Everything old is new again (well, lately it certainly seems that way….)

 

Have you ever noticed that when a friend or loved one is going to have a baby, suddenly there's pregnant women everywhere?  I think this can apply to phrases too. 

Earlier this week on my way home from work, I overheard two women on the bus talking about the 'new recession' and how stores were restarting "layaway shopping", and one of them said "Well, everything old is new again." 

It certainly seems so, in both good and bad ways.  Anyway, the next thing I knew, that phrase just seemed to apply to everything else going on this week too.

 

In the above photo, I'm about to dig into the 'Arrogant Onion' Fatburger; Erin with me outside of Fatheads  

Here's an example:  this week, I went with Julie D & Erin O to Fatheads, a popular bar/restaurant on the Southside.  I used to love this place, but it's been years since my last visit; I felt like a 'first timer' again.   It was nice to see the place as popular as ever, it was jam-packed in there.  Also, it was nice to just be in a social setting; this is a personal thing with me, something I need to work on more.

 

Anyway, I need to get back there soon--they have an awesome 'Voodoo Burger'.  Thanks again, Erin & Julie.  

Meanwhile, they're coming... to a theater near you

While I don't like "talking Trek" in these blogs, I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it in this one; because just today, Paramount finally released an image of the "new old" Enterprise for the upcoming "retro Star Trek" movie being released in May 2009.  

 

JJ Abrams groovy reimagining of the 1960s Enterprise  

 

There's really nothing more I can say about it (that hasn't already been discussed, critiqued & spilled blood over on a million other online forums in the last couple days).  All I know is, I'm genuinely excited to see the franchise get such a serious reboot (this film will be the most expensive Trek movie to date) along with being grateful that a mainstream director like JJ Abrams is doing the picture.  But for the phrase "everything old is new again", it doesn't get any bigger--or better--than this!   (Well, if you're a self-confessed Trekkie that is...)   

Getting back to the 21st century... could a "new" Great Depression be around the corner?  

Ulp--while typing up that piece about Fatheads, I watched President Bush on CNN, stating that he & other world leaders met earlier today, & have agreed to coordinate & modernize their financial systems to keep the economic system from getting worse.  He ALSO said that the United States could have gone into a depression worse than the Great Depression.

Just when I thought we might be revisiting the recession of the '70s, we could be heading towards a depression similar to the 1930s instead? 

Working in the healthcare industry, I've always (perhaps falsely) assumed my job was relatively safe, even after witnessing recent layoffs at my company.  But of course if enough companies begin laying off workers (or even closing their doors), that means less members belonging to company healthplans and...talk about 'trickle down economics'.   Gulp.   Well, if Bush believes he's responsible for staving off such a dastardly crisis, so be it.  We don't have to wait for Obama, let the Texan take the credit.  

Didn't Nostradamus (or Albert Einstein, or both) predict this planet wide 'economic calamity' for the dawn of the millennium?  It seems like just yesterday that we were all worrying over potential Y2K issues... compared to this, how I miss that goofy time. 

Speaking of the Millennium...Catherine Black is alive and well again in the Teepee

While everybody is familiar with Chris Carter's creation "The X-Files", I'm always surprised at how few are aware of his OTHER show, 'Millennium'.  It aired on Fox from 1997-1999, and simply put, was ahead of it's time.

Megan Gallagher as Frank Black's wife Catherine  

The show dealt with a mysterious organization (The Millennium Group) and one investigator in particular; Lance Henriksen as Frank Black (man, he's terrific).  He dealt with horrific crimes believed to be related to the upcoming Millennium (the year 2000-remember all the Y2K paranoia?)  This show saw the new century very ominously.   

I recently got all 3 seasons on DVD & frankly I'm amazed how well this show has stood the test of time.  It's extremely literate (and darkly poetic) with movie production quality.  Frank Black is a man both blessed and cursed, with terrific insight and great sadness.  He's all too aware of the darkness in the world, and has "visions" of sinister events, usually thru the evildoers eyes.

(Ironically, all the emphasis on the year 2000 (er…2001) doesn't date the show; what does is Franks research on the internet, which looked a lot different in 1997 than it does today; along with the fact he only had dial-up access!)  

What I find amazing however is how little I remember about the show--I watched it during it's original airing, but could only recall that I loved it--no specifics.  It's like every episode is brand new again. 

I saw a recent interview with Lance Henriksen talking about Millennium & he said "I didn't want to do it, it just felt too dark; but Chris (Carter) convinced me, he said  ‘That's why you live in a yellow house on the show, in a nice neighborhood.  The yellow house will be your salvation.’  I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but he was right, you know… the yellow house saved me.”    

Gosh I just loved that…. I hope someday I find a yellow house of my own.