Comments on: Momgamer: When Everything Old is New Again

By: Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:15:36 +0000

Take pictures.

You will be able to use them as leverage later on.

And if they try to turn it around on your tastes, you can always remind them that they think you are old and mentally weird like all adults anyway

By: Colleen Hannon

Colleen Hannon — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:04:47 +0000

It’s getting worse. My daughters were listening to RATT last night. They borrowed a CD of Out of the Cellar from a friend.

This may be worse than what is only whispered about as the “Enrique Iglasias Incident”. :eyeroll:

By: Simon Windmill

Simon Windmill — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:58:50 +0000

Love this article, and it’s so true. What’s especially funny in our house is that same has had this peculiar false nostalgia for the early 90s for several years now, so I get to hear all about things I tried blocking out the first time.

By: Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:18:54 +0000

Trying to transfer context is pretty much setting up a double edged sword of disappointment. They know how excited you are and want to please, and you are looking for them to enjoy it with the same open-eyed joy you experienced. Neither is likely.

It seems so obvious that since we are all individuals and the circumstances of our youth are different from our kids, that expecting the same reaction to the same stimulus across a thirty year gap is purely absurd … yet we all do it …

By: GamerDad

GamerDad — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:54:06 +0000

What a wonderful article. I’m positive that every geek parent feels the same way at some point. I mean, don’t tell anyone, but my kids are really now finally getting into games. They’ve played occasionally over the years – they have Leapsters and DS and wicked bowling arms – but I’ve never pushed it or made it seem important.

It has occured to me that a defining moment in my life was when the Atari 2600 was finally obtained – my kids will never taste that feeling. But then again, deferred gratification might be good for kids – it doesn’t taste that good. Nostalgia adds flavor.

Some of it, for me, might be due to age. I’ve been looking forward to sharing the original Star Wars movies for decades and now that my kids are almost old enough I’m thinking… meh. I’ll share it, but the excitement isn’t the same.

By: Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:23:21 +0000

I am there with you on this one Colleen! From Adam West’s Batman to Kirk & Pickard to Dr. Who the kids are coming upon gems of my youth. Like yours, they have found new life in old material – and often through video games or new versions of shows like BSG.

But they look at things very differently, which can be weird. There are many songs that I will hear – such as ‘Live & Let Die’ that bring me back (ugh) 35 years to watching Bond movies as a kid. The material is the same, but the context is entirely different.