Significance of a wristwatch

[Ret10Echo]

So how do you rate? and what are the major generational shifts we have seen?

The discussion concerning the wristwatch is humorous. I convinced my teen last year to begin wearing one...because I had to wait...ONCE...after a sports event. We fixed that. Now that watch rarely is taken off and the on-time percentage and accuracy went way, way up.

Wear wristwatch? Use e-mail? Not for Class of '14
August 17, 2010


Incoming freshmen have never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.
By DINESH RAMDE
Associated Press Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) - For students entering college this fall, e-mail is too slow, phones have never had cords and the computers they played with as kids are now in museums.

The Class of 2014 thinks of Clint Eastwood more as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry urging punks to "go ahead, make my day." Few incoming freshmen know how to write in cursive or have ever worn a wristwatch.

These are among the 75 items on this year's Beloit College Mindset List. The compilation, released Tuesday, is assembled each year by two officials at this private school of about 1,400 students in Beloit, Wis.

The list is meant to remind teachers that cultural references familiar to them might draw blank stares from college freshmen born mostly in 1992.

Of course, it can also have the unintended consequence of making people feel old.

Remember when Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Dan Quayle or Rodney King were in the news? These kids don't.

Ever worry about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.? During these students' lives, Russians and Americans have always been living together in outer space.

Being aware of the generation gap helps professors craft lesson plans that are more meaningful, said Ron Nief, a former public affairs director at Beloit College and one of the list's creators.

Nief and English professor Tom McBride have assembled the Mindset List for 13 years. They say it's given them an unusual perspective on cultural shifts.

For example, as item No. 13 on the list says, "Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation."

With far edgier content available today, such as "South Park" or online videos that push the envelope, there's something quaint about recalling the hand-wringing that the MTV cartoon prompted, Nief said.

"I think we do that with every generation _ we look back and say, what were we getting so upset about?" he said. "A, kids outgrow it and B, in retrospect we realize it really wasn't that bad."

Another Mindset List item reflects a possible shift in Hollywood attitudes. Item No. 12 notes: "Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry."

A number of incoming freshmen said they partially agreed with the item, noting they were familiar with Eastwood's work as an actor even if they hadn't seen his films.

"I know he directed movies but I also know he's supposed to be sort of bad-ass," said Aaron Ziontz, 18, from Seattle.

Jessica Peck, a 17-year-old from Portland, Ore., disagreed with two items on the list _ one that says few students know how to write in cursive, and another that suggests this generation seldom if ever uses snail mail.

"Snail mail's kind of fun. When I have time I like writing letters to friends and family," she said. "It's just a bit more personal. And yes, I write in cursive."

Peck did agree with the item pointing out that most teens have never used telephones with cords.

"Yes, I've used them but only at my grandparents' house," she said.

That's the sort of comment that can make a person feel old. McBride jokes that he's not immune from feeling ancient just because he compiles the items. But the 65-year-old said the lists can also reveal a larger truth about tolerance.

The "Beavis and Butt-head" item suggests that maybe parents shouldn't overreact every time a controversy arises, he noted. For example, maybe it's no big deal if college freshmen misspell words when they text, and maybe their attention spans will be just fine even though they grew up in the Internet age, he said.

"There's something about the resilience of human nature that renders these gloom-and-doom prophesies moot after a while," he said. "I can't say for sure, but it looks like the track record of these very anxious prophets has not been impressive over the years."

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Online:

Beloit College Mindset List:

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[EasyIan]

Item No. 12 notes: "Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry."

These students are missing out. Not only was he a badass in the Dirty Harry series, but also in: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly; Fistful of Dollars; For a Few More Dollars; High Plains Drifter; Hang Em' High; and my personal favorite, Outlaw Josey Wales.

"Dying ain't much of a living, boy," and " Get ready little lady, hell is coming to breakfast," have to be two of the greates film quotes of all time.

[1stindoor]

Don't forget his stint as Rowdy Yates on Rawhide.

[Tatonka316]

... and his "co-starring role" to the orangutan in the classic Every Which Way ... series!!!

molon labe

[1stindoor]

Originally Posted by Tatonka316

... and his "co-starring role" to the orangutan in the classic Every Which Way ... series!!!

molon labe

Spawning the quote, "Right turn Clyde"

[EasyIan]

Originally Posted by 1stindoor

Don't forget his stint as Rowdy Yates on Rawhide.

