The Divalog

Well, we're up.  The Ann 'n' Annie show.  I go completely out of sync, because I wasn't warned to clear my cache and shut off all other programs, and this is apparently what QuickTime does when it's short on working memory.

I've been warned how nasty the commenters can be, and young viewers are already proclaiming their incredulous boredom with us and our fogey reminiscences.  "If you can't sing 'Melancholy Baby' . . . " but they're too young to get that reference.  Hell, even I'm too young to get that reference -- I got it by eavedropping on The Greatest Generation when they were halfway through a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Comments

[anonymous]

I didn't listen as the topics hold no appeal, but maybe others are honestly bored because listening to Boomers reminisce has been done before overandoverandover and holds little attraction to those who don't share your memories?

[anonymous]

ps. It just sounds like you're pandering for coolness with the young crowd with that J.D. crack...

"I'm old, but I can still slug em back because young people are all about drinking"

[amba]

Huh? I'm talking about my parents drinking (the "greatest generation"), and telling what to them was an off-color joke.

Actually, if you had listened, you'd hear me talking about having become something of an anti-boomer boomer, and wondering out loud whether it was a matter of pandering to young people.

[Randy (Internet Ronin)]

You are no doubt going to pay a heavy price for having been selected by Ann Altouse for the diavlog. (as anyone Ann selects is by definition "the enemy.") In fact, it looks like you already are.

On the whole, I enjoyed it, but I'm an old fogey, I guess.

[anonymous]

Actually, if you had listened...

No thank you. Those topics are not my cup of tea. Sorry to have missed the joke. I don't buy into labeling generations, great or otherwise. It smelled like pander from here.

[tsol]

The boomer parent as best friend has term: Cool Mom. It's NOT complementary! (See the movie 'Mean Girls' for a great example).

I'm Gen-X and I love the song Melancholy Baby!

As a teenager in the 80's, the defining moment of middle-aged-boomer-narcissism in pop culture at least was 'the Big Chill' and its Motown soundtrack. It meant that my teen years were doomed to be spent with a soundtrack derived from the teen years of the boomers. For parity's sake I hope boomers find themselves in nursing homes that pipe either Lawrence Welk or Throbbing Gristle in to their environment at a constant rate!

[Ruth Anne]

I keep wondering who the "Anniest" will be to make it a threesome. [Can't watch it until the bandwidth police leave.]

[amba]

LOL! Throbbing Gristle. Fortunately most of us'll be deaf by then . . .

In a discussion at Althouse of what you'd like played at your funeral, I said (and meant it!) "Don't Fear the Reaper" for the processional (high volume), "Chan Chan" from "Buena Vista Social Club" as the recessional. Of course, "Reaper" dates me, too.

The punch line of the joke, which my parents and their friends found hysterically funny, was . . . well, some drunk had been heckling a singer, saying in a slurred voice, louder and louder, "Shing Melancholy Baby!" Finally the singer allowed as how she didn't know the song, and the drunk said, "Well, if ya can't shing Melancholy Baby, show us your t*ts!"

[anonymous]

I guess you had to be there...

[amba]

I guess!

I think to them, the T-word was pretty risqué. What I mean about prudes having more fun . . . or not having to go so far to get it.

[Danny]

WOW, what a thrill to see and hear the three-dimensional Annie Gottlieb! Loved every second of it (and "anonymous" is a tunnelvisioned idiot).

You need to start posting video clips on your blog!

[Icepick]

I want Dee-Lite's "The Groove is in the Heart" played at my funeral. You know, counter-programming!

[Walrus]

Well, I can't believe I listened to the whoooooooooole thing!

An awful lot of stuff in there, but to save you - and me - from an entire essay in reply, I'll just zero in on the comment you made about the two extremes of feminine dressing: brown-bagged and shrink-wrapped.

I agree 100% that both do a disservice to women because in both cases attention is focussed so tightly on the woman's body that almost all other concerns are excluded. The moralistic prude can be just as obsessed as the compulsive consumer of pornography.

I'm coming at this from a different angle than you, i.e. religious as opposed to feminist (although I contend that they are opposed much less often than people on either side are willing to see). It is interesting to me that though the Bible extols modesty, it never defines it in concrete terms, unlike the Quran. I like that flexibility, personally. It's adaptable to different cultures. By modern Western standards I dress quite modestly. 100 years ago, my clothes would have labelled me a floozy. But I like the equilibrium I have found between comfort, concealment, and fashion. They are all served. So here's to moderation!

[PatHMV]

I don't understand the need some people seem to have, to go to the blogs of people they don't like for the sole purpose of leaving insults. Reminds me of the 5 year old who goes up to the other 5 year old and says: "I'm ignoring you."

