Crap and more crap

Behold The Euro Chopper. It was a bonus that came with a purchase of Forever Sharp knives on Black Friday. I'd had one such chopper years ago, purchased for 9.99 at a kiosk in the Livingston Mall for my dad (but really for me).Today I used this new one for the first time (its retail value now supposedly $34.95). Well, I guess Europe really ain't what it used to be, because today was also the day the Euro Chopper broke. (Come to think of it, I think that's the same fate the first one met, only it served us a lot longer.)

Maybe I was too vigorous in my onion chopping, but more likely The Euro Chopper is a flimsy piece of crap, and one whose components will remain on the planet long after the maggots have trod through my brain, savoring all the delicious clever morsels. And all just to chop less than one onion, when I already had the Forever Sharp knife to perform the same task quite well.

If I ever go crazy, don't be surprised if it happens in a big-box store, set off by some ridiculous product like a box of Fast Franks, each hot dog pre-bunned and sealed in its own plastic that will never decompose.

This 20-minute web film by Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff, breaks down the issues that combine to give me the fear whenever I find myself in a conventional supermarket or mall or big-box store. Basically, Annie explains how the current system of production and consumption is burning through the planet's resources, putting toxins in the air and into people, and wrecking lives, and all so that people can keep buying more and more crap that's designed to break or become obsolete, and keep tossing away what they have to make room for still more crap. Clearly it's a model that can't sustain itself forever. (I guess Annie wanted her message to be accessible to children, so her delivery is a bit too Romper Room, but we'll let that slide.)

As someone who has never had a whole lot of money to play with, who comes from a line of the same, I have a latter-day Depression mentality: I'm not comfortable spending for spending's sake, I hate using credit, and rarely purchase anything costing more than $20 unless it can't be avoided. My brother and I learned garage sale-ing, rummage sale-ing, and thrifting as kids and obviously I relish keeping that tradition alive today. It's so ingrained that even if I strike it rich, I'll be one of those rich people who still can't help wanting a good deal.

My love for old stuff probably developed through the garage sale-ing, and I came to see that the old stuff was generally just made better than the new stuff. Planned obsolescence kills me. Old Wolfgang, my former VW bus from 1979 (snif) is on his fourth life now, whereas my first car, Mikey, built less than 10 years later, was doubtless crushed into a cube long ago. Clothes purchased for way too much at Urban Outfitters today will last through a handful of washes before falling to pieces, and they're only meant to last that long; whereas the orginal vintage versions of the shirts or jackets or dresses Urbs is ripping off are still kicking decades later. I was using my family's main Zenith TV from the 70s well into the 90s, and my stereo is a late 70s Panasonic model with the robot arm that allows you to play stacks of records at a time.

The bf & I butt heads on this a little. We both have more than our share of hippy moments, but the bf lacks this hard-wired thriftiness, and being a guy, he loves having the latest whatever gadgetry. (Aren't guys cute?) Sometimes he gets a little weary of my old-tymey ways and will point out, "See? technology is good!" As if I'm riding side-saddle in a hoop dress on a bicycle with a giant front wheel.

But it just alarms me, the rate that consumption of resources and products is accelerating while quality goes down, with so many people not considering the bigger picture or just how much continuously generated (then thrown away) crap is out there. That's probably why I've always been fond of this crazy from the 1970 Jack Nicholson film, Five Easy Pieces.

(Movies were made better back in the day, too. I just saw part of a 1998 remake of the 1962 existential creepout classic Carnival of Souls. You guessed it: the new version was a full-on turd!)

"I've seen filth that you wouldn't believe." Can you see why I identify with her? I don't even want to talk about it.

Comments

[jeff]

I think "Euro" is just marketing lingo for "crap" so what you really got for "free" was a Crap Chopper.

[Elizabeth]

Have you seen these: http://www.smuckers.com/fg/otg/uncrustables/default.asp?

I almost lost it the first time I saw these advertised on the TV. WHO IS TOO LAZYV TO MADE A PB&J SANDWICH??? Why would anyone buy these????

I'm totally with you on the old stuff. I can't see just throwing out and replacing something that still works, just to have the newest version. I've only had a CD player for a couple of years, a DVD player for a year, and still have not gotten (and doubt I ever will) a cellphone or Ipod. I still have my old Walkman, which still works and totally rocks!

Oh, and let's hope that this redo of an old movie doesn't suck: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_%28film%29 cause that would, uh, suck.

[Emily]

Hey,

I'm a long-ish time reader and first time writer left over from when you were profiled on Gothamist (yes, I am from the gotham).

I just wanted to say that I think it's awesome that you linked to "The Story of Stuff" - even with its decidedly kid-friendly delivery, there are parts of that presentation that really hit home for me, and hopefully will hit home for those not already aware of that stuff.

I think second-hand old stuff not only lasts longer and is better for the environment to re-use, but it's often better looking. But I guess that's why my apartment is furnished in the classic flea-market-meets-dumpster-diving-meets-my-dad's-old-couch style.

[meanieT]

Yeah, I am so pissed off lately about my clothes falling apart. I won't go near Urban Outfitters for that reason and I totally lust after Anthropologie clothes these days, but $100 for a sweater that's going to fall apart after a year? Crap is just made so crappily these days. How much do you have to pay to buy a shirt with seams that won't come undone??
I feel that way about houses too. Why does everybody have to live in these McMansion-y houses in new developments when you can find perfectly good houses that were built to last, esp. in older cities in the East? They're smaller, but so what. Do you really need a bathroom the size of a kitchen and a kitchen the size of a master bedroom?

[Therese]

Since moving into my new apartment, I've been obsessively combing the Craig's List furniture listings. Part of the joy of scoring a 1940s Heywood dressing table for $20(!)is hearing the story behind it.

[Kartek]

I think the same is with houses. I hear that the homes that did the best against hurricane force winds are the really old ones and the brand news ones built to take on these winds.

[ecs]

meanieT, if you're a compulsive buyer, then yes, you do need a bigger house, because you have too much shit to fit into an older home!

I like to rub it in to my step-mother, who lives in a 1976-era McMansion, how easy it is to clean my apartment.

[Kettle]

Well, it all comes down to making more money. Corporations know that people'll keep buying their stuff even though it wears down really fast -- and they're right. But then again, I think this is an issue that every generation has when growing up.

[cokane]

E-- OMG! I really want to see I Am Legend, but didn't realize it was a remake of Omega Man! Another old movie I LOVE.

Emily, welcome to commenting-land. Your taste is excellent, it exactly matches my own.

meanieT, i HATE mcmansions.

Therese, I didn't know that was Heywood! (/Wakefield?)

Kettle, that's what the movie says. But y'know, it's worse now. It's going faster and the lifespans of products are shorter.

everyone else, YEAH

[Kettle]

Yeah... I blame the used car industry/Henry Ford. Or something like that.

I dunno, slow internet connection (..."borrowed" wireless internet connection...) = no youtube for me :)

[Alienwhere]

HOLY CRAP! I just saw Carnival of Souls around Halloween and thought I had gone insane and had some kind of mental meltdown (as it was very late). You mentioning it just made me shiver again.

Ok, that's all I got.

[Big O]

Five Easy Pieces is one of my all time faves :]