A broadside from inside the greenhouse

Mar 01, 2011 12:42

Someone should point out to Joanna Lumley that you're officially old once you start complaining about the morals of youth and that things were much better in your day.

annoyances, aaaaarrgh, potentially rash statements, all sweetness and light, rant, whine whine whine, timeless wisdom

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Comments 14

valkyriekaren March 1 2011, 12:45:09 UTC
Yeah, I noticed that. Isn't it just the same stuff they were saying about TV and pocket calculators 30 years ago?

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nmg March 1 2011, 17:08:06 UTC
Exactly the quote that I was trying to find!

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nils March 1 2011, 22:16:42 UTC
While that quote is frequently attributed to Socrates, there is no evidence that actually said it - the quote first turned up in a book in 1953.

Though there is the following (genuine) quote from Hesiod, another ancient Greek:

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond
words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and
respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise
[disrespectful] and impatient of restraint"

Your point still stands - people have been complaining about the "youth of today" for millennia...

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djm4 March 1 2011, 12:48:49 UTC
*puts on Youth Of Today by Amy MacDonald*

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zotz March 1 2011, 12:55:58 UTC
. . . which raises the interesting possibility of Youth of Today writing a song called "Amy MacDonald".

Actually, I like Amy MacDonald on principle. Nobody is from Bishopbriggs. Nobody. It has absolutely no public profile whatsoever, and as an ex-resident I have a soft spot for the place. And I like that album, too. Haven't heard the newer one.

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djm4 March 1 2011, 13:07:26 UTC
*grin*

I've only very recently got into her, but I'm a total convert. The second album is ... different. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'd say it's a bit less 'folky'. I still like it a lot, but someone coming to it on the basis of liking the first album may feel there's something a bit ... off.

I have a recording of her live (thanks to yoyoangel), in which she proves that she and her bassist may join the select list of people who are permitted to cover Fairytale of New York. ;-)

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zotz March 1 2011, 13:15:29 UTC
I think I'll have to chase that up. Thank you.

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nickys March 1 2011, 16:46:28 UTC
Well, she's got a point on the lack of opportunities for kids to take responsibility for stuff, and being capable of achieving much more.

The thing about all kids being shop lifters is ridiculous, of course, but I'm wondering if this is another exciting mis-quote of respected public figure in the mode of the Stephen Fry stuff...

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spudtater March 2 2011, 21:06:34 UTC
Celebrities these days!

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pinkdormouse March 7 2011, 19:20:12 UTC
Very true.

I have worries about getting up to Edinburgh Beltane. All possible routes from here are likely to involve London and there's some kind of wedding going on there that weekend, I believe?

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zotz March 7 2011, 19:31:23 UTC
I know this is very much the long way round, but . . . catch a Cardiff train and change at Bristol? Or give it a couple of days leeway either side.

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pinkdormouse March 7 2011, 19:55:52 UTC
Let me ponder that one...

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