Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"Thou Shalt Get Sidetracked by Bullshit, Every Goddamned Time." -- The Ghoul

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck,
"FOFF" = Felonious Old Fat Fuck,
"COFF" = Convicted Old Felonious Fool,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset,
A/K/A P01135809, A/K/A Dementia Donnie, A/K/A Felon^34,
A/K/A Dolt-45, A/K/A Don Snoreleone

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

What Also Killed Off Written Letters

E-mail, of course, is obvious. So is the continual rise in the rate of a first-class tamp.

But not discussed as much is an older technology than e-mail: The telephone. Letters still had their place back in the day when Ma Bell sold long-distance at at least a dime a minute at off-peak rates, 25 cents or more per minute for daytime (and don't ask about making a person-to-person call). Deregulation of AT&T made long distance calls cheaper and then, finally, the "bundled plans" most people have now means that making a call anywhere within North America (other than to Cuba)is no different from calling the woman who lives two doors down.

Why write a letter to your brother in Milwaukee when you can just pick up the phone and call him?

When was the last time you put pen to paper and wrote a letter to someone?

4 comments:

Marc said...

Birthday cards get notes, and the occasional "this is what happened this year" note gets tucked in the holiday card to those I don't keep in regular contact. Aside from those two instances, I use the phone or email, instead of us mail. I've thought about doing a personal blog, but posting about my cat hacking a hairball on the bed in the middle of of the night and other such cat-owned adventures may not go well for everyone I know.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I am cussedly sticking to paper-and-pen letters,written with my fountain pen on good paper, complete with good penmanship.

There's something wonderful about getting mail that isn't an advertising circular or a bill.

I have a whole list of people I write. They think I am amusingly daffy and old fashioned. I hope to spark a communication revolution.

if you want on the list, you can e-mail me!

Karen Zipdrive said...

There is absolutely nothing that can beat a love letter, hand written on good stock and perfumed with one's scent.
Nothing.

Comrade Misfit said...

Cranky, the problem is then I would been obliged to write back and my handwriting is not much better than a seismograph in a 3.7 earthquake.