i don't consider myself a very nostalgic person. i don't think there's inherent sanctity in the video rental store or the mall or the nickel arcade or even the web 1.0 landscape that microwaved my pre-teen brain and turned me strange. i don't think any fond feelings i have for any of those things represent a lost cultural ethos or that their reproductions would be superior to their replacements...
but i DO think their replacements, through streamlining and centralization, have created an void of exploration and tangibility. i don't want to mistake my desire to go somewhere and hold something as a desire to have blockbuster video back. but i do, very much, want to go somewhere and hold something. and i'm not a sociologist, i'm just some guy, but i think it's normal for people to enjoy rituals of preparation. idk, like... making pourover from whole bean coffee.
we have less of those now. and i think that instead of trying to get the old ones back, maybe we should be persuing new ones. real or simulated.
some corollary thoughts:
-the public library, the indie movie theater, the record store, cafes, and tbh even the nickel arcade are still around and still wonderful places to go.
-vr makes streaming more experiential! me and my partner watched a movie in vrc last weekend, and it felt really special adding a (simulated) tangible space to a remote experience. i've watched twitch streams and had listening parties over vr and i always end those nights on a high. one of the things i really love about vr is that it turns interfaces into a place you go. i live for that shit.
-the first week of pokémon go was a uniting force between me and my neighbors. a new tangible experience brought us all to the town square. i haven't played it since, but it was magical.
-sits in my chair backwards like a youth pastor have you heard the good news about birding? people have been doing it for a century and a half, but new interfaces like ebird have made finding new birds, birders, and hotspots so much easier than it used to be. birding in the modern day is more exploratory and experiential now than it has ever been before, and having community science resources at your fingertips means that when you participate you are contributing to a free, evolving, publicly accessible global database. you are creating the modern range map. if you liked pokémon go, this is that turned up to 11.
I think about this a lot too actually. One of the things I think about the most is how to find space that is accessible to all people of all (dis)abilities and body types and identities. Right now a lot of our modern spaces are not accessible.
I think about how even getting around parks can be difficult for those of us with mobility and energy-limited disabilities. Parks often don't have reliable (nor up-kept) pathways that don't trip up mobility aids. Those that do are often made for bicyclists, which is at least better than being made for cars.
However, having said this, there are some parks that are adding All-Terrain Wheelchairs, such as Denver, Georgia, Dakotas, Carolinas: https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/destinations/north-america/free-all-terrain-wheelchairs-in-parks/ These are fantastic ways to open up the park to us with mobility and energy-limited disabilities. I do hope there is a way to use one so they aren't too loud, so that birding is still possible. Perhaps I can use one to get to a hotspot, then sit quietly and journal while waiting for birds to return.
Libraries are perhaps the most accessible place for all people. They generally have ramps going in (it is very, very rare to find a library that has steps with the ramp on the side, most don't have any steps). They have a layout that is open and easy to navigate through with wheelchairs. There is little places to rest all over the place with chairs and desks/tables/benches. Computers that anyone can use. Librarians who have amazing powers of finding all sorts of interesting items and books and topics.
Some libraries are adopting the Library of Things idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOYa3YzVtyk&t=1s
For example, my local library system now allows you to check out home improvement items like saws or tools, appliances like waffle makers or microwaves, technology items like printers. These items then can be used by that person for three weeks and returned for the next person in line (fees for not returning are steep). This is wonderful as it allows the community to access devices they may not be able to afford, it promotes sharing and building networks, and it ups the quality of life especially for poorer folks like me.
What other places are accessible?
National Audubon Society maintains a map of accessible birding sites that anyone can contribute to!
