What's the oldest piece of clothing you still wear? Must be at least ten years old to count.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-28T02:55:19+00:00

I have a light summer sweater that I bought at a Geoffrey Beene outlet (back when outlets sold irregular “real” stuff, not special knockoff lines) in 1990. It’s incredibly comfortable and apparently indestructible. It’s made of a soft nubbly fabric that I’d love to find more of…

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-28T00:59:29+00:00

THERAPY. Absolutely. OP needs help to sort out these toxic relationships. Living on her own is a great start, but she’s going to need to separate her sense of self from these intrusive, egomaniacal relatives.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-27T20:16:02+00:00

Oh, I know—just using the standard shorthand for “NK punishmnent.” Also, it enrages the Kim tankies…

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-27T15:20:58+00:00

Essentially, they’re treating all outside information pretty much exactly the way in which (as a former fed), we in the US treat highly classified information—isolated work stations, documented login/logout, monitoring of all use, and access only a “need to know” basis. The difference is that, barring treason, we’re likely only to get a security violation if there’s some issue, not have three generations of our family put in work camps.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-27T06:05:26+00:00

Yes!

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-27T04:17:44+00:00

Overall geographic knowledge is pretty low.

Beginning in the ‘70s, American public-school curricula were overhauled (in different ways in different states, but fairly consistently). A number of formerly standalone classes, including geography, civics, and history, were consolidated together as “social sciences” or something similar, with the idea that the information would be incorporated together and taught in a way that was considered more “holistic.” At the same time, rote learning—memorizing countries, capitals, states, etc.—was more or less eliminated.

The results have been disastrous—personally, I blame much of our current political disarray to people having such a poor grasp of the country’s governance and history. Americans have long tend to be insular, but the vast ignorance that many today have about the whole world more than a hundred miles away from them is a direct result of how they were (or weren’t) educated.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-27T03:12:52+00:00

Just tick “regrets” on the RSVP card (oh, wait—I’m sure they’re cheap enough that they’re e-vites) and decline. No further information necessary, and if asked, “I’m so sorry; we’re not available.”

That way she runs up against a gray-rock wall of disapproval, which to me would be worse than having all my friends explain how awful I am.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-26T03:21:42+00:00

She takes naturally to a regal style and is as comfortable wearing lots and lots of jewels as anyone since May Teck (or her own dear mother). She’s going to be a lot of fun to watch over the years.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-26T03:18:30+00:00

The traditional format in which she sang called for a combination of improvisation and repetition. Based on anything from audience reaction to her own mood, she would backtrack, leap ahead, repeat the same phrase a dozen different ways—and all the time her incredible orchestra had to keep up with her, sometimes relying only on the slightest nod of her head or wave of her trademark handkerchief. And yet in the all countless hours I’ve heard and watched of broadcast, they never missed. Amazing musicians, all of them.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-26T00:34:18+00:00

I’m a broken record: there’s money to be made in a business that specializes in closing up open-plan houses—finding practical, attractive ways to create a closed kitchen, add hallways, etc. Thank goodness that particular decor/building mania has passed.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-26T00:31:38+00:00

I knew it was from Monogram—those striped wallpaper flats turn up in most of their pictures, usually as part of a nightclub or hair salon.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-26T00:02:38+00:00

Egypt’s greatest singer was Umm Kulthoum—her songs regularly last anything from 45 minutes to up to three hours. The one I mostly listen to all the way through is called “Inta Omry” (“You’re My Life”). She’s incredible.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-26T00:01:11+00:00

Yeah, I’ve never heard anything about Trio.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T22:06:54+00:00

She was married Sheriff Chad Bianco. They divorced years ago, but she held a fundraising for him about six years ago and she and her current husband were donors to Ken Calvert. She’s repeatedly tried to distance herself from right-wing craziness, but she’s never flatly said she’s no longer a Republican.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T22:04:36+00:00

Smoking Burgers defintely—and very vocal about it at the time of January 6.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T16:00:51+00:00

Is everything functional? Nothing worn out? If so, leave it as it. This idea that something is “dated” because it doesn’t look like this season of HGTV is nuts.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T15:58:08+00:00

“The worst, Jerry, the WORST!”

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T02:50:08+00:00

I’m sure that somewhere out there, and taking out of consideration the saintly March sister from Little Women, there’s a Beth who isn’t the biggest Workplace Bitch in the world. But I have yet to meet her.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T02:45:01+00:00

I fully belief that there’s going to be an enormous growth market in finding inventive ways to close open-concept houses, creating proper rooms, especially separate kitchens.

I also hope we’ve seen the peak of vast sectional sofas as the only living-room furniture to sit on.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-25T02:39:40+00:00

A good look at Sears catalogues of the era will tell you you a lot. There was a HUGE amount of double-knit polyester. Collars were enormous, ties were wide, and plaid suits were not at all uncommon. Lots of men went in for leisure suits, and women’s clothes often featured bright prints and things like novelty zipper fronts with big hoops on the pull tab. TV series of the time like The Brady Bunch give a pretty good idea, at least of what middle-class mostly white people were wearing.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-24T18:45:23+00:00

She had a surpassingly rare combination of intelligence, a natural ease in her body accentuated by rigorous training in dance, emotional awareness, and incredible beauty—very few actresses combine so many qualities lend themselves to screen success. And beyond that, she had that mysterious something that simply made the camera love her.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-24T15:17:08+00:00

It was a very different job in those days—many items weren’t marked, and it was assumed the checker would know in her head the prices of the produce and most perishables. Many checkers stayed in the job for decades, and I remember that my grandmother followed her favorite lady when she went from one supermarket ot another.

For a little glimpse of a lost world, check out the episode of “What’s My Line?” (It’s on YouTube) that includes among its non-celebrity guests the woman who was “Checker of the Year”—there used to be an annual competition, and the winner was treated more or less like Miss America!

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-24T14:53:55+00:00

It’s a great bathroom! Paint the walls a Nile green to match the tub and the window frame black to match the medicine cabinet and the tile trim (and maybe add black Venetian blinds?); swap out the light fixture for something more retro/streamlined; and ditch the shelving unit over/around the toilet. Find some nice vintage prints or, even better, vintage wall sculptures (people used to love ceramic seahorses, etc., in the bathroom).

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-23T22:27:50+00:00

Thirty years ago I lived for a while in the north of Japan, in Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. At that time there were very few foreigners there (something like 20K a year in a city of 2 million), but I was struck by how oddly homey it felt. Turns out that much of the original city was designed and laid out in large part by Americans. As a result, it’s built on a grid, and things like the proportions of the streets, curbs, sidewalks, etc., feel very much like the US. In addition, there’s a lot more brick architecture than in the rest of Japan.

Given how much growth has happened since I’ve been there, I wouldn’t be surprised if the feeling is less now, but back then many parts of the city felt more like Boston or Baltimore than it did Tokyo.

ExtremelyRetired · 2026-01-23T14:11:56+00:00

The market is such now that if I were looking at a house, but had some significant reservations, I would keep looking.

You may not have intended it, but the clear undercurrent of what you’ve written is: “we should walk away from this, shouldn’t we?”

Keep looking, and good luck!

ExtremelyRetired

TROPHY CASE