I listened to the whole thing, and I thought it was a lot of fun! And I don't normally listen to vlogs... indeed, this was the first vlog I ever watched.

Oh, and... Walrus!!!!! Where have you been? I've missed you! I see you've started blogging again? You better come by Stubborn Facts and say hello.

[anonymous]

(and "anonymous" is a tunnelvisioned idiot).

Wow danny. I was polite to your sister, just trying to explain why some people honestly might not be interested in their glory days or find the "show us your titties" joke all that funny nowadays.

Here's one that plays for all ages:

Everybody likes a little ass, but nobody likes a smartass!

[reader_iam]

I was polite to your sister, just trying to explain

Anonymous: Really, how disingenuous can you be?

Go back and read your first two comments on this thread (especially in light of your not watching/listening to the diavlog).

[Randy (Internet Ronin)]

Why not come out of the closet, anonymous? It sounds like you are a regular reader here, unless for some strange reason you decided to spend more time researching Annie's family than it would have taken to listen to to the podcast ;-).

[Danny]

I did feel guilty for calling "anonymous" an idiot but it was frustrating to read such negative comments about that interview from someone who didn't even take the time to watch it. And I agree with reader_iam that the first comments hardly seemed "polite."

Still, I apologize for that comment, anonymous, and I encourage you to watch the video and listen to other Boomers in your life. Who knows--you might learn something!

Incidentally, Annie Gottlieb is not my sister, I am not related to her in any way (although I've long wished I were).

[amba]

Danny, I'm not literally your sister, but in every other way . . . :)

[anonymous]

Sorry. I thought I read a blog once by danny, who had relations blogging. Guess I didn't do enough "research".

Who knows--you might learn something!
It's just that attitude that turns me off about the Boomers. I like to read all history. Who knows -- maybe some of you could get past the "greatest" generation, and the majority boomer effect, and realize hey -- it doesn't matter when you were born, even those younger aren't stupid as some of you assume, just because we didn't live through it.

It doesn't matter what you stereotype by -- age, gender (I notice the boomers do a LOT of that), ethnicity -- they're still sad. When you come in with an attitude that you have something to teach those younger, without acknowledging the reverse, it's a turnoff and some find it boring to be talked to with assumptions like that. Sorry if that offends the fan club, but it's quite true.

Someday soon, when the Boomers start to fade in influence, you'll see that. Maybe I'm resentful being born in 1968 to have grown up in the detrius of your wake. You blew a lot of things in your happy live-for-today bliss, and you left others to pay the price. Was there any talk of that on the video? If not, respectfully, I'll skip the purse and bra talk.

I'm Gen-X and I love the song Melancholy Baby!

[anonymous]

And apology accepted.

Too little civility in this world already, not that I'm laying blame on any generation for that, but I will tell you the older Depression era adults seem more community oriented and trustworthy than those coming later. See how stereotypes work?

[amba]

. Was there any talk of that on the video?

Anonymous: Yes. There was.

I'm sorry I can't give you the precise time. Maybe the "topics" will give you a sense of where it is so you can find that part.

[Sissy Willis]

You are one gorgeous gal. :-)

[meade]

...with a gorgeous infectious laugh :-D

I happen to love baby boomers and find them very entertaining and interesting and I hope this is the first of many of these with you and Ann Althouse. Or hey, how about a trivlog with Annie, Ann, and Ruth Anne? The Ann and Anne and Annie Show, filled with lots of history and memories and womany takes on the culture, notwithstanding Mr. Overandoverandover Anonymous being mad bored mad.

[amba]

Thanks, guys! (A word which includes gals!)

"Womany takes on the culture": quite so! Or as I put it to someone, "both substantive and dishy" -- was what we were aiming for, I think.

[The Anchoress]

I liked this, it was fun. I often don't have the patience to sit through podcasts, and everytime I checked into a blogging heads program I quickly checked out, but this one I liked a lot. Great job, both Anne's; smart, personable women.

[Danny]

Okay, in my last comment to anonymous, let me just say that in my view it seems like you are the one with a bit of a chip on your shoulder about your generation. Which, by the way, is not that different from mine or Annie's (I'm only 9 years older than you). We are hardly "Depression era adults" (oy!) although I loved "The Waltons" when I was growing up! Baby boomers were typically born between the end of World War II and the early 1960s so you're not far behind! If you listened to Annie on the video, you would have heard that she is the last person you'll find waxing nostalgic about her generation or thinking that they had all the answers.

