool jeans, young Riker. Sure, they look ugly now, but back then, acid wash jeans were where it was at. Fashion is a flighty mistress. Also, Enterprise in classic "surrender position".

Can you imagine spending a goodly part of every year, year after year, attending fan conventions and rubbing shoulders with the likes of this nerd? It might be one of the more obscure levels of Hell. If there were a Hell, of course. This guy would not be there:

Throwing discusses to the stars.

Favorite Button

I like buttons. I'm sure you do too - they do so much. Can you imagine a world without buttons? Dreadful!

"Random" is my favorite button - as in on the oldest of the CD players where "Random" was introduced, along with the multi disc changer, and suddenly a new world of music was born.

I like the "Back" button too. But also high on the list is the BIG RED BUTTON. You know shit's goin' down when you hit the BRB.  Like an attack by a power-gloved smug 80's cool kid:

Many kids could not handle the massive electrical charges. You needed to be super cool to don the glove. Speaking of historical toys:

Made in America baby! My Uncle had one of these back in the day, and he had a kitten named Bobby Kenevel that loved to chase it, smashing headfirst into the hallway wall over and over and over. The kitten didn't last long. Daredevils seldom do.

Except maybe in Robot Donut Land, where everything, always, turns out awesome.

Coca Cola is OK (Drugs are bad)

Do you REALIZE the street value of this mountain?!

No, but seriously, drugs are bad, m'kay?

En Los Arboles

White Lodge, Black Lodge, Log Lady, Pie and Coffee: Twin Peaks, folks. Weird, wild, wacky show. I watched it on VHS tape over a weekend back in the day and was properly impressed. I've started a re-watch and I've got to say: Wow! Late 80's fashions!

Note to future auteurs: Backwards talking dwarfs are always creepy.

On the side of my van

Can you see this glorious painting boldly displayed on a fully customized Chevy Econoline Van circa 1979? As an example:

I must confess, though: I was never brave enough to even go into the local Chess King back in the day. The thought of trying to wear checkered pants gave me acne. And surely, driving a pimped out custom van with a badass mural would eventually draw the wrong attention. No, better to blend in with a blue Toyota Corolla and feel the comfort of numbers.

Still, it's a sad statement that people don't express themselves with van art as often as they used to. I blame the lack of windowless vans these days. Whither have they all gone?