Ah, Rawhide. That's early Eastwood. Even before his debut in Spaghetti Westerns.
It's funny how at 22 years old I even know what Rawhide is.

Originally Posted by Tatonka316

... and his "co-starring role" to the orangutan in the classic Every Which Way ... series!!!

Clint and Clyde living the life. How could I forget the "Every Which Way" Series

[echoes]

Remember Swatch watches were all the rage growing up in the late eighties and early nineties...and then there was the "mark" of a Rolex, on some...

Growing up in my family, the men wore no watches or jewlrey at all, so in turn, I wear neither....

AM am also a proud non-owner of a Blackberry, Ipod, Iphone, I-wtf-ever else, myspace, facebook, or any other such "non-sense!"

Just have a plain ol cell phone, for emergencies, (and have sent two text messages in my life.) Also, if I need to find the time of day, I turn on "the radio!"

Holly

[PSM]

I remember that, to make a phone call from my grandparents house in Oklahoma, you had to tell the "Central" operator the number you were calling.

"One ringy-dingy..."

Pat

[echoes]

Originally Posted by PSM

I remember that, to make a phone call from my grandparents house in Oklahoma, you had to tell the "Central" operator the number you were calling.

"One ringy-dingy..."

Pat

My Grandma called our house once in the mid-eighties, and the "brand new," answering machine took the call. Bless her soul, she told my Dad on our very next Sunday dinner, that she would never call again, (she was so put-off!)

Bring back the old days of doing things, IMHO. No texting, I-MMMMMing, (WTFE that means,) just return to the old school values of life.

If we do that, more respect would be shown for Our Veterans, more sincerity would be given to Our Elders, and More class would be afforded to those who brought us in to this world.

JMHO

Holly

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by echoes

My Grandma called our house once in the mid-eighties, and the "brand new," answering machine took the call. Bless her soul, she told my Dad on our very next Sunday dinner, that she would never call again, (she was so put-off!)

Bring back the old days of doing things, IMHO. No texting, I-MMMMMing, (WTFE that means,) just return to the old school values of life.

If we do that, more respect would be shown for Our Veterans, more sincerity would be given to Our Elders, and More class would be afforded to those who brought us in to this world.

JMHO

Holly

I'm not sure how one would lead to the other. I have MORE contact with my children, and I am sure I will have more with my grandchild because of said technology.

If my grandson crawls for the first time at 6:00 p.m. tonight, I can be watching it at 6:05 p.m. - and smiling from ear to ear.

I'm going to embrace the new techno-gizmos. To each, his or her own!

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by echoes

Remember Swatch watches were all the rage growing up in the late eighties and early nineties...and then there was the "mark" of a Rolex, on some...

Growing up in my family, the men wore no watches or jewlrey at all, so in turn, I wear neither....

AM am also a proud non-owner of a Blackberry, Ipod, Iphone, I-wtf-ever else, myspace, facebook, or any other such "non-sense!"

Just have a plain ol cell phone, for emergencies, (and have sent two text messages in my life.) Also, if I need to find the time of day, I turn on "the radio!"

Holly

Holly,

I recently got my Jitterbug about 3 months ago,it's great........ No frills,just a plain ol cell phone..............

Big Teddy

[echoes]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

I'm not sure how one would lead to the other. I have MORE contact with my children, and I am sure I will have more with my grandchild because of said technology.

If my grandson crawls for the first time at 6:00 p.m. tonight, I can be watching it at 6:05 p.m. - and smiling from ear to ear.

I'm going to embrace the new techno-gizmos. To each, his or her own!

Indeed ZD!!! My Grandma and pa passed away after 75 years of marriage in 91 & 92. I know that they both always showed me and my twin sis and bro, unconditional love, just with the little things. Like, homemade white-grape juice, and pancakes on a Saturday morning. These were enjoyed at the kithen table of their farmhouse, while listening to the radio, forecasting the farmers almanac of crops for the seasons to come.

In any case, it was tech free. And from the back of "my ride" at the time, (a Red-Wagon,) I could tell you the status of rows of corn, tall apple trees, or pumpkins ripening in the patch! Damn, Imiss those days.

Holly

[echoes]

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

Holly,

I recently got my Jitterbug about 3 months ago,it's great........ No frills,just a plain ol cell phone..............

Big Teddy

Big Teddy Sir,

Rock-on!!!

Holly