Classic Obsessions

It's 2011. Can we go back? Decades in time? Am I the only one who pines for a time machine? I sometimes feel like I'm an 85-year-old at heart trapped in a 35-year-old's body in terms of the popular culture. It's time to turn to the classics.

I think American television may be at its lowest level of creativity, intelligence and just plain decency - ever. Why would I want to "keep up" with talentless social climbers trying to exploit fame to get every marketing deal they can? My time is too valuable for that.

This year, I'm tuning out more tv and turning on classic DVDs. No need for an additional monthly bill of a Netflix account. Libraries offer an abundance of films at a price everyone can afford - free (or a nominal fee at most).

I spent New Year's Day in the company of a star: Gene Kelly in "An American in Paris."

Classic music. The Forrest Gump soundtrack, $2, filled with American classics which will make for good road trip music, and French pop icon Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip cd, $1, from New York City's Housing Works thrift shop. Shop Housing Works online. If you're willing to mine through the cd collections at thrift stores, you can find some treasures. Or, peruse your library's collection.

Classic jewelry - pearls. A pricey gift from my sweetheart? No way. These are hand-me-downs from my mother's jewelry box. I prefer second-hand jewelry any day.

Pictured with my thrifted mint green vintage apron, $1 from C.A.T.S. Resale Shop, and my Hollywood Cocktails book. A favorite classic cocktail: kir royale.

Classic bathrooms?

Photo courtesy of SaveThePinkBathrooms.com

"Pink has come back into vogue, with more people...embracing their vintage pink bathrooms rather than taking a sledgehammer to them, The New York Times reported. So much of our view is psychological, and how often I've heard people complain about their "dated" home interiors. Reshaping your thought process - consider a room to be vintage, classic, Americana - and celebrate what we have instead (and save a fortune in the process).

I, for one, have stood many a time in people's pricey remodeled kitchen, bathroom or other thinking, I liked the "before" better. Although as a renter I have little incentive to make major changes, I still embrace my robin's egg blue bathroom from the 1960s.

Classic education. When asked in a 60 Minutes interview if he was concerned the younger generation wouldn't know who Duke Ellington is, Wynton Marsalis said he's disappointed some in his own generation doesn't know, and rightfully lamented over "the failure of our educational system to deal with cultural education."



"It saddens me for us as a nation because we have such a rich cultural heritage and...we would make such better decisions if we could understand what brings us together.

The arts are our collective human heritage. You're a better person if you know what Shakespeare was talking about. If you know what Beethoven struggled with, if you know about Matisse. If you know what Louis Armstrong actually sang through his horn, you're better. It's like you get to speak with the wisest people who ever lived."