I didn't mean to sound so smug when I said you could learn something from people older than you, I was simply suggesting that it would make more sense to converse with or listen to what these people have to say rather than publicly announcing that you couldn't possibly be interested in what "boomers" talk about (can I add that I don't go through life thinking of myself as a "boomer!"). Forgive me, but it is YOU who are stereotyping people according to their age, not me. My wife and many people I know were born the same year as you and I certainly don't dismiss anything they say because of their age. What a strange thought.

But I am sorry I called you an "idiot," I am fully capable of being one myself and it has nothing to do with what year I was born.

[amba]

Actually, Anon, what I said was that I used to think (20 year ago) my generation was so special; now I think (know) we're just like every other generation, if not worse.

[Ancient Mariner]

As one of the culprits who enjoyed the original Melancholy Baby joke, I am surprised that it belatedly has taken a feminine twist.
The version I know has only a male part of the anatomy involved.
Also, in those days, we could have been drinking cheaper whiskey than JD.
As for the Greatest Generation label, I doubt if many of us take that seriously.
I did enjoy your show.

[amba]

The version I know has only a male part of the anatomy involved.

WHAT??? Please e-mail me that version immediately.

(That's my dad.)

[Theo Boehm]

Great job! As I said over on Althouse, the surprising thing is that your voice sounds exactly as I imagined it would.

And you are very easy to listen to. Have you ever thought of doing a podcast? My iPod somehow seems empty now that that's occurred to me.

[anonymous]

I didn't mean to sound so smug when I said you could learn something from people older than you,

Ah, but you did. You opening paragraph, assuming I no zilch about the dates or the defining features of the Boomers, shows your condescension.

I go with a guy born in '59 -- no need to tell me how age has nothing to do with getting along.

My point was: our Depression era parents (both of us have older parents -- his in their 90s, mine in their 60s and 70s) but thanks to the culture, we know every intimate detail about Boomer youth. See, even if you weren't part -- you had the 25th anniversary, the 30th, the 40th ... the culture has been built on the "uniqueness" of that group. I've heard and read the stories overandoverandover. Please don't assume ignorance, as you totally miss the point. Do you know what oversaturation, or overkill is?

I think the preceding generation just outdid the Boomers in terms of respecting society, acting collectively, and not putting your own interests ahead of the group. Truth is, the Boomer generation "won" for themselves many things on a short-term basis, but lost a lot of ground overall, imho of course.

I hope this, and my initial comment, help you understand how other people think. I'm not here to complain or be impolite -- just trying to correct your mistaken assumption that if you didn't live through it, you haven't already educated yourself and need the "personal histories". I'd rather hear the stories of my parent's generation, who seemed to face more true "problems" and meet them head on as adults. They have my admiration more than the following generation, who seemed to think it was always about them TheAlphandTheOmega.

Hope this explanation doesn't sound too harsh, danny. It is not meant to be.

[anonymous]

It's just if there's one thing I hate, it's condescension. Based on age, gender, religion, ethnicity, etc.

When you put yourself in the "top" position, you've automatically putting someone in the lesser position to "educate" them, instead of providing resources, stepping back, and letting them take what they need by reading independently.

Then your ears are closed because you assume your own ways are superior to those you are coming to "help". And often, those being "helped" are more realistic about circumstances than those deigning to "educate". Get it?

I might check out your book sometime from the library Amba -- sounds like a Studs Terkel compilation. (I love Studs' work, and I'm young. Eye opener?) Say, are you familiar with the play, "A coupla white chicks sitting around talking?" I mean that complimentary-like, you know! :)

[amba]

Anonymous:

The first of those two comments, I agree with pretty much every word of.

When I wrote the book, I still thought there was something special about "us" who'd lived through the '60s at a formative time. I no longer think that, excepting insofar as a) there's something "special" about every one and every generation, so the statement is meaningless, and b) if we really were special, it was largely in a bad way (the good work of the civil rights movement, e.g., was mostly done by older people).

Having said that, there are still some good yarns in my book (they're woven together into a narrative rather than presented in sequence as in Studs Terkel). And I sometimes liken our cohort to the stray dogs that veterinary students operate on over and over again for practice and then sometimes take home with all their scars: for whatever reason, we volunteered or felt compelled to be the experimental animals for huge cultural change, and our lives and our kids' lives embody both the successes and failures of the experiment.

[reader_iam]

Blah, blah, blah anonymous. I think I figured out why your tone sounded so familiar. Same old, same old; tone deaf and mirror-blind.

Funny, that you chose here to start up again.

[Ruth Anne]

Amba:
You're officially my girl crush.

[anonymous]

Poor "readeriam".

Doesn't know who Studs Terkel is so it's all blahblah to her...

Better stick to those Seuss books, dear.

[amba]

Ruth Anne --

Obviously, you've got to come on and be the "Anniest."