This World Has No Taste Anymore...

I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY mad right now.

Like, I want to - I want to - I can't even put it into words. I feel like Maria at the end of "West Side Story."

More than mad, I'm upset, disappointed  and hurt. And annoyed at God for having me born this late. Why couldn't I have been born 50 years ago?? When people actually had taste and their lives were not ruled by Facebook and texting and "television" shows like 16 and Pregnant??

I know I said this blog is about old movies. And that's what it's going to be about, 90% of the time. Right now, however, I'm on rampage and writing it here is a good way to get my anger out. And, in a way, this sort of does have to do with Classic Hollywood - since Classic Hollywood was a more kinder, nicer generation where people took the time to sit down and read books... and I don't mean on eReaders.

If you live in the United States, and if you read books, you're probably well aware of Borders, a large bookstore chain across all 50 states. I'm a book buyer. I prefer to buy them instead of rent them out of a library. Ever since I was a little kid, the nearby Borders was a little haven for me to go and pick out books and books to read. Books, just like old movies, are a major part of my life. Where on Earth would we be without them??

Right now, I just refreshed my Yahoo! homepage to learn that EVERY SINGLE BORDERS WILL BE CLOSING (right next to a little newstory on Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez crashing a wedding - because that is so much more worth our time, right?). I guess that includes the bookstore I've been buying books from for all of my whatever so pathetically short, but still meaningful, life.

My first thought was: Where am I going to get books from? *insert weep* But, of course, I quickly reminded myself there are other bookstores... but this doesn't mean that I'm still not mad. What is wrong with the world today??? I keep waiting for the day to learn outside my house and there will no longer be a newspaper waiting on my driveway. One day, they'll just be gone, and no one could care - because why get your fingers all smudged when you could just read the article on line?

Or why keep Borders open for people to buy books when you can simply buy an eReader like the Nook or the Kindle and get books instantly? Why? Why make good, tasteful movies when you can make raunchy movies that are supposedly more "entertaining." (Yeah - in what universe?) I can't even turn on the TV anymore and find a good old fashioned sitcom in the sea of reality TV shows! (Thank God for TCM and those few other channels that show actual good stuff. What on Earth would I watch then?)

People of today's day and age are no longer sentimental. Any book lover will tell you how it feels to turn the crisp pages of a new book... or how it feels nice to get the smudges of ink on your hands are you read a newspaper. You simply cannot derive the same emotions from sliding through the digital pages of a Kindle.

I am glad for technology most of the time. If we didn't have it, i wouldn't be writing this Blog, obviously. In fact, do not think me a hypocrite. I only wonder why we cannot have the best of both worlds. Those of us who enjoy eReaders can use them - and those of us who want to feel books in our hands can do that, too.

This is not just the beginning. We're halfway through to this enormous change the world is feeling. I am not one of those obsessive people who oust any form of new technology; I am a proud owner of a laptop, iPod, TV... most of us are. But sometimes, these things can get in the way of enjoying the simpler things in life... things we'd had for a lot longer than iPads.

I'm really upset now, and scared, too. Now Borders is shut. The next day, there will be no Barnes and Noble. I'll have to order all my books online, and eventually they'll stop selling it there, too. I was born into the wrong day and age. I am afraid that books and newspapers will become extinct - just like tasteful entertainment, music without auto-tune, and shorts that reach below your hips.

Thanks for reading this rant if you did. I promise tomorrow a new post on the main topic of this blog: Keeping old movies alive. But today, I just had to get this out. I'm utterly annoyed. And saddened.

RIP, Borders. My heart is breaking.

PS: For more information on the shut-down (stores will start closing as soon as this Friday and all stores will be closed by September), visit here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Borders-Calls-Off-Auction-nytimes-1678947798.html?x=0.