My Favorite Decade

[Matt]

does he know the difference between Johnny Walker Red and Johnny Walker Blue yet?

[IggytheBorg]

He is displaying a high level of curiosity on the fine art of cigars (asking what kind graces the cover of the latest catalogue, for example). BTW, the legal smoking age in NJ is now 19. Don't ask me why. THAT shit don't seem fair at all. Not quite as bad as the drinking age being 21 (because, let's be real, 18 yr olds aren't smoking cigars), but still. How cool is this? When he was born, I of course had to go & get a box of cigars. Nat Sherman, one of my favorite brands, has a series whose different sizes all start with the word "H" (Harrington, Hamilton, Hobart, etc.). I wondered if, being as NYC centric as the brand tends to be, they'd have one called a "Hudson". Sure enough, they did. Wee little cigarillo buggers. So I saved 2 from the box I gave out at the party, for us to smoke when he turns 18 (because properly humidified, cigars can last almost forever). They're quietly gathering age in the humidor ever since.

[Timothy225]

Does he have a smoking jacket yet, Ig? How's his taste for brie?

Cigars, fine cuisine, the birds and the bees, drinking etiquette - you realize, of course, once he gets over the "girls have cooties" phase, you'll have raised a fine little Hefner.

[Matt]

a fine little Hefner.

Made me laugh really, really hard.

[IggytheBorg]

I am, of course, & always have been, an AVID reader (yes, READER) of Hef's fine publication. Just heard on the radio yesterday that they've lost 1/2 their readership in the last year. I am very, very troubled by that.

And the boy LOVES cheese. Of course.

[Matt]

I am, of course, & always have been, an AVID reader (yes, READER) of Hef's fine publication. Just heard on the radio yesterday that they've lost 1/2 their readership in the last year. I am very, very troubled by that.

That's because half of the readership were teenaged boys who had secret stashes of them under their bed, in their backpack, and in their tree fort. The internet has made the idea of having a secret collection of Playboys rather quaint.

[IggytheBorg]

Which is why mine are right out in the open in their milk crates in the basement.





Until I can find somewhere to stash 'em.

[Ed Hocken]

Why do I suddenly harken back to that image of Ari holding the porn mags at the ripe old age of 4.

[V]

I liked the 70's...

Because with very few exceptions, none of you were around yet.

[Timothy225]

That's because half of the readership were teenaged boys who had secret stashes of them under their bed, in their backpack, and in their tree fort. The internet has made the idea of having a secret collection of Playboys rather quaint.

Yeah, that does suck. Getting one's first Playboy, either by somehow buying one from an older kid, or snagging that hidden Playboy amongst your dad's stash of books and magazines (which is where I saw/read my first one), or however you got one... nothing beats that feeling of accomplishment. In your hands is that first exposure to a world of gorgeous airbrushed women wearing skimpy outfits and eventually nothing at all. The inner man in some young boys peeks his head out for the first time, and discovers that, hey, girls ain't so bad after all.

It's a rite of passage from boy to manhood that this generation of internet-savvy folk just won't get. Le sigh.

[Mike]

I'm not very prone to fits of nostalgia, but I have to say 1990-2000 has been my favourite so far. So many weird things happened to me during that decade that they almost defy my ability to describe them. Especially my last year of high-school (1990).

I traded my prom night for garrison watch, dated 4 women at the same time (came off of a nasty break-up the year before and came to the conclusion that all women were scum and should be treated as such... file it under T for "Things you can only get away with when you are 18", volume 3, part 8), and had a modified Mazda 323 that could break 180/hr without vibrating into component atoms. I was a golden god!

If I had to pick a close second favourite decade, it would be this one so far. 2010 has been an illuminating year for me. I can't remember ever feeling this knowledgable, despite (or maybe because of) the crazy amounts of freelance front-loaded into the beginning of this year. Teaching was amazing, as was helping my students find summer work. Having co-ops of my own is proving to be very satisfying as well. I had forgotten what being 21 and completely addicted to coding was like. I'm sort of glad I have more balance than that in my career, but watching them discover how to solve some of these age-old problems is really boss.

[Phat Dizaztr]

I would have to say for me the 1980's. This is the era of most of my favorite films. Here is the list:

(discovered 1977) Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Goonies
Top Gun
Ghostbusters
Ferris Buellers Day Off
Neverending Story
Princess Bride

And I'm sure there are more that I am just not thinking of at the time. The other great thing about about the 80's for me was that I was just a little kid and that was the best time having my mom around.

I hope I can make my son's childhood as special as mine is to me.